[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

The “Youkai of the Dusk,” Rumia doesn't actually boast much power to her name, sitting as perhaps one of the weakest danmaku users who use spellcards in the entirety of Gensokyo. She's one of very few youkai who does not have a more specific classification, such as an oni or a ghost, but fits the role quite well in her hunting and consuming of humans. What makes her unique is her ability to manipulate darkness, most frequently used to create a ball of pure darkness around her to keep out light and heat, both of which are extreme bothers to her. This has, unfortunately, left her more sensitive to light and heat, but allows her to see well in very little lighting. She also appears to be capable of turning herself into a dark mist, although this is rarely seen in comparison to the former power.[break][break]

Light-hearted in nature and without so much as a shred of stress to her name, Rumia... admittedly doesn't have that much of a personality to go off of. Looking to be between ten and fourteen years of age, the blonde certainly acts as such, with an addition day's worth of Halloween candy. She enjoys flying around aimlessly – the likes of which leads to her ramming into trees and buildings because she's usually surrounded by a giant orb of darkness – and seems to be rather upbeat, but her goals are close to none, and her only pastime outside of flying around is, uh. Consuming human flesh. She doesn't care much for other youkai invading her bubble of the dark, either, and the only thing she cares much about humans is how fast they run from her. In the end, everything beyond that would be solely up to you.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

Fairies in Gensokyo are typically weaker than even the lowly humans, although a handful of their kind are known to pose much more of a challenge. Daiyousei, as the name would imply, is a greater fairy, one of the higher tiered of her kind. While she isn't capable of using spell cards, she's far more resilient than her fragile family and can pose a threat to the unwitting.[break][break]

While Rumia has little to her character, Daiyousei has little to her lore and story, leaving – again – a lot of room for interpretation. In the fandom, however, she is usually depicted as a very soft-spoken and shy character, despite being one of the strongest of her race, and functions as a voice of reason for her close friend Cirno. Official sprites depict her with flowers, implying that she has some interest in floral life, although she'd have to be able to withstand the cold to explain her playtime with her ice fairy friend. Like most fairies, however, she's quite the emotional sort of person, quicker to joy, sadness, and anger than the “norm,” although even these are diluted compared to her typically hyperactive brethern. At the very least, the girl has a lot of patience. Goodness knows she needs it, considering the crowd of rowdy troublemakers she's found herself herding together.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

If Daiyousei is an exception to her race's standard of strength, Cirno could hardly be considered a fairy, herself, had her title not been the “Fairy of the Ice.” One of very few, if not the only fairy capable of using spell cards in her danmaku arsenal, as well as using them well, anyone who battles against her expecting an easy getaway is sorely mistaken. This isn't to say that she is an exceptionally strong battler compared to youkai – Heavens, no – but her might far exceeds that which should be expected from her. Beyond her superhuman (superfairy?) strength and skill in danmaku, however, Cirno is also able to manipulate the cold, stealing heat from things around her in order to freeze whatever she so chooses. By using this, she can create icicles “out of thin air” by freezing water vapor in the air, as well as being able to drop even warm summer temperatures down to something a little more fit for fall or winter just by being present. She is not, however, capable of “freezing” things mid flight, seeing as her ability only affects temperature rather than such things as momentum, and attempting to freeze a projectile mid flight would only succeed in making the weapon colder.[break][break]

A superiority complex taken to the extreme, Cirno has taken her exceptional might over her own kind and applied it to just about everything else the world has to offer, constantly proclaiming herself to be the strongest of all even when she's easily beaten down by the many stronger danmaku users around. As such, her foolish displays of arrogance have lead her to be known as quite the fool – which wouldn't entirely be wrong, but she isn't nearly as idiotic as most would try to tell you. Just... not always the sharpest tool in the crayon box. Like other fairies, though, she enjoys leading a simply life of frog freezing and hide-and-go-seek, challenging others to danmaku battles as much out of a need to stroke her massive go as a method in which to have fun. Still, despite her child-like appearance and nature, she's lived in her country for more than sixty years, and its unclear how many more she will manage to survive through.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

Known as the “Chinese Girl,” Meiling is, in fact, of Chinese descent, likely having moved to Gensokyo some hundreds of years ago and failing to leave since. Despite what she may lead people to believe, she's far from human – such a large age can tell you as much – although she doesn't typically act like the youkai that she is. For starters, she has no specifical classification beyond “a youkai,” and her only special ability is her manipulation of Qi. While she does also participate in danmaku battles, it appears that her danmaku, as well as her ability to fly along with most other residents of Gensokyo, find their roots in that very manipulation of Qi. Think a little less like shooting a psychic beam from your finger tip and a little more like Dragon Ball Z – ah, yes, there you go. Furthermore, she's also quite skilled at martial arts, specifically Tai Chi Chuan, and if conflicts aren't solved with spell cards, this is her go-to method for disposing of enemies. These powers were what landed her a spot as the gate guard of Remilia's Scarlet Devil Mansion shy of one hundred years ago when the residents consisted only of both Scarlet Sister, Patchouli, and the stray fairies: strong enough to dispatch of anyone trying to trespass, but weak enough to be eliminated by the mistress of the household should loyalties turn.[break][break]

Meiling was quite good at the job she had prior to arriving in Sanctum – save for her napping and tenancy to read manga on the job, work ethics she's likely carried over into whatever job she's acquired for herself here. Lazy might be too strong of a word to describe her, although impatient would be far from wrong, and sitting outside a gate all day can certainly make a nap sound like Heaven. Still, she was well liked among the other residents for her good nature, one of a few youkai who fails to discriminate against humans (hardly even bringing to light that she, herself, is not one) and treats just about everyone with friendly respect. Those not trying to trespass on mansion grounds were always greeted with a warm smile and a pleasant conversation, and even those she was forced to engage in combat with were always given fair fights. Humble, though, isn't exactly a desirable trait she can boast, appearing to be quite prideful in herself, her accomplishments, and her heritage. Aside from that, she appears to be very good with kids, easily surpassing the meager skills the other workers at the mansion have in the same field, and before she was taken from Gensokyo, she claimed the title of a very well-liked citizen.[break][break]

Despite their distaste for her less-than-perfect work as a guard, the other residents at the mansion generally held Meiling in good light. She and Sakuya spar from time to time, keeping one another in good shape. She'd occasionally lend a hand in Patchouli and Koakuma's library should they have needed an extra hand. Flandre revered her as her favorite, just short of her sister, and she was the only one who payed the young vampire visit in her locked basement. Some of the manga that she read were loaned to the mistress of the household, the two getting to discuss with much excitement “picture books” that no one else seemed to give much credit. She was, as well, the first to accompany Remilia on her violent raid across the country, but bailed early on, likely out of guilt, fear for her safety, or some combination of the two. As for what she might be currently doing in the city, she doesn't seem too much like the rebel type, although Militant or Vanguard work - particularly the latter - both seem like jobs she would try to land. She's already got plenty of practice as a bodyguard (the Guard), and the constant work required by the Vanguard in and out of the city would keep her impatience and boredom at bay. And - hey! - she could even run into one of the Scarlet sisters out in the wilderness while on a patrol. What an odd meeting it would be, wouldn't it?

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

Like Daiyousei, little is actually known about the “little imp” that wanders the library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, although it's strongly believed that Koakuma, the devil girl in question, functions as an assistant to the stronger librarian who lives there. Unlike most youkai in Gensokyo, she doesn't appear to be capable of using spell cards, although the danmaku she does use can still prove to be somewhat of a difficulty. Outside of that, her abilities are little to none. Small bat-like wings protruding from her temples and large bat-like wings protruding from her lower back allow for flight, but most other Gensokyan citizens are capable of the same thing, and she appears to wield no other ability than that which summons her globe shots and kunai.[break][break]

Koakuma is often depicted as a meek, obedient assistant, working very hard at the job she has and using only the best of manners she can possibly muster. At the same time, however, she can be a bit of a klutz – dropping the large stacks of books she insists on carrying is nothing foreign to her or her boss – and is a bit eager to please, which leaves her as the sort of person who's likely to apologize to you until your ear falls out from the sound. Excitement is also something not rare with her, and despite her best efforts to contain it, once she knows that something wonderful (or not-so-wonderful, I suppose; she's easily impressed) has happened, it isn't long before everyone else knows, too. Even if she is a relatively steady and hard-worker, though, she can't deny her nature as a devil, and while the occurrences might be rare, it isn't beneath her to play pranks on those who trespass in the library before confronting them head on.[break][break]

It's unclear how long she's been working at the library, as well as what her relationship with the other employees of the mansion as a whole are. If anything, she probably hadn't spoken much to Sakuya, Meiling, or even the mistress of the mansion before she was taken from her home and plopped into Sanctum. However, her adoration of Patchouli is pretty obvious, so if there's anyone she would be missing in the city, it would be her purple-haired friend. Considering her nature, she probably wouldn't function well as a Militant, Vanguard, or rebel, and would perhaps take a job instead at the Institute as an aide or the school's actual librarian.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

The “Unmoving Great Librarian.” A fitting name for someone who rarely left her library, as well as a powerful witch capable of thwarting most threats posed to her stationary home. Patchouli is one of few magicians that lived in Gensokyo, but proves herself as one of the strongest of that subset, as well, over une hundred years of life dedicated to burying herself in ancient, magical tomes that have taught her now, powerful spells, as well as how to increase the might of those she already has. Her spellcards are infused with her manipulation over the five elements, or Wu Xing: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth; as well as offensive “sun” magic and defensive “moon” magic. Each of these represents a day of the week on a Japanese calendar, lending her the name the “one-week magician.” This does not mean she's limited to using one for every day of the week, though – in fact, instead of just being able to use multiple in succession, she's also capable of blending these powers together to create more destructive forces. Beyond that, she's also fond of summoning lasers should the elements fail, and is capable of imbedding danmaku powers in her books, allowing them, too, to fire danmaku bullets at her enemies. Powerful as she may already be, though, she could be even mightier of a force if she didn't suffer from a sour case of asthma, disruptive enough to cause her to struggle to read spells and force her to withdraw from fights she might have been able to win otherwise. This medical condition is another reason why she's locked herself indoors for most of her life, but traces of shame have stopped her from bringing it much to light.[break][break]

Stoic and silent, Patchouli is the sort of person to keep to herself for days upon days upon days. Social interaction is more of a bother than a want, and she can go multiple weeks without speaking to even her closest friend once. When she does open her mouth, rarely is it to speak words of warmth, and even despite her formal method of speech, she doesn't enjoy speaking with extra “fluff” to what she's trying to get across – nor does she tolerate others waffling around subjects, themselves. Her only ambitions seem to relate to her pursuit of knowledge, trapped in her own library as she may feel, though she isn't against partnering with others should it earn her information she does not already have. Furthermore, she's an incredibly independent person, incredibly stubborn in her beliefs and influenced by no one in her ideals. Very rarely, if ever, has she been persuaded to think differently of a subject by another person's words, confident in her own intellect that she can make sound decisions and opinions on her own based on intensive studies on the topic. At the same time, she's very blunt about what she think, often serving as an unbiased voice of reason, or a confident-sounding giver of poor advice. While she may be hard to bend, she's certainly had no difficulty getting the mistress of the mansion to do as she believes (but never with ill intentions). Lastly, while she doesn't seem to be particularly boastful of herself, she does seem to belittle... well, most everyone else around her. There are exceptions, yes, but her opinions of many of the youkai and even more of the humans are very low, and she isn't against vocalizing such belittling thoughts.[break][break]

While she had very respectful relations with the other Scarlet Devil Mansion attendants, it would likely be a lie to say that Pache got along with them all. Her best friend would undoubtedly be Remilia Scarlet who opened the door to the mansion first the witch, and originally to the witch alone. Frequently, should the purple-haired youkai have felt up to it, the two would be seen enjoying tea and discussing interesting ideas and stories from old books that... usually only one of them read. While she appeared to have been quite polite with the maid, Sakuya, on most occasions, she did think the white-haired woman to be somewhat poor at her job of warding away enemies, and she's had more than a few choice words to say about the gatekeeper that used to snore out front. Her pity for Flandre was little to none, and perhaps the only one she could claim to have a soft spot for was her clumsy assistant in the library, Koakuma. Most jobs in the city of Sanctum would simply be too taxing on her health, although the massive public library is a siren call too strong for her to even think of doing much else. While it may not be as expansive as the one she's had to leave behind, she probably reveres it a little as her own, and likely works as one of the head librarians, if not having taken her place as the woman in charge altogether. Beyond that, she believes modern science, the likes of which was non-existent in Gensokyo, to be a form of magic all on its own, and refuses to listen to anyone who may inform her otherwise.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

Make me a Sakuya, and I will be your slave forever.[break][break]

As the title “Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion” would imply, Sakuya was, in fact, the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. What truly sets her apart from everyone else living within the mansion walls, though, is that she is a human, not a fairy or a youkai. Still, she doesn't quite exhibit traits of a typical human, and her mistress has stated herself that she's been at the mansion so long that it feels wrong to refer to her as such – that, and most humans can't claim to possess the incredible power that she has. Sakuya can manipulate time, and by extension space, a power that aids as much in spell card battles as it did in her maid work and other functions of life. She is capable of speeding up, slowing down, pausing, reversing, erasing, and condensing time, either in general or in a specific object, person, or confined space. This allows her to slow her own aging process, leaving her looking as though she's no older than, say, nineteen when she is, in fact, at least seventy years of age. She can also condense two timelines into one, allowing one person or object to exist and act in the same manner in both the past and preset at the same time. By stopping time, as can be seen in the provided link, she can place a multitude of silver knives while her opponent is frozen and make it look as though they've appeared out of thin air when time has resumed its normal course. By “erasing” the time of an object or person, she can literally cause it or them to cease to exist, erasing the presence in all timelines, although this is a power that is only used in dire situations, and has never been executed on a living person before. However, this power is not flawless, and while she can, in a sense, “reverse time,” there is no possible way to rewrite events. She can return, say, a pencil to its original spot if it has been moved, but should a vase tumble over and shatter, reversing time would only move its shattered pieces to where it was at the start. Because time and space are interconnected, the last of her abilities allows her to narrow or lengthen most any given space. This has been used to make the mansion much larger on the insane than it appears to be from the outside, but also makes for cleaning (which she does alone) much easier by shrinking corridors to a reasonable size when dusting or mopping.[break][break]

Having been alienated by her kind for her superhuman abilities, it's a little hard to blame Sakuya for her less-than-warm approach to other human beings. This isn't to say that she's overly cruel to those around her, but it has only been a relatively recent development that led her to have any interest in socializing with those outside of the mansion at all (and a good thing, too, seeing as everyone in Sanctum falls under “outside of the mansion) rather than dismissing them in as polite a manner as dismissing someone can be. In general, though, there are very few things that can throw her off guard, and despite having lived in a world where bizarre incidents were common and having been sucked into a world literally undergoing the apocalypse, she's very skilled at taking things on with a genuine smile and a tidal wave of knives. Stress is all but non-existent for her, and for someone who lives a very orderly life, she still manages to “go with the flow” quite well. Despite her younger appearance, many note that she speaks and acts with the grace of a woman thrice her physical age, and perhaps more becoming of the age she actually is. She is incredibly polite and obedient to Remilia Scarlet and Patchouli Knowledge, and while her speech is a tad less formal around others, it's still far from anything casual. In the end, she brings level-headedness and grace to seemingly new levels, playing the part of a maid anyone would covet. At the same time, though, she knows very well how to bring on the hurt once her mistress has been threatened, and she isn't afraid to puncture a thousand holes in someone who stands in her way should she feel it necessary.[break][break]

Playing off a theory started by a Touhou character based on the fact that Sakuya's weapon of choice is a silver knife, the exact sort used to cut down vampires and demons, Remilia's history speaks of a time when a young vampire hunter (everyone's favorite maid) approached her in hopes of slaying her to bring honor upon the hunter herself and peace to the European world. Wanting the time manipulation powers for herself, Remilia struck a deal with the arrogant girl, claiming that if she were to lose, the other could have her head, but if she were to win, the other would have to serve her for as long as she so chose. Considering Sakuya's new name, given by the Scarlet Devil herself, and occupation, it's clear what the outcome was. Despite the forced servitude in which the Izayoi first joined the mansion crew, however, it didn't take long for her to grow accustomed to, and actually enjoy her role. Remilia, while hardly a shining saint, certainly doesn't fit the description of a vile, heartless vampire, and respect – trust – blossomed between them as soon as the maid realized that. As of now, both function as the other's most trusted partner, each willing to lay their life down for the other. The other assistants at the mansion, as well, are in her good graces, respect for Pache's knowledge and admiration of Meiling's physical strength putting them both in high regards in her mind. This did not earn Flandre her pity or mercy, however, and though she was tasked with providing the younger Scarlet sister with whatever was desired, she didn't spare a second to think of letting the blonde free from her basement prison.[break][break]

According to Remilia's history, which I won't put anyone through the torture of reading, Sakuya was sucked into the same wormhole as the vampire in the middle of a spell card battle against Wriggle Nightbug. Remilia was spat out in the wilderness around Sanctum and, refusing to enter the city, has been searching for the human in the surrounding areas for the entire length of time she's been there. As for what Sakuya may be doing, I personally love the idea of them being separated by Sanctum's walls with Sakuya inside, likely doing Militant or civilian work (unless you can think of a good reason for her being a rebel, in which, by all means, go ahead and make her one). The search is probably mutual on both ends, but since their both dumbs who can't figure out that maybe the other is elsewhere in the area, they'll be apart for quiiiiite some time. Should someone take up the mantle of her character, though, a reunion has to be in order sometime and maybe some shippy things because for the love of Pete, I have been trying to do a yuri ship since the dawn of time and it never pans out, what the heck. D:<.[break][break]

Too long, didn't read: Sakuya puts the “A” in “bad a”. That is all.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

The Scarlet Devil herself. Perhaps the strongest of the mansion crew, Remilia has spent more than five hundred years of her life instilling terror in those who are unfortunate enough to live in the same country with her incredibly strength (courtesy of being a vampire), her incredible skill at danmaku, and her manipulation of the fates. Or, at least, this is what she would like you to believe. For a vampire, she isn't very malicious, and it's been decades since she's actually killed a person; even then, after five centuries, her death toll is quite small, especially compared to other youkai and even those of her own specific kind. Her manipulation of fates, too, is an iffy subject, seeing as she rarely uses it to bend things in her favor. Whether this is because it's an ineffectual power or because she's too sure of her own abilities is unknown, but really the only thing to fear of the mastermind in a child's body is her skill in bloodless spell card fights, how far she can throw you (pretty darn far), and the year's worth of knowledge that most people cannot boast. I'd carry on, but I don't plan on dropping this brat any time soon, so feel free to skim through her application should you be curious.

[attr="class","unownblurb2"]

Recall when I claimed Remilia to be the strongest of the Scarlet Devil Mansion group? Such would be true in a sense, and most anyone who has heard of or even payed visit to the mansion would tell you as much. In reality, however, there is another vampire living within its boundaries – namely one who possesses even greater strength than the mistress of the household. Flandre Scarlet is Remilia Scarlet's little known younger sister, almost completely a unknown to the public due to the fact that centuries ago, before the aforementioned crew ever even arrived in Gensokyo, she was locked away with powerful magics to prevent her massive and uncontrolled power from destroying... well, just about everything. Her strength is impressive enough on its own, but with her inability to keep it under her will, it often works to destroy most everything in sight rather than what she wills it to do, and it was for her own safety, as well as that of those around her, that she had to be sealed away. Her ability literally allows her to destroy anything she so chooses, indestructible or otherwise, by gathering tension in the object into one specific point and striking it; she's also capable of transferring this point of tension onto her own person, such as in the palm of her hand, and a simple squeeze is all she needs to eradicate whatever the unfortunate target may be. Aside from that, she is capable of creating at least three relatively independent clones of herself at any given time (independent enough to act on their own, but not so much as to disobey the original's commands) and functions as one of the most powerful danmaku users in all of Gensokyo, even if she only challenges others as a method of which to “play.”[break][break]

A common misconception is that the Sister of the Devil is equal parts insane and sadistic. In truth, centuries of isolation have left her without much common knowledge of how to interact with people. She's not crazy – about as sane as one could hope – but she acts anything but normal. Her first reaction to meeting a new face is to engage them in play, but her destructive tenancies and inability to understand that more living beings can be crushed under her foot often result in horrific results. The few who have met her and survived know it better that she be kept away from others as much as possible, and for those who didn't – well, they'd certainly not around the tell the tale.[break][break]

She loves her sister dearly, as her sister loves her in turn, and generally thinks well of the other workers, even if she can be a little bitter that most of them didn't really seem to care about what was supposed to be eternal imprisonment. Meiling was likely her favorite, playing the role of a “big sister” in the few times that she was allowed out into the mansion yards or through the mansion itself, although bugging Sakuya, Patchouli, and Koakuma was never outside of her list of things to do. Paradox currently has her categorized as a survivor outside of Sanctum ones – and thank goodness for that. Keep this time bomb away from civilization, please, she will destroy an entire District on accident.