cosplay

Creative Christmas – New Year Swag

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Tis the Christmas season (or Advent to be theologically accurate), and in the spirit of the season, the lovely blogger over at Later Levels has decided to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas a few days earlier with 12 gaming related questions for all of us good, little gaming elves out there.  These are my responses.

👗   30 December 2017:   You’ve been invited to a swanky New Year’s Eve party but have nothing suitable to wear! Which video game character do you call to ask if you can borrow an outfit?

Luckily for me, I’ve already talked about this in my Fashionistas and Fancy Fellows post!  Of course they’re all from Final Fantasy, though I’ve noticed my favorite series either dresses its characters in the best get-ups…

Runway model quality

Picture Source: Sephiroth from FFVII by AHague

…and the worst…

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Final Fantasy Friday: Final…Legends???

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Final Fantasy Friday

Though there is far more rivalry among the games within the series themselves, I’ve still come across a few people who decide to cast shade upon Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda depending on which one they prefer.  I, personally, find this quite ridiculous in the same way I find someone like me judging an FPS game to be a poor play.  Each series brings different things to the table in terms of game technicalities, and they both tell epic tales.  Zelda is pure fantasy, while Final Fantasy (a bit ironically) has elements of sci-fi in it and could be better considered science fantasy.

This week’s question shows another periodic departure from my normal fare.  I’ve done it before here, and I shall do it again in the future, not because I’ve run out of Final Fantasy questions, but rather because it is possible for two (or *shock* more) epic game series to coexist.

What this in mind…

Who is your favorite Legend of Zelda character?

This topic came up in the comments of my Cecil Harvey assessment last week.  I’m…pretty sure I’ve either posted about this here, because I’m getting a picture in my mind (because it’s already in my picture library), but Midna is my favorite character and the best princess (yup I said it.  Let’s fight!).

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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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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.