#japanese silver plant

[tanuki-kimono]

Romantic antique summer kimono with swooping tsubame (swallow) by yanagi (willow) - you can see woven in the background what might be dewy tsuwabuki leaves (Japanese silver plant).

The obi is an antique summer maru obi (base was probably whiter in the past) with luscious embroidery. I am not certain of what the pattern is, I see kaiawase (matched shells) with summery and auspicious “painted” details.  The flowery pattern is hana katsumi (geometrical leaves and flowers, stylised plant of rice family).

[koshigurajumy]

Jumy-M It's feeling like autumn / 芒

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 6 October 2023

The distinctive variegated arching leaves of Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus' (maiden grass, Japanese silver grass) help form a central feature to this border. It looks great with a range of other herbaceous perennials.

Jill Raggett

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

💕 twst 2024 valentine gifts! 🎁

***Please note:*** Sharing merch images + news is not intended to encourage and/or to pressure anyone into making purchases. It is up to the individual consumer to be informed and to choose how they spend their money.

For general information about how TWST Valentine Gifts work, check out this post.

For character signatures and the messages from previous years, check out this post.

The gifts for 2024 are 100 ml fragrance sprays. These are not perfumes, they are more like room sprays. According to Yana, they worked with professional perfumers and the fragrances were formulated with each character's "image" in mind! These each come with a unique bottle label, plus a ribbon and a little wooden charm with a matching character motif on it. You can soak the wooden charm with the fragrance and use it to diffuse the smell through a room.

Preorders are open until 10 March 2024.

(Warning: in the case that these contain alcohol, it will not be possible to send the fragrances overseas due to shipping regulations against flammable materials. The paper goods—the 2024 Valentine Gift messages—will still be able to be sent out.)

Each character has their own unique scent. The following are summaries of what each spray smells like overall (according to official posts), but each also has its own more detailed descriptions of the top, middle, and base notes on their individual website postings.

Heartslabyul

Riddle - refined rose (geranium, rose, honey)

Trey - powdery mint (spearmint of course the guy obsessed with dental hygiene smells like MINT, white flowers, powdery musk and balsam)

Cater - lemon herbal (lemon, herbs like juniper, amber and cedar)

Ace - naughty cherry (cherry, almond and rose, vanilla and woods)

Deuce - citrus rhubarb (citrus and rhubarb, rose, warm musk)

Savanaclaw

Leona - clear wild (rosemary, neroli, musk and sandalwood)

Ruggie - dried nuts (hazelnut, vanilla, creamy musk and dry woods)

Jack - calm pear (pear, osmanthus, amber)

Octavinelle

Azul - salty milk (salt and minerals, herbs like sage, milky musk)

Jade - bergamot amber (bergamot, herbs, patchouli and amber)

Floyd - aqua vetiver (Japanese pepper yes, a literal pepper, a fresh bouquet, vetiver and musk)

Scarabia

Kalim - mystical musk (citrus, white flowers, creamy musk and sandalwood)

Jamil - smoky herb (spicy herbs, white flowers, musk and smoky leather)

Pomefiore

Vil - elegant fruity (cassis, white flowers, vanilla and musk and sandalwood)

Rook - dry green (eucalyptus, geranium, tonka beans)

Epel - spicy apple (cinnamon, apple, vanilla and sandalwood)

Ignihyde (warning that these were vaguely worded compared to the rest of the fragrances)

Idia - clean musk (“something refreshing”, lily of the valley, sweet musk why does bro smell sweeter than most of the others www)

Ortho - bluish clean (rosemary and other “fresh” smells, clear plants/greens he’s touching the grass that Idia refuses to)

Diasomnia

Malleus - deep oak moss (forest, spices, sweet and earthy vetiver and oak moss)

Lilia - historical depths (citrus, roses and white flowers, thick musk and sandalwood)

Silver - musty green (black pepper, cedarwood, warm sandalwood and musk)

Sebek - honest aroma (rosemary, white flowers and spices, patchouli and oak moss he shares a base note with Malleus, this was 100% intentional)

Grim + NRC Staff Shoot, no Rollo, Fellow, or Gidel valentine gift :(

Grim - innocent soap (citrus, lily of the valley, peach and musk he just hopped out of the bath)

Crowley - mysterious calm (***fatty aldehyde***, white flowers, cedarwood and amber)

Crewel - sweet charm (amber, woods, sweet oak moss)

Trein - tense wood (spices, dry woods, “sweet tangy tone” sorry, the base was vague)

Vargas - manly musk (smoky spices, incense, vetiver and leather and musk)

Sam - exotic bouquet (cloves, bouquet including ylang-ylang, tropical woods)

***NOTE ABOUT CROWLEY’S:*** I looked this up! Apparently, fatty aldehydes smell like fresh citrus but I believe the literally translated term is “fatty aldehyde”; not sure why it was worded like this. There are many forms of aldehyde and each smells different. For example, one form smells closer to a rose. Another supposedly smells like rancid butter 💀

[pix3lplays]

SO. ABOUT THAT PRETTY ROSE MAN. ARGENTI. (I love the Xianzhou men but please get me tF OFF THE LUOFU I WANNA GO TO PENACONY LEMME IN LEMME IIIIINNN-)

I see this guy as the one who would gasp and put a hand over his chest like a woman about to clutch her pearls oml-

“An affront to Indrila is also an insult to the Knights of Beauty.”

I’m begging on my knees for Hoyo to make this man have overly proper speech. After all, if his words are not also beautiful, how could he ever claim to be a follower of Indrila?

I like to think that beauty is not meant just for physical appearance. Kinda like the words thing I mentioned. Every aspect of life can be an expression of beauty. Which is why he probably fell in love with you. While you, yourself, are beautiful in his eyes physically, it is also your mind and your heart that he must find beautiful as well. Your very soul, even.

So when he falls in love with you and says that you are a perfect example of what a follower of Indrila should be and says that he loves you- He really does mean it. He loves every bit of you and thinks every part of you is beautiful. He wouldn't have decided to start a relationship with you had he not thought so.

(Another dash of yandere to tease you- Even your mistakes are beautiful to him. Especially because your flaws are like beautiful mistakes he can fix in the pursuit of true beauty. He sees it like a grander version of kintsugi [Japanese art- You repair broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum]. You could be his little doll to mold and perfect. He will make you as close to divinity-to Indrila as possible. :))) )

Also fjawoegi- He's Protective. The man is a knight, after all. Just because he is in the pursuit of beauty, doesn't mean that things won't get ugly when he has someone to protect. I can imagine that if he's the type to be jealous, that he'd feel super conflicted over it. Because it is not a good, pretty emotion.

If someone was hitting on you when you clearly are uncomfortable, he'd step in all like, “Halt. They have already made clear their disinterest in your advances, you rake. Begone from our sight lest I decide the situation necessitates more than just a few words."

He's such a gentleman uGH- Trying to get the man to let loose more is near impossible. But it's also endearing because he's so caring, attentive and gentle with you. I feel like he would always greet you by bowing his head to kiss the back of your hand. You could have been gone for like 20 minutes and he'll walk up to you when you come back to kiss your hand. Does so and just says, "My love," as a greeting. AUUGGHH-

Definitely the kind to walk on the side of the road, open the door, pull out your chair, ask before kissing you, place a hand on your waist to shield you from the crowd and pull you away from people who are about to bump into you, ask you about your day, listen to you intently and with his full attention, and and and- AAAAAA-

On the other hand, I think he can be a bit dramatic. I mean look at what he did in that trailer- FOR A PLANT.

I mentioned the clutchin ya pearls thing and I just can see him having that as part of his personality as well. Always talking about the persuit of beauty and praising Indrila and their greatness yada yada-

He seems like the dramatic type to kinda grandstand. I mean- You remember what he was doing in the trailer.

ALSO. HE 100% USES HIS SKILL JUST TO GIVE YOU A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS OIFSJGOIJGEHUGR- And then he does it again when the old ones begin to show signs of wilting because you must have the best and most beautiful of roses from your beloved knight, of course. He's also incredibly loyal due to his nature as a knight. I think the man probably waits on you hand and foot. Doesn't even let you walk through puddles, he'll carry you-

Might talk about this more later osjgeo-

*throws glitter and vanishes*

Oh my gosh please come back and tell me more I’m begging you I am INVESTED in your interpretation of Argenti

Yes pretty rose man better talk fancy, it would FIT HIM SO WELL

And we all know he is…so very dramatic. There’s No Way he isn’t. He Has to Be. Please. Please. Please????

(And since you like to tease me with Yandere so much allow me to return the favor…

Him seeing you as a delicate little flower that he must protect at all times…he’d do anything to keep you safe. ANYTHING. And the way he’d push you to be absolutely perfect in every aspect, punishing you if you’re out of line ever so slightly, and then begging for your forgiveness while he corrects your mistake…very strong mixed messages from this Yandere)

And oh my gosh him using his skill just to give you flowers yes, he’s So-

Another man who’s particular about his hair. Definitely worse than Dr. Ratio. It’s a real sign of trust when he lets you touch his hair.

The kind who gets Especially dramatic when he’s Sick or Not feeling well oh my gosh.

He drapes himself over you, complaining about his sore throat or aching head and it’s like ok babe but did you die??

You KNOW he’s loyal as heck. He will not Leave your side if that’s what you will.

I just. Have many feelings for our pretty rose man Argenti…

[aaakikoo]

ODDLY SPECIFIC BAKUGOU KATSUKI HEADCANONS BECAUSE WHY NOT ?

warnings -> cursing

an -> check out pt2 & pt3 ! This is part 1

1. Loves intense back scratches? Don’t ask why, no need for questions. He loves getting his back scratched intensely after a long day, would also grunt and moan sometimes 🤭

2. Cooks without a shirt. I mean this is a pretty obvious one. He loves to wear sweats and only an apron, no shirt underneath, just because he can and he will tease you. (Likes to show off his tiny waist)

3. Does magic tricks with cards. He learnt how to do magic with cards only to impress you and to also add another talent to his many others.

4. Extra black coffee in the mornings.

5. He likes to roll his wheel chair dramatically in his office when someone enters it. He would like face rhe big glass window and when someone knocks in and he tells them to get in, he would swing his chair and look them dead in the eyes, (drama queen)

5. Very ticklish. I can’t explain it but o feel like he would be very ticklish, especially behind his ears, his knees and his armpits.

6. Has crystal white teeth.

7. Doesn’t use the 1 in 3 men’s shampoo. I feel like he has a whole routine Yk? Shampoo-ing his hair 2 times before he applies conditioner to the ends. Lastly body wash and he is done.

8. Skin care routine! I feel like he would have oily skin, so he would use more plant based moisturisers. And he would also wear face masks on his me-days.

9. Sweet tooth.

10. Has this one style that I cannot really explain what it is, and I also don’t know the name. But Yk when those boys wear like baggy jeans, but not too baggy that it would hang down their ass. With like Dr. Martens boots and a white wife beater and a big sweat jacket. Exactly that. Also don’t forget silver rings. But I don’t think he would over use them, maybe one on the right thumb and one on the left ring finger (👀)

11. Doesn’t like odd numbers. Idk.

12. Big mama boy in secret. He loves his mom so much🫣

13. Really fucking good at chess, he’s just born with it, that man is perfect.

14. Likes to listen to people’s drama in secret, would listen to your friends drama and then discuss and laugh his ass off about it with you.

15. Fav colours: black, red and dark green.

16. Collects expensive ass perfume.

17. Calls his car ‘his girl’

18. Wouldn’t mind giving, yes GIVING his friends money, not BORROWING but giving his friends money when they are in need of it, but if there is a real reason ofc.

19. Can speak multiple languages. Japanese, English, Spanish, Korean, (broken) Arabic & Portuguese for some reason?

20. Has an excellent hearing sense.

[arthistoryanimalia]

#NationalPigDay 🐖:

Boar Sleeping on Autumn Plants

Kaigyokusai Masatsugu (Japanese, 1813–1892)

Meiji era, Osaka, mid-late 19th c. (after 1863)

netsuke: stained ivory, horn, silver

2.5 x 4.2 x 3 cm (1 x 1 5/8 x 1 3/16 in.)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 11.23373

[flowerishness]

AI in action?

I was walking down the street yesterday and I spotted this artificial flower, taped to the radio antenna of a silver Toyota.

If you Google the words "free flower identification' it will take you to a number of websites which will compare your photo to an unlimited database, and then tell you the species of the plant in question. If it doesn't know for sure, then the site will give you four or five possibilities, with an accompanying 'confidence interval'. As it was officially Cyber Monday, I decided to put Artificial Intelligence to the test.

I wondered, can AI spot the difference when it's looking at an artificial flower? The results were disappointing and they all flunked the exam. One website identified this as a Japanese Rose (Kerria japonica) with a confidence interval of 18.1%. It doesn't look anything like Kerria japonica. For all the wonders of Artificial Intelligence, it apparently doesn't know the difference between truth and fiction. This should concern us all.

[fatehbaz]

Nothing in the past, moreover, gave any cause to suspect ginseng’s presence so far away. Or even closer by: since antiquity, for well over a millennium, the ginseng consumed in all of East Asia had come from just one area -- the northeast mountainous lands straddling Manchuria and Korea. No one had found it anywhere else. No one was even thinking, now, to look elsewhere. The [...] [French traveler] Joseph-Francois Lafitau didn’t know this. He had been [...] visiting Quebec on mission business in October of 1715 [...]. He began to search for ginseng. [...] [T]hen one day he spotted it [...]. Ginseng did indeed grow in North America. [...]

Prior to the nuclear disaster in the spring of 2011, few outside Japan could have placed Fukushima on a map of the world. In the geography of ginseng, however, it had long been a significant site. The Edo period domain of Aizu, which was located here, had been the first to try to grow the plant on Japanese soil, and over the course of the following centuries, Fukushima, together with Nagano prefecture, has accounted for the overwhelming majority of ginseng production in the country.

Aizu’s pioneering trials in cultivation began in 1716 – by coincidence, exactly the same year that Lafitau found the plant growing wild in the forests of Canada. [...]

---

Since the 1670s the numbers of people [in Japan] clamoring for access to the drug had swelled enormously, and this demand had to be met entirely through imports. The attempt to cultivate ginseng in Aizu -- and soon after, many other domains -- was a response to a fiscal crisis.

Massive sums of silver were flowing out of the country to pay for ginseng and other drugs [...]. Arai Hakuseki, the chief policy maker [...], calculated that no less than 75% of the country’s gold, and 25% of its silver had drained out of Japan [to pay for imports] [...]. Expenditures for ginseng were particularly egregious [...]: in the half-century between 1670s through the mid-1720s that marked the height of ginseng fever in Japan, officially recorded yearly imports of Korean ginseng through Tsushima sometimes reached as much as four to five thousand kin (approx. 2.4–3 metric tons).

What was to be done? [...] The drain of bullion was unrelenting. [...] [T]he shogunate repeatedly debased its currency, minting coins that bore the same denomination, but contained progressively less silver. Whereas the large silver coin first issued in 1601 had been 80% pure, the version issued in 1695 was only 64% silver, and the 1703 mint just 50%. Naturally enough, ginseng dealers in Korea were indifferent to the quandaries of the Japanese rulers, and insisted on payment as before; they refused the debased coins. The Japanese response speaks volumes about the unique claims of the drug among national priorities: in 1710 (and again in 1736) a special silver coin of the original 80% purity was minted exclusively for use in the ginseng trade. [...]

[T]he project of cultivating ginseng and other medicines in Japan became central to the economic and social strategy of the eighth shogun Yoshimune after he assumed power in 1716. [...]

---

China and Korea were naturally eager to retain their monopolies of this precious commodity, and strictly banned all export of live plants and seeds. They jealously guarded as well against theft of mature roots: contemporary Chinese histories, for example, record that the prisons of Shenjing (present day Shenyang) overflowed with ginseng poaching suspects. So many were caught, indeed, that the legal bureaucracy couldn’t keep up. 

In 1724, the alarming numbers of suspected poachers who died in prison while awaiting trial led to the abandonment of the regular system of trials by judges dispatched from Beijing, and a shift to more expeditious reviews handled by local officials. [...]

Even in 1721. the secret orders that the shogunate sent the domain of Tsushima called for procuring merely three live plants [...]. Two other forays into Korea 1727 succeeded in presenting the shogun with another four and seven plants respectively. Meanwhile, in 1725 a Manchu merchant in Nagasaki named Yu Meiji [...] managed to smuggle in and present three live plants and a hundred seeds. [...]

Despite its modest volume, this botanical piracy eventually did the trick. By 1738, transplanted plants yielded enough seeds that the shogunate could share them with enterprising domains. [...] Ginseng eventually became so plentiful that in 1790 the government announced the complete liberalization of cultivation and sales: anyone was now free to grow or sell it.

---

By the late eighteenth century, then, the geography of ginseng looked dramatically different from a century earlier.

This precious root, which had long been restricted to a small corner of the northeast Asian continent, had not only been found growing naturally and in abundance in distant North America, but had also been successfully transplanted and was now flourishing in the neighboring island of Japan. […]

---

Colonial Americans, for their part, had developed their own new addiction: an unquenchable thirst for tea. […] This implacable need could have posed a serious problem. [...] [I]ts regular consumption was a costly habit.

Which is why the local discovery of ginseng was a true godsend.

When the Empress of China sailed to Canton in 1784 as the first ship to trade under the flag of the newly independent United States, it was this coveted root that furnished the overwhelming bulk of sales. Though other goods formed part of early Sino-American commerce – Chinese porcelain and silk, for example, and American pelts – the essential core of trade was the exchange of American ginseng for Chinese tea. [...]

---

Yoshimune’s transplantation project had succeeded to the point that Japan actually became a ginseng exporter. As early as 1765, Zhao Xuemin’s Supplement to the compedium of material medica would note the recent popularity of Japanese ginseng in China. Unlike the “French” ginseng from Canada, which cooled the body, Zhao explained, the “Asian” ginseng (dongyang shen) from Japan, like the native [Korean/Chinese] variety, tended to warm. Local habitats still mattered in the reconfigured geography of ginseng. [...]

What is place? What is time? The history of ginseng in the long eighteenth century is the story of an ever-shifting alchemical web. [...] Thanks to the English craving for tea, ginseng, which two centuries earlier had threatened to bankrupt Japan, now figured to become a major source of national wealth [for Japan] .

---

Text by: Shigehisa Kuriyama. “The Geography of Ginseng and the Strange Alchemy of Needs.” In: The Botany of Empire in the Long Eighteenth Century, edited by Yota Batsaki, Sarah Burke Cahalan, and Anatole Tchikine. 2017. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[blurredcolour]

You Arms Pull Me In Like The Tide Pulls Me Under | Epilogue

Your Arms Pull Me In Like The Tide Pulls Me Under Masterlist

Dick Winters x Female SOE Agent!Reader

The end of the war is just the beginning of the rest of your lives.

Photo Credit: East Islip Historical Society

Warnings: Discussion of War Hardships, Permanent Injury/Disability, Holiday Party Setting, Inevitable Historical and Military Inaccuracies, Language, Mature/Explicit Themes - 18+ ONLY.

Note: This is a work of fiction based off the portrayal of Dick Winters by Damian Lewis. I hold nothing but respect for the real life individuals referenced within. Non-English is denoted in italics.

Word Count: 1244

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

Nixon, New Jersey – December 20, 1946

The sprawling home of Stanhope Nixon was overflowing with guests, alcohol, and music as the annual Nixon Nitration Works holiday party was in full swing. Catering staff were milling about with silver trays of canapés and champagne while the management staff and their wives ate, drank, and made merry amongst the millwork and art that adorned Lewis’s father’s New Jersey home.

Lewis himself was busy playing host alongside his father, with his British war bride Irene in tow, as Dick kindly introduced you to his immediate supervisor. The modest diamond engagement ring and matching wedding band on your left ring finger refracted the light against the glass of champagne Lewis had planted in your hand upon your arrival, snagging your attention as it still tended to do, even eight months on.

The end of the war had come around the same time for you and Dick, with the Japanese surrender for him and with your discharge from Major Wilke’s command upon the arrival of the Allied prosecutorial team in Nuremberg furnished with a fleet of translators freshly released from Bletchley Park and other frontline duties. It had been bittersweet to be no longer needed, but as you had admitted to Dick that dreamy summer day in Austria, you were quite finished with your time in Europe.

It had taken over five months for Europe to let you go, however. Returning to England had been the easy part, your uncle’s widow in Oxford welcoming you back with open arms. With your more ambiguous service record under CWAC, however, return to Canada had taken rather longer. Priority on troop ships was naturally given to the boys in uniform, and then the girls who had enlisted in Canada. You had waited impatiently for your turn, working with your aunt to alter the wedding gown she had squirreled away from her own marriage in 1936. It had been her hope for her own daughter to wear it someday, but she had insisted as you were the closest thing she would ever have to such a person now, you ought to have it. So, it had become your joint project to turn it into something more modern for whenever you could find yourself standing in front of Dick Winters again.

That chance had not presented itself until March of 1946. Dick had arrived by train in your hometown in Canada, insistent on asking your father’s permission to marry you in person. He brought a ring, as promised, and married you one week later. Immigration paperwork had taken six weeks to clear, but you were grateful that it was nothing like the delay women from overseas endured. By the time you arrived in Nixon, New Jersey, Dick had a modest house and a car waiting for you, true to his word again. By the fall, you’d started offering private French lessons and you and Dick were seriously discussing whether or not you would attend vocational school to become a public-school teacher. Life was good, better than you could have ever imagined.

This party, however, had begun to drag on. Your feet were beginning to hurt as you stood around in your heels and you were feeling the strain of trying keep up with the myriad of conversations swirling around you amid the din of music and laughter. Dick’s hand on your lower back had you turning to him as he leaned into your left ear. “Let me show you the library.” His thumb swept along the fabric of your dress soothingly and you nodded gratefully as he excused you both.

Leading you down the hallway confidently, you wondered how many times he had been in this house, but felt your shoulders relax as the oppressive wall of sound faded away behind you. Guiding you around a corner, you couldn’t help but gasp as you stepped into a room filled with an expansive collection of leatherbound books, a fire laid in a stone hearth with a cozy seating area in front anchoring the space.

“Did we just find heaven?” You whispered conspiratorially and he chuckled as he kissed your temple, leading you to sit on an overstuffed leather sofa.

Setting down your now-empty glass on the low table in front of you, you sighed as you pressed a thumb between your brows. “I’m sorry it was so obvious I was having a hard time in there.” You apologized softly.

Sliding an arm around your shoulders, he gave a gentle squeeze. “Only to me, honey.” He assured you.

The sound of footsteps in the hall had both your heads turning sharply, concerned your sanctuary was about to be disrupted, but it was only Lewis who appeared in the doorway. “I thought I saw you two sneak off here.” He smirked, a glass of whisky in one hand and a bottle of Canada Dry ginger ale in the other. Kicking the door shut behind him, he came to sit in one of the armchairs across from the pair of you.

“Apparently we were not as subtle as we hoped.” You laughed as he poured half the bottle into your empty glass before handing the remainder to Dick, raising his own glass of amber liquid in a toast.

“Happy Holidays.”

“Happy Holidays, Lew.” Dick replied before your glassware came together in an awkward symphony of mismatched ‘clinks’ before you each took an appreciative sip.

“And to think we spent the last few scattered hither and yon.” Lewis remarked.

“Eating potatoes…” you muttered.

“Or nothing at all.” Dick added thoughtfully.

“Couldn’t get beef, Vat 69…nylons…” Lewis gave a nod in your direction, and you glanced at the closed door before eyeing him over the rim of your glass.

“Oh, I suppose it was a bit of a nuisance, but I honestly did appreciate having silk in my parachutes.” You took a leisurely sip, waiting for his reaction.

It unfolded slowly, his eyes widening before he sucked in a breath laced with droplets of his treasured whisky before coughing violently, pointing at you. “I knew it.” He wheezed eventually as you tried not to laugh too brightly at his expense. Dick held no such qualms, laughing richly beside you.

“Of course you did, you saw my last day firsthand.”

“But you finally admitted it! Please, you have to tell me everything…” He leaned forward eagerly, and you swallowed, wishing more than anything that you could.

There was still a great deal you hadn’t even shared with Dick; The Official Secrets Act preventing you from divulging anything. How you longed to share everything with them – the training schools in Scotland, the slosh of an aggressive amount of rum in your belly as you had fallen no more than ten seconds to hit the ground outside Lyon, your harrowing journey across the Andorra mountains into Spain to find passage back to England with your fresh side wound nagging at every step. The determination that had driven you back to Normandy just weeks after you return to London, and the eight months of exhausting, tension-laced work that had preceded their arrival. How you longed to share everything, to commiserate and to laugh. To be honest.

“Someday, Lewis. Someday it won’t be treason to talk about it and I will tell you everything.” You promised.

“To someday, then.” He grinned, raising his glass in another toast. “And believe me I will hold you to that.”

Laughing warmly, you raised yours in return. “To someday.”

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

Your Arms Pull Me In Like The Tide Pulls Me Under Masterlist

Tag list: @allthingsimagines, @bcon24

[irafuwas]

White Rabbit Festival - Souvenir Overview

One of my favorite parts of these hometown events is seeing what souvenirs the guys pick out for everybody, so here's a summary of what gifts deuce, epel, ortho, and silver bought during the white rabbit festival event!

Deuce's Gifts

For Ace (bought with Grim and Yuu): a carabiner watch. you can choose a casual one per grim's suggestion, or a cool one per deuce's.

For Jack: a running watch to replace Jack's old one that broke. it has features for tracking your lap time and pace and stuff on runs.

For the other Heartslabyul students: the type of cookie pictured below. it's super duper hard and you have to use the little hammer to smash it to pieces before you can eat it. based off the legend of the white rabbit's watch getting smashed to bits when he tried to go get it fixed.

Epel's Gifts

For Rook: a brass watering can. epeppy heard from some science club members that rook will often talk to the flowers and recite poetry for them when he waters them.

For Vil: a small bottle of perfume. an employee from the fragrance store asked him what kind of image he has of his senpai and epel answered "Scary!!!", so the employee recommended one with a spicy and stimulating top note, and a woody and profound base note.

(sidebar : when eppepy has trouble choosing a gift for vil, silver says what's important is that he keeps vil in mind. he says his father always thinks of him, sebek, and mal when buying souvenirs for them, and that's what makes silver happy, more so than the gift itself 🥹)

Ortho's Gifts

For Idia: a bag of potato chips that idia can snack on while he's gaming.

For Vil: a small bottle of perfume. He said his image of Vil is "Powerful!!!" so the fragrance store employee recommended one that has a fresh citrusy scent and a warming amber accord.

Silver's Gifts

For Mal: a bookmark made out of dried black mondo grass flowers (pictured below). the plant is called コクリュウ　(lit. black dragon) in Japanese. Silver finds the flower's name and it's rich purple color would suit mal well

image source

For Sebek: a bookmark made out of dried blackberries (im presuming they meant the stems, like in the pic below). silver figures bek will like them since they're black and that's mal's favorite color

image source

For Lilia: a bookmark made out of dried foxglove. ortho explains they are a poisonous plant, but they can also be used to make medicine. he says it's helped lots of people since long ago, and silver smiles and says that'd be perfect for lilia 🥹

Screenshots source

[y2klostandfound]

New Game Express - Jet Set Radio Future on Game Players Vol.28 (Video Game magazine) (Hong Kong, 2002)

XBOX

February 22, 2002

SEGA ACT

6800 Yen DVD-ROM

1-4 Players

Graffiti on the street again with the boots on

The street graffiti game "JET SET RADIO", which has been well-received for its excellent gameplay and rich American comic style as the game stage, has been launched with the release of the Japanese version of Xbox, and its latest work "JET SET RADIO FUTURE" is also logically registered on the Xbox. This game not only greatly improves the picture quality, but also improves the game system and adds many new elements and new characters. In terms of gameplay, it also aims to put on roller shoes and graffiti around the streets, and it also provides 4 people to play the game at the same time. How can such an excellent work be missed?

Changes in different abilities of different roles

The number of characters appearing in this episode has greatly increased to 20 compared to the previous one, and the ability values of each character in the game have also been slightly changed. The items are divided into physical strength, spray amount, painting range, maximum gliding speed, turning reaction and waist twisting The seven angles, although the influence of these values in the normal game is not obvious, but in the battle mode, it will affect the relationship between victory and defeat. As for the gameplay, when the player is graffiti near a specific POINT, he will fight with the hexagonal police group led by the police department. At this time, an electromagnetic curtain will be opened around the player's position, and the player must knock them down within this limited range to continue the game.

Action types you need to know!

GRIND - The action of sliding on some wire or wire-like terrain.

AIR - This action can be made by sliding down at a certain speed.

WALL RIDE - You can jump on billboards or walls.

HAND PLANT - Press the X button on some green side to make this action.

TURN - Press the Y button while walking to turn around.

BACK FLIP - Make a 360-degree turn.

SHUFFLE - Press the left ANALOG STRICK during walking to reduce the speed.

The game's packaging cover. The 3 characters in silver color with a bright red background are very festive for the New Year, so you won't miss it when you buy it!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Mothman - Day 3

Race: Vermin/Wilder

Alignment: Dark-Neutral

March 21st, 2024

Ohhh, Mothman. He lifts a man off the ground because he's in a new town. This beloved cryptid hails from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, well known in cryptozoology circles for his elusiveness... and popularity, as he's almost a cultural icon in West Virginia. This wayward moth has a museum, several books, an entire festival... his popularity cannot go understated! However, why did this legend arise, and why is he a demon?

As with many demons, the Mothman is a myth of sorts, though certainly a far more urban one. In 1966, Point Pleasant Register published an article detailing a harrowing report: A man-sized, bird-like creature flying far above the TNT area, marked with two glowing red eyes that shone almost like headlights in the murky black of the night. One man shone a light at it, and it kept back, clearly afraid of the light. Since that night, Mothman became a feared monster in the shadows, a beast stalking the broken-down power plants peppering West Virginia and soaring through the sky with nary a sound past the flap of its impossibly large wings.

Ever since the book "The Mothman Prophecies" by John Keel, Mothman has forever had a link to the paranormal and unknown, as the book drew a link between the urban legend and several disasters that took place in areas where it was sighted, and most notably, the famous sighting in Silver Bridge, which soon then collapsed. Since then, the Mothman has had a widespread appeal as a terror of the night... or a misunderstood harbinger who tries to warn of disaster. His role in the cultural zeitgeist of the Americas almost makes him a modern, American equivalent to such a monster as a Yokai of Japanese myth, a monster whose existence cannot be proven nor disproven, and who inspires stories and wives tales in tandem.

Mothman's appearance in Shin Megami Tensei is... strange. Gone is the dark, shaggy fur, as is the large, humanoid stance, and instead... we get something a lot more cute. The hypnotic glare of the monster has been translated to his wings, now multicolored and downright trippy, and he's a lot more cuddly than the menacing beast that Mothman is typically seen as. His glowing red eyes have small slits to communicate a far more personable appearance, and his variable colors throughout make him transform from a terrifying creature of the night into an adorable little pest.

In the game, Mothman plays the role of a magic attacker, mostly appearing in the early-mid game. With a focus on electric skills as well as disrupting the opponent through status conditions, his strange, almost otherworldly aspects have been translated well into gameplay. While lacking in signature skills, his overall role as a disruptor works wonders in making him viable in several situations.

His weakness to force is a little hard to parse, but I believe it's meant to be a reference to how flying entities may end up getting metaphorically whipped around by the wind, especially given their size- Mothman is, historically, just as large as a human, something that translates to a greater amount of drag while in flight. This is just a guesstimation, though, as quite a lot of the attributes in SMT games feel a bit... randomly assigned? However, his affinity for electricity is easy to understand- Mothman sightings are most often around power plants, after all. In SMT, it may very well be possible that he went there to siphon their energy away for himself, all to unleash it in each attack.

Regardless of this, though, Mothman's unique, adorably weird design and bizarre translation into the game mechanics make him a personal favorite, even past the fact that he's based on my favorite cryptid of all time. I mean, just look at him! Prime goober material!!! This gleepy freak is strange, dangerous, and we love him for it.

[iamjapanese]

KOGA Kurara（古賀くらら Japanese, b.1982）

凪  Calm  2015  楮紙・天然岩絵具・土壌顔料・植物染料・金泥・金箔・銀箔・墨・膠  Kozo paper, natural mineral pigments, soil pigments, plant dyes, gold paint, gold leaf, silver leaf, ink, glue   91.0cm×60.6cm    via

[drstonetrivia]

Birthdays!

I compiled what I found to be the most character-relevant and/or funny reasons for everyone's birthdays, however unless Inagaki Sensei confirms the reasoning behind them, these are all assumptions!

Senku - 1/4 - A pun on Ishigami, as 1-4 can be read as i-shi, meaning stone. If you've forgotten about this, then I recommend rereading chapter 56!

Luna - 1/30 - Anniversary of Orville Wright (of the Wright brothers)'s death. This may also be another pun, as 3-0 can be read as mi-zero, and the kanji for charm is 魅 (=mi) which could mean Luna has "zero charm". Another option is reading it as 1-3-0, i-mi-zero, or "zero meaning", which hopefully isn't a hint of how useful this birthday-meaning endeavor is…

Related, Luna didn't seem to be born under a full moon either so that's not the reason behind her birthday.

Yo - 1/31 - This is a big logic leap, however: 1 can be read as "ichi", or 位置 meaning position. Putting the 3+1 into context, we have Yo mentioning the "big 3" + himself as the Four Heavenly Kings, giving us Yo as the 4th in a position of power.

I couldn't find any way of making the date fit an exclamation like "Yo!" or "Uei!", but the "ue" (上) part of his name means "up" which fits the theme of positioning.

Chrome - 2/4 - The element chromium has the atomic number 24. I'm pretty confident this was the inspiration, however it's also a month after Senku's birthday!

Kaseki - 2/9 - Another logic jump: copper's atomic number is 29. The era after the Stone Age is the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age. Since Kaseki is the village's most skilled craftsman, it could be implying that Kaseki brought them out of the Stone Age into the next era.

Amaryllis - 2/14 - Valentine's Day. It's also chocolate day in Japan, which suits the sweet seductress that she is :)

Homura - 3/3 - Can be read as "san-san", which means brilliant or bright. As the name Homura means flame, this is fitting.

Ibara - 3/23 - I couldn't find anything of interest, even when checking the blossoming of thorny plants (Ibara means thorn after all). A little disappointing honestly :(

Yuzuriha - 3/31 - The end of the fiscal year in Japan and sometimes the last day of school. Had she been born 2 days later she'd be in a different grade to Senku and Taiju!

It's also the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Gen - 4/1 - April Fool's Day, as well as the day Senku, Xeno, and probably several other Americans broke out of petrification after 3,700+ years. An inversion of Senku's birthday (1/4 and 4/1).

Great job to everyone who guessed the date before it was officially revealed!

Taiju - 4/2 - Likely the oldest one in Senku's school year because of Japan's birthday/grade division. 4-2 can also be read as "shi-ni" meaning "death", which could be related to everyone closest to Taiju dying at some point (both his parents are dead, Senku's died once, Taiju himself was likely dead and Yuzuriha wasn't looking too great in Corn City). If we want to push further though, "death" in Latin is "mori", and "mori" means forest in Japanese, tying in to Taiju's tree theme.

With Yuzuriha, Gen, and Taiju all having their birthdays right after one another, it seems like all of Senku's closest friends have their birthdays together.

Ginro - 4/7 - The element silver has the atomic number 47, similar to Chrome's birthday being the atomic number for chromium.

Ruri - 4/14 - Potentially another ishi/stone reference because of the 14, but it's also the Takayama/Sanno festival wishing for a good harvest. A more modern celebration is Orange Day, where romantic partners from Valentine's and White Day trade orange-colored gifts.

Ironically, orange blossoms are meant to represent prosperity and luck in marriage in flower language… Poor Ruri haha

Kokuyo - 4/19 - Another pun using numbers: 4-1-9 or "shi-i-ku", meaning breeding. Breeding Day is a day to celebrate the work of zookeepers and get people interested in zoos.

The other celebration on this day is the Furukawa festival, one of the three naked festivals. Men in loincloths (fundoshi) fight for the prime location near the central drum being paraded through town. The parade lasts the whole night.

Moz - 5/5 - Children's Day, also part of Golden Week. It's a day to celebrate children's happiness and their personalities. Before 1948, it was also used to recognize fathers, which is ironic given Moz attempted to kill his father when he was 7.

Carlos - 5/30 - Anniversary of Wilbur Wright (of the Wright brothers)'s death, matching Luna. Similarly, the numbers also spell something out: 5-3-0 is "go-mi-zero", or "zero garbage". Whether this means that Carlos is garbage and a zero, or that he's /not/ garbage, I can't tell.

This is also a proper day of celebration in Japan for cleaning up waste.

Ukyo - 6/5 - World Environment Day. (I have recommendations for when Ukyo's birthday should have been instead: 3/3 sounds like "mi-mi", meaning "ear", = his sonar skills. The other date is 9/8, read as "ku-ya", as the kanji for bow (弓) can be read as "ku" and arrow (矢) is "ya".)

Joel - 6/10 - Anniversary of Time. It commemorates the first time-keeping water clock in Japan, open to the public.

Minami - 6/21 - The day after Riichiro Inagaki's birthday, as well as the summer solstice. It's also Refrigerator Day in Japan, a day to check your fridges before the hot summer arrives. Or in Minami's case, to check on Tsukasa…

Max - 6/30 - Asteroid Day, for global awareness about the risks of asteroid impacts. 6-3 can also be read as "mu-mi", which means "tasteless" (無味). Not sure how the zero fits in though…

Luna, Max, and Carlos also all have birthdays that fall on the 30th of the month. What the significance of that is is unclear, apart from the fact that their dates can all create words.

Kirisame - 7/7 - The Tanabata festival, a celebration for two star-crossed lovers, generally celebrated by writing wishes on paper and hanging them from a bamboo tree. It's also World Chocolate Day!

Kinro - 7/9 - The element gold has the atomic number 79, similar to Chrome's and Ginro's birthdays being their atomic numbers.

Kohaku - 8/8 - A day full of puns, as 8-8 can be read as either "ha-ha" or "ba-ba", meaning father and grandmother respectively, but "ha" also means teeth and "hachi" (=another way of reading 8) means "bee"… The list goes on.

It's also World Cat Day! :3

Magma - 8/22 - The kanji for 8 looks like a volcano (八) which is probably the logic behind choosing August. 2 can also be read as "fu", and "fufu" is the equivalent of "hehe" laughter in English. In rare cases, 2 can also be read as "ha", which could be referencing Magma's "muhaha!" It's also the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief…

Nikki - 8/31 - 831 is shorthand for "I Love You", as it has 8 letters, 3 words, and 1 meaning. It's also good for hiding your embarrassment if you struggle to say (or type, or send via Morse code) the words themselves…

Stanley - 9/1 - The anniversary of the establishment of the US's Air Force Space Command, which is now part of the United States Space Force, the American military counterpart to NASA.

Suika - 9/9 - Chrysanthemum Day, an ancient festival in Japan, also known as the Festival of Happiness. It's also First Aid Day, the Katakai fireworks festival, and the day Kiku No.1 was launched by NASDA (now JAXA). The latter is interesting because it's quite round, like Suika!

Matsukaze - 9/15 - Respect For The Aged Day. Sometimes the date varies, but as Matsukaze is a man who follows the Bushido code, this seems fitting.

Xeno - 10/1 - NASA's first day of operations, as well as NASDA's day of establishment, then later JAXA's. An all-around good day for national space agencies. Also falls on International Coffee Day, I wonder if they're connected…

Byakuya - 10/8 - Byakuya's literal name. The kanji for "byaku" (百) is 100, and 8 can be read as "ya", creating 108, or 10/8.

Tsukasa - 10/10 - World Mental Health Day, as well as World Day against the Death Penalty. Ironic given the plot of Stone wars. It's also Public Bath Day and Fishing Day.

Ryusui - 11/11 - Desiring the best of everything, Ryusui's birthday is obviously #1…111. It's also Pocky Day, I wonder if he uses that fact to flirt with people/play the pocky game?

Hyoga - 11/30 - Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare. (RIP Gozan, Yuki, Ren, Akashi, Kyoichiro, and Morito.) It could also be a way of "drawing" his kuda yari in action: 一一三〇

Chelsea - 12/20 - Anniversary of Sacagawea's death (maybe). She was a young girl who helped the Lewis and Clark expedition explore central America. 12°N 20°E is also a location in Chad.

Mirai - 12/31 - New Year's Eve, a day for looking towards the future. As Mirai's name means future, it's no surprise that this is her birthday!

Feel free to reply with any other discoveries about their birthdays you find! This is by no means a complete list, especially since any Japanese puns are mostly lost on me haha!

[corpocyborg]

OC ASSOCIATIONS

Tagged by @ghostoffuturespast! (Thanks!)

Valerie Locke, Director of Arasaka Counter Intel & the future Arasaka Android

Animal: Snow leopard, python, peregrine falcon

Colors: Black, burgundy, scarlet, silver

Month: January

Song: The Riches by Jane's Addiction, Low Five by Sneaker Pimps

Number: 1

Day or Night: Night

Plant: Devil's horns, cactus, bamboo, jade plant

Smells: Mint, metal, gunpowder, leather

Gemstone: Onyx, bloodstone, moonstone, opal

Season: Winter

Places: Office, jungle, space station, meeting room

Food: Sushi, japanese cucumber salad, rare steak, tiramisu

Astrological Sign: Scorpio

Element: Water

Drink: Coffee, wine, whisky, oolong tea

Tagging @daerani, @gamerkitten, @just-a-cybercroissant, @bnbc!