The luger is an iconic pistol that can often demand serious cash. Be it for what it is, a matching example demands a heavy premium over one with one or two mismatched parts. To make purchasing even more stressful, a handful of serialized parts are not able to be identified without disassembly. I hope this post will show buyers where to look when evaluating a potential purchase.
The patterns shared in this guide will generally hold - with minor exceptions - for all army P08s manufactured by DWM, Erfurt, Simson, and Mauser. This particular example is a 1917 produced Erfurt luger. The small crown over letter proofs are unique to Erfurt manufactured pistols. Simson and 1934 Mauser will also have each individual part stamped
1, 2. Left side of the pistol reveals serial numbers on the receiver (4 digits) and last two digits on takedown lever and side plate.

1. Removal of side plate reveals the last two digits of the serial on the trigger. Note the “lucky charms” and “assembly numbers” - these markings are likely stamped by workers indicating a particular operation has been performed, but this is not concrete. These can be seen, with variation, among all major manufacturers.
   
2. The safety flag and sear bar.
   
3. The top of the safety lever.
   
4. Grips will be serialized by some manufacturers during certain times. Check on the Lugerforums for other examples to see if your pistol should have serialized grips.
   
5. The extractor and center toggle link. The manufacturer of the pistol will be roll marked on the center link.
   
6. Rear toggle on back.
   
7. Rear axel pin (Mauser production only)
   
8. Bottom of barrel. (Rust blued examples will display whitening around font “halo”)
   
9. Front of frame (4 digit + suffix). This is the true serial of the gun.
   
10. Left of breach block (needs to be removed from barrel extension).
    
11. Firing pin.
    
12. Inspection marks and firing proof (right most marking). Style will change depending on manufacturer and year.
    
13. Firing proof will also be present on barrel.
    
14. Firing proof will be on left side of breach block.
    
15. The hold open will be serialized. Note: the internals of rust blued P08s with original finish will be in the white.
    

Abstract
(add)
Overview
Comment from here:

Nah, don't flatter yourself. You aren't known in Russia.

See the following:

• Libb Thims) (citations) - Hmolpedia A65.

You will see that I’m cited in about a dozen or more Russian articles, beginning in A51 (2006).
Anyway, it is not “myself”, e.g. you will see that my legal name is reverse anagram for Bill Smith, aka “American John Doe”, which means “anonymous”, that I am concerned about, rather, I thought or envisioned that people in Russia were debating the HumanMolecule or HumanChemistry views possibly form some manuscript I written or given to Georgi Gladyshev?
The following script dialogue, written by Andrew Walker, key terms bolded, exemplifies the situation well:

• Somerset: Who are you, John? Who are you really?
• John Doe: What do you mean?
• Somerset: Well, I mean, at this stage, what harm can it do to tell us a bit about yourself?
• John Doe: Doesn't matter who I am. Who I am means absolutely nothing. (conversationally) You need to stay on your left up here.

This “who I am means nothing” resonates with me well.

• Mills: So where are we heading?
• John Doe: You'll see.
• Mills: We're not just going to pick up two more dead bodies, are we, John? That wouldn't be shocking enough. You've got newspapers to think about, yeah?
• John Doe: Wanting people to listen...you can't just...tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer. Then you'll notice you've got their strict attention.
• Mills: But the question is: what makes you so special that people should listen?
• John Doe: I'm not special. I've never been exceptional. This is, though. What I'm doing. My work.

This is the key section. The “work” that is being done is exceptional, not me. “When a force moves a body through a unit distance, work is done” (Clausius, On the Mechanical Theory of Heat (pg. 1), 76A (1879) English translation by Water Browne). To understand this, which I‘m sure you won’t, you have to understand that the force that moves us to do or perform work, comes from “behind us”, the same way it does for chemicals in a heated ☀️ chemistry 🧪 beaker. All of this was explained in JohannGoethe’s novel ElectiveAffinities.
Once I had read this novel, in A51 (2006), after I had already calculated the 26-element formula (A47/2002) for HumanMolecule, presently cited at Harvard’s BioNumbers here (standard) and here (empirical), and drafted a 3-volume Human Thermodynamics “manuscript”, I decided or rather could “feel” that it was my duty to Goethe to write the world’s fist HumanChemistry textbook, published in A52 (2007).
Now, to clarify, having already noted that Goethe said the following: “not many kinds words were vouchsafed me about that [ ElectiveAffinities, 146A/1809] novel” on 18 Jan 127A (1827), 18–years after his novel was published, at the age of 78, I very clearly realized that I was writing to or rather “for the future”, and tried to write ✍️ each page of Human Chemistry to be readable to minds existive a 1,000-years from now. Compare: TheParty.

• Somerset: Your work, John?
• John Doe: Yes.
• Mills: See, I...I don't...I don't see anything special about it, John.
• John Doe: That's not true.
• Mills: No, it is true. And the funny thing is, all this work...two months from now, no one's gonna care, no one's gonna give a shit. No one's gonna remember.

This one resonates also well with me. I’m sure that if you were speaking freely, you would tell me the same thing, such as: “no one gives a shit about your human molecule, human chemistry, or HumanChemThermo theories in Russia!”
Certainly this may very well be true, particularly for russian language sub members, who likely have never stepped foot in a science classroom.
The point, however, is that the “work” Goethe did, in writing ✍️ ElectiveAffinities (146A/1809), and the “work” I did in writing the 818-page two-volume ✍️ Human Chemistry (A52/2007), and the “work” that American chemical engineer William Fairburn did in writing his 55-page booklet Human Chemistry (41A/1914), which discusses the “entropy” of reactive “human chemical elements”, aka person = HumanMolecule, and the “work” that Kevin Walker did in writing ✍️ the novel turned film) Seven (A40/1995), with which we are now employing in conversation, is something that is “conserved” in the universe, according to Clausius.
This “conservation” of work, however, is something that I’m sure you will never understand, because your mindset is predisposed to defining me as “rude and entitled“ and I guess a nobody in Russia?
Yet if we compare the same question, about letter origin, asked in the previous 5-days, at the following three language subs: learn_arabic, German, Syriac, visually summarized here, we will see that I we have very polite and respectful dialogue.
The problem with your Russian sub, presumably, is that because my photo was shown in the article along side of: Euler, Poincare, Willard Gibbs, Nikolay Bogolyubov (Никола́й Боголю́бов), Lars Onsager, Euler, Sadi Carnot, and Clausius, it set the mood off wrong, resulting in everyone attacking me?

• John Doe: You can't see the whole complete act yet. But when this is done... when it's finished...it's gonna be... People will barely be able to comprehend. But they won't be able to deny.
• Mills: Could the freak be any more vague? I mean, as far as master plans go, John--

I‘m sure you will like to call me a freak too? But as to “you can’t see the whole complete act yet”, this is the situation with the typical person. That most people, aside from a great minds like HenryAdams, cannot “see” 👀 the complete act yet, is evidenced by the fact that there is one member of the ElectiveAffinities sub, launched: 3 May A69 (2024).
In short, the work that I am doing now, and the work that Goethe did 215-years ago, or the work that Nietzsche did 146-years ago, in his Human, All Too Human, aphorism #1, shown below, is work produced by a “force” that only the future, possibly centuries from now, but more likely a millennia from now, will come to realize, as self-evident.

Visual of the future view of things:
https://preview.redd.it/3z51ka522a0d1.jpg?width=1801&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d483caae040ca5964501117818122765821a18d1
Nietzsche Human, All Too Human

German	English
Chemie der Begriffe und Empfindungen	Chemistry and the Notion of the Feelings
Die philosophischen Probleme nehmen jetzt wieder fast in allen Stücken dieselbe Form der Frage an, wie vor zweitausend Jahren: wie kann Etwas aus seinem Gegensatz entstehen, zum Beispiel Vernünftiges aus Vernunftlosem, Empfindendes aus Todtem, Logik aus Unlogik, interesseloses Anschauen aus begehrlichem Wollen, Leben für Andere aus Egoismus, Wahrheit aus Irrthümern? Die metaphysische Philosophie half sich bisher über diese Schwierigkeit hinweg, insofern sie die Entstehung des Einen aus dem Andern leugnete und für die höher gewertheten Dinge einen Wunder-Ursprung annahm, unmittelbar aus dem Kern und Wesen des „Dinges an sich“ heraus. Die historische Philosophie dagegen, welche gar nicht mehr getrennt von der Naturwissenschaft zu denken ist, die allerjüngste aller philosophischen Methoden, ermittelte in einzelnen Fällen (und vermuthlich wird diess in allen ihr Ergebniss sein), dass es keine Gegensätze sind, ausser in der gewohnten Übertreibung der populären oder metaphysischen Auffassung und dass ein Irrthum der Vernunft dieser Gegenüberstellung zu Grunde liegt:	Philosophical problems, in almost all their aspects, present themselves in the same interrogative formula now as they did two thousand years ago: how can a thing develop out of its antithesis, e.g. the reasonable from the non-reasonable, the "animate from the inanimate" ["sentient in the dead", Hollingdale (1986)], the logical from the illogical, altruism from egoism, disinterestedness from greed, truth from error? The metaphysical philosophy formerly steered itself clear of this difficulty to such extent as to repudiate the evolution of one thing from another and to assign a miraculous origin to what it deemed highest and best, due to the very nature and being of the "thing-in-itself." The historical philosophy, on the other hand, which can no longer be viewed apart from physical science, the youngest of all philosophical methods, discovered experimentally (and its results will probably always be the same) that there is no antithesis whatever, except in the usual exaggerations of popular or metaphysical comprehension, and that an error of the reason is at the bottom of such contradiction.
nach ihrer Erklärung giebt es, streng gefasst, weder ein unegoistisches Handeln, noch ein völlig interesseloses Anschauen, es sind beides nur Sublimirungen, bei denen das Grundelement fast verflüchtigt erscheint und nur noch für die feinste Beobachtung sich als vorhanden erweist. — Alles, was wir brauchen und was erst bei der gegenwärtigen Höhe der einzelnen Wissenschaften uns gegeben werden kann, ist eine Chemie der moralischen, religiösen, ästhetischen Vorstellungen und Empfindungen, ebenso aller jener Regungen, welche wir im Gross- und Kleinverkehr der Cultur und Gesellschaft, ja in der Einsamkeit an uns erleben: wie, wenn diese Chemie mit dem Ergebniss abschlösse, dass auch auf diesem Gebiete die herrlichsten Farben aus niedrigen, ja verachteten Stoffen gewonnen sind? Werden Viele Lust haben, solchen Untersuchungen zu folgen? Die Menschheit liebt es, die Fragen über Herkunft und Anfänge sich aus dem Sinn zu schlagen: muss man nicht fast entmenscht sein, um den entgegengesetzten Hang in sich zu spüren? —	There is, strictly speaking, neither unselfish conduct, nor a wholly disinterested point of view. Both are simply sublimations in which the basic element seems almost evaporated and betrays its presence only to the keenest observation. All that we need and that could possibly be given us in the present state of development of the sciences, is a chemistry of the ‘moral’, ‘religious’, ‘aesthetic’ conceptions and ‘feeling’, as well as of those ‘emotions’ which we experience in the affairs, great and small, of society and civilization, and which we are sensible of even in solitude. But what if this chemistry established the fact that, even in its domain, the most magnificent results were attained with the basest and most despised ingredients? Would many feel disposed to continue such investigations? Mankind loves to put by the questions of its origin and beginning: must one not be almost inhuman in order to follow the opposite course?”

To repeat, and conclude, my reply to this Russian languages sub member:

“All that we need and that could possibly be given us in the present state of development of the sciences, is a chemistry of the ‘moral’, ‘religious’, ‘aesthetic’ conceptions and ‘feeling’, as well as of those ‘emotions’ which we experience in the affairs, great and small, of society and civilization, and which we are sensible of even in solitude.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche (77A/1878), Human, All Too Human (§: Aphorism #1)

The day that people of the future, teach, as standard required learning, the following subjects:

1. Moral chemistry
2. Religious chemistry
3. Aesthetic chemistry
4. Emotional chemistry
5. Feelings chemistry
6. Social chemistry

Is the day that force, behind the “work” of Goethe, Nietzsche, Adams, Fairburn, and myself, will be realized.
The year this occurs will be when Goethe’s OTT cipher (or Otto cipher) becomes accepted common knowledge.
Horus years?
I will but note, however, that we still are dating our calendar years to the birth of Horus (aka Jesus), the solar 🌞 falcon god, who dates back more than 5,000 years, to attested to via the 5700A (-3745) solar Milky Way cow yoke HeiroType: ∩ = 10 (I).
https://preview.redd.it/8e5vvls73a0d1.jpg?width=2013&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=787023e0c9bd8c2034d397d0181ee7e051f265df
Thus, who knows, maybe in 5,000 years from now, if we remain in the “dark ages”, St. Ottilia “blind ages” as Goethe says we are now presently in, we will still be dating our calendar years to this same solar falcon god?
​

I've tried looking around for this everywhere, even tried from searches on the subreddit but I have no definitive answer besides "Just use Elgato's Software" which doesn't actually explain anything or answer my question.
I grabbed the 4k Capture Utility, only to find out it specifically mentions the HD60 Pro's onboard H.264 encoder being unsupported.
https://preview.redd.it/92vwaq7lz90d1.png?width=705&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf6e61b3ba459faade91db8d784b8b463d4c34f4
So I looked deeper, turns out the software I'm looking for is Elgato's "Game Capture HD" software which took a bit of digging for me to find, after installing it I went to the Preferences -> Advanced tab, and I see a couple of drop downs for "Decoder" and "Encoder"
https://preview.redd.it/k8ikt5muz90d1.png?width=379&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd3dbccffeb6d057e763bc922db88032f1fa0b66
However, if I click on the drop-down for "Encoder," which is where I would presume the "built-in H.264 encoder" on my capture card would be listed, I instead find
https://preview.redd.it/5k3sjtwzz90d1.png?width=380&format=png&auto=webp&s=df666e2ab8c615344f023343ed47ee4b426e903e
nothing at all.
I am very lost, I don't know where I went wrong with this, I would like some help and guidance.
Please do not try and say that this isn't a feature of the card, I have two official sources stating otherwise:
This here:
https://preview.redd.it/v1fxjzo90a0d1.png?width=724&format=png&auto=webp&s=71affd0dca01297f4681506eef3a30de5384f478
And from looking around this subreddit, I found this, where a "technical marketing manager" explained that it should allow me to record using the card itself without my PC needing to deal with the overhead of encoding.
No, I will not accept a workaround or a "Your PC seems decent enough to not need it" or things along those lines, I have had issues recording footage with decent performance on my rig, I also have some particularly heavy games that I play on here which I would like to not lose even more performance on just to record them.
I just want to know how to use a feature of the product I bought, because it's arguably why I even bought this product in the first place.

https://preview.redd.it/dyc3fz38y90d1.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=017cadd94a720222ab9881b005583609fe18e05f
Who Are We?
The 1st Recon Battalion Realism Unit is the successor unit of the 1st Marine Detachment Team, a unit focused on realism while providing exciting and enjoyable missions to the players. We focus on providing story-tailored campaigns and open-ended missions so that the members craft their ending through their performance and the choices they make.
What Makes Our Unit Different?
Our consistency to remain loyal and transparent to the players, many unit changes are prompted through members' input.-Our leadership is hard-working. Our staff teams and NCOs are chosen based on their performance and how they stand out amongst the rest of the unit members. We remain vigilant against stagnation, and are constantly working towards projecting ourselves as a professional unit that members are proud to be part of.-Everyone is community oriented. Sometimes weekly operations aren't enough, and players are constantly interacting with one another outside of operations, not only in Arma, but in other games outside of milsim as well.
What Are Our Operations Like?
Our operations embody realistic missions that a Marine Corps Force Recon unit would conduct. Some of them are based on real-life conflicts, others may be fictional, but the missions themselves revolve around Direct Action Raids, COIN operations, Amphibious Warfare against both conventional and non-conventional entities, and other types of operations that may change depending on the story of the campaign itself.
Unit Features And Information
• Well explained, realistic campaign with a dynamic storyline
• Established leadership structure with a clear chain of command
• Modern tactics and procedures that add an aura of realism to the unit
• A transparent command where the unit is consulted on major decisions
• Dedicated Arma 3 and Teamspeak Servers
• Operations on every Saturday at 9:00 PM EST, with training and meetings scattered throughout the week
Requirements: In order to be considered eligble for enlistment, you must:
• be 18 or older
• have a legal copy of Arma 3, though no DLC is required
• have a working microphone and proficient in English.
• be willing to be mature and dedicated to the unit
How do I join?: Simply join our discord (linked below) and a recruiter will contact you.
Thanks for your time, and I hope you consider joining the 1st!
As well, take a look at a video made by one of our community members!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynQ8e46mwHY
Discord: https://discord.gg/1streconbat

There is a diagonal 5×5 point grid. Each 'point' being an interchangable phrase within a poem, where the beginning and end are the top and bottom corners. ('As we', and 'across our faces' respectively). You can only move down, but at each level you may choose the right or left path, unless you find yourself along the 'edge' at or after the fifth phrase, forcing the same path every time. The goal is to find the total amount of paths that each form their own /unique/ poem. Take notice that the first, sixth, and last phrases will always be the same throughout all poems. Along with an answer I'd love an explanation or at least a good source explaining the process of finding the answer :)

Perfect Cherry Blossom. This game is where Touhou starts feeling like, well, Touhou. While EoSD introduced the new setting of Gensokyo to the Touhou series, PCB is where the series starts defining it's world and it's lore. Having said that, how do the characters in this game stack up? Well that's what we're going to discuss today.
Just a quick note. We'll also include Suika in this discussion. Even though Immaterial and Missing Power canonically takes place after Imperishable Night, the former is labeled as the 7.5th game in the series, as in, it's supposed to be a follow up to PCB. So I think it's fair game.
So without further ado...
Perfect Cherry Blossom Cast (from left to right): Lunasa Prismriver, Merlin Prismriver, Lyrica Prismriver, Yuyuko Saigyouji, Youmu Konpaku, Lily White, Suika Ibuki, Chen, Yukari Yakumo, Ran Yakumo, Letty Whiterock, Alice Margatroid (Art by Dairi)
Letty Whiterock (What Winter Left Behind)
A Yuki-onna who serves as this game's first boss. Letty is only seen during the winter; as spring arrives, Letty goes into hibernation. She's very cold towards humans, and is known to freeze any she comes across.
My Thoughts: There isn't really much for me to say about my feelings towards Letty. She's a Yuki-onna who hangs out during the winter, and leaves during the following seasons. She's commonly depicted to be a guardian towards Cirno, despite canonically not liking being grouped with the ice fairy. Of course, I like to imagine that Letty is fine with Cirno and fine with being with her; It's just that she doesn't like being compared to Cirno, considering how weak fairies usually are in Touhou. Other than that, there's not much for me to say about Letty. You'll only get the chance to run into her at the beginning and end of each year, and that's about it.
Fun Fact: Letty's name is actually a reference to Lettie Blacklock, a character from one of Agatha Christie's book: A Murder is Announced.
Chen (Black Cat of Bad Omens)
Chen is a nekomata youkai and the shikigami of Ran Yakumo. As Ran is also Yukari's shikigami, that means Chen is also subservient to Yukari as well. Chen is also very close friends with Rin Kaenbyou. The two are known to play often, and Chen even picked up the habit to offering corpses to Ran from Orin, much to the former's chagrin
My Thoughts: I don't take as much of an interest in her as I do Ran or Yukari, but I still think Chen is an alright character. Thinking about it, I think Chen's song has the shortest loop of any stage boss theme in the series. It probably doesn't even take a minute to loop... Of course, having said that, while I am fine with Chen, I want to say that I really can't stand that one Chen joke. Y'know the one. The one where someone (usually Ran) yells Chen's name often accompanied by a nosebleed. It just get's very irritating, y'know? But putting that aside, like I said, Chen is an alright character to me.
Alice Margatroid (Seven-Colored Puppeteer)
A doll-controlling-magician who lives in the Forest of Magic. While aloof and self-confident, she's not above showing kindness towards others, as she's willing to let lost humans lodge at home for the night, and is willing (albeit reluctant) to help her neighbor and rival, Marisa Kirisame.
My Thoughts: You might have noticed that I've been holding off on talking about her and Yuuka in the PC-98 discusion post. That's because I wanted to save them for each of their respective Windows debuts. Having said that, here's my view on Alice.
As you may know, I'm not too crazy about Marisa or Patchouli. But out of the witch trio, I'd say I like Alice the most. Mostly for her personality. She's aloof, self-confident, and not afraid to speak her mind or battle someone if the challenge presents itself. But she's also timid, choosing to hold back out fear of what could happen if she were to lose while going all out. Above all, she's kind, and not afraid to helps others, especially if they're human. Don't get me wrong, she's no saint, but still, she's probably one of the kindest people you'll run into Gensokyo. Like with her fellow stage 3 boss, Meiling, it's honestly a crying shame that people misinterpret her in fan works, by either making her a Tsundere or even a Yandere for Marisa when Alice is so much more complex than that. Plus, some of Alice's more unpleasant traits usually surface when she's interacting with Marisa anyway. I'm not saying that they don't have some level of respect for each other. Canon has shown plenty of instances where they do. But still, you can't deny that Marisa usually brings out the worst in Alice.
Lily White (Fairy Herald of Spring)
The Mid Boss of Stage 4. Lily White is a fairy who heralds the coming of Spring. She's know to spray danmaku as she announces Spring's arrival, but it's more out of excitement than aggression. Lily is one of the friendliest characters in the Touhou series as well as one of the youkai who is the least hostile towards humans.
My Thoughts: I got nothing. Her sole purpose is announcing the arrival of the vernal equinox and that's it. Also, Spring is somehow the best and worst season at the same time. The scenery in Springtime is absolutely gorgeous, especially in certain regions of the world. Plus the temperature in Spring usually just right. Not too hot like in the Summer, and not too cold like in the Winter. Now why is it also the worst? One word. Allergies. Having to deal with pollen in the air is the WORST. But now I'm just rambling on about Spring instead of Lily.
Bottom of the line? Lily's not so noteworthy in my opinion. Also Lily Black is literally just Lily White but she's cosplaying as the Yama. Sooooo, yeah. Next.
The Prismriver Sisters (Three Poltergeist Sisters)
This trio of poltergeist sisters are skilled musicians who are popular among youkai. These poltergeist were created by Layla Prismriver, who based them off her late older sisters after their father, Count Prismriver, died in an accident. Even after the 4 sisters died, the poltergeists take refuge in their ancestral home to this day as they continue to hone their music skills.
The sister in black is Lunasa. She's the oldest of the sisters and plays the violin. She's very calm and reserved, but also quite melancholic and pessimistic, due to her honest personality being taken advantage of in the past. The sister in white is Merlin. She's the middle sister and plays the trumpet. Merlin is very upbeat; she's never seen depressed. However, she does have a habit of becoming obsessed with anything she's interested in, to the point where it becomes a mania for her. The sister in red is Lyrica. She's the youngest of the sisters and plays the keyboard. Lyrica is very clever, but also very lazy. She prefers to try and get her to fight for her while she sits on the sidelines and snarks.
My Thoughts: As a whole, I kinda like the idea of the Prismrivers. Three siblings who perform music together. Plus, personality-wise, they're pretty distinct from each other. I have heard some theories that in-universe, they're responsible for most of the songs you hear in Touhou Project. It's honestly quite an interesting explanation. The three are pretty close in my opinion, but if you were to ask how I'd rank them... I think I would say Lunasa, Lyrica, and finally Merlin. They're still all pretty good, even if none of them are one of my all time favorites of this game.
Youmu Konpaku (Half-Human Half-Phantom Gardener)
Youmu lives at Hakugyokurou, the shrine that oversees the Netherworld, and serves as Yuyuko's right-hand-woman, being a gardener, and swordplay instructor. Her two blades, Roukanken and Hakuroken, are said to be able to cut through almost anything as well as confusion, respectively. Youmu is straightforward, diligent, and loyal to her mistress, but said straightforwardness makes her easy to be manipulated by those around her, especially Yuyuko.
My Thoughts: For a while, Youmu was my favorite character from PCB. If you don't count Reisen, then she's certainly my favorite out of the main human protagonists. And I still do like Youmu a lot! She's cute, she's cool, and she's also a bit of a dork who ironically is afraid of ghosts. The whole "cool" factor for Youmu might be played up a bit in fanon, but I personally don't find it a big deal. Plus it's usually not at the expense of any other particular characters in the series (*cough cough* Sakuya). Also, there is this one Touhou fan game (Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem) where she's voiced by Ryō Hirohashi, who, as you may know, is the current Japanese voice actress for Sonic the Hedgehog's Miles "Tails" Prower. What does this sorta minor fact about one fangame have to do with me liking Youmu? I don't know, but being a Sonic fan who also likes the fluffy little two-tailed furball, that fact just kind of appeals to me.
Bottom-Line? I like Youmu. She's one of my favorite characters in the series, and for a while, I actually preferred her over her mistress, Yuyuko.
Yuyuko Saigyouji (Ghost Girl in the Netherworld Tower)
Yuyuko is the Ghost Princess of the Netherworld and an old friend of Yukari Yakumo. During her lifetime, Yuyuko possessed the power to control the spirits of the dead, however it eventually grew into the power to kill others with just a thought. Yuyuko was so terrified by this that she committed suicide. Despite her tragic past, Yuyuko is very cheerful, playful, and friendly, for a ghost. She's also a notorious glutton, and likes messing with her servant, Youmu. Though it's clearly all just in good fun. Despite her gluttonous and seemingly airheaded nature, however, Yuyuko is also capable of being extremely knowledgable and cunning. Possibly even more so than Yukari herself...
My Thoughts: As I said, for a while, I did prefer Youmu over Yuyuko. But after a while, I think I actually prefer Yuyuko over Youmu now. They're both in my Top 10, don't get wrong. It's just that I think Yuyuko actually has more going for her in my opinion. Let me put it in this way.
Yuyuko is the Epitome of Beauty. She has a beautiful design, a beautiful personality, beautifully graceful fighting style (see fighting game sprites), her song, Border of Life, is beautiful, and Yuyuko has one of the most beautifully tragic backstories in the series.
I didn't really think too much of her before, but after thinking about it some more, I feel like Yuyuko could actually be one of my favorites in the series. Right up their with the likes of Meiling, Utsuho, and Reisen (more on the latter two later). It's just a shame that like with many of the characters in the series, Yuyuko suffers with the problem of flanderization. In her case it's focusing on her gluttonous trait. It can be funny at times, but still, there's more to Yuyuko than just eating anything and everything.
Ran Yakumo (Shikigami of the Gap Youkai)
Master of Chen and the Shikigami and Righthand Woman of Yukari Yakumo. Ran is a former resident of the Animal Realm and an associate of the notorious Yuuma Toutetsu before the latter become the leader of the Gouyoku Alliance. However, Ran started to become disgusted with the realm's beastly ideology and left for Gensokyo. Eventually Yukari found her, and the gap youkai made Ran her shikigami. Being a kitsune (or a shikigami possessing the body of a kitsune) that possesses a full set of nine tails, Ran is a very wise, old, and powerful youkai. She's powerful enough to have a shikigami of her own, Chen.
My Thoughts: I didn't think too much about Ran before. I liked her design, but that was mostly due to me liking the aforementioned Tails from the Sonic Series who, as you may or may not know, is actually based off of the legendary kitsune. (I still like to joke about Ran being Tails' long lost ancestomother. Lol.) However, some time after UDoALG came out and expanded on her backstory, I think I've grown to like Ran much more. I think her history is Yuuma is interesting because of the possible scenarios you can make with them. What kind of scenarios? One word. ANGST. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, and I am sure that the two are still pretty close friends (at least I've read that Yuuma still treats her as such), but still whether you view them as former friends or even exes, the fact that they've gone in drastically different directions in life coupled with the fact that Yuuma is unrepentantly evil and (along with her rivals, Yachie and Saki) intends to conquer Gensokyo for herself which Yukari and Ran would not approve of, I can imagine it could cause a rift in the two's friendship. I just think it's interesting to explore the concept of how their circumstances could impact their relationship.
As for Ran's theme, Necrofantasy. It pretty good, even if I prefer the theme most associate her with Charming Domination ~ Who Done It? (I personally associate with the Yakumo family as a whole), as well as Yukari's theme Necrofantasia (which is a remix of Necrofantasy). In the former's case, It has this sort of climatic feel to it; As if you're in the final stretch before facing off against Yukari, with just both of her shikigami's (or at least Ran) standing in your way. It's one of if not one of my favorite stage themes in all of Touhou, especially the PCB Version.
Overall, Ran might be one my favorite characters from PCB, besides Yuyuko and Youmu.
Yukari Yakumo (Youkai of Boundaries)
A legendary youkai sage who serves as Ran and Chen's master and is able to manipulate boundaries. Her gaps allow her to travel almost anywhere, including the Outside World! Yukari is rather whimsical and lazy; She spends most of her time asleep, and in her waking hours, she likes to mess around with those around her. Despite this, Yukari is an extremely powerful youkai and is also very cunning. Because of how well informed she is, Yukari is a master planner, and is able to manipulate events and the people around her to get what she wants. Because of her unpredictable personality, many humans and youkai alike tend to avoid Yukari. Nobody knows what she will do next...
My Thoughts: Yukari. Yukari, Yukari, Yukari... My feelings toward Yukari are... mixed to say the least. What do I mean by that? She somehow manages to be incredible (in terms of power), attractive, annoying, insufferable, and scary all at the same time. I'm not going to bother explaining that second thing, so let's talk everything else.
I say she's incredible because she just goes to how powerful Touhou characters can get. Yukari isn't the MOST POWERFUL character ever to exist in fiction, or even the most powerful Touhou character, but she still comes very close to it. She's able to manipulate boundaries and borders. Do you know what that means? In a nutshell, it basically mean she can practically do whatever to heck she feels like. She's more or less a reality-warper. In a series where two vampire kids can manipulate fate and destroy absolutely anything, respectively, a ghost princess who can control death itself, a fairy tale princess who can manipulate eternity and the instantaneous, and a pet hell raven who make miniature stars, Yukari's ability is still pretty terrifying. I'm not saying all of Touhou's characters are nigh-unstoppable gods who can destroy anyone in a fight to the death, but still, and I say this as someone who watches Death Battle and has seen what kind of crazy stuff that characters it's featured can do, Yukari is the epitome of a cast whose more powerful characters are even capable of destroying most of Marvel, Dragon Ball, and even DC Comics casts, when they're at their fullest potential. Now how they'd fare against toons is another story entirely, but my point still stands.
Why do I say Yukari is annoying and insufferable? Well, let's just say she's not exactly the best person to be around... She's lazy, she's a prankster, and when she isn't one of those two things, she most likely has an ulterior motive in mind for taking an interest in you; like you being a part of her plan or something. She's unpredictable, but I'd say that's the whole point of her character. She can easily alternate being the ultimate good in a situation and the ultimate evil in another. Of course, I will give her credit. Everything she does is for the good of Gensokyo and for maintaining it's balance. So... yeah. As reiterate my ultimate good and evil point, she's not this justice-upholding hero, but she's not some cold and heartless villain either. She's could afford to treat Ran better though... And to stop being so sensitive about her age, at least in fanon.
Above all though, when you think about it Yukari is actually pretty... terrifying. As I said, she's one of the most powerful characters in Touhou, and maybe even all of fiction. And even if she isn't the latter, she's smart and cunning enough to outwit beings who are stronger than her... she's also aware of everything that goes on in Gensokyo, and while I imagine it's not easy to do because of how carefree she usually is, crossing her is basically a death sentence, so you have to watch yourself if you happen to cross paths with her even if she starts to get on your nerves. As if that wasn't scary enough, thanks to her gaps, Yukari can go almost anywhere, including the Outside World. Of course, she's just a fictional character, so there's no way she could actually show up in the real world, but still, the idea that Yukari could very well show up where you live at literally anytime, is terrifying. Especially if you take one of ZUN's comments about her separating Gensokyo from the real world at face value.
So what does all of THIS say about how I feel about Yukari? She's kinda weird. Her boss theme is pretty cool though.
Suika Ibuki (Tiny Night Parade a Hundred Demons)
Another old friend of Yukari's who has the ability to manipulate density. Suika is your typical oni. She has a love for drinking, partying, and fighting. She also possess the strength of an oni, being able to single handedly throw large boulders, and hates cowardice and dishonesty, even though she's slightly less honest than most oni. Suika herself is a happy-go-lucky fellow and can act as childish as she looks at times. However she's also very observant and can be rather critical of others at times.
My Thoughts: I'll make this shorter. Between her, Yuugi, and Kasen, I say I prefer Suika the least. She's not a character I dislike, she's just not one I hold much interest in. I do like her theme from SWR, Broken Moon though. It's pretty groovy.
Overall: I think PCB's cast is a step up from EoSD's. I don't really care too much for Letty or Lily, and Chen and IaMP debut, Suika, are just alright to me, but everyone else is a pretty interesting in their own right. Alice, The Prismrivers, Youmu, Yuyuko, Ran, and yes, even Yukari, have at least something about them that makes them pretty interesting to me, even if they're not a favorite of mine. I think overall, the PCB cast has this "je ne sais quoi" about them that I find very interesting. This game is where setting-wise, Touhou starts becoming more like "Touhou" as we know it, and I think these characters (at least most of them) really drive home that point.

1. Yuyuko Saigyouji
2. Ran Yakumo
3. Youmu Konpaku
4. Yukari Yakumo
5. Prismriver Sisters
6. Chen
7. Suika Ibuki
8. Letty Whiterock
9. Lily White

So those are my thoughts on the Perfect Cherry Blossom cast. Let me know what your thoughts are.
Up next will be the cast for Imperishable Night.