AOD is Coming!

Oh my goodness, when did Animation On Display sneak up on me? I just got my confirmed panel time about a week ago.

"Magikarp a History" will be on Saturday, January 25th from 2:30pm to 4:00pm.

I just got the confirmation of my cosplay contest entry a few days ago, now all that's left to do if make sure my cosplay is in top condition and finish choreographing my performance!

I worked on my cosplay some, I re-did the hooks in the back that hold the train up. I also re-attached a couple of feathers that were falling off. I have to add some snaps to the top to make sure it STAYS on this time. It's slipping in some pictures from Fanime, and luckily my bra is the same color but ew, that looked bad.

I really hope I do well in the contest! I worked so hard on this costume, and there's cash prizes on the line! That would really help me out with Fanime and SacAnime Summer expenses. Wish me luck!

30-Day Ab Challenge: Final Thoughts

Source: 30dayfitnesschallenges.com

Here's the only cosplay-related part of this post:
I've been working out, partially to look better as Yoko Litner and WiiFit Trainer. The rest of this post will be specifically about the 30-Day Ab Challenge.

So I did this fitness challenge thing. It wouldn't be fair to say it was "hard", but it seems too cliche to call it "challenging", even though that's exactly what it was. Most importantly though, it's both doable and it has results. Maybe not very drastic results, but it certainly does something.

It should be noted that I didn't change my diet, which would have helped a ton, and I also didn't do any other exercises or even cardio, which also would have helped a ton.

So, onto the part I'm sure everyone is interested in, does it work? It really depends on what your goal is. Personally I'd say, yeah, it totally works. On Day 1, I barely muscled through the initial 15 sit-ups, and by Day 30, I did all 125. Yes, I had to keep pushing myself, but I did it. Also, a two-minute plank? Yeah forget it, I never thought I'd be able to do it, but I did. I mean, my plank form suffered heavily and was super sloppy by the last 10 seconds, but I did it. Also I can do (very few) sit-ups without having my feet held down, which is amazing to me. Basically I gained a lot of ab strength.

Also I did see some visible improvement of my abs, which I know is the part that everyone cares about. Frankly, I didn't have any fat to lose, so I didn't make a very drastic change. Anyway, here's my progress photos:

Day 2

Day 14

Day 31

Draw what conclusions you will from those. Oh, the last is day 31 instead of 30 because I did an extra day (just Day 30 over again) to make up for when I accidentally took two rest days in a row near the end (long story short, I slept about 20 hours straight after SacAnime).

Moving Forward, in order to get more fit and not lose the progress I've made, I'll be doing more of the 30-Day Challenges from the original website. I'll be stacking them instead of doing one at a time so that I'll get a full-body workout and finish a majority of them before Fanime!

First up are the 30-day plank and easy squat challenges, along with starting the cardio challenge. The cardio challenge is a little different than the other challenges in that the reps don't increase at all, and instead it's a timed challenge. The time stays the same every day, you just do as many reps as possible every day, with the intent that you'll eventually you'll be doing more since your endurance grows.

I made my own calendar thing for this one since it didn't exist.

NorCal Winter Gathering, etc.

Animal Crossing Villager
(Christmas-y edition)
Photo by WinterWish Photography

So for the first time in a year, I attended a NorCal gathering! I was really, really nervous about going, to the point that several times, I almost changed my mind and didn't go at all, because it was my first time going to a gathering by myself. I mean, a lot of my friends were there, and I knew that, but this was the first time that I arrived alone and didn't make any real plans to hang out with anyone. I didn't even coordinate cosplays with anyone, I just went on my own, and for some reason, it was terrifying. I was so scared that I'd just be ridiculously awkward and end up sitting by myself for most of the time. Luckily, I was so, so wrong.

I had so much fun hanging out and chatting with everyone that I could and hopping around from friend group to friend group. I almost wished I had group-hopped more because I didn't even get to spend time with everyone I knew. Ah well, next time!

I finally got to wear my Animal Crossing cosplay, or at least what's done of it. I was sewing like mad to fill Etsy orders in the weeks leading up to the gathering, so I didn't get to work on any personal stuff. Technically, all that I had to finish for my cosplay was the hat and the shoes, but that hat just didn't get done. I managed to paint the shoes with what felt like a billion coats of paint, but the top coat/sealant made them crack. I tested out the flexibility of the paint after each layer, and there was zero cracking, but after I wore them for less than half an hour after putting the top coat on, they cracked instantly. Guess I have to figure something else out. Since it's the holiday season, I substituted a Santa hat for my missing one.

Originally, I had planned to wear a short blue wig that I've had forever and rarely used, but with the Santa hat, I felt like that would have been too many clashing colors, so I swapped it for a wig that I bought from Epic Cosplay recently. The wig is technically for my Sarah (Last of Us) cosplay, and I still need to dye and style it, but it was a good stand-in in the mean time.

Photo by WinterWish Photography

- Gold Rose Cosplay

Wigs & Things

So I finally got it together and decided to order a wig for my Koffing cosplay, since I've had the costume for I think almost two years now and have only been able to wear it twice because of my lack of wig. (Once I used my friend's wig, and the other time I used my natural hair, which looked horrible.)

So I bought this purple wig

and these tan/blonde wefts.

The hair extensions already came in the mail, and they're so much nicer than I expected! They're sold by CosplayDNA on eBay, and they're super soft and also heat-resistant. I bought two sets just to be sure I had enough, and they're only five bucks each with free shipping. I plan to curl them and attach them to the bottom of the purple wig to mimic Koffing's gas clouds. (This was actually my boyfriend's idea!)

There's mixed reviews about the seller that I bought the wig from, a vast majority are good reviews, but I always check negative reviews just in case. Negative reviews usually give more detail than positive or neutral ones, so I always feel like it's good to check them, no matter how few there are. Anyway, the biggest complaint among them was that the wig received was not the right cut or style, so I'm prepared to have to style it some.

I'll do another post when the wig arrives in the mail (any day now) so can decide whether or not I live it before I link to the seller.

Cyber Monday

Hello again, it's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't done much of anything cosplay-wise since I finished the beaded feather for my Ho-Oh cosplay. Instead, I've been pouring my energy into making hats to fill my Etsy shop. Speaking of, I'll be having a Cyber Monday sale! $1 shipping on everything, even if you purchase multiple hats!

And for good measure, here's a bunch of pictures of the hats I've been working on! Mostly Pokemon, but some other stuff too.

Jigglypuff

Snorlax

Oshawott

Tepig

Kalos region starters

Chespin

Fennekin

Froakie

Deadpool

Honekoneko
(Panty & Stocking)

Stitches
(Animal Crossing)

Dat Feather

It occurred to me that I hadn't posted a photo of my completed Rainbow Feather/Wing for my Ho-Oh cosplay! All I did was clean up the edges a bit and extend the purple/pink part into a better shape, but I think it looks so much better now!

The "Fake Nerd" Stigma

I don't see why I can't dress
like the bottom two and still
be passionate about
nerdy things.

This is only tangentially related to cosplay, but it's still sort of related, and I know it's been talked to death, but it's been on my mind for a long time. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I can define what a "fake nerd" is because it's such a weird concept to me. Theoretically, it's someone who pretends to like stereotypically nerdy things like anime, comic books, sci-fi, and cosplay. But... Why? I don't understand why anyone would pretend to like something they didn't. I guess to fit in? And if you're going to try to pick something to pretend to like to fit in, why pick nerd culture? I'm getting off-track, but basically yeah, none of this makes sense to me. (Quick note: I'm going to try really, really hard not to abuse quotation marks, but I'm probably going to fail.)

To get right to it, I hate the fact that anyone who has an interest in stereotypically nerdy things now has to "prove" that they're a "real nerd" and not a "fake nerd". It's not enough to say, "Hey I like this thing," you have to be able to say, "I like this thing because I watched every episode and read every comic book and met the cast and had them sign an obscure piece of work they did." You have to be able to back up your fandom with random factoids and quotes and statistics.

Here's why I have a problem with it, I personally am in that bizarre middle ground, where talking to "normal" people makes me feel like a nerd because they have no interest in anything I'm interested in, but talking to "real nerds" makes me feel "fake" and outcast because I'm not up-to-date on everything and can't remember every detail from a manga that I read three years ago. As a result I'm kind of stuck in this in-between, outcast from both groups and feeling pretty lonely. And there's no way I'm the only one.

The "fake nerd" stigma, coined by the nerd community itself, creates a whole new sub-culture of people who aren't "allowed" to be casually into nerdy things, and can't network to find other casual nerds without being criticized for not being hardcore enough. I'm exaggerating a little here to make a point, I do have nerdy friends that I can hold basic conversations with, but I also occasionally feel left out by the same people, whether intentional or not.

The loudest argument for the "fake nerd" label is, "These people who bullied me in school for liking this stuff are now claiming they're fans of it because it's 'cool' now." And yeah, that sucks, they're hypocrites, and everyone hates hypocrites, but I don't understand how excluding and criticizing them now makes any "nerd" better than the jerks that did that to them in high school. It seems like suddenly being the better person doesn't matter anymore, and it's just about revenge for the sake of... Of what? Of "giving them a taste of their own medicine"?

I guess I don't really get it because I was never outright bullied for liking nerdy things. I didn't have many friends and was eventually homeschooled and had next to no friends at all, so if anything I was excluded a lot, but never outright bullied. I get where the "real nerds" are coming from, it's hard to accept people who previously wouldn't accept you, it's hard to overlook hypocrites, and it's hard not to project that onto anyone who acts similarly, but come on. Not everyone who wears a "Star Trek: Into Darkness" t-shirt has only seen the movies, and not everyone who owns a Starfleet Academy uniform is ready for a Star Trek pop quiz at the drop of a hat. It's time to let the "fake nerd" thing go and at least pretend to accept everyone again.