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Jun. 11th, 2013 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
knowledgeandshadeOOC Information;
Name; Jenny
Personal Journal; swanreaper @ dreamwidth
Contact; swanreaper @ plurk
Other Characters; N/A
IC Information;
Character Name; Patchouli Knowledge
Canon; Touhou Project
Canon Point; Post Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object; she never had any role in PC-98 canon
Age; 100+ years old
House; Odin. Patchouli is a librarian who devotes herself to study, spending literally all her time reading and researching.
Power; Fire magic
Personality;
Patchouli is a natural magician, a kind of youkai born with an ability to develop their magical powers as they choose, whereas most other youkai are restricted to a specific power. As a result, Patchouli never had to expend the kind of effort that a human magician would simply to obtain magical power, she simply had to choose what direction she wanted her powers to go and work from there. But she has worked all her life to that end; it is stated in her profile in Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil, the game in which she is introduced, that she has spent a hundred years researching spells and filling the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library with her own grimoires. She is intensely studious and rarely leaves this library, much preferring the musty company of books to fresh air and exertion. She actually knows more about the outside world than most people in Gensokyo, despite how rarely she goes out, due to the fact that there are books from outside in her library. She often forgets to eat in the midst of her research, as well; even taking care of herself is a lesser priority than reading for Patchouli, but the fruits of such efforts are clear to anyone who sees her spellwork. She is known for having an unusual variety of classic elemental spells, even combining different elements, an indication of her creativity and proficiency when it comes to magical research. One can easily consider her a kind of demonic nerd.
She is, in fact, deeply curious and genuinely interested in the world, even if she would prefer to learn about it from the comforts of her the library. She might grumble about it, but she will pursue knowledge wherever it is. True, she'll probably “walk her own path” to obtain this knowledge, but if she can get her way, she'll learn everything there is to know about a subject. Knowledge is one of the few things that can really stir her into action, though she doesn't show her passion for it in the same way a human would. She has a lifespan that's much longer than a typical mortal's, so she is content to take her time and learn at her own quick pace. She is described in supplemental material (Perfect Memento in Strict Sense) as “eagerly researching new spells,” and as stated above, this is what she devotes all her time to. It's worth noting that she can breeze from one discovery to the next, because she has as much time to make new ones as she wants, and so she doesn't see a need to take particular pride or pleasure in one particular accomplishment. Rather, she prides herself on her overall abilities and intelligence. She tends to appear simply satisfied with her research, but it's not that she isn't passionate about it. It is, however, more likely that her passion isn't ever concentrated in one expression.
As one would expect of someone who spends all her time buried in books, Patchouli tends to be somewhat odd, and not always in a good way. In an “interview” with another character in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red, Patchouli plans to celebrate a holiday completely out of season, and doesn't seem to understand why this is strange – mostly because the holiday's name means “interval between seasons.” She does tend to put too much stock in words, and will take things by the book because that's the only thing she really knows how to do, even if this may not lead to the most sensible course of action. In Subterranean Animism, she persists on looking up information about another characters opponents, supposedly to help her, but she never finds the information until after the battle is completely. She is clearly limited by her book-based knowledge in this way, as she evidently needed to look this information up, rather than just knowing it. This suggests a kind of complacency; she is so used to having books to rely on that (while she supposedly has a library's worth of knowledge in her head) she doesn't think to fill in gaps until the last moment, because she's used to having information available. She tends to display the impracticality that is often associated with intelligence, but it's mixed in with some genre savviness, so it isn't always as prominent.
While she thirsts for knowledge and will certainly approach something she's never read about in order to understand it, subjects from outside of her books are often handled awkwardly. Throughout Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, as she investigates the incident, she repeatedly expresses frustration that it's not something she can immediately understand. She may be willing to look for knowledge, but that doesn't mean she won't find the search frustrating or annoying at times, if she thinks it's too much hassle. And since she dislikes leaving the house as a general rule, it doesn't take much for her to deem it a hassle. She does have reasons for this; with asthma, anemia, and Vitamin A deficiency, too much exertion really can cause her problems. Even without that, however, she seems to shun sun and fresh air on principle, if only because light and moisture will damage books, and she can't abide by that.
Since Patchouli's interests are limited mainly to books, there are very few things which can get an emotional reaction out of her. This doesn't mean that she is especially stoic, just that she isn't attached to much. It also means that it can be rather difficult to get an apparent reaction out of her, other than frustration at “rats” in the library or someone interfering with her research. The destruction of books or knowledge could probably anger her, but this has never been directly shown. She also doesn't seem like she would be inclined to dwell on anything enough to truly be sad about it; to continue based on the above thread, if books were destroyed, she would be more concerned with replacing them after she had punished the culprit, rather than being sad over the loss. She definitely reaches a limit, at times; by the end of Subterranean Animism, when she learns that the entire affair was more or less a result of poor communication by some gods, she immediately declares that she is tired and will be going to bed. Based on this, it seems that she will indeed give up when she decides that something is too trying, pushing her patience past what she cares to put up with.
Patchouli has very little to do with other people due to her lifestyle, and has very few friends as a result of poor social skills. Remilia Scarlet, the vampire lady of the Scarlet Devil Mansion (where Patchouli's library is located) seems to be one of them. Patchouli's role at the mansion is not just to keep the library, but also to solve (and sometimes cause, according to PMiSS) problems at the mansion, and she offers her services willingly to Remilia. She also seems somewhat protective of her, refusing to let the heroines approach when they threaten to upset the vampire's plans. She typically subjects the other members of the household to rather snarky treatment, but at the same time, she will show gratitude for the services they provide. There does seem to be a bond there; they know each other, and so she doesn't necessarily always need to be polite, nor is she as distant from them. Her only other truly notable relationship is with Marisa Kirisame, a human magician who frequently sneaks into the library to “borrow” books. Patchouli often refers to her as a rat, and they aren't quite friends. They do seem to have some respect for each other as magicians, however, and Patchouli tolerates Marisa – if she doesn't catch the human taking anything, Marisa usually gets to keep the books she "borrows." They are also shown working together in Subterranean Animism, with Marisa doing the active investigation underground and Patchouli advising her (if rather poorly) from the surface, indicating that Patchouli is willing to work with her if needed.
In general, it is stated that she “doesn't interact well with others,” and has been referred to as “dark” because of it. She isn't usually rude beyond her tendency to snark, but she will be short and dismissive of those she isn't interested in, which would be most people. Patchouli is a researcher first and foremost, and people will most likely notice this in their dealings with them, as she expresses an interest more in what they know about what she wants to know than anything. She is a quiet and somewhat aloof presence, but hardly shy about speaking her mind when she chooses.
Name; Jenny
Personal Journal; swanreaper @ dreamwidth
Contact; swanreaper @ plurk
Other Characters; N/A
IC Information;
Character Name; Patchouli Knowledge
Canon; Touhou Project
Canon Point; Post Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object; she never had any role in PC-98 canon
Age; 100+ years old
House; Odin. Patchouli is a librarian who devotes herself to study, spending literally all her time reading and researching.
Power; Fire magic
Personality;
Patchouli is a natural magician, a kind of youkai born with an ability to develop their magical powers as they choose, whereas most other youkai are restricted to a specific power. As a result, Patchouli never had to expend the kind of effort that a human magician would simply to obtain magical power, she simply had to choose what direction she wanted her powers to go and work from there. But she has worked all her life to that end; it is stated in her profile in Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil, the game in which she is introduced, that she has spent a hundred years researching spells and filling the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library with her own grimoires. She is intensely studious and rarely leaves this library, much preferring the musty company of books to fresh air and exertion. She actually knows more about the outside world than most people in Gensokyo, despite how rarely she goes out, due to the fact that there are books from outside in her library. She often forgets to eat in the midst of her research, as well; even taking care of herself is a lesser priority than reading for Patchouli, but the fruits of such efforts are clear to anyone who sees her spellwork. She is known for having an unusual variety of classic elemental spells, even combining different elements, an indication of her creativity and proficiency when it comes to magical research. One can easily consider her a kind of demonic nerd.
She is, in fact, deeply curious and genuinely interested in the world, even if she would prefer to learn about it from the comforts of her the library. She might grumble about it, but she will pursue knowledge wherever it is. True, she'll probably “walk her own path” to obtain this knowledge, but if she can get her way, she'll learn everything there is to know about a subject. Knowledge is one of the few things that can really stir her into action, though she doesn't show her passion for it in the same way a human would. She has a lifespan that's much longer than a typical mortal's, so she is content to take her time and learn at her own quick pace. She is described in supplemental material (Perfect Memento in Strict Sense) as “eagerly researching new spells,” and as stated above, this is what she devotes all her time to. It's worth noting that she can breeze from one discovery to the next, because she has as much time to make new ones as she wants, and so she doesn't see a need to take particular pride or pleasure in one particular accomplishment. Rather, she prides herself on her overall abilities and intelligence. She tends to appear simply satisfied with her research, but it's not that she isn't passionate about it. It is, however, more likely that her passion isn't ever concentrated in one expression.
As one would expect of someone who spends all her time buried in books, Patchouli tends to be somewhat odd, and not always in a good way. In an “interview” with another character in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red, Patchouli plans to celebrate a holiday completely out of season, and doesn't seem to understand why this is strange – mostly because the holiday's name means “interval between seasons.” She does tend to put too much stock in words, and will take things by the book because that's the only thing she really knows how to do, even if this may not lead to the most sensible course of action. In Subterranean Animism, she persists on looking up information about another characters opponents, supposedly to help her, but she never finds the information until after the battle is completely. She is clearly limited by her book-based knowledge in this way, as she evidently needed to look this information up, rather than just knowing it. This suggests a kind of complacency; she is so used to having books to rely on that (while she supposedly has a library's worth of knowledge in her head) she doesn't think to fill in gaps until the last moment, because she's used to having information available. She tends to display the impracticality that is often associated with intelligence, but it's mixed in with some genre savviness, so it isn't always as prominent.
While she thirsts for knowledge and will certainly approach something she's never read about in order to understand it, subjects from outside of her books are often handled awkwardly. Throughout Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, as she investigates the incident, she repeatedly expresses frustration that it's not something she can immediately understand. She may be willing to look for knowledge, but that doesn't mean she won't find the search frustrating or annoying at times, if she thinks it's too much hassle. And since she dislikes leaving the house as a general rule, it doesn't take much for her to deem it a hassle. She does have reasons for this; with asthma, anemia, and Vitamin A deficiency, too much exertion really can cause her problems. Even without that, however, she seems to shun sun and fresh air on principle, if only because light and moisture will damage books, and she can't abide by that.
Since Patchouli's interests are limited mainly to books, there are very few things which can get an emotional reaction out of her. This doesn't mean that she is especially stoic, just that she isn't attached to much. It also means that it can be rather difficult to get an apparent reaction out of her, other than frustration at “rats” in the library or someone interfering with her research. The destruction of books or knowledge could probably anger her, but this has never been directly shown. She also doesn't seem like she would be inclined to dwell on anything enough to truly be sad about it; to continue based on the above thread, if books were destroyed, she would be more concerned with replacing them after she had punished the culprit, rather than being sad over the loss. She definitely reaches a limit, at times; by the end of Subterranean Animism, when she learns that the entire affair was more or less a result of poor communication by some gods, she immediately declares that she is tired and will be going to bed. Based on this, it seems that she will indeed give up when she decides that something is too trying, pushing her patience past what she cares to put up with.
Patchouli has very little to do with other people due to her lifestyle, and has very few friends as a result of poor social skills. Remilia Scarlet, the vampire lady of the Scarlet Devil Mansion (where Patchouli's library is located) seems to be one of them. Patchouli's role at the mansion is not just to keep the library, but also to solve (and sometimes cause, according to PMiSS) problems at the mansion, and she offers her services willingly to Remilia. She also seems somewhat protective of her, refusing to let the heroines approach when they threaten to upset the vampire's plans. She typically subjects the other members of the household to rather snarky treatment, but at the same time, she will show gratitude for the services they provide. There does seem to be a bond there; they know each other, and so she doesn't necessarily always need to be polite, nor is she as distant from them. Her only other truly notable relationship is with Marisa Kirisame, a human magician who frequently sneaks into the library to “borrow” books. Patchouli often refers to her as a rat, and they aren't quite friends. They do seem to have some respect for each other as magicians, however, and Patchouli tolerates Marisa – if she doesn't catch the human taking anything, Marisa usually gets to keep the books she "borrows." They are also shown working together in Subterranean Animism, with Marisa doing the active investigation underground and Patchouli advising her (if rather poorly) from the surface, indicating that Patchouli is willing to work with her if needed.
In general, it is stated that she “doesn't interact well with others,” and has been referred to as “dark” because of it. She isn't usually rude beyond her tendency to snark, but she will be short and dismissive of those she isn't interested in, which would be most people. Patchouli is a researcher first and foremost, and people will most likely notice this in their dealings with them, as she expresses an interest more in what they know about what she wants to know than anything. She is a quiet and somewhat aloof presence, but hardly shy about speaking her mind when she chooses.
