Cute librarian girlHelpful, pretty and smart. Why don't you like Kosuzu?
>>47838737tits not big enough for paizuri
But I do like her?
>>47838737She's a race traitor in league with the youkai and their minions.
Good, I wanted to ask about Kosuzu ability for some time.On what level does she process the text? If I write for instance:"I saw trees"Does she recognise which 'saw' was used here? What if the intent of writer was to have ambiguity? Does she get all possible meanings, or she simply knows that there is a wordplay at work here?What 'dictionary' does she use? The average meaning of word? Or what writer intented? What with neologisms then? What about strange cases, where someone for example writes 'lemon', but means 'particles' by it?What about coded messages? She can't read mirrored text, but would something like Ceasar cipher stop her?
>>47838853>On what level does she process the text? If I write for instance:I'd assume she reads authorial intent directly, without actually parsing the linguistic structure, as she's seen struggling to write in the same language she'd effortlessly read earlier. It'd be sufficiently magical that way, too.
>>47838853somewhat like the other anon said. As FS progresses her power starts getting stronger and it's heavily implied that she starts to understand more and more of what's written. However, I think it's somewhat limited by her knowledge - she can even read words of unknown meaning to her, like Berlin, but that does not mean that she acquires knowledge about what Berlin is. I'd say that Kosuzu can comprehend what's written at the level of being able to recognize the gramatical function of every word in the phrase, and building an equivalent sentence in Japanese with the words she know. She's a pretty experienced reader, so I think that for things like wordplay or ambiguity she might be able to grasp. As for her dictionary, it's definitely her dictionary. She wouldn't understand what is neodymium in Russian or Japanese; however, she probably can translate intended/secondary meanings pretty easily, as long as she cam perceive them.For coded messages, it's hard to say... I'd say that if her ability is strong enough she could definitely do it.Now, as for why she can understand so much but not produce anything, that is actually more common than you might imagine. Acquiring proficiency in reading a language does not mean that you will become capable of writing on it. If I remember correctly, she even scribbles some lines of English, but gives up. That's because her ability works kind of like an automatic universal translator; she can understand it, but it's not like she becomes an expert on the grammar and vocabulary of the target language just from that. You try to learn a language just by translating it repeatedly through Google Translate. It won't end well.Besides, she had relatively less experience with English; she mostly read youma books in youkai scripts if I remember correctly. Maybe if she continues reading English daily she will become fluent someday.Anyway her ability would be most useful to outside humans. Imagine bringing her all of these undeciphered or unreadable texts in old scripts; I'd like to bring her Rongorongo text to finally settle if it was truly written language or just random scribbles.
>>47838771This, first post best post.
>>47838737>Cute librarian*Cute lesbian
>>47838853What if she reads the Finnish phrase: "Kuusi palaa" ?
Suzu the cutie!
>>47845780Canon
>>47860928Canon bookseller!>>47850369Yup, great example.
>>47866873Canon lesbian
>>47869771Canonically, it's possible that Kosuzu could read poetry in Lesbian Greek. Aeolic is interesting but honestly I still prefer the Doric dialects of Ancient Greek.
>>47838737But I do, she's easily one of the cutest
>>47871269You're a man of good taste!
Kosuzu art generally has a nice quality.
Post more yuri of 'suzu, preferably with Mamizou.
This dumb girl needs a husband to make her a mom.
>>47886002She has a girlfriend already.
>>47886002She'll end up an old maid on Akyuu's, I mean Agatha's, dole.
>>47845780that hag is "molesting" that kid, shouldn't a tranny like you be crying about that?
Obsessed
>>47886364They can just share a man.It's not like Akyuu needs one for long, anyway.
>>47887647Love Akyuu Suzu imagesShame that a certain bad element will bother the thread every time it's posted but maybe we can get by ignoring him
>>47887647Why would they need a man, though? They already have each other to love.
Suzu is brave but she finds the dead very scary
>>47893882the biggest friend of books in Gensokyo
If possible, say the books you've been reading in order to not let the thread get too quiet.Currently reading Sohar - Culture and Society in an Omani Town.
>>47903804Kant's Critique of Pure Reason!
This artist is apparently making a Kosuzu gambling manga. Wish I could read it, looks fun.
>>47915153
>>47915153No! Suzu must be flat! At most small and cute!
>>47919689Kosuzu's powerful human village genes will kick in soon, and be blessed with a physique that draws in human men and makes youkai envious.
>>47920719Canon lesbians!
>>47912417>Kosuzu gambling mangaits going to be a wild ride, doesnt it
>>47919689It depends on wether she's alone or with the qn. When she's with her, suzu must have bigger breasts to balance out the body mass and prevent an anomaly from happening.
>>47920719Kosuzu is already tainted with her ability to make shit happen because read so
>>47915153>>47920719Suzu's suzus!
>>47919689Small and cute it is -- Suzu has enough trouble keeping her books balanced.
i want to steal suzu's bell
>>47928901Looks like Suzu uses A9n's money to gamble. Great stuff
>>47938795>>47939588To my surprise, I managed to find only a single picture of Suzu's suzus with Suzu's bells on them. I would expect it to be more popular.
>>47912417What's it called?
>>47950367Quite literally I Want to Gamble with Your Money
suzu the scary girl
>>47838791You don't like her ENOUGH
I need the Suzu to help sort out my book collection. It's getting way too disorganized.
>>47963136I don't think you can beat me. My books are split between three different houses and even in these houses they're not in a single place nor ordered in any way.By the way, started reading Qalhat, a Medieval Port City of Oman.
Can the Suzu run back to page 1?
>>47977126She sure can! Remember to keep Suzu's thread bumped, everyone!
>>47980691She's gay for Akyuu?? Too bad that's not going to result in any children...
>>47838737If you don't like Kosuzu, you're my opp fr
>>47980772What does that mean?
>>47989393"Opp" is "opposition" or "opponent". Incidentally, can Kosuzu understand ebonics?
>>47991480Only written.If she can understand the writing of beasts such as tengu I don't know why she wouldn't be able to decipher a dialect of a human language like AAVE.
molest the suzu
You've caught the Suzu unaware! Wat do?
>>48002492Sell her to Tengu! She will become their cum dispenser!
>>47995807>I don't know why she wouldn't be able to decipher a dialect of a human language like AAVE.Now I can't stop imagining Kosuzu talking like that
>>48003777>raymoo sez eye shud stahp messin' w dem youma books>i tell her guurrrlllll dey can't hurt me none ion even no howta read>shieeeeeeeet
>>48007512Who the fuck are you quoting?
>>48008720Shit meme, go back to discord
>>47838737She is very silly!
Why does Kosuzu kiss Akyuu so much? Shouldn't she be thinking of getting a boyfriend?
>>48009108Canon yurihus
>>48009231Kosuzu is still growing and still unsure of her feelings! When she gets a little older, she'll realize that she needs a man in her life
>>48014416All she needs is sperm. Once she gets pregnant, she can return to her yuri harem.
Hmm, nice book.
>>48015306THIEF!
Already page 10? What happenedAnyway, I just finished my last book. Was thinking of reading another book about Oman but guess I'll take a break from that topic and read something else.
Kosuzu has several lewd books in her collection!
>>48025726Imagine if some forgotten Touhou Hentai from 2005–2009 reaches Gensokyo HAHAHA
>>48029605Gensokyo has its own Pulp Fiction ?!?!?!?!!?
Started reading Yemen Divided - The Story of a Failed State.
>>48022624>>48032588You're really into the Middle East, huh?
>>48032596He is a sand negro, please understand.
Kosuzu butt
>>47838836Who is the cute malehou with blonde hair ?
>>48033446My bro he doesn't exist
>>48032596Well, I just felt like it was good to follow up with something somewhat related. It was either that or a book about Tajiks, which I'll probably start next.
Kosuzu demands candy!
>>48045991She isn't asking!
>>48048494Geez, she could calm down a little.It's not like there's a shortage of sweets in Gensokyo caused by uncontrolled fairy petty theft. She should just calm down!
>>48051877But there IS a shortage! How do we stop the fairy menace this Halloween?
>>48054140Why contain it? Let it spill over into the terakoya and shrines. Let the wrappers pile up in the streets. In the end, they'll beg us to save them.
>>48051877How did you reproduce this picture, Anon?
>>48061455The prohibition is for reproduction of the book the Suzu is holding. She doesn't want people to make copies of the books she lends.
Finished Yemen Divided. Probably going to start the book about Tajiks next, then return to reading about Oman for a bit.Was a bit wild to see that some of the politicians mentioned in the book are still alive and semi active in South Yemen like Ali Nasir.
>>48061665>She doesn't want people to make copies of the books she lends.What about preservation? Is she the type to choose loss of knowledge over infringement?
>>48065124Kosuzu is just like Nintendo fr fr
Forgot to say the name of the book I'm reading. It's A History of the Tajiks.Once again, I encourage everyone here to post about what you're reading. Let's enjoy some nice books with the Suzu.>>48070418Great image, would be top comfyness to discuss books with the Suzu and the Qn there.
>>48075727I haven't been reading as much as much I should have, so I've been on the same book for a long time now. It's a Brief History of the Druids. It's more academic them what I usually read, but it's really interesting
Does Kosuzu wears a fundoshi or plain white panties?
>>48078217White panties
>>48080503Hehehe, nice...
Kyuun and Suzu in bunny outfits!
>>48084068Akyuu with tits is literally the most disgusting thing imaginable.
>>48084068Isn't the kyuun too old to be acting like that?
>>48091821She's tired, Anon.Tired of hearing "Wow, that librarian at Suzunaan sure is cute!"Tired of the whispers of human males claiming maybe gettiing captured by a youkai isn't so bad.Tired of the looks these same humans struggle to keep on Miss Kochiya or Miss Hijiri's eyes whenever they come to preach for their religion every now and then. Tired of the kids at school making fun of the boy who called Miss Kamishirasawa "Mom". She's a frequent calligraphy teacher at elementary, and she's never been called "Mom".These youkais are filthy, but at least a few of them have brought upon some interesting tools. Maybe with the help of photo shootings and post editing, she can be the human village's diva.Man, even that filthy, good for nothing pestilence God once had a boy who tried to buy her a watch. That Noh dancer who CANT EVEN EMOTE gets dozens of blushing looks at each one of her performance.
>>48091895Akyuu... Maybe it's time to face the reality of the situation... Focus on enjoying other, fine things in life, instead of chasing the impossible... Let other women have their fun and have yours, instead of gettting jealous like a hashihime... Your next reincarnation will be much more successful, I am sure of that!
>>48091944>Your next reincarnation will be much more successful, I am sure of that!With the current estimated growth in half-fairy birth rates, there won't even be any human boys left for Akyuu's next reincarnation.She has to get what she deserves due now while she still can.
>>48092189Then Kosuzu should, as a good friend, birth and raise a whole clan of humie-only descendants for future Child of Miare to choose from.
>>48075788Thanks! Sounds interesting, I've heard that the popular concept of the druid was largely influenced by Roman writers that were prejudiced and prone to inventing legends about them, but I'm yet to read anything specifically about it.By the way, I forgot to say the name of the book I'm reading. It's A History of the Tajiks.
Kosuzu got you a little gift. Do you accept it?
>>48112856THE AKYUU DOLL!!!!!!!
Kosuzu getting away from page 10!
>>48092482Let's be serious here. This girl will be bouncing on youkai (shota) dick the moment Akyuu passes away.She's far too far gone to be salvaged.
Suzu is so cute... You will read a bit today to please her!
>>48092189This image is making me want to breed the 'suzu...
Saving the Suzu and starting discussion:How do you think Kosuzu could defend herself if she were outside the village or went to the Outside World?
>>48124440She would carry a gun. No firearm training required.
>>47838737Come fly with me~ let's fly, let's fly away~
>>48124440she can't defend herself that's why I should always be by her side
>>48009108>I hope no one gets hurtsuch a heartwarming line, its the little things
Nicest girl
>>48128527Proof?
You've heard of the AQN doll, now get ready for...Suzu doll! Do you accept it?>>48124440>How do you think Kosuzu could defend herselfOutside of the village? Kosuzu is a curious girl and really isn't that shy, and now she's part of Gensokyo's few that know the truth about human-youkai relations. Assuming she's alone, can't count on bakedanuki or tenga help, is meeting a dumb youkai that wouldn't really respect her and has no easy access to a level up youma scroll I think she would basically be defenseless. She's definitely well-read; maybe she could try to mount a defense and flee, but her curiosity is almost guaranteed to get the best of her. If the youkai is at least a bit rational, she could try reasoning, but I doubt any would listen; at most she could threaten the tanuki and shrine maiden wrath. If it's a youkai beast or any kind of dumb youkai, she should just flee.The outside world is a different story though. Considering she reads a lot of books from the outside and is a normal human that doesn't depend on magic or belief to exist, I think she could adapt to the outside world. I don't know if she would like it; while there certainly are lots of books, there quite simply isn't the thrill of Gensokyo without the youkai around. Could be interesting if Kosuzu found herself in the outside world and met someone who believes in the occult/youkai. They could have fun adventures while trying to get Kosuzu back to Gensokyo, and as they would be both basically powerless there could be a similar dynamic to the Hifuu club.
Does Kosuzu have any games?
>>48144975She plays ouija regularly.
>>48146538I mean games where she's theMC
>>48146687Just now I have the idea for a version of Bean Counters with Kosuzu catching books and dodging danmaku.
>>47903804Started "Sources of classic japanese demonology". It focuses on Heian period understanding of youkai. It bases itself mostly on Konjaku monogatori, from what I read so far.
>>48152118My curiousity has been picqued! What is the "Heian period understanding of youkai"?
>>47838962i feel like she doesn't actually comprehend a lot of what she reads if she doesn't already have a frame of reference for understanding it>gets magazine about the fall of the berlin wall and soviet union>i hope no one was hurt, the outside world is bad at construction>guy is awarded nobel prize for discovering the particle responsible for mass(higgs boson)>you can weigh things with a scale, the outside world's science must not be very advanced
>>48138791>or tenga helptrue, you don't see many male yokai in gensokyo that that would work on.
>>48154304I will be able to answer that question only once I finish, I am afraid.Jokes aside, youkai aren't part of orthodox buddhist teaching and aren't part of early chronicles (Kojiki and Nihongi, first and foremost) that included Shinto mythos. Youkai belong to tradition - I don't want to say 'folklore', because nobles and priests also believed in them - that lived next to the aforementioned. The book talks about japanese beliefs regarding malevolent spiritual forces during Heian period, which was running from 794 to 1185. It was in that Era that enough of cultural works, including literary works, on subject were produced and survived, allowing us a glimpse of understanding beyond conjectures. Keep in mind however that most of the sources are from the late Heian period.
>>48137115Why is Aya such a dyke? She sleeps with seemingly every girl in Gensokyo.
>>48160239you get the best scoops in bed. she has a direct pulse on all the juicy rumors in gensokyo.
>>48158163I feel like she does comprehend it, it's just that she has no context for understanding this in a wider sense so she makes wrong assumptions.She perfectly understands that the guy discovered the boson, but she can't understand why that would be relevant given she doesn't have the context of modern physics.
>>48163729We know these are meta jokes, but it does really peak my curiosity to "explain" how exactly her powers work.She clearly doesn't gain external meaning or context and seemingly reads the "literal" meaning written down.Languages work very differently, so does she gain understanding of a foreign languages structure and workings or does she automatically translate it to Japanese?
>>48164931she seems to be capable of reproducing foreign languages she's read with some effort. like writing a reply to remilia in english or writing to the fox yokai kid in fox script.
What would happen if Kosuzu came across a book about WWII and found out about Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
>>48165225Since the two don't share an alphabet she obviously wouldn't have any previous practice in writing it down. Give her a typewriter or a PC and she'd propably learn to write much faster.Then again, this does prove that she simply knows the language and isn't just automatically translating it into a form she can understand. Wouldn't that then also mean she could feasably speak any language, with difficulty obviously but the base knowledge is there. She also likely doesn't inheretly just know all languages but simply learns it as she reads it and more reading would mean a better and deeper understanding of a language.It's just such a fun ability, just like Rinnosukes. I think those two have the most interesting abilities in all of Touhou.
>>48167825>nuclear? like that thing they have in old hell? i hope they were able to reseal the opening.
>>48168470Now give her a book about Unit 731.
>>48168394not exactly, she has to have some sort of reference to the language with her. she's holding an english text in her hand, and on her desk is a book that simply says english writing and another one which is supposed to be pic related.if i had to guess, i'd bet she uses her ability to intuitively pick out appropriate words, and she knows she hasn't produced gibberish when she can read what she wrote with her ability.
>>48163729>>48164931It was explicitly stated that her power has grown, and now she CAN glean some context from what she reads. Perhaps if she went back and re-read that article on the Berlin Wall she would understand it better.
>>48168689Huh, that's really hard to imagine. I guess rather than getting a free translation from english to jap she is instead getting the concepts beamed to her tiny cranium directly as sort of concepts.What you describe her process as is pretty fun. Like randomly hitting your keyboard and writing the few words you discover to a perfect translator machine until you write what you want.I wonder if you managed to frankenstein together enough languages switching to a new one every sentence or so would she understand it as long as the message was clear?>>48172910I thought that was always implied anyway, the reading power gets stronger the more you read who could have guessed?That leads me partly back to the eternal question if her power makes cyphers and secret languages break under her round glasses. Would she be able to read any book from Patchys library, surely she could since that's basically how FT posessed her unless I'm completely misrembering.Is that Remilias end game? To get a second librarian?
>>48173301i don't see any reason why she wouldn't be able to, kosuzu would have no problem reading any of patchouli's books, i think she'd enjoy it too since a magician youkai's tomes must fall under the category of youma books.
>>48173301>if her power makes cyphers and secret languages break under her round glassesCiphers don't. She wasn't able to read reversed text which probably technically counts as a "cipher". As for secret languages, they probably do given that they are a language like any other, just one that isn't well-known. The next question would be: Where is the dividing line between ciphers and secret languages?
>>48173788>reversed text>counts as a "cipher"Obfuscating visual representation is not the same as changing the meaning of particular sign or string of signs.
>>48175216There is no meaningful difference between the two.
>>48176683I disagree.Take for instance 'anon' in English. Mirroring text is a way of obfuscating visual representation that would result in: 'ᴎoᴎA'. Ignoring for the moment that some letters, like 'o', are unaffected, something like 'ᴎ' has absolutely no reading in English and I propose that therefore the whole word has no reading, even phonetic one, and obtains it only in virtue of being mirrored again. 'ᴎoᴎA' is not even a nonsense word or some gibberish.Now, if you use for example ROT13 on 'anon', you would get 'naba'. It has a straightforward reading in English - at the very least phonetic one, and with a proper key you could use meaningful word as a substitution - and it has further, ciphered reading.
>>48177156>something like 'ᴎ' has absolutely no reading in EnglishIf this is a valid distinction to distinguish ciphers and non-ciphers, we must discount any cipher that uses special or original characters as merely "obfuscating visual representation". For instance, the Zodiac killer's cipher would be discounted as it contains special characters.>the whole word has no reading, even phonetic oneAgain, if we grant this as a valid distinction we must discount ciphers that yield results with no pronunciation in English. For example, shifting 7 letters down per the Caesar cipher turns "Kosuzu" into "Rvzbgb".
>>48182405>If this is a valid distinction to distinguish ciphers and non-ciphers, we must discount any cipher that uses special or original characters as merely "obfuscating visual representation". For instance, the Zodiac killer's cipher would be discounted as it contains special characters.Alright, I see.I will propose then that things like the Zodiac killes's cipher or ᴎoᴎA mentioned before are more like vernacular or artificial scripts within greater English language, that still have only one, straightforward reading, that can be glimpsed via transcribtion from unknown script to known for us, mere mortals, and is directly accessible for Kosuzu. Every single symbol has a singular, fixed meaning, that possibly includes interactions with other symbols, but with no place for semantic ambiguity.I propose this, because otherwise, using something like glagolitic script to write in English would count as a cipher in place that knows only latin script.>Again, if we grant this as a valid distinction we must discount ciphers that yield results with no pronunciation in English.>7 letters down per the Caesar cipher turns "Kosuzu" into "Rvzbgb"I don't see why. While it is unpronounceable, it still has a direct, semantic reading in English, simply being a particular gibberish. It also holds secondary, ciphered meaning. While various ROTx are not exactly the best to visualise this, returning many gibberish strings, consider such key: we take complete English dictionary and substitute each word by one that is three hundred positions later. Anyone that is able to read the script used can access the direct meaning of words, but only via key one can access the hidden meaning.Ciphers should have content that is accessible for every competent script user and one that is accessible only knowing and applying the encryption process.
>>48183416>I will propose then that things like the Zodiac killes's cipher or ᴎoᴎA mentioned before are more like vernacular or artificial scripts within greater English language, that still have only one, straightforward reading, that can be glimpsed via transcribtion from unknown script to known for us, mere mortals, and is directly accessible for Kosuzu.Just for clarity, you are now including the Zodiac cipher and the reversed text in the same category, yes? Please correct me if I interpreted that wrong. At any rate, as I mentioned previously, Kosuzu's power does not work on reversed text, so, as a consequence of this admission, it now follows that the Zodiac cipher, or any cipher for that matter, wouldn't be readable to her.>I don't see why. While it is unpronounceable, it still has a direct, semantic reading in English, simply being a particular gibberish.Precisely what I was implying. It's a point of little consequence however; I am mentioning it here only for the sake of thoroughness.We could still draw a line between "visual obfuscations" and ciphers based on whether the obfuscation was intentional. A cipher was produced with intent to obfuscate, whereas there was no such intent for the reversed text. Alternatively, we could grant that the reversed text is equivalent to a cipher, and draw some line between ciphers and "secret languages" (such as the tengu language). There must exist some barrier between the reversed text and language, given that Kosuzu can read the latter, but not the former. An instance of Kosuzu attempting to read a cipher would prove very useful here, but we will probably be left in want of that for a long time. At this point, we have likely put more effort into understanding this power than ZUN ever did.
This only gets weirder the longer I think about it.>>48185136>you are now including the Zodiac cipher and the reversed text in the same categoryYes, I do. Computational differences aside, I don't find a meaningful difference in terms of method of hiding information between those two. Both work via obscuring what is the reference of the script, instead of overlaying intended reference with surface-level one, script-agnostic.>But this is bizarre in consequences. Is the following word: 'saɪ.fər'? Not all will recognise it from the reading, despite it having fixed reference in language. It contains more information then standard script about pronounciation - it also loses information about etymology of the word, so it doesn't simply contain more information - but the semantic layer is unaffected. It uses nonstandard script with a singular, proper reading, which requires knowing the script. There is no meaningful difference between this and mirrored text, now that I think of it. And this is actually worrisome, because it poises the question about loan words written in katakana. When they are fresh and haven't entered Japanese language proper, they are basically transcriptions written in not-necessarily efficient script. But if that and the part about being mechanically indifferent from mirrored text is true, then Kosuzu would only be able to get phonetic part. And not via her ability, but from her knowledge of katakana as a Japanese. I can't imagine this is intended, something must be therefore wrong either in assumptions, or the reasoning.>We could still draw a line between "visual obfuscations" and ciphers based on whether the obfuscation was intentional.>Alternatively [...] draw some line between ciphers and "secret languages"The former gives cipheres far too broad definition. If there is a text and someone paints over it to hide that text, does it count as a cipher? Even with a reasonable condition that cipher must not only hide the meaning from unintended readers, but also reveal it to those knowing the means to extract it, something like sympathetic ink suddenly becomes a cipher. The good part I guess is that it would make Kosuzu's ability goes awry based on the naturally-occuring damage done to the text, which sounds reasonable, while the jury would be still out on ciphers.On the other hand, latter would require that secret languages are conlangs of sort, with their own, seperate semantic meaning, allowing them to be treated as any other language, simply rarer. I don't think we have a sample of Tengu language to tell if it is a conlang, or rather an elaborate cipher. However, we have articles made by Aya and Hatate (BAiJR, SoPM, AFiEU), which are written in Japanese. Since at least some of those are meant for inter-Tengu news circulation, I find this as a compelling point towards conjecture, that Tengu language is probably a cipher based on Japanese.At this point I need some sleep.
>>48186998>There is no meaningful difference between this and mirrored text, now that I think of it.There is much difficulty here, but given that Kosuzu can probably read katakana, the difference must lie somewhere. The best distinction I could come up with is threefold: whether the obfuscation is intentional, unintentional, or incidental to the linguistic medium. In the case of the cipher, it's intentional; the reversed text, unintentional; 'saɪ.fər' and katakana, incidental. The jury is out on whether Kosuzu can read ciphers, but we know she cannot read reversed text, and we can assume she can read katakana. The subtlety between "unintentional" and "incidental" lies in whether the obfuscation is necessary for the text to be readable. The reversing of the text, for instance, is not necessary for the text to be readable, and thus falls into the category of "unintentional". The phonetic script of 'saɪ.fər', while perhaps still being obfuscating, constitutes the word and is necessary for it to be read ("incidental"). This is far from a perfect and waterproof distinction, but it's a start.>If there is a text and someone paints over it to hide that text, does it count as a cipher?We must add the condition that the obfuscation must be entirely linguistic in nature. Otherwise, we might have to grant Kosuzu X-Ray vision.> However, we have articles made by Aya and Hatate (BAiJR, SoPM, AFiEU), which are written in Japanese.Meh, it could simply be that they were just written in Japanese for the sake of a wider audience. Kosuzu says that modern tengu can't read tengu language, but she had yet to meet a tengu at that point so it's kind of a dubious claim.
Why do we have the same conversation over and over again. What is so hard to understand on "Girl can read all the languages that exist"
>>48194895It's very fun, and the conversation is not about languages, but about the extent of her powers. I haven't entered the discussuon yet, but I do agree that it's probably simpler than that. I don't think the Suzu could work with most ciphers; for me, her power works by interpreting the intentions of the writer that are left in the written material she concerns herself with. For her to notice these, I assume she has to have visual contact with the writing because the magical connection between her and the writing is only established when she sees it. Now, given my theory that her power works by interpeting the intentions contained in the writing, let's think for a moment what a cipher is.When you lay out a text, most people would intend it to be read. Now, there are obviously things that are private, such as diaries; however, even these preserve the intention of being readable, given that the person might want to reread their own words. What I mean by this is that Kosuzu can read anything as long as it's intended to be readable AND she can identify it as writing. Ciphers are by their very nature not meant to be read; they're meant to be deciphered first. Given that no one using a cipher wants it to be readable to the untrained eye, it is effectively unreadable to Kosuzu. By the same token, she has to be able to notice that something is writing for her power to activate; that's why mirrored text beat her. Anyway, this could obviously change if her powers continue growing, but I don't think she can read anything that isn't meant to be read.
>>48195174>By the same token, she has to be able to notice that something is writing for her power to activate; that's why mirrored text beat her.Nearly there, but she DID notice that the reversed text was writing, tried to read it, and couldn't. It IS writing after all, just reversed.
>>48195239Is it? It's been a long time since I've read FS. Guess I must refine my model.Anyway, I still think my argument on ciphered text stands. I think for her to be able to decipher books she would have to gain the magical ability to do so, which is a very strong power and probably beyond her current capabilities.I just wanted to add that clause in order to not let her read text behind paint or giant letters beneath her feet.
>>48195274I just re-read that section of FS, and you were actually pretty close! The only difference is that it's her POWER that needs to recognize the text as writing, not Kosuzu herself. However, the conditions under which her power recognizes text were still left vague, so all that philosophizing me and Anon did wasn't all for nothing!I call that a happy ending!
>>48193940>This is far from a perfect and waterproof distinction, but it's a start.This one looks nicely.>Meh, it could simply be that they were just written in Japanese for the sake of a wider audience.While this would stray a little, I want to mention that there are more things to consider regarding Tengu's language proficiency. Aya has a variant of Bunbunmaru for Human Village that is most likely written in Japanese, which means that knows kanji and kana. Moreover, the snippets in StB are supposed to be Aya's personal notes in her notebook regarding the photos she has taken. Obviously, those could again be written in Japanese for the sake of wider audience, but there is an interesting case of Keine's Japan Sign "Yamato Kingdom", or 倭符「邪馬台の国」where the spoilered part are kanji of Yamato/Yamatai. Aya's comment is the following one:外の文献に見慣れない文字が書いてあったので、なんて読むのかこの人に訊いてみたんです。ヤマトって読むらしいですよ。なるほど納得。>I found some characters I've never seen in books from the outside, so I asked her to read it. It looks like it reads "yamato." I see, I see.The spoilered part here is phonetic writing of 'yamato' in katakana. Aya is asking how to read kanji she doesn't recognise, and then she transcribes it into her personal notebook. While it could be possible that the actual note is in Tengu language and katakana usage is only to reproduce the feel, between this and the Human Village edition I am seriously leaning towards the idea that Tengu in Gensokyo use nowadays Japanese writing system even for personal needs.>>48195174>for me, her power works by interpreting the intentions of the writer that are left in the written material she concerns herself withYou can produce readable text without having a writer with intentions. LLMs are the prime example nowadays. It would be pretty funny if chatgpt's output was inaccessible for Kosuzu's power. We could employ Kosuzu as a living bot filter.>>48195344>it's her POWER that needs to recognize the text as writingI wonder if this means that for every language, there is some metaphysical label that informs "this is a writing and a language!", or if it is still somewhat subjective. With Shinto having Kami for almost everything, I can imagine that each language has its own personal god acting as information system's soul that could be asked for knowledge. But this is far from what ZUN will ever consider, I am afraid.With some luck, the teased lore book or some future chapter of LE will have Kosuzu going against a cipher, to resolve this once and for all.
>>48195909 (me)Huh, great. Spoilers don't work inside kanji.>邪馬台Those three are representing 'Yamatai'.
>>48195909>We could employ Kosuzu as a living bot filter. I envy her never having to read AIslop. She still has to see the pictures tho.>I can imagine that each language has its own personal god acting as information system's soul that could be asked for knowledge.It would be neat if Kosuzu's power had something to do with a language god. She'd be pretty surprised to find that out lol>some future chapter of LEI haven't caught up with LE yet, but where is she? Where was she when Mamizou was postmarking the whole human village? I don't think Kosuzu is old enough to drink, so it makes sense that she wouldn't be at Geidontei, but not even a cameo is kinda strange.
Catsuzu!
Money has been tight so she found a part-time job.
>>47838737Race traitor.
>>48209082True. Lesbians are disgusting.
>>48209057it's great she was able to find someone to employ her as a construction barrel
The cutie Kosuzu. Shame that I've been unable to read much the last few weeks. But I'll soon get back into it.>>48210402this sounds like some fairy played a prank on her
>>48091895You just gave me the worst vision imaginable and now I'm going to force it on you.When you took Akyuu's hand in marriage, you knew you wouldn't be able to grow old with her, and you thought you were the luckiest man alive when she lived to give birth to a healthy baby girl, and that maybe, just maybe, the Child of Miare curse was a bit overblown.She died the next autumn. At the very least, as a Hieda, you and your child didn't want for much, but you'd rather live in poverty, if you could've just had a few more years as a family. It would've been easier, when she started asking questions about the kind of person her Mama was and didn't stop until you were both in tears.Time didn't turn backwards though, you had to stand strong as a single parent now, helping to administer the village, teaching your daughter all the things Akyuu would've, and calling on her former maids for help when you stumbled, and being happy despite the hole in your heart.Being happy, it was easier on days like this, were the sky is blue, the temperature temperate, and you carried your little one on your shoulders on a 'treat trip' to the local stalls.A bump on the shoulder steals you attention. "Oh, terribly sorry!" A woman's voice says."Not at all Miss, I should've been more careful." You tell her, a simple accident not enough to ruin your day."Ah, but yer of the Hieda! Oh, a thousand more pardons! Please, allow me to take you out for lunch as an apology. I know a little shop that only a few are aware of, they even have special sweets left over from the last season for the little one.""Really? Do they still have flower dango?" Your daughter asks the woman.She had a mysterious look about her and spoke in a strange accent, it was awfully suspicious... but, an attack at daylight was unlikely and it's not like you could protect your daughter from those shady sort forever, best that she sees them first-hand in a safer environment so I can instruct her later. And if this woman wasn't suspicious, well, what was the harm? "Alright, I could go for some off-season sweets myself." I said."How good! I promise neither of ye will be disappointed." She winked, before taking my arm and pulling the two of us off.
>>48213537I feel like this isn't finished yet, so take a bump.
>>48213537Nothing in particular happened at the hole-in-the-wall place. It just turned out to be a nice little lunch with the accented lady and your daughter. Later you'd happen upon her again when you took your daughter to school, then again when you were visiting a friend, on another day you'd find her in the crowd and at that point it would be rude to not say hello at least right?When your daughter had lost her toy one day she'd happen to find it and bring it to your home, you didn't think anything of it, everyone knew where the Hieda household was right? She'd come by for more visits after that, having gained your daughter's trust, eventually the guards and even the servants didn't think twice about her, but you, you couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.But you couldn't tell if it was your instincts or your guilt anymore, because deep down you began to enjoy her company. Her speech was kind and soothing, she never pushed farther then you were comfortable, and when you offered her the social graces a lady should be afforded, she always accepted them gladly, sometimes with a coy remark, but not always. When you prayed to the small shrine set aside for Akyuu, you slowly began to apologize to it.It was on a hard day when things overflowed, on a night where, after you had put your daughter to bed, you stepped into the garden to look at the stars, something you'd done silently with Akyuu a least a hundred times before and felt miserably alone. Of course, she had found you."Why's a handsome man like you out here all by yourself?" She chuckled.You didn't reply, couldn't, you'd sob for certain if you told her that, and she could feel it, the way she gently approached you and put herself by her side. It was your last chance to push her away, tell her off, that you could only love Akyuu, that only she could be a mother to her daughter, and was the only one who could fill this hole she'd left in your heart, but you didn't, you couldn't, not a finger would move when she kissed your cheek and laid her head on your chest."Shh, shh, shh." She hushed as she wrapped her arms around your waist. "You don't gotta be alone anymore."You couldn't help yourself, maybe neither of you could, as the chaste comforts under the starlight turned into kisses and tighter embraces. It was a blur from the garden, to the halls, to the bedroom, as the both you struggled to strip, aching not to be far apart, at the end of which a mass of fluff appeared out of nowhere and slammed into your face."Sorry dear, I guess the secret's out." She said as the fluff moved aside to reveal her, with two dog-like ears, canines, and a large ringed tail."A Tanuki." You say. Of course you suspected, knew on some level, but that hadn't helped."I am, suppose I got jealous of that Child of Miare. She and I were sparring partners you know? But that girl went and passed away without even saying goodbye, so I thought I'd play a prank on her family to get her back and, well... I can't keep my disguise when I'm..." She mutters"When your what?" You ask, still confused by this development."Don't be coy dear, I've told you the truth so if this ruins the mood, that's your decision." The Tanuki tells you, flush.Things are too far gone it's not even a question for you and the Tanuki is embraced without restraint for the entire night.The marriage, the pregnancy, your second daughter being born, it's seems like the year goes by so fast. Your daughter takes it well: "Of course Mother is a Tanuki, but she wasn't so stupid as to take a dim gem when she could wait a little longer and have a bright one, that's why I never said anything." she'd tell you years later. With her, Mamizou was always 'Mother', never 'Mama', she was specific like that and it drove 'Mother' a little crazy, probably reminding her of an old rival. Otherwise, your daughter got along well with her new half-sibling, and all the ones who came after, being the very picture of an older sister.Sometimes you still felt guilty about it, that you had betrayed your late wife, that it would've been better if you'd told her no and sent her away the second you saw her, but when you came home to her and your daughter, and she'd hoist one of the other children into your arms and give you peck on the cheek, there wasn't any room for doubt. Maybe she was watching over you even now, who's victory had this really been Akyuu?
>>48221481That was a good read. Thanks Anon!
After a two week break finally got back into reading. Hope I should be done with this book by the end of next week.Life just gets in the way sometimes, but I feel like the Suzu would agree that it is almost always better to finish a book that you started. Can't risk starting too many books and finishing none.
>>48213537>>48221481Nicely written. Good use of Akyuu here, with most 2hus grieving due to the spouse dying early is on youkai/god. Even with most human girls you would expect the man to kick the bucket first, so being widower is something rarely explored.On the other hand... I understand why not all feel this way, as this is probably this is irrational, but it feels wrong. Those two lines:>It was your last chance to push her away, tell her off, that you could only love Akyuu, that only she could be a mother to her daughter, and was the only one who could fill this hole she'd left in your heart, but you didn't, you couldn't, not a finger would move>Sometimes you still felt guilty about it, that you had betrayed your late wifeAre almost a personal fear of mine, that I am not sincere if I can be swayed by merely wanting happiness. So I agree that the whole vision is quite awful.How did that post (>>48091895) give you such inspiration?
>>48248668>How did that post give you such inspiration?I was thinking about what would really get under Akyuu's skin, and thought Mamizou marrying her husband after she passed would rank pretty high. Although in the end it became more emotional because I figured Akyuu's husband wouldn't have been such a dolt not to understand what was going on. My vision is that Mamizou had to play it carefully because of that, and before she knew it, she was already in love. So, in the end, it's more like Akyuu laid a trap for the Tanuki.
Nice and pleasant Akyuun is good too.
Suzu thread needs more Suzu too...
>>48254554>>48258465Canon lesbians!
>>48258723They're both Japanese. As Japanese as they can be. No Greeks here! And though Akyuu has encyclopedic knowledge, I doubt she's ever heard of the island of Lesbos. I don't think Kosuzu would have read about it too, unless it was a book about Ancient Greek poetry... but these must be pretty rare in Japan.
>>48259945Which one is the better poet in your opinion? Akyuu has more literary experience, but Kosuzu has greater understanding of foreign - and via this, also her own - art and culture, I would wager.
Do Suzu's bells actually ring? If so, then when you're fucking her it would sound like DING DING DING DING DING!!>>48261037Akyuu because she has hundreds of years experience in writing, whereas Kosuzu hasn't written anything iirc
>>48249697imagine having to chronicle how your past life got cucked when updating mamizou's article
>>48265082Yeah, you can tell when she's having vigorous physical exercise at night with Akyuu because the Hieda manor is full of the sounds of faint jingling bells.
Remember when Kosuzu got redpilled? Good times.
I want to make Kosuzu's bells chime, if you catch my drift.
>>48271452You post on /fit/?
>>48271174I wish they allowed her to keep that book. I don't really understand why it was given to the stinky tanuki. Would have been fun if the Suzu had a book that was an instant power up at the cost of her losing control of herself.
>>48278166I wish she would've stayed like that and tried to organize a human resistance movement against the youkai. Instead, Youkaisuzu was easily defeated, and the whole incident was laughed off as that time Kosuzu got a little too drunk.
Shameless bump for Suzu!
Shameful death for Suzu.
Please don't do shameless acts with the Suzu. She's a very pure girl.
>>47903804Color out of space by lovecraft, bit i'm going at it at snail's pace because i'm actually reading mangas like a bookworm instead, currently dandadan
Dublicate Suzer already exists...
The 'suzu's small butt.
>>48306002...you got pictures?
>>48306239Many ;)
>>48306378Any you can post here?
>>48297868Suzu will respond to impure acts with force!
>>48284695She tasted the power, now Kosuzu has a motivation to train and become a spellcard user. It will happen once his daughter grows up a little and moves her interest from Flandre to Suzu.
>>48319502Whose daughter? ZUN's?
>>48320332Yes, ZUN's. I can't believe I have omitted that.Anyway, she is in her early teens, right? She will soon become a book-reading otaku with linguistic bend, just you see. And when it happens, she will pester ZUN about making Kosuzu appear in game as a playable incident solver.>>48302646I now also know this pain...
I have FINALLY managed to get to the end of the book about Tajiks. Not like it was a bad book, it was very good actually, but I only had like five opportunities to sit down and read it since I started. Very busy month.I've already started now An Invisible Thread: Heresy, Mass Conversions, and the Inquisition in the Kingdom of Castile, an open access ebook which is very nice.>>48298496Nice. Yeah reading manga sometimes slows me down, I usually don't read books on the weekend because I'm busy catching up on recent chapters.
>>48325130How do you manage to read so long at a time? I can only manage an hour at best.
>>48328509Not him, but when I was starting out I could read for like 40 minutes maxYou just read read read and improve your attention span
>>48209057Looks like it's going well enough>>48328509Eh, I don't think I spent much more than an hour in every sitting this time, although definitely once or twice. For me, the main restraint when reading books is having other things to do, and also my constant headaches. If I am feeling well and have a lot of free time I can keep reading for hours without stopping. But it's not to say that I don't take small pauses, these are important if you're feeling a bit tired. Maybe stopping for fifteen minutes every hour or so. I just read books on topics that I like, so I don't really get too tired. I've been reading a lot since I was a child, maybe that's why it's somewhat easy to read for hours without stopping. Then again, you could spread your reading hours through the day if it's more comfortable to you; I really like reading just before going to sleep and just after waking up, so if you have several little periods of thirty minutes reading during the whole day you can end up reading quite a lot.
>>48340071Good advice! I think I'll try to sit down and read at least twice a day from now on, even if for slightly shorter periods of time than I usually do. I'm also considering taking supplements to help with my focus because I seem to have a general problem with focusing on things for any long period of time. Lion's Mane has *seemed* to work for me in the past.
>>47845780Now suzu's mouth is going to taste like tobacco all month...
>>48353095This image makes me want to hug the Suzu
>>47838737I do like her, what the hell
>>48356494you only like her body!
>>48343185Good luck, hope you manage to find a pace that suits you! Feeling like you're making progress makes reading more pleasant. Finishing a book is a very nice feeling. Coincidentally, looking at the Suzu is also a very nice feeling.
>>47838737Why did ZUN throw her away instead of making her a recurring character like Mamizou?
>>48368536He probably forgot she ever existed... despite making a whole manga about her...
