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!

Rokuro eyewrap try-out

Earlier today I decided to do a very quick eyewrap try-out for Rokuro. 

Rokuro Unno from Brave 10

While I do have several random white long ties/ribbons it seems all of them are either too long or the fabric is too thick or something for this purpose. I really don't want to wind the bandages around my head more times than necessary to secure it because, well, I'm not keen on having extra bulk under the wig and besides it's a pretty damn sure headache inducer sooner or later so.. yeah. It's pretty derp but seemingly the best candidate I had on hand for this quick test was actually, erm, well, my shinsengumi headband. -.- It's made of a pretty sheer, nice and flowy cotton fabric. I do remember where I bought it.. so I think I will go pay that fabric store a visit soon and buy a piece of that fabric so that I can make Rokuro a more proper eyewrap. lol

I will use my Hajime Saitou wig for Rokuro because they are like.. hair twins, or something; similar enough that I don't feel it necessary to buy Rokuro a new wig. Then again the problem with using my Saitou wig is that even if I cosplay Rokuro I just see Saitou -or well, Saitou who damaged his eye or something- looking back at me in the mirror after the wig is on. xD Damnit! But maybe that's partly because I was wearing a black kimono instead of a white one... Well well, enough of talking, here's a photo:

Sait-- Rokuro. :'DD

I must say wrapping that thing around my head was a harder task than I had thought at first. It took a few tries to get it to stay in place and be as flat and even as possible.

Not so much more to say. I'll go buy that same fabric I used for the shinsengumi headband so that I can make a better eyewrap for Rokuro and then I'll post a preview. Until then, cheers!

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!

Dat Animucon ticket

A pleasant surprise awaited me in the mailbox today and by that I mean a letter from Urumi's store, aka my Animecon ticket order!

It is also of the fabric style (better!) and has the standard con ticket width: 1,5 cm. No megasize 2 cm like Desucon ticket. xD This ticket also has that pull-up-black-lock-to-fasten system.. when you pull it upwards it will lock itself so that you can't pull it back.
Oh, I also noticed how very similar this year's Animecon ticket is when compared to last year's. Pretty much the same colors (except this year's has a gray inside while last year's had a more green-gray), same fonts etc.

Not so much more to say, looking forward to con summer!