I've been making Touhou music out of Minecraft sounds, just wanted people's thoughts on them. I know it's a bit memey/cringey but I still try to make them sound good.  Also wondering if anyone has any ideas for other good Touhou music to do, or even doing a different type of remix.

Flowering Nights (Night of Nights)

U.N.Owen was Her?

Bad Apple!! (PC-98 version)

Enjoy

Due to players leaving, I'm once again looking for players.  Same as before, looking at Sunday nights, 7 PM Central U.S. Time

Indeed. The thing about their concept of purity is that it appears in Shinto, Buddhism and Hindu but the Lunarians seem to have modified it to fit their own goals, It's a weird interpretation of "what is purity" by ZUN. I recommend you give a try to Cage in Lunatic Runagate as it portrays Yukari's real plan and a bit of the Watatsuki Sisters acting more normally (without the whole antagonism going on).

I believe they were introduced as a plot device at first as a way to bring back PC-98 elements to the series (like a feeling of desolation, being in an alien land with "superior" creatures) but it ended up failing and ZUN rectified their lore later on. He did write Yukari's character brilliantly in SSiB/CiLR and used the Lunarians for that. I would say that the lack of scenes the Lunarians have that could be relatable to the reader causes us to feel 'disconnected' with them, and maybe that was intentional...

Overall though, I believe they need a proper writing. Their own ideal was exploited and used against them by Yukari/Yuyuko and Hecatia/Junko, so it's not like their divine-blood "superiority" really matters, as soon as some purified fairies appear in the Lunar Capital they'll threaten to destroy the World to fit their living conditions and migrate instead of asking for help. They act so arrogantly when it all could've been so much simpler, I'm sure Gensokyo would aid them if their society was threatened because Youkai wouldn't want them walking around the Earth, so close to their own space...they were written as "antagonists" and getting out of that mindset is difficult. I had trouble pointing out redeeming qualities in their behavior and it's all mostly related to the Watatsuki Sisters being more loyal to Eirin than the Lunar Capital's rules themselves...so they're a weird bunch.

Short you say?  At 24 pages of discussion, it's rather like a philosophical treatise.  I won't complain though, I would love to see more in-depth discussion like that!

I've got a lot of thoughts, and some difficulty sorting them all out, so I'm just going to start with those questions at the end of your discussion.  (please note I've not been thorough in getting all of the reading or games, notable I haven't read Cage in Lunatic Runegate)

"Are the Lunarians a plot device?"

In a way.  Certainly in Silent Sinner in Blue, their role is certainly serving a larger point, both to emphasize that Reimu's half-hearted aproach to improving herself leaves her weaker than she should be, and eventually for Yukari's plan to be shown.  Still, there is some characterization there as well, mostly via their relationship with Eirin.

"Was It Yukari’s fault for leading us to dislike them?"

I would say no.  In-story, Yukari set the stage for the confrontation in SSiB, but she didn't create the behavior that made some dislike them.  Out of story, such as them being written that way to make Yukari look better, I think that's debatable.  There's certainly something to them being written that way to make them the definite villains of that story, but as you pointed out, ZUN's written antagonists that people like before.  In fact, a number of arrogant villains have fans (Remilia being one of them, ironically).

"Was it all planned by ZUN to make them feel alien to us?"

I do think so, to a degree.  I think there is supposed to be some that we understand out of the Watasuki sisters, but the Lunarians and thier obsession with 'purity', perhaps so.  Sadly, on this, there is a further degree of seperation than intended, as my knowledge of Shinto is almost useless.  If so, then I think that is fine.

"Are all these theories correct and connected?"

Possibly?  I haven't read everything, so I couldn't really give an educated response.

One thought about the 'alien-ness' of the Lunarians, is that for the casual fans/readers in North/South America and Europe, Shinto would seem rather alien.  Further, and more like to create ire, is that the Lunarians idea of purity would seem very wrong to us, as our ideas of spirituality are greatly influenced by the Abrahamic faiths and Greek philosophy, even for those that don't follow or study them.  Purity is tied to virtue and lack of flaws in these philosophies, and the Lunarians' arrogance would disqualify them.  Asian philosophy is (obviously) different, and purity has a different meaning, creating a disconnect that the Lunarians (or more the Watasuki sisters) take the brunt of.