@panda-monium64 you've always loved enabling me when it comes to these. You may actually recall this first batch, in fact.
THIS IS GOING TO BE PART 1 OF A SERIES
TOUHOU GAIMAKEN ~ WESTERN DEMON INVASION
This one is sooooo middle school it HURTS. To be fair, this and the second one WERE made in middle school, so if the tone of the ones after really fucking shift into... not too embarrassing, that's why.
The plot: A huge fucking mansion has appeared in an uninhabited grassland along the edge of the Hakurei Border. From it, there's been an outpouring of foreign youkai and humans alike. This wouldn't actually be a problem if it weren't for the fact that, 1) For some reason, there have been false alarms of a giant breach in random places all along the border, and 2) all of the youkai are more along the mentality of Hell: needlessly flaunting their strength without regards to anything - or, more simply put, they're just skipping the danmaku and going straight to Attacking.
You're seeing what I mean when I say "this is soooo middle school" I was THEEE edgy teen back then. I tried to wear the amulet from a vampire Halloween costume on a daily basis. As I get into this first batch of characters you'll see that they're CRYSTALLIZED chuunibyou like I know it's not really an appellation you can give to an American emo teen but I was SOOOOOOO chuuni it's ridiculous. On some level I still am but now there's a level of self-awareness that lets me know this shit is CRINGE.
DIVIN SHIRONE Guardian Angel from Far Off Species: Angel Ability: Capable of reflecting light An angel sent by the bureaucracy of Heaven to make sure that humans under her watch aren't lead astray. She ended up being swept into Gensokyo with her current charge, however, and now she's at a loss as to what to do. She was hoping that she could leave at some point, but she was struck down by the protagonist when she went to ask for directions out. As it turns out, that action was futile, so now she's resting around the area, waiting to find a human that needs guidance.
First up: the first stage midboss. She never appears after this, btw, I think I just fucking forgot she existed. The mixing of a mangled english first name and that utauloid-ass last name... Is she a vtuber (lol)? Her ability is also a fucking joke on the fact that she's essentially just a white girl wearing white clothing. It's called being snow-blind. Still, for a stage one midboss, you could do worse than some random bitch who just wanted directions out.
LILILILI NEKONEKO Cat Monster Armed to the Teeth Species: Cat youkai Ability: Capable of forging swords A youkai that was born when a pet housecat was caught in a magical explosion. Rather than dying, she was reborn as a cat youkai. Immature, she still felt loyal to her owner, so she went to go find him. Her feelings towards him are more of a daughter's feelings towards a beloved father. Her ability allows her to create swords, provided she has even the tiniest bit of scrap metal. She is not seen without at least one sword on her person. She later showed up to use her sword creation power to arm Akuma with a blade powerful enough to defeat the protagonist. This did not work.
THIS ONE... OH MY GOD. Okay the LORE of this character: I made the initial template of this character in Walfas (WALFAS. THAT'S HOW OLD THIS CHARACTER IS.), but I made it under the artistic direction of my FUCKING SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SISTER. Granted, I asked her for this, but what we ended up with was some random little catgirl in full Yuyuko cosplay. I don't even remember what her original ability was, but when I later codified these characters, I changed it to "making swords" and made it so she wasn't. fucking dressed like Yuyuko. I didn't change her name, though. This is because I wanted to embarrass my sister and also because I love this like, stupid little idea that she named herself because she doesn't want to be, like, named "Stinky". Also originally, her feelings towards her old owner were "she thinks he's her big brother", but I changed that too. Speaking of...
BAKUTO SAKURETSU Red-Hot Explosive Temperament Species: Human Ability: Capable of causing explosions A rare man who actually understands the beauty of danmaku. Will relentlessly pursue anyone who ticks him off. Seemed to have gained his powers recently, but they've been growing stronger at an exceptional rate. The previous owner of Lililili. Doesn't seem to recognize her in the slightest, so he feels extremely cold to her bouts of affection. After causing a massive explosion following a traumatic event, Bakuto went to seek sanctuary in the House of Damien, which he had heard of in whispers. However, he can't remember who the whispers were from. Though he didn't know it, these whispers were the workings of Beto. He's honestly just here for a good time in this transient world.
GOD. GOD. GOD. GOD. GOD. GOD. GODDDDDD. I TOLD YOU THIS SHIT WAS MIDDLE SCHOOL CRINGE. In case you're wondering, the "traumatic event" was just that his boyfriend was cheating on him and he caught them. So he fucking got so apoplectic that he gained explosion powers. FUN FACT: I was in middle school WELL BEFORE My Hero Academia was real. I like to imagine Horikoshi is such a hack writer he used telegraphy powers to steal my ideas from across the globe (lol). Bakuto is another character that doesn't actually show up past this "game", but I think later Sumireko's gonna meet him again and have little notes that Bakuto's "really simmered down after meeting Kourin" which implies that the one thing Bakuto needed to become domestic is the worst dick in his life.
MAIKO AMEGUMO Maid of Torrential Downpours Species: Human Ability: Capable of causing rain A random maid of the House of Damien. She used to be the head maid for a notoriously rich man. She often found herself imagining herself as the heroine in a terrible romantic light novel, in which the rich man fell in love with a poorer maid of his. So, while it was no shock to us that he chose someone he was actually attracted to instead, she was in shock. She ended up flooding the entire manor in a fit of grief, and was only saved because she thought to leave the manor beforehand. Now out of a job, she wandered around a bit before finding herself at another large manor in the middle of nowhere. There, she was welcomed by the head maid of the House of Damien. Regardless, she was as surprised by the change of scenery as anyone else, so she simply continued her duties. Her ability is the creation of rain clouds. She can control just how much rain falls and how hard it does so. Mainly, she uses this ability to clean.
THIS CHICK... PARASOCIAL??? YOU NEED TO LOG OFF??? I love the downplaying I keep putting in these early bios like GIRL YOU'RE ON THE RUN FOR MASS MURDER. Fun fact! This essentially makes her kind of a warped foil to Bakuto. Bakuto was in a relationship that ended... explosively. Meanwhile, Maiko had the fantasy of a relationship that she ended up killing everyone even remotely involved when she learned it wasn't real. They even have fire and water powers. I like to think they'd be friends if I didn't make it so they canonically despise each other.
GASHAKO KIKINMARU Eater of This World's Transient Forms Species: Yuurei Ability: Capable of eating forever A ghost bound to her skull. Long ago, she ate only gourmet foods, but one day, during a famine, she was forced to eat her own family. Later, she ate herself. Because of the evil nature of her death, she became a ghost, haunting her remains (which were never properly found). Later, her manor was converted into the House of Damien, but not without her knowing. She is bound specifically to her skull, and can therefore not exist more than a few feet from it. She can, however, pick it up, which saves her some mobility issues. Because she's a ghost, she doesn't have to worry about physical limitations all that much, which comes in handy because she's always hungry.
OH GOD.... OKAY. THERE'S A BIT OF LORE WITH THIS BITCH. Keep in mind: I was a HELLACIOUS little weeb. Around this time, mothy's songs were getting REALLY big. You see where I'm going with this. Additionally, this was actually the FIRST Touhou OC I ever made. This was because, as a chuuni little bitch, I had a fucking FAKE SKULL I liked to carry around. You can see where those influences came into play here. Even WORSE was the fact that Gashako Kikinmaru wasn't even her original name. Whereas with Lili, the design changed but the name didn't, the opposite happened: I kept the design (because it genuinely fucks, it's like, blue on blue on white with bone decals and she's sickening), but the name... Her name was just two Mortal Kombat characters. I'll let you guess which ones. Lastly, this bitch ended up being my first "prediction" character because her "ability to continuously eat" ended up predating Yuuma Toutetsu. A mess of a character. I love her.
BETO The Footsteps You Hear at Night Species: Betobeto-san Ability: Capable of creating footsteps An old-fashioned youkai from the Nara prefecture. She spent quite some time tormenting travelers on moonlit paths, but as the world got brighter, she began to lose power. People just weren't afraid of disjointed footsteps when the path was well-lit. She ended up leaving the prefecture, and found herself staring into the eyes of Akuma. They were both in shock. The two ended up becoming good friends, however, so it apparently all works out in the end. Akuma required a place to stay, unfortunately, so Beto led her to an old abandoned manor she had heard about. This was Gashako's old manor, and she let them live there. Beto, now with two friends when she previously had none, suddenly desired more company, so she sought out people who ended up wandering down the path looking dejected. This also ended up including many foreign youkai. Upon hearing one of their plans to relocate to Gensokyo, Beto thought to herself, "Perhaps I could go there as well." She couldn't bear the thought of leaving behind Akuma, however, so they made plans to transport the entire House of Damien (as they had begun calling it). Beto, unaware that the Barrier actually accepted foreign arrivals like theirs, began to use her power to set off false alarms all over the entire border to distract from the real Incident: the transportation of the House of Damien. While it succeeded, their stealth mission was spoiled by several of the foreign youkai running out and causing a havoc, not knowing of Gensokyo's rules.
Honestly my favorite of this group. She's so fucking creepy and I love her for it. Canonically she also doesn't have eyes. Like I cover her face with a veil but she DOES NOT have eyes. Imagine going from some friendless loser to snagging TWO bad bitches and essentially opening up a homeless shelter for monsters and humans alike. She likes sneaking up behind people, as well. There's also a bit from the actual story I like where in the middle of the fight she just stops and asks if this makes her and the protag friends and when they just go "...I guess? What?" she just happily continues attacking and only leads you to Akuma because you're friends now. :)
AKUMA DAEMON Grand Demon Lord of the House of Damien Species: Demon Ability: Capable of creating invisible walls A Western-style demon. She found herself quite disliking the whims and ways of her more bloodthirsty compatriots, so she set off from Hell, hoping to reform. Eventually, she found the best way to become a decent person was to use charity, and so she traveled the world, doing various good deeds. She would often change her name doing so, as her true name is quite unpronounceable to those that do not speak Daemonic. Currently, as her travels have taken her to Japan, she goes by Akuma. While in Japan, she happened upon Beto, and the two became fast friends. "I could finally settle down," is what Akuma thought. However, they would need a house. Fortunately, they found Gashako's old manor, and since she wasn't using it, the three converted it into a sanctuary for outcasts and monsters alike. Soon, they found the need to relocate. But where? Beto had heard whispers of a place called Gensokyo, said to be a haven for the world's fleeting population for mythological beings and figures. Akuma, readily agreeing, began the transport as soon as Beto provided the necessary distractions. And so, the House of Damien was now on a grassland along the far side of the Hakurei Border. Invigorated by the natural magical energy permeating Gensokyo, many of the various monsters and humans with powers went out to see how things are, not knowing the rules of Gensokyo. And thus was the Foreign Youkai Incident.
This name........ Bro I COULD NOT have picked a more EDGY NAME IF I TRIEDDDDDD. In case you're wondering, Lili is the stage 6 midboss, and she gives Akuma (THIS NAME....) what's essentially Excalibur. But because it's a replica, it can't guarantee victory. Anyways, Akuma (WAUGH) has a gimmick to her fight where she'll use her ability to make invisible walls to just, actively close in the screen borders, giving you less room to move around in. This actually probably makes her the most difficult of all bosses I've designed. Imagine trying to dodge with an incredibly narrow X-Axis... Terrifying. That right there is why she's the boss. However, if this fucking name doesn't scream middle school edge... Oh my god you're not ready for the extra boss.
AKAKO (ROSE EVANS) The Girl Stained in Red and Ichor Species: Human Ability: Capable of causing fear A girl from a completely different dimension. In the dimension she hails from, zombies overtook the entire world. Rose is one of the last humans surviving. The incident happened sometime in 2005. What was said to be uncontrollable nuclear radiation mutated corpses so that they would ambulate. The truth of this matter is much more sinister, but let's ignore that for now. With no real concept of life or death, the zombies could still be exterminated using brute strength or impressive magic. Rose is the one using brute strength. Utilizing a road sign that she scavenged, she set out, taking out zombie after zombie. Eventually, she gained no sense of fear, but her general aura instilled apprehension and fear into the hearts of others. One day, she discovered a lone scientist who had developed a dimensional transporter. It would send her to other dimensions. And it did. However, alternate dimensions and zombies were still a thing of fantasy in the dimension she was heading, so she ended up getting intercepted by the Hakurei Border. Upon arrival, her power immediately manifested and kicked into full overdrive. A passing fairy, fainting almost immediately, uttered "Akako"... And that is how Akako came to be in Gensokyo.
Every time. Every time I review WDI's characters, I actively skip Akako because it's SOOO chuuni. What IS THIS. Alternate dimensions? Zombie apocalypses? USING A STOP SIGN AS A WEAPON? AND THIS FUCKING NAME. ROSE EVANS? AKAKO? GIRL GET A COOLER NAME. YOU'RE FROM THE APOCALYPSE NAME YOURSELF SOME SHIT LIKE COMBUSTION ENGINE OR SOMETHING. Imagine getting assigned Akako at Fairy I think I'd just fucking leave. Also of course her eyes glow red. Of course they do. Miss thing's the PINNACLE of edge. Luckily this means it doesn't get too bad later.
All the characters have some charm. It's just... God, Gaimaken was a fucking ROUGH START. All of them have shades of this level of chuuni, but this is where it's ACTIVELY BAD. They don't really show up all that much in later installments (unless I put Akako in the phantasmagoria-type...? Eh, I forgot who I made playable in that one anyways.), but that's mostly because I think the ending is that everyone essentially integrates seamlessly into either Hell or Gensokyo, and meanwhile Akuma (BLEGH), Beto, and Gashako are just having fun in their giant fucking house with their seventy maids. As mentioned, Bakuto starts getting disgustingly domestic with Kourin despite everything else about himself and he vanishes entirely. Lili ends up trying to arm the feral cats in Mayohiga. Akako is somewhere in the woods I think. Divin has evaporated from the plot and probably left Gensokyo entirely.
And meanwhile, on the exact opposite side of Gensokyo, a new structure appears... This one more internally thematic, but still stupidly middle school.