Gunyugunyu

[rheasilvia]

Yesterday, solo and I discovered the perfect fic prompt hanging on the wall of a lovely Japanese restaurant.

I MEAN.



My theory on "cien" is that it's a previously undiscovered variant of "bien", making this utterance into "you are too welcome" - which of course makes perfect sense.

As for "gunyugunyu", this is always romantic. Obviously.

solo and I also discovered one of the most confusing fountains known to man. Yes, these are four boys riding on dolphins while preparing to throw fishes like javelins. Why? Well, why not, I ask you?







For context: This baffling masterpiece is located in the huge creepy courtyard of a huge creepy office building owned by a creepy and no doubt soulless* corporation.

*(It was like a parody. They have an entire stele of warnings about what you are not allowed to do while crossing their courtyard The stele clarifies that you are allowed to cross the courtyard, but will be under electronic surveillance the entire time. They also have a skeleton in a window, no doubt as a warning. I am not kidding about any of this.)





I challenge you to write a story based on this art! If the fish-throwing fountain is also in the story, you win forever.

Gunyugunyu!

Comments

[china_shop]

I first saw this on my phone, so the pics were much smaller, and I misread part of the sign as "MY MOTHER SAID IF YOU FEEL SAD YOU CAN CAT" ... which also works as a prompt for Guardian fandom! :-D

[rheasilvia]

Not gonna lie, my thoughts also immediately jumped to Guardian fic! Which might not be surprising at this point in time, uhm, but still. It fits! In what other fandom would someone say something like "no, the food felt as if it was stuck in my esophagus". ;-)

And the guy who is too welcome? Pretty sure that's Zhao Yunlan right after meeting Shen Wei. ;-)

[mecurtin]

If we had a LIKE button, I would use it for this comment. Indeed, MY MOTHER SAID IF YOU FEEL SAD YOU CAN CAT is, like, my life motto!

[rheasilvia]

MY MOTHER SAID IF YOU FEEL SAD YOU CAN CAT is, like, my life motto

This is, admittedly, an excellent and uplifting life motto. But even so, I don't know that it can hold a candle to "Life is short. Milkcoffe ok".

[mecurtin]

The spikes at the base of the statue are just ... *chef's kiss*

I wish you had taken a photo of the stele, FOR SCIENCE! and also to show to my SF-writing friends. I spent most of the last 2 days binge-reading short stories to consider nominating for the Hugo Awards, and this courtyard would fit right in. Where is this?

It looks to me as though the fish the boys are holding will spout water when the fountain is turned on.

[rheasilvia]

The spikes are nozzles, so the boys and their menagerie can be prettily cloaked behind fountaining water... and YES, you are no doubt correct and the fish can also spit water! I don't know why that never occurred to me. My mind was probably trying to protect me.

I really should have taken a picture of the stele, too, but sadly it was a very boring modern-looking one, with absolutely no fish or skeletons in sight.

The courtyard is in Cologne, and if a Hugo Award is at stake, I'm sure we can find a volunteer to brave the soulless courtyard for a picture. (I actually don't remember if pictures were allowed. Uh. Does that mean they are already coming for me...?)