Wreck-It Ralph Cosplays Update

Vanellope's Handmade Medal Sculpted from Clay and Various Other Things

Updates with Vanellope Von Schweetz cosplay! And a LONG story of how I roped in some Wreck-It Ralph cosplayers. 

So, first off, I'm going to Ikkicon in Austin, Texas December 28th through the 30th with my cousin, Greg, who is also the one who took me on my Japan Adventure. On the phone, he told me I should watch Wreck-It Ralph because it was a really good movie (and it definitely was.) After seeing the movie, I looked up Vanellope pictures out of curiosity and saw that a lot of people had already cosplayed. Then, I realized I have a wig for that. So I took a picture of it and sent it to Greg and he decided that he'd be Ralph if I'd be Vanellope. And while that sounded like a great idea, I did not realize the trouble I was getting myself into.

Andrew's Happy Fix-It Face

So, Thursday, on Thanksgiving, my other cousin, Andrew, came over and we discussed my plans for Ikkicon. Andrew had gone to Ikkicon with Greg and I last year, and I didn't want to be rude so I invited him along. Later, I mentioned I really wanted to do Midna, but my other Zelda cosplay friends couldn't tag along to Ikki. He then opened his mouth and said, "I could be your Link." Well, that later turned into, "I guess I could do Fix-It Felix Jr., too." And then it became an unhealthy obsession. That night we saw Wreck-It Ralph because Andrew had yet to watch it and loved the movie. The next day we made and really nice Felix hat and then shopping for supplies that night... And it went all downhill from there. We've officially spent way to much money on these costumes to turn back now, not that we want to. We've really enjoyed the last four days straight of working on cosplay nonstop, honestly though. I suppose I will explain how things were made in the next blog, not that we're finished or anything. I really wish I would have taken more photos for tutorials, but it really has been all trial and error with these costumes and a lot of firsts.

Contacts were hell with Andrew, but he finally got them in after many hours of failed attempts. We've put immense amounts of detail into these cosplays, and we are very confident we'll be "the most legitimate Wreck-It-Ralph cosplays ever". Vanellope is a challenge with all the candy and Felix is the first normal guy plumberish dude (that's not really a plumber, but can be compared to Mario) I've ever done and we're making sure to get every detail correct. I'll be sure to post some really good pictures of the final product later. I bid the internet a farewell and leave you with a somewhat creepy picture of my cousin in a Felix hat.

Soul Eater: Female Cosplays a Yay or Nay?

One of many otaku's favorite animes: Soul Eater. Not only for it's Halloween theme, but, for the most part, it's one of those animes that hold the charm of being incredibly serious when it needs to be, and really funny other parts. Not to mention some of the great character designs. But enough of that rant, I just wanted to point out that Soul is definitely my favorite character in Soul Eater by far, even though he's low on the list according to most. Ever since I've watched Soul Eater my freshman year of high school, I've wanted to cosplay him. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. I planned to, many times actually. But my plans never failed to fall apart some way or another. But, like 90% of my costumes, today I pulled a costume out of my butt. If I haven't previously mentioned, I am the queen of the nerds. Or more like the democratic president of the Otaku Club. Which, in the end, is almost worse, because I was elected into such position. But I kid, because I honestly do love it. So, most meetings I attempt to cosplay, being the cosplayer I am. Problem is, 1) Almost ALL of my costumes are at a location about an hour away for personal reasons not to be discussed on the internet and 2) most of the costumes I own (not to sound in any way slutty) are not school appropriate. That calls means for the constant generation of new costumes to be pulled of of my butt that are school appropriate. So in spur of the moment, I grabbed some red pants, and a yellow and dark grey cardigan and a white wig and my Soul Eater headband and walked out the door as a female Soul.

And this would be sort of a result of that. Now, I'm aware of the million mistakes. I have red contacts, but whatever possessed my brain to forget about them is beyond me, so you guys are graced with my incredibly crappy Photoshop skills, bad photography skills, and beyond asymmetrical face. As far as officially cosplaying a "Female Soul" it probably won't happen, mostly because I'm not incredibly fond of people that try to "genderbend" characters. Especially ones that should NEVER be "genderbent". I know lots of girls do it because they don't want to put in the effort of cosplaying a guy and think they can get away with a lot of mistakes in the costume because they're the "girl version". And it's actually highly common in Hetalia cosplays. So, as far as adding "Female Soul" to my list of cosplays, it's not going to happen.

But as far as Soul (just normal, guy Soul) I will definitely be cosplaying him. I mean, I'm not going to put my super cool official headband to no particular use. So, I suppose I will be placing an order for a new white wig soon, and maybe to a blog on how I style my wigs. And maybe even do a tutorial on how to get those groovy white eyebrows which are clearly not shown in the picture provided because I was wearing a black wig earlier today. Also, Soul's teeth: if you didn't notice, they're really pointy, and I'm not about to sharpen my teeth into points anytime soon no matter how much I would love to. There are actually complex methods to do such effects, in which there will probably be a lot  to speak about later. Let me know what you think of "Female Soul". Is "genderbending" characters cool? Or just really stupid? Or is it circumstantial? What cosplay do you want to see me do next? Or never cosplay again? XD

P.S. My things for Vanellope Von Schweetz are supposed to come in Saturdayyyyy <3 I'm way too excited. I know what I'll be doing this weekenddddd.

Vanellope Von Schweetz Cosplay

In Austin Texas, December 28th through the 30th, there's a convention I will be attending called Ikkicon. :> I also went to see "Wreck It Ralph" Friday, and I loved it. How are these two events relevant, you ask? Well, I saw some cosplays of Vanellope (the little girl From the game "Sugar Rush" in "Wreck It Ralph"). I was shocked to see how popular she had become since the movies been in theaters only for a few days. So I decided: That'll be the easiest costume ever. And low and behold, it's really easy XD. So I've decided to cosplay Vanellope Von Schweetz to Ikkicon as a backup costume. At the moment, I'm waiting on her leggings to come in so I can alter them. I've also already placed an order for a blank teal sweatshirt. SO, this cosplay is happening, for sure. I've been searching eBay for some brown skirts that I might be able to alter, and own the shoes. (Which  are obviously not difficult to obtain). As a person that wears wigs everyday, or just about, I've got the hair covered.

I'll keep my process posted, but the next picture you see will probably be the finished product. I'm debating on getting contacts. Her eyes are brown with teal rims. I have brown eyes, but I'm not sure if it's worth getting the contacts. XD I'm a poor person who has other costumes to pay for. I'll be attempting Midna from Zelda: Twilight Princess and PS2 Nagato Yuki as my main cosplays. Let me know if you have any other suggestions for my Vanellope cosplay or any other requests :>. I'll be posting some reviews and tutorials for other things, like Zelda Armor and maybe a tutorial about how I got my Vanellope wig in such a clean, natural looking ponytail, using the wig. (Obviously, that's not my real hair XD). And if you haven't seen Wreck It Ralph, that's a must, because it's a super cute, mega adorable movie with tons of nerdiness.

 

 

The Life of the World

This is me. And this is my blog. I like pumpkin pie and clay eyeball sharks and over sweetened reheated coffee and my cat, even though I hate it when he licks my toes. I like the abnormal, and I like what's fun. I like apple flavored anything and wearing funny colored wigs and I hate wearing socks. And that's just life. So, I guess, my point is, that's what this blog is now about. About all the nerdy anime conventions I attend and the progress of my cosplays. Honestly though, I have a short story to tell:

I was hating being me, and not because of anything mentioned above. Y'know, when you just get stuck in a rut and nothing seems to go your way? I guess that was how I felt. I wasn't doing anything fun, just working and being boring. Until this morning, I received a message from a little girl. I'd never met her in my entire life, and I probably won't ever. I won't mention names, or say exact words, but to sum it up, she said she loved watching my friends and I do what we loved most and she really hopes that we continue whatever it was we were doing. We never did anything special; we merely messed around and posted stuff on YouTube, like every teenager did. It's been years since we did that. But I still received that message this morning. I guess that made me realize: Life isn't made to be wasted going to work and being boring. I should do what I want, and live how I want.

I met a boy once, in 6th grade. He was a little weird, but nice. I was a bitch, but we became close friends anyways. That boy ended up liking me. A lot. He asked me out time and time again, and all I did was reject him. But I wasn't the only one. As he got older, he realized that it was not okay to keep pretending. Now that boy is in the process of becoming a very beautiful girl, with the entire world rejecting him. And that's hard. People like that, who can be themselves no matter what, are the ones who deserve to be respected in my eyes. So, I'll write about pin-up style and anime and costumes, because that's what I like. And I'll be me. Allison will be her. And that's how the planet will roll, standing tall and true, regardless of how cheesy I sound right now. So, there you have it :> My reasons for picking my blog back up. Please enjoy this gorgeous picture of my cat:

Arrivals and Departures

Outside of the Spaghetti Warehouse

It's almost midnight here in Dallas, so I thought I'd update my blog before heading out tomorrow morning to the airport :> My cousin arrived today, bursting at the seems with excitement. He was desperate for some pictures of Dallas, and he got a few of the new bridge, but not enough. (Hopefully he'll get some tomorrow on the way to the airport.) On the way to our grandparents house we stopped at the Spaghetti Warehouse, which I, surprisingly, had never been to, living in Dallas and loving spaghetti. The restaurant was absolutely adorable on the inside, with unique things everywhere. We ate in an old Dallas street car, but there were some tables made of bed frames and such. We received luck from our family on our trip. It's hard to believe we'll be in Japan so soon.

DFW Airport

Our flight will be filled with Japanese animated movies and lots of studying with little sleep. I highly doubt I'm going to make it the entire plane ride without sleeping an hour or two, though^^; I'll probably end up staying up all night long and be super tired on our 13 hour trip to Tokyo plus another 2 hours to Nagoya. As Greg and I are unpacking our things I'm sure we'll find some time to update our blogs and maybe even film some video <3

Bye-Bye for now~

Leaving in TWO days!!

My cousin comes in tomorrow from Virginia and I'm super duper mega ultra excited^-^ I leave for Japan in just TWO short days!! I'm going to explode <3 Not only have I not seen my cousin in a while (because it's been difficult for him to go on leave in the Navy, since he's been saving up his days for this trip), but did I mention we'll be in Japan for an entire month? (Sarcasm doesn't work well over the internet, I'm aware XD). I made a super long packing list and checked everything a million times just to make sure I didn't forget anything^^; The plane ride from Dallas to Tokyo will be about 13 hours (which I'm not too ecstatic about =^=), but I'll learn to live, since we're bringing a ton of movies to watch and I need to study~ I'll keep this blog relatively short. Tomorrow, I'll post pictures of Greg's arrival! Bye-Bye!! <3

... This always makes my day :>

Individuality

Individuality - 

1. the particular character, or aggregate of qualities, that distinguishes one person or thing from others; sole and personal nature: a person of marked individuality.

2. the qualities that distinguish one person or thing from another; identity

- http://dictionary.reference.com/

I'm not entirely sure the world is aware of this topic, and I'm quite aware that I'm not the only person surrounded by close minded people, dead set in their ways, unwilling to listen to reason. Respecting someone's beliefs is one thing, but shoving your thoughts and ways of conformity down humanity's throat isn't going to help save the world. I'm sure everyone will take what they want from statements like that, but everyone has their own reasons. Because someone is different, whether religion or style or culture, doesn't mean they deserve to be hated; in fact, it will do absolutely nothing.

I realize acceptance isn't something you can expect from society. And there will always be someone who disagrees with you. But, as a child, I was constantly spoon fed the words "Be yourself". I know most teenagers my age lack originality and merely do whatever the rest of the crowd does. And that's fine. If you are truly just like everyone else, then don't force yourself to be something your not. But because someone doesn't fit the role of the average person doesn't lessen their worth as a being. 

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

People lack self worth. Those who strive to merely achieve their own goals against every other force are the ones who truly grow as people. Why should you care for that? I'm not sure. It depends on your morals. And maybe you don't care. But that's just who you are, and regardless of whether you brainwash yourself to be like everyone else or you stick out like a sore thumb, you'll be equal to everyone around you.

 “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”

― Coco Chanel

I don't want to sit and preach to the world about individuality and how it's a necessity to the world. I do things because I want to, not because I'm expected. All day long I hear that I should NOT be going to Japan because of some random selfish or religious reason that some close minded person makes up. And all my life I've heard that I deserve some awful punishment for being different than another person. I'm not going to step down to people like that. Pursue yourself, not someone else's idea of what should or shouldn't be your life.

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

“I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.”

― Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking: True Stories

Preparations and Models

Groovy Floral Sunglasses Necklace

I leave for Japan in 5 more days! I've been doing a poop ton of studying and packing, and I'll be going out tomorrow morning to do any last minute shopping^-^ My passport also FINALLY came in this morning. It was ridiculously close to the deadline; as in beyond acceptable. I'm glad it came in today though, because it relieved soooo much stress off me^^; The passport was said not to get her until MONDAY, which is the day before I leave. And with all the issues I've been having with the passport office, I didn't exactly trust them. I had issues with the office not accepting my ORIGINAL birth certificate, and they didn't accept my father's proof of identity, so tons of forms had to be filled out and we ended up forking over a but ton of money. Even though with had paid the expedited fee, it STILL took longer then even a regular passport. I've been nervous and furious, but now everything is starting to lay out a lot better than first imagined. Other than all the stress, I've had a ton of fun packing, surprisingly, and ended up making a super cute necklace~

Iska Ithil

Lately, I've developed a new obsession with a British model who goes by the name Iska Ithil. She truly is one of the most charming and unique model's I've seen, with a sugary sweet accent that could make anyone smile. She's like an adorable alien goddess of beauty. Obviously, since she's a model, it seems as if she doesn't have a flaw in sight, but she's got a quirky personality that makes you fall in love. With her constantly changing hair and crazy makeup, it's obvious she's like no one you've ever seen (especially with the gills/ claw scratches on her neck). Iska isn't the average model, and I truly admire her. <3 It's an entirely new type of beauty. I know many aren't crazy about her piercings or shaved head, but the more you see of her, the more you appreciate the individually this world has to offer. Check her Facebook page if you're interested. I'm sure she'd love the support. <3

The truly gorgeous, Rose Shock. Not an official model, but a blogger in cosmetic school who has some serious makeup skill. She's done modeling, but not as a living. She's another unique one who doesn't care much for what others think of her. She's from Finland, but can speak English pretty fluently, so a lot of her blog is in English, too. She always has a new style to show and a seemly graceful way of doing her insane make up. Check her out at http://roseshock.blogspot.com/! 

Well, that's all I have for now! I'll post again soon^-^ Maybe even try to translate it in Japanese, if I can manage. Bye- Bye~

The Yamasa Casa

A recent picture of the sunset in Okazaki

In a little less than eleven days, I'll be flying to Japan with my elder cousin, Greg, and both of us are extremely excited. ^-^ He arrives in Dallas the 16th of July and we leave for Tokyo the next morning, and then take another plane to Nagoya. After all of those plane rides, we'll take our hour long train ride to Okazaki, where we will be staying for an entire month, attending Yamasa SILAC program. Once we get there it'll be the 19th (skipping the 18th because of the International Date Line, like the time travelers we are) and we'll probably be totally exhausted from total boredom. The next morning we will take our placement exams, and even though I've studied my butt off, I'll probably end up in the beginner course because I've never actually taken a Japanese class, and everything I know is entirely self taught (oh dear XD). My cousin has convinced me that even if I die of massive brain overload, I'll at least be applying myself to a good cause. Plus, he's going to get an ear full from me anyways, asking questions and whatnot. But in the end, we'll have loads of fun and learn lots of Japanese :D

I'm not only excited for Yamasa, but for our trip to Tokyo. We get to go to a concert Friday night and Saturday, Greg and I are going to the Sumida River Fireworks Festival. :D The weekend before that, we are going to Kyoto (which will be the first weekend we are there) and we'll probably purchase Yukatas to wear to the festival. We're also staying long enough for the Bon Festival, which, AGAIN, I am super mega excited for. It'll be a whole new experience for the both of us.

At Yamasa, students are expected to study 3 hours a night. At first, when I heard that news I thought that would be dreadful because I'm in high school and I don't even study for those classes DX. But then I realized that studying 3 hours a night is absolutely nothing in comparison to the amount I study now, and such a task would be no problem at all. So, those worries are gone, but I'm still really nervous about the placement exam. DX I REALLY don't want to bomb the first test I ever take in Japan; although I think that might be impossible because I'm not exactly sure how one would fail a placement exam. I've read that the students taking the exam all were placed perfectly through blogs, but I've read nothing about the actual exam itself... So I suppose I'll be one of the few who do post anything about the exam^^;

In the mean time, I'll study my hardest until the day comes~　さよなら！

... As for the title, it rhymed XD No other reason for choosing it other than I'll be living at Yamasa short term.