#using it for halloween yes but also it’s my first time making like. a cosplay? for myself. so next time i go to a con i might enter the

[gg-is-a-loser]

darkstalker costume is complete.. sniles sneetly…..

[20dollarlolita]

Heyy, I know this isn't really your thing, but do you think it would be bad for someone to get a wheelchair to cosplay at a convention, when they're not disabled? I know you go to cons in a chair.

That's a kind of complicated question.

So for starters, obviously there's not one person who can speak for every wheelchair user, so don't take my word as law or anything.

But the short answer is maybe? Probably?

First of all, if you want to learn how noodle arm your abled noodle arms are (and yes, you have abled noodle arms. Manual wheelchair users have arm muscles you've never heard about), try to propel yourself through a con for an entire day.

But to answer the question, first of all, it's not okay for someone who's using a wheelchair for a cosplay to take up limited resources that are intended for disabled people. If there's limited wheelchair seating at a panel, you better not be taking it up. You can get out of your wheelchair and sit, and you can't tell if another wheelchair user is able to safely and comfortably do it. If you're worried about people judging you for using a wheelchair and then standing up and walking, welcome to the reality that a lot of ambulatory wheelchair users, who can stand or walk, live all the time. Remember what that judgement feels like and make a note to never, ever pass it onto another person. Don't be using the wheelchair for cutting in lines or things like that. If there's a line for the elevator or the big bathroom stall, let other people go ahead of you.

But, I don't think it's inherently bad for someone to want to use a wheelchair at a convention, even if they wouldn't be using one outside a con, provided that they do not use resources intended for disabled people. I think that management of a convention seeing that there are more wheelchair users will be more likely to take into consideration wheelchair accommodations. I think that people who are using a wheelchair in public for the first time will learn very fast about how accessible their convention center actually is. There's a lot of things that I didn't realize were accessibility problems until they were problems that directly challenged my personal access. A lot of those things would cost zero dollars to change, but the people in charge either don't have the experience needed to know that they need to be changed, or they don't think it's a priority because wheelchair users are in the minority. Having more people aware of those kinds of situations is going to make a bigger pressure to stop those things from happening. For example, when was the last time that you noticed an a bathroom stall labeled accessible that had a door that opened inward? Most people I know wouldn't consider that a problem, but everyone who's been unable to pee because the stall isn't big enough for the door and their wheelchair is going to notice. The places I've been where moving the line over 5" to the left would make an inaccessible line able to accommodate my wheelchair (looking at you, Halloween Horror Nights). There's been "oh we have a ramp" and it's two 2x4's. There's all kinds of little things that cost no money that can be better, but no one cares until it's about them. You can get that perspective. You can learn how garbage it can feel.

I also don't want to ignore the fact that we frequently use cosplay to test out things that we want to do in our real lives. A lot of my friends who wear alternative fashion daily started out just wearing alternative fashion to conventions. Everyone my age or younger either a) has a friend that started out cosplaying characters of a different gender and then they later came out as that gender, or b) is that friend, or c) says weird transphobic BS all the time and so trans people don't want to be their friends. Deciding that you need to use a mobility aid is a really weirdly hard decision. I actually had a long period of time between "I need a mobility aid," and "it's okay if I use a mobility aid." I'm going to assume that there's people out there who are trying to decide if it's helpful and okay to use a wheelchair, who test it out by cosplaying a character in a wheelchair and seeing how they feel about it when it's part of a costume. I don't want to deny someone a chance to learn that it's okay to get a wheelchair and will help them.

But yeah, the short version is if your enjoyment of a convention using a wheelchair for a costume comes at the expense of the accessibility and experience of people who are disabled and don't have a choice about if they're going to be using mobility aids, you're a piece of garbage.

But I haven't actually been wearing cosplay to cons for a while (though I did cosplay Barbara Gordon at the last SacAnime) so if anyone in the disabled cosplay community has something to say about this, I'd appreciate the input. Like I said, no one can speak for everyone in this subject.

[occasional-arb]

Scramble Recital ~Shibuya Halloween Night~ Translation

(In Ramuda’s studio.)

Ramuda: Alright! So that’s why we’ll be the ones keeping the peace in Shibuya on Halloween☆

Dice: What do you mean “so that’s why”!

Gentaro: We just got here, isn’t it a bit dictatorial to make such a decision without even discussing it with us first?

Ramuda: No way! I’m sure you guys know that Shibuya’s filled with parties on Halloween night, right?

Dice: That’s true. It’s hard to get to the pachinko parlor with so many people partying in the streets.

Ramuda: It’s good to have fun on a holiday, but some people get a teensy bit carried away.

Gentaro: Yes, it makes the news every year. It is a bit disconcerting.

Ramuda: Right?? So this year, let’s patrol the streets and fix all the problems ☆ Sounds good, right? Right? Okay, it’s decided!!

Dice: Well I’m free, so as long as you buy me something to eat, it’s cool with me.

Gentaro: Sigh… Always such a despicable person. Maybe even evil…

Gentaro: Unlike him, I live to serve the people of the world without compensation, so I will partake for nothing in return.

Dice: Now that’s a good lie.

Ramuda: So what’s the real reason???

Gentaro: I’m writing a Halloween themed story. I needed to do some research anyway, so this was perfect timing.

Dice: So you’re evil too…

Gentaro: Call it what you like.

Dice: So, will we just walk around the city like usual, then?

Ramuda: Isn’t that boring? We should all dress up in cosplay to go on patrol!

Dice: Oh, that sounds fun!

Ramuda: Right??

Gentaro: Cosplay, huh… I’m not very keen on the idea…

Ramuda: But you’ll stand out if you’re not dressed up! When in Rome, right?

Gentaro: …Alright. I suppose it might make for good story material…

Ramuda: Yay! I’ll make us all costumes!!

Dice: If I’m gonna do this, I wanna dress up as Bakuchi from “Misfortunate Gambling Legend: Bakuchi”!

(T/N: This is a parody of the Kaiji franchise.)

Ramuda: Okay, I’ll make it for you! What costume does Gentaro want??

Gentaro: …Nothing in particular. I’ll leave it up to you.

Ramuda: Since Gengen likes to wear traditional clothes, you should be Kenki from Edo Sword Demon Romantic Story!

(T/N: This is a parody of Rurouni Kenshin. Soma Saito also plays Kenshin in the reboot anime.)

Dice: What about you, Ramuda?

Ramuda: Hehehe! My costume is actually already done! I’ll show you! Wait here a sec!!

(Ramuda leaves and comes back with long blond hair and a frilly red dress. …If this is parodying something specific, I don’t know what it is lol. )

Ramuda: Ta-da! What do you think??

Dice: O-oh…

Gentaro: Quite the extravagant costume… What is this a cosplay of?

Ramuda: I’m a villainess ☆ So what do you think? Isn’t it cute??

Dice: I guess it suits you…

Gentaro: As long as you like it, anything is fine…

Ramuda: I can’t wait to see you guys in your costumes! Let’s all keep Shibuya safe together!!

(The day before Halloween, in Ramuda’s studio again.)

Ramuda: Sorry, guys! There’s some work I have to do tomorrow so I won’t be able to join you…

Gentaro: If it’s work, it can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it.

Dice: So are we canceling it?

Ramuda: Don’t cancel, I already made your costumes! And I called in some extra help to take my spot!

Dice: Extra help?

Gentaro: Who is it?

Ramuda: Tomorrow will be great! He’s a guy that I trust, so it’s fine!

Gentaro: …I suppose that’s fine.

Dice: You’ll still buy me food, right?

Ramuda: Yep! I’ll get you something real nice afterwards!

Dice: Hell yeah!

Gentaro: Goodness... Truly a despicable man.

Ramuda: Then tomorrow I’ll be leaving Shibuya in your hands!

Dice: Yep! Leave it to me!

Gentaro: As you command.

(Halloween, Shibuya Crossing. Dice is wearing his not Kaiji cosplay.)

Dice: Woah, lotta people here.

Dice: Everyone else is dressed so flashy, I don’t stand out at all.

Gentaro: Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Dice: Oh!

(Gentaro appears wearing his not Kenshin cosplay.)

Dice: Something’s different about you.

Gentaro: I’m used to wearing a kimono, but… I still feel uncomfortable carrying a sword at my waist, even if it’s just a toy. It feels like I’m doing something nefarious…

Dice: Well, everyone else is dressed up too. I don’t think it’ll bother anyone.

Gentaro: I suppose. By the way, has our help arrived yet?

Dice: Nope, not yet.

???: Sorry to keep you waiting!

(Ichiro appears wearing some… kind of costume that vaguely resembles Takeshi Goda, a character also played by Subaru Kimura in Doraemon. Apparently.)

Gentaro: Yamada Ichiro-san?

Dice: Are you our help?

Ichiro: Yeah, Ramuda asked me to lend you guys a hand. Let’s do this!

Dice: By the way, that outfit suits you strangely well.

Ichiro: Right? I was surprised when I tried it on too.

Gentaro: You’re Toshihiko, the bully from a popular children’s anime, correct?

Ichiro: Yep. I guess cause it was last-minute, Ramuda could only make a simple costume.

Dice: Alright! Well, let’s go grab some food before going on patrol.

Ichiro: Can’t work on an empty stomach!

Gentaro: Dice… Please pay for yourself this time.

Dice: Nahahahaha!

(Dice walks off)

Gentaro: That wasn’t a joke.

(Shibuya Center Gai)

Ichiro: I heard this would be crazy, but it’s even wilder than I expected.

Gentaro: There’s not even a particular event going on, people just use Halloween as an excuse to party.

Dice: It’s hard to get through the crowds…

Child: Sniff… Hiccup…

Ichiro: Hm? Was that a child crying?

Gentaro: Hm… I didn’t hear anything.

Dice: I didn’t either.

Ichiro: This way!

(Different spot on Shibuya Center Gai.)

Child: Huuuu… Mama!

Gentaro: Oh, there is a child.

Dice: Must’ve gotten separated from his mom.

Ichiro: Whatever happened, we need to get him to stop crying so he can talk to us.

Dice: Alright! Leave it to me!

Dice: Hey kid, let’s go look for your mom together!

Child: Uweeeeehhh!

Dice: Ah! P-please stop crying! I’m trying to help you!

Gentaro: It’s only natural to be scared when a strange man speaks to you so brashly.

Dice: I-I wasn’t brash…

Ichiro: Hey kid, where did your mom go?

Child. Uuuuh… Toshihiko?

Ichiro: Yep!

Dice: He’s imitating Toshihiko’s voice…

Gentaro: Children are simple, after all. Of course they’ll open up to a familiar character.

Ichiro: Glad you know about me!

Child: Yeah! I watch you every week!

Ichiro: Thanks for your support!

Ichiro: So, where’s your mom at?

Child: I dunno…

Ichiro: I see…

Ichiro: Well, don’t worry! Toshihiko-sama will find her!

Child: Really?!

Ichiro: Yeah! So no more crying, okay?

Child: Okay!

Gentaro: How do we find someone in this crowd?

Ichiro: His parents are probably looking for him too, so if the three of us rap together and get some attention, they should notice us.

Gentaro: True… They’re probably not far, so it might work.

Ichiro: Right? Then let’s get started—

(They rap.)

Mother: Takashi!

Child: Mama!

Dice: Oh! Looks like the mom is here!

Ichiro: Great.

Mother: Excuse me… Sorry for all the trouble. Thank you!

Ichiro: No problem. Just be careful not to get separated again.

Mother: Will do. Sorry again!

Child: See ya later, Toshihiko!

Ichiro: See ya! And make sure to listen to your mom!

Dice: Well, that’s that!

Gentaro: Now then, let us continue our patrol.

???: Kyaaaa!

Ichiro: What is it now?!

Dice: Over there! Let’s go!

(They go… somewhere else.)

Ichiro: No way…!

Gentaro: That woman is about to jump from the roof…

Dice: Guys! Let’s go stop her!

Gentaro: Of course.

Ichiro: Yeah.

(They go up to the roof of the building.)

Dice: Hey! Don’t do anything stupid!

Woman: D-don’t come near me! I’ll jump!

Gentaro: …Please calm down. As you wish, we’ll stay right here.

Ichiro: Hey… What happened?

Woman: My boyfriend was cheating on me with my best friend… When I confronted him about it, he broke up with me and started dating her…

Ichiro: Wow… That’s terrible…

Gentaro: Hm. A common plot development in pulp novels, but it really does drive people mad. I learned something.

Ichiro: Don’t you have a heart…?

Dice: H-hey, y’know you’ll die if you jump. If you stay alive, something good is bound to happen to you, so…

Woman: Nothing good will ever happen to me! I’d rather end it here then go on living like this…!

Dice: W-wait! Hold on a minute!

Dice: Th-That’s right! I’ll tell you my special information!

Woman: What… is it…

Dice: I know a bakery that’ll give you the heels of bread for free!

Woman: What?

Dice: It’s perfect for when you don’t have money for food! I can also tell you the good places to sleep to stay outta the wind, even in the winter!

Woman: …

Dice: Is that still no good? Then, I’ll treat you to a public bath once a week! That’ll take care of one problem…

Woman: That’s enough!

Dice: Oh! Right? It’s a pretty great deal!

(The woman gives him 1000 yen.)

Dice: Hm, 1000 yen? Why’d you give me this?

Woman: …Use it to eat something nice.

Dice: O-oh…

Woman: If you guys are his friends, you should help him…

Gentaro & Ichiro: Y-yes…

Woman: Listening to his story made me feel stupid for wanting to die.

(She leaves.)

Dice: Huh? But she left before I could tell her the info…

Gentaro: Could you please stop talking for a moment? That was embarrassing.

Ichiro: W-well, Arisugawa solved the problem, so I guess it’s fine…

Dice: What’s up with you two?

(They go back to the street and hear some kind of ruckus.)

Ichiro: What now?

Gentaro: There’s someone speaking rather harshly…

Dice: Let’s go.

(They walk towards the ruckus.)

Drunk Guy A: Bastard! I’ll kill you!

Drunk Guy B: Just try it, dumbass!

Dice: Drunk guys fighting, huh…

Ichiro: Should we stop them, Arisugawa?

Dice: Yeah.

Gentaro: Please wait a moment.

Dice: Why?

Ichiro: We don’t have time to mess around.

Gentaro: Please allow me to peacefully resolve this.

Dice: Well, I guess that’s fine too.

Gentaro: Leave it to me.

Gentaro: Ahem! You two over there?

Drunk Guy A: Huh?!

Drunk Guy B: Who the hell are you?! Shut up and stay out of this!

Gentaro: I am but a humble writer… No, I am a humble samurai now.

Drunk Guy A: The hell is this guy saying?

Gentaro: Well, it doesn’t really matter who I am.

Gentaro: Fighting in a place like this will trouble the people around you. Please lay down your spears.

Drunk Guy B: Shut it! Who talks like that? Is there something wrong with your head?!

Drunk Guy A: Yeah, worry about yourself first!

Drunk Guy B: Y’know, you’re not wrong! Ahahaha!

Gentaro: …

(Gentaro smiles and draws his sword.)

Drunk Guy A: Hey… Why did you take out your sword?

(Gentaro walks closer.)

Drunk Guy B: I-idiot! Cut it out!!!

(Gentaro smacks them with his toy sword.)

Drunk Guy A: Agh!

Drunk Guy B: Ouch!

Gentaro: Sigh… Peace has returned to Shibuya once more.

Dice: What the hell was that?! That wasn’t peaceful at all.

Gentaro: Unfortunately, they were of a species of ape that cannot understand human language. It is sometimes necessary to use force in such cases.

Dice: You were just being petty…

Ichiro: Is it alright to hit someone with that, even if it’s a toy?

Gentaro: Don’t worry, I used the flat edge.

Ichiro: That’s not the issue…

Gentaro: Now then! The next incident is calling us! Let us be off!

(Gentaro walks off.)

Ichiro: Both you and Ramuda are strange, but Yumeno might be the worst.

Dice: I’m glad you understand.

(They go back to Shibuya Crossing.)

Ichiro: I guess when there’s so many people around, you get all sorts of problems.

Gentaro: Shibuya is always crowded, but this holiday is the most perilous.

Dice: It’s fine to have fun, but people shouldn’t come if they can’t follow the rules.

Gentaro: If you must make a fuss, please don’t forget common sense.

(T/N: I can’t prove that this is a covert advertisement paid for by the city of Shibuya, but…)

Ichiro: Ugh, I can’t get through this crowd.

Dice: Yeah. Everyone’s packed in the Scramble Crossing.

Gentaro: It seems the police are trying to direct people, but nobody is listening.

Gentaro: At this rate, people will get pushed out into traffic…

Ichiro: That’s it! We can rap to help the police guide people!

Dice: Oh, good idea! If the three of us rap, there’s no way people won’t hear us!

Gentaro: Yes, then they’ll be more willing to follow directions.

Ichiro: Alright! In that case, let’s do it!

Ichiro: People of Shibuya! Please listen for a moment!

Gentaro: I know you’re having fun, but…

Dice: We’re gonna rap about traffic rules!

Ichiro: Yumeno, Arisugawa! Let’s go!

Gentaro & Dice: Yeah!

(They rap, again.)

Dice: Whew, I’m glad the flow of traffic became smoother!

Ichiro: It’s rare to hear gratitude from the police.

Gentaro: And it feels good to help people.

(They hear another ruckus.)

???: Come on! Bring me some booze!

Passerby: Apparently that doctor over there is drunk and acting up.

Dice: Another drunk guy…

Gentaro: The time has come for my sword to fly once more.

Ichiro: …No, let’s do this peacefully this time.

Dice: Alright, let’s get going then.

Ichiro & Gentaro: Okay!

[echolepzy]

hm yes i enjoy reading your opinions, nice opinions you have. i will now share my own because that’s probably how humans converse or something idk /j

ship? i’ve really only seen isafrin and sifloop, and personally i enjoy sloop but like as a weird not romantic but secret 74th option that they invented one afternoon at 11:56am. isafrin is a classic, always chefs kiss. yes very ship very nice very good will read fics of them being dramatically torn apart to the point of insanity. i just like the classic sloop “i fucking despise you wanna cuddle” dynamic. better if loop is human and isabeau is there to break up their arguments. cuz it’s funny

my favorite silly has gotta be loop. they suck i hope they die in a supernova. sif is a very very close second, and my third would deffo be bonnie. they are a child who brought a child here. i think the only reasons loop is my favorite rn is 1) loop plush THAT I GOT yippee it doesn’t arrive until next year but. i’ll have it eventually and i will treasure it. forever. i’ll be buried with it. 2) funnysillyjokespun person traumatized x32 edition

trauma has gotta be the fact that sif almost destroyed the world with his abandonment issues. like dude…. which also includes mal du pays. the embodiment of homesickness itself is here to fuck shit uppp let’s go. i also really like time loops so really just the entire time loop situation(basically the whole game) especially when there’s fics about it post-canon. those are so fun.

THE LOST COUNTRY yessss i love this thing. a lot of my headcanons revolve around a fic that i thought was really cool that dove deep into its culture (fic here https://archiveofourown.org/works/56032411 i think). some of the things i remember and liked are bonds being expressed through nicknames(im like 85% sure that sif calls them all by nicknames but changes to calling some by full names in the game but i might be delusional so). i just really liked a lot of the culture deep dive in that fic. i also imagine them being rather technologically advanced in comparison to other countries, since like all that knowledge about stars. i think it’s also possible that there were still people who could perceive colour on that island(not majority, maybe like 20% of the population). and y’know how vaugarde is fantasy france? north island is fantasy greenland. just imo

leading off of that- poteria is fantasy america(so. they use fuck as curse :]) and idk what mwudu would be. i think it would be fun though, to have the various countries be fantastical irl countries, and is also supported by evidence with ka bua being fantasy japan. so yeah this is actually canon now.

and ngl i really wanna cosplay siffrin someday- like, i can’t this halloween cuz i already have a sick asf dragon costume in the works but maybe a thing in the future. maybe i could even do winged sif to make moneys worth of the wings im using for my dragon costume. maybe i’ll do it for next ren faire one day-

(i wish i had a sibling to have the loop-siffrin dynamic with… alas, as i am a lonely child and have none. i killed them in the womb /j)

-same mutual if you couldn’t tell (guess who lol)

First of all *absorbs that fic link* I'm reading this now thank you

Secondly fuck yeah Loop plushie buddies!! I'm sharing mine with my little brother since he's the undeniable Loop kinnie but the sticker is mine and it's going on my laptop

The wiki says Vaugarde is based on France, Ka Bue is based on Japan, the Forgotten Country is based on Guadeloupe (but insertdisc5 likes seeing other interpretations too), Poteria is based on Italy (which was my headcanon before I even saw it on the wiki lol), and Mwudu isn't really based on anything (I headcanon Germany for some reason, but also not? idk it's complicated, my main Mwudu headcanon is that they have this whole deal with fire). As a creature of low intelligence who always fails geography I kinda just stick with what the wiki tells me XD Also, Ka Bue is on the other side of the world but the rest of the countries are closer together, I think that's kinda interesting to think about-

Finding parts for my cosplay is proving to be a huge pain in the ass, right now I'm just settling for "close enough" and I'll try to customize the parts when I get them- Agh the hat is probably the hardest right now ;w; I wonder if they'll let me bring a dagger to my vocational school... My friend on the bus has actual knives with her every day so I don't see why I can't have a costume dagger (a real one would be cooler but I don't think my family would trust me with it).

[joe-spookyy]

Any tips on how to cosplay Undead Jack Goodman

( context plan on going to a Halloween party as him )

actually yes!!! i’ve gone through a fair bit of trial and error on this one so let me give you some tips!!

here’s how i did it.

so. first. the makeup.

you will need

- cotton balls/pads

- liquid latex

- scar wax (optional)

- paper towel tube

- tissues

- red base makeup

- eyeliner pencil of some sort

- fake blood

- black/brown/yellow/purple makeup

so, first, you’re going to want to block out the shape of the injury. i usually just draw it out with the eyeliner pencil (using a reference of course). you’re going to want to go all the way down your neck to the collar of your shirt and as far back to where your hair falls on your neck. if your hair doesn’t hit your neck well. then follow your heart. then, you’ll follow the guidelines you’ve put down with cotton and liquid latex to make it raised. you’ll want to tear up the cotton balls/pads and roll them into thin strips with your fingers. you can make them as long or as short as you want. i usually make them pretty short though, so it’s easier to make sure they follow the lines. once you’ve rolled them, you can place liquid latex over your guideline, and then stick the strip on. if that doesn’t make sense, check out my video tutorial and also the one i attached at the end. then, once you have that, you can start adding texture. i usually put one piece of scar wax on the side of my cheek like here. it should look somewhat like this (but with stuff on your neck too.) this is also the stage where i start attaching little pieces of tissue in shreds to my face with liquid latex to simulate the little floppy pieces of skin that hang off.

next, you can add the fake windpipe! for this, i cut a toilet paper tube in half and then adjust the size until it fits comfortably over my throat. you can attach it with liquid latex, then cover it with another piece of tissue to make it a little more seamless and use liquid latex again to hold it down.

now, you have to go in with the color. start with a red base, then add yellow and black highlights, with a little bit of purple if you’re feeling bold. but don’t use too much purple. then, go absolutely insane with the fake blood. the most important thing is to respect the lines you made before, cause in the movie all the wounds are isolated to one side of his face.

to modify this for the later stages of decay you’d want to use a green base for the rest of your face and use less red and more of the darker colors in the wounds. you could create texture on the rest of your face with liquid latex i think to sort of simulate the shriveled look but i’m not super sure - i haven’t tried anything past the initial fresh hospital look. i’d look up a few zombie makeup tutorials and see if you can figure anything else out!

i based all of mine off of this tutorial, so it might be a helpful watch if you’re confused at all.

next, the coat. i really wanted the blood to look fresh, so i had kind of a hard time finding fake blood that would work. most of it dries and soaks into fabric, and since the green coat is dark, it just ends up kinda looking like it’s been stained with an unidentified liquid. so i decided to make my own. i mixed gelatin powder, water, and corn syrup with food coloring - mostly red, but a few drops of blue to get a darker more bloody nasty look. in terms of amount, you just kind of have to follow your heart. then, i poured a little over the shoulder, let it drip, then laid it down and did some spot treatment and made sure the coverage was even and there was enough. i’d recommend doing this maybe two nights before you’re going to need the costume - it takes a while to dry but if you let it dry for too long it’ll start to crack when you move. however, it’s the only way i’ve figured out to keep the blood looking fresh. if you want, you can also cut holes in the coat in some places to match how it is in the movie, but i’ve found it honestly doesn’t need it.

then you’re pretty much set! get some dark jeans and hiking boots and boom. you’re jack. would love to see how your costume turns out!

[kehideni]

IDK if i ever flaunted all my characters in GW2... probably not.

Anyone interested? No? Too bad you're getting one HAHH

The main boi himself, my first ever character and main:

The Commander - Beasteye Denalien

This has been is 'mog for years now, i think he owns it very well. Hint of Ash Legion identity with the hood, and a whole lot of survivalist, dragon killer, ranger in the rest of the gear.

Chronologically the second is my warrior:

Wherever there is a Denalien there is a Lethupan. Beastclaw Lethupan was my first pvp alt who's since been downgraded into my legendary gear crafter. Artificer and Weaponsmith. He used to have his own fashion too, but i felt as my assigned crafter he should don the whole legy gear himself as showoff.

Third i wanna show off is my current pvp guardian:

Blackbeast Adrien is the only support i use. I use him as a condi dps in pve (raaaaarely, really rarely) but most often he is my go to in pvp as a support core guardian.

Fourth is the newest addition to the roster:

My cosplay character: Six Eared Macaque. I almost made him a necromancer because of the shroud ability but that would be my 3rd necromancer and also the only ability Macaque shares with necromancer *IS* the shroud. So this guy ended up being a thief for thieves can port, use staff and spear both (yes i know necromancer can too but necro staff is not martialarts-y like it is for thief) and Macaque is also more known for his sneakyness which is very thief like and thieves can go invisible so...

Fifth is the only human i have who is an elementalist:

Belle Thebeauty started out as a joke between me and my brother. He made a Beast lookalike and i made a Beauty lookalike that we both ended up using as our bank characters hahh... Ironically i placed all my ingame lorebooks on her so she is kinda fullfilling her dream as a living library as well.

Sixth is my halloween bag farmer:

Beastslain Daelin is a cruel joke on World of Warcraft's Daelin Proudmoore. If there was a shaman class in GW2, i'd have made him that, but the next best thing was making him a flame legion charr that's a necromancer. Essencially the joke is becoming the thing he hates the most. A "savage" monster.

Seventh is my only sylvari, Rúzsa.

He simply started out as a plant joke (hungarian joke, Rúzsa sounds similar to Rózsa which means rose.) Made him a revenant because at the time that was the only profession i haven't tried yet. Now he is my main condi dps for pve use.

Eight is Luna Shadowbeast

Thief and the account's jewelcrafter and tailor. She was simply made for me to try out thief and when i learned that thief is not my playstyle she retired as a crafter.

Ninth is another reference character:

My first asura and first engineer: Mikron Ojeneus. He is a reference to this guy:

Bet ya'all didn't know that Gizmo's real name in the DC Universe is Mikron Ojeneus. Hahahh

Tenth is a challenge character, that [RnR] made me do:

The rule was set specifically to me

i could not make the character a charr

it must be a condi character (because i am so set on being a power dps)

i must randomise it's looks and not change it

i must not use mounts

His name is Den Ecromancer which is a play on my screen name. Since RnR is inactive yet again, he became a "discover core tyria using only the turtle mount" character. Rules are: i'm only allowed to use the turtle mount and only can get off it if the discovery is impossible to do with it. There are very few objectives in core tyria that you can't do with turtle turns out.

Eleventh is my token mesmer i made only so i'd have a mesmer too:

Corva Beastmuzzle is currently collecting dust, awaiting a role for her. She is also a homage to my first cat, Happy who died last christmas. Her fur pattern is identical to that of Happy's.

Twelveth character is a clone character to my main

Not Denalien is a ranger, that is a clone to Beasteye Denalien. He exists because Arenanet sometimes retroactively messes up the repeatable storymode, making it impossible to record with Beasteye Denalien. That's when i use this guy to record the story, and it was this guy i used to record the OG Denalien's personal story.

And lastly, my thirteenth character

Huba Swiftbeast, my elementalist. He only exists because one day i was bored and i wanted another character :3 He was a roleplay character, that i ended up not using because as it turns out i'm not much of a roleplayer :D hahh

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog Anime Festival Kassel! - Part 1

27.-28. October 2023

The last convention for me this year, read further for my impression of this event which was held in Kassel for the first time, me being super chaotic, enjoying things and attending the cosplay competition.

And yes I was totally going as past!Allen the times I was "not" in costume as my glasses are round too and I had to put on the shirt/waistcoat anyways. I just HC him as an explorer when he goes to places, its my kind of having silly little fandom moments. But now to the travel blog.

Friday, Travel & Coming 'home'

Travel day. I started a bit chaotic from home and later than planned but rain was forecasted the whole day and a serious hiking day was not really possible. I noticed I forgot my phone charger as I was already out and my first mission was to buy a replacement. As I arrived in Kassel I had to take a reroute as there was so much traffic but I know the city and its corners it was fine to me. All the familar places and ... I just felt home. For 19 years my favorite convention was held in Kassel until it moved to Wiesbaden this year and I was completely devastated how they handled it and left Kassel crying last year and I am just so SO happy to be able to return.

I quickly checked into the Hotel and went to the convention hall and just the feeling of seeing it again made me so content, even with the rain, the cold weather, the phone charger etc. AND the fact the Con contacted me that my script for the Contest has to be changed as there was some equipment different.

I went through the park and was just thriving. Then into the city checking a few places, actually got a charger after asking the sales manager of a itty bitty corner store if they have some - i was super proud I did that, past-me would have given up and just searched for a big electronic store to drive to to avoid talking to people.

As I walked back to the hall I came across a very fancy bakery/café I had discovered last year and they sold halloween themed confectonary again and ... this time I actually bought some. I dared to go in there and bought two petit fours and even as the seller asked me something twice I was just casually replying I am .. so proud. You know I suffer from severe social anxiety and a situation like this would have been enough to break me for a whole weekend, on top with the charger thing. But I was managing well. It was quite late then as I got back to the hall but still decided to ask if I could get my ticket for the next two days already to avoid waiting. Another step further for me, usually I would have chickened out. Everyone there was very darling I am looking forward on how they organize the actual convention days.

Back in the hotel I had (very late) dinner, but I was just mentally in such a good place that it didn't mess with my head.

Saturday - 28. October - Contest day

Slept okay for the fact I usually sleep bed when not home, super excited for the day. But took it slow, went through my script a few times (finally after not doing so for the last days) to recall it.

Then headed out to Kassel to fetch a few things, I like to give myself small tasks to have something to do when I am alone. Like just getting some snacks.

After returning to my car I started painting... my make up. I actually avoid doing a lot of make up for Allen as my eyes hate it and I don't think he is a make up type but as it was for the contest I wanted to upgrade everything a little bit.

It was starting to rain again and ... someone please remind me more often that the first Uniform has a HOOD I can use. I ... will come back to that later.

After a bit of waiting time due bag control I finally was able to enter the hall. It felt again like home but also different. When you came in you had several vendors, Manga, Merch, some artists inbetween. Even a tattoo artist?! And like at the Polaris you had several vendors of dried fruit... ehm.. okay? Like I am always for more healthy options aside the vendors selling tons of asian candies and ramen.

What I really liked about the structure they had for the hall is that they actually used the hallways better than the other con, less "lost" space. Yes they have a smaller audience but it seemed so much smarter to me to use the hallways for artists instead of putting them into super small rooms with no space to move in.

For the vendors and all there was .. lots of Genshin Impact again and Demon Slayer I think? I am a bit spoiled by the last cons especially the bookfair and the polaris in regards of a great diversity of artists, this was alright I guess. Not much for me to buy.

What was interesting is that the city had rented the hall to another convention but for ... doctors. Weird, but worked. As I got recognized as Allen later on I was able to talk with the two and one told me a few interesting things about the Con that moved to Wiesbaden and some facts that the Anime Festival will be bigger next year. I got encouraged to voice my opinion more often by them, as all they heard was only positive about the other Con (they didn't attend as well... reasons).

Then .. the contest. I was quite nervous, got in my snacks and some lunch before I went to prejudging. Was able to chat with the other attendees during the wait and was quite a lil hyper bunny as it was my turn. I have to say the judges were super darling about everything. They were all cosplayers, some super expierenced and one even a super huge name here. I got complimented for my make up (which I adjusted a bit more after lunch) to try to get my lashes white and all. That I made pockets, that the uniform has a lining, that the pattern was selfmade and the functional buttons. etc.

We were supposed to meet up 30 mins later, I waited with No. 6 (I was No 4) and got a bubble tea because my anxious mind needed something to do and I was super thirsty. I downed it so fast they went "WAIT HOW". Haha. I am used to drink a lot.

After it we were brought to the backstage and it seemed to take forever until it was my turn. No 3 before my was in a wheelchair and the crew did a great job to help her getting up the stage and stairs. And with the applause I was sure they would get the 1st rank. They did a performance as Sheego from Kim Possible.

My turn was. I walked, babbled my text, actually looked at the audience and noticed it was indeed THE MOST BIGGEST STAGE they have and the whole room was full of people, I had to improvise a bit as I was not able to stuff everything into Tim but I managed well.

I was super proud and watched the rest of the contest in the audience (they had seats reserved for us). Overall it was 10 performances. The majority was voice clips/moving to them, or just music and doing a dance/pose.

Mine was actually a small sketch that was Allen looking out for Timcampy, finding and scolding him for flying away. All during the search for Cross. Then I asked the audience if they had seen the master and showed my drawing of him. Then I scolded Tim for not getting my stuff back in as I was handling too many things at once. Haha.

The ranking later on was well, place 3 was a huge ass Spamalot/Monty Python and the Holy Grail Group and I was sure they will be ranked. 2nd was the Sheego, whom I had seen on 1. And 1 was a Kiki (Kiki's delivery service), I found hers rather boring to be honest as it was just an english voice clip that didn't fit the outfit or any acting at all, but well, Ghibli and cutesty bonus I guess. I would have seen others ranked.

Later on I went to pick up where I got ranked but ... in fact the voting system was hacked/there were annormalities and therefore there was no ranking other than the main 3.

I talked with some other of the contestants about the results and all were quite baffled. The two started last even said the results were not into their favor anyways as the moderators procrastinated 5 minutes to get them on stage and the majority indeed already had voted.

One last thing here: I am amazed by the positive words I got, that the performance was good and that you couldn't tell that it was my first time joining a contest, that I should do it more often. This really means a lot to me.

The rest of the day was me strolling through the halls & park again, sometimes in the park too. But the weather was not that good, it was raining a lot. I was torn about getting a maple themed bowl but as I got to really buying it it was sold out, so I got the chestnut kitkats I had eyes all the time.

I noticed I was super done for the day, there were several concerts left but I was just feeling the day and the snacks weren't holding me longer. But it was pouring... and the food vendors were outside.

After another 30 minutes I remembered I HAVE A HOOD and quickly went to the car to scrub the make up off my face and get some cotton pads from the store along with something to go with my instant noodles + tofu I had brought along. I wanted to eat in peace and not cramped outside in the rain.

The day ended for me in the hotel, tired, exhausted but quite well. What annoyed me though was that there was an event with a live band in the hotel. Good bye sleep.

Ending the day with food in the hotel, my little haul from stores and the fact the make up refused to get off. I would have some "fun" the coming days with that.

[madness-of-void]

The Cosplay Progress (?)

Okay...I'm doing it. I'm showing off the hot mess of progress of the possibly decent, or absolutely hot garbage, cosplay of my version of human!Ink. I do have a nice chunk of the items for the cosplay - just gotta put it together. Most of the putting together can be done in a day, and I have until July to finish it all, soooo...we'll see how this goes! ^^;

Now I'll just post updates maybe every other day, or once a week, since I do have most of it in hand. And it will all be under the cut, since it'll long as fuck. So, without further ado, let's begin, shall we?

First off, this is probably the most ambitious cosplay I've ever done. Normally I do something easy. Examples: Stiles from TW, casual Keith from VLD, and recently (for Halloween) genocide route Frisk. debating on positing what garbo pics i have of those

Flowerfell!Frisk? Probably the most complex I've done, and only because I had to have help make a flower crown, actually use fabric glue for the flowers and little heart on the shorts and flower on the mask , painted up a random prop stick I had lying around no idea why i had that , and did a little bit of faint make-up. And ended up with this:

bad pic i know but it's all i got of the full thing where i don't look like a drowned rat coz goddamn it was hot af

So after that, for some damned reason, I decided it would be a GREAT idea to do a difficulty jump and do Ink! Yaaaaay...I'm so smart. I have been looking at this as a reference for what I need mostly coz i had it saved on my phone already , which has been both motivation to get this done...but also a little intimidating. But I'm already too far into this. Can't back out now!

Anyways, enough rambling! Let's start with the first update on this silly thing!

HOODIE

So, firstly, I already had my eye on the Ink hoodie from @simakai's shop! I already have the Underfell one that I used for my Flowerfell!Frisk cosplay. I also have the Outertale hoodie, bi pride hoodie, and ace pride hoodie all from Simakai! They are all amazing hoodies, and I actually just bought Epic's hoodie from their new shop! Definitely check them out! They're comfy, well made, and I'll admit I wear my Outertale and Underfell hoodies out sometimes.

The pic doesn't do it justice (hence all the millions of links above), but tada! The hoodie! My biggest worry is maybe tripping on the scarf, but I think I can manage. place your bets coz my ass clumsy

Also, there is a little surprise in it!

Twas quite the laughing jumpscare when I was messing with the pockets.

And that's it for update 1! Stay tuned for more. >:3

~+~

Update 2 time!

Apologies for how garbage the pics are for this part. Space was a mess at the time, and I'm too lazy to redo it. With that out of the way...let's ramble!

PANTS

So, next to the sash for the vials, this was surprisingly the hardest thing for me to find. I couldn't find anything that looked "just right". The first pair that I bought did look just right...but the color was way off. Way too bright from what was advertised. Took me a while to find another pair, and I actually bought two more. one of which i may use for a ftfo!ink Now, the next pair is the right color...but it's just a nice pair of sweats/joggers. Which is a bit of a bummer, but seeings how I cannot sew/make a full blown pair of pants (can barely sew at all), and my stepmom (who can sew) isn't that insanely skilled, they will have to do.

Here is a pic of the pants side-by-side coz for the longest time I was going to go with the first pair I bought. But after putting it together with the top...no. Just...no. Did not look good. You'll have to take my word for it.

And before you ask, yes. I will have assistance sewing on the little suspenders. That will be two separate posts on their own in the future! It won't be just plain brown pants.

So that's it for update 2! Stay tuned for more! if you want i ain't forcing ya lols

~+~

Update number 3! Wooooo!

And it is actually really boring.

Like...royally boring. sorry?

GLOVES

So these were a bit easy to get. Granted, I did buy two pairs, because I couldn't decided initially. It was only after trying them on that I could make a decision.

They are a bit long, but I can live with that. especially coz I am not planning on doing the tatts, that would end terribly And, yes, they are missing that little piece on the pinky. Just like the pants are missing the suspenders. And just like with those, I will be having assistance sewing that piece on!

I could show you want I have of that, but I'm planning on making that one big update.

Okay! That's it! Stay tuned for update 4!

~+~

Update 4! Not another exciting one again. The more exciting ones will slowly trickle in. depending on what you define as exciting

Anywho! Update 4!

SHOES

Yes. Shoes. I know our favorite souless bean doesn't wear shoes anymore...but I have to. No need to get my toes all messed up! Especially at this convention center. Walking around there can be a nightmare! Closed toed or not. 😭

Anyway!

Shoes!

They were sadly kind of expensive, but these were the closest I could find that kind of fit for what I was going for and i looked at custom ones first. Plus, I will be wearing these outside of the cosplay. So I get shoes for cosplay, and shoes for whenever I wanna wear them - a win-win.

But, one more thing! I will also I guess ruin them, in a way. How will I ruin them? Well...I was thinking of adding more splatter to them. Plus, see that pesky logo? Welp...I also had an idea for that.

And I'll just leave this update at that. >:3

~+~

Update 5! Long time coming, I know. But a lot of what I have left are bigger pieces that have a few extra things I gotta do, and I just haven't been focused on doing them. But since I'm actually going to finish this one this weekend, I decided to show the unfinished product. With that being said, here we go!

VIALS

These were actually so hard to find! I couldn't find anything that worked! And I originally started looking during the Halloween season, too! When these type of things would be more around. But everything was either way too big or just straight up decorative glass. Which...yeah. Would not do!

Eventually, after searching for ages, I found these on Etsy.

They're originally for necklaces, which, even though they are glass, they're hopefully a tad more sturdy. And, if things work out, I'll have a perfect way to keep them in the sash! We shall see.

I also found these!

Figured it would be fun to have little earrings on human!Ink.

Now, for the paints in the vials, I was having a hard idea what to do. Part of me wanted to put real paint in there. Yeaaaaah...probably not the best idea. But I finally figured it out, and I'll be working on it this weekend!

Stay tuned for the final look!

~+~

Hello hello hello! Tis time for the final rush post of the process! It's all the final stuff, so yay. Pics of the full cosplay will be up either later on after the con, or the day after.

So, without further ado...here we go!

PANTS PART II

Tada! Simple little thing. Probably one of the easiest to do with the whole shebang. And the straps?

Ribbon. Ain't that neat? XD

GLOVES PART II

So this was a bit tricky. I had cloth from an old t-shirt to do for the pinky, but it kept making the sewing machine freak the fuck out since it's such a small piece. I did have backups of gloves that i could wear under the brown ones and cut off all the other fingers. Unfortunately, the two pairs I got turned out to be bright, obnoxious blue instead of the sort of teal-ish/mint color as advertised. So I had to get a third pair, which was a darker green and sheer. Not exactly what I wanted, but eh. Oh well. Creative liberties!

Here is the final result! I had to cut the pinky on the brown gloves too so it looked a little better. And the nail polish is close to what they'll be at the con, just more cleaned up.

SHOES PART II

Okay! Shoes! These came out a little better than I thought they would! And they were fortunately very easy to do. (Which I needed after a few things causing issues)

Tada! Fun little nod to his old shoes (before he had nada)! And of course the black "ink". The paint refused to splatter like I wanted, but oh well. Still pretty happy about it.

VIALS PART II

These actually proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. Many coats were needed, and even then they sort of still smeared oddly. Despite that, they turned out pretty great! I especially love the ink vial earrings. Those definitely were difficult due to their size.

SASH

Whoo-hoo! The sash! Fortunately, my stepmom is a sewing whiz and she helped a great deal with making sure this part of the cosplay came to be. So, here is the sash before:

Definitely was a bit rough, since the Joanne's we went to lost all momentum to care since the bankruptcy filing. And it did fray a little bit upon the cutting of the pattern. Not enough to absolutely ruin it, thank hell.

Here is the final result:

(Sorry about the poor lighting, I really had nowhere else to get a decent pic)

Tada! Vials in sash! Thankfully, they all are snug as a bug in a rug in those pockets! .... With super glue. Really didn't have a choice on that front. Still, for something as ambitious as this, something I definitely went clueless in to, happy it turned out as good as it did.

(Stepmom saved ass with this one ❤️)

WIG

Okay! This...this bitch...was a nightmare. I had never styled a wig before, and for some reason thought it would be a good idea if I did! Had a nice tutorial vid all qued up and thought I was all set! Except...the wig was an absolute tangled mess and took ages to untangle. It was also the second wig I had bought, coz the first one, for some unknown reason, was more purple than advertised. So wig number two, I had to buy in a hurry and it was a tad cheap since I'm on a bit of a budget (moving at the start of August ftw).

But, finally, after hours of fighting with this beast, this is the end result:

The braid will be pulled back into the makeshift ponytail, since I actually do have to pull it back up once it is secured onto my head, but otherwise this is the final result. The blue and pink (squint and you'll see it) are extensions I added, which also proved to be a challenge. Still proud of it all for someone who has never done more than brush a wig before! Though, never again. At least for a long ass while. ;_; thank you Dust for being an easy cosplay for next year

MAKEUP

I can't really show the full makeup I have to do until, well, it's all done, but I have tried it all out and hooray! It all works! So, instead, here is the nice pile I will have to use:

We got two different shade of eyeshadow, since I can't do colored contacts. My eyeballs are...very weird. Only one eye will allow a colored contact, and I did not wanna waste money to only use one contact. So one eye will have green eyeshadows, and the other will have yellow eyeshadows.

There's also gonna be blue eyeliner with the green eye having it on the underlid, and they yellow eye having it on the upper lid. To make it all "whimsical" and "silly".

There's a pencil liner to create the inkblot shape, black face paint to fill it in, and black eyeshadow to help make it even darker. i am a master of doing some cool shit with eyeshadow

I have two different sprays to help keep the makeup on longer. And, of course, the foundation and concealer coz I will look like a zombie otherwise lols.

Yeah...I am...gonna be having a blast with this lot. Especially making sure I can remake the really nice inkblot I did when testing it out. Fingers crossed and best wishes for my dumb ass for being so ambitious.

BROOMIE

No. I will not show this one. Just picture a wig on a stick and there you go. Needless to say, as much as I wanted to like it...I don't. It looks so bad. 99% sure I will not bother bringing bootleg Broomie with me. Makes me sad, but hey...can't win them all.

Okay, so that's it! I'll do a part two of this post since, whoops! I have hit my limit! So, with the next post, I'll have the bag I specifically got for this cosplay (and will totally be using it later), and the full cosplay itself!

And, if anyone is going to AX, I'll see you there mayhaps!

[gently-decaying-flowers]

OKIE, 20 FINN FACTS, GOOOO!!

AAAAAAA

1) i prefer cats but dogs are also amazing

2) the best artificial flavor is red (yes that makes sense)

3) my favorite book for like four years was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (still amazing highly recommend)

4) I only started writing seriously two summers ago

5) i only have four people i consider my best friends

6) i had (and still have) a major markiplier obsession for most of my life

7) i am scared of conflict even electronically i get anxiety pissing people off one time i said something controversial on here, panicked and deleted the post

8) i have a lot of weird phobias but the funkiest are emetaphobia (fear of throwing up and being sick) and megalaphobia (fear of really big/large structures or things)

9) i’ve always wanted to get into cosplay and think it’s super cool!

10) i still aspire to start my own coffee shop even though it’s unlikely to happen

11) i absolutely love theater and acting but was in my first production only two years ago and have been in only three

12) i have been told by many people their first impression of me was that i was way too cool to talk to them even though i am a major dork once you get to know me

13) i play dnd!! not as often as i would like but it’s really fun

14) i downloaded tumblr in secret bc my parents are lowkey helicopter a little bit

15) i absolutely love antique stores and collecting tiny trinkets. my current favorite is a tiny tea set i got on a vacation

16) i keep an unhealthy amount of halloween decorations out all year round

17) i am extremely picky about my pillows and how they feel

18) squishmallow collector 🫶 (current count is…27)

19) i really like buying water bottles and cups that i never use

20) i don’t like hot drinks, i can only drink iced coffee and no hot chocolate (unless i let it cook significantly)

[bricalous]

1, 14, 41 and 46 for the ask game? :D

1. who is/are your comfort character(s)?

oh god this one could take a while. i'll try to keep it short and sweet and not go into detail about them right now, it's gillion tidestrider, william wisp, ashe winters, peter sqloint, and leon kennedy. i just have them in my head rotating around like they're in a microwave at all times. sometimes they're all crowded onto the plate but sometimes it's one at a time. i think leon kennedy is probably number one right now though. i see a lot of motorcycles on the road and just have to take a stim break every time. literally i see like wrangler jeans and think of him. and i listen to dad rock all day long because i'm so hyperfocused on him <3 <3 OH and also i'm gonna cosplay peter sqloint for halloween which i'm SUPER excited for!!!

14. so you love the smell of earth after it rains?

yes!!!! i love everything about rain, rain and cloudy weather are my favorite types of weather. i love the smell right before it rains and right after, especially if it's like a warm summer rain. the mix of warm earth, pavement, and evaporating rain is peak

41. how do you take your coffee?

if i'm making it myself, i usually have a 1:1 ratio of stevia to cream. so like a mug is 2 creams, 2 stevia. it needs to have no bitterness or i will not drink it lmao but ordering coffee? depends on the day. i used to drink a caramel iced latte with oat milk every morning however the cafe i frequented made it. in the colder months, i'd have a lavender and vanilla latte with oat milk and it was soooo good

46. favorite holiday film?

this is a tricky one, for sure. my family watched a lot of movies as our christmas tradition, so i guess i'll give top three tbh. i really like it's a wonderful life, just a very nice, wholesome story. i also like the first part of home alone. i feel pain empathetically though and i'm very easily grossed out by pain, so i don't like the whole pranks bit. my all-time favorite is probably the man who invented christmas, though. i don't think it was very well-received but there's just something about the vibes that i love so much (fuck charles dickens tho)

[angelic-flower-universe]

My journey around undertale

I've never actually played this game. I watched my dad live. And YouTube playthrough as well.

Undertale since 3rd grade (2015). I've been in this fandom for 7 about years. I had a Sans and Papyrus backpack in 4th grade. Slight gap year in 5th grade because of destiny 2 and overwatch

Undertale Aus since 6th grade. I watch cpau yearly for Christmas.

I've cosplayed Ink sans for Halloween and Lust sans like 4 times at school

The vampireverse blogtherouge comics are what got me to make a Wattpad acc. I then moved to ao3. I still will read trash (albeit way better/and when it's problematic it's clearly marked as so)

This has given me a skeleton infatuation of wanting to be one. Also friends will give me skeleton stuff because 'you like skeletons right?'

Needs a post of it's own - I got in trouble for writing "give me your bones" in a Minecraft server

First online f/f rep (or one that I identified) was alpyne

Reason I made a tumblr was that a friend was reading the abysstale comic

First phone case was 'you are filled with determination'

I got a mini signboard so I used letters to spell 'you are filled with determination' and made a heart

Made a bracelet that says sams undertale. I did have another n bead but I thought a bead with one side m and the other n because the paint scratched off was funnier

ive done several of the the

When ever I think about something in the past I literally use it as a marking point ‘okay before or after undertale/3rd grade'

Our family dog is literally named Toriel. Yes my sister liked the game so I agreed, cuz sure! That's a cool name!

[themichigami]

Ancient Cosplay

so, my mom was actually the first cosplayer i ever knew, not that we knew what cosplay was or that she knew she was doing it back then. she had a thing for the Highlander movies (and much later the tv series) when i was a kid, and one day found long coats of the proper kind while we were out shopping, and she circled that rack like a confused shark several times even going from one end of the store to the other and then back to it before finally talking herself into buying one.

This was the late 80's in deep mountain Appalachia, the idea of buying an article of clothing just because it looked like something your favorite movie character wore was not an accepted idea to most people yet. even halloween costumes were horrible plastic masks and a printed plastic bag bib thing at the time, so casual cosplay and closet nerdery as we know them today did not exist. The first few times she wore it, she almost acted like she was sneaking around in it, all super awkward, which confused me at the time. i've since seen the same behavior in cosplayers who wear something to dress like their favorite thing in public for the first time and finally realized what it was. After that, the confidence she gained, she loved that coat and loved knowing why she bought that coat, and that it was like getting away with something in plain sight. Also, it was and still is a really nice coat And yes, I still have the coat, I wore it to college for a long while before i got my blue winter coat, i only stopped wearing it because the blue coat was bought to shut up the person who kept calling me Gambit to make fun of me because of the brown coat and bike gloves thing i had going on for a long while at the time. (also they had heard me not using my "city voice" a couple times and made fun of my accent, i was a bit touchy about it at the time.)

Found the coat again while cleaning through some things I hadn't touched since college, and decided to pull it and some other things out of the box and dress up as late 90's miche for halloween this year. I still haven't had the chance to get those pictures up, but someone recently got me thinking asking stuff about cosplay in the old days, by which they meant 20 years ago when i started doing conventions, but I immediately thought of mom and her ridiculous longcoat that became my ridiculous longcoat, and how expressing fandom changes over time.

Considering its from the late 80's and has been in a box since 2005, it's in pretty good shape. Someday my dumb ass will get the halloween photoshoot pictures posted, but until then, enjoy some weird old geek's nostalgia.

[diah-the-demon]

yeah this really feels like we're somewhere on stage talking into a microphone as people pass by and can listen, but yeah agreed, it feels weird when it's not tumblr skljdlsk

ooh I hope you can go there then!! I've had one in my area for a few years that was star wars, star trek and doctor who focused and it was so much fun,, unfortunately with covid coming around it has ended </3 missing it greatly

and oh no D: yeah unfortunately the kids toys break so easily which surprises me ngl,,, you'd expect kids toys to be a bit more sturdy given that kids will play around with it wildly and ksljdslk omg that sounds adorable ngl!! I think I know which masks you mean, I still see kids wearing them every now and then around halloween or carnival

yeah,,, I've gottten a tiny bit better by now (and by that I mean: I will get it but feel bad about it instead of not getting it and feeling sad about that klsjdlsk) I hope you'll eventually get better with it as well! it's so sad how much stuff like this can linger on your brain TT-TT

yeah I think it said 7 more days, so I hope I'll have enough time bcs her shedule changed and now she's at work so I can't ask her TT-TT hopefully it'll last til the weekend when we could order it (if she says yes skldjslk I doubt she wouldn't but still skjdlsk)

okay, yeah, your bookshelf is definitely already cool! But yeah the helmets are going to make it even better, no matter where exactly they will be placed klsdjl

yeah you coudl probably figure it out on your own once you get the basics, even if it is for another set of armor at first! With the basic understanding that should definitely be doable!!

and hmm, I've not build armor yet myself (will have to do so eventually tho,,, I wanna cosplay one of HI3 Himekos battlesuits after all ksjdsl) but it does already sound like a solid idea!! but yeah until you know if it works or not you have an idea at least so that's a good start!

yeah im still not used to it but i think its quite nice to have smth like a constant conversation like this thats lasted almost a full day now jdsljkds, i think its a nice change of pace jdsklkjds

hopefully i can get there when its being held! im not sure when it happens each year but il look that up later and see if i can find dates (hopefully im not gonna be busy when it happens dsjlkkdsj) and awww that sucks, i hope they come back eventually it would suck if it died off forever </3

yeah idk why they were so fragile, they weren't big so i think they were probably childrens sized ones that we had, it doesnt make much sense to expect kids to not hit 2 lightsabers together in a duel like come on

IT WAS! i dont think i have any pictures of it sadly </3 i wouldnt have even had a phone yet probably i think so pictures would probably be on my mums phone

the mask was so cool, it even had a voice changer in it! it was fucking awesome, when you breathed it would replace it with the darth vader breathing sound AND it would even make you sound like vader when you spoke!! idk how something from when i was a kid was able to do something like that but it was awesome. sadly the voice changer in it died a while ago, it still slightly worked but not consistently last time i put it on D:

yeah hopefully we both fully get over it eventually, i probably start to until either her or i move out, but yeah its so weird how it stick in your head so long, i need to refresh my brain so i can get it out lkdsjdjsl

dont want to make you feel like you need to do it sooner but it said 7 days yesterday and also today.. i didnt check how long it was when i bought my stuff (i bought the stuff on the 5th) but it might've been 7 days still.. altho i guess by the weekend it would still be 7 days after that.. hopefully it is still on by the time you talk to her!! (just checked and it might be going on until they completely sell out?? its a clearance sale so maybe? idk id probably do it sooner rather than later just incase tho)

Oh btw when you do place your order they will email you to verify the card (send a picture of the last 4 digits to confirm. It is a little bit sus but ive seen no one say this one is a scam so i dont think it is, plus they cant rlly do much with only the last 4 digits)

thank you!! it will def look so much cooler when i get the helmets in! still need to figure out where i can put the 2 extras apart from ontop of the bookshelf cause too many on there doesnt seem too good idk

yeah that sounds like the plan il do for this, try the basics, might try doing clone trooper armour to begin with if its not harder than mandalorian cause il have captain rex's helmet! imagine a female clone trooper tho that'd be so cool (totally not so i can check out her tits shush jdskls, i mean there was a female clone of jango but she isnt a trooper, and is a child since i dont think she had the accelerated growth the others did? idk not that caught up in that bit of lore)

i think its probably what they are going to say to do, i doubt they would stitch/pin it right to the bodysuit cause that would be a pain to take off (imagine having to go to the toilet after putting it on that would be so annoying to take off skdjdslkj) if it all goes well il share the progress so you can take some tips on building the armour for himeko jlsdkdjs!!

[wintersangelic]

1: How did you discover cosplaying?

✩ I found cosplay through my older cousins! We watched Heroes of Cosplay together and I always wanted to be like the cosplayers on the show! Although minus the drama haha ✩

2: What was your first cosplay?

✩ Before I seriously got into cosplay, I used to dress up in closet cosplays. My first closet cosplay I believe was Luffy from One Piece. My actual first cosplay was Frisk from Undertale. I don't know anything about Undertale ✩

3: What are your next 3 cosplay plans?

✩ My next three cosplay plans so far are Brittany from The Most Popular Girls in School, The Mask, and Coraline! ✩

4: Have you ever been in a cosplay contest?

✩ I have! I've only been in one but I'd like to compete more! It's so nerve-wracking but so fun ✩

5: Do you prefer sewing, armor making, or wig working?

✩ Knitting, actually! Yarn makes more sense to me than fabric. I also really like wig working! ✩

6: Do you prefer to do photoshoots at cons or at specific locations?

✩ I don't do photoshoots. I take cosplay pics myself on my phone! I prefer taking pictures in my house, haha ✩

7: Is there a type of character you cosplay frequently?

✩ The type of character I gravitate towards is the funny, off-the-wall characters that pretend they don't care but really do. ✩

8: Do you have any favorite cosplayers?

✩ ach.artt's mask is to die for! Literally who inspired me to stop being a scaredy cat and cosplay him fr ✩

9: What's the most detailed cosplay you've ever done?

✩ Christine Daae's wishing dress from The Phantom of the Opera. It has eight different pieces, not including the cape and petticoats.

10: What are your top 3 craftsmanship tips?

✩ CUT HAIR DIAGONALLY. Use a zig-zag stitch on top of your straight stitch. Put white eyeshadow on the inner corners of your eyes to make them pop. ✩

11: What is your favorite cosplay you've done?

✩ My favorite cosplay so far is Harley Quinn! ✩

12: What is your worst cosplay "horror" story?

✩ Making cosplay? When I bought the wrong fabric, top stitched it, and sewed massive ribbons onto it. There were no ribbons on the actual design. ✩

13: What's your funniest cosplay story?

✩ When I met up with a Chris Chan cosplayer and he recognized my cosplay! ✩

14: What's the best in-character interaction you've ever had?

✩ Terrificon 2023. As soon as I stepped into the hotel, a toddler came up to me and told me she went as my cosplay (Harley Quinn) for Halloween! Her entire family went as Batman characters and she wanted a picture with me. It was so cute! ✩

15: Have you ever cosplayed with a family member?

✩ No. ✩

16: What is your favorite cosplay photo of yourself?

✩ Me as Harley Quinn probably! ✩

17: What are your go-to stores for cosplay materials/full cosplays?

✩ Joanns and Michaels for materials, Dazcos for full cosplays! ✩

18: Do you prefer to buy pre-styled wigs or style your own?

✩ I prefer pre-styled, even though I like wig styling. ✩

19: Have you ever had someone mistake you for a different character?

✩ Yes! My Sonia Nevermind was mistaken for Chrissy from Stranger Things. My Christine Daae was mistaken for Erica from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper. ✩

20: List all the cosplays you've done.

✩ Oh boy

Dot Warner (Animaniacs)

Frisk (Undertale)

Jane Crocker (Homestuck)

Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Pikachu (Pokemon)

Roxy Lalonde (Homestuck)

Jean Grey (X-Men)

Ruby Rose (RWBY)

Sonia Nevermind (SDR2)

Wishing!Christine Daae (The Phantom of the Opera)

Birds of Prey!Harley Quinn (DC Comics) ✩

21: What's the biggest con you've cosplayed at?

✩ Connecticon! ✩

22: Do you prefer cosplaying characters with props, or characters that you don't need to carry a prop around all day?

✩ Props can get in the way but it's fun if your prop is manageable! ✩

23: Have you ever lost a cosplay piece at a con?

✩ Nope ✩

24: Have you ever bought a cosplay piece at a con?

✩ Nope ✩

25: Do you prefer to cosplay solo or in a group?

✩ Solo ✩

26: If you had a chance to meet your all-time favorite cosplayer, what would you say to them?

✩ Thank you for inspiring me ✩

27: Have you ever done a cosplay panel?

✩ No, but I want to! ✩

28: Do you prefer to buy or make cosplays?

✩ Make ✩

29: If you could tell your past self anything about cosplay, what would you say?

✩ You will get better! ✩

30: What is your ultimate dream cosplay?

✩ Probably Christine Daae's Star Princess dress! ✩

Questions For Cosplayers!

[official-wonho]

No One Is Doing Kpop Fashion Better (or Sexier) Than Wonho

The crush-worthy idol talks about his new album "Bittersweet," his love of his fans, and his Halloween costume.

“Nightwing cosplay!” Wonho says, excitedly. “My fans recommended that for Halloween, I dress up as Nightwing from DC Comics, so I’m actually searching for a costume.” It’s that happily accommodating charisma — paired with an undeniable talent and unapologetic sexiness — that has earned kpop idol Wonho millions of worldwide devotees.

It’s easy to forget that Wonho (born Lee Ho-seok) is a global superstar when you’re talking to him. Sure, he has that same honey-dipped voice that you’ve heard blasted through stadium speakers and on a million fan-made YouTube compilations. And, yes, those are the broader-than-a-refrigerator shoulders you’ve swooned over on Instagram, but when you’re with Wonho one-on-one, he makes you feel like you’re with a good friend. His warmth and soft-spoken humility is palpable even through a pair of translators and the expanse of time zones between us (when we talk, his late night is my early morning).

Let me warn the newcomers: you are not ready for Wonho’s aesthetic. There aren’t a lot of men who could pull off jeans with thigh cutouts but, then again, not a lot of men are Wonho.

With his stage costumes, Wonho has taken dopamine dressing to a new level: Mesh, sequins, vinyl — all are fair game. “For my stages and my performances, I really think hard about trying to show sides of myself that I haven’t shown before,” he explains.

Thanks to that drive to constantly innovate, he’s managed to bring a new brand of unapologetically provocative sexiness to the kpop world. Wonho’s stagewear closet is filled with backless blazers, leather harnesses, peep-show jeans, fishnet shirts, and strategically unzipped turtlenecks, peeled back to reveal a set of abs that would make Thor do a double take. That risque wardrobe (and general aversion to wearing a shirt during concerts) means he can send the internet into a meltdown with just one performance.

“It is true. I started to work out for my physical health, but it has turned into somewhat of an aesthetic,” he tells me as the topic circles to his Instagram. Wonho’s grid is dotted with shirtless selfies and thirst traps worthy of a global idol between charmingly normal pics of him drinking coffee and sightseeing. “My physique,” he says, coyly, of the thirst traps. “I can show it to [my fans] every once in a while, because I like seeing their reactions.”

When I ask what it’s like to be known in the kpop community as a sartorial boundary-pusher, Wonho is happy to take on the title, but firmly unbothered. ”First, thank you for recognizing me as a fashion icon,” he says, with a shy smile. “I don’t really think of boundaries when I am thinking of my own fashion. If it’s a fit for the concept or the style [of the performance], I’ll just try it without any hesitation.” No boundaries, no hesitation, all confidence. That’s Wonho in a heartbeat.

Off-stage, Wonho’s preferences favor comfort. Sweats and Jordans. T-shirts and Vans. Easy styles that can take him from the studio to the gym to rehearsals to the airport. That casual, off-duty wardrobe is tweaked slightly when he’s continent-hopping. This past summer, Wonho launched his FACADE tour — his first solo sprint across Europe. The opportunity to perform for his fans there also gave him a chance to switch up his fashion

“When I’m in London, I tend to style my outfits more clean-cut and dandy. Whereas, in Korea, I style them more comfortably and stylish.” And, as any jet-setting idol will tell you, practicality will trump fashion when the weather turns. “And, more recently, in Japan, my schedule was just packed and it rained all throughout my stay there, so I wore very comfortable clothing and raincoats and stuff.”

Wonho’s fans can be cited as one of the sources of inspiration behind his whiplash-inducing fashion, but it’s clear that they’re also the motivation behind his music, as well. The rankings, the cynics, and all the other distractions that clog up your nerves and can kill an artist’s creativity — those are the obstacles that Wonho chooses, staunchly, to ignore. Instead, he only wants to make his fans proud.

“My goal [as an artist] isn’t really chart-oriented,” he tells me with the help of those translators picking up the more nuanced questions. “I don’t really focus on getting any sort of ranking on the chart but, rather, I want to make music for as many years as I can. I also want to go on a world tour to meet WENEEs who are in all parts of the world.”

The self-chosen moniker of his fans, WENEEs — the name equal parts silly and sweet — is short-hand for “WE are NEw Ending” or “WE NEEd.” Both phrases are representative of the symbiotic relationship between the artist and the fans who have been supporting him from the beginning, and will be there until the end. “[With this album,] I am making a promise to my fans to always be by my side, as they have always been.”

His latest project dropped earlier this month, a highly anticipated second single album named Bittersweet. It was a deeply personal effort for Wonho who doesn’t just sing his music but writes and produces as well, though he’s quick to share the credit with his team. “[I’m always] getting tons of support from all the staff and all the good people around me so I’m able to prepare and produce my albums very conveniently,” says the humble idol. “There are a lot of teams involved with the album production process so it comes out very smoothly.”

The new album’s tracks, “On & On” (a smooth, pulsing dance track featuring Korean rapper YUNHWAY) and “Don’t Regret” (a powerful, tender ballad), are about all-consuming emotions and the Wonho-penned lyrics are as vulnerable as a baby bunny. What helps him to write and perform music this honest and personal is, in part, his impressive multilingualism. “It’s easier to express those kinds of emotions because I can use two languages, Korean and English,” Wonho says of his skill set, which also includes Japanese. “I can use both languages to express my thoughts and emotions.” The tracks add to Wonho’s consistently introspective and sentimental music catalog, making Bittersweet another compelling treasure from the solo star.

And then there’s that beautiful Wonho duality again, right there in the title of his album: Bittersweet. “I wanted to express a mix of emotions that are bitter, yet sweet. Exciting, yet depressing,” explains Wonho. “I believe our lives are filled with different emotions and they shape how we are.”

That paradox of his album’s title and theme is an echo of his whole career and strengths as an idol. That duality is why the entire world has a crush on him. Wonho can do it all. He has a voice that is lovely and dreamy when paired with pulsing dance beats, but also soaring and gorgeous when singing full-chested ballads. He has an off-stage boyfriend aesthetic but is also an easy-to-worship glam god on-stage. Sexy and cute. A Disney face with a Marvel body, as fellow idol Jessi described him. But who needs superhero movies anyways when you have the adrenaline rush of Wonho’s duality?

Source: instyle.com

[icancdramahanfu]

An idiot’s guide to making cdrama period dress - the Wen Ke Xing edition.

Like many people, I was sucked into the cdrama Word of Honor and it has consumed more of my life than I’d like to admit.  I’m always big into making character outfits under the pretense of a great Halloween costume, but really, I should come clean that I just like to do some cosplay/historical dress/fun outfits.  Thank you pandemic lockdown and lack of traveling; I really got into historical dress youtubers and it shows in my new interest in natural fibers and vintage patterns.

My goal is the make a full replica of the following outfit from the show. 

I chose this one for several reasons.

i.) this is one of the simpler outfits that WKX wears.  The outer green jacket has a fairly straight cut in front and has unstructured shoulders. ii.) the blue and red layers and both following a ‘long shirt’ pattern, and again are simple in structure. iii.) the belt is also a large band with a red cord as the major accent. iv.) color scheme; I personally prefer his blue/green/purple outfits and I like the pop of red he frequently wears as a part of layer 2, a reference to his role as the ghost valley master. With this in mind, I did some research using ye olde interwebs. I tried to find resources, but they are rather limited in English.  I can find tons of images for patterns in Chinese with an image search, but what I want is a step by step guide for how to sew it together and to know what parts can be modified and what parts have to be kept constant.

There is a website with resources based in Toronto, but I suspect this was written by an engineer based on how text heavy it is and the use of a CAD program. https://torguqin.wordpress.com/hanfu/hanfu-tutorial-list/ I’ve read it several times over and as someone with sewing experience, I would have preferred more pictures.  Maybe this makes more sense to other readers, but I felt pretty meh about it.

I turned to finding a more traditional pattern making guide and purchased this book;  Hanfu Pattern Making by TT Duong.  It is available as an ebook on Amazon with both metric and English units.

I chose the English units version as I’m currently in the States.  Sure, I could have gotten the metric one - I use metric for my job and lived in Canada for 5 years for work meaning I only do temperatures in Celsius but but but. . . . I bought my sewing machine in the States and the seam allowance markers are all in inches.  American scientist problems, am I right?

The Hanfu Pattern Making book is fairly easy to understand; the major concepts for making a wide variety of garments and highlights the mix and match abilities of them as well.  This was how I determined that the red and blue layers of WKX’s outfit are following the long shirt pattern shown here.  I think this corresponds to the Zhiju/直裾 - straight-hem robe as described by @ziseviolet​

Most importantly, the book helps you estimate the total yardage of fabric you will need and instructs how to lay the pattern down on the fabric and how to cut it out according to the grain line and selvedge.  This is critical for getting the correct draping effect with the fabric and will it allow to fit and flow better when you are wearing it. With the wider teardrop shaped sleeves, I decided on an extra yard of fabric.  I’m still not sure if this will be enough - I may need to make it a little less curved and not quite as wide but I’ll update as necessary.

This requires you to draft your pattern ‘from scratch’ and I can already state that a mock-up will be essential.  The guide also has estimates e.g. a curve of 4-6″ at the base so make sure you are consistent with your choices.  I am going to give a suggested order of events on how to most efficiently establish your workflow.

Fabric selection:

Although a bit counter-intuitive, I chose to purchase my fabric first.  After over thirty minutes of searching for good fabric matches from domestic suppliers ranging from Mood to JoAnn’s to my aunt’s sister’s shop, I realized it would be easier to [gasp] order fabric directly from China even with a variable shipping time.  Plus, I could find patterns that are much closer matches to the original than anything here in the States.

I picked a bamboo fabric for the coat in a baby green color ordering 4m which is ~4 yards.

The fabric was in stock and shipped out fairly quickly and cleared customs without issue arriving 20 days faster than expected.

For the blue layer ( Zhiju/直裾 - straight-hem robe?) I went with this fabric with a leaf pattern.  I choose it as a color match, not as a pattern match since I couldn’t find any fabrics in dusty blue with blades of grass. I also ordered 4m, again ~4 yards.

Unfortunately, this was still in production when I ordered it and I’m currently waiting for it to ship out.  The seller has updated me on the status and I’m hoping it ships out soon. Update - my blue fabric arrived safely in the States, 1 day after the original predicted delivery date.  Nice!  I would highly recommend this fabric seller; excellent customer service.

The red layer ( Zhiju/直裾 - straight-hem robe?) I decided to save some money and purchase a cotton fabric locally at JoAnn’s.  I wanted cotton since it breathes and something that looked close-ish but under $10/yard.  I chose this cotton calico, which normally would be used for quilting, but the calicos have abstract patterns that mimic the patterns woven into silk. I bought 4 yards.

Update - I had to buy another 1.5 yards b/c I couldn’t quite fit my pieces; the fabric isn’t very wide and my sleeves were going to end up too short.  Double check the width of your fabric.  Unlike the imported fabrics this fabric was pretty short for width compared to other fabrics.

I may change my mind in the future and upgrade it also to silk but for right now I’m curious to see if it works out fine as it is only the second layer. For the white Zhong Yi/中衣 (middle clothes) first layer, I just got basic cotton twill, and purchased 3 yards.  I’m not including a picture b/c it is just basic white cotton.

Lastly, I bought 4 yards of white cotton muslin at $6/yard to make a mock-up.  Also no fun picture of crappy fabric for you.

Make sure to wash and iron all of your fabric before using! I washed the cotton on cold with an unscented detergent air-dried it and then ironed out major wrinkles.

Drafting the pattern:

Following the directions in Hanfu Pattern Making, I took a bunch of measurements of myself.  This would likely be slightly more accurate if someone else did this for me, but I live alone and my cat isn’t capable of assisting me.  The fact that the book tells you exactly what to measure and then how to apply it, is vastly easier than the link above (sorry likely Canadian engineer).

The measurements allow you to plug and play to generate your draft pattern. This was my first sketch, which is rough and not drawn to scale.

On the left you can see the measurement for various parts.  Above was my first attempt for layer 2. For the flare at the base, I chose 4″ and followed the suggested 3/4″ curve.

back armpit measurement is equal to: 1/4 bust + 5/8″

my bust is 32″, so 1/4 is 8″ and I add 5/8″ to that = 8 and 5/8″ waist is equal to: 1/2 waist + 2″

my waist is 27.5″, so 13.75″ (13 and 3/4″) + 2″ = 15.75″ (15 and 3/4″)

Therefore, once you are done calculating the various measurements you can add them onto a rough sketch of the shape of the pattern. I choose to start with what the book refers to as layer 2 for my initial measurements.  This is because I wanted to do the mock-up to correspond to the red second layer.  I don’t think it matters which layer you decide to start from since you will either be adding or subtracting from a layer to change to the one above or below it.

With my Hokkaido cat notebook in hand, filled with my notes and numbers, I drafted the pattern.  For drafting paper, I went to Target and bought gift wrapping paper as it has a grid pattern on the backside.  This pattern is massive, even with my kitchen table, I still couldn’t fit all of it on my cardboard cutting guide!  You can’t clearly see the grid on the ‘wrong’ side of the wrapping paper, but it is there. Since the wrapping paper wanted to curl, books were used on the corners and I didn’t need that many extra tools.

For drafting, I used a 2B pencil, the 2″ wide by 18″ long ruler with holes in the middle (from JoAnn’s) and the 12″ curve ruler.  I also had a measuring tape to roughly mark of distance.  I went over the pencil with a ballpoint pen once I decided on the lines and shape. The curve of the neckline was the hardest part.  I made an X in the corner of the neck line and an X at the waistline point.  I then connected this with a straight line and at the halfway point took the line in by 1/2″ (towards the side of the body).  The suggestion of the book is 3/4″, but I decided to be a little more conservative.  I then gently made the slight curve by hand so that the most curved point was by 1/2″. The armpit/shoulder is the next most difficult part.  My sketch above isn’t quite correct, the 6″ should be doubled, 6″ for the front and 6″ for the back based on my measurements.  You need to make sure that the armpit curves are in line with each other!  I had the back one off and I had to erase it and redraw it.

I started with the initial curve of a 1″ armpit as suggested in the book.  It says the curve can between 1/2″-2″.  Note that the book is designed for a very small size range, from about 5′ to 5′5″ (152.4-165 cm) and I am 5′3″ (160 cm). To make the curve, I used the curved ruler to trace a nice smooth line.  Just make sure you use the same part of the ruler e.g. 1″ to 3″ or 9″ to 12″ etc.  I went with the curve that looked the best.

This pattern doesn’t include seam allowance - you will have to add that on when cutting.  To be most accurate, trace the pattern onto your fabric.  I like to use the removable fabric markers like these:

You can then use the other color to mark out dots along the fabric for seam allowance, like 5/8″.  If you can’t use fabric markers there are also removable mechanical pencils that come in yellow, magenta or you can be old school and use chalk. I transferred the pattern to the cheap cotton muslin fabric and cut it out.  There aren’t many seams to sew and I ignored the sleeves since I wanted to determine if the pattern fit me well.  I placed the right sides together and first sewn together the back seam.  After that I did the armpit/side seams, leaving the armpit unfinished on the end and check the fit.  Already you can see that the neckline isn’t laying flat and the armpits are super tight.

I just grabbed a long scarf to tie it down and adjust the fit at the waist.

Leaning forward you can see the neckline is even more of a mess and the armpits are far to tight even though I am wearing a fitted t-shirt underneath (as this is layer two).

I went back to the drawing board to adjust the pattern.  I kept my original pattern and added more paper to the armpit and neckline area to draft a new pattern and cut it out instead of a completely new draft since the waist down was totally fine, falling around my ankles.

This time I made a 2″ curve for the armpit, added more length to the armpit as well and only sewed the top with some scrap blue fabric.  As you can see here, it was a more optimal armpit fit.

I also shifted the neckline curve to reduce it to 1/4″ instead of the 1/2″ from the first mock up.  This was an excellent decision as it fit in the chest area much better. This is my sketch to reshape the neckline.

This is how it looked on me.  Excellent!

The neck still looks wide because I haven’t added the neck placket but the fabric lays much more naturally. My conclusion to date is that if you don’t have a very large bust size, err on the side of making the neckline less curved. 

What I also concluded from this mock up is that my measurements for layer 2 are more likely my layer 1 measurements since they were quite form fitting on top.

The next step (backwards compared to the suggested order in the book) was to add sleeves.  I guessed what shape would work best and my first draft was terrible as shown here.

The bottom was too square and I was trying to figure it out based on this scene from the drama.  I chose this model for the sleeve since you can tell that the white layer in WKX’s outfits has a relatively wide sleeve.

The only part that I used the pattern for reference was how to attach it to the armpit at the shoulder.  The overall sleeve shape was just what I thought looked nice.  Keep in mind that the shoulder seam sits fairly low on the shoulder compared to a modern garment. The seam line is a few inches down from the shoulder and you can see that the garment will naturally pucker in front of the armpit.  In his several days of drunken sulking, you can see the seam line is even with the back of the chair.

The weight of the sleeve itself helps to hold the shoulder structure and it doesn’t pop up as you see on my second mock-up with the blue fabric.

I drastically reduced the size of the sleeve curve and made a pattern based on something that seemed alright.  With all of this mock-up work done, I decided to turn to making the first layer, the Zhong Yi/中衣 which I have summarized as a separate post.