Yumetou
Onshi
Do you know what is one thing I miss from the old days of the internet? OCs, Original Characters. For all the cringey self-inserts, Donut Steel jokes and recolors of Sonic the Hedgehog, there was a charming innocence to them. Most were a child or teen’s attempt at creating something new for a world they loved. Some did not fit the source material, but felt genuinely good enough to have their own story. Others fit flawlessly. For some reason though, I seldom see people talk about their Original Characters today. I’m not sure if it’s gone out of vogue with the rise of multiplayer games or I just don’t know where to find them.
Touhou itself I have seen few OCs for, though I am sure there were a number of them in the 00s. The material is ripe for creativity, and there are OCs I have seen referenced as characters in fan games. In fact, I am willing to bet that all of you had an OC at some point.
In honor of the innocence of youth and the joys of creation, let’s play a game. Post a character meant for the world of Gensokyo that you or someone else made. Write a little bit about them, their backstory and motivation. Any stories about them which make you proud or make you cringe. I’ll start, even if mine is a little unusual.
A few months ago, I was having burnout from tabletop games, which have been largely the same in the West for more than a decade. D&D makes up the lion’s share of the game space, and most other big games imitate it. To shake me out of my rut, I had a group of friends on Discord pick out an indie or fan game they enjoyed the look of and we would run it. On the list was Danmaku Yuugi Flowers. A Touhou fan game I had put on the list for how different it was. My game was set in a homebrew world, but I wanted the characters to be authentic to Touhou's style. Starting my slide into the fandom. Naturally, a tabletop game needs NPCs. My first creation for the world was a vampire named Hope Black. I wanted to give her a wholesome, Midwest country girl vibe. Though I also designed her to be an inversion of Remilia. Instead of opulent glamor, she has a homely charm. She lives alone in a log cabin, and keeps a farm on her own. She’s also one of the guardians of the land, who I really should come up with a name for. Though she is still new to the role and uncertain in herself.
I wish I could tell you more about her and what the others thought. Sadly my workload at my day job has spiked again, keeping us from playing. So now I am just left with this character concept and a doodle I made over a lunch break.
View attachment 3417
Touhou itself I have seen few OCs for, though I am sure there were a number of them in the 00s. The material is ripe for creativity, and there are OCs I have seen referenced as characters in fan games. In fact, I am willing to bet that all of you had an OC at some point.
In honor of the innocence of youth and the joys of creation, let’s play a game. Post a character meant for the world of Gensokyo that you or someone else made. Write a little bit about them, their backstory and motivation. Any stories about them which make you proud or make you cringe. I’ll start, even if mine is a little unusual.
A few months ago, I was having burnout from tabletop games, which have been largely the same in the West for more than a decade. D&D makes up the lion’s share of the game space, and most other big games imitate it. To shake me out of my rut, I had a group of friends on Discord pick out an indie or fan game they enjoyed the look of and we would run it. On the list was Danmaku Yuugi Flowers. A Touhou fan game I had put on the list for how different it was. My game was set in a homebrew world, but I wanted the characters to be authentic to Touhou's style. Starting my slide into the fandom. Naturally, a tabletop game needs NPCs. My first creation for the world was a vampire named Hope Black. I wanted to give her a wholesome, Midwest country girl vibe. Though I also designed her to be an inversion of Remilia. Instead of opulent glamor, she has a homely charm. She lives alone in a log cabin, and keeps a farm on her own. She’s also one of the guardians of the land, who I really should come up with a name for. Though she is still new to the role and uncertain in herself.
I wish I could tell you more about her and what the others thought. Sadly my workload at my day job has spiked again, keeping us from playing. So now I am just left with this character concept and a doodle I made over a lunch break.
View attachment 3417
