#asymmetry chan

[rexsketches]

A kiss for Metry~

[tigibopper]

Well damn, since y’all really liked the coroika splashtag post, here’s another- Again, made here!: https://seymourschlong.github.io/splashtags/

[l0uterstella]

CHARACTER DESIGN NOTES FROM THE 4GAMER INTERVIEW

🍎 HALLRITT - "I told them that I absolutely wanted to include the ribbon in the upper right corner, no matter how cute it turned out to be. It also includes the image of Kitty's blue overalls on his suspenders. The yellow ribbon on his boots is an image of Kitty's twin, Mimmy."

🎼MEROLD - "He was drawn together with Blue Bouquet's Kurode. My Melody wears a hood, as she was originally designed as a "Little Red Riding Hood". The slit on the side was inspired by the design of the slit under My Melody's neck."

🍀PURUTH - "Since Pompompurin is a golden retriever, one of many dog designs, the belt-like thing coming out of his waist has the image of a leash. The shoes on the left and right sides are different, reflecting Purin's hobby of collecting and hiding one shoe on each side."

🌹 ROMARRICHE - "The silhouette of Marroncream's puff sleeves is expressed by wearing a cape. The floral pattern and polka dots are also inspired by her. We have not yet shown the back view, but there is also a lot of attention to detail hidden in the cape."

🐟 RIMICHA - "Kirimi-chan was the first runner-up in the "Eating Character General Election," so we gave him a distinctive mouth. Also, the asymmetry of his hair expresses their (Kirimichan) original silhouette, which is voluminous on the right side. The fishnet stockings are an image of a grill…!"

🌺 SANAH - "Usahana is a character who values the colorful colors she gets from the sky and flowers, so we took advantage of that. Also, around the year 2000, when Usahana debuted, sticker exchanges were popular, so we also incorporated that image into the design."

☁ CIELOMORT - "While also expressing Cielomort's royal and mysterious image, we incorporated motifs from Cinnamoroll, such as "clouds," "sky," and "white puppy". Cinnamoroll is also characterized by his swirling tail, so we made Cielomort's hair curly as well."

👿 KURODE - "As far as the spiritual nature is concerned, the theme of "becoming who you want to be" is the basis of Kuromi's work, and it makes use of the visual sense of "The World Kuromification Project". In contrast to the fluffy cuteness of Merold, I imagined a darker cuteness."

✉️ WILLMESH - "Wish Me Mell is a postman's helper, so he is given a mail bag and a brooch with a sealing wax motif. The polka dot pattern on Wish Me Mell's palm is reproduced with a polka dot bandage."

💫 KLARKSTELLA - "Kiki and Lala are "dreamy and cute" and "starry-eyed," so we developed them from there and based the costume on the image of pajamas. The twin-leaf-like hair on the top of her head is also inspired by Kiki and Lala. Another point is that they are tall."

🌟 LOUTERSTELLA - "His basic image is just the same as Klarkstella's, but we were careful to not simply make them different colors. They both have a dreamy atmosphere, but not too cute, and I think they have beautiful designs with a mythological mystery."

🌾 MYUNNA - "The design of the "spirit of flour" is based on the "fragile cuteness" of Cogimyun, who looks as if he might be blown away and turned into powder. Also, the back of his dress is a silhouette of Cogimyun's pet shrimp, and the decorations on his shoes are also based on her signature."

🐊 BADOBARM - "Bad Badztamaru's mischievous boyish atmosphere has been reproduced as a life-size male figure. Also, the "Xs and Os" shape, which is often used by Bad Badztmaru himself, is used in many of the costume decorations. By the way, Badztmaru's pet crocodile is called "Pochi," while the crocodile-shaped fairy with Badobarm is "Tama.""

🐶 CHACO - "We tried to express Pochacco's silhouette and his skateboarding element with the image of a very active child. We were particular about the balance of colors so that it would not be monotone, so we gave the hair color a unique look so that it would not be similar to other children."

🐣 ARUPEK - "From Ahiru No Pekkle's treasured bucket, we gave him a water pistol as an element for water. The large feet are also reproduced in his shoes. The hunting cap has a bird-like silhouette. The "1989" on the patch is Pekkle's debut year!"

🐧 TUXAM - "Tuxedo Sam is a gentlemanly penguin boy who has studied abroad in England, so we kept his noble image in mind. His hat is a combination of the sailor hat Sam wears and the hat of Sherlock Holmes... Who is famous in England. On the stick is an ice cream cone that Sam often spills."

🐙 HANGYON - "We designed the bewitching element based on Hangyodon, a half-fish man born in China. The round eyes are represented by sunglasses, and the pink color of Hangyodon's lips is incorporated into the lenses and makeup. The fairy on his shoulder, "Lily," was inspired by Sayuri, an octopus who is a good friend of Hangyodon."

🐸 PIKERO - "Since his lord's real name is "Keroppi Hasunoue (Keroppi above a lotus)", we added a black pattern to the umbrella to make it look like a lotus leaf. Also, it is hard to tell, but his eyes are pink, which represents the color of Keroppi's cheeks. His overall image is not Chinese, but Vietnamese."

[linghxr]

Chinese surnames that are more common in Taiwan

Recently I realized that I’ve met a lot of people with the surname Hung but virtually no Hongs. Hung is a romanization of 洪 used in Taiwan (it's Hong in pinyin). So why have I met so many Hungs but not many Hongs? It turns out that in Taiwan, 洪 is the 14th* most common surname, but in Mainland China it’s way down at 107th**!

After learning this, I realized that 洪 is not the only surname for which I've noticed this imbalance. Using rankings I found online, I calculated the differences in ranking and also the "quotient" (rank in Mainland divided by rank in Taiwan) for over 200 surnames.

This list consists of surnames "significantly" more common in Taiwan ("significant" means quotient > 2). I’m focusing on surnames for which my personal observations line up with the numbers. The rest of the surnames meeting the criteria are under the cut.

List order: By rank in Taiwan, from most to least common List format: 简体字 | 繁體字 pinyin (Taiwanese-style romanization)

蔡 Cài (Tsai) Taiwan rank: 9 Mainland rank: 44 Difference: 35 Quotient: 4.888888889

洪 Hóng (Hung) Taiwan rank: 14 Mainland rank: 107 Difference: 93 Quotient: 7.642857143

邱 Qiū (Chiu) Taiwan rank: 16 Mainland rank: 77 Difference: 61 Quotient: 4.8125

曾 Zēng (Tseng) Taiwan rank: 17 Mainland rank: 38 Difference: 21 Quotient: 2.235294118

廖 Liào Taiwan rank: 18 Mainland rank: 66 Difference: 48 Quotient: 3.666666667

赖 | 賴 Lài Taiwan rank: 19 Mainland rank: 98 Difference: 79 Quotient: 5.157894737

叶 | 葉 Yè (Yeh) Taiwan rank: 22 Mainland rank: 49 Difference: 27 Quotient: 2.227272727

庄 | 莊 Zhuāng (Chuang) Taiwan rank: 24 Mainland rank: 138 Difference: 114 Quotient: 5.75

江 Jiāng (Chiang) Taiwan rank: 26 Mainland rank: 79 Difference: 53 Quotient: 3.038461538

简 | 簡 Jiǎn (Chien) Taiwan rank: 32 Mainland rank: 224 Difference: 192 Quotient: 7

游 Yóu (Yu) Taiwan rank: 35 Mainland rank: 166 Difference: 131 Quotient: 4.742857143

詹 Zhān (Chan) Taiwan rank: 37 Mainland rank: 152 Difference: 115 Quotient: 4.108108108

施 Shī (Shih) Taiwan rank: 39 Mainland rank: 105 Difference: 66 Quotient: 2.692307692

颜 | 顏 Yán (Yen) Taiwan rank: 45 Mainland rank: 110 Difference: 65 Quotient: 2.444444444

柯 Kē (Ko) Taiwan rank: 46 Mainland rank: 188 Difference: 142 Quotient: 4.086956522

卓 Zhuó (Chuo or Cho) Taiwan rank: 61 Mainland rank: 256 Difference: 195 Quotient: 4.196721311

Additional surnames meeting the criteria: The first 4 surnames are so common everywhere that I haven't observed an asymmetry. Thus, they are listed down here.

陈 | 陳 Chén Taiwan rank: 1 Mainland rank: 5 Difference: 4 Quotient: 5

林 Lín Taiwan rank: 2 Mainland rank: 16 Difference: 14 Quotient: 8

黄 | 黃 Huáng Taiwan rank: 3 Mainland rank: 8 Difference: 5 Quotient: 2.666666667

许 | 許 Xǔ (Hsu or Shu) Taiwan rank: 11 Mainland rank: 35 Difference: 24 Quotient: 3.181818182

翁 Wēng Taiwan rank: 47 Mainland rank: 177 Difference: 130 Quotient: 3.765957447

阮 Ruǎn (Juan) Taiwan rank: 62 Mainland rank: 189 Difference: 127 Quotient: 3.048387097

蓝 | 藍 Lán Taiwan rank: 67 Mainland rank: 260 Difference: 193 Quotient: 3.880597015

古 Gǔ (Ku) Taiwan rank: 70 Mainland rank: 208 Difference: 138 Quotient: 2.971428571

纪 | 紀 Jǐ or Jì (Chi) Taiwan rank: 71 Mainland rank: 157 Difference: 86 Quotient: 2.211267606

连 | 連 Lián (Lien) Taiwan rank: 73 Mainland rank: 239 Difference: 166 Quotient: 3.273972603

欧 | 歐 Ōu Taiwan rank: 75 Mainland rank: 161 Difference: 86 Quotient: 2.146666667

巫 Wū Taiwan rank: 86 Mainland rank: 283 Difference: 197 Quotient: 3.290697674

官 Guān (Kuan) Taiwan rank: 116 Mainland rank: 274 Difference: 158 Quotient: 2.362068966

Sources: *As of 2018, via 台湾姓氏 (Wikipedia) **As of 2020, via 2020年最新百家姓氏排名，快来看看你排第几？ (Sohu)

See similar posts: Chinese surname ranking analysis A guide to Taiwanese name romanization

[randomshipperhere]

Why I ship Lumine with the guys:

Chilumi- only the best rivalry for our queen.

I don't feel much for Childe as a character or a love interest but Chilumi hits just right. From the Ojou-chan to their gloves finishing each others. To Lumine's love for the cold and moon and *looks at Childe's voicelines which correlates to both of it*. How their asymmetry works well (her flower on her right, his mask on his left, their scarves, mmm height differences). The Stone Harbor Treasure Journal Event. Shit their entire dynamic is also real fucking good. It can easily be summed up to Adventure Time's "Bad Little Boy". Bunny girl, fox boy.

Zhonglumi- for self insert purposes

I get to say my comfort ship bitch. I multiship Zhongli but this one is just for me. Call me "my friend" one more time Zhongli, please.

Dainslumi- for Lumine and self insert purposes

where angst. give angst. My love for both of them and my love for TsudaKen are at war

[algernoninwonderland]

Adrigami in its canon form would be a miserable relationship and here’s why

Two socially awkward, heavily sheltered teenagers with crushing expectations weighing them down trying to make a romantic relationship work? Ouch.

Kagami’s assertiveness, Adrien’s milquetoast-ness. As much as I like my sunshine son, he is… Kind of a doormat most of the time, it has gotten better but it’s still a long way to him not being his father’s doll as his civilian self, he never acts ‘disobedient’ on his own outside of Chat Noir duties; Kagami says she wants things, that she wants them now, no hesitation whatsoever. She wants things to move quickly. He doesn’t. Does he even know what he wants? Does she really know what she wants or is she following preconceived ideas of what relationships are like?

Do they actually know what they’re even doing? They have no idea what healthy relationships are like, Kagami behaves just like her mother (she challenges her in Ikari Gozen and yay, she’s allowed to have friends, but that’s about it, she speaks the same way her mother does or perhaps the dialogues are just not that good in Miraculous). Adrien is equally clueless. Double ouch.

Kagami is a Sword Lesbian

The buildup (and it’s the show’s fault) from Adrinoir’s Ladybug Obsession to his sudden “oh hey I’m dating Kagami now” is… Lacking. Is he using Kagami as a rebound? Lukanette has had a better buildup, and Luka is a little bland but he seems to genuinely care about Marinette. 

Kagami is portrayed as obsessive (Oni-Chan, you know, than super amazing episode everyone loves and remembers fondly) but not in a fun wacky (and equally creepy) Marinette way. Adrien admires Kagami, but not to that extent at all? Perfectly symmetrical relationships are rare, I know. But this is not just asymmetry. It almost looks like one-sidedness

Adrien’s side of the relationship is… What is it, even?

These kids are using each other as a way to escape their shitty family lives and responsibilities instead of visiting therapists and it’s not very good or healthy actually?

Kagami is a Sword Lesbian (again)

It’s going to be a “learning how to love” thing again, is it? Star Vs, blah blah blah, except it’ll be written by the ML team and thus even less competently done.

Kagami Tsurugi is a Sword Lesbian and she is already in a relationship with her future wife Marinette Dupain Cheng

What I am not saying: Adrigami is a bad ship by its very nature, and you should feel bad for liking it and I hate you for that.

What I am saying: based on the canon content of the show, how could Adrigami possibly be a happy relationship?

Hey, call that a blueprint for your Adrigami fan content, if you manage to “solve” all these issues, it could be a wholesome relationship!

[alexandraxsuoh]

✉︎

Send me a “✉︎” and I’ll tell you about a verse I’ve been thinking about for my muse!

Nee-chan! I was about to send something about it :3 Good timing!

It’s EnStars related since it’s been a while I’ve been thinking about it. The verse I had in my head was if she wasn’t the Knights Producer but was with Valkyrie or Undead since they have a soft spot with Knights.. ><””

I’ll beging with Valkyrie:

With Valkyrie I think she would have learned new things like not messing when sewing, working on a new style, etc. I mean, I can see her there well, she’s sweet and hardworking. But the difference will be, she will be a bit more able to hold her ground by Shu and all the time she was scolding for hiding too much. 

Steampunk would go well for her as much she can be adorable in the Knights one. I’m bad at explaining, I know. But her own music is a bit like their style. (Asymmetry, Flame of Red, Requiem of Red)

If I use it, I think the tags will be: ic: Shy Valkyrie’s Lady and V. A Steampunk Angel for Valkyrie

With Undead: 

I do think it would be fun to see since during her third year, she’s more herself and doesn’t hold back her thought. She would be more on the rebelious side, not hiding but would be more on being good at hiding her own pain or when it’s bothering her. Yet she will learn about composing in a new style of music and help for the music since she plays bass guitar.

A rebelious side will be nice too see, getting her out of her comfort zone. 

If used, the tag will be: ic: Rebelious Musician & V. A Rebel with Golden Heart

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Mutilated Mannequin (Part 22)

Azula’s festival dress is form fitting and reaches just above her knees with a hem lined with a shimmery fringe of electric blue. Well aware that much of the festival and viewing party will take place outside, she finds herself the custom leggings that match the complexion of her skin. She slips them on and goes to fetch her necklace. She isn’t sure that she needs a necklace at all. The collar of her dress is eye-catching enough with its line of glimmering rubies. The entirety of the dress is adorned with many zigzagging fingers of that same electric blue. It starkly contrasts the bright red silk of the dress and glitters in the light. 

She wears her hair up and spices it up with blue and red glitter. It is slightly curled. Her mother has worked the better part of the evening to style it for her before wandering off to check on Zuko--who, with the help of their father, should be in his tux. 

She hasn’t yet seen her entire ensemble, but assumes that it suits her better than her homecoming dress did and she is glad that she hadn’t wasted wearing it then.

Azula closes stands before the mirror for a very long time with her eyes closed. The skin beneath her fingers is still so rough and somewhat lumpy. It alleviates her nervous anticipation none. 

She lets a few more moments pass her by before she opens her eyes. She both wishes she hadn’t and wishes that she had done it sooner. She wishes mostly, that she would have looked at herself earlier, that she would have given herself time to get used to the damage dealt. Most of the scar tissue is gathered on her cheek left cheek; a long and thin raised line where the blade had once dragged. In some places there are still lumps. Small lumps, but bumps sizable enough to be noticed with ease. Strangely contrasting the lumps, that cheek is sunken. Far too thin. Thin enough to make her look almost malnourished.  

Though the scar tissue is less on the right side of her face, she thinks that, that side looks profoundly more horrific. It is just as thin, perhaps moreso, and makes her wish that she still had her babyfat. At least then she had looked healthy. She considers for the first time, and all too late, that the puffiness that she had hated so much was perfectly natural.

Movement on that side is still terribly limited, rendering that half of her face slack. It is that slackness that seems to create the lack of symmetry. 

Azula’s stomach lurches, she never did like asymmetry, it always made her headache. It instilled within her this unbearable desire to recreate the symmetry and her head would throb until she did. But, God, she can’t create symmetry on her face. 

She wraps her arms around herself, leans against the wall, and slides to the floor. She had expected to dislike her new face, but she hadn’t expected it to make her feel physically sick. She lets out a small, gasping sob.  

She should have waited until after the festival to ruin her night. 

She feels queasy and anxious and suddenly it seems like a trick or a joke that Katara wants to spend any time with her, much less take her on a first date to a festival. 

“Azula!” She hears her mother shout. She tries to pacify herself. “Katara is here.” 

She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and stands up, her stance is unsteady and somewhat weak as she makes her way towards the door. By the time she reaches the staircase, Katara is already halfway up it. She greets Azula with a bright smile, those big blue eyes seeming to sparkle under the chandelier’s light. Her dress is more practical with long sleeves and a long train, made of navy blue velvet. It is simpler than Azula’s own having only a few faux diamonds at the neckline and a trim of fake white fur on the sleeves and at the hem. Still, the dress is lovely and it fits her better than any excess glitz could ever. 

She wears her hair down in deep brown waves. Thin strands of her bangs are held back with two small, pearl hair combs. A few more pearls are weaved into her hair, Azula can’t tell if they are genuine.  

“Hi Azula. You look nice tonight.” 

Azula doesn’t believe that, not for a second. But she believes that Katara does and she says as much. 

“Are you ready to go?” Katara asks.

“I need to put some makeup on.” 

She must sound terribly glum. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Azula insists. 

“Let me help you with your makeup?

Azula nods. “I hope that you’re amazingly skilled with makeup because…” 

“I promise, it won’t take that much makeup to make you look beautiful.” She takes a limp Azula into a hug. Her head hangs over Katara’s shoulder as the girl rubs her back. 

“You can say what you really think.” Azula informs softly. “I already know…”

“I am saying what I really think.” Katara holds her ground. “That dress looks nice on you.” 

“It would look nicer on someone who has a flattering face to go with it.” She folds her arms over her chest. 

Katara’s expression darkens and that enthusiastic glimmer in her eyes is gone. “I thought that you were done with that…” 

“Yes. But then I actually saw what it looked like.”

Katara’s eyes go momentarily wide. “You mean that tonight is the first time you’ve seen your face since the surgery?”

Azula gives a slow and forlorn nod. 

“Oh, Azula.” She almost sounds like her mother. “What are we going to do with you?” She adds a small and sad laugh. 

“Fix my face?” Azula mumbles. “It’s gross.” 

Katara takes her by the shoulders and moves her so that she can look into her eyes. “I don’t want to change you, Azula. I don’t have any trouble looking at your face. Sokka doesn’t either. Chan and Tylee… and Mai. I think that you’re the only person who thinks that it looks gross.” Before Azula can open her mouth Katara adds, “Jet’s opinion doesn’t count and Yue’s we can consider but…”

“It’s questionable.” Azula finishes she forces a laugh. “I’m skeptical of anything Yue says.” She stands and beckons for Katara to follow her to her bedroom.

“I promise, you look fine. Your face doesn’t bother anyone that matters.”

“It bothers me.” 

“I think that you just have to get used to it.” Katara guesses. She picks up two lipsticks. “Which one do you want?”

Azula points at the bright red, Katara is already applying it when it occurs to her that such a bold choice in color will draw unwanted attention to her face. She hopes that the lipstick will be bright enough to keep their focus on her lips rather than her ravaged cheeks.

“You don’t understand.” She says after Katara swaps out the lipstick for some eyeliner. Katara quirks a brow and Azula takes that as her cue to continue. “Look at my room.” She gives her girlfriend a chance to take it in. It’s immaculate cleanliness and the tedious and orderly fashion in which all of her belongings are arranged from the alignment of her shelves, dressers, and bed to the collection of trophies on her dresser and crystals on her nightstand.  Even the stuffed pandas on her bed and the fairy lights wrapped around the bed posts are perfectly straight. There is an impeccable balance about the room. “It’s all symmetrical or at least balanced. Everything is where it is supposed to be.”

“I can tell.” Katara replies. “You’d hate Sokka’s room.” She dabs some eyeshadow gently atop Azula’s lids. 

“I don’t like when things are lopsided or out of place. It hurts my head. It’s like this itch that won’t go away until I straighten whatever it is up. I can’t do that with my face. It’s literally going to drive me insane.” 

Katara puts the makeup brushes aside and takes Azula’s hands. “You’re going to be fine.” She looks around the room. “How about this, you can wear one of those masquerade half-masks to the festival. You family has crazy cash, I’m sure that your dad could buy you a bunch of those masks until you’re comfortable looking at your face again.” She seems to grow more excited with each word. “It could be your thing! I don’t know anyone else who spices up their school uniform with a mask. I’m sure Pathik would make an exception to the dress code for you. He likes you.” 

“I guess that, that could work.” Azula replies. She picks up the mask that came with her dress and slips it over her face.”

“But since it was my idea I want you to do something for me.” 

Azula rolls her eyes. “What?”

“Just promise me that you’ll look at your face, without the mask, at least once a day. Even if it’s just when you brush your teeth or comb your hair in the morning.” 

“Perhaps.” 

“You have to get used to seeing yourself like this. I don’t want you to have to cover your face forever.” She pauses. “I want you to appreciate yourself for who you are. For that to happen, you’re going to have to…” 

“Accept it first.” Azula finishes. She inhales deeply and removes the mask once more. “I’m still going to steal your mask idea though.” 

“You really like attention, don’t you?”

“I like to...make myself known.” She clarifies. “I feel like people will remember the person who comes to school wearing a different mask every other day.” 

“Every other day?” 

“Yes.” Azula says. “I’ll tolerate looking at the asymmetry for a day and then I’ll give myself a break from that. Is that a problem.” 

“No!” Katara says quickly. “That’s...that’s actually more than I thought you’d be willing to do.”

“You thought that I was going to be dramatic about this didn’t you?” 

“You were definitely dramatic. ‘It’s literally going to drive me insane’.” Zuko mocks from in the doorway. Azula chucks her mask at him. “Jesus.” He rubs his arm, that goofy grin never leaves his face. 

“I thought that you’d want to take baby steps, is all.” Katara answers. 

Azula crinkles her nose. “If I’m going to do something, I’m going to put a real effort in.” She turns back to Zuko. “Where’s Mai?”

“Fussing with Tom-Tom again. You two are probably going to have to meet me there.”

“You’re our ride, dumb dumb.” Azula collects her mask and finds her favorite perfume; a rose fragrance in a dragon shaped bottle. “Do you want a spray.” 

Katara holds up a different perfume with a seashell bottle, “I’d like to try this one.”

“Go on.” 

While she is there, she might as well start now; she takes another breath and spares the mirror a look as she gives the perfume bottle a few pumps. 

.oOo.

“It’s beautiful!” TyLee gasps. “It’s been such a long time since I really looked at the stars.”

“Your gymnastics season is almost over, yes?” Azula asks. 

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“You can follow Katara and I to the astronomy club.” 

“Oh yeah! I could do that!” She replies. 

“Do you guys want to try candle making?” Zuko cuts in, he jabs his thumb in the direction of an activity stall. 

Mai shrugs, “I’ll tag along.” 

“I like scented candles.” TyLee tugs Chan towards the stall. 

Azula exchanges a look with Katara, “do you want to make one together.” 

“I’d like that.” She smiles. 

Azula finds that she likes working with the wax, it warms her hands as she shapes the candle. Katara had insisted that they use blue wax and let Azula pick the shape. Ultimately she decides to make a simple pillar candle. She fades different shades of blue wax into each other while Katara etches in stars of silver glitter. It smells of blueberry and ocean spray. Both Yue and TyLee have created candles of pink; TyLee’s is a bubblegum scented pastel and Yue’s a bright pink, peach smelling abomination. It grows worse still when Kei Lo adds a touch of red apple. 

Expectedly, Mai insists on a black candle that smells of licorice and cherry.

“Where’s your brother anyways?” Azula asks. 

“He and Suki wanted to do a little holiday shopping before coming here, that’s why I told them to drop me off at your place.” 

“And Aang?” 

“I think that he and Teo are trying to convince Toph to come. She says that she gets tired of pointing at random spots in the sky and claiming to see aliens.” 

“She knows that there are other things to do here, right?” 

Katara shrugs and then takes a step back to look at their candle. “I think that we’re done.” 

Azula moves it to the drying rack to be picked up at the candle lighting hour. Katara takes Azula’s hand, “why aren’t you wearing gloves?” She asks.

“They don’t match my dress.”

“Your hands are freezing!” She exclaims. “Take my gloves or let’s go get a cup of hot chocolate. Geeze, my mom would kill me if I came out here without gloves!”

“I’m not cold.” Azula denies. 

“You are too.” Katara huffs. “You’re shivering.” 

Azula gives a soft and stubborn pout. “I’m fine.” She insists, her words accented by teeny puffs of fog that do little to help her case. The smoky wisps trail in brief bursts towards the sky. She watches them drift, fading away before they can even reach the strings of soft gold lights that connect one food stall to the next. The strings of light bob in the same snowy gust that shakes the paper lanterns.  She supposes that the atmosphere is very pleasing. Beneath her feet, the ground is a mess of star shaped confetti and silver glitter, not that the glitter is necessary with the natural sparkle of the snow accumulating on the ground.

Every twelve feet or so is a small fire where people gather and warm their hands. Katara is pulling her in the direction of one of them. She rustles around in her oversized backpack and pulls out a blanket. “Here, take this.” She wraps it around Azula and steals a look at the nearest food stall. Azula slips her a handful of cash. She gives Azula a brief hug and makes her way to the stall. 

Azula sits there listening to the crackle and pop of the flames. She supposes that she is happy to be wrapped in the blanket. Her hands were beginning to grow red. Katara returns with two steaming cups of hot chocolate. “S’mors?” She offers, gesturing to the sticks. 

“Yes, that sounds nice.” 

As Azula sips her drink, Katara twirls two marshmallows over the flames. 

.oOo. 

Azula is rather quiet and Katara has trouble gauging her mood. She is fairly certain that the girl is content. At the very least, her teeth aren’t chattering anymore. Katara doesn’t think that she has ever seen someone get so cold so fast. 

She watches the girl tinker with her telescope and then with her own. If only having one free hand is slowing her down, she sure doesn’t show it. Azula looks up from her work and Katara can finally gauge her emotions. She does look rather elated, more so than Katara has seen her look in a while. 

They are only minutes away from Sozin’s comet passing. Katara looks down from the top of the hill; from top to bottom it is alit with hundreds of flickering candles. A sea of twinkling flames and thin wisps of smoke. 

“We’re all set.” Azula notes. 

Katara can’t imagine how thrilled the girl must be to finally see the spectacle that gave her family such an esteemed name. 

“Sozin’s comet will be the first to fall and then the rest of them should appear.” Azula remarks with more enthusiasm than Katara has ever heard in her voice. Every now and again she leans into the telescope. Katara decides that it is best to make her way over to her own. 

It happens quickly; a flash of brilliant orange in the sky as the comet flares into view. It is humbling to view such an old object. One that very well could have been around since the dawn of man. From such a distance it looks so small. Even still it is beautiful to behold with its fiery tail and the trail of dust and debris it leaves behind. Katara follows it with her telescope until it dips below the horizon and out of view. 

It was such a fleeting moment, but then, the most glorious moments usually are. A second or two of splendor, a minute at most and then all is ordinary once more. She supposes that the universe knows that beauty is best appreciated when it is a rarity to be seen. Even so, the moment isn’t entirely over. 

Just as Azula noted, the sky becomes crowded with many falling stars. A rain of them that leave silver-blue lines in their wake like contrails of an aeroplane.

“Wow this is…” 

“Magnificent.” Azula finishes.

Katara thinks that there is no better word. 

She feels arms wrap around her torso and a blanket falling over her shoulders. Azula isn’t quite tall enough to rest her had in the crook of Katara’s neck so she presses her mostly healed left cheek against her back. 

Content to finally see Azula initiating physical contact for once, Katara doesn’t move. Not until it occurs to her that her girlfriend is slightly trembling again.  

“Let me warm you up?” She offers. 

Azula takes a step back. Katara takes her blanket and wraps it around herself. She then takes Azula into a hug and wraps the blanket around the both of them. Azula peers up at her, snow clings to her lashes. Katara never realized how small the girl was until then. She gives Azula a cheerful smile.

The comets still burst overhead, she can see them reflected in Azula’s eyes as the girl stares up at them. She doesn’t want to interrupt her viewing, but at the same time, she craves their first real kiss. So she cups Azula’s less delicate cheek and leans in. 

Azula doesn’t flinch or draw back as Katara had anticipated. The girl closes her eyes and lets Katara guide her through what she assumes is the girl’s first real kiss. Katara can’t tell if Azula’s face is rosey with the cold or because she has never been kissed before. 

No matter, she seems to be at peace. 

She sniffles.

“Let’s look at the comets for a few more minutes and then get inside before you get yourself sick.” Katara suggests.

“I’m fine.” Azula insists, but she doesn’t protest when Katara begins to pack away their equipment and she doesn’t put up a fight when Katara begins tugging her towards the banquet hall. 

Katara herself is relieved to be out of the cold, she was beginning to shiver herself. She watches Azula wander over to the chocolate fountain where she greets TyLee who has a rather absurd amount of chocolate covered fruit already gathered. Chan says something and the three of them laugh. She wishes that she could have heard it but she is thrilled to see Azula in such good spirits, especially after seeing her look so dismal and beat down. 

“She seems happy.” Mai notes. 

Katara nods. 

“What did you do to  her?” Zuko flashes an amused grin. 

“I gave her some hot chocolate and a blanket...and then a kiss.” 

“Hey, thanks for doing this for her.” Zuko says. “She really needed a good night like this. Even if she doesn’t tell you, it means a lot to her.” 

“I know.” Katara smiles. “I can tell.”

[twinfoxtails]

"What do you think~? Trick or treat~"

Modern Nyalter has come to tease. She's dressed up as a demon nun and... this outfit is really... quite something, huh? She's even gone with extra asymmetry on her shoulders to seem more demonic! Actually it's so that she can handle her prosthetic easier, since all she has to do now is slot something over it without worrying about putting on a tight top, but hush-

"I've been a bad girl, Father Fu-chan~ Going to punish me~? I'm a much naughtier girl than the other sister you've dealt with, even though she was an excitable pirate~"

Nyalter stop please-

"Okay, joking aside... What do you think~? Does it suit me~? I even got this big silver cross... thing. Bit heavy... I think I could probably use it to concuss anyone who makes inappropriate advances. Sorry I couldn't get something to match your outfit, so I went with this instead."

"I know you have a stream but... do you have some free time? I wanted to spend some time with you too. Do you want to have some chocolate together? I brought some with me. Kit Kats."

"Eh... wow, umm... You look..."

REALLY REVEALING. Those hips are the size of a TRUCK but that's kind of expected from Nyalter at this point.

"You even got a giant cross to clobber people with... talk about acting the part, huh? I won't be surprised if you gain a bit of muscles after today, or at least, muscle aches."

HE WON'T BE ABLE TO CARRY SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR SURE.

"That said... It's kind of the 'sexy nun' look, but it's decent! And sure, I do have some free time! I just hope I won't gain some weight from eating too much chocolate-..."

[gold3nladybug]

Let's build a Legacy Deck

I do a lot of thinking about magic; you've possibly realised that, since I post long diatribes about what the game means to me on a somewhat regular basis. However, I'm not really very... let's say creative in how I approach the game. I'm not looking to explore new ground, I'm mostly trying to be as good at this game as I possibly can be. I'm pretty competitive, but my motivation isn't really winning - it's more about improving.

Legacy is a beautiful format. Not just the cards themselves, but the complexity, diversity and unbelievable skill ceilings that you can strive to attain playing these cards. I always feel like there is so much more I can learn, so many things I can improve. The level of mastery that could be achieved with these cards is seemingly endless.

So it is only fitting that we start here:

Mercadian Masques is the best Brainstorm. Don't @ me.

Now, beyond that, it's actually not that easy to branch out too far. There is a very real, very challenging financial barrier to playing this amazing format (and indeed all non-rotating formats share this problem to some degree). I own a handful of blue duals, and that unlocks a certain subset of the format for me. I bought them over the course of a year or so, and they were much, much cheaper than they are now. I doubt I'll ever be able to justify buying more, and since I don't have the quantity of duals necessary for some decks, and I own zero Tropical Islands, that subset actually isn't that large. I also don't really own any of the cards to play non-brainstorm decks - no Death & Taxes, no Eldrazipost, no Lands, no Quinn the Eskimo (yup, that's a real deck name. Give it a google, its delightful).

So, I own Tundras. That means that in Legacy, I'm pretty much always playing Miracles. My collection supports that. But that isn't really where I think I wanna be right now

Beautiful.

Stoneblade has had a bit of a renaissance recently, putting up good finishes at a high level because someone recently decided "I think I should play Death's Shadow in Legacy" and almost won the Pro Tour. Decks that play white mana have a pretty solid answer to that, and Stoneblade's ability to switch strategies between defender and aggressor is really valuable. I loved Miracles with Sensei's Divining Top, but the deck was a problem, and without that card it can't always claim inevitably. You need to win the game somehow, and Batterskull is a pretty solid somehow. But it can't do it alone.

Here's the rest of the team.

Snapcaster Mage is a ridiculous magic card. There are a lot of good instants and sorceries, y'all. In a format like legacy, though, playing the full four copies can sometimes be a liability, especially if you don't have cards like Lightning Bolt that can let you convert excess mages into a noncommittal, one size fits all kinda spell. All the cards I have are pretty specialized, and Snapcaster Mage can be all of them. Absolutely wild. I hear Tiago Chan, the winner of the invitational that led to this card, became a professional wrestler.

Wild.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor set the gold standard for what a Planeswalker could be. It feels like a privilege to be able to play with this card sometimes. One thing that I find interesting, is that in my experience I am vastly more willing to +2 Jace as my main plan than others. I get that Brainstorming is awesome and all, but the elevator going up is pretty cool too. It doesn't create numerical advantage, but using Jace's fate seal can create a lot of qualitive advantage and also let's you use an ability that wins the game. I'm a fan.

Vendilion Clique, though, might just be one of my favourite magic cards. It does a whole lot of very cool things, the most important of which to me is create informational asymmetry. This game would be a lot easier if you knew all the cards your opponent had, and usually that means you have to play cards like Thoughtseize. But that card is gross. Also, don't sleep on using Clique to send one of your own cards away, especially if that card is an equipment that you can find with your stoneforge mystic.

Lastly, we have True-Name Nemesis. This card isn't always good, but when it is it's the best card in your deck. If creatures attacking or blocking matters in a game, there is no card that does either that is better for its cost than TNN. My copies are the only cards in my deck that are altered or signed, and I normally like having things be really consistent in my constructed decks, but you can see Zack Stella's beautiful signature. Can you blame me?

So that is how I'm going to win. How am I going to not lose?

Death's Shadow matches up so poorly against Swords to Plowshares, like damn. My pick for the most outrageous removal spell of all time, even with Assassin's Trophy coming down the pipeline, Swords to Plowshares solves so many problems. A lot of this post is just me gushing about these cards, and I understand that might not be the most engaging thing to read, but I really do just love so many of them.

The rest of these spells are broadly about patching holes up. One of the amazing things about Brainstorm is that you get to see a lot of cards each game, so having a few discrete answers to unusual problems can pay a lot of dividends. Council's Judgment and Enginnered Explosives can answer weird permanents that might otherwise beat me, and Supreme Verdict (though sometimes weird in a deck that wants to put creatures on the battlefield) will occasionally just bail you out. And while it might sound funny, it really is relevant that it is blue sometimes.

This is also the best counterspell art. Still don't @ me.

Force of Will is a bit of a weird card, because in a perfect world I wouldn't even want to play it. It is clunky, puts you down cards a lot of the time and is a massive hassle to play for retail. But also, sometimes Force is the only thing standing between you and rampant degeneracy. People play Belcher in this format! It is the glue that holds the format together.

And then we get to this, and I start to question if I actually know what I'm doing. Sometimes I make these really calculated choices, trying to eke out the smallest possible advantage. Other times I think to myself "yeah, that seems right" and this is one of those times. Flusterstorm is a really powerful, versatile piece of interaction that comes with inbuilt protection and scales throughout the turn. Great with Snapcaster Mage, but absolutely worthless some of the time. People play Chalice of the Void in this format!

Spell Snare is hyper specialized, but it does a lot of things that Flusterstorm can't. There are a legion of incredibly powerful, diverse threats that exist at 2cmc in this format; Baleful Strix, Hymn to Tourach, Tarmogoyf, Sylvan Library, enemy Snapcaster Mage, Counterbalance, Exhume, Infernal Tutor, etc, etc. Snare stops them all cold, but only them.

Spell Pierce is the middle ground, the bridge between two entirely different points of view. It's kinda boring, but its pretty okay at standing in for both of the other's jobs. Spell Pierce never wins employee of the month, but I hope it knows I appreciate it.

One last spell in the main deck, and its Search for Azcanta.

X marks the Spot! I play with checklist cards almost exclusively for any DFC cards that I use, even if I'm 100% sure the sleeves I'm using are completely opaque. It is way better to be safe than sorry, and I also like not needing to actually take my card out of the sleeve to flip it when I can have the real card off to the side in an inner to place on the board when I need it.

Once, when I was playing two Azcanta in a standard deck, I asked my teammate if I should have two Azcanta sleeved, one flipped and one not, because I couldn't actually have two in the same state on the battlefield. They looked like they wanted to slap me.

After that is just lands, and you probably don't want to see that...

Who are we kidding, the lands in a legacy deck are beautiful

I'm really proud of my legacy manabase.

This is also one of those examples of those really calculated choices, optimising for the smallest possible advantages. It turns out that you're only allowed to play four Flooded Strand, and after that NONE of the fetches get both basic Island and basic Plains. Normally this means a couple of Scalding Tarns, or whatever other blue fetch you have a few copies of, but why not extract the tiniest, most infinitesimal fraction of an advantage. What if they Pithing Needle Scalding Tarn? What if they're monsters who cast Surgical Extractions on random targets to see if they getcha? Well you're not going to get me, because I have insulated myself by playing three different blue fetches and an Arid Mesa.

Otherwise, Karakas is a lovely tech land against any sort of reanimator strategy, while also unlocking all sorts of fun play patterns with Vendilion Clique. Wasteland is playing in a similar space, being a low investment singleton that can be really good in some matchups, but I don't know if I like it. I might play an extra basic over it, we'll see.

But wait, I hear you asking, why are you playing Volcanic Island. You don't have any red cards!

Entirely fair question.

All the way from the sideboard, red cards.

As you might have gathered, there are some pretty amazing blue cards in legacy. I'm not one to let people just get away with playing blue cards. It's a little weird to have a 2/1 split of red blast effects, but it's just one of those micro optimizations. Sometimes they'll have a meddling mage naming Pyroblast, you know? Also, on my wishlist is a black border red elemental blast of some description. My pyroblasts just look so much prettier.

Also I guess I lied about TNN being the only signed card I play. But again, just look at Franz Vohwinkel's signature. Impossible to turn it down.

The rest of the sideboard is pretty easy to break down. A Hydroblast, because we can't let people get away with playing red cards either. An extra Flusterstorm, because it's just a fantastic card that usually gets better after sideboard. People usually have pretty good spells in their decks, and stopping Flusterstorm from countering those spells can be pretty challenging. Disenchant is a pretty good hedge a lot of the time, for a similar reason. People tend to have some high impact enchantments or artifacts kicking around, so I usually want a cheap way to fight that available to me. Containment Priest and the two Surgical Extractions are a concession to the speed and power of reanimation strategies, that also happen to have some really good splash damage against other really powerful strategies. I kind of want to make room for a Rest in Peace, but for now these will serve. Monastery Mentor is just one of those cards that, in a post sideboard game where a lot of the removal is gone and Pyroblasts imperil the battlefield and stack, can take over a game with extreme speed and quickly end it. It could also be something like a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, but there's value in dodging Spell Pierce.

So the only part of this that might be a bit weird is the Spell Queller, Counterbalance package. My thinking is, coming from Miracles, that Counterbalance is sometimes an exceedingly powerful card. And sometimes it's pretty janky. It's hard to truly cut it from the main deck there, because it helps enable so many of the soft synergies in the deck (revealing for Predict, making all the cantrips that much better, finding spots to crack fetch lands for extra value), even though the times that it's bad it is so bad. But here, I've almost got the same amount of cantripping and deck manipulation as I would in Miracles, but my main proactive gameplan is strong enough that I don't need them in my main deck. It's a perfect card to slide into the sideboard, where I can access it both as a value engine for blue pseudo-mirrors and a desperate tool to fight combo as well.

Spell Queller was a card I considered for Vendilion Clique's spot for a long time. They are approximately as vulnerable as each other in the context of the format, but eventually the inability to profitably play it for value proactively gave Clique the nod. But the other main three drop I play kept me thinking about it. When it matters, TNN is exceptional. But when it's bad, there's nothing you want less; True Name feels like such a brick if your opponent is doing something degenerate. It's an easy swap in those situations for this powerful reactive spirit. Like Mentor, dodging Flusterstorm and Spell Pierce is a huge deal in winning counter wars while also transitioning into an aggressive stance. So many important cards are vulnerable to being quelled, and I'm honestly quite excited to play with it.

So... there you have it. That's my legacy deck. It's not perfect, and I'm sure before too long I'll end up putting Terminus back in here and going back to Miracles. It's hard to change decks in Legacy, and not just because of the price. These cards really do feel special, like you're playing with important pieces in the history of a really great, really important game. I hope I get to keep playing Legacy for a long, long time.

[tigibopper]

The she-

[architectnews]

Kauhale Kai, The Big Island Hawaii

Kauhale Kaia The Big Island, Hawaii Property, Luxury House Photos, Architecture Development

Kauhale Kai on The Big Island, Hawaii

May 5, 2021

Kauhale Kai Residence on The Big Island Hawaii

Design: de Reus Architects

Location: The Big Island, Hawaii, Central Pacific, United States of America

Kauhale Kai design by de Reus Architects

The Big Island, Hawaii

This private residence sits within the Mauna Kea Resort on the island of Hawai’i, a place full of memories for the client who recalls family vacations to the famous hotel. The clients share an affinity for Hawai’i and Polynesia, for modern art and design, and for the beauty of natural materials and craftsmanship. They enlisted the firm to design a modern tropical home that their family would enjoy for years to come.

The design solution balances traditional forms including prominent hipped roofs identified in the design guidelines for this coastal community, while translating the spirit of Polynesian cultures through a modern sense of restraint. On a site privileged by nature, immediately above Kauna’oa Bay, this home is organized as a series of modern tropical pavilions, which together conjure the impression of a small village.

The 9,902-square-foot residence’s hipped roofs are the most visible expression of its organization. The 47,337-square-foot site plan expresses an idealized diagram of spatial order. The experience of living amid the pavilions and gardens is shaped by the integrated tension of the rustic alongside the elegant, asymmetry against symmetry, and the casual with the formal. The residence is enhanced by the drama of natural stone, metal, and water elements.

The main gathering hale is one unified space with living area, kitchen, and open pantry. Interior finish materials include cedar ceilings, local ohia hardwood cabinetry, sand grain veneer plaster, travertine, and ohia floors. The owner wanted a floating glass-walled dining room, which was created with ten-foot-tall steel and glass sliding doors which are housed between coral-clad columns.

Water surrounds this pavilion, then cascades into the pool below. Pools and water features are integrated throughout the plan, merging the natural and built environments.

An outdoor living pavilion echoes the stepped ceiling forms and columns of the dining pavilion, reminiscent of those in the Majapahit culture of Bali. The two pavilions are visually connected by a shade trellis that features a center oculus over a circular water feature, the center—axis mundi—of the home.

The master pavilion houses study, bedroom, sitting room, dressing areas, indoor baths, a bath garden, and view lanai. Outside this pavilion, on axis with the pool, an antique Balinese door is framed by Hawai’ian basalt stone.

Exterior materials include copper shingles, steel doors and windows, integral-color cement plaster, cedar eaves, coral-clad columns, and travertine pavers. We selected materials that would be low maintenance and long lasting in this tropical marine environment. Solar panels are located out of sight atop the garage pavilion.

Kauhale Kai, The Big Island Hawaii – Building Information

de Reus Architects design team

Mark de Reus, Project Architect

Jason Alden, Project Manager

Ian Glass, Job Captain

Project team

Architect: de Reus Architects

Structural Engineer: GFDS Engineers

Mechanical Engineer: Prepose Engineering Systems, Inc.

Electrical Engineer: Lighting & Engineering Integrated, Inc.

Landscape: David Y. Tamura Associates, Inc.

Lighting: KGM Architectural Lighting

Interior designer: Saint Dizier Design

Photographer: Joe Fletcher

Materials/Products

Sun Valley Bronze

Fleetwood Doors and Windows

Natural Ohia trellis, screens and floors

Kauhale Kai, The Big Island Hawaiii images / information received 050521

Location: Kauai, Hawaii, Central Pacific, USA

New Hawaii Buildings

Contemporary Hawaii Architectural Projects

Hawaii Architecture Designs – chronological list

A recent Hawaii house on e-architect:

Clifftop House Maui Design: dekleva gregorič arhitekti photo © Cristobal Palma Contemporary House in Hawaii

Another Hawaii property on e-architect:

New Residence in Hawaii Design: Belzberg Architects photographs : Benny Chan (Fotoworks), Belzberg Architects Kona Residence

Barack Obama Presidential Center in Hawaii

Tommy Bahama Honolulu Restaurant in Waikiki

Hawaii Buildings

American Houses

New Houses

American Architecture

American Architect

Comments for the Kauhale Kai, The Big Island Hawaii page welcome

Website: The Big Island, Hawaii

The post Kauhale Kai, The Big Island Hawaii appeared first on e-architect.

[watanukisglasses]

I just saw this @yure-chan xD Thanks for taggin’ me :D

Rule: Put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs

Ok, here we go...

West End Girls — Pet Shop Boys

 In The Garden of Sinners — Yuki Kajiura

The Boy With the Thorn on His Side — The Smiths

Karma Chameleon — Culture Club

Sprinter — Kalafina

Enjoy The Silence — Depeche Mode

Carrie — Europe

Asymmetry — Suga Shikao

Solitude Standing — Suzanne Vega

M15+16+17 —Yuki Kajiura

Random playlist xD Thanks again for tagging me Yure-chan!

[enstaries]

Shinobu admiring Mika for bravely showing his heterochromia eyes even if he's uncomfortable about them. Shinobu himself is too self-conscious to reveal his left eye even though there's nothing abnormal about it. These thoughts of mine lead to the creation of this ship. Can I get some headcanons for these two cuties?

im glad you thought of this rare pair aaa i really love it!!! i wrote hcs for them some time ago, but im building on your idea to write some shinomika fluff 

 Mika plays with his bangs. “Hmm, maybe I should grow it out, yeah?”

  "What do you want to grow out, de gozaru?“ As Shinobu walks beside his boyfriend, happily licking away at his soft ice cone, his head cocks with the question.

  "Huh? Ah, was just thinking about growing out my hair like yours, Shino-chan,” explains Mika. His fingers leave his hair, and reach over for Shinobu’s hand. “Shino-chan looks cute in that hairstyle, after all.”

  "Is that so? That makes me happy, de gozaru!“ Shinobu blushes a little. “But I think Mika-dono looks very cute in his current hairstyle too! It would be a shame to grow it out, de gozaru.”

  "Hmm…“

  The two walk in silence along the dimly-lit street. Shinobu continues enjoying his soft ice, not fully aware of how deep in thought Mika is.

  "Hey, hey, Shino-chan.” Mika drops Shinobu’s hand to cover his own eyes. “Which one looks better? Blue-” he lifts his left hand to reveal his startling blue eye “-or yellow?”

  He covers his eye again, but this time lifts his right hand to show off his bright yellow eye. Shinobu cocks his head.

  "What do you mean, de gozaru? Both of your eyes look great.“

  "Uh uh, that’s not true. Shino-chan, you have a complex about your eyes too, don’t ya? I thought you’d understand too.”

  Shinobu’s face warms. “T-that’s because my left eye is really ugly, de gozaru. A ninja shouldn’t reveal the entirety of his face too, nin nin.”

  “I don’t wanna reveal the entirety of my face too, Shino-chan.” Mika sighs. “Everyone looks at me like some kinda freak, ya know.”

  "What are you saying, de gozaru? That is far from the truth, Mika-dono! Your heterochromia is a very unique and beautiful part of you! I don’t know much about fashion, but I think asymmetry is very trendy now, de gozaru!“

  Mika shakes his head. “Even so, it’s weird. I don’t like it. Sometimes, I even wanna take Oshi-san’s scissors and stab right into one of my e-”

  "Eek! P-p-please don’t do that, Mika-dono!“ That one sentence alone terrifies Shinobu beyond reconciliation; tears well up and dribble down his cheeks. He flings himself at his boyfriend, and now Mika’s uniform is wet. "Don’t stab yourself, Mika-dono! D-don’t do it, I beg of you!”

  Now Mika feels guilty, and he awkwardly pats at Shinobu’s head. “Y-yeah, I’m sorry, I won’t do that.”

  Shinobu sniffs. “Promise?”

  "I promise.“

  Just like that, the terror seeps away from Shinobu, and he returns to licking his soft ice to pacify himself. "I’m relieved to hear that, de gozaru. I don’t want anything bad to happen to Mika-dono, de gozaru.”

  "Aw, Shino-chan, you’re too nice.“

  "No, no, not at all!” Shinobu propels himself into the air and does a 360 degree flip with his soft ice, and lands neatly on his two feet. He turns back and smiles at Mika, who claps in awe. “It is the duty of a ninja to protect the one they are loyal to. Therefore, do not fear, de gozaru. If anyone is mean to you because of your beautiful, beautiful asymmetrical eyes, I will be here to protect you. So call on me anytime, Mika-dono!”

  Shinobu smiles a smile brimming with life, and goes back to licking his soft ice again; as if he didn’t just make Mika fall for him ten times harder.

[svavisualliteracy-blog]

The Key by Timothy Chan

Assignment: Experiment by using a key to investigate the following design principles: cropping, symmetry, asymmetry, touching, isolation, scale, overlapping, patterning, space, contrast, repetition, and addressing the background.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Mutilated Mannequin (Part 15)

“Just give it a few more days.” Ozai insists. “Dr. Koh said that the swelling can last up to two weeks.” 

But each passing day leaves her feeling less and less like damage can be repaired. “Dr. Koh doesn’t know what he’s doing!” Azula snaps. 

“Will you be careful.” Ozai growls and then, some softer, “You’re going to damage your cheeks.”

“Already done!” She ignores the searing pain in her left cheek that flares up with her outburst. Perhaps if she begins gushing blood, he will take her to the hospital and they will confirm to him what she already knows. 

The week has nearly closed and her face is just as swollen as before, if not, more so. “Take me to a doctor. A real doctor.” 

“Azula, just give yourself some time to heal…” He pours himself a cup of coffee. “In a few days, you will realize how ridiculous you’re being.”

Azula gives a resigned sigh. 

“Now, get yourself ready for school…”

“School? You want me to go to school?” She can’t recall a time when she had so persistently talked back to and raised her voice at her father. “My face hurts so badly that I can’t focus on the TV and you want me to go to school?” 

Ozai inhales through his nose and takes a swig of his coffee. “You went back to school the past few times…” 

“It’s because I lost the elections isn’t it?” 

“What?”

“This is my punishment for losing the elections.” She hoists her shoulder bag on and storms towards the limo without waiting for an answer. Zuko looks up from the homework assignment that he should have finished last night. 

“He’s making you go to school?” 

Azula nods. She fixes her gaze out the window and lets a few blocks roll by before asking, “you told mother about the surgeries.” 

“I thought that she could help.” 

The sentiment is nice so she doesn’t point out that their mother lives on the opposite end of the country. Besides, her mouth is beginning to ache. Zuko silently accompanies her into the building and walks with her to her locker. “I don’t need a babysitter, Zuzu.” She grumbles. 

“I’m just trying to be a supportive big brother.” He flashes a half smile. 

“That support would have been nice during the elections.” Azula notes. “But if I’m not mistaken, you were supporting other candidates.” She shuts her locker with a force. 

“He’s my friend.” Zuko points out, “he helped me out a lot after father fucked my face up.” 

“Well. I’m glad that you know where to find good friends.” She gives a passing thought to the slew of unanswered texts still sitting in her phone. He responds but she isn’t listening, she has a class to get to. 

“We were beginning to think that you died.” Mai comments as Azula slides into her seat. 

“You wouldn’t care if I did.” Ice tinges the low hiss of her voice. She jots down the notes on the board with more force than necessary. Her scrawl on the paper is thick and dark and only grows more so when a particularly harsh jab of pain rockets up the side of her face. 

More than once she vocally winces, her fingers tighten around her pencil. 

A slip of paper slide onto her desk. Cursive and with heart-dotted i’s, it reads, ‘you should go to the nurse’s office.’ She pushes the note aside. She doesn’t know what TyLee thinks that the nurse can do. 

She doesn’t have a doctor’s note to hand Kyoshi, not that it matters, her face is a doctor’s note in itself. She doesn’t approach the instructor and simply finds herself a spot in the bleachers where she sits with her arms folded. The situation itself is aggravating enough without Chan exchanging looks with Ruon after peering over at her.

She watches her classmates run their laps, catching snippets of conversation, mostly consisting of complaints about how twelve laps is overkill and how Kyoshi needs to cool it. Yue is the most vocal about this. By lap four the conversation takes a new direction, “it’s a shame, she was pretty.” A nod from Jet.

Azula grips the edge of the bleachers. 

She hears soft panting and the slowing of feet. The bleachers creak as someone comes to join her. Sokka holds out a water bottle. She gives it only a blank stare. 

“Want it?”

She shakes her head.

She doesn’t know what he is trying to accomplish; perhaps something that can be regarded with an, ‘it’s the thought that counts’. 

.oOo.

By lunch, her cheek is throbbing incessantly. Azula tries to ignore it as she scopes out a table She isn’t sure if the invitation still stands. She decides that they will just kick her out if she isn’t welcomed. 

“You didn’t miss too much in astronomy.” Katara informs. 

“The class or the club?” Azula asks, silently thankful that the discussion hasn’t been opened with a remark about her face. 

“Both, actually.” Katara replies. “Pathik asked me to tell you that he missed seeing you.” 

Azula absently picks through her lunch, “that makes one person.” 

“I missed having you there too.”

“You did?” Azula furrows her brows. 

“Yue is much more unbearable when I have no one to complain about her with.” Katara flinches. “Sorry, I keep forgetting that you’re friends with her.” 

“Don’t worry, I do too.” She grumbles. 

“I think that TyLee is worried about you.” 

“She wasn’t so worried before…” her speech collapses into a sharp but soft cry. Her vision blurs some. She props her arms up on the table and presses the heels of her hands into her forehead. The throbs are branching out and causing a beating in her skull. 

She feels an arm drape over her shoulder. 

“She needs to go home.” She hears Suki comment. 

“You wanna go home?” Toph asks. 

Azula nods. She wants that very much but can barely find it in her to stand. 

The arm that drapes over her shoulder now provides support in getting Azula to her feet. She slings her own arm over Katara’s shoulder. Another body comes to her aid. At the tang of ashy cologne, she pushes it away. “I’ll take the floor before I take your help.” She spits.

“No you won’t.” Chan grumbles. 

She doesn’t have much fight left in her. The pain is maddening. 

.oOo. 

A new doctor, a real doctor, removes the bandages that clothe her face. Her body is completely rigid. She tries not to interpret the woman’s expression one way or another, but as far as she can tell, it doesn’t look good. 

“She’s fine, yes?” Ozai asks. Despite being in the room over, she can hear him as though he were standing next to her. “This one is just taking a bit longer to recover because it was a bigger surgery.” 

“Mr. Kasai, a well done cosmetic surgery job should never swell that much.” 

Azula cringes.

“It shouldn’t hurt that much either. A persistent ten is never a good sign.” 

Azula lies back in the exam chair, hands clasped over her belly, and stares at the humming fluorescent lights. 

“We can’t say for sure without further tests, but based on the symptoms she described and sight alone, we speculate seroma and some nerve damage.”

Azula’s eyes well up at nerve damage and still the woman continues, “aesthetically, there is some asymmetry as well.”

The buzz of the lights is more apparent in the quiet to follow. 

“Mr. Kasai, you’re lucky that the surgery didn’t result in thrombosis or hematoma.” 

She thinks that he might have hit or punched something. Her head his whirring with a force to match the sound of the fluorescent bulbs. 

“We’re going to take her in to see just how severe the nerve damage is and if it can be reversed.”

“And if it can’t?” 

“Then she will have lost feeling in the right side of her face.”

She can’t imagine that, that will help with the asymmetry of her face. She clenches her hands, she always did hate asymmetry. From the sound of it, her own face is going to drive her mad. But then, had it not already done so?

“Alright, Ms. Kasai, there are a few things that we’d like to discuss with you.” The doctor enters the room. 

“You talk loud. Can we just get to the part where I find out how bad it is?”

The doctor’s face is stern. “The sooner the better, I suppose. We’ll begin testing as soon as the equipment is prepared.”  She pauses. “I am going to go check on that.” With a nod, she excuses herself. 

Azula sits up, her gaze never leaves the thumbs that twiddle in her lap. 

“I was thinking of buying you a new…” 

“I don’t want it.” 

“Azula.”

“I don’t want anything from you.” 

“I was just trying to make things easier for you.” Ozai states. “Job interviewers are more inclined to hire an attractive client, it’s easier to make friends…”

“I had more friends when I was ugly.” She spits, turning her head. She recoils when her cheek brushes against the exam chair. 

Even her father winces, though she can’t tell if it is at her pain or her words. 

“This was a mistake.” She chokes out. “It was a mistake…” She has been a fool. A fool to let him push her to get the surgeries and a bigger fool to trick herself into believing that they could help her make friends. That they could fix what is truly broken within her.