A Review of My Year Through Cosplays and Recent Projects

So I thought a good way to start off again would be by sharing with you some of my recent projects, personal ones that is. I do NOT want college or the arts award or anything invading this blog!
I realise that I posted a cosplay photodump back in April, but I've done soooo much since then it's stupid, and my skills have (I'd like to think) gotten at least a little better. If we're working through this in chronological order I guess I had better start with May EXPO...

I cosplayed Soul again, this time with an incredibly gorgeous Maka Albarn (my friend Emma!) who I love dearly! That was on the Friday, I then unveiled my secret cosplay on the Saturday, which was...

Madam Red, or Angelina Durless-Burnette from Kuroshitsuji. Only one of my cosplay friends actually knew about this costume and the look on everyone else's faces when I walked over to them was priceless. This day wasn't without its strife though, it was gratifying, but I lost track of how many times I was asked for pictures and after a while I found it... For want of a better word, incredibly trying. The weather was also insane. I was either dying in the heat or stressed out by the wind, which kept blowing my snow white jabot up onto my bright red, half melted lipstick or getting wig hair tangled in my false eyelashes.
On the last day I cosplayed Serah Farron from Final Fantasy XIII, which was a welcome relief from Red's stifling layers.

 

I'm not super happy with how it turned out, but my genius photographer friend, Dem, made it look about fifty billion times better than it was!

After May EXPO I had a few crazy weeks where I pulled together a portfolio for my college interviews and somehow found time to work on another costume. A Setsugetsuka version of the Vocaloid Hatsune Miku for a group with my friends Dem, Sophie and Adele to be worn at London Film and Comic-con. I designed it myself, bringing in elements of other cosplays I'd seen and fanart to make it more recognisable and familiar.

I don't actually have any photoshoot-y pictures of this cosplay, it was so hot and we were all so busy at the con that we didn't actually get the chance to take any and by the time we remembered I'd stripped off half my cosplay and none of us could be bothered. So you get some stage snaps. We entered the cosplay masquerade, but didn't win anything. Something I'm shamefully rather bitter about. What it did do though was give me a strong desire to enter more cosplay competitions in the future!
After LFCC I went through a couple of interviews for college, went on holiday, enrolled at college the day we got back, had two weeks to finish off four costumes, went to my induction day then came straight home, finished up packing then journeyed all the way up to Leicester the next day for Alcon... Which happens to have been the best few days I've spent at a conventions ever! I stayed in the dorms with a bunch of my friends which was absolutely wonderful and what I'm looking most forward to if I go again this September. On the Friday night we negotiated drunks to go get pizza then took it back to the dorm kitchen and pigged out whilst playing a rather raucous game of Uno until 2am! It was brilliant!

I took the train up with Dem on Thursday and we got there at around 1pm, but I didn't feel like changing into my cosplay until it was about 4 or 5 o-clock. In which time we'd all figured out that we had nothing to eat food from and had walked into Leicester in search of cutlery and at the very least mugs. Eventually me and James spotted an Oxfam and we all bough sufficiently eclectic mugs for about 49p. Once we got back I changed into my cosplay for that day which was Eiri Yuki from Gravitation. I've not actually watch past the first four episodes of the anime, but Dem wanted a Yuki to her Shuichi and I had most of the stuff anyway so I obliged.

This was such a comfy costume, apart from the glasses... They sucked. Totally not my prescription and I couldn't see shit.
On Friday I cosplay Madam Red again. This was the big Kuro group day and we had Ciel, Claude, Sebastian, two Grells and an Undertaker.

The next day, Saturday,  I wore the big cosplay that I'd been working on since July. The Cantarella version of Hatsune Miku. Me and Dem had originally planned to wear these cosplays to LFCC with her as Kaito, but due to both of us messing up and taking ages to get things finished we postponed them 'til Alcon.

 

I wore Miku for a couple of hours then had to change because my corset was getting uncomfortable. I then wore my normal clothes for a few hours, attended some panels, then went back to the dorms to change. Dem was going all the way back to London that night to see Lady Gaga in concert, so I went to the masquerade Kaitoless. Not that I minded too much. I danced with a few guys, one of which spent most of the time staring at my cleavage *despairing in the male sex* before I gave up and started dancing around with Adele who was cosplaying Gakupo and singing along to songs from Beauty and The Beast XD
On the last day me and Dem had been planning two do two cosplays each, Snake and Ciel from Kuroshitsuji in the morning and Howl Jenkins (Howl's Moving Castle) and Ponyo (from... Ponyo) respectively in the afternoon. But after an incredibly late night, fear of dying from the heat and lack of motivation and time we decided to just do Howl and Ponyo, which was a good choice. They were comfy and fun. I really enjoyed being Howl. But I want to get some better photos this summer.

It was so bright out that you can't see my eyes at all, which is a shame because I had really awesome blue contacts. Part of the reason I want more photos. I went to a couple of panels in the afternoon then I had to dash back to the dorms, change and finish packing all my crap away before grabbing a cab to the station and catching my train back to London so I could start college the next day. If I go again this year I really hope I'm able to come back on the Monday morning. It sucked having to dash off on the Sunday afternoon.

I kind of buried myself in college for a couple of months whilst rattling out cosplays for October EXPO. Friday I cosplayed Heiwajima Shizuo from Durarara!!

Shizuo was really fun, it felt good to be a total badass for once instead of servile, which seems to be a trend in the cosplays I do.
On Saturday I cosplayed Kururugi Suzaku from Code Geass in his Ashford Academy uniform, with my little sister as Nunnally Lamperouge. She was so cute!!! I got kinda of soaked that day though, the weather was terrible!

 Then, on Sunday I cosplayed Austria/Roderich Edelstein from Hetalia, to the joy of my friend Chloe who actually lives in Austria. She kept talking to me in German and I felt so bad that I couldn't reply >_<

We didn't get around to taking proper photos of this cosplay, it was dark and raining outside by the time we even thought about it.

On Hallowe'en my friend Maddy came over and we dressed up and made pumpkin pasties, I dressed up as the Marauders era version of Remus Lupin from Harry Potter.

But this is the only record of that cosplay... Once we'd finished making pasties I showed Maddy Game of Thrones, which she is now in love with and has very quickly completely finished *so proud of her*. Then we watched The Woman In Black... Which was a mistake. I couldn't look at shrubbery, look in mirrors, walk past doorways or go anywhere in my house in alone for weeks. And it was hell coming back from college in the dark. This ridiculousness didn't end until I met the woman who did the make up for that movie at a V&A workshop. She was only about 24, blonde, bubbly and named Florence!

Around this time I was getting really into The Mortal Instruments series, and my friend Echo's birthday was coming up. I have this tradition of posting 'happy birthday themed' pictures online for my friends that live in different too far away for me to see them in person, normally closet cosplays of characters I know they like. So for Echo I dressed up as Simon Lewis from The Mortal Instruments, made a sign that said 'Happy Birthday Echo' took some pictures and posted one on DA. Once I was done though I kept the cosplay on and went downstairs to play some Assassins Creed III. Just after turning the game on though I realised that I could take some other pictures, so I did.

I'd like to do this costume properly, make one of his slogan t-shirts and get some jeans or something. Maybe also do the vampire version of him with The Mark of Cain and stuff.
After this I kind of took a break from cosplay, I got really down about it and unmotivated and just stopped until about a week into January wheeeen, I decided to cosplay Jack Frost from Rise of The Guardians!

He's so fun to be! I'm cosplaying him again at May EXPO, I'll have his staff finished by then too, and some adjustments made to the wig and jumper. But overall I'm really happy with it!

In March my friend is hosting a yaoi themed meet up, and you have to dress as a character that's typically shipped with another character of the same sex/gender, I've wanted to cosplay Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments for ages so I thought that would be the perfect time wear him. Then on Valentines day I wanted to do something for my darling Alec so I took a couple of photos. 

Magnus has gold-green cat eyes, so I'll get contacts before I cosplay him outside anywhere. Since Magnus I've only finished one thing, a steampunk inspired patchwork steel boned underbust corset.

I'm sorry this post was so long, I felt like I needed to clear all this out from underfoot before I could start fresh with new things. The next posts will be costume progress, reviews, recommendations and stuff I guess. But I'm not that sure yet. Thanks for reading!

The Supposed Uninterestingness of Me

..... So..... Yeah.... I seem to have failed spectacularly in my attempts to begin blogging again. It's pretty sad really, because well, it's showing clearly how lazy I am and how pathetic I am at persevering with something. Thus I have come to this conclusion; I won't make any promises, but I will try and get back into the habit (lol, almost wrote 'hobbit' there!) of blogging regularly. I think it's good exercise for my writing skills since they're blatantly not being stretched by college, and I also find it relaxing and rewarding when I'm not feeling guilty for the lack of updates. I also won't confine myself to a specific type of post, this will be a blog for whatever the hell I want.
(I think another reason I haven't updated lately is because I feel like I've got nothing of interest to share with you all, and that is a sucky feeling to feel.)

In the meantime, while I think up something to post about, here are some other sites where I update -usually- every day.
Tumblr
DeviantART

Right, now to thinking about what to post...

On Unwanted Sexual Attention

I want to start off by linking you to this short essay and telling you to read it and then come back here.

It really got me thinking about a lot of things, about how horrified I am by the way the world has turned out, and about how angry and disgusted I am with how a lot of men view women as things that evolved to please them, but mostly it shocked me.

“Your body is not for you. Your body is for men’s pleasure.
And you are at risk, all the time.”
I’ve never properly realised it before, I've always been very content to walk home alone in the dark, or wander around London's backstreets by myself. I've lived in this city all my life and that has supplied me with a certain cockiness that could be my downfall. When I think of how easy it is for people to take advantage of me it's terrifying.

The part where the woman writing the essay mentioned a professor at her college stroking her arm and standing very close to her and other female students was like a slap in the face. I'm entering that kind of education system this September (or so goes the current plan). A huge building full of older, stronger and because of their position as educators, more credible people that could so easily have their way with anyone they chose and then completely discredit any complaint is such a sickening thought that I can't stop letting it circle round and round in my head.

What's getting to me the most is that I would end up ticking that box… It’s horrid to think that even though I’m just fifteen I would have to check that box.
I’m beyond thankful that nothing overly serious has happened to me, but that won't stop me dwelling on the small things that have happened.
Being followed from my local library two years ago, That boy at my friend's party asking me if I wanted to “dance” (grind), the man in the white van who whooped and wolf whistled as he drove past because I was wearing shorts, the boys who started laughing and thrusting on the other side of the playground fence as I went past on the bus, the men that stare at me on the train, watch me as I walk by, who can't keep their eyes from my legs.

Purely because of the body I was born with I am subjected to so much more attention than if I was a guy. Send a man out into the world wearing a huge sign on his chest that says 'FUCK ME' on it, make him say 'OH!!! Yes please!!!' to anyone that suggests that they might and then make him try to walk away. Tell him that's what it's like to be a woman.

I suppose I can't complain, not really. But to know that already I'm the object of men's stares and perversions is a harrowing thought.

~Chiru

30 Day Lord Of The Rings Meme: Day Three

Day 3 Least favorite location

Shelob's Lair. For several reasons, primarily what takes place just before hand in the movie, Gollum tricking Frodo, and Frodo turning on Sam. I can't stand that bit, so imagine my adulation when I found out that it doesn't happen in the book. Secondly because I detest spiders, they terrify me. Third and finally when I went to see this in the cinema as a seven year old I was so horrified and scared I remember whimpering and hiding behind my dad's arm and crying.

~Chiru

30 Day Lord of The Rings Meme: Day Two

Day two favorite location:

    It's got to be Rivendell/Imladris! I just adore the architecture, and the gorgeous colours. Especially since when we first see it it's Autumn, my favorite time of year and the trees are just to die for.
    I've always felt that it was a nice compromise to living in the incredibly safe and -probably slightly dull after a while- Shire and somewhere more wild like Rohan or Gondor (not that I'd don't love those places either). To wake up to a landscape such as that of Imladris would be... Just... Wow...

Matilda

30 Day Lord of The Rings meme: Day one

Day 1 favorite hobbit:

 

I think it's a toss up between Merry and Sam really... Merry because he's just so awesome, in general. He strikes me as being really laid back, and the perfect example of a hobbit. But he's also very brave, and very caring, and also pretty damn clever. Especially by hobbit standards, since he and Pippin go on to collect many historical records from all over Middle-Earth after Frodo leaves, and he also writes a book (and no, I shall never stop laughing about how he wrote a whole book about weed *grins and thinks of certain people*).
And Sam for obvious reasons, he didn't need to go with Frodo, nor did he have to. But he did, and he stuck with him to the bitter end no matter what shit was going down. I think you really have to admire that. I don't often go for the characters that are as simple as Samwise, and I don't mean that as in simple = boring/stupid. I mean pure and goodhearted in their intentions with no ulterior motives or selfish reasoning driving their decisions. Just plain and simple selflessness. All the way through to the core.

Matilda

Shameless Advertising and My Uber Nerdy-ness

Firstly, a quick mention... Bit of advertising, whatever.
So my friend Echo started writing this blog, Marigold Garden. It's essentially a blog about lots of things that we both like. The posts will be mainly comprised of things pertaining to J-fashions, Japanese music and Korean bands (all handle by Echo since I know very little about most of those things), cosplay (I'll be in charge of this!), books, concerts, anime, manga, nerdy stuff... Tea and cake? You get the idea. We'll be answering questions on the subjects that we feel knowledgeable in and taking requests for posts. For a more detailed idea of what's to come head on over to Marigold Garden and check out Echo's introductory post!

Now for the second part of this post. I've been having trouble coming up with ideas of things to post (requests are completely welcome, by the way!) so what better way to get my creative juices flowing than a 30 Day meme!
A while ago I attempted to take part in a Lolita themed one of these, I didn't get too far into it seeing as by that point my interest in the fashion was dwindling. But hopefully I'll be able to tackle this Lord of The Rings one! I warn you, this could get pretty nerdy.
I won't be updating every day, partly because -despite certain rumors that have been circulating- I DO have a social life. And also to spare your inboxes my incessant updates.

Bellow I've posted the question to the entire meme if any of you are interested. Though... I'm not entirely sure you will be... *Awkward silence*.

30 Day Lord of The Rings meme

Day 1 Favorite hobbit

Day 2 Favorite location

Day 3 Least favorite location

Day 4 Best meal

Day 5 Favorite weapon

Day 6 Favorite song (soundtrack or performed onscreen)

Day 7 Film you’ve seen the most times

Day 8 Best use of magic or supernatural gifts

Day 9 Favorite member of the fellowship

Day 10 Favorite man

Day 11 Favorite horse

Day 12 Favorite scene in Elvish

Day 13 Least favorite sound/sound-effect

Day 14 A scene that always makes you laugh

Day 15 The spiffiest dresser

Day 16 The ugliest orc or uruk

Day 17 A scene that makes you cringe (disgust, fear, cheesiness, whatever)

Day 18 Best fight sequence

Day 19 Worst fight sequence

Day 20 If you were from Middle Earth, where would you live?

Day 21 Best death scene

Day 22 Worst death scene

Day 23 Worst decision by one of the characters

Day 24 Saddest casualty and/or collateral damage

Day 25 Favorite overall character

Day 26 Character you wish had been featured in the movies

Day 27 Re-edit the movies: what scene would not make the cut?

Day 28 A scene that always makes you cry

Day 29 Whatever tickles your fancy – your chance to add anything this list may have missed

Day 30 Favorite line or scene from the trilogy

I'm going to do day one now, in a separate post ^-^

Matilda