#Guest Mizumachi

[mathlovershugarl]

??? (for Mizu ofc)

Send me “???” to stick a Pocky Stick in front of my Muse and DEMAND a Pocky Challenge! ||Accepting||

Verse: College!au bc why not @fightingthetides​

“Mii-zhan.” The cheerleader called for his boyfriend who was trying to take off his spikes. “Hm? What is it?” 

He turned to see that Ritsu had a pocky stick in his mouth, with the other end of the pocky stick aimed right at him. Mizumachi stared at the pocky stick dumbfoundly for maybe a minute before it clicked in. 

“OH! It’s pocky day today, that’s right! Mhaa!” It’s a very simple game, but Mizumachi always rose to the occasion, no matter what kind of challenge it was. Bring it on! Let’s see who wins! “Let’s do a best two out of three~” 

Mizumachi immediately started nibbling on his side of the pocky stick getting ever closer to the cheerleader. Who was going to win this game? Was there anything at stake for the winners? 

Who knows~ Mizumachi started nibbling before he even asked for details. 

[friendlyoceangiant-blog]

Protecting the River

River Guardian!au /w mer!au Kyouhei @qtpie-kyouhei Let me know if you want anything changed!

How unfortunate it was that humans would begin by worshiping you and revering you as some God, to then completely forgetting about your existence and treading onto your territory. With humans’ desire to gain more territory, he was losing land that he looked over. Parts of the river were being damned. It was affecting not only his health but also his power. Mizumachi was the Guardian Spirit of the River and he had been watching over many generations come and go during his time, and was now unsure of how much longer he’d be able to do so.

As of right now the only ones who knew of his existence were a sparse number of humans who still had ‘the sight’ but also Ayakashi. To most, he looked like an odd visage of some silver fish-- one almost too large for the river it occupied. To others with the sight, he looked to be a giant human wearing a silver Kimono adorned with golden and blue decorations. 

With long, polished nails, glassy blue eyes, a pale complexion complete with delicate shimmering scales that were dotted all along his skin. In between his fingers were webs which likely served the purpose of helping him swim through the water. His feet? Well, he had no feet, but he had fins. A beautiful dark blue fin that shone in the water-- if you could even bare witness to such a sight and see him as anything more than a simple oversized-fish. 

He watched over all of the river’s inhabitants and sometimes he’d come across some of them such as Merpeople. They were quite rare now a days as many lived in seclusion or were hunted by humans for their blood or their meat. Apparently humans believed those to grant them eternal life? What a grand fallacy.

Feeling a small disturbance in the water near him, he looked over to see one such merperson swimming up towards him. Perhaps he had a guest who wished to greet him?

[vancouvervibes]

A Detailed Look At Vancouver Fashion Week 2017

You can find the original post on Medium. Guest Blogger: toytose

Left: Maak Clothing. Right: Misi Afrique. Photographer: toytose

Thanks to the roguishly charming Illya Swan, I had the chance to jump head first into Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW). In the following post I’ll divulge to you my perspective and experience of the weekend. We’ll peer into this event through the lens of an ham-fisted outsider who craves novelty, loves observing, and responds quite unfavourably to large masses of people. You’ll be led through descriptions of the event, analysis of the show, and comments on the scene. Still with me?

“..Toronto is like the standoffish older sister to the more laid back eco conscious west-coast Vancouver.”

 Rainy city reflections at the entrance of the Chinese Cultural Centre.

As a Toronto transplant, it seems to me that Toronto is like the standoffish older sister to the more laid back eco conscious west-coast Vancouver. While VFW wasn’t fashion power-house by any means (as it is much smaller and pricier than even Toronto’s Alternative Fashion Week), it definitely does serve as a jumping point for young creatives, designers, photographers, stylists, and models alike. A flashy fish in a small wealthy pond has a much better chance of survival than a tiny fish in a big pond.

Fashionistas in the courtyard chatting and looking fabulous.

The Scene

As usual, VFW was hosted at the Chinese Cultural Centre. The entrance had a bit of a industrial feel with a concrete facade and broken tiles on the ground. I passed through a red walkway guarded by two imperial lions, and made my way into the courtyard. There was a classical round doorway leading into Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s Park. To the right was a red carpet leading into the cultural centre, and there I was met by Mr. Swan standing there in his leather flight jacket, gallantly entertaining the volunteers working the doors. He managed to charm his way into a Media pass for me, as his Photographer’s assistant. The attendees were scattered around the atrium with their ostentatious outfits and clicks of the shutter. Immediately I was overwhelmed by the amounts of people in such a small space.

Runway

The runway was one of the only spaces that had appropriate lighting for taking photos. During intermission the who’s who of the scene would come into the middle making casual chit chat, maybe to be seen with the right people, maybe showing off their outfits, or maybe just wanting to bask in the lovely lighting of the runway. The place was packed, and in the first two minutes I lost my partner in crime, so I decided to start taking photos of the attendees in their “natural habitat”.

Fashion Photographers & Selfie Takers flocking to the runway.

Feminine florals, ruffles, and patterns.

Exchanging contacts and spreading good vibes.

Photography

After intermission, I found myself in the media booth as it had the best vantage point for shooting the models coming down the catwalk. The people in the booth seemed to know one another. They were comfortable squished in like sardines and shared inside jokes. At one point someone on a walkie had asked for a photographer to go cover backstage. I almost contemplated jumping on that, but I had come with a telephoto lens that wouldn’t do well in close quarters.

Things to keep in mind when photographing a fashion show:

Are you trying to capture the catwalk or the scene? A telephoto lens is your best friend when shooting the runway. A wide angle lens works better for backstage and intermission.

Lighting! Work with what you have, ask the staging crew what temperature you’re working with. This helps you determine the white balance you have. Otherwise you’ll be spending a fair amount of time in the post-processing stage (advice coming from the girl who edits on her phone, and didn’t know where the white balance setting was on her camera until Vancouver Vibes’ Photography Meetup).

Certain spots on the runway are better lit, such as the back, the middle, and the front. Different designers will have different set choreography for the models. In one show you may be able to get the perfect full-body shot in the middle of the runway as the model walks toward you, but in another show you may only be able to get a headshot or half-body shot as the model reaches the front of the stage. When you keep this in mind, it’s interesting to observe that certain designers favour certain model choreography, and to gauge whether they’re appealing to the crowd/buyers (immediate impression) or to the media/press (lasting impression).

Models

The designers casted an impressive variety in the types of models. There were plus-sized models, short models, lifestyle models, mature models, ethnic models, and even an amputee model walking the runway. Despite being impressed with the amount of inclusivity and representation happening on the runway, I found that it was much harder for me to capture the “right shot” without the blank slate of the typical runway model. In the words of my roommate, ‘models are intended to be walking coat hangers, but somewhere along the way we started confusing that with beauty’.

Smiles, laughter, and sass look fantastic in person. Gatsbylady had an outrageously fun group of ladies who roared down the runway with their infectious dance moves. Katherin Olivos showcased her Plus-Sized Couture Collection with a selection of curvaceous women who knew how to work a dress. Both of these shows left an imprint on my mind, a swish of sparkly fringe as a the models sashayed down the catwalk, and the image of a beautiful full figured confident woman walking toward me with an all knowing smile. While these shows made a lasting impression in my mind’s eye, they were very hard to capture.

Gatsbylady collection.

Other peculiarities that didn’t have a lasting photographic impact?

Having a light skinned girl walking beside a dark skinned girl (maybe social commentary can take precedence over post-processing effort)

Bright eyed Bambi like creatures with a little bit of a bounce, and some awkwardly bent limbs (we can blame the footwear for this one)

Height variations, this gets finicky when you have all of the models lined up at the end of the show (it did give me hope that I may end up on the runway one day though!)

Emotive faces, while I love to see a model’s personality in person and for 1–1 shoots, for the purpose of a runway shot there is too much variation for a quick capture

Fashion

“When a garment triggers all your senses then it’s a full experience.” — Iris Van Herpen

The aesthetic art that translates into a sensory experience. Wearable. Immersive. Encompassing. Garments to elevate your moods. Confidence. Sensuality. Playfulness. Sometimes art speaks for itself. Sometimes you need a guide. I’ll let you look through the pictures first, form your own thoughts and ideas, and then I’ll meet you on the other side?

Viktoria Tisza’s FW17 collection stunned me on so many levels. She gravitates toward sleek minimal forms that highlight a woman’s natural physique while still maintaining strength via forms. This season she played with natural wool yarn and experimented with different lattice structures and braiding. She opted for a neutral colour palette of whites, creams, greys, black, and a touch of pink and coral to complement all skin tones.

Vivianne Valerius touched on some exquisite bridal designs, but her choice of models was questionable in some cases. Her collection featured elegant lines, eye-catching details, and show-stopping ensembles. She has a flair for dramatics, starting from the slow gliding movement she had the models attempt (some of the girls were struggling with the long dresses, heels, which showed in their deer-caught-in-headlights expression), and ending with her personal appearance as the powerful matriarch leading her pinnacle design down the runway. We saw sheer fabrics with feminine details, sleek feathers, sophisticated sequins, and gorgeous silhouettes.

Machio Mizumachi came out guns blazing and in full technicolor. Outrageous designs with a nostalgic feel, calling to mind a Harajuku Remix on the Cabbage Patch Kids. His work had elements of communist propaganda art in the memorable red, yellow, and white colour palette, then added some blues calling the pop art hues to mind. He threw some floral crochet flowers into the mix, and had a gangster strawberry shortcake strutting her stuff. The real kicker for some people was the boy dressed in an assortment of retro backpacks.

Machio with his gang of Harajuku Patch Kids.

_ _

Is it fashion? Is it art? Is it a statement?

It’s play.

Do you remember playing dress up as a kid? There was no right or wrong. You saw something bright and colourful, you saw something pretty and frilly, you put on a hat, you put on a necklace, you put on a backpack, and then threw a scarf overtop. Sometimes, you even wore a bajillion of your mother’s scarves. But you had fun, and you ran around, and felt like a big kid. Maybe you made your parents laugh, maybe your friends told you that you looked ridiculous, but you didn’t care. You FELT cool, and that was all that mattered.

Fashion is play.

Art is expression.

...

Feeling good… that’s the secret.

Thanks for reading folks! Let me know your thoughts, comments, and ideas. I love dialogue and multiple perspectives. You can find more of my photography on Instagram @toytose.