Thank you for your comment!
I wish more people explored these characters pre-Gensokyo.
I have a fascination with Heian Era Japan and I wanted to write something since a lot of characters are based on figures from that time. At the same time, I had to do a lot of research to acknowledge the implement the horrible reality of that era. However, I do understand the sentiment of writing something lighthearted in the spirit of Touhou as a media.
Did female Buddhists really wear those head robes back then?
While there are Buddhists who wear the standard garb and are bald like Myouren, I decided to depict Byakuren with a zukin veil. From my research, they are worn by Buddhist nuns to cover their head after they've shaved. However, it is still possible to wear them with a full head of hair as Byakuren does in my story.
I'm surprised you went with Myouren being the one to sort of sow the seeds for Byakuren's compassion for youkai.
Myouren is more of a narrative tool to challenge the way I made Byakuren think. From what I've read, Buddhism has an emphasis on extending compassion and achieving harmony with life on Earth until they pass on. While difficult to interpret, Myouren acknowledges the reality of youkai in the Heian Era because it is what he learned to do. Byakuren, in turn, challenges his thinking because it is something she would raise her eyebrow at. Being the elder sister who went out of way to face the horrors of Japan to see her brother after he left 20 years ago would give her a reason to be concerned.
I didn't entirely see the sexism mentioned in the description... so I guess that just confused me.
I apologize for the confusion. Admittedly, it is a heavy theme to portray in a story like this. It isn't really focused on, rather, it is a theme that is found entirely in subtext. Heian Era Japan which has some backwards views on women practicing religion and on women in general, despite them contributing to the cultural explosion that occurred. In this story, these views interplay with Byakuren's identity as a Buddhist woman. One of these backwards views is that Buddhism does not care what gender you are, which is a view Byakuren aligns with. Like I said however, women were still segregated simply by being born as women. Even if the Byakuren in my story feels secure as a Buddhist, the world that she lives in is meant to crack holes in her way of life.
This is seen through the youkai Tsuchigumo, who directly addresses her fear of being a woman. It does not address her fear of lacking as a Buddhist, however. That goes to Myouren who is depicted in this story as being better at Buddhism than Byakuren simply because he is born a man. His views are also depicted to be more compassionate rather than apprehensive towards the Japan he is written in. Byakuren still loves her younger brother; she is attached. As the elder sibling, she is still responsible for Myouren. This is not to say that Buddhists cut ties with their family, but Byakuren's attachment to Myouren challenges her practice of faith. This presents another facet to her weakness as a Buddhist with familial ties. When Byakuren cremates Myouren, her internalizations collapse due to grief. She wholeheartedly believes it is her responsibility to save the world, even if this idea comes from wanting to prove something out of her own insecurities.
I don't think, would make her "evil to humans," her heart doesn't seem to have much evil in it.
I believe that Byakuren in canon as a character is guided by her faith and idealism, despite some questionable methods.
As well, I thought Byakuren aged herself down out of fear of dying rather than out of a sense of duty, that part was interesting.
This is particular to my story. While it is true she aged herself down out of fear of dying, her encounters with the women, youkai Tsuchigumo, and Myouren are contributors to her warped idealism. She refuses to die out of fear before she lives to create and see a better world.
It was nice to look back at my story since it had been a while since I wrote it. Thank you again for your comment!