Rokuro preview + My Desucon journey starting soon!

Today soon after I woke up I figured this day is my last chance to do a Rokuro preview before Desucon. Sure, the eyewrap thingy isn't done but who cares? :'D  Besides, I noticed some things when I put it all on.. namely that the eyewrap isn't as long as I thought it would be; I could wrap it 2-3 times around my head which led me to the conclusion that if I was to finish it (read: fold it in half and use a straight stitch to close it) I would lose half of the original width.. and this is not so good because of the thing not wrapping as many times around as I had thought so I need the extra width to make sure it really covers my eye. Yeah. With that said I think I'll keep it "unfinished" for now. I might go buy more fabric to add length to it another time

By the way I've finally got the mirror mounted into the new apartment so now I could take some preview photos alone. Sorry about the photos being mirrored (everything is reversed..), the mess in the background and the yellow lighting. Oh well, enough rambling, le photos coming in!

I still just see Saitou with a damaged eye lol

Very chill cosplay to wear.. and everything for it is from my kimono closet w00p!
Oh, and one thing - Rokuro sports violet eyes but because of this being a Sunday cosplay I don't think I'll bother with using contact lenses. The reasoning? It would be a hassle after the con is over because I will be traveling back home north and yeah, I don't gusta the thought of wearing contacts during a long car trip or alternatively removing them in a) a crammed con toilet b) in some random gasoline station or whatnot stop along the way. Just.. no, especially considering I'm still pretty new to using contact lenses and it's so important to have clean hands and stuff. Just not worth the trouble I think.. but I will for sure wear contacts whenever I have a proper photoshoot with this cosplay someday.

Well well, seeing how my Desucon journey starts already tomorrow evening I guess it's safe to assume I won't write any more blog posts until after the con sooooo..  

SEE YOU ALL AWESOME PEOPLE AT THE CON! :DD

And now, I'm outta here. Nose turned to the south and on my stomach in 3.....2......1.......

I'm going to live in a tent, Närcon style!

Wuhuu! I now have train tickets fixed for Närcon! I will be traveling with Jäätynyt Enkeli and Sairu-chan across more or less the whole Sweden. :'D

Oh, and also a few days ago I was checking hotels for the Närcon days and noticed to my horror most hotels seemed to be sold out. Then I started thinking maybe it could be pretty cool to try Närcon's (so far exclusive) camping option, especially when it seemed Sairu-chan had a tent we could use! You know, the reason I'm interested to try the camping out is because last year the Banana peeps did it and it just seemed pretty dang awesome! Camping option means you bring a tent and buy a camping ticket for 50 SEK which lasts the whole duration of the event. Said camping ticket then gives you a 3x4 meter space in the camping area for you to put up your tent and sleep there. Of course toilets and shower are available in the camping area somewhere. This is ultra cheap because with just one camping ticket you can have as many people as you can fit into the tent sleep there and that means you can share that petty 50 SEK between all the tent sleepers.

My wallet cries tears of joy because the traveling already costs me a pretty penny. It's pretty funny how the camping option is cheaper than the ordinary let's-sleep-in-a-school-or-something con budget sleeping option, which costs 150 SEK by the way. Camping feels more like my thing anyway; I'd rather sleep with a few people I know in a tent instead of sleeping crammed in a classroom filled with (mostly) strangers.. okay, in a small con I don't mind but in a big con such as Närcon, just no.
Oh well, I'm so looking forward to this new con-sleeping experience!

See ya!

How I switched sides - Desucon 2013 cosplay plans change

There's now under a month left until Desucon (hype!! 8D) and the con carpool search seems to be slightly on the brighter side; I've found two people whom I could tag along with but I have yet to make sure 100% which one it will be because one of them informed me, about one week ago, that he might not be able to go to Desucon after all. Oh well, if he can't go there I do have that other person to check carpooling possibilities with. We'll see, I'll probably make a post when it's settled.

Oh well, the last few weeks or so I've been bouncing back and forth between changing my Desucon cosplay plans slightly and it seems I've got turned over to the "yes, I will change my plans" side now. Worry not, it's just one cosplay that got changed! My current cosplay plan list is now as follows:

Friday

Series: Fruits Basket

Character: Kazuma Sohma (manga version)

Kazuma ain't going nowhere because I've already planned a pair cosplay with Ri-kun as Kyo and I'm looking forward to it quite a bunch haha. Besides he's pretty much finished.. err, except for that random not-very-traditional haori tie... I might add it though.

Saturday

Series: Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan

Character: Hajime Saitou

 This is where my plans changed. I originally planned to go as Kenshin (OVA, Battousai version) but.. plans changed. Basically, I switched from being a big enemy of the shinsengumi to, well, being a shinsengumi. xD Also, fun fact: one of Kenshin's toughest enemies and coolest is Saitou. Then again, Rurouni Kenshin's Saitou is that much more BAMF than Hakuouki's taciturn bishie Saitou. xD I hope I run into that Kenshin cosplayer I heard will be there, crossover photos herpderp ~
I also realized that by cosplaying Saitou I would get somewhat less stuff to take with me -which is good because heavy luggage is not so gusta and both carpool possibilities aren't space wonder cars- and that's because several parts of the cosplay would be used for my other Desucon cosplays as well - namely the wig, shoes and juban as well as some smaller stuff. Also I've been longing to get a chance to wear Saitou again ever since I bought a new black authentic kimono that fits me better. And besides I've been sort of obsessed with playing Hakuouki Musouroku (aka Warriors of the Shinsengumi) lately...

Sunday

Series: Brave 10

Character: Rokuro Unno

kimono!Rokuro as seen in Brave 10 anime's last episodes stays on the list as a rather chill Sunday cosplay.

Nothing else to say, see ya at Desucon!

Asanoha kimono for Souji Okita ahkjfsk;agsj

There was a package in the mailbox today at my new apartment and well, the mere fact I already had received something I had ordered since moving to my new apartment surprised me. The surprise was even greater when I noticed it was from Japan, which meant it could only be one thing, namely that über awesome I-will-cry-forever-tears-of-blood-if-I-don't-win-this men's yukata kimono I was staying up half the night for in pretty horrid pain just to win... and I did. Today it then arrived, barely 9 days after shipment from Japan - friggin' 9 days, so fast!!

The yukata in question ~
(seller's photo from eBay)

The reason why this was such a must-have was because I friggin' love asanoha (hemp leaf pattern) and have been searching for any men's kimono items with it for the longest time, especially with the pattern repeating all over and not just parts of it randomly placed on the garment. One of the reasons I really wanted a kimono with it was because Souji Okita in Hakuouki has an asanoha patterned kimono and seeing how he is pretty much my favorite character ever, well...  hehehe ~ *smirk*

Souji Okita (Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan)

Oh well, I almost gave up some time ago and my mind had already crossed the line of "let's face it, men's kimono hardly exists with all-over-repeat asanoha pattern. I will have to either buy a women's kimono that is close enough and convert it into men's or make my own kimono and paint it.. which will take forever to say the least". With that said you can guess my almost inhuman reaction of joy overkill when I randomly found this yukata listed on eBay when I was originally searching for something else. Oh my God, seriously. <3 I swear I was smiling so much when I won it that night that I would have been surprised if my face didn't have permanent ridiculous smile lines when I woke up the day after. xD Oops.. erm, sorry about the rambling, I'm just way too excited about this thing!

Oh well, so of course -as the derp I am- I just had to put it on and try to take a few photos despite having my camera charger/USB cable missing in the bathroom. Because I'm impatient and couldn't wait for tomorrow to get the camera cable I had to use my ~ultra gay~ cellphone's camera instead. Don't ask why it's pink, dad bought it and pink was the only color left at that store and, eh, that's why it is ~ultra gay~ [insert sparkles here] hahaha.. ha... ._. Oh well, it's still a pretty good cellphone, I just really don't care for pink.. Well well, because the photo is taken with my cellphone the quality is not the best, sorry about that.. but I guess even a not-so-good-quality photo is better than nothing, neh?

le quick Okita test ~
(sorry mirror photo)

Actually this yukata isn't black but this ultra-mega-dark-blue that looks pretty dang black if I do say so myself. It's still good enough color-wise and pretty much as perfect as I could hope for (read: I can bet half my ass on that I won't find any men's kimono more close enough to Okita's than this one during my lifetime..) and I will so use it for my future Souji cosplay huehuehue~ *rubs hands together excitedly* I will cosplay him someday, a few years from now likely, and I'm slowly gathering stuff and planning how to make it as awesome as possible ~

Oh, did I mention it is just the right size for me and has an awesome wingspan (it must have a good wingspan to work properly for Okita..) as well! herpderp durr happiness hurr ahjfskgja;dskj <3

I'm so happy I totally feel like doing this:

And now I will take my leave before this whole blog post turns into "shkjfdsgkj;dsk asanoha kimono <3" so bye bye!

Cutting le rasetsu!Hijikata wig

Today I decided to cut my rasetsu!Hijikata wig. For some reason I can't find any really good clean references that shows his hair but this one is kinda okay:

This is what the wig looked like before I attacked it with the scissors:

The bangs are fine as they are (maybe a bit on the short side but still okay) but the back and sides are too long. I went ahead and trimmed and layered the sides and back. I've only done small styling modifications on wigs earlier (just slightly trimming bangs for example) so this was quite the leap for me. I was actually rather nervous although it probably didn't show on my moves; I kept my head cool and just thought that if I would butcher it at least I have enough time to get a new one. But my wallet wouldn't be happy about spending extra money...

Oh well, about 1 hour later I had this in front of me:

I'm pretty satisfied.. although I could have done some things a bit better, more carefully. *coughlayeringcough* The sides aren't identical when examined closer but good enough anyway.. or so I think at least, considering so far this is the most I've ever cut a wig. lol xD No one is a pro at start.. small steps I take, small steps, always a little bit more challenging ~

New wig additions, Hakuouki style ~

I ordered two wigs some few weeks ago and yesterday I got them. Today I decided to try them on because I've been all cosplay hype-ish all day. xD I can't wait for summer con season to start ~

About the wigs.. both are for Hakuouki character cosplays I will do in a more or less close future because that series is so.. ghfjdskjf;afgh. <3 I swear I'm probably never gonna stop loving it.. xD

But now for le wig photos. Excuse me the messy background.. the only mirror currently in my apartment is in the bathroom so, yeah. Obviously this means my photos are mirrored. I have bought a fullbody mirror but it has yet to be put to its proper place.. Oh, and I'm wearing a yukata for the heck of it, didn't feel like wearing "normal clothes" today. Also I didn't bother with make-up except some rather sloppy eyeliner, pretty much. For some reason it looks way better on photos than in real life though. lol

Oh well, be prepared for some rasetsu (aka "fury") time this con summer autumn becaaaaaaause.. ~

le rasetsu!Hijikata wig

The ponytail is a clip-on so I can use the base wig alone for western!Hijikata's rasetsu version too. I just need to trim and layer the back a little and it'll be all good to go. Now to just buy some red contact lenses hohoho...

The next wig I might not use this year or I might ehehe ~ but the temptation was too great to resist anyway because the character is one of my absolute top favorites ever.. if not my favorite.

Okitaaaaaa ~

I seriously love this wig.. so fluffy. <3 It's extra awesome because it can be used for both of Okita's hairstyles! I didn't take any pictures with the hairknot thingy because "my" *coughborrowedfromschoolcough* wighead isn't here and it would be quite a challenge to fix it with the wig on my own head.. oh well, I'll take photos of that variant later.
Oh, and if anyone wonders I do have a wig for Okita already (I cosplayed him at Desucon in Finland last year) and it's all cool and all but I couldn't resist buying this one because it was so cheap and works for both his hairstyles. This new wig also is a bit bigger by cap size so it fits me better.. I guess I have a sort of big head... OTL

Not so much more to say than that. I'm eating Easter marshmallows (candies) and I swear to God the green one tastes just like fish oil, what the fuck man. xD See ya!

Quick Kazuma preview + I now live in Sweden!

First off I must mention something not-so-cosplay-related but which still affects my cosplay hobby in some ways and yes, it is also important; I moved away from home the 1st May and currently live in a very small youth apartment in northern Sweden, not far from my mom's place (read: former home) in Finland. That also means that a chunk of my cosplay posts from now on, if done in my apartment, will have a semi-crappy background. I will try to do photoshoots and such at mom's place every now and then because the yard there is great as a background.. but I guess most quick previews, contact lens try-ons etc from now on will be photographed at my apartment so yeah, I'll apologize for future messy backgrounds and yellow lightings in advance. I will try to check though if there's any cool photoshoot locations close to my new apartment. :) Oh, and about the cosplay making itself I'm pretty sure I will continue to work on my cosplays at mom's place because the good sewing machines are there as well as all crafting tools and stuff. I can't really bring much stuff to my apartment because the space is very limited..

Oh, and before someone gets all worried and asks me...

 •••

I will still attend both  

Finnish & Swedish 

anime conventions/events as long as my economy allows it. 

•••

If anyone wants to help me out funding my cosplay hobby xD
I do art commissions at deviantArt:
Art Commission information ~ ^_^

•••

Oh well, I decided to do a super quick Kazuma cosplay preview sort of thing today. I didn't bother with any make-up and yeah.. now comes the yellow lighting and semi-crappy background for you all to enjoy.. not. ._. Also ignore my non-tabi socks and that I'm not wearing zori.. I will of course have the proper footwear at Desucon.

Cosplayer: Valkoinen Samurai
Photographer: Jäätynyt Enkeli 

I forgot to mention that all the items for this cosplay (kimono, juban, haori, kaku obi) are from my kimono hobby closet and by that genuine Japanese pieces.
 

And lastly a head close-up I took myself:

This hairstyle doesn't look very good on me I think; my photographer had to take quite a bunch of photos before getting anything I was at least semi-pleased with... oh well.

Not so much more to say about my Kazuma cosplay, it's awaiting its debut now.
I will try to do a Rokuro Unno (Brave 10) preview later too.

Have a nice day!