Random Encounter

  All right! New project time. The problem with cosplay is that, more often than not, there are not a dearth of ideas to do.  I'm no exception. Link, blue mage, Flammie, Knight Gundam,  Anbo-jyutsu martial artist , etc. ...  I have an interesting idea for a white mage,  but I don't think the world is ready for that.     All of varying levels of difficulty and, uh, expense (one of those is a full fursuit, for crissakes). But it feels like there's maybe one a bit more obvious that should be done first. And maybe a bit more do-able than some of the others listed.   At some point you may have said to yourself "ahh, they made a red mage costume. They must main that in XIV." And that would make a lot of sense. You would also be wrong.   No, I main Summoner. Rest assured, I can feel your disappointment from here. But I don't care. I think they're cool.    They're also definitely not something you see all that often. Not that this should n...

 Time to back up and explain things. Fair warning in case you didn't parse it from last time: I'm going to be talking about being trans. While I try to keep it light-hearted and very generalized, it does involve me speaking frankly about things like growing up closeted, etc. So if those things are an issue for you--for one, I'm sorry--but also you may want to skip over this entry.   (Also, not going to pretend any of this is particularly well-written.)  Leftover drawing provided for buffer space.    On some level I don't know where to start with this. Growing up in the mid-80s I was always very aware that I was extremely boyish. I was also aware that this was a marked disappointment to my parents, who had already gone through one tomboy kid and really wanted me to be this frilly super-effeminate girl with blonde curls.    They did not get that. They got the kid that played with robots, rooted around in the woods, and had zero interest in taking care of...

  Obligatory photo in the hotel room because the second boots hit asphalt, all bets are off.   Wore the hat through the airport because both it and the box were too bulky and there's no way that's getting crushed. Big hit. No, seriously. If you ever want walk-by compliments, I highly recommend wearing a silly hat through an airport. It will make someone's day. Think of yourself like the frozen watermelons they give polar bears in July.    Truth be told I was really only planning to wear the costume one day. Locals tend to bristle when you point this out, but Atlanta in September tends towards the hot and humid. And you gotta walk. A lot .   Also, technically the hotel I was staying at isn't even on this map.    What? You think I'm making "stays at host hotel" kind of money? Flattered, but no.   Anyway, flipping through schedule and saw a FF shoot. Told myself I'd go if I got ready in time. And if they didn't look bothered. And if I got ready in t...

Chances of the machine eating your project are low, but never zero.   Time for assembling the miscellaneous bits! Apologies, but this is going to jump around a bit. There are several little odds and ends that need to be taken care of before this whole mess gets packed up.   Formed a quick sheath out of black shelf liner. Yes, believe it or not you can run this through your machine. It will hate you for it, but you can totally do it. It's not exactly pretty, but it'll serve it's purpose well enough and now I won't have to worry about what to do if someone bumps into me and the sword breaks. Is there anything appliqué CAN'T class up?   Got some matching appliqué for the mask. They're in the same style as what is on the cape, so it looks like the mask is part of the outfit and not just something tacked on because of circumstances. The mask in question is just a sport mask, so it's light and very comfortable, but more importantly there's enough room to fit a...