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bitchfitch · 1 year

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Stained glass tutorial bc the birds are good for it.

The tldr with more resources and a few video tutorial links is here (link)

this is our target and this is our pattern:

if you're wondering why I'm just handing out the pattern to a piece i plan on selling, the answer is because all stained glass pieces are their own pattern. By posting the image of the piece i already gave you the pattern to it.

What you need:

1 sheet of printer paper,

scissors,

glue stick or a washable marker that works on glass,

grozier pliers,

curved jaw pliers,

glass cutter,

flux and something to apply it with,

60/40 acid free solder,

copper tape,

gloves,

eye protection,

soldering iron with stand and rheostat,

water proof sand paper or waterproof nail file,

black patina or black acrylic paint,

some kind of heat proof surface to work on. I use asphalt coated compressed fiber board because it was cheap and easy to get at the hardware store

a well ventilated area to work in. or a table set up outside, which is the most well ventilated area you probably can access without a key card to a chemistry lab.

finally: 1+ panes of translucent/cathedral glass.

if something is not pictured in the below image it's because getting it meant fighting my cord management or standing up to go get it. The white waffle grid thing is not necessary. It just makes clean up easier so I'm using it and also i was too lazy to move it. a box of nails is pictured, they are also helpful but also not necessary. especially if you are not using something you can easily push them into as a work surface

I'm just using my normal glasses for eye protection, you don't need anything super fancy but you do need something to stop any flying shards.

Anyways. Soldering and finishing is in a reblog of this. i needed more pictures than you can put in a single Tumblr post

Step 1 Pattern Prep

print your pattern out. once if you are just going to use a marker to copy it onto your glass, twice if you are going to glue it down to use that way.

you may notice my pattern is backwards. That's because i printed it out wrong and can't be fucked to go fix it. Anyways.

Number your pieces in the same order on both copies if you are using the glue method, for such a simple pattern it's not uber necessary but it's a good habit to get into. Larger and more complicated pieces rapidly become broken glass jigsaw puzzles if you don't.

Step 2 putting the pattern on the glass

the way you make the glass the right shape is by using a glass cutter, that bronzy thing with all the tape around the barrel to make it easier for me to grip. the way it works is it holds a very thin metal disk that you press into the glass to introduce a fault line the glass will hopefully want to break along. I said hopefully for a reason.

All cuts have to go from one edge of the glass to the other because that's what the crack will do when you break it. Keep that in mind while you lay down your pieces. I've used a marker to show how i plan to cut this pane but unless you're doing a tricky cut order you don't really have to do that

I'm using what i have on hand so how you lay your pieces out will probably be different if you've bought whole panes to work with. This is a much more wasteful way of doing it than i normally would, but the goal with this one was to produce a piece that doesn't require a glass grinder as those are an expensive thing to get when you're just starting out.

Also plan to cut on the Less textured side of the glass, the texture can get in the way. if you would like the texture to be on the front of your finished piece simply glue your pieces upside down onto the smoother side. also know that less textures glass is easier to use

I didn't have any more of that darker grey blue so I'm using a light bluish lavender piece instead. it looks brown because of the the yellow underneath it

step 3 cut the glass

take a piece of preferably translucent glass and practice this step a few times before doing it on your project.

Press the wheel at the end of the stylus firmly against the glass at one edge, the keep pressure as you push or pull your line. you will know if you're using enough force because clear glass makes a very specific noise when it's being scored. I can't describe it but you'll know it when you hear it. you'll also be able to see the score line from some angles, it should look like a very fine crack in the glass. I've also heard it described as "like a white hair has been set on top of the glass". do not stop, lift your cutter, or go backwards over the scorline you have already made. The crack is a Lot more likely to go off course and destroy your piece if you do.

do only one line at a time before using the grozier pliers to break the glass.

there should be a line on the silicone protector things on the edge of you pliers, hold them so that that mark lines up with your score line and apply pressure , start light and slowly increase until it begins to crack. If the crack immediately runs the whole length of the pane then your done, if it doesn't, rotate the pane and do the same thing on the other edge of the glass until it starts cracking from there too. if it Still doesn't meet in the middle help it along by tapping along the uncracked part of the score line with the tip of your pliers handle until the crack finishes the job. If it's a very long straight one you can also use the edge of a table to encourage the crack to form in the right place.

if the crack decides to go off your scorline just finish breaking that score line and then peel off your pattern piece and reposition it to try again. if you used something like an Elmer's glue stick you can reactivate the glue with a Small amount of water dabbed over the pattern piece with your finger.

Once you have most of the glass broken off use your curved jaw pliers to very carefully nip away at any extra bumps. like half a millimeter at a time, don't just bite into a big chunk, itll shatter the piece. The flat side of the jaws is used to leverage the piece against to break it that way. it's helpful to pick an orientation for your pliers and just commit to always holding them like that. with the flat jaw either up or down. It'll help you build the muscle memory and learn to use them faster.

enjoy your pile of broken glass and dream about the grinder that wouldve made this easier.

Step 4 grinding deburing.

use your water proof file or sand paper to to knock any little bits of broken glass off. it is Vitally important that you do this with the file Wet. glass dust likes to float on any little draft and it's Super not good for your eyes lungs throat or nose.

You can also take the time now to refine the shapes and sand off any little nubbins that are in the way.

once you're done use a little dish soap to remove the pattern and any grease or glue left on the piece. if you need to re number the pieces.

Step 5 Foil

foil comes in a handful of sizes, and in silver, black, and copper backed. The sizes determine how thick your leading will be, thinner foil, thinner lines. With art glass or very textured glass you may need to go up a few sizes to make it fit. The color on the back will be visible through clear glass so you might want to pick one that vibes with your colors. I'm using what i had, so i don't actually know the thickness. It is copper backed tho.

take your piece and your roll of foil and place the edge of the piece in the center of the tape so that there's an equal amount of hangover on either side. then carefully roll your piece to wrap the edges in tape. being sure to keep it centered the entire way around. when you get back to where you started let the tape overlap itself by at least a quarter of a centimeter or like 1/8th of an inch. then cut the foil.

use your fingers to smooth the foil down over either side of the glass. and then the handle of your scissors or any hard plastic object to firmly press out any creases in the foil. The smoother you can get it the better. because that will make the solder sit flatter.

use the second/primary copy of your pattern for reference and lay out your pieces on top of it. If you're using nails and and a softer work surface you can press them into it around the edges of your pattern to keep the pieces from shifting. for a piece as simple as this it's not necessary but it still might help.

Soldering is next up but I'm posting from mobile and have an image limit to keep in mind. so that will be posted as a reblog in a bit.

#please dont reblog im adding the soldering and finishing section rn. i ran out of pictures

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tabletopmonsteroftheweek · 8 months

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The ufo monster from Nope

Monster: Jean Jacket (scientific name Occulonimbus edoequus)

Type: Devourer (Motive: to consume animals and humans)

A massive, disk-shaped creature eerily similar in shape of a stereotypical UFO. Things sucked up into its body can be heard, albeit muffled, within until digested or crushed. If it feels threatened, it will mark its territory by regurgitating blood from its previous meal. It cannot digest inorganic matter or metals, and will promptly spit it out after digesting its meal.

As a threat display, it will unfurl into a more massive form that looks similar to jellyfish or a Biblical angel.

Powers:

Electrical Interference

Hiding in clouds and able to move them

Flight

Suction

Weakness: It recognizes anything with eyes as its prey, even if it’s not alive. Hunters can draw it away or potentially kill it by having it suck up something volatile should it have eyes.

If a hunter is sucked in and deals a significant amount of damage from inside, the creature will spit them out

Attacks:

Suction (0 harm inhale)

Object Regurgitation (1-3 harm far blunt)

[if eaten] Gut-crush (6 harm close)

[if eaten] Digestive Acids (1 harm close ignore armor) [the reason its lower than the gut-crush is due to how long it digests its prey before its pulped {ex. The Star Lasso Experience attendees}]

[if eaten] Spit out (2 harm far) [this will release the hunter from inside the creature]

Harm: 20 harm

Custom Moves:

Suction: Should anyone accidentally gaze upon it, Jean Jacket will attempt to suck them up. If the hunter is caught in its suction, have them roll Act Under Pressure.

On 10+, they are able to escape it/get out of its range.

On a mix, the keeper has a choice: they get out, but the tornado its at their heals, OR they start to get pulled up but the hunters can still help out.

On a miss, they start to get pulled up. If another hunter fails to help them right after, they will be pulled inside.

#monster of the week #motw #monster of the week rpg #motw rpg #monster idea #monster stat block #motw mystery concept #mystery concept

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rutilation · 8 months

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Composite Super-Weeds from Hell: An Analysis of Flower Language in Chainsaw Man

Once upon a time, I started noticing the flowers in Chainsaw Man. Then, I couldn’t stop noticing them. 1 trillion open tabs later, and here we are. I must share my sickness with the world. Is every last plant in this manga meaningful? Probably not. Are at least some of them meaningful? Absolutely. So, I'm throwing the entire pot of spaghetti at the wall, and seeing what sticks. A few things to note before we start:

Color is a crucial aspect of flower language, but can be rather ambiguous in Chainsaw Man. I’ve heard tell, for instance, that the coloring choices on the backs of volume covers, those in the anime, as well as the official colored re-release of Part 1, were not overseen by Fujimoto himself. Case in point: at the café where Reze works, there’s a decoration featuring dried stalks of grain which the colorists seemingly mistook for lavender and colored purple. As such, I’m going to ignore any color choices that I’m not 1,000% sure Fujimoto was responsible for, and will use only his colored illustrations and choice of screen-tones as a guide.

I’ll be primarily using hanakotoba, rather than Victorian floriography, as my guide for meaning. However, it’s worth noting that the vast majority of Japanese-language hanakotoba compendiums I’ve seen online will also list western interpretations of a given flower alongside Japanese ones, so those wouldn’t exactly be obscure information in Japan.

I wish I could add way more reference photos to this. Alas, tumblr has an image limit.

I’m going to be saying the following words a lot, so here’s a note on terminology: ray florets refer to the “petals” of Asteraceae flowers—each of which is actually its own flower, disk florets refer to the tightly clustered, bud-like flowers that make up the central disk of Asteraceae flowers, and ‘flower head’ referrers to the entire inflorescence of an Asteraceae.

This undertaking quickly became. huge. So, in the interest of not dumping an entire brick shithouse of text on my potential readers, I’m dividing this in half, and will only be analyzing the plants of Part 1 here. I’ll post about Part 2 at a later date.

With that, let me begin by talking about the flower which I believe represents the Hayakawa family.

Hydrangeas appear twice in Chainsaw Man. First, on the cover for chapter 15, as Power hangs off of Denji while they pose for the camera and, second, on the calendar in chapter 72, as Aki comes to the realization that he loves Denji and Power more than he desires revenge. They have a number of meanings in Japanese culture, many of which are actually rather negative. Unlike the camellias that will appear later in this analysis, or the ever-famous cherry blossoms, hydrangeas don’t lose their flowers in a poetic or melancholic fashion. Rather than falling or wilting, the flowers simply dehydrate, lose some of their color, and shrivel up on the stem, where they will remain until winter forces them to yield. As such, it’s apparently common practice to prune them before they can get to this point, so as to ensure a heavy bloom for the next season. Because of this tendency to overstay their welcome, and become unsightly as a result, they are associated with stubbornness, haughtiness, and callousness. You can also add ‘fickleness’ to that list of negative connotations, due to their coloration and blooming period. When and how much they bloom is contingent on the vicissitudes of annual rainfall, if there isn’t enough, you’ll have a lackluster season, if it comes early or late, so too will the blooms. Because the anthocyanins that provide its pigment are sensitive to acid, its color will also vary with whatever soil it’s planted in, and a shrub already in bloom will even shift color over the course of a season. To the groundskeepers and gardeners of Japan, it seems that the hydrangea is a stubborn, cantankerous asshole of a flower—not that we would ever use those adjectives to describe the leads of Part 1.

There are, however, a handful of positive meanings ascribed to hydrangeas in Japan, such as tolerance, ‘heartfelt gratitude,’ and ‘patient love.’ For our purposes though, the most crucial of these is that the tightly clustered arrangement of its flowers is seen as a symbol of harmony and family bonds. Taken together, these meanings paint a picture of a tight-knit family of prideful shitheads who are subject to the fickle whims of rainfall and soil fate, all wrapped up in a single flower. I don’t think I could have picked a better symbol for our doomed trio if I tried.

Something else worth noting are the other plants that accompany the hydrangeas in the chapter 15 color page. While I can't tell what the tree on the right is, the other two plants are pink tulips and a palm tree. In hanakotoba, pink tulips represent ‘budding love,’ affection, and ‘true love.’ This chapter comes soon after Denji’s disappointing boob-fondling, which was the first step on his journey towards realizing he isn’t attracted to Power, that it’s possible in the first place to relate to women in ways other than sexual or romantic attraction, and that he loves her as a friend. So, alongside the hydrangeas, the combined meaning of these flowers seems to be: “These two, (who are assholes btw,) are starting to love each other as a family.” Palm, meanwhile, means 'watching over you,' 'firm determination,' and success. If we're meant to also derive meaning from the tree as well as the flowers, it almost feels like foreshadowing of Power's role towards the end of Part 1, of how she protects Denji even in death, and is ultimately the one to tip the scales enough to allow him to prevail over Makima.

One last thing: as I alluded to earlier, hydrangeas are heavily associated with Japan’s rainy season, which spans early June to mid-July, and June is the month that the fantastical family photo from chapter 79’s color illustration is dated to. I dove into this in excruciating detail in one of my metas regarding the dates and calendars that appear in Chainsaw Man. Please, do give it a read if you get a chance. More people need to know of Fujimoto’s shenanigans. (Ignore my flower language analysis in that essay, though. I was young and green. I mistook ‘fickleness’ for ‘impermanence’ like a rookie, like a chump!)

With hydrangeas as our baseline, I’d like to talk about a more recent addition to the list of flowers. I know I said I’d only be looking at Part 1 flowers in this essay, but there’s a certain aspect of this flower’s portrayal that’s very important to keep in mind going forward regarding how Fujimoto uses flower language.

These flowers in the stained-glass are Platycodon, also known as kikyou, also known as balloon flowers, also known as Chinese bellflowers. Given the use of a medium screentone, they’re probably the standard purple variety, rather than white or pink. At least, they ought to be balloon flowers. From the downturned blooms, to the alternating arrangement of the lanceolate leaves on the stem, to the shape and curvature of the petals, and even the screentone, everything matches. However, the flowers on the door have six petals, whereas balloon flowers only ever have five. As a matter of fact, much of the symbolism associated with balloon flowers comes from their five petals. As far as I could dig up, only one member of Campanulaceae has six petals: the Canary Island bellflower. But, its leaves are a completely different shape than those in the illustration. In addition, it is a vine that doesn’t stand upright on its own, again, unlike those pictured here.

So, it’s definitely a balloon flower, and given how much their five petals play into their cultural significance, I highly doubt that the sixth petal is a result of mere oversight. My takeaway from this is that Fujimoto is willing to, at times, fudge botany for the sake of making some artistic point. Going forward, whenever we encounter a flower that doesn’t exist, isn’t blooming in its proper season, or has something otherwise off about it, we need to ask ourselves: what’s the rationale behind this? With regard to the balloon flowers specifically, my thoughts are as follows: in China and Japan both, the five petals of a balloon flower are taken to symbolize the five elements of Taoism, as well as the five senses. If you’ll recall chapter 84, Makima claims that humans used to have a sixth sense before Pochita ate its corresponding devil. Perhaps this sixth petal is a vestigial remnant of that bygone reality. That’s the best I can come up with for now, in any case. I doubt we’ve seen the last of it, and I feel our understanding of this mysterious six-petaled balloon flower will evolve with time.

Now, onto the more sentimental meanings of the flower: ‘undying love,’ sincerity, grace, and—get this—‘longing for a friend’s return.’ The fact that this flower adorns the door that ushers Denji both in and out of hell tells me that it’s reflecting his emotions. A few chapters earlier, Denji lobotomized himself in order to avoid thinking about Power and Aki, but then started rambling about French dogs, a street food specific to Hokkaido, which he probably ate with them on their trip. And, in this moment, Denji seemingly spirals into despair at the prospect of not getting laid, but promptly falls through a door which loudly proclaims ‘I love and miss my friends’ in flower language. Ouch.

Something else worth noting is that the balloon flower makes two other, subtler appearances. It can be seen on two panels of the stained glass on volume 14’s cover, as well as in the café where Yoshida brings Denji and Fami. However, neither of them are the traditional blueish-purple color. Those on volume 14’s cover are definitely white, while the graphic design in the café is simply screentone-less, and thus, could be either white or pink. White balloon flowers mean ‘neatness’ and ‘obedience,’ and pink balloon flowers symbolize misfortune. Given how Famine is manipulating several different factions, and the fact that the café is where Yoshida invites those difficult personages whom he is trying to bring to heel, I think it’s safe to say that they’re both white, and that white balloon flowers are being used as a symbol of social control. One color stands for the jackboot stomping down on our characters, while the other stands for the love that makes all the drudgery and indignity worth fighting through. I wonder if these two versions of the flower will be directly contrasted with each other in the future.

Another nonexistent flower appears in the very first chapter. It appears to be some sort of thistle… which is also a parasitic vine? After much googling, I’m pretty sure that no such plant exists. The closest I could find was the broomrape family, but their flowers look nothing like the one in the illustration, and as far as I can tell, they doesn’t predate on trees, only other herbs. The meaning of a parasitic vine is quite obvious in context—Denji is asking Pochita to live on through him—but the flower itself has something to say as well. Thistle mean independence, ‘don’t touch me,’ and retaliation in hanakotoba, alluding to both the harsh austerity of Denji and Pochita’s lives up to that point, as well as their scrappy determination to keep living.

Now that we’ve talked about some quasi-unreal flowers, let’s look at some examples of Fujimoto using flower language ironically, starting with Himeno, and the many flowers which adorn her stretch of the story. While the centerpiece is undoubtedly the chapter 25 cover page, we’ll first need to delve into some other flowers to fully appreciate it, starting with bouquets she left on the graves of her old partners.

To my eyes, these bouquets seem to contain white chrysanthemums and Easter lilies. I’m going to take an educated guess and say that the daisy-like flowers are calendulas, based on the size of the flower heads, as well as their distinctive cup-like shape. All three of these are very common as funeral or sympathy flowers, with the white of the first two representing a return to purity through death, and calendulas in general meaning grief, mourning, and ‘the sadness of parting ways.’ All in all, appropriate choices for a somber occasion.

The flowers on the Ghost Devil have between 5 and 12 pale petals. Said petals are sometimes thin and pointy, but at other times, broad and bluntly-tipped. The centers seem dark at a distance, but are more variegated in close ups. All of these characteristic remind me of the many species of wild anemone; in fact, there are patches of them growing near where I live that look almost exactly like these. Anemones are associated with death, sickness, and forsaken love; all quite appropriate for the Ghost Devil.

Keeping those in mind, let’s look at that chapter cover, starting with the more straightforward flowers to identify: those of the background. Upon first glance, I figured they were Easter lilies—which would fit; as I mentioned, they’re a common funerary flower. But, if you look closely, you'll note that the flowers are clustered together in little radiating bunches reminiscent of spider lilies. (Although the stamens aren’t nearly long enough for those to be a possible match.) Consider also how the petals are bent slightly further backwards than those of the typical lily. I believe these are actually Lycoris squamigera, known as surprise or resurrection lilies in English, and natsuzuisen in Japanese. In hanakotoba, they have the following meanings: ‘I would do anything for you,’ 'heartfelt fun,' 'sad memories,' and 'deep compassion'—all of which, in my mind, line up with Himeno’s feelings towards Aki, while also expressing that she’s about to sacrifice herself for him.

Now, onto the flowers in her bouquet. They have broad, flat central disks, large flower heads, and small, sparse, spatulate stem leaves with an alternating arrangement. After much waffling, I determined that they are most likely to be Leucanthemum, either oxeye or Shasta daisies, which have the following meanings:

Leucanthemum vulgare/oxeye daisy: patience, generosity, tolerance, sorrow, innocence

Leucanthemum × superbum/Shasta daisy: patience, endurance

It’s also worth noting that the broader, non-botanically-specific meaning of daisies in hanakotoba is ‘faith.’ I think that could work as well, considering that, in this scene, Himeno is taking it on faith that Aki will live on and mourn her. The meanings along the lines of patience, tolerance, and endurance could also allude to how Himeno has stuck with Public Safety, which she no longer wants anything to do with, which she knows will be the death of her sooner or later, for the sake of watching over Aki. ‘Sorrow,’ I believe, speaks for itself. But, I think the meatiest reading of this bouquet can be discerned by taking a step back, and considering it in the context of those other flowers I just talked about.

Leaving aside the specificity of flower language, daisies in general are regarded as fun, cheerful, innocent, and kind of juvenile—which is why they aren’t exactly mainstays of sympathy arrangements. I think the choice to give Himeno a funeral bouquet of daisies after making a recurring motif of more proper mourning flowers is meant to express an irreverence towards the supposed solemnity of death, especially as it relates to Public Safety grinding their foot soldiers into paste. The reality of their circumstances, of the system that is killing them, renders the sentiment of all those ‘mums, lilies, and calendulas hollow, inadequate, and trite. Thus, a blatantly inappropriate flower better conveys the tragicomedy of their lives. Much like how the puerile dick-kicking was Himeno’s requiem, a funeral arrangement of fun-loving, pink surprise lilies and blithely cheerful daisies is a middle-finger to the conveyor belt of death that all devil hunters are strapped to, one final testament to her flippancy and defiance.

Another instance of ironic flower language can be found in Reze and Denji’s flower. This one frustrated me for the longest time. At first glance, you look at it and think: oh, a daisy, and fill in the blanks with young love, and innocence, and so on, and so forth. That’s not a daisy, though. Daisies have between 15 and 30 ray florets. This one has twelve, at the most. I say ‘at the most’ because, not only do the flowers that Reze and Denji receive at the beginning and end of the arc have a different ray floret count from each other’s, the number of ray florets on the same flower shifts from panel to panel. In the panels where they’re clear enough to count, Denji’s has 12 is one panel, and 10 in another. Reze’s has 9 in one panel, and 7 in another. And to top it all off, Denji’s flower only has a screen tone in its second set of panels, not the first. Maddening. Amorphous color-changing daisy that exists to spite me. I spent about a week counting and recounting the ray florets, hoping they’d eventually make sense. But, it was only when I gave up, and decided to ignore Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Shifting Ray Florets, that I made any headway in identifying this mystery Asteraceae.

Observe Denji and Reze’s flowers, and compare them to those seen in the cover illustrations for chapters 25 and 49. While the latter have a multitude of skinny ray florets, the former have fewer, broader ray florets. This, I think, rules out daisies, asters, calendulas, and chrysanthemums—which narrows it down to cosmos and coreopsis, as well as the more sparsely arrayed wild variations of marigolds, zinnias, and dahlias. After much thought, I concluded that the most likely candidate is wild marigold—probably either Tagetes patula or Tagetes erecta. Note the bulbous growth just below the flower head; in botany, that’s called a receptacle. Of the plants I’ve mentioned here, marigolds and zinnias are the only ones with a similar shape to Denji and Reze’s flower, having a long, thick receptacle—which, unlike the ray florets, is drawn consistently in every panel featuring this flower. In the other plants I’ve mentioned, however, the receptacle is petite, stout, or both. If you look at the upper right of Himeno’s bouquet, you can see an example of that more typical shape. Anyway, between marigolds and zinnias, the former is most likely because the flower in the illustration lacks the zinnia’s distinctive, variegated disk florets.

Now that we’ve solved the mystery of its taxonomy, let’s move on to the subject of its meaning. In hanakotoba, marigolds represent despair, grief, and jealousy. I suppose it’s fitting that the group raising funds for orphaned children chose a flower associated with death and mourning? Beyond the diegetic explanation, I like the dissonance of using such an ominous flower as the emblem of Denji and Reze’s cute-but-doomed puppy love. It’s the irony of Himeno’s daisies, but from the opposite direction, with both, I think, displaying a similar devil-may-care attitude. We’re doomed, but we might as well make merry about it.

Given the use of a medium screentone, I also suspect that this is an orange marigold, rather than a yellow one. Orange marigolds in particular mean ‘prophecy’ in hanakotoba. If this additional meaning is intended, perhaps it relates to the fact that this story arc is a closed circle that begins and ends with the same flower. I also wonder if there’s significance to the fact that their flower is a wild marigold, rather than the more recognizable, heavily-bedecked, hybridized version. I take it as an allusion to the fact that Reze’s feelings for Denji were, ultimately, sincere and spontaneous, despite all the cold artifice that initially brought them together.

A third example of ironic hanakotoba can be found in chapter two, in the field of flowers where Denji finds the kidnapped girl. Judging by the size and conical shape of the flower heads, and their rotund central disks, I believe that these are asters from the Kalimeris family. While there are several native to Japan, yomena is the most well-known and ubiquitous. In hanakotoba, it means obedience and ‘hidden beauty,’ with the name itself meaning something along the lines of ‘bride’s greens.’ While the yomena’s name and meaning are surely intended as a paean to demure and submissive femininity, here those associations are cast in a definitively negative light: the girl is hidden because she’s been kidnapped, and obedient because her body has been made into a puppet. In my research, I actually found quite a few flowers that had meanings along these lines, and I must say that it’s very Fujimotocore of Fujimoto to either deftly avoid those flowers, or twist their meaning into something sinister, as with the yomena and white balloon flowers. Truly, this man loves mean, domineering women with his whole chest, and recoils from anything to the contrary.

Now that we’ve established that Fujimoto likes both irony, and making up flowers, let’s do hanakotoba in hard mode. We’re going straight to hell.

See this thing? This gave me the most trouble out of any flower here. It’s a basal clump of sword-shaped leaves, with one or more five-petaled flowers emerging from the ends of leafless stalks. Primrose? No. Hellebore? No. Anything Ranunculaceae? At all? Please! It looks so much like a buttercup! No. Is there perhaps a species of crocus that happens to look like buttercup? No. Pentas? No. Babiana stricta? No. Phlox? No. Dianthus? No. Nemophila? Also no. This went on for several weeks. If it were just some random flower drawn to take up space in one or two panels, I wouldn’t have tried so hard. But, the ground in hell is copiously littered with these things; they literally extend as far as the eye can see in any panel where the ground is visible. Rather than being drawn as an afterthought, it seemed instead that extra attention was being paid to the details of the plants throughout the hell excursion, so it galled me that I kept hitting a wall whenever I tried to identify this mysterious flower. It’s as if those hyper-detailed close-ups of dandelions in chapter 63 were a thrown gauntlet, daring me to identify the flowers that would appear soon thereafter. In the end, the closest real-world analogue I could find was the plantainleaf buttercup, a wildflower native to the mountainous regions of western North America. But, even aside from being pretty obscure in Japan, it still doesn’t perfectly fit, as the flower in the hell chapters has no stem leaves at all, whereas the PLB does.

About the time I started going crazy, about the time I started wondering to myself: “What if, down in hell, oleander is an herbaceous wildflower instead of a tree?” I was forced to admit that—much like the six-petaled balloon flower, much like the parasitic thistle-vine, this probably wasn’t strictly a real plant. After admitting defeat in that arena, I finally hit a breakthrough when I started thinking about the mystery flower in the context of the few other plants to be found in hell. There’s a dandelion, a rosette-shaped weed of some sort (probably broadleaf plantain,) along with what I believe to be several cosmoses (more on those later.) All three are hardy, fast-growing, weedy, and a common sight in poor-quality or otherwise disturbed soil, and I figured this mystery plant was likely to be in the same category. I started looking up common weeds in Japan, and found three that were very close to the mystery flowers in one aspect or another. The flowers in question are spring starflower (Ipheion uniflorum,) blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium rosulatum,) and creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata.) I’ve come to believe that the mystery flower is actually an amalgamation of woodsorrel and one of the two other plants. Its flower looks exactly like the woodsorrel’s: small, pale, and delicate, with five petals that have a blocky, rectangular character. The stalk it emerges from could belong to either of the other two I just mentioned, as I couldn’t completely rule either out. Both are basal clumps of sword-shaped leaves, with flowers emerging from the ends of upright, leafless stalks. Hell, it would seem, is a big empty lot full of composite super weeds. Two weeds for the price of one.

When you view this combo through a hanakotoba lens, it gets very interesting, especially if you assume that the base of the plant is spring starflower. That one means ‘a sad farewell,’ despicableness, ‘enduring love,’ and resentment. As for the woodsorrel, it means joy, ‘shining heart,’ and ‘a mother’s love.’ If you combine the two together, I interpret the resulting alchemy as ‘an awful betrayal at the hands of an idealized maternal figure, one you can’t help but love anyway.’ A sweet, cheerful flower lounging atop a base of trauma, ambivalence, and abuse. Is that not Part 1 in a nutshell?

It gets even juicier if we zero in on the meaning within just the context of this scene. While these starflower-sorrels extend as far as the eye can see from chapter 64 onwards, they’re actually barely present for our first glimpse of hell at the end of chapter 63. What’s more, they’re nowhere to be seen in hell during the Falling Devil arc. I posit that they emerged to reflect Tolka’s feelings of fresh betrayal and terror at the hand of his mother figure, and came to dominate the landscape as his doom approached, and the gravity of his situation set in.

As for blue-eyed grass, though: prosperity, ‘rich emotions,’ and ‘a lovely person.’ Kind of boring by comparison, not spicy, not juicy, not a metaphor of Part 1’s themes of abuse. Count me as a starflower-sorrel truther. I suppose I should also talk about the dandelion too. It's associated with the whole fortune-telling, make-a-wish thing, but it also means 'pure/sincere love' and separation. Maybe the hanakotoba is relevant, or maybe the dandelion is just there to set up the vibe of a weedy, vacant lot. If the former is true, then my read is that it--like the starflower-sorrel--is reflecting Tolka's emotions in the moment.

There’s another flower seen in hell which I’ve only briefly mentioned. Much like the character who’s named after it, it’s more significant than a first impression might have you believe.

Cosmos—Greek for orderly arrangement—is a flower that earned its name from its ray florets: always 8, and always uniform in size and length. Its use in Chainsaw Man draws upon its meanings in both hanakotoba and floriography. On the one hand, it means love, sincerity, purity, affection, and modesty, and on the other, the order, harmony, and beauty of the universe, and these dual meanings are embodied in the character of Cosmo. (Well, maybe not the modesty part.) But before I get ahead of myself, let’s set this flower’s fiendish mascot aside for a moment, and look at the panel where cosmoses actually show up.

Ignore Violence’s leg being on the wrong layer, and take a close look at the field of flowers. In the background, we can see what are most definitely cosmoses, with each concave flower head having 8 large, toothed, evenly-spread ray florets, with thin stems, and a small central disk. Looking at the foreground, though, things have gotten a little weird. The overall shape of the flower heads is the same, and they still have the distinctive silhouette of a cosmos, but there are only 5 or 6 ray florets on each flower. Finally, on the far right of the panel, in extreme close-up, are the five rectangular petals of creeping woodsorrel, and you can even see that its petals have a slight downward-curve, as opposed to the upward-curve of all the other flowers. After this panel, the cosmoses disappear, and there are no other plants to be seen in hell aside from starflower-sorrel. I believe that what this panel is depicting is the moment that the plants of hell transform to reflect Tolka’s fear and despair. The cosmos flower, then, is a representation of the neutral fabric of existence, which is acted upon by human emotion to create to a new, fantastical lifeform that defies of the laws of nature. In other words, these background plants are a synecdoche of Chainsaw Man’s main world-building conceit, representing both devils, and the human fear that brings them into existence.

Both here, and in Cosmo’s displays of fearsome power, do we see the cosmos flower’s association with order and harmony put in a menacing light, for the order and harmony that upholds Chainsaw Man’s universe is inscrutable, hostile, and unforgiving. But, there’s a silver lining to all this that is, again, exemplified in Cosmo herself. A while ago, I read a meta on Cosmo, which speculated as to the true nature of her character, and what the whole Halloween thing was actually getting at. You should totally give it a read, but to surmise, this person posits that Cosmo, having gained knowledge of all things, understands that the best remedy to the cruel farce of existence is to have fun, be yourself, embrace your spookiness and imperfection, and spend your finite time alive having gay sex being with your loved ones. I pretty much 100% agree with this person’s take. Why do you think she has big, heart-shaped pupils? It’s because she’s seen the truth at the center of the universe, and it is love. Love and sincerity—as codified by cosmos’s meaning in hanakotoba.

There are a couple of other possible connections regarding cosmoses that are more tenuous, but which I still wanted to make note of regardless. The flower’s most well-known characteristic is its 8 ray florets, and ‘8’ is a number that has shown up quite a few times in Chainsaw Man. When the cast is trapped by the Eternity Devil in Part 1, the clocks are stopped at 8:18, the Future Devil is housed in cell 108, and the number 108087 kept cropping up in the background Where’s Waldo-style earlier in Part 2. There’s also an ‘8’ on Yoru’s bread bag. Not sure what that last one’s about, but, bread aside, the numeral keeps getting used as a symbol of, I want to say… the mysteries of the universe? Probably because ‘8’ is the infinity symbol tilted 90°. The last thing I want to note is that it’s possible Cosmo isn’t the only one of Quanxi’s fiends to be named after a flower. ‘Hagi’ is Japanese for bush clover, which, like the cosmos, is a flower that blooms in autumn in Japan.

With that, we’ve gone over most of the big ones, but there’s still plenty more to talk about. Let’s start with Quanxi’s herb garden/tree nursery/vineyard. I’ve numbered the plants more or less in order of how sure I am in my identification, so let’s go down the list:

The lovely metalwork here on the fence helpfully clues us in that these are grape vines, rather than, say, ivy or morning glory, which can have similar looking leaves. Because of their association with wine, both the fruit and the vine mean ‘euphoria’ and ‘oblivion’ in hanakotoba. This is likely alluding to the fact that she’s having sex pretty much any time she isn’t working, as well as her philosophy of turning a blind eye towards any information which would make her unhappy.

At first, I thought these were pines, which would work, don’t get me wrong. Pines are associated with renewal, endurance, and longevity in Japanese culture—a fitting symbol for the character who’s implied to be the oldest hybrid. But, after some additional digging, I determined that the overall shape of the plant was much more in line with rosemary. In hanakotoba, rosemary means faithfulness and ‘unchanging love.’ I see this as a counterbalance to the unsentimental hedonism implied by the grapevine, which is probably why these two plants are the ones that most dominate the frame. Indeed, Quanxi loves two things: escapism, and her girlfriends. Or, maybe the presence of rosemary just means she eats a lot of potatoes, and needs two big bushes worth of rosemary to season them with.

I believe this is yucca, though I had also considered that it might be aloe or snake plant. However, we see aloe in Part 2, and care was taken to draw it with the little spines on its leaves, which this plant does not have. Snake plant usually has stripes or banding, and sparser, wavier leaves in a less orderly arrangement. So, I ruled that out too. In hanakotoba, yucca means ‘dashing’ and ‘brave.’ I think that speaks for itself; she’s quite the badass.

Much like the yucca next to it, I believe this is also a young tree. The shape and arrangement of the leaves look very much like plumeria to me. Plumeria means elegance, sunshine, ‘blessed person,’ passion, and ‘shy maiden.’ My interpretation is that this plant is an ode to her girlfriends.

Here we see dense clump of serrated, rhomboid leaves. I think this is mint, which means ‘efficacy’ and ‘virtue.’ Now, I don’t think Quanxi cares about virtue one way or another, but she sure is effective and efficient! Fujimoto told me she always keeps fresh mint on hand in case she or her girlfriends want mojitos.

I thiiiink this is bay laurel. This one has a dual meaning, as the plant in general means glory, victory, and honor, while the leaves on their own mean “I will not change ‘til the day I die.” That last one reminds me of how Kishibe describes his feelings for Quanxi in Buddy Stories. He loves her because she’ll never die on him, and because their relationship will never become close enough to beget the risk of true vulnerability. Also, she uses these for soup.

Overall, I find this array of plants to be curious, and quite different from others that have shown up before this point. Her setup has one decorative flower that isn’t blooming, a grape vine which hasn’t borne fruit, and three trees which are residing in flowerpots instead of the earth. I’m not sure what to make of it, but it feels like there’s a dissonance being implied here. Much to ponder… Anyway, speaking of vines:

The cover of volume 3 is full of five-lobed green leaves which are closely clustered together, making me think they are ivy. In hanakotoba, ivy means ‘eternal love,’ marriage, friendship, faithfulness, and immortality. I think their presence here is alluding to what Himeno wants, but can’t attain: a long life together with Aki, outside the clutches of public safety. The fact that the ivy is overlaid on top of her gives a dreamlike quality to the illustration, adding to the idea that the ivy is standing in for that which Himeno fantasizes about. Back to Reze:

Reze’s kimono here on the cover of chapter 49 tripped me up for the longest time, because I at first assumed that its design must be depicting the same flower she received from Denji; but as we’ve established, that can’t be the case. The colors don’t match, and neither do the size and shape of the ray florets. That was a marigold, and these are daisies. While I’ve already talked at length about daisy symbolism, there’s actually one more aspect to it that I haven’t brought up yet, one specific to Bellis perennis and Argyranthemum frutescens—the common daisy and the marguerite. The schoolyard game of plucking the flower to determine if your crush likes you has made its way into the hanakotoba of those two varieties, and they thus have meanings such as ‘oracle of love,’ ‘fortune-telling,’ and ‘secret love.’ I think this might be the most relevant interpretation to this illustration, as it alludes to the ambiguity of Reze’s true feelings towards Denji. She loves him, she loves him not…

On the cover of chapter 46, we have a medium-sized shrub with dark leaves and large, white flowers. There are a number of plants which could fit that description: gardenias, magnolias, roses, camellias, etc. At first, I was having trouble ruling anything out. But then, I remembered that in this moment, Reze is beheading herself. Duh, of course those are camellias. Later, I noticed a leafy stem sticking out on the far left of the bush that confirmed my assumption.

The leaves of a rose do not grow directly off of the branch which sprouts the flower, but from small, offshoot stems, unlike the plant pictured here. Gardenias, meanwhile, have a whorled leaf arrangement, with three or more leaves radiating in different directions from a single point—again, unlike those pictured here. Magnolias have a similar leaf arrangement to camellias, but they don’t have the large volume of petals that the flowers in the illustration do. So, these must be camellias.

Camellia japonica is associated with samurai, Edo period nobility, and honorable death. This is on account of the life cycle of their flowers. They fall off whole, and in the peak of their bloom, rather than gradually wilting as most others do. White camellias have an additional meaning of ‘waiting,’ which fits when you consider that this image depicts the tense standoff that precedes Reze’s massacre. But, beyond that, I also interpret the use of white camellias, rather than the more-iconic (and decidedly romantic) red ones, as a sign that Reze and Denji’s romance isn’t meant to pan-out.

Real quick, let’s talk about this tree seen briefly in Reze’s cafe. The braided bark and downturned leaves are a dead ringer for Ficus benjamina, a common houseplant that can mean eternal love, trust, friendship, and marriage in hanakotoba. Leaving aside the marriage bit, I think this tree could be expressing the strong infatuation Denji feels for Reze in this moment, as she has just asked him out on a date.

With that, we’ve arrived at the final flowers we’ll be looking at today: the bouquet that Denji was never able to give Reze. Here are my guesses as to the flowers that were clear enough to identify.

Very large flower heads, pale central disks, clearly Asteraceae, but they only have 8 and 10 ray florets respectively. I think these two are single-flowered dahlias, which mean ‘gorgeous,’ elegance, and gracefulness, but also: capriciousness, and betrayal—which is probably what Denji was feeling in the moment.

Spotted lilies, probably Lilium auratum or some hybridization thereupon: ‘love and beauty that is unadorned and down-to-earth.’ That sentiment feels very country mouse to me.

Pale, unspotted lilies: purity and dignity if white, vanity if pink, and if yellow: cheerfulness, deceit, anxiety.

This one has 8 broad, frilly ray florets—so, probably coreopsis: ‘love at first sight,’ and ‘always cheerful.’

Looks to me like tsuwabuki: ‘perseverance through adversity,’ and humility.

Some filler, likely baby’s breath, meaning: happiness, gratitude, and ‘pure of heart.’

Beyond the symbolism of the individual flowers, there’s something else noteworthy about this arrangement. When you think of a romantic bouquet, what usually comes to mind? I think of roses, tulips, lilies, and carnations, with maybe some baby’s breath as filler. Here, though, only two of those flowers make an appearance. When he went shopping for a bouquet, I think Denji went out of his way to pick one that consisted primarily of flowers that looked like the one he had given Reze, which is why most of them are Asteraceae. Rather than going with a more traditional bouquet, he chose one that he could connect to a happy memory with her.

And, that’s the last of them! To whoever's reached the end of this, thank you so much for reading. If you have your own thoughts as the identity/meaning of any plants, please feel free to chime in. I knew approximately 3 things about botany before I started all this, so I still have much to learn. I’ve also skipped over a few plants in this essay—mostly just things that were too indistinct for me to identify, but I’m also leaving Makima’s houseplants for my next essay, because I tentatively suspect that they may be related to some plants that show up in Part 2. See you then, hopefully I'll finish it soon.

#chainsaw man

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birdievibes · 4 months

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oh boy we're a little behind schedule again

for clarifying purposes (including image descriptions), all images are of animals constructed of simple deformed polygons made using Blender modeling software. The background is a grey grid with each square having a side of 1 meter in length. These are all rough models of examples in clades during the global glaciation event and during the warm period following the glaciation. While these body plans are all in use during the period following the glaciation, some have been used for over 150 million years.

[Image ID: Animal 1 is a snake roughly 2.5 meters long with a ring like mane of hair that sits just past the head. Animal 2 is meant to resemble a thin armadillo and is roughly 0.5 meters across. Animal 2 has two long patches of hair extending backwards from either side of the neck. ./end ID] 1- Graminovoris Coclemanus Vibratis Cristavermis is a radiated variety of animal 2 which has evolved to not use limbs. This clade boasts one singular ear which funnels sound down through a collapsable disk of hairs into the tympanic cavity. This clade has evolved a new method of sexual copulation which resembles that of the Dactylatusids. 2- Graminovoris Coclemanus Vibratis survived the ice age due to small size, high metabolism, and propensity for burrowing. This clade has no ears, but can hear rough pitches and volumes with the hyper sensitive cones of hairs protruding from its gametangium cavities.

[Image ID: Animal 1 resembles a emu in posture and shape, is 1.5 meters tall, and has no tail. Animal 2 is difficult to make out due to it being so small, however it is identical to animal 3 which is more easy to see due to size. Animal 3 is 1 meter tall, and resembles a cat with long limbs, however it lacks a tail. Animal 3 has a large protrusion on its back. Between this protrusion and the head there is a set of small limbs resembling the praying hands of a praying mantis, with the ends angled in the direction of Animal 3's gaze. ./end ID] 1- Generatheris erectus is an offshoot of the ancient generatheris clade. This newer clade has developed tympanic ears located within cavities near the base of their uppermost set of limbs. It has evolved to both evade predators and to catch flying insects or vertebrates. 2- Generatheris Vesicahastas telaplexus has taken up the niches typically associated with silk producing spiders. 3- Generatheris Vesicahastas boasts many different varieties of vesicahasta which almost ubiquitously weaponize their upper limbs to spray acids, webs, or foul smells. These two models are both lacking the sensitive stiff fans seen in other generatherids (because I forgot).

[Image ID: Animal 1 loosely resembles an elephant 7 meters tall and 8 meters long. Animal 1 has no trunk or tusks, instead boasting an additional set of limbs extending above the front shoulders towards the head, in a position which resemble the praying hands of a praying mantis. Animal 2 is identical except that it is 5 meters wide and 4 meters tall. ./end ID] 1 and 2- Barritherium Borealis, both of these variants have seen very little change, much like generatheris. These animals do not have fur, but have thick coverings of feathering quills. modern barritheriums are predominantly marsupial but some still lay eggs. These animals have stiff fan disks which channel sound down into tympanic cavities. Many species use their gametangium limbs as clubs to fend off predators preying on young barritheriums.

[image ID: Animal 1 resembles a long fish roughly 18 meters across by 6 meters tall when counting fins. Animal 2 is the same as Animal 1 except scaled so that it is roughly 9 by 3 meters. Animal 3 resembles a seal with a vertical tail and is roughly 3 meters long and 2 meters tall. Animal 4 resembles a hippopotamus with a long tail, and is 4 meters long by 2 meters tall. Animal 5 is a roughly 150 centimeter tall person. ./end ID] 1 and 2- Dactylatus gramisugus terrapescus cetaceaformis, the newest megafauna within the planet's oceans. As Dactylatusids, they have complex ears, warm blood, and fur. Their tail fins are almost entirely made of fanning cartilage spurs. 3- Dactylatus gramisugus terrapescus is basically a seal. Their fins are oriented vertically and made of cartilage. 4- Dactylatus Gramisugus is a hippopotamus. Nothing else to say there.

[image ID: Animal 1 is almost identical to a bat, however it has a wingspan of roughly 10 meters, body of 4 meters and is turned to resemble a top down view of a bat with splayed wings. Animal 2 is a scaled version of Animal 1, such that the wingspan is 2 meters and body is approximately half a meter. ./end ID] 1 and 2- graminovoris Mustelidiform latusala pteromanus are the first ever flying vertebrates on Meldonis! They are free to occupy all the niches that flying birds occupy today, as well as the ones large pterosaurs (and associated archosaurs) occupied, due to a denser atmosphere. Thankfully their ancestral designs were well adapted to efficient flight.

[Image ID: Animal 1 resembles a crocodile in shape, however has 2 horizontal hind flippers at the end of the body, 2 vertical flippers on the bottom and midway through the body, and has 2 front limbs resembling the praying arms of a praying mantis which are clutched to the chest. This animal is 12 meters long and roughly 1 meter tall. Animal 2 is a snake 6 meters long, and has similar limbs to Animal 1, however these limbs are held towards the top of the snake's body. Animal 3 and Animal 4 are identical to Animal 1 but scaled to 3 meters long and 4 meters long respectively. ./end ID] 1, 3, and 4- Manipescus ripatherium Hastajectarius occupy similar roles as crocodiles and aligators. These animals lay hidden in wait at riverbanks or crossings, and when prey comes within reach lash out their scythe-like arms, shredding and ensnaring their targets before dragging prey into the water to be finished off. 2- Manipescus ripatherium hastajectarius vermiformis is another independent clade of snakes who wait in burrows and primarily ambush small prey with their scythe-like arms.

#distant skies #worldbuilding #spec evo #meldonis #described

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audio-luddite · 4 months

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While I wait for Living Presence....

As I have this rather good audio system I should listen to it. Xmas is coming and I needed something other than another loop of Michael Buble' xmas songs.

So Fleetwood Mac. Oh not just any album. TUSK. It is idiosyncratic. I recall being disappointed when I got it in the late 70s or was it early 80s. Whatever, the disks (2) are over 40 years old. And I enjoyed this listen. It has been years since the last and I did not recall how good the recording was. It is good.

Very few notes on the production beyond it being the most expensive album ever made to date. Apparently an early Soundstream digital recording. So low noise and HDR stuff. For the first time I heard the little things they hid in the mix. I think I last listened three preamps ago. I was pulling stuff out of the vinyl that surprised me. Weird guitar licks and Mr Buckingham pretending he was a genius song writer. Sorry the girls did that job, but he could play.

But the songs were all better fully resolved. Nothing hiding. Those little Sotto Voce bits from Mr Fleetwood, "real savage like." Apparently the group founder Peter Green played on one song, and he is different. Damn what would it have been like if he hadn't done so much acid. So many little secrets.

So even though it is not an audiophile album it is worth giving it a close listen. I enjoyed reacquainting myself with it. Oh there are some semi-hit songs, but hey retrospective is a way of looking at things too.

#audiophile #high end audio #vinyl #Fleetwood Mac Tusk

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bunnnywrites · 6 months

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Tides of Fate / Chapter III

Pairing: Mirabel Madrigal/Bruno Madrigal

Summary: Mirabel and Bruno give each other a present.

Word Count: 1164

Warnings (general): Incest, nudity.

A/N: Reblogging is caring

You can also read this fic in AO3.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

___________________________________________________________

It was dark and warm when Mirabel peeked behind a rock. It was a bit away from the place they had met yesterday, but she wanted to know if he was there before showing up. And he was! At the same place, sitting down, and anxiously fidgeting with his green shirt. She took a moment to contemplate him. She really liked his hair, and wondered how it’d feel under her fingertips. She knows how her own wet curls feel, but she has never touched dry hair.

She gets close to him, and makes some noise so he won’t get startled.

“Hello, there.” She says, trying to sound casual.

“General Kenobi.” He shuts his eyes closed, embarrassed of himself. “I’m sorry, I… I meant… Hi”

She smiles, even though she doesn’t quite understand what just happened. Must be a human thing. Then she remembers her present.

“Oh, I… “ Suddenly, she feels embarrassed about it. “I brought you a little something. I mean, it’s nothing, I just… Wanted to thank you for meeting me here, and being nice…”

He doesn’t say anything, so she just gets closer to the shore, until the top of her body is laying on the sand next to him, and her tail receives the waves that come and go. He tries not to look at her, and she doesn’t understand why. Did she do something wrong?

“I brought you this.” She extends her arm. “I hope you like it”

Bruno looks at the small shining disk in her hand, and takes it with curiosity. It’s heavy, and golden. It has a cross on one side, and a shield on the other side. It takes him a moment to realize this is…

“Mirabel, this is spanish gold!”

He takes one hand to his forehead, and takes a closer look at the golden coin in his hand. No doubt it’s so heavy.

“Is that good?”

He looks at her and suddenly remembers she has no idea what that means. He also remembers when he had no idea about it.

“Where did you find this?” He asks. Because he doesn’t really know if it’s good or bad.

“Oh, a couple of years ago I found a huge ship!” She says, excited. “And it has a lot of interesting stuff. I thought I could find you a gift there.”

He wishes he could say “show me”, get in the water and go there right now. But he doesn’t even know if he can be a merman again. When he first decided to live amongst humans, everytime he took a shower, his tail would appear and it was a disaster. But with time, it was only his legs with a lot of scales, and then, those disappeared too.

“That sounds wonderful.” He says instead. Then he remembers “Oh! I have something for you too. Or, well, u-us?”

Her eyes lighten up. He takes a small plastic box from his bag, and two small forks. She remembers the thing whose name she doesn’t know (the silver spoon). He proceeds to open the box, and she can feel a number of smells she had never felt before. When she goes up she usually smells… Salt. Wood. Sand. But this is new. It’s sweet and acidic.

“Okay, so…” He says, a bit nervous, but also excited “I didn’t live here all of my life. I was from… Somewhere else. And when I got here, this is something that really surprised me.”

He offers her a fork, and she just looks at him, embarrassed.

“Ay, disculpa.” Bruno takes the other fork and holds it in front of him. “Like this. It works like a small trident.”

“A small trident.” She repeats, in a whisper.

Then he puts the small plastic box between them. It contained different diced fruits.

“These are my favorite fruits. They grow from different trees.” He stabbed a piece of fruit. “This is guayaba. Very sweet, hard but edible seeds.”

Mirabel tried a piece of the same color. It was sweet and acidic at the same time.

“These yellow circles.” She picked one “Banana. Soft and sweet.”

The texture was so different!

“What about this one?”

“Dragonfruit.” He answered. “I mostly like the way it looks, to be honest.”

A bit sweet, soft, not really intense. She liked it.

“Oh, that one.” He said, when she took the last piece. “Chicle or chicozapote.”

This one, she loved it. It was soft, but very sweet. If she had known what honey tastes like, she would’ve thought of it. She groaned with pleasure before swallowing. She had never imagined such tastes could exist!

“That was so delicious.” She said with excitement. “I can’t believe you can eat those everyday! You’re so lucky…”

He chuckled, scratching his nape with a nervous look.

“Well, I eat other stuff too… Mostly fish.” She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m a fisherman.”

“Oh, right… Do you like your job?”

He stared at her for a moment. No one had ever asked him that before.

“I guess? I mean…” He started drawing figures in the sand. ”I’m good at it. It’s easy. Pays my bills. But I prefer writing telenovelas.”

“Telenovelas?”

Right.

“They’re stories with a lot of drama and ridiculous plot twists, basically.” He shrugs. “I like them. I write them sometimes.”

She sighs.

“Your world is… Fascinating.” She turns around on her side and lays on her back. “There are so many things I’ve never heard about, and it makes me wanna leave my current life behind.”

He doesn’t look at her. When he was still a merman, he was used to nudity. It was all he ever knew. It was still rude to stare, but you could see people’s bodies and it was normal. Then he started living as a human, and he got used to a different way to live. He even felt more comfortable that way. He never really liked his body too much, always felt insecure. And having layers to hide under made him feel much better.

“But these, uh… meetings.” Ae said. “They’re part of your current life too”.

She smiled.

“Yeah, I guess they are. ” She giggled a bit. “Does that mean we can keep meeting?”

He tries not to show how surprised and excited he is when he answers “Y-Yeah, of course!”.

“Maybe next time… You could teach me how to walk?”

This time he can’t help it, and turns his head around to look at her. She's serious. It’s not a joke.

“Walk?” This time he can’t hide how nervous he is “A-Are you sure?”

“Well, yes.” She shrugs. “If I want to know what’s out there, I have to learn how to walk”.

Well, that’s… Unexpected? Dangerous? Exciting?

“I… Ugh.” He groans. “I know you want to know, but are you sure?”

“Of course I am!“ She lifts her upper body with an arm, and bends her tail “Bruno, please. I can’t do this without you”

And that’s all he needed to hear. He’s fucked.

#mirabruno #brumira #bruno x mirabel #mirabel x bruno #madrigalcest #proship #mermaid au

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sanddusted-wisteria · 10 months

Text

1000 Things to Do with Sulfuric Acid [Oneshot]

GN!builder/Qi; crack

Warnings: None

Also on AO3

Summary: #512: A gift for a special someone~

Qi frowned at the page. What strange advice. A hazardous chemical was generally not considered to be a socially acceptable gift, much less a gift with romantic connotations.

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#512: A gift for a special someone~

Got a special someone in your life? Or maybe you’ve got your eye on someone special…? Whether it’s a spouse, a partner, or a crush, a beaker’s worth of sulfuric acid is sure to capture their heart. A gift that shows how much you care and how deep your trust runs.

CAUTION: Make sure to create a solution with a concentration that you can safely trust them with, and give it in a safe, sealed, and labeled container!!

Qi frowned at the page. What strange advice. A hazardous chemical was generally not considered to be a socially acceptable gift, much less a gift with romantic connotations.

He sighed and shut the book, not even bothering to bookmark it. He’d bought the book because the title intrigued him: 1000 Things to Do with Sulfuric Acid. He thought it would be a thousand experiment ideas or uses in machinery, which, to be fair, the first hundred or so were. But beyond that, the ideas started getting increasingly bizarre. It seemed the only thing this book was good for was amusement.

For whatever reason, instead of picking up another book, Qi felt compelled to stare at the cover for a little longer, with its bold title font and bright color scheme. A familiar sensation slowly crawled its way through his mind. If Qi had to give it a physical analog, he’d describe it as…an itch. An itch, an urge, to experiment, to inquire, to make something.

A hypothesis, a blueprint, a sketch, a problem…

…An idea.

An idea between this book, and…

His eyes trailed up to the wall his desk was against, specifically to its latest addition, a framed photo of him and…

…the builder.

It was their idea to take the photo on a date one time, as the two of them walked hand in hand by the oasis, watching the sun set. They were pressed close together, arms over each other’s shoulders. A bright smile was on the builder’s face, while a much more mild one was on Qi��s.

His mind drifted to their near-endless generosity towards him, even when they first met. They almost always had something for him. A power stone, a data disk, a relic, tea, coffee, a hot plate of food… He hardly gifted them anything in return, though they never seemed to mind. He wanted to reciprocate their generosity somehow, to show that he truly appreciated it. Like the book said, he wanted to show that he cares. Even though his intuition was telling him that sulfuric acid made a terrible gift, he couldn’t help but wonder if the book’s advice had some kind of merit. If they enjoyed it, wonderful! If not, then at least he would have satiated his curiosity and confirmed that this book is, in fact, total nonsense. No harm done. Unless the builder gets harmed from the acid, which would…not be ideal. He would have to ensure that wouldn’t happen, as to maximize the positive effects of this gift.

He got out of his chair and walked over to the fume hood, putting on his protective gear before opening the chemical cabinet. He could make this work.

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The builder opened the door to the research center right as Qi looked over from his shelves.

“How far off am I?” they said with a smile.

“About 2 minutes. Usually you come in around 8:33.”

“That’s still within 1%, I guess. I’ll shoot for 8:33 on the dot next time.”

“Well don’t do that, you’ll pollute the data. All of my predictions are based on your natural behavior. Trying to skew the data in any direction is bad science.”

“Hm. Wouldn’t want that, would we?” They pecked his cheek as he pulled them into a side-hug. They reached into their bag and pulled out a condensed power stone. “Need one of these?”

Qi’s eyes widened. “I do, as a matter of fact. Thank you.” He graciously took it and put it in his dwindling supply bin. “How do you know precisely when I need more?”

The builder grinned. “Hey, you keep track of my habits, I keep track of yours. Your bin over there always looks kinda empty by the 15th every month. More or less.”

“Quite accurate. I receive a regular shipment of power stones on the 17th of every month. I try to space out my usage of them, but sometimes I really need a few extra towards the middle of the month. So, I do appreciate it.”

The builder pumped their fist. Nailed it. “I’ll keep bringing you more, then. Hell, I’ll give you a whole box full of them. I barely use them with how many dregs I can sweep up.”

Qi waved a hand. “No need. My energy supply is subsidized by the Alliance. Just a few when I really need them is more than enough.”

“Well, if you need any, just ask. I’ve got plenty to go ‘round.”

A tiny smile tugged at Qi’s lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.” His brow raised suddenly. “Oh! That reminds me. I have something for you.” He made his way over another small, locked cabinet.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing in particular. I just…figured I should give you something besides a diagram and tea every once in a while. You’re always giving me things and I hardly ever return the favor.”

The builder flushed. “Aw, you didn’t have to…”

“I insist,” Qi said gently. “I don’t want your goodwill to be met with relative indifference.”

From the cabinet, he produced a simple glass vial with a screw-on lid. Some kind of clear liquid was inside. A label ran across the vial’s middle: “H2SO4”.

“Here you are. I, um…hope it is acceptable.”

The builder gingerly took it and turned it over. “Uh, thanks…! What…what is it?”

Qi raised an eyebrow. “Huh? It’s labeled, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but…what does it mean? Some kind of chemical?”

“Of course. That’s the chemical formula for sulfuric acid. Because the contents are sulfuric acid.”

The builder was suddenly very aware of the sweat and oil on their hands. “Huh–uh…whaa?”

“I struggled a bit with what concentration I should’ve created,” Qi said with a hand on his chin. “99% is the most commonly sold, but it seemed a bit excessive and dangerous to hand out without much thought. Plus, it’s rather expensive. I would have to order some more if I gave you some, and I’m already close to running my budget over this month.”

The builder gripped the vial tighter. Or wait—it was glass. Maybe they shouldn’t be holding it so tight.

“But on the other hand, something between 0-30% seemed, er, for the lack of a better term…lame. You are not a child. You can be trusted to handle hazardous substances to some extent. At least, I do. And as a well-trained lab technician, my judgment overrules any potential nay-sayers to your competence. I cannot say the same for many of my former assistants.”

The builder glanced around nervously. Was there anywhere to set this down? Qi’s shelves were landslide hazards, so not there…

“I remembered to rule out 50% as well. And any other basic, well-known ratio or number. Something like that would seem so thoughtless. Anyone could think up those numbers. And anyone can mix a 50% solution! So no 5s or 10s, no squares or cubes, no thirds, no quarters, no…immaturity…”

The floor was definitely out of the question. They’d 100% kick it over at some point. Ugh, all this talk of percents…

“But after about an hour just staring at my glassware, I had an epiphany. Primes! Fascinating numbers, those. I’m sure you appreciate their beauty as well. A perfect fit for a gift to you.”

Holding the vial out a good bit in front of them, they tiptoed around Qi to gently put it down on a corner of his workbench. Then they pushed it in a little more. And then a little more.

“So I settled on precisely 43%. No more, no less. I hope that concentration’s alright. If you’d like a different one, I would be more than happy to mix another solution for you.”

The builder’s mouth opened and closed uselessly, trying to put out words while their mind still couldn’t conjure a coherent thought.

Qi frowned. “Are you alright? You seem…ill all of a sudden.”

The builder could only let out a shaky laugh. They took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to say it. “Qi…sweetheart… I can tell you put a lot of thought into this, and it’s super sweet of you…but…”

Qi’s shoulders sagged. “Ah. I was afraid of this.”

The builder quickly shook their head. “I-it’s not like I don’t appreciate it! It’s just…um…I don’t know what I’d do with sulfuric acid…”

“I…have a book that could give you some ideas…”

They raised an eyebrow. “A book?”

“Yes, it’s a book about potential uses for sulfuric acid. Emphasis on potential.”

“…Is that where you got the idea to give some to me?”

Qi was looking anywhere but the builder. The floor, the generator, the shelves, the trash can…

“Qi?”

“…Yes.”

“…Can I see it?”

Qi nodded and pulled it from the back corner of his workbench, hesitating before handing it over to them.

The builder frowned as they skimmed through it, looking at all the weird things the authors apparently thought you could do with a liquid corrosion hazard. When they got to the last several pages, they snorted.

“Qi, the 1000th idea they have is to pour acid all over this book. I don’t think it was meant to be taken too seriously.”

“Oh,” Qi said with a blank stare. “So the authors wrote this book to…lie?”

“I think it’s meant to be humor writing, darling.”

“Well I don’t think it’s funny.”

The builder rolled their eyes with a light smile. “Wonder if anyone does.”

------------

The next day, another book found its way to Qi’s special bin. A very special bin for very special books, tucked under his bed. Not too many titles found their way there, but now the scant few volumes were joined by a new addition: 1000 Things to Do with Sulfuric Acid. It was sporting a new addition to its cover to match its new neighbors: a stripe of duct tape all around the center, to prevent it from ever being opened again.

And on it, scrawled in bold black marker, a single word: “RUBBISH.”

#shady's fics #my time at sandrock #mtas #mtas fanfic #mtas qi #or: why qi doesn't have gift giving as a friendship benefit

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