#koru receives

[mysoulusesumbrellasinthesun]

I have decided that the Lalondes are Maori and furthermore I am more correct about this than anyone has ever been.

My evidence:

Rose

Engaged in a battle with her mother of who can say the most eloquent (and longest) karakia because she always hated saying them so now tries to continuously one up her mother by being slightly more precise with hers. Dinner is always an hour late because of this.

Despises the insistence of motherhood in Maori folklore (especially ones her mother teaches her) and finds them to be incredibly stifling.

She hates doing kapa haka and hates that women cannot do a full haka, so she puts on a one woman performance herself when she is young during a “ridiculous” matariki celebration her mother was putting on, and did a male haka by herself. Mom found this extremely adorable and insists on playing the video every Matariki, which Rose hates.

Her favorite nursery rhyme growing up was “One Day a Taniwha”

Rose loves taniwha, though she acts like she doesn’t.

On the meteor she wishes she had actually learned about her culture with her mother when she had the chance instead of only engaging with it ironically and feels very separate from the others on the meteor because of it.

After she is on the meteor towards the end of homestuck I think she reconciles her heritage with her lack of motherliness in the idea of women less as mothers but as powerful dangerous people (a la the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-pō, who kills Maui with her thighs)

She is so annoyed with the lack of taking care of the land when they reach Earth C. She did not really consider Papatuanuku as her mother before but she realizes now after seeing how all the other kids and especially some of the trolls behave, acting like the land is something to be used and discarded she gets extremely annoyed. She, Roxy, and Jade bond over this.

Her mother gave her a Koru pounamu to celebrate her becoming a woman on her first period. She resentented it and refused to wear it, but eventually accepted it and passed it down to Roxy who was overjoyed to receive it.

She instead wears a Hei Tiki pounamu necklace Dave gave to her as a wedding present. She acts aloof about it but anyone who knows her can tell she is deeply moved by the gift. She keeps it on at all times.

Roxy

There is an inherent horror to looking all around you to see that Tangaroa has drowned his mother.

The idea that The Condesce, a colonizer, took over the world and left Roxy stranded on a tiny piece of land with almost none of her people or culture left, and she can never sail out on a waka like her ancestors or a sailboat like the ancestors of her ancestors to see other places, trapped in a tiny select space. It’s a horror I can’t really describe.

Roxy desperately wants to know what tribe she comes from and who she descends from, to find that little bit of her family. She is very quiet on the day she finds out she was produced from herself. 

Roxy misses Papatuanuku, she misses her chance to meet both her mothers before they died. She messages Dirk about this while drunk but he does not fully get it.

As a trans woman, finds the women in Maori mythology and culture to be aspirational figures of power and motherhood.

She thanks the appropriate gods for any food she can scavenge for in her apocalypse but never really has the time to learn a full karakia.

Teaches the carapacians kapa haka, they aren’t very good at it but they do make up for it with enthusiasm

When she enters the session she insists on hongi (sharing breath) with each of her friends. It goes like this:

Dirk: Has been preparing for this for years. Has the whole technique down. Confident cool guy swagger, but not too much, he doesn’t look like he’s trying too hard either. He and Roxy bump their heads together and fall over. This looks ridiculous.

Jake: Roxy explains and leans in to do a hongi with him but he kisses her on both cheeks like he is french. Roxy thinks this is hilarious.

Jane: Needs at least 6 tries to get it right but keeps on insisting on doing it again so she can participate in Roxy’s culture appropriately, and then a couple more times because she keeps failing on purpose to make Roxy laugh. They are both in a fit of giggles by the time she has worked it out and it becomes their standard greeting.

Hal: Is a computer, but Roxy does hold the nose bridge of the glasses up to her face like they are doing a hongi which Hal does appreciate.

Calliope: Gets it right first try!

Goes somewhat crazy hanging out in nature on Earth C. (Where is Roxy? In The Mud. Of course.)

I cannot express in words as well, the sheer euphoria Roxy feels standing on the ground on Earth C. 

[eaglesnick]

Scandal After Scandal: Will They Never End?

Boris Johnson was so beset by scandal that his own party turned on him and threw him out of office. We all know about the Partygate affair but there were also questions raised regarding his personal monetary arrangements.  From charges of corruption concerning him asking a Tory donor to supply funds to refurbish his Downing Street residence, to his appointment of the BBC Chairman and an alleged £800,000 loan, Johnson was the epitome of the self-serving Tory.

Johnson has gone but the scandals have continued to rumble on. We had the unedifying debacle of multi-millionaire Nadhim Zahawi being forced to resign after he was  found  guilty of serious breaches of the ministerial code  by covering up issues to do with his attempts to minimise his tax bill.

Sunak’s own wife also avoided UK tax payments by claiming non-dom status. After being asked to “come clean” on his wife’s tax affairs and after much embarrassment the Sunak’s decided she should pay tax in this country.

It is not only those Tories at the top of government who are self-serving. Conservative MP’s have been calculated to have received an additional £15.2 million on top of their MP salaries, personal fortune hunting seemingly more important than giving their constituents 100% of their time. 

“Since the end of 2019, millions of pounds of outside earnings have been made by a small group of largely Tory MPs."  (Skynews: 08/01/23)

When Sunak, after much delay, made public his own tax affairs we discovered that for the year 2021/22 he made £172,415 unearned income from dividends and £1.6 million from capital gains. In total, the PM paid an average tax rate of 22% over a three-year period.

For you and I, the basic rate of tax on income between £12,571 and £50,270 is 20%.  Between £50,271 and £125,140, it is 40 %, going up to 45% for earned income over £125,140.

For Mr Sunak to have only paid 22% on his millions is therefore quite a smack in face for ordinary tax-payers, and one only made possible because the Tories have arranged the tax system to benefit  themselves and their rich friends.

“Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “[The tax returns] reveal a tax system designed by successive Tory governments in which the prime minister pays a far lower tax rate than working people who face the highest tax burden in 70 years

“… the fact that Sunak paid less than a quarter of his gains in tax highlighted the problems with taxing capital gains at a much lower rate than income…The low tax rate is because we have much lighter taxes on wealth than work”   (Guardian: 22/03/23)

So, if you work for a living, expect to pay proportionately more in tax than those who live on unearned income.

Way back in July 2022, Rishi Sunak was so disgusted with the immoral behaviour of Boris  Johnson that he resigned his post as Chancellor. This is what he said at the time:

“... the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

But if a week is a long time in politics, then 9 months is an eternity. As we have seen, Sunak himself has become as equally embroiled in monetary scandal as his predecessor and now he is under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Committee. 

“Rishi Sunak investigation: Government blocked Freedom of Information request into childcare firm.

Mr Sunak is currently being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over his failure to be more transparent about his wife’s shares in childcare agency Koru Kids when quizzed on the subject by MPs.

It comes after i revealed last month that Akshata Murty, the Prime Minister’s wife, holds shares in the firm, which stands to directly benefit from reforms to the childcare system announced in last month’s Budget.” (inews: 19/04/23)

Time and time again we see top Tories under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commission. Time and time again we see how self-serving and unprincipled our leaders really are. Mr Sunak it seems, is no different to his predecessors and the sooner he goes the better.

[fruitanddarkness]

New Muse Arrival: Muichiro Tokito || Koru-ko || Demon AU!

"Who are you..? Oh.. it doesn't matter..I still have to kill you."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Concept: Upon receiving information Kokushibo still had a living blood relative, Muzan assigned him to find his sole descendant and recruit him into his ranks. Not only to gain another demon who could utilize breathing techniques and bolster his own ranks but should this descendant of Sun Breathing learn how to master it.. Muzan could dispatch him personally. However, with loyalty secured and his memory loss making this former demon slayer is unable to even recall a single memory of his former humanity.. there is little worry.

Muichiro goes by Koru-ko, even though he often forgets his name and must be reminded. The kanji of Koru means 'to be left behind' and ko emphasizes smallness. "The small one who was left behind." Doma affectionately calls him 'Ko-Ko' only to have his head partially sliced off in response

He shows great promise as a potential Kizuki. Swift and efficient in combat. Hardly talks back.. and it seems he suffers from physical pain when any form of his humanity emerges to the surface. He does have a tendency to forget orders easily or become easily distracted.

Art credit: X

[biotech-news-feed]

Koru Medical Systems has secured regulatory clearance in Japan for its FreedomEdge infusion system. The post Koru Medical’s FreedomEdge infusion system receives approval in Japan appeared first on Medical Device Network. #BioTech #science

[koopaspiderofdarkness]

Alatus are an open species created by Koru-Adopts on deviantart! Here are some I sketched up, they are $3 for just the sketch design, $8 for a digitally lined and colored drawing of them + the sketch, $13 for a digitally lined and colored reference sheet of them + the sketch, and $17 for a digitally lined and colored reference sheet with additional items, clothing, or design changes + the sketch.

Comment to claim!

1- Open 2- Open 3- Open

Paypal preferred, but will accept other payment methods. (No checks)

Upon buying the character you may do whatever you wish for them, just be sure to credit me as the designer and credit Koru-Adopts for the species. If uploading the character to toyhouse, please credit my toyhouse account which is @Darkspider.

Once paid, you will receive an unedited and non-signed copy of the sketch.

[nawapon17]

Robb Report: Jeff Bezos Has Reportedly Received the 417-Foot ‘Koru,’ the Tallest Sailing Yacht in the World

[mccleanrobert-blog-blog]

Te Kete The Basket - Das Körbchen

For Mattea and Robert

27 August 2022 & 4 February 2023

 Tane Mahuta

The ancestor of all the living trees

Gave birth to the Harakeke

Millions of years passed until 1992

The month of April to be exact

When a rito was born way down south

On an island of the South Pacific

At nearly the same time

A Peacock

was born high up in the woods of Vienna, Austria.

The Harakeke and the Peacock grew strong but apart

Surrounded by family and friends

The Peacock in a mountain fortress

The Harakeke on the island stronghold

Thousands of miles of distance

A call from across the seas

Leaving the mountain and island

At Lancaster

Where the Peacock sensed the beautiful Harakeke

And the Peacock gave one of his feathers as a gift

A sign of a long everlasting life which time will not fade

And so began

A weaving together of the Harakeke and the Peacock feather

Once started, the magic work could not be stopped

A Kete was, and is, being created

It is a whole new living thing

We have all received the gifts from this love

Our opportunity today

Is to give gifts to support and acknowledge

This Kete is like a wandern rucksack full of essential items

You can call upon them in future days

It is the plate of the harakeke from where you were born. This is the symbol of your families, the nest from which you depart

From the breath of Tawhirimatea. Fresh air from the skies of New Zealand and Austria. It is the breath of life

Water is the symbol of refreshment. This water comes from springs high in the mountains of New Zealand and Austria. With this water we give our blessing

This stone was formed over long a time. Gaining colour and strength within the earth. The stone is our wish for stability, strength and a long and happy life

This candle holds the fire, the flame of love. Never to be extinguished. May it shine brightly in your life

The fern or koru is the symbol of new beginnings, growth and change. Every day is an opportunity for a fresh start

The tui is a talkable, chatter box bird. Reminding us about communication, keeping it free and open

We can’t do without food especially chocolate. Cherish moments you have together over a meal

Lastly sand from Plimmerton Beach and the banks of the River Danube. Your grandparents walked here and walk still. Our ancestors continue to guide our lives

And every grain of sand is counted by God who cares for us

 For now at last you are beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read or lived: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. (C.S. Lewis)

 Ma te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki, ake ake ake

Amene

[hqbabecanons]

Hey could I ask for a headcanon for Warm + Kageyama. A s/o has nightmares and wants to get closer to Kageyama in bed to feel safe

Kageyama and warmth - s/o has nightmares and wants to get closer to kageyama to feel safe

Kageyama had woken up to whimpering coming from his right side, where he had tucked you into him when you fell asleep. He was still bleary eyed, yawning and closing his eyes for a moment. That moment turned into minutes and the next thing he knows you’re screaming.

Kageyama startled awake, turning you over so you were flat on your back and he was on top, almost shouting your name to wake up. You did so with a gasp, and when your vision finally cleared you were looking into the concerned dark blue eyes of Tobio.

Your eyes welled up with tears before you were wrapping your arms around Kageyama’s neck and pulling him down on top of you. He started protesting because he was heavier than you and didn’t want to crush but you tighten your arms around him, saying you didn’t care. He goes quiet, wrapping his arms around you.

Tobio asks you what you were dreaming about but you shake your head, not wanting to talk about it now. He understood, closing his eyes and moving to his side, dragging you with him and tucking you into his chest. He pressed a kiss to your head, rubbing circles on your back.

You were slowly falling back asleep, surrounded by the warmth that was your husband, Tobio. You knew you wouldn’t have any nightmares on this night. Not with that warmth.

[imagineshiratorizawa]

hello! can i request an imagine where Shirabu's fem!s/o is on her period and feels like dying (much like me lmao), and he tries to help her?? i'm sorry this is a super weird request lmao, but thank you anyway!

Kenjirou Shirabu

“Kenjirou I'm dying,” you whined, writhing on the sofa as the pain assaulted you. Kenjirou gave a sigh, running his hands through your hair before speaking. “I just gave you the pain pill babe, gotta wait a few minutes for it to take effect- wait.” He suddenly stood up, giving you a quick kiss on your forehead in response to the confused sound you made.

He disappeared out of the room, and you could hear him moving around on the pantry in the hallway. You took deep breaths, trying to focus on anything but the pain, but every time you moved a little it gave you pain. You hear a small “aha!” from where Kenji was, hearing him move towards the kitchen.

You hear the water turn on, and Kenji filling something up before hearing the microwave door pop open. Kenjirou put whatever he had filled up in the microwave, and started tapping his feet. ‘Always been impatient!’ You thought with a smile, taking a pillow and cuddling it.

You didn't hear when the microwave stopped, but did see Kenjirou walk towards you with a heated pad. You almost burst crying, making Kenjirou chuckle. He sat down next to you, and moved you so your head was in his lap and putting the pad on your tummy. You moved it until you were satisfied, sighing in relief.

“Thanks Kenji~ I love you~.”

“Shut it!... I love you too.”

“See~?”

“I said shut it!!”

[thethingost]

💕🌻💕

super annoyed and upset rn cause i found out that there's a rly high chance i wont be able to visit my high school marching band for a comp they're going to or their senior night or their state marching assessment because apparently the director is strict about attending football games and other events where the marching band is playing and if i were to miss a game or whatever for visiting my high school he wouldnt take that as an excuse and would fail me cause marching band is still a class(which im used to for that aspect it was like that in high school too but COME ON)

[sunnylighter]

So— m!Fuchsia Ninja

First major difference: there’s isn’t just one, there are several. Eight at least, to be specific— Roki, Riku, Doku, Kiri, Riki, Roku, and Doorki. Why are all their names so similar? Because— SURPRISE!— they’re all copies! Or, well, perma-copies. A long time ago there was one, Odoroki, and since receiving the Element of Surprise from their uncle, the Mailman, they have gained the ability to duplicate themselves. None of the perma-clones (aka the copies that are always active) know which is the original or if they even exist, and all have some small changes in appearance and personality between them (though they can be identified by the sunglasses they wear to hide their fuchsia-coloured eyes, their brown hair, and their fuchsia-coloured clothes— you can see three/four of them at Ninjago High in the movie!). They can each create copies of themselves, but these copies aren’t always around like the 8 perma-copies are.

Roki is probably the closest to the original (if the original still exists) and is the ‘oldest’ of the eight (in the sense that they’re all the same age— high school age— but Roki is the tallest and was able to sneak their way into starting college), and is part of the College Crew (which includes Morro and Dove— m!Fugidove). They’re Morro’s roommate in the dorms— and sometimes go out on patrol with the Sacramento Ninja, aka Morro

Riku, Kiri, and Koru all go to Ninjago Highschool

Riki is always helping their uncle with the post office and other errands (like picking up their adopted younger brother, Nelson, from school)

Roku is always helping at the Museum with the two friendly curators (cough good m!Time Twins) and volunteers there alongside Morro, and also tends to explore the city and do patrols of the outskirts

Doku is always in the Fuchsia Ninja gi and helps patrol the city (kind of like your regular neighbour Spiderman) to deal with minor problems and crimes

And Doorki is the undercover agent (who makes a bunch of copies so they can be undercover everywhere at once), and has positions in (including but not limited to): the mayor’s office, the mafia, and Garmadon’s Volcano (where they run interference and intel like the Pink Jinx!)

So yeah— multiple Fuchsia Ninja, Nelson gets anywhere from 8 to a hundred older siblings, they all listen to the name ‘Odoroki’ (derived from the Japanese word for ‘surprise’), and they have friends everywhere— with only a small handful, like Morro, knowing their secret(s)

Also— I know it’s the s!Fuchsia Ninja in the Tournament, but I can’t help but laugh picturing a timeline this m!Fuchsia Ninja instead where they keep tag-team switching in and out during and outside of combat, and no one else has realized there’s more than one absolutely trolling Master Chen

Cool idea. It's great you put so much time into it. I think I saw you talk about this theory before with screenshots from the movie. It's a pretty darn compelling theory. Especially since it plays with that real-life ninja trick with multiple look-alike people dressed the same to confuse their enemies and look like they can teleport. I forget what it's called right now.

As for my fic... Is it? Is it really the S!Fuchsia Ninja in the tournament?

[csnews]

Shot orca spotted in Dunedin Harbour eight years after rescue

Debbie Jamieson - January 30, 2021

A stranded orca that was rescued at the Kaipara Harbour almost eight years ago has been spotted swimming in Dunedin Harbour. The Orca Research Trust reported that Koru and his presumed mother Nicky were seen travelling with at least four other orca on Saturday, inside Dunedin Harbour and heading north. Koru was recognisable by a shot in his dorsal fin that caused it to collapse and look like a koru, the trust said in a Facebook post.

He was named for the shape. It was not known how he was shot. Nicky had a large nick in the trailing edge of her fin, which was also how she acquired her name. Former Green Party MP Gareth Hughes, his wife Meghan and their two children were amongst those who were able to get close to the orca, in their friend’s boat. Meghan, the keeper and caretaker of Quarantine Island in the harbour, said the experience was amazing.

The orca were in different groups, and those onboard the boat were surprised when three suddenly appeared next to the boat and then dived underneath it. She spotted some orca only metres from people who were on the beach at Aramoana.

“They were incredible. They are such beautiful creatures. We are really lucky,” she said. They had travelled with Port to Port Cruises owner/operator Rachel McGregor, who began receiving reports of the orca early in the morning.

“I’ve been working on the harbour about 17 years but I’ve never seen orca that far up the harbour,” she said. It was extra special to learn later that Koru had earlier been saved.

“People put in a lot of effort but you never actually hear what’s happened later. There’s been so many years in between – it’s so amazing. Everyone is excited,” she said.

A 2013 report in the NZ Herald said commercial fishermen found and tended to Koru while he was stuck fast on a sandbank. Tutukaka orca expert Ingrid Visser and Orca Research Trust volunteers stayed with Koru until the tide had risen enough for the orca to free itself. Koru had a few small bite marks where his companions had tried to free him, but that was nothing unusual, she said.

[dianeshshadowsun]

Stardust

The house in Auberdine. They had been there many times before, but had not returned since the father of Reveria and Dianesh had been slain. The part that was odd, was the report they’d received from Reveria herself, flying over the house. “There is light coming from the shed Vel…” So they had made their approach quietly and, in fact, there was light coming from between the cracks of the wallboards of the shed. Velerodra wanted to throw a rock to see if anyone was about while Dianesh wanted to approach in the shadows to peak in the shed door. They debated for several moments before Vel said something that was likely intended to be sassy but ended up having a completely different meaning. “Walking up to the door is just as dangerous as throwing the rock, stardust.” 

Dianesh had been completely pulled from her professional focus. “Did… You just call me Stardust?” Vel had shushed her with a “Focus.” The sentinel couldn’t help but smirk as she felt her heartbeat quicken for a moment. Vel got what she wanted, even if Dianesh felt like the monkette had saved that name for just such a moment, to get what she wanted. “Throw your rock.” Vel had been quick about it, like she knew her little name would get the result she wanted. The rock sailed through the air and shattered a window, drawing four robed and hooded figures from within the shed to investigate. 

The number of people was enough for surprise, as the shed was tiny and likely not able to hold four people comfortably. It was decided the pair would split up, seeing as the four were searching in pairs. Velerodra took the two near the house, Dianesh, the pair by the shed. “You said you’re good at snatching, yes?” Vel was right. Dianesh had been a commander of the forward scouts and infiltrators for the Sentinels and this was just the kind of work she’d done for so long. Vel went through the broken window, making noise to draw the pair inside before hiding in the bathroom. The sentinel nearly killed the first person that she took with the sudden jolt to their person as she violently drug them in to the shadows, choking them into unconsciousness. Not a sound had been made, leaving their partner clueless. 

Velerodra had brought chain weapons today, ever the master of odd weapons. The pair in the house split up, one going down a hallway, the other wandering the open living and kitchen spaces. Vel got the drop on the one in the hall but luck was not on her side and her intial attack missed, an attempt to wrap his neck with her chain weapon. She struggled yet slithered away as Vel tended to do, only to eventually knock first one, then the other assailant out. Once Dianesh had taken her second, the pair met up and donned the robes of those they had taken down and moved into the shed. 

The reason for the number of people was soon revealed. A trap door, seamless in the floor was standing open. A flight of stairs led the pair to an underground passage, lined with torches that eventually opened up into an underground cavern. A massive idol to a god or goddess of death sat in the rear of the place, elegant, beautiful almost, with six arms that all held severed heads. Braziers with emerald flame roared on either side of it as a dozen or more robed and hooded.people searched workbenches, desks, shelves, crates, and more for something. A massive person with the voice of a man was bellowing orders to the rest before spotting Vel and Dia. Stalking up to them, he asked what the noise had been. Vel lied cleverly that it was a bird flying into a window but as she moved to walk away, the man grew suspicious. “What is the flavor of fear?” Vel had considered and then offered confidently “Sweet.” The next thing the pair knew, Vel was sailing through the air to land in a rough pile in the center of the cavern. Dianesh shadowstepped to the monkette as the massive cloaked figure bellowed. “Can you taste it brothers and sisters?! What is the flavor of fear?!” The choir like response from the cultists gathering around Vel and Dia was in unison. “Sublime, my brother.” 

It was clear that there were few or now options at this point. They could fight, which wouldn’t go well with how outnumbered they were. They could easily run but if these people were looking for something, Vel and Dia had an obligation not to allow them to find it. Dianesh looked around at all the hooded figures, daggers at the ready as Vel summoned claws of mist. Except those claws slowly turned bloody as she drained her own life fluid into them. With a violent flick the claws burst into a red mist as Velerodra summoned an ally that was not a part of the harbor. 

Once Vel had flicked her claws, the cultists charged forward. Dianesh blurred into a column of smoke, whirling around Vel as she took blow after blow. For as many as she took, she blocked just as many. Blood splattered across the monkette, Dia’s and others as the sentinel worked to keep Vel safe. A shield of mists formed around Dianesh, Vel’s way of helping her. It was overwhelming though and Dianesh was starting to feel the weight of blow after blow. Just when it seemed the cultists might close int completely, the ground bubbled with blood that formed into a circular puddle. From the puddle rose a heavily armored draenei, wielding a scythe that shimmered with ruinous powers. Blood shot out and turned into spears, goring over half the cultists with their own life fluids or those of Dianesh. 

“What a disgusting creature you are… Such wasted efforts…” The armored woman sneered from beneath her helmet as her scythe swung for the large man, who threw his robes back to reveal an amalgamation of bone and flesh formed into the shape of a man.”I need it.” Vel had said to the woman, who snorted. “Of course you do.” The rest of the cultists had rallied and charged once more at Vel and Dianesh. The monkette began to turn to mist as she spoke to Dianesh. “Follow my mists. Don’t breathe in though.” With that the monkette plummed into a cloud of mist that encircled the remaining foes. Dianesh followed that lead and billowed into smoke, intertwining with the mists to create a cloud of death. The pair worked together, Vel appearing as an apparition before their foes to distract them as Dianesh, while half half formed, shadowstepped and slit throats, leaving even more smoke in her wake. 

The last two cultists suffered terrible deaths as the hands of Velerodra. One was choking on the smoky misty mix, allow Vel time to shove a fist made of mist into the mouth before letting it burst to suffocate them completely. The pair soon separated, Dianesh’s billowing smoke coiling back together to reveal her and Vel, left with a mixture of mist and smoke, wound herself back together in a crackling display of emerald and jade light with flickers of shadows. Once she reformed, the mist lingered and revealed a form she rarely showed anyone. Needless to say it had claws of mist which she used to rip out the throat of the last cultist. Once done, the mist faded and Vel was just Vel once more. 

Both women fell to the ground at this point, Dianesh feeling every wound she’d taken despite the healing that melding as smoke and mist with Vel had done. It was almost as if the monkette could sense this as Dia drug herself over. No sooner had the sentinel reached her before Vel put her hand on Dianesh and sent a surge of healing mists throughout her entire body. While most of the small cuts and injuries to her internal organs were healed, there was only so much a mist spent Vel could do and a tired body could accept. She saved Dianesh’s life, stopping the terrible bleeding and seeing her organs restored. Vel was no slouch when it came to healing. The rest of the time was spent interrogating the flesh golem, with an introduction between Dianesh and the armored woman. “Oh, right… Dia, Koru. Koru, Dia…” Vel offhandedly said as Dianesh sized the woman up. “Velerodra has spoken highly of your skills.” Dianesh gave a slight nod as Koru looked over her, as if Velerodra had never once mentioned her. She otherwise played it off well for what time they spoke. Eventually, she faded into another pool of blood and vanished, leaving Dianesh and Velerodra to find whatever it was the cultists had searched for. 

It took some time and some puzzling but after a time the pair limped from the cavern and out into the fresh night air of Darkshore. Smoke billowed and plumed from the shed, signalling the fires that Velerodra had lit in the cavern. They walked about with two new things, a skull etched with death runes that Koruzziona had told them held the soul of whoever the person was it belonged to in life, and an obsidian tablet, with script chiseled in the language of the dead up it. Once they were a safe distance away, Velerodra turned and smiled at Dianesh. 

“We should go on more dates like this, stardust.” 

(Part 2 of 2) (Part 1 HERE)

Tagging @velerodra-valesinger​! Thank you for writing this incredibly fun arc with me! 

[grad602maddihohneck]

REFLECTION

Overall I am super stoked with the outcome of ‘The Alphabet Directory.’ I found this to be a really interesting project as we were profiling creative agencies around New Zealand. I think by doing this, I found it to be super insightful as it meant I actually researched into the industry, giving me a glance at what is actually out there and the level of design in the real world. 

This assignment definitely challenged me as we begun in groups, then split up to work on our own BLADs after this. In the groups, we all worked really well together, however I found that this was sometimes difficult to reach everyone and communicate as everyone has different schedules outside uni classes. I also found that we probably din’t split the work evenly, so some of us had far more of a workload - so this is something to learn for next time. 

In terms of the marque, it was definitely a process. I was on creating and designing the marque, however I created one for the formative, however received feedback on adjusting the stroke and weight of the koru styled design. This was really helpful and beneficial as now I edited the marque to have a thinner inside point which works better with the font. Not only this, but with identifying factors like this, it has helped me understand what a good quality logo can look like. At the start, the original logo looked nice at first glance, however from a designers point of view, it would never survive on in the industry or a company. As a group we really wanted to incorporate the koru, as we were taking a Maori perspective on this by using ‘arapu’ as our name, which translates to alphabet. We found this all to be fitting considering we were doing the ABC Directory brief. Originally we begun with a Koru, however turned this into a circular design, with multiple Koru. Koru ‘means the creation of things’ and is native to New Zealand, so found this to be super meaningful to our work. 

The colour palette begun as Pango, Ma and Pukepoto - which is black, white and a royal blue, however after the formative and when designing my own BLAD, I discovered myself not using the blue. I was really enjoying working with just black and white and found that this really made the studios photographs of their work stand out. Therefore this was quite a big change after the formative I made.

My typeface choices stayed the same, however I did increase the titles in size, and decrease the size of the body s=copy and subheadings. I did this once I test printed a couple pages and felt as though the type was far to big. By reducing the body copy, it made the titles stand out more and created more negative space on the spreads, which was a constant thing throughout the publication. 

For the grids, margins and columns, the formative used a “3 and 6 column grid,” however it wasn’t too evident when we showed the example formative spreads. Therefore, when I created my own BLAD, I really wanted to make an effort to utilise a set grid structure. I stuck with a 3 column grid and a 10 & 14mm margin, and made sure my work used these guides (the photos broke the rules in a controlled way though). With the photographs I used in the BLAD, I wanted to ensure that I heroed these, as this is what draws in attention. All of the studios/ agencies I focused on had such amazing work to choose from, so therefore I didn’t want to change or alter their top tier work. In my BLAD I wanted to show that I will either show 1-3 images on a spread, which was different to the formative as they were showing 4 per page. I also would display one image on one page in some instances. By doing this I think it really showed the studios fine details they included in their work. 

When I created the BLAD, I put this onto mockups so that myself and the viewer will be able to visualise what the book would potentially look like if it got properly printed - which includes an image of the front and back cover + spine. By doing this it made me feel like my work looked a lot more professional. 

 Overall, what I found challenging was probably the amount of time we had to create the individual BLAD as well as the proposal document. However, put under pressure and time restrictions I was super happy with the outcome of the final two elements. If I had more time, I would’ve spent longer on perfecting the proposal document as I felt as though I left a few typos and errors - I wish I spent more time proof reading. Not only this but if we had longer, I would’ve maybe experimented with more colour ways and options, however I am really happy with the black and white look. 

In conclusion, this project really pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me, but am happy with what I achieved and learned. 

[grad503-harrietneradt]

Reworked Timeline Iterations

With the feedback I received from the formative assignment I simplified and refined my timeline poster as well as adjusted the orientation to be landscape. I traced Witehira's Whakarare typeface with the pen tool in illustrator as it is not a typeface available to use and decided this was appropriate to use for title text. The subtext typeface used is gimlet which mimics 80s video game text; this style reflects the influences in much of Witehira's work. The dotted spiral line mimics the aesthetic that I chose as a theme for the entire publication making to have a sense of cohesiveness. Through different iterations, I was able to highlight issues and assets that were not successful to settle on my final design. I curved the subtext to mimic the koru shape to withhold the imagery and not break up the design. The use of negative space reflects the design of the rest of the publication as well as allowing rest for the eye. Witehira often used block colour a negative space amongst his busy pattern work.

[korumedical]

Susan’s PI Story

I was diagnosed November 1, 2017 by my son's asthma doctor, who also specializes in allergies and immunology. I had quite literally drug myself out of bed that afternoon to take my son to his appointment. It wasn't until I mentioned something about myself (I don't remember exactly what) in an attempt to help the doctor treat my son, that the doctor froze, turned and looked directly into my eyes and started firing questions one after another at me.

Then, an army of nurses entered the room at his beckoning and began drawing blood, taking vitals and writing furiously fast. Soon, the doctor began telling me what he thought the blood test would prove I had - a Primary Immunodeficiency called Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID). I began IVIG immediately and unfortunately suffered from numerous side effects.

After three years, I was stable enough to try SCIg. Of course, it was intimidating at first, but I immediately knew it would be a better treatment option for me with less side effects and the freedom to receive my medicine in smaller doses each week at home. I even crafted a zebra-themed rolling cart that houses all my SCIg supplies, including my Koru Freedom Pump! One tip: I use a lidocaine patch to numb my infusion area before inserting the needles. Lidocaine cream also works well!

- Susan D.

Follow Susan for more great CVID and infusion tips on her blog, CVIDiva!