Rethinking...

So I'm actually considering making the white battle suit for C.C. for MTAC now. I read how so many other people will be cosplaying C.C. in the black knight costume at MTAC this year, that I'm starting to reconsider things. I'm a bit of an attention whore, so I wanna stand out... but I just don't know if I'll have the time or the money (let alone the skill).

This is the problem with such an amazing anime growing so popular. The cosplayers of the series aren't so rare anymore, so you have to stand out and do something amazing if you wanna turn heads - and believe me, I do.

I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time and see what I can do with it all. After all, I've got plenty of time to decide on things, right?

.... Right?!?

After a Looooong Hiatus...

Whew. I knew this would fall by the wayside eventually. But hopefully, I'm back! :)

AWA came and went. It was fun, but also very stressful. See, I took 18 hours last semester, and worked two part-time jobs. Cosplay was kinda the last thing on my mind. So the biggest costume that I had to work on was Hayate Yagami from Nanoha A's. Whew boy... that was... interesting. Most of the costume was put together in the hotel room with the help of my friends Lauren and Brittany (THANK YOU SO MUCH). Overall, we did pretty damn well - got most of it finished, except for a few details here and there, and the wings were a no-go. But overall, it turned out pretty good:

(I'm the one on the right). It was a fun cosplay - and my first entry into a contest, which was very cool. But I don't think I'll be cosplaying any more characters that friends ask me to cosplay. I mean, I was the one who said I would do it, and I did offer, but I didn't know the series super well, and the costume itself really ovewhelmed me. It was a good experience, and I'm glad I did it, because now I know better. But from now on, I'll be sticking to characters I know and enjoy. :)

The other big cosplay we did for AWA was Action Bastard! This one was amazing. We got stopped for pictures everywhere we went, which was a nice feeling. It turned out so well, and we had to much frickin' fun!

I wish I had a better pic... we also had a Mr. K and a Penny, but they didn't get to join us til a bit later. I was Lollipop (right in the middle), and Tony was the Deflowerer (at my urging :P). John was Action Bastard himself, simply because he can do the voice spot on. And Lauren - yes, she's the one in that giant Happiness Bunny costume. And Brittany was our Aya (which was fun cuz it meant that Susan aka Penny and her got to fight a lot). I am still thoroughly impressed with Lauren and John's costumes, and I'm personally proud of Tony's rape cape (that thing was a BITCH to sew, but I got it done). And yes, we'll definitely be bringing this back for MTAC.

As for future cosplay plans, MTAC will be sneaking up on me shortly, and I think that as of last night I have my final cosplay plans for the con. Tony and I are doing cosplays from Pokemon, mainly because during AWA the guys were making fun of Gym Leader Byron, and Tony can pretty much do the voice for him perfectly. So he will cosplay Byron, and after a lot of flip-flopping, I'm planning to cosplay Cynthia, the Pokemon League Champion:

I chose this cosplay for a few reasons. It's true that it's super easy, but have you actually looked at the costumes that the female gym leaders have? They are apeshit crazy. There is NO easy costume among the girl gym leaders - they're all either waaaaay crazy complicated (usually in the hair department) or they show their stomach, which I'm not too crazy about doing. Cynthia is badass, and has a pretty easy outfit to replicate. I'm pretty sure I already have half of the costume in my closet. I just need to invest in a good wig, and I'll probably have to make that duster/coat thing.

That's the only new cosplay for MTAC. I'm bringing back Black Knight C.C. from Code Geass, although this time I'm doing it right and buying a good pair of white thigh-high boots. And like I already said, we're bringing back the Action Bastard! cosplay group. It was too much of a hit to just not do it again.

The only other cosplay I'm looking into is for AnimeExpo in July - yes, we are hitting the big time! Not sure what all we're planning to do, but I think Tony and I will be doing new cosplays from Code Geass. He's planning to do Zero, and I want to replicate the white battle suit that C.C. wears:

If we can pull these off, it will be epic!! And we're certainly gonna try to make them. That's why we're waiting for Expo to do them instead of MTAC - I'm still taking 15 hours of school this semester, working 2 jobs still, and planning a wedding for one of my best friends. I'm the maid of honor, so a lot of responsibility comes with that. My priorities: school, helping with the wedding, cosplay. This way, I can wait until the wedding is over to get started on the complicated stuff.

...... I think this is a long enough update. I'm going to go do some more cosplay research... or watch some anime... something like that. Adios!

Nothing much, but...

... I am using this to procrastinate. XD

Anyways, like I said, nothing much to say here. Just wanted to drop by and say no, I'm not dead. Just in Con Dead-Time. Cons & costumes have definitely taken to the back seat right now - I'm more concentrated on finishing school and getting out of the dorm. Then, it's off to finding a summer job! Hopefully, once I get said job, I'll be makin' the money, and spendin' said money on some cosplays, and then I'll have more to talk about here.

I also may update weight loss stuffs here. I'm back to -42.6 lbs total, which is where I was before MTAC. Cons have never been very conducive to weight loss and diets and exercise (even though at my very first MTAC I lost 6 lbs... probably cuz I hardly ate all weekend), so I'm happy to (finally) get back to where I started. Only about 37.4 more pounds to go til goal! It's crazy to think I'm already halfway there...

And... I think that's all for now. Like I said, I really don't have much to say, except that I'm not dead - just swallowed and boggged down with school. I'll update with weight loss and cosplay as it happens, so we'll just have to wait and see. ^_^

Another con has come and gone...

So I know it has been a while, and MTAC has come and gone. So I have a lot to write about... and since I'm waiting for a tornado warning to be over so I can get back to class, I guess now is as good as any time to write about it.

MTAC was freakin' amazing (minus some personal drama that almost ruined my weekend). The weekend started when Daniel and Susan came into town on Thursday night and hung out with me and Tony at my house for the night. We played Rock BAnd and made giant pretzels, not to mention we finished the rest of the stuff we had to get done for our cosplays. Overall, it was a very fun night, and a great way to start the weekend.

Friday was when the real con began. We were able to check into our room early, which was definitely nice, considering I was not yet fully into C.C. garb by the time I got there. When I was ready to peruse the con as C.C. (with my faithful Lelouch by my side), we browsed the con for quite a few hours. To our surprise (and satisfaction), many people recognized who we were and asked for our pictures. I even got glomped by some random fanboy (though Tony just about wanted to slap him upside the head for that one). It's always a good feeling to be recognized and people to flip out over your cosplay. It was everything Tony and I wanted it to be.

Saturday was slightly busier. Tony and I had a private photoshoot as Lelouch and C.C., which went over very well. I'm very please with how thin I look in the pictures... XD If you wanna take a look, click here! After this shoot, we had a small shoot with other CG cosplayers, which was also a lot of fun. Again, if you want to see them (along with all the other pics of MTAC I took), make with the clicking here.

After the photoshoots was MTAC Idol, which went rather well (I guess). I don't feel like I did as well as I could have, mainly because there were so many technical difficulties that we got started an hour and a half late and I didn't get to sing my 2nd round song (which I was more familiar with). By the time I actually got on stage, my nerves were completely shot. My friends tell me that I did great, and Tony keeps telling me I did fantastic, so I believe them. I still feel like I could have done better, if I hadn't been so nervous and had better breath control (I couldn't breathe at all by the end of the song). But the judges did tell me that I had great stage presence, which made me happy. If you wanna see my performance, I'm sure it's on YouTube (I'm the first person who went on, singing "God Knows"), but since I don't EVER want to see myself perform, I'll have to let you find it for yourself. ^_^ Even though I didn't win, I still want to do it again next year. And I think I already know what song I want to sing. So don't be surprised to see me on that stage again!!

Nothing really happened on Sunday; mainly just an easy-going day. I got some awesome swag in the dealer room, and we watched Daniel make a fool of himself, which I give points to. He made us all laugh so freakin hard, doing his impression of the Yip Yip Aliens from Sesame Street, I still watch the video Tony took and it still makes me laugh. Geez, that is going to be funny for at least another year. Thanks again, Daniel. ^_^

Overall, MTAC was a blast. I can't wait for next year... but I've got at least one (possibly two) more cons before then! Tony is considering taking me to AnimeFest in Dallas, TX over Labor Day Weekend for my anniversary present! Even more, Tony talked to our good friend, James, and James said that he would introduce me to the voice actors at the con, since that is my dream job.

How freakin' cool is that?!

Geez, two cons in September. The very thought makes me giddy. ... But I've got a lot to do before then... must start and finish Hayate and Lollipop... And before that, I have to finished the hell known as school. >_<

Oh well. I suppose I'll get thru it all. I have to!

And now that the tornado warning has passed, I need to go work out with Lauren... I have another 20 lbs to lose before September. ^_^

Adios~!

OMGOMGOMGIT'SHEEEEEERE!!

MY C.C. COSPLAY CAME IN TODAY.

I have a few (lame) pics, but it's the best I could do with my shotty camera without flash and a mirror.




... As if I wasn't ready enough for MTAC to get here... XD

Just something to pass the time. ^_^

[The Great Cosplay Survey]

[Introduction]

- What is your cosplay alias?
Psychopiratess is the alias you’ll find if you’re looking on con forums and such.

- How many years have you cosplayed?
Since Spring of 2007, about 2 years now.

- How did you get into cosplaying?
One of my friends mentioned trying it out and going to a con. It sounded like fun, so I decided to go for it. Haven’t looked back since.

- What was your first convention and how did it go?
My first con was MTAC Prime 2007. It was absolutely amazing. I had such a blast, and I made some very close friends that I know I’ll have for life.

- How many cons have you been to?

I’ve only been to two separate cons – MTAC (Middle Tennessee Anime Converntion) and AWA (Anime Weekend Atlanta). Though I have been going for two years, which makes 4 cons total.

- How many cosplays have you done?
Eight now, though not all of them were good.

[Your Cosplays]

- What was your first cosplay and why did you choose it?
Arisa Uotani from Fruits Basket, the Red Butterfly Jacket version. I chose it because I was told I would make a good Uo, and I really wanted my first cosplay to be from my first series that had gotten me into the world of anime. Plus, my jacket was kickass.

- What is your favorite cosplay you've done so far?
Probably Matsumoto Rangiku or Margery Daw. I felt like I really pulled those characters off well.

- What is your least favorite you've cosplayed?
Eh, it’s a toss up between Light Yagami from Death Note or Sana Kurata from Kodocha! Both of those were put together so hurriedly that no one knew who I was, and in turn, I didn’t feel in character at all.

- What cosplay is the most uncomfortable?
Hrmmm… Probably Margery Daw. It’s really not that bad, but the skirt is so shirt than I can’t wear shorts under it, and it’s difficult to keep myself decent sometimes. Plus, my everyday style of dress is pretty conservative, so it’s always a little disorienting to wear something revealing.

… Light Yagami was also uncomfortable, if only because I had to bind my chest to do it… and I have nicely sized boobs. XDD

[Process]

- How do you research the cosplay before you make it?

I always try to actually watch the anime all the way through before cosplaying a character, though sometimes that’s not possible (I couldn’t make it through Bleach, and didn’t have the time for Shana). But I also look at a lot of pictures and find the perfect outfit that looks awesome and would also flatter my body type.

- Do you sew your cosplays yourself?
I try to. Butcosplay isn't everything and sometimes life screws with my time, so I commission now and then. Of all the cosplays I’ve done, I’ve only commissioned two.

- If so, how did you learn to sew? If not, do you plan to learn?
I started sewing a little over a year ago. I took a class with two close friends of mine for school. For once, school actually helped my cosplaying skills. XD

- Do you make your own props?
Eh, about half of the time.

- If so, how did you learn to? If not, do you plan to learn?
Mainly through tutorials found online. And it really depends on the prop, if I make it or not. Tony is a prop master though. He figures things out pretty easily sometimes.

- Do you style your own wigs?
Ha. No. I have two or three friends who are experts at that, so I let them take care of it.

- What skill has been most useful for making your cosplay?
Sewing, probably. Sure as hell hasn’t been my procrastination techniques.

- What is the hardest thing when making a cosplay?
This may seem silly, but I hate sewing the hem. -_-

- What was the biggest screw up you've had making a cosplay?
Haven’t had a big one yet. It’s only a matter of time.

- How often do you injure yourself while making a cosplay?
I don’t really injure myself. But I’ve broken a few sewing machine needles. >_>

[Budget]

- On average, how much will you spend on cosplay in one year? (not including conventions, etc)
Eh, maybe… $500? I dunno, it seems a little high. It may be more this year, actually. I have quite a roster planned for AWA this year, and I’d prefer to not have to give one of them up.

- Do you try to stay cheap or do you slurge on materials?
I’m pretty cheap, but I don’t settle for crap. Somewhere in the middle, I guess.

[Conventions]

- What is your favourite convention?
Probably AWA. It’s a lot bigger than MTAC, and we get to go out of town for it, so it feels more like a vacation.

- What conventions have you gone to?
MTAC and AWA.

- How far have you travelled for a convention?
… Atlanta. XD I don’t have the money to go any farther away. But I plan to once I get out of school and get a job.

- Do you usually stay in a hotel or stay at home when you can?
I like staying in the hotel. It really adds to the experience.

- What was your worst convention experience?

I’ve never had a bad convention, but there were things in my first three cons I wish I could go back and change, namely just a lot of drama. My last AWA was the best con I’ve been to. It was all a blast.

[cos-PLAY]

- Have you ever cosplayed with a partner or group?
Actually, most of the cosplays I do are in groups (or at least pairs). That’s how I get wrangled into characters I don’t even know. XDD

- Do you try to act in character?
When the character isn’t too out there, I try to.

- Have you ever done fanservice at a con? (Yaoi, yuri, etc)
… I kissed my boyfriend as Matsumoto while he was Gin for a GinRan fangirl once. But other than that, no. We may be pulling some C.C. x Lelouch poses at this year’s MTAC, tho.

- How do you react to cosplayers dressed as character from the same anime/game/etc?
… I haven’t run into one of those yet. I get wrangled into cosplaying rare characters. I mean, there are usually a lot of Matsumoto’s out there, but that’s no surprise, so usually I just do nothing.

- Do you try to duplicate your character's expressions, walk, movements, etc?
Only when I’m thinking about it.

- When crossplaying, do you try to act as much like the gender as possible?
Erm, only crossplayed as Light Yagami. And all I had to do was walk around and scowl. So ya.

- What was your funniest experience of acting in character?
As Margery Daw, I just struuted around in my purple suit and lacy thigh highs. I got a lot of heads to turn. And I liked punching Marco. That was great.

- What was your worst experience acting in character?
Don’t have one. Hope to not have one.

[Competetion]

- Do you compete in Cosplay Contests?
Not yet, but plan to for AWA.

- Have you won anything?
Nope.

- Do you prefer skits or walk ons?
I’ve never actually been able to make it to a cosplay contest, so I dunno. I have heard that skits better be fan-freakin-tastic, otherwise they’re just a waste of time.

[Community]

- How many friends have you made because of cosplay?
Geez, I dunno. Probably about fifteen or so, plus an amazing boyfriend. XDD

- Are you a part of any convention or cosplay forums?
I’m on MTAC forums and cosplay.com, though I will probably be on the AWA forums in a little bit too.

- Do you attend photoshoots and meet ups outside of conventions?
Not really. Only do private photoshoots outside of the con.

[Future]

- How long do you think you'll be cosplaying for?
As long as it’s not creepy.

- Name a few cosplays you're planning to do next:
Eh, if you want that list, scroll down. I’m not listing them all again.

- What is your dream cosplay?
As of now, Rainbow Brite. XDD

[Misc]

- What do you take into consideration when picking a character to cosplay?
I have to really like the characters, and they need to have a fairly interesting cosplay.

- Is cosplay serious business for you?
It’s serious business so I can have some serious fun. XD

- What is your favorite thing about cosplay?
Just strutting around as the character and meeting new people.

- What is your least favorite?
Procrastinating til the very end, and stressing myself out about it.

- What is it that makes you keep cosplaying?
Seeing all my friends, making new ones, and seeing the reactions of people when I’m cosplaying on of their favorite characters.

- How would you like cosplaying to change in the future?
Making more of my own things from scratch, not waiting til the last minute to get stuff done, and more grandiose costumes. I prefer to go big or not at all. XD

Code Geass is teh shiz-nat.

I finished Code Geass yesterday.

AHGDNJKGBNAWEKSDGNJDSBXNVISDOGJIAVBDCVXDKNHJAIOEHDVNKJZAAAAAHHH! SOOOOOOO GOOD.

I downloaded all of R2 onto my computer and got crackin' all weekend, and I finished the last four episodes with Tony yesterday. I can easily say it is one of the best series I have ever seen - period. And now I can definitely see why Tony is so crazy about it. All of the characters are fantastically developed, the plot is so intricate with twists and turns, and it ends beautifully. I bawled at the end (no surprise there, tho - I'm a crybaby). But yes, I love this series, and I am so ecstatic to be cosplaying C.C.

Speaking of which... new progress to report! I ordered my wig a week ago, and it's already in (thanks to Tony forking the bill for express shipping ^_^). It's absolutely gorgeous; I don't think I could have asked for a better wig...



How perfect is it? ^___^ It's beautiful. The color is fantastic - even better than I thought it would be. And while I knew it was going to be a long one, I didn't know it'd reach below my waist. I'm a bit nervous, simply because it is such a long wig, and I know those can be really easy to mess up permanently (as I have done it before), but I think I'll be too paranoid about ruining it to not take good care of it. The best part about all this is that I ordered this wig from an eBay store that just opened in November and they did not have a lot of reviews (though the few they did have were all positive), so I was taking a gamble with my money. But now that I know their stuff is really good, I have a new wig store to check out online for future cosplays.

Man, I am so frickin' ready for MTAC. Now I just need to practice for MTAC Idol... and wait patiently for the rest of our cosplays to come in... >___<