#then the image will be completely accurate

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Lumchagg

Another one that's immediately recognizable if you spot its most-known characteristic, but I had to keep this one in because I thought it was entertaining that the author was clearly working from two different sources and, rather than try and reconcile the two, apparently just copied two slightly-different accounts and left them like that.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, you can find an explanation and previous posts at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. The entry that people are working from this time can be found here:

And here's the one that folks will be drawing this week, if you want to get in on it:

Anyway, art below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) noted the apparent existence of a larval stage in the second half of the entry, and drew a creature that's part Australian firehawk and part moth. I think this design is extremely cool, and does a good job extrapolating from the ideas of a bird that makes its own funeral pyre and apparently starts life as a larva.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) went kind of a flamingo direction with this one, noting that a purple bird might acquire that coloration from its diet the same way flamingos do, which is cool. I also like the idea that its pyre/container is a silver censer, which is oddly accurate to medieval depictions -- I've definitely seen a couple of medieval images of this bird where its "nest" looks a lot like a fancy bowl. (Also thank you for including alt text.)

@kaerran (link to post here) makes note of a bit of a camera quality issue, but has what I think is a really clever idea. They've chosen to make their Lumchagg quite small, so that their "container" could in fact be the contents of a spice rack. A convenient solution for the modern Lumchagg with a high tolerance for plastic fumes. (Also thank you for including alt text.)

@ectocs (link to post here) has plotted out the lifecycle of a bird-thing that genuinely looks more like a dinosaur than anything, which I like a lot. That is a cool-looking bird. I also like the facial expressions a lot -- maybe it's just my imagination, but that blobby little worm stage seems quite pleased with itself. I strongly recommend clicking on the linked post to see a number of additional doodles and notes from the design process, which are very interesting in my opinion.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has done this drawing in a nice dark purple ink, which is both pleasant and appropriate. The bird looks very cool, and I find the worm quite charming. I also appreciate the detail put into the pyre/nest/whatever here. It's good. I like it.

@pomrania (link to post here) notes that the medieval definition of "bird" is quite flexible, and of course worm and wyrm were more or less interchangeable... so this is a dragon. Entirely fair, I can't argue with that. It's pretty cute, too.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) also gives us a life-cycle drawing, complete with a pupa, which I think is a nice and appropriate touch. They note the ambiguity of the term purple in pre-modern sources, so their Lumchagg has a more general colorful & iridescent look. I really like the parrot-worm-thing in the middle of the tree there.

To the Aberdeen Bestiary:

Yep, that's a bird. Presumably the trees are meant to represent frankincense and myrrh, both of which I believe are made from tree resin. Very good Stylized Trees, naturally. The bird, which kind of just looks like a hawk, also seems to be resting on an invisible perch, presumably because the artist wasn't sure what to do with the legs of a bird in flight.

There's also a second illustration:

That absolutely does not help identification, but I think a majority of participants clocked that this is the phoenix.

A few people noted that they hadn't known that phoenices (phoenixes? you know what, it doesn't matter, there's only one of them at a time anyway) were supposed to be purple. Others commented on the odd note about Arabia and the color purple, speculating as to what purple pigment was being referred to. I am excited to tell you that these two things are linked: the famous Tyrian Purple dye was originally used by... [drum roll]... the Phoenicians.

I actually had to delete a word from the entry before posting, because the original reads:

The phoenix is a bird of Arabia, so called either because its colouring is Phoenician purple, or because there is only one of its kind in the whole world.

The other part of the etymological explanation there is later explained by the assertion (the basis of which I do not know) :

The Arabs call a solitary man phoenix.

Also to be clear, there's not exactly a broad pre-modern consensus about phoenix coloration. Everyone seems to agree that it's brightly colored, but what colors vary widely. (However, it should be noted that "red" and "purple" are both popular options, and moreover that those colors are not always differentiated in older texts.)

It's tempting to say that the frankincense & myrrh is here probably just acting as a Christian resurrection metaphor because the authors are monks, but it is in fact the case that multiple medieval descriptions of the phoenix have it making use of valuable plants, including those. In the Old English Wonders of the East, it builds its nest from cinnamon. Herodotus (who says the phoenix is red and gold) mentions the phoenix using myrrh, but not as a nest or funeral pyre -- each new phoenix embalms the body of the previous phoenix in myrrh to be interred at the Temple of the Sun. Pliny (purple and gold, with a blue tail) has the nest made from cinnamon, incense, and perfumes, and when the little worm grows large enough it carries the nest, along with the remains of its predecessor, to said temple. Neither Herodotus nor Pliny mention the fire thing, interestingly, so I suspect it might have come in later. The Wonders of the East does mention the fire, but it has no opinion on the coloration.

I can feel myself falling into a rabbit hole, so I'm just going to cut this one off here.

[shineonyoucrazyyandere]

This is what happened when Dragona started 'dating' the darling. It didn't last long.

completely accurate image 👍

[basilknell]

Vasily's Anachronistic Firearms

Originally, I intended to write an entire comprehensive blog regarding Vasily’s most “historically accurate” uniforms and the different versions between those (Border Guard vs Cossack, NCO vs non, 1907 uniform changes vs pre-Nicholas changes) but it is too much of a project to post all at once. Instead, I decided it best to split all this information into several blogs: Vasily’s firearms, his potential border guard uniforms, and his potential Cossack uniforms (+ sabers). The latter two may or may not include art, so at the moment they are a long-ways off, especially since I have some other blogs planned in the meantime. Nonetheless, this was just information I needed to get out of my head regarding his weapons showcased in canon.

My main concern is – Vasily has two main firearms we see him utilize in the series: a rifle and a revolver. However, just how accurate to the time period are these weapons as Noda had drawn them? I’ll spoil: not accurate at all.

I talk repeatedly throughout this blog about ‘Cossack’ Vasily. If you are unfamiliar with the term or idea, please refer to this blog here.

To clear up some terms quickly: an M91, Mosin, Mosin-Nagant, and M1891 are all shorthands that refer to the 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifle. 91/30 refers to an 1891 Mosin-Nagant that was remanufactured in 1930 with significant changes. An M95, Nagant, and M1895 are all shorthands that refer to the 1895 Nagant revolver.

Vasily’s Mosin-Nagant Rifle In-Text

[Images feature Vasily holding his rifle at different angles.]

Vasily’s rifle of choice is an 1891 Mosin-Nagant as described by most resources for him, an incredibly common rifle used by the Russian and Soviet armies even throughout WWII, as it had been the standard issue throughout all these years. It was particularly the main (Russian side) rifle issued throughout the Russo-Japanese War, and an average soldier would be carrying one in 1907, our pinpoint date for Golden Kamuy. This heavy use throughout history, however, means the rifle has undergone quite a few modifications as it was manufactured in its lifespan. Let’s compile some information about the M91 Vasily would have been using as a regular enlisted man vs as a Cossack. I would also like to point out Vasily’s rifle is missing all stamps in the source text – no serial numbers, no imperial stamp, everything. He even is lacking the stamps on his rear sights for distance markers, so I will not be covering this information much.

Firstly, let’s go over some traits that an M91 of a non-Cossack in 1907 might have. Now, Vasily could always have a much older Mosin that lacks some of these traits, but for now let's suppose he has a newly-minted M91 (which would be an M91 manufactured post-1896). What he should have:

A swing swivel attached to his trigger guard and a sling with a hook that attaches to the front tightening rods. This was changed between 1896 - 1898. Sling slots were not introduced until 1908.

A flat rear sight. It was changed to a curved rear sight in 1909.

No metal crossbolt. These were added in 1909. Older models occasionally had wooden crossbolts, but very rarely.

No visible retainer springs.

Completely wooden handguard wrapped around the rear sights.

Because we can never clearly see the front barrel band’s underside on Vasily’s rifle, I will not include it in our overview, though there are different versions. However his version should be a solid band with protruding screws from the body of the rifle (to allow his sling to hook into the screws). Completely oval shaped barrel bands were not introduced until 1909, when the sling was moved to attach to slots in the stock of the rifle. So how does all this information compare to Vasily’s rifle?

[Image of Vasily’s rifle, pointing out several traits. It features a crossbolt, curved rear sight, retainer springs, a half exposed handguard, the sling in the stock, and a thick stock.]

Right away, there’s several clear issues that conflict with what a soldier in 1907 and the years before would have. There is a metal crossbolt when there should be none (or a very rare wooden bolt); it is difficult to see, but the rear sight is curved and not a flat rear sight; the sling is attached to sling slots rather the the swivel sling it should have; the handguard shows off metal in front of the rear sight when it should be completely flush wood; there are retainer springers in front of the barrel bands; the stock is thicker than it should be.

Of course, this still is a Mosin-Nagant, but there’s too many issues for it to be the M91 of a regular soldier in 1907. While some of these traits do appear for M91s in later years (if one was to make the case this is simply a M91 produced in, say, 1909), other traits do not appear in regular M91s at all such as the exposed handguard metal, thick stock, and the retainer springs.

No dice. Well, what about a Cossack rifle then? Could Vasily’s rifle prove he is a Cossack when his outfit cannot? Now, Dragoon rifles and Cossack rifles were virtually the same firearm aside from stamp markings. Because Dragoons and Cossacks were both typically mounted troops, they needed to be similar. The only major difference is Cossacks were not issued bayonets with their rifles because they were armed with their own sabers/shaska, and we certainly never see Vasily with a bayonet. Though, it is also feasible he just lost his. Regardless, these are the traits of a Cossack M91 in 1907 as follows:

All sling slots resided in the stocks.

All had retainer springs accompanying its two barrel bands.

A flat rear sight. It was changed to a curved rear sight in 1909.

No crossbolt. These were added in 1909.

Wooden handguard wrapped around the rear sight.

Thicker stock than that of regular M91s.

So, what are the inconsistent issues now? As we can see in the picture below, Vasily still has that curved rearsight and a crossbolt that weren’t introduced until 1909. It also has that exposed piece of metal towards the rear sight when typically Cossack rifles had wood flush to the rear sight.

[Another image of Vasily’s rifle. The curved part of Vasily’s rearsight is especially noticeable.]

Case closed: we must conclude Vasily’s M91 is anachronistic and is simply a Cossack M91 from 1909 or later, as its the only way to explain how his rifle has sling slots, retainer springs, a curved rear sight, a thick stock, and a crossbolt. Though, that leaves the question of why does his handguard not match that of an M91 at all? After all, it's a strange choice to deliberately draw the handguard not meeting the rear sight, and instead leaving half the metal exposed.

Except – that minor handguard issue can’t be ignored. In fact, with all this information, it becomes clear Vasily’s rifle isn’t simply an M1891. It’s actually an M91/30, a rifle manufactured over two decades after Golden Kamuy took place!

[Images of an M91/30 compared to a full image of Vasily’s rifle. They are nearly identical, apart from the 91/30 missing its sling in the photo.]

M91/30s are sometimes considered different rifles from M91s because so many different modifications came between it and the original M91. Obviously, the 91/30 is indeed modeled after that of M91s – specifically, they’re modeled after Dragoon M91s. As said previously, Dragoon and Cosack M91s were virtually indistinguishable (their marking stamps are the best way to distinguish them), hence why one might assume Vasily has an anachronistic Cossack M91, when in actuality it is an M91/30. It’s only obvious outside tell, when assuming the rifle is simply anachronistic, is that the wrapped handguard is still out of place. But, when putting Vasily’s rifle and the 91/30 side-by-side, one can see the exposed bit of metal just past the rear sight, just like 91/30s tend to have.

We can also pinpoint to when this 91/30 Noda drew had been manufactured. Firstly, Vasily's sling slot appears to be missing escutcheons entirely, which occasionally was usually seen on pre-WWII 91/30s. The other trait has to do with the shape of his receiver – there were three varying types for the 91/30, with two of those receivers being a little difficult to distinguish between in drawings. Thankfully, Vasily’s has the third type, a hex receiver, which as the name implies is shaped a bit like a hexagon. Thus we can pinpoint Vasily’s rifle having been manufactured between 1930 - 1936, the only time hex receivers were put on 91/30s. In later years is when the other types of receivers took manufacturing precedent. This is nearly three decades after the events of Golden Kamuy!

All this is to say: wow Vasily’s rifle is anachronistic by decades. We’ll address what it should actually look like further below. 

Vasily’s Nagant Revolver In-Text

Moving on, Vasily’s revolver is a bit of a shorter story. We are shown only a handful of instances of it in the manga, but it's the same revolver Kikuta collects: the 1895 Nagant. You’ll remember it's notable because it contains seven shots rather than the standard six of typical revolvers.

[Images of Vasily’s Nagant.]

The Nagant had no major changes to its base model beyond the occasional experimentation of the barrel length and the lack of production of single-action versions beginning in the 1930s, but we are unable to examine either of these traits given how few panels there are, and how little Vasily shoots his revolver (just once).

So, is Vasily’s revolver also anachronistic? Unbelievably – yes. Beginning in the 1930s, old Nagants were actually refurbished to change two main qualities: changing the grip to be of a different material (impossible to notice without actively having the firearm in hand in person), and the changing of its frontsight from a half-moon to a dove-tail (imagine a half moon with part of it sliced out). As we can see from Vasily’s revolver above, it has the dove-tail sight rather than the half-moon, as it has that slice in the semi circle.

It’s far more difficult to narrow down when Vasily’s revolver in text could’ve been manufactured because Nagants were refurbished even after WWII. We’d only be able to tell if Vasily has a refurbished imperial model if his revolver had stamps on it, confirming it had been manufactured before the establishment of the Soviet Union. However, not only is his revolver at an angle in the manga where we can’t see its stamps, but as I said earlier, Noda avoided putting stamps on any of the firearms in the series. So we’ll just assume his revolver is off by thirty years in the future as well, and was refurbished in the 1930s (typically when refurbishment began taking place), but it could be much more modern than that.

Vasily’s Historically Accurate Rifle

Due to the nature of the M91, which has had a plethora of changes throughout the 1890s, I’m going to try my best to walk through each change of the rifle without excess visual reference. There’s many minute changes Vasily's rifle could have cycled through, so as long as we don’t tread into modifications that occurred past 1907, any which way you draw this rifle should be adhering to history regardless.

The only thing of note is that, while Noda avoided all stamps in his art, if you wish to get technical the most important stamp you can add to Vasily’s rifle would be the Imperial Russian eagle crest. Featured below, you find said stamp on the (hex) receiver twice. Also, yes, many Mosins were actually manufactured in the United States for Russia! But not until 1915.

[Image of Mosin-Nagant receivers. One shows both imperial stamps from Izhevsk, the other with only a single stamp from New England Westinghouse.]

Non-Cossack Rifle

Let’s suppose, now, that Vasily is in the SBGC and run through some of the potential M91s he could have. Beginning when the rifle was first manufactured in 1891, this was the original base Mosin-Nagant:

[Image of an 1891 M91.]

Some main features to note of this rifle:

Its exposed barrel/lack of a full handguard.

Swivel slings on the trigger guard and front barrel band.

Flat rear sights.

Extra long trigger guard towards the butt of the rifle.

Over time, the following is changed:

In 1893, the trigger guard was changed. That protruding metal piece that slides towards the butt of the rifle is removed.

In 1894, a wooden handguard along the barrel was added. This gives the Mosin its iconic full-wooden appearance.

In 1896, the front sling swivel was removed, the barrel band being converted to allow slings to hook onto it directly without a swivel.

And below you’ll find an M91 manufactured after that 1896 change, the latest version Vasily would be capable of having, as the design is not updated again until 1909.

[Image of an 1896 M91.]

So, compared to Vasily’s rifle in the manga, this 1896 rifle lacks:

Stock inset slings.

A curved rear sight.

A crossbolt.

Retainer springs.

A thick stock.

Half metal/half wooden handguard wrapping in front of the rear sight.

As such, there is a noticeable difference between Vasily’s rifle in the manga and the one he should have as a regular border guard. However, the M91 pictured above is most likely the rifle Vasily would be found with, sans the sling not being pictured here. Given there is a 13 year delay before this version of the rifle is updated again, he’s more likely to have this version than any of the previous versions of the rifle.

[Comparison of Vasily’s rifle in the manga vs edited to a 1907 ordinary M91.]

Cossack Rifle

Vasily’s rifle would be noticeably different from the above if he was a Cossack (or even a Dragoon, for that matter). These rifles don’t actually have any timelapse between the years it began manufacturing and 1907, as Cossack M91s began manufacturing in 1894, and were not updated until 1909. A Cossack M91 from the years 1894 to 1908 would be virtually the exact same.

[Image of a Cossack-type M91.]

I am unsure of the exact year the following rifle is above, but it has the appearance of a M91 before the 1909 updates (which added a crossbolt and curved rear sight). It has the following:

Sling slots in the stock (with escutcheons).

Retainer springs on the barrel bands.

A flat rear sight.

Handguard wrapped around the rear sight.

A thick stock.

Compared to Vasily’s rifle in the manga, this (1907~) rifle lacks:

A curved rear sight.

A cross bolt.

Half metal/half wooden handguard wrapping in front of the rear sight.

No escutcheons covering the sling slots.

This is to say, if you were to write or draw Vasily as a Cossack, the above rifle is the exact picturesque version he’d be found with. There’s also one other unique trait to Cossack rifles that are hard to see: where the imperial crest would be found, one would also find “КАЗ” stamped on that same receiver. It is much easier to base a historically-accurate M91 off of Vasily’s rifle in the manga because it only has a handful of differences.

[Comparison of Vasily’s rifle in the manga vs edited to a 1907 Cossack M91.]

Vasily’s Historically Accurate Revolver

Vasily’s revolver doesn’t actually need many changes to its visible appearance in order to define it as “historically correct”. As I mentioned, there was mostly one major change to Nagants when they were refurbished, in that their front sight was changed from a half-moon to a dove-tail. The other change was in regards to grip material, and that wasn't even a color difference,  so I will not mention the different wood changes.

Thus, if Vasily was to have a properly historically accurate revolver, it would look like the following:

[Image of a 1895 Nagant Revolver in its original design. Its front sight is shaped like a semi circle.]

Simply change Vasily’s dove-tail front sight on his Nagant to instead be a half-moon, and it’d be accurate! One simple mistake by Noda had accidentally aged Vasily’s revolver by nearly 30 years. I am not going to include a comparison drawing because it is an easily visible, simple change.

Conclusion

This is my usual conclusion of ‘Noda got this all wrong’. But honestly, I barely ever draw Vasily’s rifle correctly half the time myself. Have fun with the info… there’s something uniquely funny about Vasily accidentally ending up with two weapons that are from several decades in the future.

Thank you to RDSTRPV for looking over this for me as usual :] !

I have not bothered to look at the Arisaka's depicted throughout the series, though perhaps I might one day, as I have my own Type 38 and it'd be a fun project to compare it to the Type 38s that appear in the series. However, as an added tidbit, I did examine the Berdan that Ogata shoots Vasily with – it is an 1870 Berdan II, and is drawn completely correctly according to its period design, down to the 45 degree angle the bolt rests at compared to the 90 degrees of most rifles. Funny Noda got the minute details of the Berdan accurate, but not the Mosin-Nagant or the Nagant.

For anyone curious, Vasily’s weapons were not fixed in the anime either. Just due to the lower quality appearance of the anime, I opted to use manga references because they were far easier to understand all the mechanisms and pieces from the black and white. Here’s how his firearms look in the anime:

As you can see, the exact same as how it is drawn in the manga, now featuring color.

[skitskatdacat63]

I don't know how I'd ever convey this in art but. Thinking very deeply about how in boy king au, a very crucial part of characterization is that Seb is a wolf in sheep(or lamb more specifically)'s clothing and Fernando is a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Seb is very unassuming, very delicate, seemingly very vulnerable and malleable. But, deep down, he can be very ruthless. It's in the the way he hesitantly declares war, with a spark in his eye and a suppressed smirk. In the way he challenges someone to a card game or a horse race, proclaiming that he's not great, but winning every round and prancing around the room and mentioning it ad infinitum. The way he's able to instantly turn the tide in a debate in one fell swoop. By showing all his cards constantly and letting himself be vulnerable, he's making himself invulnerable. No one would ever consider him to be able to make big moves, so he wins every single time, because no one even thinks to expect it from him.

Fernando on the other hand, is constantly committed to having a looming presence and harsh reputation, but deep down, he's soft. He knows what happens to people when they're vulnerable, and he's not going to let himself be taken advantage of. The way he keeps a brave face when being informed of the marriage proposal, but goes back to his room and cries. The way he proclaims that he was always going to be the rightful ruler of Spain, but confides to Flavio that he never thought there was any real chance of it ever happening. The way he takes himself so seriously in public, but inside feels so giddy whenever he can make someone laugh. Everything to him always feels unstable and ready to crumble at any moment, and he's not willing to contribute to that by letting himself relax.

I think thats why it's very difficult for them to get along at first, because they have completely different approaches to how they carry themselves and make their way through life. Seb is confused at Fernando because he feels that he's very bland and overly serious at first, but truthfully he's not really seeing the actual Fernando. And Fernando finds Seb to be naive and easily taken advantage of, but that's because he's never seen Seb at his most cruel. Seb really loves when he eventually gets to see Fernando being vulnerable, and Fernando really admires and respects Seb when he sees him being serious. I think it just takes a while for them to show the other their full and complete selves, even the parts they can sometimes be ashamed of. There's this very compelling dichotomy in Seb laying out all his cards, but still being very difficult to read, and Fernando keeping his cards to his chest, but his intentions often being easily seen through.

[thegreatyin]

Extremely Sketchy™ fallen london OC mockup page because i had to share my vision. behold. the scoundrel. left being normal design notes and right being future design notes in which they are decidedly more furry about it all. any questions

[icewindandboringhorror]

There's always a slight yearning in the back of my mind wishing I had been born in the right place, time, family situation, income level, etc. to have just lived in one single house for my entire life. Imagine being born in a place that still suits you, even through all of your personal evolutions and etc. The idea of deep familiarity with an area because you've lived and explored it for 40+ years, being encased in a web of memories and connections. Being able to clean out your old childhood bedroom and find personal artifacts, to dig in the yard and remember. I know those lives can still be plenty imperfect, but there's just something so seemingly solid and stable and Grounding about it that I sometimes wish I could have.. (At least from my outside perspective as someone who's moved around a bit geographically and even within the same area, never lives in the same house/ apartment /etc. for more than a few years usually.) Like... having a place that is printed upon, fully your own, rather than chronically a visitor, every thought of a space always tempered with the notion that one day soon you'll have to pack it all up again, etc. There's something peaceful about the permanence.

[oh-meow-swirls]

i think this was funnier in my head.

[puppyeared]

he’s ok guys (frm here <3)

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

This was, as they say, a glow up

[tracedinairlwa]

these are all canon btw i’m the writer so what I say goes

also go play the game https://suntann.itch.io/flowers-of-starlight

[rosesradio]

.

[dykedivorce]

the monster baru cormorant: i'm drowning 🤕💔💉

the tyrant baru cormorant: ... in pussy!!!😜👉👌💦

[dmclemblems]

[i-like-turkey]

Me in early June: I’m going to write a Kacy honeymoon fic. They’ll be gone for ~2 weeks, but don’t worry. I’m not going to get caught up in the nitty gritty of their trip. I’ll write some super cracky adventures, some dirty, dirty smut, and some cracky smut, and have this thing wrapped up in 2-3 weeks.

People commenting on the first few chapters: The mundane details of their vacation are fun.

Me since then: 🤮 out thousands and thousands of words to cover all the details of their trip.

I can’t stop writing. At this rate I might not finish the fic before my move home.  I’m gonna be in the middle of the damn country, my mom behind the wheel, my dog on my lap, trying to write the epic smut finale on my phone. Probably with only one hand, cause my pup will be squirming and I’ll need the other to keep her still 😭

[milescottontail]

https://perchance.org/canonfnafcharactergeneratorcottontail

I made a thing

[thatonecrookedsmile]

New progress

We're getting somewhere