~Kagitsune

Hey guys, been a while since I updated you all! Right now, I have several major cosplay/fashion projects in the works.

1 ~ The Sweet Lolita Wardrobe
-- I've decided... I'm going to incorporate lolita as an integral part of my wardrobe! I love the style and the philosophy so much. It'll mostly be a weekend things, but I'm making the individual pieces sturdy enough to withstand daily wear. So far, I have everything in my "Lolita and the Like" Gallery [link] several store-bought blouses, two new game-themed skirt + head bow sets (pictures soon! ), and a couple other accessories. Right now, I need more skirts, "true" lolita blouses, stockings/socks, and a pair of loli-able shoes. I think I'm doing pretty well! Thanks to everyone at the LJ egl community [link] for the encouragment, inspiration, and advice!

2 ~ The Myoubi Cosplay [link]
-- Myoubi is the character drawn in black-and-white in the "Upcoming Cosplays" part of my avatar (which I need to update... Navi is done, but I don't have any good posed pictures of her! TT^TT I'd really like to have that done before I move...). She is a major character in the richly-illustrated manga Alichino, by Kouyu Shurei. Alas, her picture only appears in black-and-white, in one chapter of the manga, so I have to make up the colors myself. xD I'm choosing a rich green/gold/off-white color scheme, leaving the wig pure white for a dramatic, other-worldly effect. The costume covers the whole body in thick materials (velvet, brocade, heavy linen, pleather boots, long wig), so I'll probably only wear it when the weather is cold (or when I'm feeling masochistic... >_< ).

I don't want to brag, but I think this is going to be my best costume yet. I've wanted to cosplay as this character for years, and now my sewing/crafting skills are good enough for me to pull it off! I also consider this as practice for....

3 ~ The TERU Cosplay [link] (far left)
-- So, I've been in love with the visual kei band Versailles since February, and since I wasn't able to finish Myoubi in time as a semi-tribute to HIZAKI's (the lead guitarist) princess-like style, I'll just cosplay as TERU, the band's rhythm guitarist!! After the "A Noble Was born in Chaos" Maxi-single (?) came out in March, I noticed that I was very impressed by Teru's rough, yet elegant, playing/composing style and his (yes, I said "HIS"... ) doll-like looks.

Teru's current costume is very classically over-the-top, fanservice-y, visual kei goodness. This will definitely be my hardest (and most expensive.... O_o) cosplay yet... and ironically enough, my first crossplay. xD This costume will involve all of my hardest cosplaying skills, and all the fabrics, trims, and accessories are so... *specific*! But if all goes well, I'll wear it to one of Versailles' two east coast concert appearances this October, hopefully getting some autographs and getting to tell Hizaki and Teru how much they've inspired me. ^^

And don't worry about this being creepy or anything... turns out the band *loves* it when people cosplay as them, even right in front of them! (I clearly remember an amazing Jasmine You (Versailles' bassist) cosplayer sitting right in front of the man she was dressed up as! They both had a lot of fun seeing that... x3 ). However, it'll be a little nerve-wracking to wear a home-made costume in front of the original... will my version measure up?? O,O

Let's just hope this costume doesn't cost so much that I can't go to the show! O_o;;

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And that's it for my current costume/fashion work! What other cosplays should I do? Comment here and let me know!

P.S.: These are my other possible future cosplays:

+Haruhi Fujioka of Ouran High School Host club ~ episode 23 Yakuza/"ane-san"/Kimono + tattoo version ( [link] [link] ) -- My best friend and I have a deal, where if I cosplay as Haruhi, she has to crossplay as Manji from the Blade of the Immortal manga, and vice versa. x3
+Aya of Psycho Le Cemu (defunct visual kei/pop band) ~ Ai no Uta PV version ( [link] - yellow far right)
+Super Sailor Jupiter ( [link] ) ~ This would be a sort of nostalgic cosplay, as she was my first favorite anime character and the first home-made costume I wore. Jupiter, power!! )
+Yourichi of BLEACH ( [link] ) ~ Probably just because I have dark skin. xD

What else do you think should be on this list? ^^ Please let me know! v^o^v

Well, I finally started reading the super-popular manga Bleach, at the urging of my friends...

And I now know why it's so popular. 8D

Really, I thought it'd be formulaic, confusing, full of 1 dimensional characters... I couldn't have been more wrong. Yes, the main character is mysteriously invincible; yes, there's a new "bad guy" each week; and yes, there are dozens of characters (I hardly know any of their names)...

But I've read about 15 volumes' worth since Friday morning.

Guess who I wanna cosplay next...? xD

Kubotite-san, I salute you.

~~~

I went to the Versailles concert at A-Kon about a month ago....

And I bought my first guitar one week later.

Yes, they inspired me that much. Teru and Hizaki, the band's incredible guitarists, showed me that metal can be truly beautiful back in January... but seeing them play live made me finally decide to follow my little dream of learning to play guitar, a dream inspired by the likes of Steven Wilson, Miyavi, and Hiro.

My full report of the concert isn't done yet. However, you can read about my first (and soon, my second and third) lessons at my new LiveJournal [link] . You can read my personal musings there, while still being updated on my artistic journeys here. ^^

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I've added a few new lolita pieces to my gallery, with about four more on the way (both skirt/headbow sets), along with an entry to `taeliac's contest. Please check them out when you have time. ^^

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I only have two months left in this state before I go to college. So I'm going to spend as much time with my friends and family as possible, doing as much fun stuff as I can. Concerts, picnics, parties, conventions... all the stuff I've been missing out on all these past years. So if I'm not online much, please know why. ^^

~Later dayz... =^w^=v

Last night, I watched as 5 incredibly talented gentlemen sawed away at their cellos and hammered their drums, dissonance and melody somehow fusing into incredible, thrash-inducing music that was wasn't just rhythmic noise and screaming. I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the most unique live acts in metal music today: the Apocalyptica "Worlds Collide" Tour, Dallas stop.

"Worlds Collide" is the name of Apocalyptica's latest album, notable for the many original songs with added lyrics sung by famous metal vocalists. Though it's not my favorite album (I prefer to just listen to the cellos' voices...), they have been doing an extensive world tour to promote it since early March. (learn more at the band's Myspace: [link] )

I literally cried tears of joy when I learned that they were going to do a Dallas show...and those tears were certainly worth the awe-inspiring show I was blessed enough to see last night.

[more later, guys... including pictures! ]

Hey, guys! I'm typing this in my super-long lunch break before I take my IB History test. I'm pretty confident about it. (I'm also waiting for some rice to cook *for* my lunch.)

It's a new month, and there are about 3 weeks left to A-Kon! ~mystic665, Xearf, and I are hard at work on our costumes and skit (we had a major breakthrough on Friday) -- hope you'll enjoy our show this year! It's sure to please. ^^

In case you didn't already notice, I finally changed my avatar! I was originally going to have *everything* cosplay-ish I've done since 2005, but I gave up on that idea because the file was going to be too big.

And yes, I *am* going to cosplay as Navi this year. Yay, for annoying fairy characters! We're using Navi for our A-Kon skit, just to give you an idea of how EPIC WIN this thing is going to be. xD

That last one I show in my avatar is Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran. In episode 23, Tamaki imagines what Haruhi would look like if she "ended up with" Kasanada-kun (a visiting Yakuza boss-in-training) and became an "Ane-san". Literally meaning "big sister", Ane-san is also used as a term of respect for the wife of your Yakuza boss or your *tattoo art instructor* xD. Tamaki imagines her wearing a purple kimono with a huge flower tattoo on her right shoulder, being all scary-like. xD

Oh, oh!! I'm seeing Apocalyptica play in a week! I've literally waited years to hear them play live... I'm super-excited. They are honestly one of the most unique bands I've every seen. Metal music on a cello quartet! Awesome. Yes, it can look a *tad* silly when they head-bang with the cellos, but the music and the entire concept are so awesome that they make up for that imperfection.

And I'm going to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

[link]

I saw this in 's journal. Please read it and take whatever action you see fit.

I'm not going to comment on the whole Orphaned Works thing, simply because I know almost nothing about it. This has nothing to do with that.