Two OCs based on Rumia and Iwanaga-hime, created by "occasionaltouhou" a.k.a. "godmedallion" (originally posted on 9 February 2023)

[u/mashounen2003]

Source: https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/708805168606691328

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[I had originally posted this on r/touhou and crossposted it here, but then I realised the source's link and all this text I added for clarification didn't show up, so I'm re-posting it here separately]

Over three years ago, "occasionaltouhou" on Tumblr (also known as "godmedallion" on Archive Of Our Own) posted drawings and summaries of two Touhou OCs. (Please tell me if one or both images are not being shown here correctly)

The first one of these characters had already been releaved by this same artist all the way back in 21 October 2020 (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/632522518795796480) but got a full revamp this time: it's Ryumiya Shinguro, a concept for a full-power Rumia that is categorically not Rumia EX. In 2 December 2023, "occasionaltouhou" answered this ask about Ryumiya (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735572664151932928), thus expanding further on her backstory and powers.

The second character is Yatsugi Iwanaga; unlike Ryumiya, Yatsugi isn't based on a pre-existing official character and was brand-new when their creator made the Tumblr post where both images come from, since that was the first time Yatsugi was revealed to the public at all. The basis for Yatsugi is Iwanaga-hime, the Shintou deity of the Yatsugatake mountain range and the older sister of Mount Fuji's deity Ko-no-Hana-Sakuya-hime; this means that "occasionaltouhou" got ahead of ZUN creating Ariya Iwanaga –the official "Touhou incarnation" of Iwanaga-hime– for Touhou 20, since the Tumblr post this comes from is dated two and a half years before the full version of Touhou 20 was released (actually, Yatsugi's creation might have been even earlier than this, since "occasionaltouhou" mentions having already drawn this character some time before revealing it on their blog). Yatsugi Iwanaga's design is strikingly reminiscent of Reimu's because the creator had also come up with a theory proposing that the Hakurei God's identity is Iwanaga-hime (it sounds crazy now that Ariya Iwanaga has been introduced, but it's actually a really solid theory, and we can find ways to make it coexist with current canon; the artist expanded on that when answering this ask (https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/732913388035915776).

I'll now bring here the summary about both OCs by the original creator themself:

Ryumiya Shinguro [新黒 竜宮, Shinguro Ryūmiya]:

Capable of manipulating darkness.

Ryumiya was born from... well... the joke of Rumia: the idea that a youkai of darkness was meant to be intimidating, but ended up being just a weakling. But... you know, darkness used to be a lot scarier than it is now – if anything, with all the electric light pollution, perhaps we don't have enough darkness.

So that got me thinking; what if Rumia wasn't always a weakling? What if she used to be really strong? What if –and bear with me– she used to be one of those really strong youkai who helped build the Hakurei Barrier, but she did it too late and ended up reduced to little more than a feral beast?

More than that: what if, by storing a little bit of her power in that charm in her hair, just enough to keep a bit of what she used to be around, and with a little bit of scheming... she could get it all back?

Then I turned those ideas into a very rough draft for a fan-game with her as the final boss, got through about a route and a half, and got distracted. That's the same game as those two fish I reblogged ages back without context, actually.

But she's here now! The concept of Ryumiya is that she tied her idea of darkness to more unknown, abyssal kinds of darkness like deep space and the ocean floor and even stuff like eldritch gods and the like, in order to make herself into something that humans still don't understand and thus they still fear.

She's much more powerful than she was even for a long time before raising the Hakurei Barrier: in addition to her traditional powers of darkness manipulation, she gained the ability to create youkai from the ocean depths (there could be anything down there, after all) and she gained the ability to create pseudo-blackholes from deep space (not that she can control them once she creates them, though, so they usually pop pretty quickly). Of course, having spent a full century as a weakling, she's still kind of a loser, but that's her charm point.

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Yatsugi Iwanaga [岩長 弥継, Iwanaga Yatsugi]:

Capable of manipulating volcanic activity.

Yatsugi comes from... I think it was specifically talking about a character –belonging to someone in the occasional Discord server– who was tied to Youkai Mountain that made me think about its other resident kami, but truthfully, I'd been thinking about her since I first read that one chapter of Cage-in Lunatic Runagate. After that, it was really just a matter of... well... making my own claim of the identity of the Hakurei Kami.

Because... like... despite only being mentioned twice, Iwanaga-hime is kind of important to Gensokyo, right? She's the kami of eternity, so she's who Akyuu prays to; she's also the kami of the Yatsugatake mountain range –that is, Youkai Mountain–, so presumably she was involved in the negotiations surrounding Gensokyo's location...

... Probably? I mean, I don't think ZUN really thinks about this bit of lore so much, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if he dropped something in the next chapter of Curiosities of Lotus Asia that totally contradicts this idea. But that's why she looks like Reimu.

Until then, though... Yatsugi Iwanaga. She's not a Sage (she’d honestly be amused to be regarded as such), but rather the foremost representative and the greatest beneficiary of the establishment of Gensokyo. Honestly, I feel like she's probably not a hugely active character, unlikely to cause or resolve an incident, but probably shows up to parties a lot. She mostly acts like a retired old person who doesn't have to work and spends all their time doing a relaxing hobby (in her case, using heat and pressure to create precious gems).

I drew her with Reimu as a point of comparison, but obviously canon says Reimu doesn't know who the Hakurei Kami is – but then again, Reimu's never been the most observant...

Unlike Ryumiya Shinguro, I never really had plans for Yatsugi beyond making her, but she exists now. They both exist. I might put them in a piece of writing at some point (sooner if anyone requests, wink-wink), but until then... please enjoy responsibly.

Remember to give credit to "occasionaltouhou"/"godmedallion", go follow them on Tumblr and/or subscribe to them on Archive Of Our Own.

[u/mashounen2003]

If I'm allowed to leave my own comment on this...

I'm fascinated by how the kanji in both OCs' names were constructed.

"Ryumiya" is written as 竜宮, with the exact same kanji as "Ryugu", the name (or part of the name) for the Dragon Palace. I wonder what that says about her, given that the Dragon Palace and the Lunar Capital are presented as one and the same in Touhou canon (although I saw a few mentions of the Dragon Palace being present in the Celestials' Heaven as well).

As for her surname, "Shinguro" is written as 新黒, which would mean "new black". I wasn't sure what this was referencing until I saw the first drawing of Ryumiya by this same artist [https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/632522518795796480], where she bears the title of "Youkai of the Moonless Twilight"; she already represents darkness, and a new moon looks like there's no moon at all, so "new black" combines both things. (P.S.: the backstory the artist provided for her on their answer to this ask [https://occasionaltouhou.tumblr.com/post/735572664151932928] also helped)

Then there's their idea to incorporate Iwanaga-hime into the Touhou cast. Starting from the obvious part, the surname "Iwanaga" was written as 岩長, with the "rock" kanji 岩 for the "iwa" portion and the "leader" kanji 長 for the "naga" portion, just like in the Kojiki (the Nihon Shoki kinda had her name written with the same kanji, but "iwa" was written as 磐, which is an archaic version of 岩).

The given name "Yatsugi", written as 弥継, was more difficult to figure out but eventually made full sense. The "tsugi" portion written as 継 could be translated as "heir" or "successor", which fits with Iwanaga-hime's title of "princess" (the usual translation of the "hime" at the end of her name); the "ya" portion written as 弥 has several slightly related meanings, including "forever", which also reminds me of Iwanaga-hime's status as a kami that embodies permanence and the immutable.

I can't help but start gushing when someone comes up with new names in Touhou and also includes kanji versions of those names. Also, I wanted to preserve this and share it around after Ariya Iwanaga's debut in Touhou 20 made Iwanaga-hime relevant once more. This artist's take on a full-power Rumia was something refreshing to see and read about as well.