Yaoi Con 2009

Today was YaoiCon! YAAY! I really regret not going on Saturday. There was nothing to do, almost literally. There was registration, a swap meet, and the viewing room. The viewing room wasn't showing anything that particularly caught my interest, but I got Chobits (manga) volumes 1 - 6 for $35, so that was awesome. It was also amazing to be around the older fandom. I never realized how many of the annoying fangirls / fanboys were underage until they were all gone. I was not glomped, squeeled at, molested, or harassed in the slightest, all of which happened at various other conventions. We (my boyfriend and I) did get asked for pictures (I was Mello, he was Matt, from Death Note), and girls did squeel and "aww" but never in our faces or ears. Everyone was very polite and there was only one person I would label as obnoxious, but I wrote it off as excitement and they were easy enough to ignore.

Overall, I good convention, I wish that I'd gone on a better day, but I'll definitely go back next year.

Mello Jacket Done & Painting Mello's Gun (Day Thirty-Five)

I finished my jacket! Yay! It makes me look like Santa! Not yay! Oh well. I also did a really bad paint job on the prop gun my friend made for me. I may end up not taking it with me, but we'll see. It's a rather nice gun, but I think I could make a couple of modifications to make it nicer. Smooth out some edges. I'll put it on my to-do list.

I've noticed that I get really irritable when I'm in the middle of a sewing project. I don't want to text or talk on the phone or leave the room or nothing. I'm just like "No. Working. Go away." And it's not like I'm mad at the person, a lot of the time I do actually want to talk to them. I just get so focused. And never ask me how it's going or how the project looks. You'll either get "It's going," "It looks," or an incomprehensible, annoyed grunt.

YaoiCon tomorrow! Yay! It's my first time~!

Costume Contest & Mello Jacket (Day Thirty-Four)

Today was totally fun. I went to my chiropractor's office in my Halloween costume because their contest is Friday and I can't make it tomorrow or Saturday. Afterward, my mom and I went to get dinner and a smoothie, and check mattress prices for my new bed, which I still don't have. Three people told me they liked my outfit, which is always cool.

Short post again today though as I'm off to quickly sew a jacket for Friday.

Day Thirty-Two

I have a strange dedication to my nonexistent readers, I really do. I'm sick as H - E - double-Pocky-sticks still. If this isn't gone by Friday (Yaoi Con), I swear, I will find a nice virgin boy to sacrifice.

In any case, my mind is blank, due to the splitting migraine that snuck up on me several hours ago. So, if anyone's reading this, please send in topic suggestions!

Day Thirty-One

My computer decided it was out of battery power right as I went to post the first time. I hot really sick today, so.. No real post.

Day Thirty

About a month of doing this blog. And still no readers. HA. I'm such a loser.

My room is finished, so hopefully I can get a bed and a new dresser and put stuff away so I can buy more cra-- err, loverly items.

Day Twenty-Nine

Still sick. Yet still productive. Just not in a cosplay-related way. =[

My boyfriend and I painted two walls of my room. Five to go. Plus the doors and frames. Yes, I have more than four walls and more than one door. Yet I still don't have enough room for all my cra-- err.. Loverly objects of love. =]

Anyway, turns out last time I used the iron *coughtwodaysagocough* I forgot to turn it off. Mom was pissed, not that I blame her. It's dangerous, not to mention expensive.

So, I'm half-asleep and nauseous, so no real blogging today. Goodnight.

Day Twenty-Eight

SIIIIICK! I'm so sick =[ It's no fun. My boyfriend's sick too, with something else though. So we couldn't make it to our convention planning meeting. Which sucks, but I went to the meeting via Skype. It was.. interesting, haha. It was easier to share files that way, but I had already printed them out last night.

I won't be going to the next meeting though, as I'll be at Yaoi Con!!! Yayyy! I didn't finish my jacket. Or my belt buckle, and my friend didn't make my gun like he promised! Neh. But I'll live. My Matt is amazing, even if he's not finished either, and I'm sure we'll have a great time anyway.

I'll be heading out to Yaoi Con a little late though, as I'll be entering a costume contest at my chiropractor's office that morning in a different costume. The prize is $50. o.o Convention money... That's enough to pay for Yaoi Con and then some! So that's why I'm doing it. I need money.

Mario, Midterms, & Mochi (Day Twenty-Seven)

Last night, I decided "I want to go to class dressed at Mario for my midterm!" So today, I did. Only two people recognized me, which astounded me to no end, but other people said that I looked cute. Apparently they "love just watching me, 'cause I'm so cute," haha. My boyfriend took me out for frozen yogurt with mochi after my midterm, which I finished in half an hour (the allotted time period was three hours). When I got home, I had to change so that my mom didn't give me funny looks.

I then looked up information to help me with the convention I'm helping plan, I found more than I was expecting to, so I was pleased about that. I have to look over some stuff tonight and print things out to get ready for the convention-planning meeting tomorrow. We're almost ready to put an event list up, surprisingly. The convention isn't even until August, haha, thanks to me, we're about six months ahead of schedule, and that's not just me having a big head, that's what they told me. I have the feeling that I could pull off a decent convention with only two months to plan. That lady that turned down my help for her conventions (she runs two) will seriously regret it.

Boyfriends & Skimpy Cosplays

I didn't do anything cosplay-related today, sadly. I slept a lot, played video games, and then I had to go to an hour-long presentation on chiropractic care. It wasn't bad, just.. Time consuming.

So, today's topic! Significant others (namely boyfriends) who don't approve of skimpy cosplays.
Let's start with why girls do skimpy cosplays to begin with. It's not always about attention. Admittedly, with cosplaying becoming more mainstream, this is why some girls do it, but others really do do it for the love of the character. So, the following is assuming that that is the reason, not the attention.

Personally, my boyfriend isn't too protective of me when it comes to cosplay, but when he is, it's understandable. Every convention has it's weirdos and perverts. Even if attention isn't the goal, it's inevitable, even in some conservative costumes.

So how do you get a conservative boyfriend to let you do a skimpy cosplay?
There's no real answer to this, and in some cases, it may very well be impossible, but here's some things to try:
Explain yourself. Explain why you want to cosplay this character, whether it be the character, their personality, or the series they're from. Let the boyfriend watch your favorite episode of the series that contains the character, so that he can see why you love it so much.
Choose a different outfit. Many characters, whether it be anime, movies, or otherwise, have alternate outfits. If you love the character that much, you may be able to find another outfit you like.
Compromise. Agree to wear a conservative cosplay next time, or let him pick your next one entirely.

Whatever you choose to do, remember that it's not an issue of him trusting you, it's an issue of him trusting other guys. Take him with you to the convention or outing, and be sure that people know you're his (without being obscene, of course).

Killing Ammy's Gloves (Day Twenty-Five)

Yesterday after my post, my page got a face-lift. I'm rather proud of it. But that's beside the point.

Today, I started working on my gloves for Amaterasu. Before I finished the first one, I decided to check my work and see if it would even fit before I continued. It didn't fit, and in my frustration, I had to put it down and walk away before I became so angry with it, I tore it up. (I didn't actually tear it up, mind you. That's why I stopped.)

It's funny, I thought gloves would be easier. I thought it over a little and I figured out a couple of shortcuts that might help me next time, but I think I need stretchier fabric. What I have is an old bed sheet. A nice old bed sheet, but a bed sheet nonetheless. So it doesn't stretch at all. But it's also the only fabric I have, so I'll probably just have to tweak it some. *sigh*

Shopping: Thigh-Highs; Liquid Latex (Day Twenty-Four)

I actually got to go shopping today =O No way. I never thought I would shop again, the way things are going. My room's torn to pieces & I'm supposedly not allowed to buy anything until it's finished (painting, new bed, cleaned up), however, I'm not getting any more money from my mom until it's finished. And she's not going to give me back-pay after it's cleaned either. It's going to take at least another two weeks to get my room cleaned, so I'm out $40. I have back-up money, but mostly for Yaoi-Con and Halloween decorations for my party... *sigh*

In ant case, shopping! Yay! I bought thigh-high leggings and fake eyelashes for my "Alice in Wonderland" Halloween costume. I'm still not sure if that's the name I'm going to call it, but it works for now. I normally don't wear fake eyelashes, but these are red and black and match the costume so well, I couldn't resist them. I also bought new pants for my Mello cosplay. They're built like pants, but with a stretchy leather material, similar to leggings. So they're looser and I can move in them better. And they don't give me bubble-butt, so my boyfriend can relax and not worried about guys looking back there.

I also bought some liquid latex, finally. I don't have a real use for it at the moment, but I always see people mentioning it in the forums on Cosplay.com, so I thought I'd pick some up just in case. This is the first time I've been able to find it and it was in the Halloween store, so I snagged it before the store leaves next month.

My boyfriend purchased red spray-on hair dye for his Matt costume, which was actually my suggestion. I don't really like spray-on dyes myself though. They flake off, rub off on everything, and generally don't work. However, for Matt, I believe it to be acceptable. I don't believe that Matt's hair is truly all red. To me, it appears as though it has red highlights. So we plan to lightly spray some areas of his hair, mostly in lower layers, so that in certain light, it'll look red, and it other lights, it'll look black. The way that Matt's does in the anime.

Cosplayers vs. Football Fans

I went to my first football game today. And people say cosplayers are weird.. They've obviously never been to a football game.

I once heard cosplayers being compared to football fanatics, because they both share an extreme passion for their hobby. I disagreed with this at the start, but I couldn't quite pinpoint why. Maybe it was because cosplayers directly imitate their hobby, while football fans.. Well, they don't. At the game today though, I did see some awesome costumes. Football padding with metal studs, football helmets with spikes, and a full-out metal-studded uniform and skull mask with a helmet with feathers and spikes on it. That was amazing. The tricked-out gear, I would equate to, let's say, a "normal" cosplay. One that requires a fair amount of construction, but nothing over-the top. The full-out, studded, masked, feathered man I would equate to a fursuit. Even if it doesn't sound like much here, trust me, it was amazing. It obviously took a lot of thought, time, work, and money. There were also average fans with just their faces painted. It'd equate these to girls who throw on cats ears or the like. Not bad, just not cosplaying.

There is one big difference between cosplayers and football fans though. Football fans are LOUD, and many of them are obnoxious. Yes, cosplayers and con-goers can be loud, and there are the obnoxious few, but this was way different. The guy sitting in front of me at today's game yelled at the top of his lungs the entire time. He heckled the other team and it's fans. He even shot rude comments at his own team's fans, telling them "If you ain't makin' noise, go home, take a pill, and go to sleep." (To which I mentally replied "okay" and imagined I was leaving.) Don't get me wrong, I respect people and their fandom, but even a fan of the same team asked the obnoxious man to sit down and quite down, but he refused, saying, "I paid my money for this seat and I'll do what I want!" My boyfriend, whom I went with, said that he and his family have been to games where they were harassed by drunk men, fights broke out at the end of the games, and there was even a stabbing. I can't imagine being part of, and enjoying, such a rowdy fandom.

However, this difference is indeed diminishing. This past year, I attended a convention (I won't say which) where in the masquerade, I wound up sitting in front of a guy who would not stop talking during the performances. I understand wanting to discuss the skit material and topic, the costumes, if you can see them, and whatnot with your friends, but please do it quietly, or at least politely. This man behind me, and yes he was a full-grown man, who should really know better, went on and on about how attractive or unattractive the girls on stage were. Loudly. I nearly turned around and punched him. Also, whenever there was a break between skits or setup for a skit where there was silence, someone would yell out "I LOST THE GAME!" Yes, admittedly, that was fun the first thousand times, but it's getting old now. If you insist on playing, please keep it between you and your friends. even during a skit, which, no, wasn't the best, but still deserved respect, a male cosplayer on stage walked up to a female cosplayer who was lying on stage pretending to be dead, and an audience member yelled out "Surprise buttsex!" I giggled for a second before I realized just quite how rude that was...

Yet all of that was incomparable to having to sit through four hours of this football fan yelling and screaming. At least at the masquerade I could switch seats and soon as new ones opened up. All of that being said, I do respect football and its fandom, I just ask to be kindly left out of it. (And don't say cosplayers = football fans.)

Painting the Cieling (Day Twenty-Two)

My boyfriend and I painted the ceiling of my room today and stripped paint off of the walls, and no, that's not a euphemism. It was about eight hours of work, so of course, no cosplaying. However, I thought about it a lot. I truly wish I could work more...

Days Twenty & Twenty-One

Posting two days at a time would be great if it were easier for me to keep track of the days...

I showed off my nearly-complete Halloween costume to my Costume Construction class on Day Twenty and it was well-loved. I'm not sure what I'm calling it yet though. It looks like the secret love-child of Alice and the Mad Hatter. But calling it that would get me weird looks, which aren't that great when almost everything is normal on Halloween.

Day Twenty-One, I had a meeting for the convention I'm helping plan and we actually got a lot done, despite people getting dangerously off-track and annoying the cr*p out of me. When I got home, I threw together an event schedule for the con, and I'm hoping we can at least get the events (without times) posted by next week. Then we can start recruiting people for the events that we'll need them for. However, I'm keeping this pretty hush-hush so I don't ruin anything good (or get people's hopes up and end up having to cancel an event).

Days Eighteen & Nineteen

I may start posting by the week if nothing keeps happening like this.

I literally slept until ten o'clock at night on "Day Eighteen." Then I stayed up until maybe four and went back to sleep. I did get up once or twice during the day, but I just ate and went back to sleep. I fear something may be seriously wrong, especially as I had class on "Day Eighteen" and had to miss it.

On Day Nineteen, I also slept a lot, and then I prepared my room to be painted, which surprisingly does not mean it's clean, so I still can't buy anything cosplay-related. I'm thinking of moving more of my cosplay stuff from my regular closet to my cosplay closet so that I can cram more stuff in my regular closet...

Star Wars Marathon (Day Seventeen)

So, as fun as it sounds, it's not a good idea to watch all of the Star Wars movies at once, especially not on five hours of sleep. I don't remember two of the movies and we didn't even get to the sixth episode, haha.

In cosplay-related news, I'm planning on making my boyfriend a Jedi robe for Christmas, since all the girls I know are getting home-made skirts. Once I get enough money, I'm getting him a custom light saber from UltraSaber.com. I've seen their sabers in person, and they are absolutely amazing. I'm wanting one for myself as well, but they're really expensive.

As far as my cosplay endeavors go, nothing's really happening. I have to clean my room before I can buy anything else, so I can't even stock up on stuff or complete my Halloween costume. Living at home sucks.

Day Sixteen

I cooked today. Boba Fett-uccini, Yoda Soda, Bossk Brownies.. Good stuff =]

I probably won't post tomorrow, as I'm having a Star Wars movie marathon with my boyfriend.

I have nothing of interest to say today either. I'm tired and have to get up early tomorrow. Goodnight!

Day Fifteen

Today was rather busy, preparing for a Star Wars party, meeting with the convention planning committee, and a doctor's appointment.

I wore my completed skirt out and actually got some ideas from someone about making it into a costume, so I'm really excited about that.

My mind is blank right now though, I can't think of a blog topic, so.. Sorry!

Crossplay vs. Genderbending

I finished the skirt for my Halloween costume! YAY! It's not anything like my original design for it (aside from the pleats), but I love it just the same. =D
My next project, beside Mello's vest, which is at a dead standstill, is making a green Luma (Super Mario Galaxy) plushie from my cousin. But it's a Christmas present, so in all actuality, I've got a LONG time to make it.

Now, for the past couple of days, I've mentioned ways to get your parents to accept cosplaying, but today I remembered that I had mentioned Crossplay vs. Genderbending. So off we go~!

Crossplay is when someone cosplays as the opposite gender (a girl cosplaying a boy, or a boy cosplaying a girl).
Genderbending is when someone takes a character of the opposite gender and makes the character into their own gender. For example, a girl changing Mario from Super Mario Brothers into a girl, or a boy taking Princess Peach from Mario Bros. into a boy.

I personally have an immense amount of respect for either, when they're done right! Crossplaying is much harder than regular cosplaying, no matter how you look at it. Not only do you still have to make the costume, but you have to temporarily switch genders, meaning more makeup for contouring and changing the look of your face, binding of girls, and, erm, tucking for boys. Now, as clarification, just not doing these things, does not mean the person is genderbending the character.
A character that has been genderbent well will have any of the character's identifying pieces of clothing, Mario's red shirt and overalls, of Peach's pink outfit and blonde hair, but anything else that can be changed to the other gender should probably be changed. For example, I've seen Marios with overall skirts instead of pants.
I've genderbent Mario myself, and I actually kept the overalls as pants. I put knee-high boots over my overalls and wore long white gloves, much like Peach's, instead of his normal white gloves. I then accessorized with an invincibility star on a necklace. I'm rather proud of my genderbent Mario (or as I call her, Maria) as she was not only well-loved at the convention, but even won the costume contest.
However! Mario was a fairly easy character to genderbend and still be recognized as. Genderbending a girl into a boy is more of a challenge (especially if she wears all pink...).

In any case, there are plenty of reasons to genderbend instead of crossplay. For example, it's much harder for a boy to be accepted as a crossplayer than a girl. Also, some people just aren't as comfortable with themselves to take on such a feat as to dress as another gender.
I do not believe that genderbending is lazy or "an excuse not to bind."

Cosplay, Conventions, & Parents, Part 2 (Days Twelve & Thirteen)

Oops, I missed a day. I wonder if anyone really cares.. In any case, I haven't been feeling the best, so no real progress on anything. I went to work on my Halloween costume, but ended up in the hospital for shortness of breath and chest pain. They told me "Nothing's wrong. Here's an inhaler. Thanks for the fifty bucks and your four hours." Big fat waste of time.
I almost want to stop posting every day, but that's a good way to forget that I'm even doing this.

So back to what I was talking about before. Getting parents to understand cosplay.
I would suggest introducing it to your parents slowly. Start by making a Halloween costume for yourself. This shows your interest and allows you to get a handle on what your doing. If you've already made costumes and your parent just don't know yet, just back track a little and let your parents know you're making a Halloween costume. Even if it's November, tell your parents it's very elaborate or it'll take a while because you're making it from scratch.
If your parents already allow you to go to conventions, that's a big help. If not, take them to one. Actually, even if they already let them go, you should take them. Find a convention that only charges to get into events. Fanime does this for example. You are free to wander the halls and watch events on the main stage, you only need a pass to get into the dealer's hall, artists alley, panels, etc. This way, your parents won't be "wasting money" and can leave after they see that you are in a safe environment.
Chences are, your parents will see a few cosplayers. On the way home from the convention, or once you get home (never in a public place) express your interest in the hobby. I personally believe that it is best to discuss it after your parents have seen it, so they don't have any preconcieved notions and you can say more than "you just don't know."

Day Eleven

I slept until three today, took a shower, then went back to sleep until seven. Life is good.

Cosplay, Comventions, & Parents, Part 1

I did a lot of thinking about cosplay today, and I talked to my mom about it some. It gave me a topic for a short-ish post today too.

Getting parents to understand cosplay.
Obviously, not all parents are the same, and some just refuse to understand. But for those on the edge, consider this:

Renaissance faires have been around for a while. A long while. Most people consider those to be, while still rather geeky / nerdy, pretty much normal. The truth of the matter is, the full name for a Renaissance faire is The Renaissance Pleasure Fair, and it is named that for the very reasons that you or your parents' minds can come up with. Renaissance faires today are actually more wild than when they started. And Anime / sci-fi / gaming / comic book / whatevers conventions are a lot tamer than Ren-faires today. This negates most worries parents could have about conventions perverts. Of course, this only works if your parents think Ren-faires are okay.

I'll post more thoughts tomorrow, when it's not 1:30 in the morning.

In other cosplay news, I'm planning a couple more cosplays. One for my boyfriend, a mystery cosplay, and one for myself, which I haven't decided on yet. =/

Day Nine

I started out the day with the intent of doing cosplay-related things.. But, alas, the world did not allow me to do so.

My plan was to go to the mall and buy my boyfriend some combat boots for his Matt (Death Note) cosplay. The rest of the world's plan was for Hot Topic to only have two pairs of said boots left. One pair vastly too big, the other immensely too small. Damn you world!

On the up side, I bought my boyfriend a piece for his surprise Halloween costume. We may use it for a surprise cosplay, but that has yet to be truly discussed.

My finger's still sore from burning it yesterday, so I'll have to sign off here.

Day Eight

First day of October! The best month ever! I swear, Halloween is like Christmas for me.
I however did nothing cosplay-related. I played with makeup for my possible Halloween costume change, but I didn't really like it. I managed to burn my finger while ironing in my Costume Construction class. NOT fun. I can't type much though, due to the finger (I burned the tip), which is a shame because I had a good topic for today's post too. So sometime in the next week: Genderbending vs. Crossplay!