No.92130
The Tengu control the media. I don’t believe all the propaganda meant to make them look like the coolest, most friendly, and hardest working youkai.
No.92164
>>92126>why they're the best Youkai in GensokyoBecause they are strangely humane and at the same time they are unequivocally distinct from humans. It is possibly a byproduct of having a lot of material, including such that reveals their personal views (StB and DS first and foremost, HSiFS, BAiJR and AFiEU to some extent too), but it also stems from what tengu were in the folklore. Or so I came to believe, over time.
There is Aya, into whom we have much insight, but there is also Hatate, which gives us a contrast to Aya on their individual, personal level, something that no other youkai in Gensokyo gets within their species. Even with various sisters like Tsukumo, Scarlets, Komeiji or groups like oni we don't have anything close to DS, in which can compare two different individuals reacting to the exact same situations. How are they similar, how are they different, their knowledge about various stuff, what they focus about. When you put all of this into wider context of tengu society, and extrapolate from that onto all individuals of the specie, it's hard to not see tengu just as complicated as humans. The same underlying mechanisms of thought, while filled with much different substance, resulting in unfamiliar, yet fully understandable. And this is before diving into doujin side of Touhou, which tries to flesh them out even more. When not being straight up gag or fap material, that's it.
Having multiple representatives helps a lot, too. And quite various at that, even on the surface level, without diving in their respective personalities, which is admittedly harder for Momiji and Megumu, but there is still some things to unpack.
No.92190
I LOVE TENGU
I LOVE TENGU WOMEN
I LOVE NIBBLING ON TENGU EARS
No.92198
>>92185those shoes are cool
No.92203
>>92129Yes it's true, the best friends, confidants, and business partners!
Intelligent, civil, disciplined, and friendly to humans! The best youkai in Gensokyo and beyond!
No.92267
>>92206Huh, I'd heard Australian cafe culture taking over Japan and South Korea but I wasn't expecting to see one run by one.
No.92325
>>92203https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Tengu>Tengu are said to be mischievous and sometimes malicious, with a propensity for playing pranks on humans>Although they disdain the proud and arrogant, they are often guilty of those same flaws>The tengu of Gensokyo are known for their love of gossip and writing newspapersSo this means it's not only Aya who writes misinformation
>She (Hatate) also believes that they're simply trying to use Suwako and Kanako for their own endsMost tengu think only about themselves and their own profits, as proven by them trying to capitalise off the Moriya ropeway
Also, Megumu pushed for profit maximization during UM, and we all know that Chimata's markets could've led to a number of youkai disappearing due to land ownership problems
No.92413
>>92325>So this means it's not only Aya who writes misinformation>misinformationYou make it sound as if Aya (or tengu at large) is some fifth column or the Evil Genius of Cartesian fame. The Bunbunharu that was presented in AFiEU has never been never published exactly because it featured straight up misinformation and outlandish manipulation (but still not only, there were honest articles there just as well). In LE the only example of purposeful misinformation would be Red Snow. All other cases of misalignment with truth, from BAiJR till now, are either an example of honest misinterpretation of gathered evidence or some light colorisation of facts. And this goes both for Bunbunmaru and Kakashi.
>Most tengu think only about themselves and their own profits, as proven by them trying to capitalise off the Moriya ropewayThis is oversimplification. Or rather, it's like saying that most humans think only about themselves and their own profits. Which, I wager, if someone tried to make an average of all decisions any person makes throughout life, would probably be more or less true. But at the same time I think we all acknowledge that most people aren't egoists just because only sometimes their morals cause them to act in spite of their own interests.
As an actual example, there is the oft mentioned article on Yukari from BAiJR, in which Aya stands up against gap-hag on purely moral grounds, but she also warns and tries to hide Marisa from other tengu whenever the ordinary witch sneaks into Youkai Mountain, as evidenced by both hers and Hatate's comments in DS. You could probably create some uncharitable explanation behind such concern, but I think its hard to do it even semi-convincingly. Hatate, while much less occupied with plights of non-tengu, seems to care about her fellows beyond her own gains. And we still don't have enough of insight into Megumu to tell for sure if she is nothing more than another Machiavellian 2hu she appears now. And frankly speaking, I've just reread LE chapter 38 just to make sure and I think some more charitable interpretation of Megumu's actions, as deceptive as they were, is possible. An interpretation that allows for her to care beyond her own and even tengu profits.
I would also hesitate a bit before using Hatate's comments from DS about anything as absolute truth beyond showcasing what she thinks about something. She has less background knowledge than Aya (who can be wrong at times too), she is excited about finally going out of her house and practicing proper reporting instead of thoughtography, she is notably more idealistic, all of those things probably skewing her judgement. There should be another source, even Aya's comment, mentioning something similar before using Hatate's comment as something more substantial. The political landscape of Youkai Mountain has been complicated ever since MoF and it only gets more complicated as other factors are added, yamanaba and Sanctuary being an example.
No.92624
>>92413There's something heartwarming about how dedicated you are to the Tengu.
No.92842
>>92265This is how that would go:
>>>/qa/144935 No.93663
>>93620>oni>honest>straightforwardAh, yes, of course. Let us review those qualities regarding the known oni:
¥ Absolutely-not-an-oni hermit that put up a convoluted, deceptive plot against herself¥ The ringleader that keeps on plotting while trying to pass as just cheery, drunken youkai, with her flip-flopping in regards to Mizuchi being the most egregious¥ The only one that acts decently has a bullshit power, as in actual bullshit that nobody knows how it works and what to expectTheir lackeys even have the audacity to misquote! Down with the oni! This is an age of humanity soaring high on tengu wings!
No.94407
>>94271This can be said of all Tengu. You must play them like a game of Shogi. Out maneuver them and capture their general like a spell card.
>>94401You can't spell Shameimaru without
SHAME! No.94412
>>94407It sure is a good thing she wouldn't be able to understand that joke.
No.94415
>>94413>tengu already know two writing systemsIsn't tengu script that Kosuzu reads in FS forgotten by tengu already? And I'm not sure whether Aya would have enough contact with English to pick it up, unless to make it easier to have interviews with Scarlet Sisters. She is more likely to know Dutch, if anything Western.
Aya is certainly curious enough about language to ask about kanji which she doesn't recognize, going by her comment on one of Keine's spellcard in StB.
No.94533
>>94528I don't see any fur, so it's not a furry.
I'm sure they have their own descriptor.
>>94530Are you sure? I've heard her true form is no less incomprehensible than nue...
No.94536
>>94531FUCK THESE ASSHOLES.
They're always shoved in tight spaces with a drop off to screw you if you dodge their wind attacks. Blast them dead with a gun and never bother getting in melee again.
No.95484
How many tengu does it take to screw in a light bulb?
4
One crow babbles about humans
One crow writes about how contemporary the first is
One crow lectures the second about the price of ink
A wolf tengu screws in the bulb
No.95607
>>95581Aya doesn't do j*bs like that.
No.95617
>>95581Tokin hats would need to be attached firmly to their head for it to work. Funnily enough, tokin hats used by yamabushi are attached via strap to their head, so those would work, but they in turn don't have pompons on hats but on their vests.
Besides, while crows have quite skilled tongues, I'm pretty sure fellatio isn't something tengu would lower herself to, even for a lover. They have their pride.
No.95672
>>95651>t*nguYou censor the best youkai name and yet you want to force tengu to service you!? Shame and disgrace! This is lowest of lows!
Listen up! There is a great injustice done both in this world and in Gensokyo by reporters that stray from the ideal of journalism! But all, every single one of them would return to the righteous ways if only some true, selfless love was given to them! Love your journalist with all your heart, so that you and your neighbor receive pure and honest journalism!
No.95676
>>95672Wow! What a crock of shit!
You say all that but the truth is the 10gu are the single greatest colony of
sluts in Gensokyo. They're just good at hiding it better than your average green haired miko. There's nothing "pure" and "honest" about them. We've all seen the gravure photos, we've all seen the article about Humans Aya wrote "by accident." It's not just the Crow Tengu, no no, it's ALL of them. None of them is free of sin! The Daitengu? They abuse their power to get free pick of Human "trespassers" and their control over what gets printed means they can publish their lurid books without restrictions or censors. The Crow information corps use their freedom to snoop into everyone's affairs, sometimes involved in literal affairs, and the timely disappearances of eligible young bachelors is no coincidence either. Then there's the White Wolves, the worst of the worst in my opinion: as the lowest on the totem pole they get the leftovers, one has to shudder at the treatment of their shared "barracks caretaker."
Ah, who am I kidding? I'm talking to one of the poor stockholm syndrome bastards kept in some birdbrains apartment while she's out fishing for blackmail aren't I? I hope you can escape someday and find a Human woman to settle down with.
No.95677
do you think aya shaves her pubes
No.95689
>>95676Please, you are making you fellow Anon's heart bleed when you post such things. You are calling tengu names and accuse them of horrible things, especially crows. Are they sinless? Certainly not. But who can claim to be such a paragon, when the very act of living is a sin?
You are accusing tengu of terrible things, especially in terms of relationships. But I've read what they publish and saw woman still young in spirit that cried a river when menreiki told a story of sudden, all-consuming love and remembering your beloved beyond her existence. The same lady, despite her insistence that youkai should scare and scuffle with humans, in one of her earlier issues, when looking at our afterlife she couldn't help but call humans both industrious and adorable. And the other tengu reporter denounced in one of her articles Celestial Maidens that rope men into marriage under careless fancy and then leave as soon as they are bored. The crow reporter called such behavior as simply heartless. Does any of those things sound as something a creature of base impulses and deviant tastes would write about? Or perhaps those are paragraphs of beings that care about purity and honesty in one's feelings?
I will tell you something about writing. Do you know why those people who have calling for penmanship, whether fiction or not, write? Writing is an act of communication, like speaking, but one that doesn't require sender to still be around and one that cannot be easily edited once released. Most of the time you won't see any response from receiver either. A proper writing is a lot of work for a meager chance that someone else will be better by spending their precious, limited time reading rubbish scribbles. So why do this at all? It is exactly because it's hard, because your words will have to stand on their own without you, because they will travel where you can't and still be when you aren't any longer, so that you need to make sure that you are writing something that is worth all this effort both on yours and on readers' end. EVERY SINGLE FINISHED TEXT IS A BIRTHING OF AN IDEA THAT I BELIEVE SHOULD BE TOLD ALOUD. I love you, yes, (you), and so from this very love I want to enrich your live with this idea I'm writing about that I hope will do exactly that. By writing it, by giving it context and dressing of good prose, I make it look as good as I can while separating it from myself. And I do this because I believe in what I'm trying to tell you so much, that I find that idea greater and more worthy of attention than myself, like a parent would find a child.
Freedom of expression and clarity of purpose. Putting your very soul into sentence, into writing, into flowery turn of phrase, putting it into 文, so that other may enjoy what you hope is valuable in it without the baggage of your ego. And sure, often writers, especially those nonfiction like reporters, are forced to sign their names and put effort into not their own children of above, metaphorical kind. But even in such cages of establishment their soul yearns to be free like a bird and can still be seen in little details. Do you still have doubts regarding tengu and their attitude towards love?
And as a closing remark, you aren't talking to a bound person. You are talking to a free man, free from so many things that many would shudder. There are even days when I agree with them, being free from destination isn't really different from being lost. But I treasure my freedom nonetheless. And because I treasure it, I fully understand others that treasure it too. Yet if other being told me to exchange our freedom in the name of love, she takes mine, I take hers, I would not hesitate. Because if she is willing to give up her freedom for me, than that love is worth doing the same for her.
No.95691
>>95689Beautifully put, anon
¥In my craft or sullen art, exercised in the still night when only the moon rages and the lovers lie abed with all their griefs in their arms, I labour by singing light, not for ambition or bread or the strut and trade of charms on the ivory stages, but for the common wages of their most secret heart.¥Not for the proud man apart from the raging moon I write on these spindrift pages, nor for the towering dead with their nightingales and psalms, but for the lovers, their arms round the griefs of the ages, who pay no praise or wages, nor heed my craft or art.