As you all know, Halloween is quickly approaching. Only a week left! This month has flown by so fast; this ENTIRE YEAR has flown by.

This Halloween, I will once again be attending Youmacon, an anime convention in Dearborn, MI, and I couldn't be more excited. This time there will be no GazettE cosplay, which is a shame, but I do have a sizeable group for Saturday for Togainu no Chi. I promise that no one will disappoint~

Costume Schedule
Friday, Jillian and I will be dressing as life-sized dollfies;
My costume:

Jillian's costume is an original design by me, so you will see pictures after the photoshoot~ All I can say is that it's beautiful~

Saturday is the Togainu group. It is as follows:
Me @ Shiki
Jillian @ Akira
Yen @ Rin
Shomi @ Gunji
Ming a@ Kiriwar

Yen might ask Min to do Keisuke so we can have a more complete group, so hopefully he agrees~

Sunday, Ming will be leaving in the evening so I doubt we will be dressing up that day. Only going to say our goodbyes to friends who came out of state for this.

Costume updates
As of today, the standing completion for costumes is:
Ducan @ complete

Shiki @ 95%
- w/ gloves & bracelets remaining

Jillian's Doll dress @ 90%
- w/ layers of the skirt, arm & leg covers remaining

Die's secret cosplay @ 80%
- w/ *********** remaining

Rin @ 85%
- w/ pants and accessories remaining

Not bad with 4 more days to go~
I know before I said I was going to do Takeru from SuG's LOVE SCREAM PARTY PV but as it stands, it's pointless to dress up Sunday when we won't be there for that long. So I am saving his for a photoshoot before I redye my hair XD But his costume is almost complete, minus the shoes and the silkscreen of the shirt.


Con Schedule as of 10/26 - tentative
**** - not yet confirmed

Youmacon @ MI - 10/30 - 11/1 2009
Ohayocon @ OH - 1/29 - 1/31 2010 ****
Megacon @ FL - 3/12 - 3/14 2010
Acen @ IL - 5/14 - 5/16 2010
AX @ CA - 7/1 - 7/4 2010
Otakon @ MA - 7/30 - 8/1 2010 ****

I have the costume plans already set for the cons that I will be attending, so after this month, I will start to work on them~
I will also edit this later and confirm the set of costumes for which con I will be going to, since a lot of you have been asking me what my next plans are.

Thanks for continuing to support my stuff! You're all the best <3

I love doing these~

Anyways, I've been getting a lot of questions on here, my facebook, my dA account, and people who see me in person about my cosplays and costumes. So I thought it would make things easier to do a blog with all the questions and answers I supply so people don't have to keep asking me the same stuff, and also gain some insight on cosplaying if you're interested in getting into it/already are. Here we go with part one!

What is cosplay? Why do you do it?
Cosplay is portraying a character (game, anime, manga/comic, story) or person with accurate outfits/costumes, hair, makeup, etc that they are most recognized for. It is similar to what we call Halloween, but in Japan, it's very popular to the point that people will cosplay on a regular basis. There are anime and comic conventions, where cosplayers will gather and show off their skills, whether it be for creating the costumes, or pulling off the character or person. Why do I do it? My personal reason is my love for sewing and creating costumes. Making them is half the fun, and wearing them while accurately portraying the character I choose is really fun. I like seeing someone who's a fan of the character be overjoyed when they see me, and it's nice to make the person happy. They are basically meeting their favorite character when you bring them to life, so it's really rewarding to see people smile.

What is the point of cosplay? Isn't it a waste of money?
Cosplay is a very expensive and time consuming hobby, so unless your job pays well or you make and sell costumes on the side, you won't make it far with going to cons and making sweet costumes. There's a lot that goes into fleshing out a character; fabric for the costume, the accessories, shoes, props, wigs, contacts, plus the price for the con, and depending on where it is in reference to your residence, hotel fees, gas money, snacks, etc. So adding it all up, the whole experience costs a lot. So to some who don't make it a hobby and a one time thing, then yes it's a waste of money. For those of us, like myself, who take pride in creating accurate costumes and wanting to show off not one, but several at each con, money isn't a thing in the end. I do commission costumes to sell upon requests, as well as holding two jobs, so I do just fine in that aspect. When it comes to time? I barely have free time with all the requests, my jobs, and school. So you have to think about what's more important; social life, or what you consider a job, for making costumes is a full time job for me. The point? There are many, but the main one is to have fun.

How do you get to be a professional cosplayer?
In America, it's really hard to get to pro status. I'm no where near that, so please don't confuse me for being one. Being pro means you are sought after, flown to cons, paid to get your photos taken, have your costumes made for you, and many other perks. Most of your professionals are based in Japan, Korea, China, and the Phillipines where manga and anime companies hire them as promo models. From there, their status grows and they gain a fan base. Here, there is nothing like that, and if you're lucky enough to work for a gaming company, like Square Enix, then you're on the right track. To become a well known cosplayer, having the look is most important. It's difficult when you can't act nor look the part, so taking time to research different characters to find the one that works for you is important. There are so many mangas and animes out there, so don't settle for someone. Think outside the box for this, because individuality stands out. You can be one of hundreds of Sailor Moons, or you can be the only Leo Aoi and be known for it. Take time in making the costume, or if you buy it, take time in looking for a good seamstress who does quality work. Be as accurate as possible; pay attention to the smaller details. The correct color for the wig, the right color eyes, everything is key in bringing the character to life and looking good. Have a good photographer do your photos, and make an account on www.deviantart.com and http://en.curecos.com/ and post your pictures. Continually posting good sets will attract attention and gain you a following, and word of mouth helps your name get out there.

Where did you learn to sew? How do your costumes look so good?
I taught myself how to sew, actually. I wanted different looking clothing in high school, so I made the majority of what I wore. I didn't like looking like the other kids, haha. It crossed over into cosplay when I did several photoshoots as Raven Madison from Vampire Kisses novel-turned-manga, Misa from Deathnote (before it got cool and everyone started doing it), and Miharu from Girls!Bravo as a request. Eventually I did a shoot with another friend, and I wanted to dress up like one of the guys of a Japanese band I had started listening to; Reita of the GazettE. He was my very first Jrock cosplay, so he will always have a special place in my heart XD That's where my love of Jrock cosplay and genderbending started, and ever since I wanted to continue doing shoots as those guys. I expanded my love to Ruki, the singer, and at my first con met my Aoi and Reita. It went down in history as the best con ever. Anyways,  the point of my story is that I learned how to sew by continually doing different things and challenging myself. I made my own patterns (still do) and through trial and error, figured out different stitches and techniques that I use to this day. The key to a good costume is detail. I can't stress enough how important it is to study the costume in mind and sketching it out, gathering the details put into it; from hemwork, to designs, patterns, type(s) of material used, folds of the fabric, etc. Paying attention to detail is what sets a good costume apart from the plain ones, and no matter how time consuming it is - from hand bedazzling Ruki's Filth in the Beauty jacket to bending wire for the wings on Mikaru's Lord's Prayer vest - every detail fleshes out the costume and brings it to life. I will spend days, weeks even, on a costume so long as the details are accurate and perfect as possible. I've redone costumes from scratch if I didn't think it was just right, and thus my curse of being a perfectionist. But it pays off, for people love my work and pay me to make theirs. So pay attention to details! No matter how small they are!

You dress up as mainly guys. Why?
This is one of the most asked questions I get. I really don't have a good answer as to why I do mostly guy cosplays. Jrock is what I started with, and many of the guys have extremely feminine qualities, so it was easy when you choose someone you have resemblances to. Crossing over to manga and anime, I just stuck with guys since I guess it's easier wrapping your chest and flattening 'em out rather than getting your boobs as big as most of the girls are XD Plus, genderbending is fun, especially when people can't tell when you're in costume, haha. Also, the male character's have such feminine looks, and esthetically are as beautiful as the girls are. To me, it's kind of cliche to dress up as a girl when you are a girl; it's much more fun and equally as amazing seeing a girl dress up like a guy and pull it off perfectly. It's amusing when a group of girls grab you down yonder and you say "surprise~" when they don't feel what they are expecting from the 'hot guy' at the con XD

How do you keep your skin clear? What kind of makeup do you use?
My collection of skincare and makeup products are from mostly Japan. I either order online or buy from the Japanese grocery store near my house. I keep my skincare products simple, as overuse products can dry your skin out or cause breakouts. I mainly use and swear by Shiseido, which you can buy at Macy's and Sephora as well:
Hydrating instant eye and lip makeup remover.
Perfect Whip foaming face wash.
White Lucent brightening eye treatment.
Hydrating multi-energizing cream moisturizer.

For cosplay makeup:
Sana pore putty concealer (used by many asian cosplayers, it evens out skin tone for a finished, polished look).
Sana pressed face powder translucent spf30.
-or-
Femmecouture Flawless Touch pressed powder w/ Shiseido translucent powder for a finished look.

For everyday makeup:
Shiseido Sun Protection liquid foundation.
Femmecouture Flawless Touch pressed powder.

For eye makeup, I use Mac, Urban Decay, Bobbi Brown, Shiseido, Cle De Peau, Lavshuca, and Majolica Majorca.


This will be it for this part! There's many more where these came from, so I will take time to answer them as they come!

If you want to ask anything more, feel free to comment or message me, and I will put your question in the next Q&A part! Thanks guys <3

Current Costumes~
I've been working nonstop on costumes, which is very exciting for me~
Right now, in the works I have:
Shiki (Togainu no Chi)
Ducan (DOD)
Ruki (Distress and Coma PV)
Takeru (LOVE SCREAM PARTY PV)

More??
Afterwords, I will redo my Kaname from Vampire Knight, as well as start Zero (Vamp Knight), Kadaj (FF Advent Children), a few more of Takeru's, and then a few of Uruha's (PVs I haven't decided on yet).

Togainu no Chi!
I got my wig for Shiki in the mail today, and it's perfect. I have to order the contacts this weekend, and finish attaching the sleeves. Ming is letting me borrow his katana (it looks identical to Shiki's), which I can't thank him enough~ I'm really excited to do a shoot with this costume, and hopefully will get it shot before the con. Jillian will be doing Akira, with Chuu as Rin, Jordan as Gunji, and Ming as Gunji's partner (can't remember his name). So almost a complete group! :D


SuG Cosplay News?!
Speaking of Ming, he also agreed to do Chiyu to my Takeru for the upcoming con! So all you SuG fans who will be attending, keep an eye out for us running around as them on Sunday~

Ohayocon Possibilities~
I have decided on two costumes for Ohayocon, Sebastien's demon form and Ruki from the Silly God Disco PV, with Reita and Alex joining me as Reita (obviously) and Kai. Maybe we can convince Aoi to do it too??? Everyone should message her pleading, if we show enough love, she just might change her mind~ Kaelyn might be doing Uruha for us then, too, so we might have a complete group for the first time! Let's keep our fingers crossed XD

GazettE Related: No more Ruki??
I've been getting a lot of messages from people asking me about my Ruki cosplay, of whether or not I will continue him. I will, but I need a break from him. So I decided that my relief will be in the form of a few solo Aoi shoots and Uruha for solo shoots and one group for Cassis PV. So no, I am not quitting Ruki, I just need a break from him~ Outside of GazettE, I will also be doing a lot of Takeru cosplays just because I can mirror him easier than I can the other guys. So expect a lot of Takeru during my break, too :D

This is mainly to make it easier on me, rather than saying this over and over to individual people when they ask the same string of questions (not that I mind, its just better on both of us this way~)

The surgery I got Wednesday (July 1st) was a nosejob (rhinoplasty/septoplasty) and NOT for aesthetic purposes only. In my younger teen years (because I'm that old~) I had deviated my septum three times, which fucked my breathing. I went to a plastic surgeon my junior year of highschool and got the surgery to correct my breathing, which made it worse. Same year, 5 months later, I got it done again, and again, the surgeon at the time screwed it up.

So that left me with difficulty breathing, a damaged bridge, scar tissue collapsing inside the nasal cavity, and blocked sinuses. Not a very comfortable thing; plug one side of your nose up and shove cotton up the other, and try breathing like that five years. So I went to a new surgeon to get this fixed. Even though the outside of my nose looked fine - not how I wanted it to look, but it was good enough - I asked him to change it to the way I wanted to while he was in there fixing it. Two birds with one stone.

So after a five hour long surgery to correct all the damage the previous surgeon did, my nose should be finally fixed, so that I am able to breathe properly from both sides, and not die everytime my allergies and sinuses act up.

Yes, I did have my new surgeon change the shape of my nose, and even though I haven't seen it because of the brace, he said it looks drastically different, as per request and pictures I gave him depicting what I wanted. That makes me happy, even if people complain that I didn't need it. If I was able to breathe, I wouldn't have gone through this a third time, as its a very painful surgery and recovery. So I have good reasons, not just I wanted a different nose.

So stop bitching about it~ I appreciate your compliments, but its done now, and too late to turn back. In two weeks, you'll be the first to see pictures, and hopefully you'll still think the same of me, if not better~ if not, then I'm sorry you don't approve, but oh well.

Thank you to those who have been wishing me a speedy recovery, I greatly appreciate that and am trying my best~ icing my face and relaxing is all I can do for now, which isn't too bad - a mini vacation lol.

here are some of the suits I like. So give me your opinions, votes, etc.


RX-78 ^^



ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice ^^



MSZ-006- Zeta ^^




RX-78-2 Gundam O.Y.W 0079 ^^




XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero ^^

 
ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam Extreme Blast Mode ^^




If you have any other suggestions, let me know~ Colors persuade me, as does complexity of the design. I'd like to stand out, after all~

to my dear ps company.

thanks a lot for deleting the video of my friend and i cosplaying because you claimed copyright, even though you allow really bad cosplay videos to stay up. i guess i should take that as a compliment. and you even watched the video, that's sweet, too.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TsukaRyou?ytsession=WXnk3EQz-J2c6wDm7xgUg6KT1JA2Ugx4HhYxjIgko4VBmVA0xF5D88FZqZpXxZu1iMp9qMhLHH070xN3ViVpcUSKAWlEagtVwetg1ea5T7UsCGoiglxCYzvUT6LPvNnmeJ5QOVGai9ZpfUoD-dnpyHoR-HH2ru8QrENz1O21Lx40oXbOeG139IQclyKVDePvRxwVZLrDweV9pqLhhrm7eAHv5EcFc6TWjX7ToJMmmxrkxF1TZhlayQ

where it used to be....

again, thank you. even though it said 'cosplay', and people thought we looked good. don't be jerks, please, because i really like you guys.

~零

im dedicating this to every person out there who has to deal with or at one point in their life dealt with a bitch, a cunt, or a so called friend.

a bitch is one whom you can not stand because of something about that person, whether it be an attitude, a peeve, or a vibe. a bitch is someone who thinks just because theyve heard of someones name or know of someone that they are automatically acquaintances or friends, and that they are entitled to talk smack about said person. if you dont know what someones favorite color is or how many birthmarks are on their arm, then you dont know them well enough to say anything period about them to anyone else.

a cunt is one whom after being there and done that, they cant seem to let go of things and still pop up out of nowhere, planting little seeds of destruction in hopes that they will ruin a good thing to get what they had back. they had their chance and they blew it, so common sense says to move on to someone whom they deserve, which is a scummy lowlife piece of trash to match. how cute.

and now to the so called friends. these are the ones i can not stand the most. you think that they are there for you, to trust, to talk to. grant it you dont really get the chance to hang out with them, but thats ok because friends are there for eachother through anything and everything. they smile that toothy grin that had you known what their intent was it would make you rip their lips right off their face rather than look at that smile of deceit for another second. and you think everything is ok. that is, until you walk through the door and see your friend, smile now gone and replaced with that look that reminds you of a deer caught in headlights right before your car makes impact enough to break your own bones, sitting on your boyfriends couch in a mini skirt and fishnets in 20 below zero weather. im sorry, but thats just inappropriate. any so called friend, even an acquaintance, would know the difference between right and wrong. my 6 year old cousin would say "wow, thats fucked up". and as you stand there shocked they flash that smile that now makes you want to rip their lips off their face, or wish that at that moment they were that fucking deer that always runs out in front of a car, and that you were that car.

this is for anyone who ever had to deal with people like that, for anyone who wished that said person was that fucking deer and that you were driving that car of righteous fury.