/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46484281
I highly doubt this, but it's still pretty fun to think about, for example I wonder who ZUN actually is and why he's the one who gets to make the games.

>>46485639
ZUN is pretty mysterious if you think about it, I even doubt if he truly has children, because I have never seen them.

>>46484281
I like this thread, consider this
Youkai are based on a real life equivalent and have not always existed, they're spirits and ideas of both what we are afraid of and what they respect and wish to mimic.
Yukari's end goal could range between a few things I've pondered off and on, simple survival, to dominate conquer and control, or something genuinely noble (I deem unlikely) such as replacing and slaughtering the original thing that gave rise to youkai legends. Could be all 3 idk

Assuming this theory is true, if youkais and gods' powers are truly based on faith, I'm surprised YHWH, Jesus, or Muhammad hasn't tried to wipe out Gensokyo yet, since they all have very monotheistic views and consider other gods to be demons. Speaking from a Catholic POV.

>>46485922
I always thought about this even when I was just a beginner, because it is true, Jesus and God consider other deities as demons, not worthy of being worshiped, so people like Kanako or Suwako would be seen in a very negative light then, well, not only them, but Reimu and others that worship Japanese Gods.

>>46485784
>>46485922
The unique thing that I can't stop thinking
about is, if faith really has that power, then,
where are God and Jesus?

>>46486050
Well, MY belief is that God gave humans free will for a reason, and the same reason he didn't destroy Gensokyo's existence is the same reason why Jesus hasn't returned and destroyed Satan yet. But as I've said before, I'm a religious man, so that's just my personal beliefs. What're your interpretations?

>>46485922
>Jesus gets sick of the pharisees corrupting his faith
>goes on a journey of understanding and reflection
>figures out without illusion or doubt that he really is the son of god, becomes son of god in the process
>"all things are possible with god"
>performs miracle after miracle
>fulfills prophecy and begins a new covenant
Checks out to me, that's how I see it.
>>46486050
Read revelations then the 4 gospels, the older the version the better if you can find them. Kjv isn't perfect since you can physically feel the mistranslations on certain parts but it'll do.

>>46486115
>What're your interpretations?
I think they are getting ready for something REALLY big.

>I'm a religious man
Hey, I don't know if I can ask, but I want to be religious. Can I ask your religion if that doesn't bother you?

>>46486143
>Read revelations then the 4 gospels, the older the version the better if you can find them
I just happen to have a PDF of the bible on my computer, let me check.

>>46486207
I'm this guy >>46485922 so Catholic.

>>46486232
That's okay, I respect your religion.

>>46486143
Here is the bible I have in PDF.

>>46485922
The Israelites lived in a barren land and stared at the desert. Stared at the riverbanks and dry forests. Stared at cave walls and stared at the skies and stars and the sun. And eventually they stared through nature itself and saw something. Something so incomprehensibly vast and terrifying that it can be nothing but The One God itself.

And they were not entirely wrong. They, and every religion derived from their beliefs made one very faulty assumption.

They assumed such a vast entity would care about humanity at all.

Some of them learned to borrow a tiny bit of it's energy and power via rituals and practices and use it to enforce a moral structure necessary for ordered tribal life. But everyone else was doing more or less the same. The greeks may not have seen The One God, but they knew of pneuma. The hindus had or had not seen The One God, but they knew of prana. The daoists...knew of qi. And so on.

As monotheistic religions developed, the space for these arts grew smaller and smaller, because it was also a threat to the power structures. Hence kabbalah got repressed, the gnostics got repressed, the hermetics got repressed and the rosicrucians got repressed. But the supresseion of access to this celestial energy ultimately made monotheistic religions unable to perform their functions. Miracles no longer happen. Prayers go unanswered. And so by the time there was a last serious attempt at recovering access to the divine power by the theosophists nobody actually knew how to do it or how to listen.

But just because we no longer know how to use it doesn't mean it's not there. And the same pneuma sustains Gensokyo and all the other "Gensokyos" in the world and their myriad inhabitants. Gensokyo is just many of kind of interstitial hidden lands that lie beyond what we consider material reality and the spirit world. And the walls of what we consider reality are starting to thin.

>>46484281
I dont believe this, but it sounds very kino, imagining a place in say, central america, where all the entities of the americas gather its pretty damn cool.

>>46486283
Do you think they stay with their original form or magically turn into cute girls?

Its incomprehensible to 99.9% of people.

>>46486291
Depends on the presentation and how the author goes around, ZUN went with the anime girl style because thats just how japan operates, if a western somebody ever comes up with an idea like that they would probably go with the more mounstrous forms. I personally would go with a middle ground; make them monster girls, humanoid enough to empathize with them but monstrous enough to stay true to the source.

>>46486267
>They assumed such a vast entity would care about humanity at all.
This is a fun thought, because in some schools to look outward is to look inward.
To segway this back to being about gensokyo though, perhaps Yukari is tired of the state of things and has zun depict these youkai as cute girls, and using (you) to prep the thought of them being likeable and lovable prehand will allow a far quicker shift of these youkai into something else. Or it's a ruse to disarm (you) making you an easy meal for when they invade, if ever, knowing why gensokyo was made in the first place.

>>46486050
>where are God and Jesus?
Not here. Here as in, the physical world.
Christianity is weird to me. Its god is effectively nameless and purposefully absolute, which I think would be quite good at harnessing faith as opposed to the named gods of polytheistic beliefs such as Hinduism. Most religions were created and/or abused in order to control people.

>>46486336
>make them monster girls, humanoid enough to empathize with them but monstrous enough to stay true to the source.
Like this perhaps?

>>46486324
Some of us nevertheless have the eyes to see. I thought I was crazy for thinking there is more to this franchise than meets the eye. There's something strangely esoteric, spiritual about it all. Now I can see that I am not alone in feeling like this.

>>46485922
The real question is which afterlife is correct since so many gods exist. Is Eiki irrelevant? Do you go to whichever afterlife you believe in?

>>46486412
In touhou, heaven is full.

yukari and yuyuko you skank hags show yourselves. i know youre reading this thread and giggling likr schoolgirls.

>>46486375
>This is a fun thought, because in some schools to look outward is to look inward.
And what do we find when we look inwards? We find the pneuma, the prana, the qi, call it whatever you want. The divine fabric that underpins all of reality. We however musn't confuse this with it's source and originator, The One God. The One God is like a fountain, spewing more and more of it out, eternally. The claw up the ladder of existance back to It would make you literally one with everything, and that's why so many religions want it.

>>46486420
I forgot about that detail.
We are fucked.

>>46486422
I actually want Yukari to post here and send an image of herself from Gensokyo.

>>46486447
Maybe today, but perhaps tomorrow could be better?

>>46486502
Tomorrow will be special, yesterday was not.

>>46486400
Something like that.
Although Im gonna be honest, extra limbs are a line Im not willing to cross.

>>46486577
This anon got abducted by youkai and has to lewd them aggressively or they'll kill him due to either his unwillingness or poor performance...
Not a bad doujin plot.

>>46486412
I think it depends on how you prepare yourself. Many cultures have basicaly how-to-die manuals for trying to get to the best afterlife. Certain esoteric sects consider the intact survival of the psyche after death their primary aim.

I suppose if you learn some legitimate praxis surrounding the topic of afterlife you can steer where you go, the rest are at the whimsy of powers beyond their control. Living a morally sound life without regrets seems like a pretty safe bet, but if the buddhists are right a lot of us get fucked by simply eating animals.

Eiki might be like the local judge in Gensokyo, so not completely irrelevant but not as important as she is portrayed.

>>46486619
>Not a bad doujin plot.
There has been appearing a good amount of good ideas for doujin plots lol.

>>46486631
>but if the buddhists are right a lot of us get fucked by simply eating animals.
Not only the Buddhist, basically every religion has rough rules. At least you can repent in Christianity, but still, entering to Heaven looks very hard from every point of view.

>>46486336
I like the idea of them looking like cute girls and then turning into monsters when it's time to fight.

>>46486647
Yes, of course, you are correct. But there is much overlap and similarities between the various moral guidelines in different religions, so I think you could theoretically try to live a life that would be morally sound by some maximalist interpretation of the various doctrines. Buddhists aren't unique in their veganism either, they just seemed to most relevant to bring up in the context of Gensokyo.

>>46486400
definitely would

>>46486619
Not really, multiple limbs in humans trigger the uncanny valley in me and in animals triggers my arachnophobia and disdain for arthropods in general.
>>46486684
Thats another aproximation I have thought of, but I think it would be kind cliche, because a lot of sources already do that as a way to not dip too much into anything.

>>46486400
Is her tummy translucent? If I fucked her, would I see on her navel a blurry shadow of my dick going in and out?

By the way, for anyone interested in the question of what would the inhabitants of Gensokyo "really" look like, I greatly recommend Passport to Magonia by Jacques Vallee. Aproach with it an open mind and there's much to be gained. You can even conceptualize the titular "Magonia" as a kind of medieval European "Gensokyo", a hidden spirit land.

>tl;dr the inhabitants of Gensokyo look exactly as they need to look like in any given moment

>>46486684
>>46486733
i think what youve seen and interpreted as literal morphing is an artistic tool to illustrate a scenes tone or a characters state, you see it all the time in manga and anime, characters in rage/combat mode start lookin monstrous/change size because thats the impression/feel the author wants to achieve.

>>46486781
I already downloaded it from Archive.org

Thanks bro

>>46486420
It's not actually full. Snobbish Celestials are just pulling a good ol' "Pool's closed" on everyone.

bump

You're not ready

>>46490403
Sure they are anon, give em a taste.

>>46486050
>where are God and Jesus?
Definitely not in Gensokyo considering that paces exists to preserve the existence of enneties who don't have enough faith to continue existing in the outside world.

>>46486412
Speaking of Eiki if a Christian were to die in Gensokyo would he be judge by Eiki or God? Does Eiki only judge those who were born in Gensokyo or just those who happen to die in it

>>46484281
I see you have read Another Incursion?
Hard to say, but the situation is likely worse.

>>46486433
>The claw up the ladder of existance back to It would make you literally one with everything
That's a very stupid, very bizarre, very inhuman, insane and likely wrong logic.
Either way, they are simply escapists, those religious ones. They don't care about the world.
It is stupid of them to assume The One would actually approve of such choices, after sheer amount of work that it took to make the cosmos.

>>46484281
Yukari is extremely smart, who exactly will she even talk to here?
Most people here are rude and silly.

>>46484281
If faith is power, foolishly believing is not wise, Anonymous.

>>46486267
>theosophists
Trusting Yog is not a good idea.

>>46491061
Smarter than most of 4chans other boards, at least.

>>46491104
I meant the site as a whole, of-course.

>>46491061
Me of course.

Ever since I visited this thread, my Yukari hentai won't load anymore...

>>46491054
>That's a very stupid, very bizarre, very inhuman, insane and likely wrong logic.
I know it's a very unusual way to see the world for many, yet so many different religions seem to have arrived at something similar quite independently. Once you shut down enough of external "distractions" you star to perceive something beyond the material reality, somehow this "something" conveys a sense of unity of all things and the more you rid yourself of "distractions" the closer you get to that unity.
>It is stupid of them to assume The One would actually approve of such choices, after sheer amount of work that it took to make the cosmos.
What if it didn't take all that much work? For all we know it could have been as effortless as a single breath, and something as vast and alien as The One might simply not harbor human sentiments like "aproval" or "disaproval".
>>46491062
But what if it is not foolish to believe in these kinds of things? Sure, the idea that a japanese indie game might contain some fragment of truth and some genuinely spiritual aspects sounds ridiculous, but there appears to be something superhumanely compelling about these games.

Considering the sheer volume of fan art produced alone, the various entities depicted within the games appear to be extremely potent muses if nothing else.
>>46491093
I don't really wholly trust or buy their doctrines as a whole, but they did make a spirited, possibly very misguided, attempt at finding the core content at nearly every religion.
>>46492584
Oh anon, you really shouldn't be beating your meat to the entities depicted within the Touhou games anyway. Spirits apreciate adoration from humans as long as it's the right kind of adoration, and only spirits associated with things like fertility and love apreciate sexual attention.

>>46493040
>Oh anon, you really shouldn't be beating your meat to the entities depicted within the Touhou games anyway.
NTA and I am 100% sure that we are all disgusting and inferior creatures in their eyes.

>>46484281
>Talking about the government, there are proofs that some powerful organizations have been
>erasing and destroying evidence of paranormal activity or fantastic creatures purposefully for
>unknown purposes: You can investigate this searching about how a museum seemed to be
>destroying evidence of the existence of giants.
>There IS actual evidence and records of strange events surrounding Japan that sound weird
>enough to make real the possibility of this. An example of this is "Transient Lunar Phenomena,"
>but this one is about the Lunar Capital and not Gensoyko itself.

would genuinely love some further reading on this evidence lol
i'm interested

>>46493531
Wait here, I'm searching my info.

>>46493642
NOOOO ANON DON'T LET THEM CATCH YOU

>>46493531
About the one of the giants. I once, and I don't remember where, hear about this:

There is one, or more, organizations that want to create a canon of the history of humanity. Or even evolution itself in the planet Earth itself, deleting specific data, fossils of animals or humans. This may be related to the giants fossils somehow. This isn't only because they want this, there is also a theory that says that some species of animals have been covered and exterminated intentionally because there was something in them that could change the world in a way that they don't want to. And another one says that the reason of why the ocean is less explored than the space is because of similar reasons or because there is something in the ocean that is meant to be hidden.

>>46493705
Too late, I'm being gapped into Gensokyo for knowing too much...

(A group of black-dressed dudes are knocking on my door)

>>46493779
interesting, i suppose that makes sense
>>46493807
At least have sex with yukari for me bro

>>46494228
>At least have sex with yukari for me bro
... Okay?

I was thinking about this exact concept at work like a month ago, you and me are on the same wavelength, OP

>>46494368
Are you Reisen?

>>46494396
no im an ugly nigga

>>46493438
Yes, there certainly are a lot of such in Gensokyo, but I also believe there are some who hold a more positive view of humanity. The various gods certainly have a more mutualistic relationship with humans.

>>46493438
Your average /jp/ user is a disgusting and inferior creature to the eyes of even other humans.

>>46486412
>>46491028
You probably have some influence but outside forces also influence a bit on it.
Your soul could be floating a sort of ocean after life, the "local powers" might work like the water currents, but you probably can influence were you go to a certain extent.
Hard to separate if it would just depend on you or not since what happens in your environment heavily influences your believes.
The believes of people around you might also have effect, in buddhism they pray for the deceased to not end in hell at certain dates after the death, so funerary rites probably help.

As for heaven being closed, there could be different heavens and different hells. Although maybe all those dimensions are just illusory islands in the ocean of afterlife and the truth of becoming one with Tao or whatever might be the only thing not fueled by the imagination.

>>46493040
>yet so many different religions seem to have arrived at something similar quite independently
They don't "perceive", the religions are simply tools to enforce a "unity" paradigm by force.
There never was any unity or non-unity, and spiritual warps like this are antithetical to the whole reason why things are "separate" in the first place, as well to a basic notion that any child can simply say "no" to any unity. They believe what they want to believe. One man described such actions to me as an "attempt to bribe/pay off away from the Creator" and "attempts to kill the world silently". The pursuit of salvation as an attempt to get pleasures of existence but without any work, and a way to abandon one's responsibilities for its state (i.e. like battling evil, maintaining normal state of one's nation, protecting innocent, taking correct choices that maintain childhood and adulthood shifts without tears and so on).
Whether or not he was true is hard to say, but a certain unpleasant truth is there.
>all that much work
It's about work put "in spirit" rather than physical effort. The true Creator can create effortlessly and alter without changing, but the act of Creation itself is important, unless some other specifics apply.
>harbor
True human moral knowledge is likely in accord with true metric of good and evil, all human sentiments already were there since the start.
One cannot be a true creator and not understand one's own work.

>>46493040
>But what if it is not foolish to believe in these kinds of things?
Contemplate the prices of your faith, then.
Subscription to any idea has its prices.

>>46496018
>even other humans
>even

>>46497127
Youkai hands wrote that.

I'm starting to believe we are getting censored by the government.

>>46497343
Funny, I wanted to accuse the poster I quoted of being one too!

>>46499562
Quick let's ERP before they get to us

>>46499825
anon-sama... we can't, I'm married *blushes*

>>46499829
Marry this!

Gensokyo isn't gonna let in a bunch of greasy losers lol

>>46499975
They can't stop me.

>>46499975
They do though, they're dinner most of the time.

>>46503241
I want a goddess to vore me rather then a yook, strats?

>>46504504
Sorry, best we can offer is getting turned into a loyal little haniwa soldier for mommy Keiki.

>>46504544
There's worse fates...

>>46504699
Oh certainly there are, and there is nothing to complain about, after all, you wanted to offer your total, absolute submission to a goddess, such total submission that you described it as "being eaten".

If you went to Okina and told her this and then she "opened" the "door" on your back and showed you what it means when some men say they found god in their g-spot and you moaned and whimpered untill your only desire was to serve the mighty hidden goddess of stars, you wouldn't complain about your fate, would you?

If you went to Chimata and told her this and she made you stripped of all your mortal possessions, including your clothes and then stripped you down even more untill you had relinquished ownership of even your autonomy and she made you a puppet to her whimsies, waxing and waning with the markets, freely trading you to anyone whom she so desires, you wouldn't complain about your fate, would you?

If you went to Kanako and told her this and she turned you into a servant that would have to fulfill a mountainful of tasks every day untill your hands and feet are full of calluses and your muscles knew nothing of pain, but then she finally, finally rewarded you because she is a fair goddess who rewards her faithful, you wouldn't complain of your fate, would you?

If you went to Keiki and told her this and she turned you into her loyal little haniwa soldier, freeing you of the curse of flesh, freeing you of fatigue and softness, allowing you to tirelessly serve every need of the grand artist and friend to humanity, you wouldn't complain about your fate, would you?

If you went to the Minoriko sisters and...nah, they are too wholesome. They'd just make you tend a garden for them.

>>46504504
idk, maybe you can become an offering to some old deity since they might have been into that.

>>46504873
I want to serve Kanako...

>>46484281
>Moonies are real
Say no more senpai, I am going in.

>>46505059
Then serve her. Learn how to pray to her. Study her nature. Build her an altar. Discern what the aproriate offerings are and give them to her. Write hymns to her and sing them to her. Collect, perhaps even produce, respectful art of her.

Meditate on what "Mountain of Faith" really means. Start doing the things you find difficult and unpleasant. Start climbing the mountain, both metaphorical and literal. Hills are fine too if there are no mountains where you live. Study what the things behind her symbolism mean and learn the lessons from them. Go somewhere where you can withstand great winds, in them you will feel her presence. Let her purify you.

Have faith not only in her but also yourself. Become someone who is first worthy of kneeling, then eventually perhaps even standing in front of her.

If you do this with all your heart and soul you will most certainly feel her presence in your life, and she will change you.

>>46505145
>Hills are fine too if there are no mountains where you live.
There aren't even hills where I live. Best there is is an artificial mound that takes not even a half minute to walk up.
Illinois sucks.
As for collecting respectful art of her, way ahead of you there.

>>46506053
Work with what you have: Climb a skyscraper. Its the mountain equivalent for the concrete jungle. Just remember to climb it from the outside.

>>46506127
... I don't live in the concrete jungle either. Just endless corn.

>>46506053
Well, that's a shame. I guess you just have to climb the metaphorical mountain even harder then.

>>46506826
Doubtless.
I've thought a lot about becoming a moriya priest... I wonder how that would work.

>>46506902
What you would need to do is essentially the same as what modern neopagans did. Because so much information on the actual practices was lost, they had to get a bit creative when doing the reconstruction. But instead of trying to reach out gods considered dead, what we would be doing here is trying to reach out to a new manifestation of an old one.

But you can't just do it nilly-willy on your whims. There are extremely well established practices in polytheistic religions, including practices for offerings, determining the "personality" of a deity, their holy days and so on.

Basicaly what I wrote on >>46505145 applies. It's all about showing respect, reverence and living a life in tune with the values and ideas she represents. Good starting point would be studying the historical god she is based on, and the concept of Qian, the "heavenliness" she can create. I also feel like a bit of the western esoteric concept of the element of air being this cerebral, rational element has been included in her character. Touhou is, after all, a kind of a hybrid of eastern and western thought.

When you do enough of this studying, contemplation and showing her respect, depending on the interpretation one of two things will happen. The hopeless materialists and those stuck within the framework of conventional religions will say you start "going schizo". Surely there can be no actual god to reach out to in a videogame world!

But those more attuned to the spirit world will understand that there are a myriad of deities, some of them coming from rather unusual places. Zun isn't just some guy in a funny hat who loves beer, he is obviously deeply spiritual and even calls himself the "head priest of the Hakurei Temple". I'm convinced some of the beings depicted within the games are actual spirits and gods, and once you would make contact with them they would very gladly tell you how to best worship them.

That's how I think you would become a Moriya priest. It would be a lot of work and you would need to study things you have never even considered studying before, things that on first glance seem ridiculous, superstitious and insane.

bump

>>46506948
You've some very interesting things to say, definitely more then I expected to come out of a simple shitpost.

>>46507264
Oh anon, do not underestimate the power of a shitpost. Throughout the ages humor and anonymity and especially the combination of these two has allowed humans to discuss thoughts that they would never dare otherwise.

And we live in a world where time and time again ideas that even children would laugh at become "self-evident" "eternal" "truths" in a few generations.

What happened to the conspiracy discussion stuff?

>>46507324
Yukari managed to drown it with waifuposting. That clever slut...

>>46507324
Don't you think the discovery of real spirits using a japanese indie game as their front to reach out to people is a conspiracy most fantastic?

>>46505145
Why are you giving "dude worship lmao" advice, not just at all, but to people whose likely extent of interest is born solely from being a coomer?

>>46484281
>but they seem to post in this board sometimes
How the fuck do Japanese mythological creatures know how to type and read in English?

>>46484281
>Gensokyo exist, and some of their inhabitants have access to the internet sometimes
I mean. CoLA all but confirmed that, at least for the Animal Realm.

>>46507512
Bro, people like Yukari have only-god-knows, somewhat 500 IQ (despite being autistic), learning a new language for them wouldn't be too hard if you think about it that way.

>>46507485
NTA but how does it affect you at all?

Do you think the transient Lunar phenomena has something to do with the Lunar Capital barrier?

>>46486251
If it's not Young's translation then you may as well watch anime about Jesus, heretical larper

>>46496018
All humans are disgusting and inferior creatures to the eyes of other humans, we're hardwired for this, we're worse than any possible youkai, total human death

>>46508078
Yukari-skynet shut the fuck up

>>46508078
What 2hu wrote this from Gensokyo?

>>46507485
>Why are you giving "dude worship lmao" advice
I felt compelled to.
>but to people whose likely extent of interest is born solely from being a coomer?
I really don't think it's just that for a lot of anons who are into Touhou. There's a million other franchises that better cater to stone cold coomers. Yes, people are very much horny for the characters, but it seems to come from more than the characters being just sexual stimuli.

And even then, being horny for fictional characters, coomerism, waifuism can all be just a surface level manifestations of deeper needs. Particularly when these sort of interests are aimed at characters that represent really powerful archetypes.

>>46507324
Too /x/ for most of /jp/, damn shame since it's kinda fun to take seriously.

>>46508247
Miscellaneous Moon rabbits

>>46508002
Something is certainly up. Some of the phenomena sound like they could be outgassing events or electrostatic phenomena, but stuff like "red streak across the whole moon" and "multicolored wedge of light big enough to be seen on Earth" do not.
>>46508485
I think for this to go forwards someone would have to do the hard work of searching if, or rather how much, people in Japan report seeing actual youkai and what are the hotspots for these sightings.

People report seeing all kinds of weird creatures all over the world, true or not, and some of these are rather traditional. Things like ghosts, devils, angels, werewolves and even gnomes. I'd assume people in Japan would report the occasional youkai sighting.

But you'd probably have to know the language and dig deep. This seems like something they wouldn't really wanna talk to outsiders about beyond the level of myths and legends.

>>46507324
"Conspiracy" and theorization can only go so far...

>>46508485
Do you think I can post a thread in /x/ with some points from here?

>>46507874
Personally not at all, but I do dislike when people are made to worship anything.
I prefer when people stand on their own, deities included.

>>46508447
>but it seems to come from more than the characters being just sexual stimuli
The same is true for any franchise, typically. But it still ties into attraction.
>deeper needs
Careful with assuming any needs, or that they ever existed. Such naivete is an easy way to be ensnared.
Especially when one concerns
>archetypes
Bar possibility of some select motivations and nature specifics being true (which can't be easily ascertained), it's more likely that you're mere food for them. Any sort of embellishments around this behavioral core is mere spicing to make food more interesting, history tastes better when it's rich, etc.
You wouldn't in the right mind consort with Daedra, would you? So it is the same with all of this.
It is foolish to believe in any esoteric entities, because you on one hand compromise your very being, and on the other do so uselessly, and risk losing any destinies and personal connections you could've had otherwise.
Nothing can be given to those who possess divine spark that they can't achieve on their own, but much can be taken from them, or perverted into.
But of course it's unlikely you'll agree, typical to such perspective you are already pursuant to desire, and as such are beholden to it and any assorted idiocy that's neither right by you nor by 2hus in this instance, or by much else (the latter two are especially important, because such "right by external X" are simply not available to most people at all in the first place, because any matters you stumbled upon, like this franchise wholesale, are just corruption of purpose, or a way for parasitism, it's entirely possible that in some other timeline 2hu wouldn't ever come to be in any way).

>>46484281
>they seem to post in this board sometimes
How did they learn English?

>>46509809
It's more interesting as to how they recognized anyone at all.

>>46509809
duolingo

>>46509647
>Careful with assuming any needs, or that they ever existed.
You're going to have to elaborate here because I thought it was generally agreed upon that humans have a wide variety of different needs in their lives, albeit sometimes we confuse them with each other.
>it's more likely that you're mere food for them
Same goes for pretty much every deity if you want to see it in that way. Even Christian God could just be some cosmic horror entity feasting on it's followers. Hell, even the Gnostics could maybe just end up in front of a worse Demiurge once they break out of the material world.
>You wouldn't in the right mind consort with Daedra, would you?
I remember nothing of the TES lore because it's been very long since I've played them, but they were some sort of demons, yes? I wouldn't deal with explicitly demonic entities.
>It is foolish to believe in any esoteric entities
It absolutely is and on some level I do feel like maybe I'm just fucking losing it. But I don't really know if I can stop in this point. I keep getting dragged back towards the esoteric every time I try to leave.
>you on one hand compromise your very being
As in some corruption of the soul sense?
>risk losing any destinies and personal connections you could've had otherwise
Don't we already lose something every time we make any choice?
>Nothing can be given to those who possess divine spark that they can't achieve on their own, but much can be taken from them, or perverted into.
That's an awfully optimistic view which most of human thought in history disagrees with, but then again, you could be right.
>But of course it's unlikely you'll agree, typical to such perspective you are already pursuant to desire
That's a bit rudely put but yes, of course I have desires, as much as you do. You have demonstrated your desire to show intellectual and spiritual supeority over me, but I also belive you have demonstrated some altruistic concern, so I'll forgive it.

I think you'll have to break down the latter half of your post down a bit more because I don't really understand what you're going for there.

>>46509519
Nothing is stopping you but I personally wouldn't, there's a lot of cringe on /x/

>>46510260
Yeah, it is rotting into pure shitposting bullshit with some paranormal fuckery, I hope it evolves into something truly interesting.

I'll say this (OP), I'm the one that was posting above about doing the ritual during the eclipse. I've been meaning to make a thread doing the same thing you have here but could never figure out how to word it so that /x/ wouldn't immediately delete it.

>Word of advice for posting it there: Don't.

They will just destroy any real traction we have with the underlying concept and feeling for what's going on here and now. The Kanako poster and the ones talking about Zun being influenced by the nonhuman, otherworldly are correct. The only proof is only going to show itself to those who go looking for it, and will only be personalized for the ones doing the experiencing.

It goes beyond the tulpa, law of attraction, altered states, etc. It's technically a little of this and a little of that and a little of everything else. Belief-that's the answer. I've done it, and I've experienced a great and many thing over the years relating to this overarching theme here. It's real. All of it. All of them.

The form they take is relevant to their origin AND how they're interpreted by the believer AND how they decide to show themselves, for better or worse. Remember: they have their own personalities, wants, hopes, desires, likes, dislikes, etc.

I can't say in detail my own detailed concepts here, because it would taint their existence by outside forces (like /x/ shitposters) and because I don't have enough space to put it all here without shitting this place up, myself.

>TL;DR : Dont cross with /x/, its all real, fuck the haters and naysayers, and treat all of it as real and with respect. You'll get results from those that actually take a liking to you or what you're doing, and the danger is real because they (and others outside "Gensokyo") are real.

I've already got results from some of them-Kami and Youkai, alike.

Kanako probably typed all of this to make anons think about the reality of Gensokyo, thus gaining their faith.

>>46510829
No, that's me that did this one above you, but for those who know to look it's fairly obvious that there's a reason for this particular thread being started, even if OP wasn't consciously aware of the fuller meaning behind their actions.

And while Kanako has shown up in my own dreams when I've asked her to, I'm more of the type to lean towards the SDM crew.

>>46510874
>No, that's me
>SDM crew
Go do your job Sakuya, mistress will wake up soon.
>in my own dreams
Jokes aside, I never considered dreams to be any sort of valid experience. If I think about an idea long enough before sleeping within a span of few days I'll get dreams about it. Are you sure you just didnt force your brain?

I wonder if such entities get something from forcing humans into doing anything. For example I started playing piano because of touhou music, would it count as giving my faith to them?

>>46510729
I must confess, I wasn't even aware that there is a solar eclipse coming becase it's not visible where I live. Please do post your experiences after it. I suppose I shall prepare myself in some capacity for the big day, too.
>>46510829
Haha, yeah, imagine...
>>46510962
>I wonder if such entities get something from forcing humans into doing anything.
I would say it's less about forcing people, it's more about people aligning their activities and goals with things the gods would enjoy.
>For example I started playing piano because of touhou music, would it count as giving my faith to them?
Supposedly music is one of the most well-received offerings, but I think it would have to be offered specificaly to them and be their music, either as heard in the game, or perhaps an original piece inspired by their nature. I suspect some of them are more receptive to this than others, I think Okina would apreciate music more than average because she can be seen as a manifestation of an older deity connected to the performing arts. Keiki would apreciate sculpting and so on.

This is a fascinating thread. I'll be careful about my love for Kanako going forward, so don't worry on that front... as much as you ever worry for an anonymous poster, at least.

>>46510962
Sakuya is great, but I'm aiming for the Mistress. She is a lovely lady that deserves respect, admiration, and if I can ever find my way into the mansion itself-a devoted person that wants to spend time with her and the rest of the ladies of the SDM.

And yes, it's not in your head when you ask for a sign after going to Japan and wanting to visit the shrine but not being able to, getting a green frog out of a vending machine, then going back to your own country and finding a snake at your front door, killing it accidentally when trying to move it, get wracked with nightmares of violent weather, and then asking for both a sign and forgiveness, with it culminating in having a dream of her showing up and speaking Japanese that you don't know and struggle to find a definition, for it to ultimately roughly translate to "I forgive you" from what little you could piece together from your drunken stupor upon waking up.

>>46511026
I definitely will, for better or worse. Hopefully this hodge podge of beliefs and practices I've pieced together over the last decade will lead to something. The next step is to either start a paranormal group that takes this topic seriously or try to get in as the oddball member of a Japanese highschool club for Necromancy and/or Sealing...

And you are right, from everything I've read. Music, painting, poems, etc. Basically, anything you put your devotion towards when it comes to them will be well received, so long as it's not against who they are as a whole. (Using the letter method, a la succ threads, and changing it around as a call out to whoever you're trying to reach seems to work wonders. Picking up things related via antique stores does as well.

>>46510094
Not so much as rudely as simply tiredly, because I've seen similar behavior many times.
>superiority
Non-existent claim, I care none for such, nor would it matter even if I could make such a claim. What is it, a debate? Bleh.
Rather I'm simply disturbed by a peculiar tendency of people with interest in esoterics to lack certain sense of survival or judge things as much as necessary, to the point that they agree with anything.
Take the same gnostics you mention, at least as much as the internet brand of them is concerned, they wholeheartedly believe in evil demiurge. Not only they believe in it as an act (i.e. may or may not feed egregores that wouldn't exist otherwise, creating a problem out from scratch), they somehow skirt around the fact that an entity that possesses the sheer power necessary to create the "trapped sparks" that the "demiurge" uses somehow cannot pull out the plug at any time and "save" the gnostics from the big bad terrible world. Simultaneously, they do nothing neither for the planet, nor its future, and seek to gain power to be like demiurge themselves just to get an edge, or to escape.
If I were to be truly smart, I could've poked at them whole day at the sheer cognitive error.
Or Islam, those people believe that the Almighty needs prayers. How does one reduce one's existence to being a prayer machine on a clock?
>elaborate here
An error on my part, I was implicating the romantic and lustful sentiments directly. Namely that they can be either something simple that accrues weight through any action and in turn create issues that weren't there once, or can be "unnatural".
The problem with any human "needs", much like with assumption of universally applicable human psychology lies in assumption that humanity both exists in a conventional sense, or more importantly, that such unified paradigm exists, and that what psychologists claim to be how humans generally work, say Maslow's hierarchy, is true, cannot be circumvented and so on, beyond most basic needs. At bare minimum the only needs a human may need are survival and maintenance (intellectual ones too) concerns, everything else, love and happiness included, can be disregarded.
So approaching anything "pleasurable" (not necessarily pleasurable, any desire really, to run to and to run from) in that sense can be dangerous because pleasure is alluring and may make people unwilling to consider otherwise, even if they say that it's their choice. In such a manner more than a few people become ensnared, and may sharply rebuff any external critique. It would be almost tolerable if said phenomenon didn't manifest in one too many areas in life with real consequences.
In this sense at least some have accused Christianity and other "salvation" seeking pursuits of being both anti-human and irresponsible, because they retreat from reality, strive to put more people under their banner, compromise capability to assess situations, creative and imagination capabilities, ironically get in the way of battling evil, and get in the way of children's capability to create or destroy all their ancestors have made.

"Youkai" and equivalent beings are envious of humans due to their ephemeral nature. They die permanently while humans still exist in some form after death.
Aside from this, they're fundamentally not human, and human behaviors shouldn't be applied to them despite appearances.
Tread carefully. You may enter that place beyond the doorway, but how will you return?

>>46511104
You bring up valid points that many, myself included, have taken into consideration before if they approach all this with some sense of seriousness.

And some of us have gotten close to the door before, where the real and fantastical overlap where/when the majority disregard such a possibility. Whether in the mountains of Nagano or in our homes in another country, and whether by accident, chance, or intent, the two worlds often cross.

And who says one has to return? Who says one would wish to? Gensokyo takes in all manner of existences, for good or bad. For some its an adventure, for some the end, and for others the beginning.

Show me the door and I'll meet the other side with a warm smile, respect, and a desire to find a place to call my own.

>>46510094
Arguably yes, Daedra were spirits that didn't take part in creation of their world, the name means "not our ancestors" opposite to Aedra "our ancestors". They really aren't nice at all to put it lightly, and for all intents and purposes use their mortal followers to sate their whimsy, while their relationships can be mutually benefitial, worshiping them at all can be rather masochistic or suicidal.
It's an excellent example of whimsical deities, really.
>But I don't really know if I can stop in this point.
If you can't lift a rock by your will, stuck endlessly approaching the limit where you can, you address your issue incorrectly. This is what some I've heard refer to as limit logic, and may indicate an issue with an incorrect internal set of values. You need to address that directly.
That said, if esoterics really do drag you back, you may consider that you're being manipulated.
Or worse, that your entire life was manipulated to make you reach that point, whether it was you who did it to yourself unbeknownst, or something else. Consider carefully.
Such things happened before.
>corruption
Among others. Consider how some people take choices, cross some line past which they no longer are interactable, compassionate, comprehending of others and so on, extreme fanaticism and zeal is an easy example of such warp. If there exists any abstract influence, it may be so that as you walk some road, you become less of yourself than you were, and due to mentally compromised state, one cannot stop, no matter any arguments or rationale. Some select person simply doesn't want to.
>any choice
That is true, but not for any choice, and especially not for any disposition. But worship, questionable as an act that it is in my opinion, is especially dangerous, because in some ways it's antithetical to your capability to self-determinate.
You put a buffer entity between your self and roads you take and abdicate responsibility (and whatever other prices there may be, such as self-control of one's body, one's thought and so on) for some "boons".
As has been interestingly put, in a more mundane sense egregores are a way to gain an edge unlawfully, a sort of criminal solidarity in relation to existing, an idea to use something and escape, like a corrupt statesman.
>most of history
Choices beget choices, so even with unseen variables, history avalanche of bad choices may create more bad choices later on. History is that which is written, not what it may only be, but you're correct that it in a sense disagrees. Mostly a skill issue.
Last part is simple.
Lust is not love, and blandly pursuing some waifufag obsession is a terrible idea simply because there are standards and properness involved concerning any sapient being.
Your average Anon-kun likely has no business in being related to any 2hu character, they are not a part of their history, causal lines, destiny, interests and self-determination as per them, and as such cannot ever make any claim to love or be loved by such characters. To do otherwise is to insult beauty of both, and reduce 2hus to some common whores drooled over by milquetoast consumers, while turning silly Anonymous posters into for a lack of better term, pathetic appendages.
As for "in some other timeline part", that's simple. In the same venue as OP topic, one can posit that this franchise never should've happened, and that the reasons as to why it went public are suspect, and dangerous, not compatible with any romantic sentiments.

>>46511104
Why can't they ask the Most High to help them?
It's not as if the grandest one can't understand bitterness of such plight.

>>46511085
>culminating in having a dream of her showing up and speaking Japanese that you don't know and struggle to find a definition
That's a quite powerful experience you had. The closest I've had to an actualy contact was a fairly recent experience where I was meditating and some very unpleasant thoughts started to surface. Then with my eyes closed I see a brief flash of light and fleeting image of Chimata. I ask her if I can relinquish my ownership of the difficult emotions that surfaced. I receive a sense of acknowledgement and I suddenly feel much more at ease.

I've also had this...I don't even really know what to call it, I just somehow feel really in-tune with Keiki. I want to become a better version of myself that includes some aspects of what she represents, and somehow I feel her pushing me towards it. The quality of my life has improved tremendously ever since I..."got to know her", if I can use such an expression. It's taken a lot of work of my own, but the effort has felt very light compared to my previous attempts at fixing my shit.
>>46511103
>people with interest in esoterics to lack certain sense of survival or judge things as much as necessary, to the point that they agree with anything.
I would say that with me it's more that I can kind of seriously entertain some ideas while not 100% commiting to them. I think that might also be the case for some of the more sensible esoterics. But yes, there are people who fuck around and then find out, and I was one of them. I had a really bad time the first time I got into all of this.
>i.e. may or may not feed egregores that wouldn't exist otherwise, creating a problem out from scratch
That's a very interesting notion. Then again...if we can create egregores, to put into the context of this thread, we can affect Gensokyo with our beliefs, then couldn't we steer it towards a desirable direction..?
>Or Islam, those people believe that the Almighty needs prayers.
The esoteric notion that it's give and take with spirit entities is certainly more realistic, I think. They want something from us, and in turn can perhaps give us something. If we know how to work with them.
>lies in assumption that humanity both exists in a conventional sense, or more importantly, that such unified paradigm exists
That's a very interesting view. So you see that some kind of conventional humanity that can be put under some unified paradigm doesn't exist?
>At bare minimum the only needs a human may need are survival and maintenance (intellectual ones too) concerns, everything else, love and happiness included, can be disregarded.
I suppose so, yet somehow we seem to constantly either to seek concerns beyond that or then reach some level of ascetism where we just crater through the existence.
>pleasure is alluring and may make people unwilling to consider otherwise
Yes, I understand that. I don't really see myself currently personaly motivated by pleasure, but rather a desire to become the best possible version of myself. I have simply started entertaining the notion that there might be an extremely unorthodox path to such development.

>>46511309
You assume that Gensokyo entities and entities in its relation will tolerate such transgression.
Should that be possible, you may find that you bit far beyond what you may chew, especially if Cthulhu Mythos interpretations on it are true.
>They want
Such spiritual capitalism is both questionable and is unlikely to last. Basing one's interactions on mere profit value is a path to ruin, corruption or vapid life, and one can't give anything to true wizards. Yukari in particular is unlikely to need anything from mortals, other than maybe their continued company somewhere in the distance so that things aren't empty or boring, if she even cares, but it's wrong for me to make such presumptions.

>>46511309
>So you see that some kind of conventional humanity that can be put under some unified paradigm doesn't exist?
Both exists and doesn't simultaneously, and more importantly that there may be those who want to compromise it by imposing compromised values to make humans more exploitable. Big globalist corporations already do that in a sense, as does capitalism, as do those questionable, growing globalist-transhumanist elements (though to what extent I'm unsure).
It's a war, basically. There's no issue with unified paradigm, except when there are, and any errors can be exploited too, e.g. unaddressed internal strife between ethnic groups, artificial Semitism-Antisemitism dichotomy, and so on.
>yet somehow
Well, one have to live somehow. Not all people can disregard anything, nor should they.
Argument can be made that many simply lack discipline, or are simply too used to modern consumer value set. But the problem is that the modern world is unlikely to last forever. Errors already seem to increase here and there, some prices are always incurred, novelties wear off, moral character degeneration, laziness, demographic crises and so on.
>rather a desire
Such a desire too can be a sort of pleasure or hedonism.
Perfection is a really dangerous road in that sense.
Not to mention, how do you decide that the best version of you is both the best and you?
And that if you want to reach it you haven't reached it, ergo you remain approximate to limit, rather than walking past it, and as such not making proper progress.
Some said that goals that can be attained are worthless, too, but I digress.

>>46511240
>If you can't lift a rock by your will, stuck endlessly approaching the limit where you can, you address your issue incorrectly.
I have not even seriously entertained the notion of being able to do so, for what's it worth.
>That said, if esoterics really do drag you back, you may consider that you're being manipulated.
Certainly not impossible. But I'm at a point where I feel like I can't close my eyes anymore and pretend that there isn't something to this all.
>cross some line past which they no longer are interactable, compassionate, comprehending of others and so on
This is very much the opposite of what I would like to see happen to me.
>you become less of yourself than you were, and due to mentally compromised state, one cannot stop
But where do you draw the line between this and any old path-dependency?
>But worship, questionable as an act that it is in my opinion, is especially dangerous, because in some ways it's antithetical to your capability to self-determinate.
I can see the point, but the way I see it, it would be a way to cultivate things in my life that I would like to see, grow aspects of myself that I want to see more of, diminish those that I want to see less of.
>Lust is not love, and blandly pursuing some waifufag obsession is a terrible idea simply because there are standards and properness involved concerning any sapient being.
Absolutely. But what I want people, especially those feeling some sort of strong attraction to a character representing powerful archetypes is to consider that is what they are feeling really lust or even love but some sort of other type of longing.

Most men don't really seem to get past thinking with their dicks even when there is a core of something else in there. For me the moment that I really, really stopped thinking with my dick happened with some of the Touhou characters. I realized that I wasn't feeling lust or love but something else, some form of reverence, some sense that they represent attributes that I would like to cultivate in myself and even the world.

Granted, I am not perfect at this either. I made a very sordid, very lewd post about it all, but in my defense it was a reply to an explicitly horny post, so I entertaine the notion of being vored by a god, in some sense.

Mostly I just don't know what to believe in at this point but I do feel strangely compelled to show reverence to certain characters from the Touhou games. Perhaps you can still save my soul, Anon-kun, if you think I am on a terribly wrong path.

I'm admittedly ignorant yet curious when it comes to this topic, so please bear with me.

Where does one draw the line between 1) an entity capable of gathering belief and 2) any series of ideas personified through our cognition? Are there any specific requirements for the latter becoming the former, besides the amount of people concentrating their belief in one single entity?

Other anons also hinted at gathering respectful depictions of deities as a form of 'serving' them. What things that aren't outright destructive constitute as disrespect? I fear that our notion of what is respectful and isn't is heavily influenced by the sensibilities of Abrahamic religions and modern society, which might not necessarily apply outside that sphere.

>>46511405
>old path-dependency
I'm unsure what do you mean by old path. Old path is just like a future path, just a path. One could've went from one compromised state to another, in which case the issue is exactly the same as it ever was, incorrect stance on things.
>but some other type
Sentiments like that can be real, true, but they also can be false, or simply misguided in as much as it's not necessarily 2hus they want.
Can be just a lust permutation, too.
>attributes that I would like
That's not an unreasonable disposition, depending.
>save
Such is beyond my capabilities. In spite of extreme moral concerns over many things on the planet and beyond I still have done nothing, when I should be working like it's an apocalypse.
There is little I can help you with, I'm afraid.

>>46511421
Abrahamic religion is at least 2000 years old, it's not any more modern than others, and some of the concepts it has in it are timeless or implicate it, as well as eldritch timeframes beyond mundane human calculation.
>line
One can't just ooze faith, there's some sort of commonality that allows one to extract it.

This is the kind of talk I've been looking for, and there's a bunch of valid and legit questions and ideas. I like it and am hoping it can continue.

The egregore concept, the biting off more than you can chew idea, the idea of them not wanting to be bothered by outside interference, and how fate and causality tie into it all, etc.

But what if they are causing such lines of reasoning to be brought up here so we can be aware of it in the future, and ultimately-how do we work with them for mutual benefit. Everyone here, regardless of their idea of what "Gensokyo" is, wants it to continue to exist in some capacity so it would make sense to put it out there that if we are "being monitored" by...what/whoever that we want it to continue to thrive and would be open to working with them to achieve it (or just me, as I can only speak for myself).

>>46511309
That's not the only powerful experience I've had with the Touhou cast, especially after I started approaching them as their real world counterparts and not just "pretty anime girl I admire and wish was real", as I did in my younger days. We're essentially rediscovering how magic and belief works via the franchise and its related media.

And when you get the John Constantine effect after thinking about them all day and night, then rounding the corner and coming face to face with one of the "characters" in the distance before they round the corner, and cosplay is ruled out....(and the ones going to cry "schizo" can suck an egg for all of those that know whats what)

>>46511405
>"there's more to it all".
You're right.

>>46511421
The concept that I personally have good something like this:
There are beings that exist alongside and independant of humanity, that may or may not interact or have interacted with humanity.
There are beings that exist because humanity has given them form, which may or may not have been able to self-actualize after some condition was met.
Everything exists regardless of if you believe it or not, but by believing you'll get closer to experiencing it. "Does the things behind your head exist seperately from you, or only when you observe them to?"(quantum, blah blah. Circles right back to the age old philosophies and religious concepts, archetypes, etc.)

We reinvented the wheel with Touhou, cosmically speaking. The question is-did humans wake them back up, did they use humans as a medium to wake themselves back up, did it happen from a little of both, and what do we do now?

If belief influences them, then we can collectively make them real. If the lack of belief causes them to exist in a land of the forgotten, then once we forget they'll just go there again. And if we believe that this land of the forgotten is real, then they can never stop existing, just change form.

I read somewhere that when youkai "die" by being forgotten, they don't "die" like we do; they go into some type of archetypal slumber in the aether before being reconstituted later on once the zeitgeist calls for them to take shape again. Gensokyo isnt a zoo, it's a wildlife preserve. But to use game mechanics and the simulation theory, its a holding cell/waiting room for the objects that aren't needed to be rendered in yet. The problem is that they have their own agencies and are aware for a large majority of what "paranormal" falls under.

As for respect/disrespect? If you treat a sex demon from a puritan aspect, they'll take it badly. Same for treating a harvest god with chemical spills. Like attracts like.

>>46511446
There's nothing new under the sun, and in the case of youkai, the moon. Abrahamic stuff calls for that paradigm, like Taoist thought calls for its own, etc. One mans miracle is another mans every day experience.

>>46511499
>and ultimately-how do we work with them for mutual benefit
How sure are you that this isn't Childhood's End tier scenario?
Humans are ill-compatible even with themselves at times. Being surrounded by a paradigm that can alter ours will disrupt our species capacity to its own evolution, and our historic process. It's unlikely that any intercession will be tolerated.
>wants it to continue
Considering how occasional grimsokyo thread may proceed, clearly not all people actually relish the idea of youkai as in myths existing.
They weren't nice creatures there.

>>46511499
>We're essentially rediscovering how magic and belief works via the franchise and its related media.
In an extremely terrible age for that morally wise, at that!

>>46511527
You answered your own question by elaborating on it yourself. We already are in the situation you describe, and seem to be doing okay for the most part. And with them existing whether "we" want them to or not, just like>>46511550 is speaking towards, the grimfags miss the picture just like the hugfags and the lewdfags do. It's a multilayered existance that contains ALL interpretations, both good and bad. And I'm not talking on the level of the black Tewi manga page, but it does get into the right territory. There aren't multiple Gensokyos hanging around, just multiple views of it. Much like your friends and family looking at you and thinking "Anon is like this", your own view in the mirror makes up another "you" that is merely a part of who you are. All interpretations are correct, but not all-encompassing on their own. Many youkai kill, many dont. Many have fucked, many havent. Many have taken human partners in marriage or been patrons, etc. The grimfags love the grim because they view it as embodying the aspect of having a common enemy of humans, just like the religious meeting in the manga discussed. The cutefags look at it as embodying the"magical" aspects of what our ancestors knew and we left behind, but ultimately still long for on some level deep down-theres more to this and it can be "good". But then again, the same can be said for the grims and leaving it behind and wanting to rediscover it.

It's just like I said above; the archetypes manifesting what is needed or desired, and taking shape in the bigger picture.

We're all right, but only for the parts we see or want to see. The same for the Kami, Youkai, etc. That's why they had to make a place for themselves in Gensokyo.

And belief shapes reality.
>"in an age where morality is lackin, etc!"

Then believe it does in your life and manifest it to be so. We want our 2Hu friends and waifus and enemies, yadda yadda. Make it happen.


Ate' Grimfags.
Ate' Lewdfags.
Ate Cutefags.
Love the Hus.
Love Gensokyo.
Love me waif.

Simple as.

>>46511499
>the idea of them not wanting to be bothered by outside interference
Yet they "collect" our faith and emotions and white stuff since series is so popular. Doesn't sound like they dont want to be bothered
>mutual benefit
You have to remember who half of them are originally. Anon, probably it was you, actually brought interesting idea that they way they are getting depicted, as wholesome cute and funny girls, is because they actually wanna change original form. But not to lose their origin or powers so to speak of being murderous man-eaters since grimsokyo has it's right for existence.
>"pretty anime girl I admire and wish was real"
NTA but I think im still at this mindset. Its hard to seriously consider reality of 2hus when it's just a school project of a guy from a nation know to be pantsu sniffers worldwide, but if concept of egregors is true, than all it takes for this fantasy to exist is people and their beliefs. If we assume that a thought "wish it was real" might give just a little bit of faith for egregjr to exist, then oh boy how many people are thinking this on everyday basis. Plus all the cosplays, fanfics and etc might be filled faith. Fumo and kigurumi might be considered idols. I think everyone saw those nips online and how they love their kigs too much and not in lusty way, such people might "generate" a lot of faith.
This thread and discussions here gave some serious food for thought.
>We're essentially rediscovering how magic and belief works via the franchise and its related media.
I like that one. There are so many things that tell us that belief and human faith is strong blablabla yet it's this particular franchise which reawakes this idea and makes me think "what if I believe just enough?"

>>46511683
>and seem to be doing okay for the most part
No, you think you are in this situation, as you sit between protection systems, you're alright precisely because likely no one ever interacted with any actual entities in any way. Esoterics don't belong among humanity at this stage and its current state, otherwise tragedies will sharply increase.
All you have are theories on how hypothetical entities (interest in which is solely due to acquired interest in them) which may or may not be eldritch abominations (to whom applies) or under their patronage are interceding on domain, which it appears you then take as a confirmation, heedless of who may write any message, and to what end. There will be prices, and not nice ones.
>belief shapes reality
Mostly their own delusions, or what their actions amount to. Reality is not under obligation to entertain any delusions of anyone, least of all those who seek to exploit it for their own purposes, no matter their moral content, and lacking ones especially, and especially those annoying (beyond current human normalcy), unearned, not in concord with intelligent design, or outright potentially threatening to it.
>We want our 2Hu friends
Do THEY want you, about whose existence they may not necessarily even know, however?

>>46511710
That's the thing, though. You're right about belief, but they also factor into their own existence BECAUSE they, themselves believe.

If I think you're a 2ft. tall, purple chinchilla, it doesn't mean you are one. But if you believe you're a little taller, or more confident, or ugly, then eventually you'll take on the aspects of such. You'll stand straighter, be more outgoing, or lower your own self-esteem.

Same with them, but they exist in the mental layer. The imterview with Aya about why they look the way they do, etc. touched on that. They self-actualized and were admit to separate themselves from solely existing based on humanities belief of them. Now I could imagine one of them going straight feral if they got pissed off, and out comes Grimsokyo, but only for those that dont abide by the rules they agreed to exist by.
You and me go kicking the door down? Lunch.
You and me go full chuuni and adapt to their rules like Zoomirenko did? We may have a chance.

Even in the game with the goat girl, Flan can't touch water, right? But she builds an immunity to it. Throw her in a river and she's down for the count, but a little rain might hurt her even though she's barreling towards you and into a wall.
One thing of note with the mental is how things are taken metaphorically. With names holding power and Yukari and Suika changing their names to embody what the names represent. Also, with Remilia drinking tea. Blood is red liquid, and tea is too. And flowers can be made into tea, and their sap is technically the flowers "blood", so she can drink "red" tea and survive. It may not be immediate, but with enough time and thought, they could wean themselves off blood entirely.

Example: Yamame is a youkai of poison, etc. She gives them out and she's now bad, right? But flip it on is head and have her TAKE the poison from people and more all of the sudden the village has a new spider Kami that heals people. Would "Yamame" still exist? Yes. Would she still be THE Yamame? Debatable. But it's the ship of Theseus argument, and her self idealization holds true. But the gods take on different forms to suit the ages, just like Inari did with the fox statues, and just like the modern priests of the Moriya shrine said Kanako and Suwako did with their aspects as the cutehus.
If they can adapt, why can't it be in a way thats good for both parties? We can.
And they all work on a far longer time frame than we do, so it may be our great granchildren that get the CuteHus that have all the power but no downsides. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the ultimate goal is to change them all so they can stand on their own, then drip the barrier over decades/whatever to reintroduce them to the outside world and bring about another age, etc.

Would explain Yukari's/Merry's dream when she time traveled. (And why she so autistic)

>>46511753
Ah, so you impose your own concepts on me, assume my experiences as well as your own superiority, and then go "oh yeah, well they think you're stinky and dont like you!"
They want to have something to do with humans as prey, friends, entertainment, and because some of them realize that both sides of existence have to interact with one another to have meaning. The concept of being in a natural state and of the balance of Yin and Yang. You can even reference it with the Moonies. Zun isnt an idiot, and neither am I or anyone esle that can see multiple sides of the situation. Naive? Once upon a time, yes. But not stupid as you come across as implying. And you seem to be a Grimfag with how "nuh uh" you are, but I'm willing to admit that you do ask valid questions.

>>46511806
Also, I despise the auto function of my phone, but I'm at work right now so...
Ignore the fuck ups in spelling and grammar.

>>46511806
>Ah, so you impose your own concepts on me, assume my experiences as well as your own superiority, and then go "oh yeah, well they think you're stinky and dont like you!"
Where do you even got that from, you silly goose?
The point is that 2hus are their own entities, they already live their own lives. What you do with yours has no relevance to theirs, much like any John on one side of the planet has none on some other Chang on another.
Surely you don't think they are interested in knowing a life story of several hundred thousands humans who just wanna know them? You don't make concessions to, show care to, or show interest in your own species to that extent, that you'd learn so many personalities and so many name,s why would they show any in you, to that extent, that they would tolerate any barging in?
What's this, A Wizard is You? An isekai story?
>prey
One doesn't need to formally invite one in their home to make a dinner from your soul.
>friends
True friendship is not cheap, this familiarity is unwarranted and delusional at its foundation.
>entertainment
Are you a comedian? Besides, entertainment can mean many things to many people, not all jokes are nice.
>both sides of existence
There never were both sides, the World is the World, and magic never really left this one, either.
>meaning
Is not necessary or needed, some moral transcendent entities know that very well. To use meaning as a currency to increase your perceived worth is a doomed venture, much like it is naive to assume one is obligated to reciprocate any relationship.
>natural state
>Tao
Neither of either necessarily exist, in spite of existence, nor are they necessarily fundamental, also in spite, to use them as self-backing is too a doomed venture.
>Zun
Is Zun. He's there to make stories or whatever other agenda he has, not to entertain your whimsy or debase his creation, at least beyond what he already did.
>grim
In a sense of grimsokyo, not really, however my stance on occult is extremely negative, for many reasons. I do understand evil to some extent, after all.

>>46511806
>If they can adapt, why can't it be in a way thats good for both parties? We can.
The gods are not your bootlicks, human.

>>46511870
>>Words, words, words, I'm a negative Nancy.

We can see that.

And you're not saying anything that hasn't already been discussed to death already in the philosophical threads here, but then again the same can go for what I'm posting. And everything you've said, I've already considered before, so while not falling on deaf ears so to say, for lack of a better way to put this-you're wasting your breath with that line of thought when it comes to me. But for others here, what you're saying is a valid topic to consider for those here that haven't reached this stage yet.
Something, something, "legals the same can be said for all religions", etc.
Have at you, etc.

>>46511879
Hilarious. And nowhere near what I said or implied.
Learn in2 reading, Yukari.

>>46511879
And you can learn a thing or two about the blue water method that Kanako is so fond of.
And how do you know I'm even human?

>>46511901
Man, what do I call you, not a coomer, unwarranted positivism, unabashed in unwarranted desire...
Mr. drooler, this planet skirts with and stands on the brink of horrors too terrible to contemplate for at least 1.5 centuries and may or may not be under attack by an actual eldritch abomination slowly but surely trying to make an entrance into reality and manipulate humanity for more than 2-5 centuries, it's of low relevance what your passing and possibly shallow, substandard yearnings about idealized entities born through handed down mats that you likely can't interact with (otherwise you would, and their opinions would be made known, whatever they may be) are to the subject of there being potential issues.
Your romantic ideas are in your head only, because whenever there is occult, there can be high stakes, and in this case the stakes are a bit high. Not necessarily the highest, but enough to be bloody.
You can understand that much?
Or is shallow
>so it may be our great granchildren that get the CuteHus that have all the power but no downsides
>to change them all so they can stand on their own
spirit bloodline borrowance and possibly karmically punishable corruption of youkai to sate your personal, only-realizable-by-imposition-and-corruption view on what they are supposed to be to sate what is likely born out of some mixture of lust for women, psych trait projection and appreciation of, ensnared in itself, the only thing you care about?
Yes, it's great that you considered "words words words" — what do your amount to? I too have read insane ones, LARPer ones, and cheap lusts.
What you want is merely a want. No one is obligated to entertain it, least of all 2hus themselves.
Or many other fictional entities, for that matter.

>>46511911
Thus far it seems that what you imply is that you want rivers to flow your way, and little else. You don't appear to possess a care of someone who can create life, which in regards to such entities is the only standard that is acceptable.
Sounds like a whimsy to me. Do you think your desires to be noble or something?

>>46511806
Yukari is not autistic.

>>46511973
If you're trying to get a reaction for kicks, look elsewhere. You won't find it here.

>>46511997
Thus far, the only thing that has been shown is me stating the exact same thing that Zun and real mythology have stated, without any statement as to what I wasn't besides taking it all relatively serious as OP themed this as, and have made jokes that anything from jp would pick up on.
The real question is-what do YOU want? Because it doesn't seem to be carrying on any kind of conversation.

>>46512011
Yes she is. Just like everyone else in Gensokyo. Common sense is a weakness in that place, and it attracts the autistic like jp Anons, you and me included.

>>46512175
Uncommon sense is not autism. That's not how autism works at all.

>>46512612
You know what I mean.

>>46512612
yeah you would know wouldn't you tard

This thread made me somehow think that Gensokyo might be some sort of antechamber to the afterlife dimensions, that people going there got a chance to avoid negative manifestations of the human psyche and stay in a land between the world of the living and the death or go back again to their lives if they decide to pass through the barrier again.

>>46504873
Quality post, really like this one in particular but all the rest of the strange discourse is pretty nice too.

>>46511870
>>46511973
I thought at first you were mainly talking about how spiritualists/occultist sometimes completely reject the material world and you can sometimes even see their bodies rapidly decaying, but it looks like you're onto something more than just that.
Got any bad experiences with the occult to share? Or elaborate on those horrors that will manifest into reality? Or are you perhaps unable to explain further for your own safety or for the sake of anyone reading about said knowledge?

>>46512716
>that people going there got a chance to avoid negative manifestations of the human psyche
Gensokyo is a resort for lost things, negativity is farmed there.
Why would any afterlife need an antechamber?

SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT

Did OP discover Jungian psychology.

>>46513054
I got an antique wooden statue of you in your Daikoku form from Japan. Does that count?

>>46484281
I just want to sniff Reimu's armpits.

>>46511683
>Ate' Grimfags.
>Ate' Lewdfags.
>Ate Cutefags.
Damn you must be fat.

>>46517356
Greasy Latinx hands typed this.

>>46511879
They can be in time, respect is a two way street

Trying to figure out how these spirits of the air work mechanically from scratch is difficult.
My current understanding is mankind produces an outward something that is governed by a combination of beliefs and emotions, with what seems to be a magnetism of these ideas and as the kids say "vibes" building up and compressing these things into a spirit, god, or youkai, just as a baseline.
People grouped together this field expands and intensifies, as well as clashes with different variations or frequencies reaching an unstable medium? Or they just keep clashing.
These spirits are compressed thoughts and ideas and seem to pull more of the same to itself and compresses, I think the denser the spirit the longer it can last away from mankind but it will need more fuel to maintain itself. Probably why it's so important for youkai in gensokyo to have the Human village there for they're the literal heart of gensokyo and these youkai to exist in the shape and way they do.
Because of the barrier separating these worlds could there exist two different yukari yakumos? Are they avatars of the same being completely aware of eachother but of separate thoughts?
If Reimu went to the outsiders world, how long would she maintain her ability to float until she couldn't due to the lack of belief in the supernatural from the humans there?

>>46511421
>Where does one draw the line between 1) an entity capable of gathering belief and 2) any series of ideas personified through our cognition?
Where does one indeed do so... (I have no answer here)

But I suppose you can either think that there are gods that just have this quality of being able to gather faith, or then you can think that gods are like...some subset of egregores, and "faith" can be almost any kind of attentions that reinforces belief in them.
>I fear that our notion of what is respectful and isn't is heavily influenced by the sensibilities of Abrahamic religions and modern society
Yes, of course, but I think it does depend largely on the nature of the deity. What is respectful to them is...up to them to decide, in a way. In this particular way I would research on how deities are portrayed in various east asian religions, with shinto being of particular interest. This is on my to-do agenda.
>>46511432
>I'm unsure what do you mean by old path
It was a figure of speech, "any old" path depencecy. Sorry if I was unclear.
>simply misguided in as much as it's not necessarily 2hus they want.
Yes, absolutely. The 2hus can simply be agregates of some particular features or ideas they have particular respect or particular need for.
>Can be just a lust permutation, too.
It can. But I would like to get people thinking a bit more about their desires and what it really tells about themselves and what they may need. (or not) Might be just my own projection, but as I said, a lot of guys think with their dicks when it's really some else part of their being trying to talk to them.
>That's not an unreasonable disposition
I'm extremely cautious with this kind of stuff and very hesitant to commit any belief or another, but I think "this thing represents ideals I want to work towards" can work in both spiritual and wholly materialistic, psychological sense.
>I still have done nothing
Oh anon, who knows, maybe you have stopped someone from trying to summon their oomukade waifu and getting devoured.
>There is little I can help you with
I disagree, at least on the level that I found our discussion rather constructive and you have forced me to better articulate my ideas to both myself and others.

Also, I want to say at this junction that as much as I regard working with explicitly demonic entities really bad idea, I think trying to work with the youkai is probably a very bad idea.
>>46511499
>John Constantine effect
I'm actually not familiar with this at all.
>coming face to face with one of the "characters" in the distance
That's fascinating. Do you feel comfortable telling which one it was?
>Gensokyo isnt a zoo, it's a wildlife preserve
Interesting idea. That does have some fascinating extra implications. People do frequently go missing in national parks, a kind of wildlife preserve of it's own...
>>46511527
>How sure are you that this isn't Childhood's End tier scenario?
It's been ages since I read that, but as far as I remember humanity did not have much of a choice in that one.
>>46511550
>In an extremely terrible age for that morally wise, at that!
What are the particulars that make you feel like we live in a particularly morally bankrupt era? We have witnessed countless previous eras of abject poverty and cruelty and wanton rule of the strongest. We may not have progressed *that* much, but we do live in an age where we have the luxury of being able to think about these things. Is it some individualism thing?

And ultimately, whatever the zeitgeist may be, we simply may have to start thinking about these things. "Reality is thinning" may soon not be a meme anymore.
>>46511683
>Many youkai kill, many dont. Many have fucked, many havent. Many have taken human partners in marriage or been patrons, etc.
Perhaps it simply is that these entities have divergent characteristic and interests, much like the fae folk were described as being sometimes hostile, sometimes friendly and sometimes, yes, even taking human partners. I believe from what I've read certain youkai in japanese mythology are exactly like this.
>>46511753
>No, you think you are in this situation, as you sit between protection systems
Hence we should proceed extremely carefully, if at all. But if "they" are indeed real, they seem to have some interest in getting human attention. What these motives might be obviously needs to be researched much more vigorously.
>>46511879
>The gods are not your bootlicks, human.
Indeed they are not, but what exactly are they? Above us in some way, yes, but still somehow very interested in proper respect and form and ritual and principles to live by?
>>46512716
>Quality post, really like this one in particular
I actually kinda regret it a bit myself.
>but all the rest of the strange discourse is pretty nice too.
Strange discourse is a nice way to put it. I actually laughed when I came back to this thread. We're all completely deranged, aren't we?

>>46484281

Anon dont worry, Yukari isn't reading this thread... Now enter the gap.

>>46517953
Not OP, but if you weren't such a stick in the mud you would've opened a path for me when I was physically outside your doorstep when I was over there. But you didn't. (I even had some good alcohol I wanted to share with everybody, and all I got was the local ghost bothering me.)

>>46511104
>"Youkai" and equivalent beings are envious of humans due to their ephemeral nature. They die permanently while humans still exist in some form after death.
That's stupid. Yokai are basically spirits/ethereal beings...just like humans are, except humans have meat suits. Destroy a human spirit and its gone, just as you would a yokai.

>>46517881
The John Constantine effect is essentially the term used to describe an author meeting their creation out in the wild somewhere. For the creator of Constantine, he encountered him in the streets and in a bar, and even fans doing heavy work into the subject have calmed sightings of Constantine running around in the world. And that goes for the creator of Conan; he had Conan show up with an axe and threaten to split him in half if he didn't keep the story going, and showed up multiple times in his house at night. (Sam for Zun and maybe/possibly/theoretically meeting Yukari or Reimu after he "brought them to life". And we all know the running gag of Aya coming to the outside world and marrying him in the guise of his wife because she was losing popularity).

As for who I've seen...let's keep it at "a few of them". Some in the distance, some things related to one of them popping up out of the blue and then going away later, etc. One was the snake and frog with the Moriya shrine, but that could be something else depending on how you look at it. But actual people? Sakuya once near an old mansion I won't name the location of, and Mamizou on the streets of Japan.
The park is an interesting concept, what with the 411 cases and all that, I agree.

And the divergent form, that's what I'm getting at with what you said here. They're under categories like the rest of us, but they each have their own idiosyncrasies like the fae, which also fall under the "youkai" umbrella.
Plus, the whole "human marries nonhuman; tragedy/hilarity ensues" isn't solely a Japanese thing-it can be found all over the world.

>>46518108
The funny thing about them vs humans, is that they are the manifestation of ephemeral existence, yet persist for as long as they choose to unless acted upon by an outside influence, and rarely change in their ways.
And humans are ephemeral in their lifespan, yet constant in what defines "human".
Basically: human body is constant, lifestyle changes, vs. Youkai body changes, lifestyle constant.

Skimming this thread makes me think about how strange it'd be to rediscover Touhou way after its time. Like an archeologist centuries from now finding obscure fanwork archives that somehow survived. Or some scavengers digging up an ancient storage unit filled nothing but Reimu wall scrolls.
They wouldn't be wrong to conclude it was some weird Shinto resurgence or niche idolatric cult.

>>46520225
Well they wouldn't be wrong.

>>46518329
>The John Constantine effect is essentially the term used to describe an author meeting their creation out in the wild somewhere.
That's really interesting, I hadn't actually ever heard of this before, somehow. Really makes you wonder what one can project into being...or perhaps give shape to?
>Sakuya once near an old mansion I won't name the location of, and Mamizou on the streets of Japan.
I'm really curious as they looked like. Did they have like their exact same clothes as in the game? Did they look like humans? Did Mamizou have her leaf on her head?
>The park is an interesting concept, what with the 411 cases and all that, I agree.
And certain entities which may or may not be spirits do get blamed for these cases, and some of them happen in areas that have history of reported paranormal activity. So perhaps it would be best to be careful when dealing with the inhabitants of this one particular nature reserve.
>Plus, the whole "human marries nonhuman; tragedy/hilarity ensues" isn't solely a Japanese thing-it can be found all over the world.
Oh yeah, there are some stories of fae marrying humans. Probably other types of entities from other world mythologies too.
>>46520225
Touhou was a Shinto Revival religion that existed between the First Machine Age and the First Solar Flare Collapse. Compared to other Shinto Revival movements, Touhou was characterized by it's international nature. It is also believe by many scholars to be the first religion to be born natively on electronic media.

The exact doctrines and practices of Touhou are largely lost to time, but it is known that the religion was born out of the works of a prophet and scholar known as ZUN. He produced a series of "video games" (a primitive precursor to Electronicaly Mediated Multisensory Narratives) called "The Shrine Maiden Project". It's estimated that during his lifetime he produced between 25 and 40 of such "video games", detailing the adventures of the two central divine figures of the religion, Hakurei Reimu and Kirisame Marisa. These two deities are thought to represent a kind of union of east asian and western influences. ZUN also produced around 800 pieces of worship music (a staggering amount for the pre-AI First Machine Age) and numerous written works printed on paper (organic material precursor to touchscreens). Followers of Touhou considered ZUN's productivity proof of his divine inspiration.

The highly symbolic nature of The Shrine Maiden Project and lack of formal written instructions of worship have led some scholars to believe that Touhou was simply a syncretic form of Shinto, and The Shrine Maiden Project was a kind of extended canon of Shinto. There is however some evidence that suggests Touhou was a kind of an initiatory religion, with members joining local cults known as "doujin circles". Others maintain that canonized set of worship instructions were written, but lost. It's known that ZUN produced a work called "Neo-Traditionalism of Japan" that has not been found, and some scholars believe this to have contained the core doctrines and rituals of Touhou.

Whatever the case, Touhou apparently contained beliefs and practices divergent from the Standard Shinto of it's time. These include syncretic inclusion of certain western elements and extremely productive cults of idolatry. Doujin circles would produce sacral art, worship music and various types of material idols for their worship. Notable material items left behind by the cults are flat decorative fabrics known as "wall scrolls", small plastic statuettes, fabric idols known as "fumo" and even human-sized idols. Some of these human-sized idols were apparently intended to be worn on humans as a kind of a suit during rituals.

The depiction of various deities and spirits within the Touhou mythology was apparently divergent from Standard Shinto of it's time. Researches have found notable amounts of material that depict the various spirits involved in very mundane activities. This has been interpreted as symbolizing a kind of belief in the sacred nature of everyday life and activities. Great number of very sexually explicit material depicting the deities and spirits have also been found. It's believed that followers of Touhou had a very positive view of sexuality, but some of the material is of such nature that it might have been produced by opponents of the religion as a kind of an insult.

It's thought that these positive depictions of everyday life and sexuality contributed heavily to the popularity of the religion. The degradation of natural enviroments during the First Machine Age also made Standard Shinto practices more difficult, which is thought to have driven some Shinto worshippers into Touhou.

Popularity of Touhou apparently peaked a few decades after the passing of prophet ZUN. The First Solar Flare Collapse however largely destroyed the religion as much of Earth's and Moon's electronic infrastructure was destroyed.

>>46521567
>with members joining local cults known as "doujin circles"
Got me with this one.
I get a kick out of the idea of future humans analyzing doujinshi like ancient Sumerian tablets. Wouldn't even be surprised if Touhou revived as a neo-Shinto religion using surviving material as "canon".

>>46521567
>>Sakuya
was when I ventured off to a part of the mansion I wasn't supposed to be in. I couldn't read Japanese as well as I wished, and ended up missing the sign that said "no entry". I was walking around the place as the only White, Caucasian person in the whole area at the time, and I was marveling at how the place was built and looking in every direction. To make a long story short, I peaked into a room near the end of a hallway and was looking up at the crown moulding when I looked down and into the room and saw a white woman that was the spitting image of a professional cosplayer OF Sakuya Izayoi. Imagine my surprise when she's walking from the left of the door and turning to go out and towards me when we lock eyes and then she's just....not there. No sound, no shimmer, nothing. Just a blink of her image and she's gone.
>>Mamizou
I was going to a shrine on the outskirts of Tokyo and had to go through some back alleys to get to it. As I'm passing a little diner, I notice a very old-style tanuki statue out front and turned towards the way I was coming. Makes sense considering that was the direction of the road and maybe they wanted to attract customers like, etc. As I walk past it, I snap a picture and keep on my way up the huge set of stairs to get to the shrine that's around the corner. After bowing awkwardly at the entrance and paying my respects, buying trinkets and all that, I go to head back down. Maybe 20 minutes in all-I was on a tight schedule since I was doing this as the last thing before catching my flight back home. Anyways, walking down the steps gives me the back half of a female that's dressed roughly in the same style as her Outside world disguise, and there was a little splotch of green on her hair, glasses and all. She went around another corner and away from me down a side road and was gone. I didn't have time to look for her and that would've been a creepy level of stalking so I kept to the original way and passed back where the diner was. No tanuki statue. Thing was big and looked made of stone, so if somebody moved it, they were strong as he'll. The ironic part is that there was an ATM right near the diner with a leaf in the name of it.

Both times I was thinking of something else and my mind drifted towards Gensokyo as a whole and nothing specific. And even to this day I'm left wondering what the hell happened, but I'm convinced I didn't imagine any of it and that they're real to an extent.

>>Be careful not to mess with them, etc.
I know. But I'm eventually going back one day. That much is certain.

>>46524180
(It kind of already has)

>>46524180
Yeah it's really funny to think how much possible distortion of historical events there has already been and will be. So much stuff without much any context around.
>>46524723
Those are some pretty wild experiences, it's interesting that you spotted the Sakuya in a part of the mansion where you shouldn't have been in.

Mamizou experience seems especially powerful considering her ability to get in and out of Gensokyo in the game. Without the vanishing tanuki statue and the ATM with leaf on the name (synchronity event) it would have sounded like maybe you just saw someone kinda like her disguise.

I've been fascinated with people's encounters with weird humanoids for years. Some of the experiences people report are indeed more on the level of weird humans, or something that jus looks like humans. These are particularly fascinating because it implies that they, whoever they are, can indeed blend into the crowd.

Sometimes there are also reports of almost-but-not-quite humans, people with too big eyes or weird proportions. So I was curious if they were spot-on human or had something off about them.

gensokyo needs to open its borders
gensokyo must become an inclusive society

>>46528612
For straight, white, outside world men.

>>46529452
this desu

So this is how the secret sealing club starts?

>>46541511
Seems more like some sort of a Seal Opening Society to me.

>>46541818
Well we've got to open it first so they can later seal it. I'm doing my part.

>>46541511
Aside from a few anons most people on here probably don't have any extraordinary abilities, and collaborating over the internet usually doesn't work out, either.

>>46543293
This also begs the question of if it's even possible to confirm the existence of Gensokyo beyond claims by random anons. Not to say this thread isnt insightful though.

>>46545830
You cant prove it unless it happens to you personally, and then you're only proving it to yourself.

I for one know it's real, whether other anons believe it or not. I'm the one above that had a run in with their real counterparts.

>>46545830
Probably.

>>46543293
What exactly do you mean with extraordinary abilities? If you are refering to what Maribel has, then yes, I very much doubt we have a Coca-Cola Light version of Yukari among us. But the first stages of her power were more akin to lucid dreaming, astral projection, remote viewing. Some would of course argue these are the one and same, but lucid dreaming for certain is something humans can supposedly cultivate over time. If you either believe that this will take you to Gensokyo or are happy with the Gensokyo in your heart, just simply start learning this.

Now, as for astral projection and remote viewing, as hard to believe it may be, there is some evidence that these things may exist and that they may be something that can be taught to people. It's possible that the evidence was produced as disinformation, but you are willing to dive into it, there is greater than 0% chance you will find the way to peek into Gensokyo. Whatever that is a 0,000000% or 100% chance, I don't know.

Speaking of remote viewing, if I remember correctly one of the Ingo Swan - Hal Puthoff - Russel Targ trio saw some rather weird stuff when they tried remote viewing the moon. I don't remember the details, it's been many years since I studied the topic, and for the record, I have never attempted any such things myself.

>collaborating over the internet usually doesn't work out, either.

Yes, this I would say is almost the biggest obstacle. Then again, we can just take these discussions as an opportunity to soundboard our ideas, to sprinkle a bit of mystery and magic to our lives and as starting points for diving deeper into the real life lore related to Touhou.

I think any sort of attempt at figuring out if Gensokyo or real or not would require substantial studies into Japanese culture and mythology and the various religions and philosophies present in the country. It would require enough knowledge of the language to do this and also to research if people in Japan still report real-life youkai sightings. Of course one would probably need to study some sort of esoteric/spiritual praxis for handling the possible entities you'd encounter too. A small team could of course divided up these tasks, exchange ideas and learn together. It would be far more effective, no doubt about it.

But would solo efforts be wasted? Depends on the mindset and end goals, I think. Would you find your life wasted if you learned a new language, immersed yourself into another culture, exposed yourself to new ways of thinking?

What if you dedicated some fragment of the effort you put into lunatic 1cc runs (a truly superhuman achievement if you ask me) or lore research or even your booru image binges or the time you spend posting on 4chan into some of this?

What if you did this and didn't find Gensokyo? Would you be disapointed, or could you have perhaps cultivated an entirely different endgoal for yourself?

And what if you did this and found Gensokyo? What would you think, feel and do then?

>>46545830
>This also begs the question of if it's even possible to confirm the existence of Gensokyo beyond claims by random anons.
You're aproaching a really profound question about the nature of knowledge here anon.

Is it even possible to confirm the existence of UFOs? Thousands, maybe millions of people believe in them and have seen such things, but still, it might all just be a new form of folklore, BS and disinformation. What about the existence of spirits? Cryptids? Paranormal phenomena? Conspiracies?

What about then more commonly accepted phenomena? Unless you are physicists you probably haven't seen elementary particles (or rather traces of their existence), if you've never looked into a microscope you've never seen microbes with your own eyes.

What exactly is the line of proof and institutional aproval where something becomes true and accepted and with what criteria? And how much of things left outside of it are true and how much of it are BS, because most certainly all is not true.

What would it take for you to belive in Gensokyo, and what kind of a Gensokyo would you belive in?
>>46545854
Has the eclipse already happened there?

I had a dream last night where Kanako, or someone looking like her very briefly appeard, but I do not remember what she said or did. The dream shifted to another phase. I was at home and my favorite teacup had started sprouting nasty mold. I got revulsed and woke up to find a message on my phone that certain lab results related to my health were normal. I feel like I'm getting mixed messages.

We should stop looking into this matter.

>>46546736
No, it hasn't happened just yet. Give it a couple of more hours.

Oddly enough I've been having weird dreams lately and could remember them down to the smallest details, but last night was a blank and I woke up with a small headache.

>>46546942
...why?
(Pretty suspicious, anon.)

>>46547672
>...why?
Reminds me the story of a smaller time american sci fi author wrote about what he believed fake alphabet conspiracies and tech only to get kidnapped and interrogated by the CIA about how he got a hold of that information. Lmao. I wish I could remember the guys name.

>>46548788
>>Author
Tom Clancy?
(I'm aiming for Lafcadio Hearn, personally. As it turns out, we have a lot in common.)

Bring it on. I know what I saw and am going to either get into Gensokyo as a resident or get into something working for them from the Outside World. So long as I get to stay permanently or get the occasional visit to the place, I'm all for it.

Inb4 "you're just gonna be food/they don't want you!~"
If there wasn't some connection, Anons like me and others wouldn't be allowed to see their doppelgangers/proxies in our world.

>>46548911
And the eclipse begins and the gateway opens. Gensokyo awaits.

>>46549679
>rolls for gensokyo
>gets asgard instead

>>46549699
And the pathway is traveling along the world tree, with an adjacent path leading to Gensokyo. All that need be is to call out to Hecatia at the crossroads of the path and its a guarantee.

>>46549679
Godspeed anon.

>>46549761
>calls hecatia
>become mount olympus boy toy
This is quite the journey so far anon

>>46550450
Nah, there's a difference in Hecate and Hecatia Lapislazuli. If you squint.
I've got a statue of Okina from Nagasaki already.

The eclipse was cool. Asked for a sign while outside viewing it and a storm rolled in so I went back inside and now I'm tired and hearing faint giggling. Maybe just the others that were watching it in the neighborhood. Now to take the first step of the journey and go through things I don't need anymore, fix up my surroundings, and become a better person so I can be worthy of getting to Gensokyo.

There's a new crack in the ceiling of my bedroom that needs to be patched. Probably nothing to worry about.

>>46550450
There's quite established ways for dealing with entities from the big western polytheistic pantheons. I think Hecate is the single most worshipped entity in the neopagan magic scene. Surely any Anon attempting anything like this would draw from this and has learned their nature and how to deal with them and the best astrological dates for doing so and...

>>46550704
>Nah, there's a difference in Hecate and Hecatia Lapislazuli. If you squint.

Makes you kinda wonder though if Heccy would apreciate and respond to the same things as Hecate. I would assume some continuity, same with Okina and other deities in the games that appear to be an evolution of deities in our world.

>and a storm rolled in
Hope you didn't hurt any snakes or frogs this time around.
>hearing faint giggling
>a new crack in the ceiling
>Probably nothing to worry about
Probably genuinely nothing to worry about. I think you must be in a quite psyched state right now. We're able to receive all kinds of things but also more than capable of making up our own and seeing signal where there is noise. Considering your experiences I am sure you will get something a clear sign in due time.
>go through things I don't need anymore
>fix up my surroundings
>become a better person so I can be worthy of getting to Gensokyo
It's very good that you are using this for such constructive activities, Anon.

I'm gonna go donate fresh water and french fries to African villages in a robe, amassing faith as a savior from beyond (the continent) in the process and becoming Sanae on steroids.

>>46551003
>becoming Sanae on steroids
You want to be called a troon hag by /jp/ anons?

>>46550966
Well, I went outside and found one of her symbols right where I was, so that's something I can physically hold onto.
The storm came in right as I asked for a sign and had two crows flying overhead.

The giggling and the crack in the ceiling were meant as jokes about Yukari watching me, but there is an actual crack that wasn't there before so maintenence is on the menu. As for me doing some soul searching, it's only natural with all the symbolism going on that I would be called to do some cleaning, both inside and out. And I wouldn't want this version of me in Gensokyo, so I need to kill it so the new version can thrive if the day comes I ever do find myself in a gap or some other method of transport. Maybe I'll go looking for Kisaragi station one day.
*shrug*

Don't let the flame die out!

>>46556314
I don't really know what more to say at this, other than that I'm really interested to see how the new Hifuu club stuff will play out. It's always been quite fascinating how Zun has canon characters from outside world that know of Gensokyo. Okina being apparently involved in whatever will happen is also interesting.

Him making the announcement the day after the eclipse feels...somewhat notable, I suppose.

>>46556412
Oh Gods......you don't think because I did that, he's gonna put all of us in the next game as a plot device do you?
Her statue has a full view of my room and it's always messy. (Okina, please don't tell people I live like this)

>>46556848
>Oh Gods......you don't think because I did that, he's gonna put all of us in the next game as a plot device do you?
Not us, there's only cute girls in Touhou and this anon certainly isn't one. But "outside world occultists try to get into Gensokyo, incident happens" wouldn't be an uncharacteristic plotline for Touhou. Sumireko already did this, didn't she? And as time passess, Touhou seems to more and more reflect real life, so one has to then wonder if the outside world too is somehow starting to reflect Touhou, perhaps always has...
>>46556848
Anon...please don't tell me you are also beating your meat in her full view?

>>46557005
For the first part, I'm not a cute girl either, and it wouldn't surprise me if we were part of a feedback loop for them to exist.

For the second part, absolutely not. The most she may have seen is me changing clothes from a shower, but then again the Kami are notorious for finding sex and nudity comical and just another part of the natural world.

>>46484281
And what conspiracy is that?

>>46562326
Bro, is in the name
The Gensokyo Conspiracy X

Touhou 20 is gonna be the biggest one yet!

>>46484281
You are my favourite schizoposter,
take good care of yourself, anon!

xoxo