Cosplay

Final Fantasy Friday: Character Crush

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Final Fantasy Friday

One of the best things about being a fangirl or fanboy (though they apparently have nuanced differences beyond suspected gender, which I’ll explain momentarily) is our ability to crush on anyone (and sometimes anything).  Hell, the term “fangirl” is now a verb meaning (among other things) to flail wildly, crush, and/or obsess over a character, and this is one of the areas the two terms have slight differences.

While fanboy and fangirl should only denote the gender that the particular person identifies as, their meanings go a bit beyond.  Fanboys are usually the ones who nitpick, weed out, and formulate theories about their favorite works and characters.  They argue over what’s canon, what’s head canon, what’s non-canonical, and what’s just plain crackpottery/tinfoil.  Fangirls stereotypically freak out and flail over their crushes, write fanfiction, swoon over pictures, and create and disseminate gifs and fore mentioned pictures.  Both fanboys and fangirls cosplay, and fanboys seem to be more connected with fanart as fangirls are connected to fanfiction (this could also be why fanart is held in higher regard than fanfiction, something I continually critique and that you can read more about here).

By these definitions, I am both a fanboy and a fangirl.  The difference is pretty sexist if you ask me, where fanboys are implied to be more interested in the narrative, characters, and foundation whereas fangirls are portrayed as more vapid and insipid.  This is sadly common where things girls and even women like are viewed as less valuable (e.g. fanfiction, romance novels, boy bands, etc.), and they’re often mocked for it.  If they try to be more “fanboyish,” they’re accused of being “fake geek girls,” *rolls eyes* and the accusers will then force them to prove their devotion in ways that would never be demanded if they were male.

So…I got a little bit ranty and venty.

Enough venty to hold all the coffee

My point was being a fan of any type usually means you have at least one crush, and Final Fantasy plays host to so many beautiful people, you have the crème de la crème from which to choose.

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Question of the Week: 10/2/16

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<–Question of the Week: 9/25/16          Question of the Week: 10/9/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What are you planning for your Halloween costume?

Yes, it’s finally that time of year again.  The god awful summer heat has broken, the days are growing shorter as the night encroaches upon the afternoon.  It’s wet and rainy in my corner of the world, but I’d take this any day over oppressive humidity, and it’s time to plan my Halloween costume!

I’m probably going to do a long neglected Cosplay Confessional post to flesh out the details of this (and to also discuss the alternative option).

After I saw Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens and loved it hard, I thought about how freaking easy it would be for me to be Finn.

finn

I actually have really short hair.  *shock*  I know that silver hair is totally not mine lol.  All I really need is the jacket…which I just bought yesterday.  This is a marked difference from my Halloween costume last year, which was super elaborate and a wee bit expensive.

My alternate costume was Smokey Quartz, the newest fusion from Steven Universe.

But I’d need to find a gigantic yo-yo, buy a new wig, plus I don’t have three arms.  Granted, I’d just scrap the latter, but it would rankle me, because I’m a perfectionist.  I saw an amazing cosplay of this a few weeks ago, but I can’t find it.  Annoying.

What are you planning to be for Halloween?  Is it the typical “spooky” fare (e.g. witch, ghost, vampire, etc.) or is it a character/cosplay?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 9/25/16          Question of the Week: 10/9/16–>

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The Liebster Award #1

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Liebster AwardA thousand thank yous to the Well-Red Mage on their titular blog for nominating me for the Liebster Award!  I only recently started following them (how could I not with a name that not only pays homage to my favorite series, but also shoehorns in a clever pun/turn of phrase?), but our love our old school games is eternal.  I’ve met so many wonderful people in my year or so of blogging who focus on a variety of things, and I love perusing award posts even if I, myself, am not a recipient, as it still gives me the chance to scout out like minded folk.  Regardless, the Liebster Award is a great networking tool and a wonderful way to support other bloggers.  It works as follows:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you (see above) and answer their 11 questions.
  2. Nominate 11 other people and give them 11 questions to answer.

Here are the questions I was nominated to answer.  I have to tell you when I saw some of them, I squeed with joy, because not only would the answers be easy, but many also would allow me to gush about my favorite obsessions.  So without further ado!

1.DC or Marvel – This particular question is very important from what I’ve been told.  Hm, okay, well my second favorite villain is Loki as portrayed by my beloved Tom Hiddleston,

Attempts to breathe. Fails.

which pretty much makes me a Marvel girl, but while I do believe that Marvel has the monopoly on the movies, I’ve heard nothing but good things about DC’s shows.  Now since I haven’t read the comics, I have only the visual media to go off of.  There are number of DC shows on my to-watch list including, but not limited to The Flash, Supergirl, and Daredevil.  I have seen quite a bit of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and had some issues with it.  So long answer shorter, I’m more of a Marvel fan, but I don’t detest DC.  It’s kind of how I like both Algebra and Geometry, but I like Algebra a bit more since I’ve done more with it.

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Question of the Week: 5/22/16

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<–Question of the Week: 5/15/16          Question of the Week: 5/29/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What’s the last video game you finished?

The last game I finished was Child of Light, which I wrote a glowing review for here.  Like all my other reviews, I included an analysis, too…though I didn’t deliberately intend to rhyme hehe, which is even more interesting as all the dialogue in the game (save one character who doesn’t for comedic effect) does so.

While looking for this picture, I stumbled upon the Child of Light tumblr page, which I immediately followed.  The internet has been kind to me today.

I say this in my review/analysis, but this game is fantastic.  It has a haunting story, a female protagonist, and gorgeous music by Couer de Pirate, among other things.

There have been fantastic cosplays of it.

Aurora

Aurora grown up

No source on this one, though I did look.

Thus it can never be said that I don’t play/enjoy any other RPGs besides Final Fantasy.

What’s the last video game you completed?  Was it of the type you typically play or did it deviate from your norm?  Would you recommend it?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 5/15/16          Question of the Week: 5/29/16–>

Cosplay Confessional – Cosplayer Courtesy

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In my cosplay adventures I have managed to come across many amazing people whom I not only admire for their glorious cosplay skills, but also their willingness to talk to and advise an amateur like me.

A little less than a year ago while perusing Deviant Art, I came across a Sephiroth cosplayer extraordinaire, Ferash/Isidora. 

I’m not sure what I said in my comment besides incoherent babbling, but somewhere in the morass of words, I sparked up enough of an interest that she messaged me, and I admitted that I was planning a Sephiroth cosplay of my own.  Instead of laughing, she warned me about binding my boobs during that time of the month, and we discussed the merits and annoyances of contact lenses.  I had just bought a pair of custom ones from Vision Direct (no longer available; if there were I’d provide a link), and Isidora told me that in her experience, they tend to turn quite often, which is not readily fixable without a bathroom while you’re walking around con.  I was unsure what that meant until they drifted horizontal, and suddenly I had goat pupils instead of cat.  She typically goes for photohop the eyes, which is not a terrible plan.  I’m determined to use my contacts though at some point thought.  I paid far too much for them to fail.

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Cosplay Confessional – The Halloween Update

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I did not go through a time tunnel (though bringing up time travel makes me sad since Doctor Who is no longer on Netflix); it just took me this long to post the update.  This post is a continuation and fruition of Cosplay Confessional – The Halloween Edition, where I decided I would be Rarity Unicorn from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

This lovely lady, er, pony.

You’ll find links in the original post for all of the accoutrements I needed.  This post is more about the finished result.

Let me just say that 2015 was far, far better than 2014.  I actually succeeded in pulling of this costume or at least being able to fit into it.  It was also sort of a group costume effort with two of my married friends being ponies, too.  My friend Heather was Rainbow Dash and convinced her husband Tommy to go as Fluttershy (a pony I considered myself, but then rejected because yellow wings would be too complicated).

This…

…and this respectively.

I’ll first show some of my preliminary photos before the costume was entirely put together and talk about the process.  Since it’s been several months, I’ll try to remember exactly what I was doing, but I don’t trust my memory, and you certainly shouldn’t either.  I also apologize for the fuzziness of the photos.  I believe my phone was being held together with duct tape and prayer at the time, and that obscured the camera lens.

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Cosplay Confessional – Rose Quartz (Steven Universe)

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So we need to talk about Rose Quartz from Steven Universe and how mind-blowingly beautiful she is.

Before I started watching Steven Universe, my friend posted on Facebook about how the main character’s mother was not remotely skinny, feminine, and a total bad ass, and even though I did not yet have time to watch the show, I loved that.  Too often the only female characters considered bad ass embody stereotypical male traits, and while I do love Brienne of Tarth and think Arya is pretty cool, I do grow tired of explaining why Sansa is not shitty or weak because she does not have stereotypical male traits and instead embodies more of the feminine mannerisms of courtesy and politeness.  These are the very traits that kept her alive.

The more I watch SU, the more I love Rose, and not only that we have to talk about representation.  Rebecca Sugar created a character that is not skinny in not only a sea of ultra thin “magical girls,” but an ocean of predominantly thin female protagonists.  While I am trying to keep that air of positivity and “I do want I wantness,” it is still amazing to see a character of a not skinny body type being portrayed in not only an awesome, but a totally kick ass manner.  So, while this is the latest cosplay idea that I have, I think it may become one of my most passionate.  I love episodes that focus on RQ, and eventually I might talk about all of the mommy feels that Steven Universe illicits because holy shit was a feeling them today.  Ah fuck it, I’ll explain.  Why the hell not?  Gives me an excuse to talk about my favorite narrative (not that I need one) and the mommy feels that seems to always bring up.

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Cosplay Confessional – The Halloween Edition

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Hello, hello dearest people!

I decided to do an update on my WIP Halloween costume.  As stated in my prior Cosplay Confession, I will being doing Rarity from My Little Pony this year.

The fancy lady er pony er pony lady

I was able to find a suitable dress at Torrid.com though there was a bit of trepidation since there were no returns and no exchanges offered since it was a clearance item.  I oscillated between one size and the other and finally decided on the one that aligned closest with my bust and waist even though it was only a 1x.  I…can’t even get started on how ridiculous women’s sizes are.  Even with such measurements, there’s no guarantee that clothing will fit, but I took a leap of faith, bought the smaller one and hoped for the best.

White DressMy wonderful coworker lent/gave me a purple ribbon, and while I love the color and think it looks cute, it’s not long enough to tie in a bow, and I kind of want a bow.

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Cosplay Confessional – The My Little Pony Edition

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I was on the fence today about what post to draft: this one or an article about the five fictional characters I most connect with.  I finally figured out the last one yesterday, but…only one of the five is a character  who doesn’t present the missing mother/lost child motif, and right now I can’t take any more of that despair.  So I decided to work on my much neglected Cosplay Confessional series, which I haven’t touched in some months (Part 1 and Part 2 so linked).  This time it’s nothing but My Little Pony and I talk about my hoped for Halloween costume this year (I also hope it turns out better than last…)

MLP is one of the few fandoms I’m a part of that doesn’t resonate with sadness.  Oh it has its sorrowful moments, but that’s not its general mien.  My favorite episode of season 5 so far is the latest with Princess Luna, and it’s a sad redemptive/remorseful motif where your past deeds so haunt you that they destroy the present’s peace.  It’s a good lesson, but by far, the episodes are far more upbeat instead of dire.

There are several cosplays I’ve garnered from MLP and thus I begin with…

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Black Feathers and Bitter Blood

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The lovely Ferasha (Isidora), both gorgeous and sweet, cosplays my favorite character of all time, the infamous and beautiful Sephiroth.  Because there was no way I could just choose one, I had to showcase several.

08202015 1

The best wing I’ve ever seen.

She has offered little old me succor in my own cosplay adventures, and I would be a fool to not accept such aid.

It is a mark of master craftsmanship that the wing looks just as good from the back.

08202015 2

Black feathers and bitter blood…

The beautifully formed and dark scenery behind her just adds to the ambiance and chill.

The oncoming storm...

“The oncoming storm…”

The work and detail that went into both the costume and the photo editing is glorious, and Ferasha is not only a mistress of the costume craft, but she puts equal weight on the “play” part of the word.  If I saw her stage performance of Sephiroth, I’m sure I would die joyfully and in tears.

Into the nothing...

“Into the nothing…”

And the wing folds up.  There is a mechanism in it to do so.  Though I believe she’s at least a level 70 wizard, she is willing to divulge some of these sweet secrets.  The smirk below is the one she uses for Cersei who I always thought grinned like a cat in the cream…more than appropriate for Sephiroth with his catty eyes and ability to appear anywhere at anytime.

"Death shall open up its grave..."

“Death shall open up its grave…”

Her facebook page can be found here and I am not ashamed to be a follower of this Seph.