hexterah.net
Hey there & welcome to hexterahNET, the gateway to the many projects of hexterah/Heather and the places you can find/contact her! Enough, third person tho. When I realized I wanted to have a site that acted as sort of the center of the spider web of things I have created, the name and address hexterah.net seemed the most fitting and obvious. Basically: this is me and this is my stuff. :DThanks for visiting the nexus that reaches out to all my creative messes and I hope there's something around you will enjoy!
[ News ]
Sunday, October 1, 2023
For a long, long (really long -- I originally started a new layout/version of this site in 2019 before I moved it here to carrd :|) time all my creativity was zapped to nothing and I didn't write, code websites/make graphics for them, take pictures, make costumes -- nothing. But recently I got all these creative bugs back (for now... hopefully, they stay) and I wanted to make a place that acted as a gateway to all of these things I've been creating over my many years on the internet.
♥ Hex
[ What's here? ]
Here's a rundown of all the sections listed above. Hopefully, if you're looking for something specific, this will help you find it!ABOUT ME: This is self-explanatory! I guess.CURRENT PROJECTS: A list of all the things I'm working on at the moment, whether it's an ongoing site, a story, a set of photos, or something else. Anything that's currently in the works or always in the works will be found here!DOMAINS: These are all the domains I have and run. There are links and info there on each one -- stats on the site, what the site is, and a banner link to the actual domain.WRITING/PHOTOGRAPHY/CRAFTS/COSTUMES/GRAPHICS: These are all sections full of things I've made/written/taken/put together/whatever.STAR WARS STUFF: I have a lot of things on the 'net related to Star Wars -- mostly to the Legends/Expanded Universe characters Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus & Tenel Ka Djo -- sites, communities, stories -- this section collects those all into one place if that's the thing you might be looking for!SITE INFO/LINKS: Just some random bits of info about this site and other places I love to visit.SHOPS: Various shops I run around the 'net.
[ Currently ]
Reading: re-reading The Long Walk by Stephen King
Playing: Sun Haven, Powerwash Simulator, House Flipper, Two Point Campus
Listening: Monsta X, VIXX, OnlyOneOf, Sam Sparro, Lady Gaga
Watching: Busted!, Kurtis Conner
Working: Sleeping With Ghosts (Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka Djo project), Breaking the Night Sky (novel)
[ About Me ]
name: Heather Alyse
b-day: 12/29
aliases: hexterah, Tenel Ka, Tenna, Thorn, Ereneda
birthplace: New Smyrna Beach, Florida
residence: Good Ol' Virginia (Northern, lol).
always overheard: "I know, right?", "Feck.", "WHO IS SHE?"
if I could live anywhere: in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World (the Haunted Mansion specifically)
colors: purple, red, dark blue
creatures: giraffes, fireflies, moths, axolotls, cats, hedgehogs, manatees, MOTHMAN
vtm clan: Tzimisce or Toreador, depending on the character/mood :B
my theme song: "Dreams in Digital" by Orgy (that one is for my sister)
worst fears: huge bodies of water, giant bugs, clowns bro ewww
most vivid childhood memory: my Dad making my Ken doll the most fabulous drag queen ever ♥
random high school boredom tool: making collages on my notebooks, like these below. XDoh my god, I was such a little edgy, stupid shit.
food: cheese, cherries, ramen, oreos, popcorn, club sammiches, caesar salads, shrimp
drinks: diet coke, cherry coke zero, electric lemonade, screwdriver
current life goal: to get a story published -- actually, I would cry my eyes out if anyone ever dressed up like a character I created. Let's go with that one.
current fandom goal: to finish the my Steam Spelunk adventure -- where I go through my whole Steam library alphabetically and play every game + record at least one video of it. You can check out my progress at the playlist!
[ some lol normal photos ]
This is little, tiny me sitting at a table and drawing. I was at Children's World. Being a child. XD
That's me (lacking a tooth lol) and my sister. She turned 17. I was 6. That's pretty much still how we are today. Me = obnoxious child & her = evil/sarcastic. XD
Now JUMP to 7th grade. This is on Halloween -- I was a random goth and I look kind of evil here. D: In this house since this photo was taken it has always been called Heather: the goth-in-training.
8th grade picture. The only school picture that I actually kind of liked. Note the 82789721472 necklaces and the Tzimisce pin! Hahaha~
That's me during a camping trip, pulling a whole The Long Walk (by Stephen King). I'M BEING A DEAD BOY (which I ended up doing later at cons, heh).
That's my mom taking a picture of me in a magical mirrored elevator. Note the Final Fantasy 8 shirt. Aw yeah, lol.
Some cheesy-ass project from photo and/or computer graphics class. My hair is trying to crawl up my nose and I look angry. You know, the usual. XD
I was in Florida and Valerie (my sister) took a picture of me sleeping with Wat Tambor. I... don't even know...
That's me and Tigger at the Christmas party in Disney World. As you can tell, I love Tigger. The only character I love more at WDW is DONALD DUCK. <3
This was at Port Orleans at Disney World. I really don't know what I was thinking, but the alligator's mouth was open and what else would I do? :P
Ronnie and I in the Tequila Lounge in Cozumel from our Mexico vacation. I was on my first drink -- I think he was on his second at this point. ;D
This was during breakfast at Farpoint. I had a fruit smoothie that was served in a martini glass. OH NOES U CAUGHT ME DRINKIN' IN TEH MORNIN'~
This is Valerie, Brian (who is now my bro-in-law) and me at Christmas. We were pretending we were on America's Next Top Model. TYRA TAUGHT US WELL. XD
This is myself and Mace Windu. We were shooting for our emo album cover.
Myself, Nate, Valerie and Brian at the Pittsburgh Zoo. OH YES AND AN ELEPHANT SO CUTE. XDD
Nate and I during our engagement shoot -- Jeremy got lots of photos of us that we ACTUALLY LIKE????
And then Nate and I at our wedding! JEREMY IS REALLY GOOD AT GETTING PHOTOS OF US THAT WE LIKE. :P
[ Current Projects ]
Here are the different things I'm currently working on -- from stories to costumes to crafts to websites!
[ Photography ]
Sleeping With Ghosts
This is a Jacen Solo & Tenel Ka Djo photo/multimedia/mixed media project that Nate and I are doing because we absolutely love those two Star Wars characters with all our hearts. This banner will take you to the main website for this project!
Genii Locorum
A project where we take small details (props, ideas, etc.) from video games (and later we will be expanding to book/movies/etc.) and bring them to life in a photograph. The banner above will take you to the tumblr for the project -- which is the main site where the photos are posted!
XXIV
XXIV is the roman numeral for 24 and it's also the number of photos that will be in this set inspired by the K-Pop group VIXX! Each photo is going to be a self-portrait inspired by their singles/concepts. I know, it's a frickin' dorkass thing to do but their video concepts are fire so whatever. It'll be a fun project. :)I have a banner for it but haven't started it yet so there's no link yet!
[ Writing ]
Breaking the Night Sky
[ ORIGINAL ] My NaNoWriMo story for 2022. It has all my favorite things in it: A death game with the promise of a better life (and a sprinkling of an ancient curse), two people who crush on each other virtually and hate-is-a-strong-word each other in person, the always-present-in-my-stories angry masquerade ball, and a bloodsucker or two thrown in. Basically a recipe for disaster.
Emblem Above
[ ORIGINAL ] A story about a group of people who get shoved together under questionable circumstances. I've been brainstorming this for a long time, writing scenes here and there but don't know what to do with it. Do I finish writing it and try to get it to go somewhere? Do I put it on a self-publishing site? Do I make something like a Patreon and offer the story on there chapter by chapter? I have no idea. This ramble wasn't even plot, I'm sorry. XD
Jacks
[ ORIGINAL ] A just-slightly (haha) alternate universe future where the police force use a special group to help them hunt down the world's most notorious criminals. They don't ask the group what's done with the criminals after they're caught... as long as they're caught. (Also another case of not knowing what to do with the story once it's done. :|)
Untitled SW Thing lol
[ FANFICTION - STAR WARS ] There's ALWAYS a Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka story in progress and this one is about him NOT DYING and spending some time on Hapes pretending he's a suitor to the Queen Mother. That's shit's always really fun lolololol
[ Crafts ]
Resin Stuff
I have SO many things I want to do with this stuff and I've been collectings molds and stuff here and there. We're in the process of moving and I should have a good place to work on this stuff more when I'm there! SO LOTS OF THIS JUNK LOLOLOL WOOO! Especially these color drip necklaces above. I'll update this current section when I have a better idea of what I want to do first, hehe.
[ Costumes/Sewing ]
Costumes/sewing projects I'm currently working on (or hopefully working on -- lol professional procrastinator that's me)! Either I'm in the middle of getting them done or they're pretty much done with no actual wear-time/photos hahahah whoooopppsssss
Costumes
The Wife / Musician
From: Layers of Fear
** Variation:** Original-ish outfit
⠀⠀I've done one outfit of hers but there are some others (like the Lady in Black painting) that I would LOVE to make.
Tenel Ka Djo
From: Star Wars: Legends
** Variation:** Fate of the Jedi: Conviction back cover
⠀⠀I've had this costume part of the way done since a couple months after the cover was released and that was like a decade ago. :P
From: Star Wars: Legends
** Variation:** Original Warrior Queen outfit
⠀⠀I've had pieces and ideas floating around for this for the longest time and it's gonna be so fun to wear I JUST NEED TO MAKE THE DAMN THING. :|
Sonia Nevermind
From: Super Danganronpa 2
** Variation:** A couple!
⠀⠀There are a couple of versions of Sonia I'd like to make -- the normal SDR2 one, the Ultimate Princess dress, and maybe another one that is a complete spoiler. :B
Kinzie Kensington
From: Saints Row
** Variation:** Gat Out of Hell
⠀⠀I have the base outfit of this done! I just need to finish the sword and wings!
Mia Winters
From: Resident Evil 7
** Variation:** Baker Ranch
⠀⠀I pretty much have this done but we're working on Nate's Ethan Winters to go with it! ;)
Monika
From: Doki Doki Literature Club
** Variation:** Just Monika.
⠀⠀Another case of me pretty much having it done. I need to find a couple of props then it'll be good to go... for good, hehe.
Persephone
From: Lore Olympus
** Variation:** Not sure yet!
⠀⠀Really excited to have a costume where mine and Nate's height difference works way to our advantage! :)
Other Stuff I'm Sewing
Right now I've just been working on making some original dresses and learning new techniques! Also, I'm planning on finishing a Han Solo-inspired dress I've had half-done for years.
[ Websites ]
Aromaparody
I'd like to redo the site for the fandom-inpired candles I make! I have it on tumblr so it's easy to have a tagging system for it (people can search by fandom or character or candle or whatever) but I still would like to make it easier to navigate. I'm brainstorming!
Sylvan/Aecoreus/Petrichor
In May of 2002, I opened a fansite for the Star Wars: Legends (aka Expanded Universe) character Jacen Solo, called Viridity. In March of 2003 I opened a fansite for Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka, called Under Control and finally in October of 2004, I opened one for Tenel Ka Djo, which was called Through Her Skin. Recently, I realized how badly I wanted to revamp them all and am now in the process of doing so. The names of them are going to be new though, so they all sort of fit together. The Jacen site will be Sylvan, the Tenel Ka site will be Aecoreus and the site for them both and their relationship will be Petrichor.
[ neonshores.net ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: December 29, 2019What is it?: My blog! I've written posts on a few blogs over the years and this is a place to collect all my old posts and create new ones. There's everything from craft tutorials to photography to video game-inspired outfits to posts about feelings and stuff lol ... just all kinds of posts.
Let's go!
[ zhobot.net ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: Some point in 2010!What is it?: In 2009 I met a dude who shared a love of a lot of the same sorts of things I did. We talked a ton and many things grew from all this talking -- Zhobot.net, lots of different projects -- also an engagement and in 2015, a wedding! :O The website was put online in 2010 and was just a blog but we didn’t really have any posts until a little later and since then it has grown into what it is today. Zhobot (myself and Nate, the aforementioned me and the dude) is our umbrella site for everything else we have that's web-related. You'll also find many different projects we’re working on – some are costume-related, some are craft-related, others are video game-related… some are all three of those together! There’s ridiculousness hidden around every corner!
Let's go!
[ aromaparody.com ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: August 16, 2017What is it?: In 2017 I started making candles and naturally my love for video games and other things of the sort seeped in and I began making candles themed around them. This is the site where I put all the scents up and describe each one to make it easier for people to pick the ones they're interested in!
Let's go!
[ waxingsky.com ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: October 9, 2018What is it?: My mom and I have always been into making stuff and in 2018 we realized how much stuff we had made that was cluttering up shelves and decided to start a shop where they all could be put online for people to browse. There are all kinds of things there! You'll find Halloween decor for all year round, jewelry, candles, and my video game-inspired photography -- if any of those sound up your alley, feel free to check out the shop! :D
Let's go!
[ echuta.net ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: August 7, 2002What is it?: The Star Wars website collective! My sister and I realized a long time ago that we were going to have more than a few sites related to SW, we figured they needed their own separate place to live, which is why echuta.net was born. It's mostly an Expanded Universe-focused set of sites at the moment (which is now called Legends) and the ones still online and occasionally updated are pretty much all Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka Djo related because even though I'm not into Star Wars as much anymore, I will always be into my precious Jacen and TK beans.
Let's go!
[ whatthefun.net ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: November 2001(!)What is it?: When this site started out and for the 14 years past that, whatthefun.net was me and my sister's non-Star Wars sites, hehe. It included Myst fansites, Silent Hill fansites, fanlistings, personal sites, a cosplay site -- basically Lots of Other Crap. This was one of the main sites I worked on while I was learning html and photoshop and stuff. In the past few years it's been empty and Nate and I are hoping to do something about that soon? Maybe? Who knows! I love the name and it holds such a special place in my heart so I don't want to drop it but...? WE'LL SEE.
Let's go!
[ tenelkadjo.net ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: January 2016What is it?: While I have a Tenel Ka Djo site over on echuta.net, this one is based on tumblr and acts as a catch-all for lots of things related to this perfect being of a character whom I have loved for way too long. This started out as a roleplaying journal and then on top of that became an aesthetic/inspiration/creative mess journal surrounding her. Sort of a place I can reblog and create and write things related to her. I have one for my other favorite Star Wars bae too -- jacensolo.net!
Let's go!
[ jacensolo.net ]
Site Stats
Opening Date: February 2016What is it?: While I have a Jacen Solo site over on echuta.net, this one is based on tumblr and acts as a catch-all for lots of things related to this dork of a character whom I have loved for way too long. This started out as a roleplaying journal and then on top of that became an aesthetic / inspiration / creative mess journal surrounding him. Sort of a place I can reblog and create and write things related to him. I have one for my other favorite Star Wars bae too -- tenelkadjo.net!
Let's go!
I like to write. Most of it tends to be fanfiction, but I have lots of original ideas floating around in my head that sometimes make it to paper (or the computer, as the case may be). This section of the site will collect some of those writings (fanfic or not), as well as lead you to other places that house certain stories of mine. You can also always just click the AO3 link at the bottom of this page to check all the fic out, at least. Hehe.
[ Original Work ]
There's only a couple pieces I've put up around the net, as most of them are scribbled in notebooks and notepads in my room. One day maybe I'll change that. Hehe.
Seemingly Real -- Three boys get caught up in the delusions of one on a not-very-normal day at school. This was a dream of mine (wttfff) and I kind of made a story out of it.
Date Written: June 15 - 18, 2004Strings Across the Bridge -- A short story about a young woman, her violin, and how the music affects her family.
Date Written: April 11, 2006
[ Fanfiction ]
Star Wars
Most of my Star Wars fanfictions are Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka related, so I have only included a few here (a few J/TK and then a couple of non-J/TK ones ;D). You can find the rest of my J/TK stories over at AO3. There are a bunch. This isn't anywhere near all of them below lololol. (Also, they're from newest to oldest!)
Fixate (J/TK; jumps timelines) -- This started at something cute (the first things that popped in my head for this story were Jacen being completely oblivious/forgetful with babies and then the two of them cracking jokes the night they spent together in the Dark Nest Trilogy) and then it became really angsty. SORRY. D:
Date Written: from March to July 2017
You're The Wrong I Need (J/TK; AU; during Legacy of the Force) -- Tenel Ka going Sith would never, ever, ever happen but I wanted to write a story about it happening because I was In A Mood, hahahha. HERE IT IS. I can't believe I finished it cause it's longer than I usually write and I'm all about that.
Date Written: from April 13 - December 7, 2016
Galaxy Rendezvous (J/TK; post-New Jedi Order) -- One big giant piece of fluff! There are a few things I picked from past fics and stuck in here as a sort of greatest hits lol thing (there's always stuff I want to revisit with these two <3) but I really just wanted to write something and this is what happened. I thought I would look into one of the big three traditions on Hapes -- the Marauder's Masquerade (the other two being the Queen Mother's Birthday and the Queen's Pageant -- both of which I'm hoping to write fics on w/ J/TK as well). This takes place after the New Jedi Order ends and is obviously AU since Jacen isn't on his FIVE YEAR MYSTIC QUEST that he takes in the books. :P
Date Written: from April 9 to May 1, 2016
Family Portrait (Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo; post-Legacy of the Force) -- This is a story after LotF (if Allana was still with TK and so on) -- that I scribbled on a plane and I never knew where it came from. I think I was picturing the Solo kids being goobers (but what else is new).
Date Written: April 2016
Prisoner (J/TK; jumps timelines) -- Tenel Ka watches Jacen's interactions with animals over the years. I remember it being difficult to go back to YJK Jacen, NJO Jacen and even Dark Nest Jacen when D-BAG JACEN CAEDUS has been at the forefront of most of the things I'd written before that. But no worries, Caedus shows up in this too. And he is... well... kind of a d-bag.
Date Written: May 25, 2011
Echo (J/TK; during Legacy of the Force) -- The numbers at the beginning of each part are the numbers of nights he has been staying with her (spread over the course of his downfall) and not totally random chapter numbers that make it look like I'm missing stuff in between. I mean, there obviously is stuff missing in between, but I promise I didn't write those and accidentally leave them out, haha~ When she whispered the name "Jacen" in his ear later that night, he knew the time hadn't come to correct her yet.
Date Written: September 21, 2010
Just Yesterday (Han Solo, Trig Longo; pre-Young Jedi Knights) -- I absolutely adore Death Troopers. It's one of my favorite SW books and after I read it, for some reason I wanted to explore what happened to Trig and how he felt later -- along with him coming across Han Solo again one day.
Date Written: October 21, 2009
Not Right Now (Jacen Solo/Zekk; jumps timelines) -- I really have no idea where this came from. I think a couple of us were joking about people hitting on Zekk or who Zekk should hit on and Jacen's name came up. This most likely started as a joke but again, like a lot of my stories, once the idea gets in my head it won't leave. XD
Date Written: August 22, 2008
Princess (J/TK; during-New Jedi Order: Star By Star) -- The timeline on this one was a little off since they didn't split up into groups until after they lost Anakin, but once this idea jumped into my head it wouldn't leave. So we'll pretend they split up and Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Ganner were off on their own before the serious crap hit the fan.
Date Written: May 21, 2008
Breathless (J/TK; jumps timelines) -- I'm a sucker for parallels, which is where this story came from. Jacen going dark was something a little part of me always thought would be awesome, while another part of me was all HE WOULD NEVER~ So once he did (and as he was getting worse and worse) I figured a story like this might work.
Date Written: September 29, 2006
Here All Along (J/TK; during-Legacy of the Force) -- There were a million ways Allana could've found out that Jacen was her father, this was only one of the ones that popped into my head. I just wish they all had happier ending in canon then they did. :|
Date Written: May 10, 2006
Into Your Arms (J/TK; post-New Jedi Order) -- There was never any moment where Jacen ended up telling Tenel Ka how he felt about her, or her to him, for that matter -- and there was a challenge on a message board for Valentine's Day where you had to have a character send a message to another character. This was my entry, which ended up winning first place in the challenge and I am very proud of it. ;-;
Date Written: February 18, 2004
At Least Smile (J/TK; post-New Jedi Order: Traitor) -- This is basically a missing moment from New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way. After all that angst of Tenel Ka feeling Jacen "die" and Jacen wallowing around on Yuuzhan'tar alone, I figured they needed something relating to each other, even if they weren't physically together. This was my first Star Wars fanfiction!
Date Written: April 15, 2003
BioShock
I've only written a few stories in this fandom, but they are a few of mine that I love the most. Rapture is such an amazing setting to write in and the circumstances and events that took place in BioShock basically painted an awesome picture to add storylines and characters to. I have a couple more stories from this fandom in the works which I'll hopefully get done in the future.
Stars Don't Shine (original characters with a little Andrew Ryan; right on the eve of the Civil War) -- The New Year's Eve raid on the Kashmir is the main setting of this story. I figured there had to be so many little stories woven into everything that happened that night. When I was playing the first game for the 923849238 time I thought this up and decided to see how it would turn out if I tried to put it to paper.
Date Written: January 31, 2008
Happy Birthday (original characters; pre-Civil War) -- How does a child react when he sees his friend he hasn't played with in a while with one of the Big Daddies? A normal day in the Farmer's Market turns dark for one family when this question gets answered.
Date Written: February 01, 2008
Sunset Blooms (original characters; pre-Civil War) -- There's a guy in Rapture who has a crush on a dancer at Eve's Garden. This is the story of how they meet, "connect" (lol) and how her beau reacts when he finds out. Yay plasmids!
Date Written: March 01, 2008
Moth to the Flame (BS/SW crossover, original characters plus some familiar faces) -- This is actually a BioShock/Star Wars (EU) crossover that I kind of started as a joke until it spiraled into an actual story. Once I started it, it wouldn't stop. It still hasn't stopped. IT'S A MONSTER. Technically, not much information is needed on the EU because they could all just seem like a bunch of original characters, but if you're familiar with the EU then all the little nods towards it will make more sense.
Date Written: mid-2009
Silent Hill
I WISH I HAD MORE IDEAS FOR SILENT HILL STORIES. I really like writing creepy but I'm not good at it. :\
Trust Me (The Shepherd Family; pre-SH2 & SHH) -- I couldn't let the same last names of Alex (and his family) and Mary Shepherd-Sunderland go unexplained, could I? ;D Of course, there could be a billion explanations for it, this is just the one that invaded my brain.
Date Written: October 20, 2008
Loss and Lies (Henry Townshend, Frank Sunderland) -- Frank brings Henry the painting that is found in the apartment during the game and Henry and Frank talk about Frank's son and his wife.
Date Written: March 10, 2006
Every Single Moment (Alessa Gillespie, Stanley Coleman; pre-Silent Hill) -- The fact that Stanley Coleman had a thing for "Heather" always intrigued me so I figured I would write something about it. This is what came of it and I couldn't help but make Stanley not as creepy back then, hehe.
Date Written: July 09, 2004
A Plea for the Inescapable (James Sunderland, Henry Townshend; weird semi-slashy AU fluff) -- I really can't remember where this idea came from or why I wrote it, but this was one of the first SH fanfics I wrote and somehow it turned into a slashy piece of fluff (probably started out as a joke, like many others lololol XD).
Date Written: July 08, 2004
Stephen King
King creates these incredible characters and it's a lot of fun to play around with them, whether it's in a story or a roleplay or whatever. I wrote these for fun -- they're all King's, I was just having fun in his magical and creepy sandbox of doom. XD
Better Than You Know (Peter McVries; The Long Walk) -- This is just a little random piece relating to Peter, what happened with Pris and then touches a tiny biton Ray and Peter.
Date Written: July 14, 2009
Lucky Her (Priscilla; The Long Walk) -- Priscilla always kind of pissed me off while I was reading The Long Walk. Of course, it was always Peter's take we were seeing re: what happened between the two of them (and I love Peter so naturally I took his side). I wanted to explore more of what she thought with this though, sure she treated him like shit, but did she know he was on the walk?
Date Written: August 14, 2008
Thank You (Mike Noonan, Lisey Landon; Bag of Bones/Lisey's Story) -- Bag of Bones and Lisey's Story are two of my favorite King novels and with Mike and Lisey in slightly similar situations when it came to their spouses -- and of course since both of them would be in close proximity in Maine -- this story was written. A couple of small things are off on the timeline -- like when Mike wants to write down all of the events -- but yeah, crossover magic!
Date Written: November 29, 2007
Other
Other is pretty much full of stories for fandoms I adore, but have only written a couple things for.
The Lady in Black (The Painter/The Wife; Layers of Fear) -- I love this game so effing much and I HAD TO WRITE THIS. This story -- this game, really -- got me out of a giant writing drought and I was so happy when I finished this and was able to upload it. Just like Dance Central I NEED MORE LAYERS OF FEEEEEEEARRRRRRRRR
Date Written: March 10, 2016
Misplaced (Jaryn/Oblio; Dance Central series) -- Oblio sees Jaryn for the first time in four and a half weeks and wonders if she actually missed him, as she claims. Basically, Obliterati is my favorite thing. I NEED MORE DANCE CENTRAL. D:
Date Written: December 10, 2012
Flick the Switch (Kerith, Jaryn, Oblio; Dance Central series) -- I wanted to write a story about how The Glitterati got to the top of the dance food chain lol in the city. There were a billion ways I pictured this happening - different backgrounds, different parents, different everything. But this one stuck with me for some reason and I started writing it out. MAN I LOVE THE GLITTERATI (that's them at the bottom of this page on the left and right lololol)
Date Written: throughout 2012
Stone Cold (Louis, Ellis; Left 4 Dead series) -- Louis and Ellis are my two favorite L4D characters. Which surprises me since I'm not usually a fan of optimistic characters like them. ;) But here's a case of THIS GOT INTO MY HEAD AND WOULDN'T LEAVE.
Date Written: March 2010
Eight Husbands (Shannon/Stan; ObsCure II: The Aftermath) -- This game is so campy and that's why I adore it so much. I always loved the Shannon and Stan scenes where you played as the two of them so I wanted to write something about them since you're pretty much shoved into all the crazy crap right from the start of the game. This takes place right before the game (and I know some of the backstory is off, like people thought Kenny and Shannon were OMG WEIRD and didn't talk to them much -- I changed that around a little bit).
Date Written: September 24, 2008
Walk Away (Eriko "Ellen" Kirishima, Reiji "Chris" Kido; Persona) -- I don't know. Something in the first Persona game always made me think Ellen/Chris would be awesome so taking them from their cameos (looks, occupations, etc.) in the second game, I wrote this little scene out. It ends sort of in a bittersweet fashion, but I could see it for the two of them.
Date Written: September 11, 2007
Bedding (Sirrus, Achenar; Myst) -- I'm a total sucker for Sirrus and Achenar. I have been in love with them since I first played Myst in 1993. I figured there were many times in their evil teenage years when they basically just goofed off and did random things. This was one of those times.
Date Written: February 13, 2007
[ Seemingly Real ]
DATE WRITTEN: started June 15, 2004 - finished June 18, 2004
RATING: PG-13, for blood and cursing
QUICK SUMMARY: Three boys are tangled together in a delusional web that lasts until one gets hurt - it all goes downhill from there. (Apparently, I had some weird-ass dream and this story came from it?)
He told me he would only cut my wrist."I'll only slit your wrist, just a little," Shane had exclaimed, peering up to me through his curtain of dirty blonde hair.I believed him.I really fucking believed him.Jonathan was hunched over by the opening in the archway, keeping vigil out over the empty courtyard of the school. The sunlight hit his face and lit up his chocolate eyes, giving them a warm, friendly glow. They were narrowed, gazing out to the open space which was surrounded by the tall walls of the brick building. Stone paths and a small, uniform spritzing of plant life gave the courtyard a calm, quaint appearance. I couldn't take my eyes from it."Nicholas." I felt fingers clutching my right wrist. "Nicholas, look at me."My uniform's jacket was off, slung over my left shoulder and my upper body was now clothed in a plain white t-shirt. I ripped my eyes from the peaceful scene and looked to Shane. The sight of him made my breath halt in my throat. It really didn't want to continue drawing itself in and out after catching that expression Shane had plastered all over his face.Pearly whites peeked through thin pale lips, the shade drawing out the dark bags under his cool emerald eyes.He was my best friend. But right now, I hated him."Hurry up." Jonathan swiveled his head around and looked at me, strands of dark brown hair falling into his face. I could hear him, but his lips didn't seem to be moving. "Before someone comes."Maybe it was a trick of the sunlight.Jonathan was a good friend of mine, but I knew he could never touch the bond that Shane and I had. We had known each other all our lives, all eighteen years of it.My eyes dropped as a thought suddenly smacked into my brain. "Anna...""Fuck her."He elaborated on his response when he saw me wince."Don't worry about her. She won't know. Your jacket will cover it."Shane and Anna always seemed to fight over me. I met her years after I met Shane... but Shane always saw her as a threat to our friendship.I met his gaze again and nodded.I don't even remember why I agreed to this. Hell, I don't even remember agreeing to it at all. But doing it would make Shane happy.'A badge of our brotherhood' -- he claimed.Okay Shane. Whatever you say.Steeling myself, I let my eyes trail to my forearm, which is what Shane's identical set of eyes landed on as well. After that, seemingly out of nowhere, Shane had a blade in his grasp. It was a steak knife. A serrated steak knife. I recognized it from the kitchen drawer. The ridged edges were pushed into my arm and I could see the way my skin got lighter the harder he pressed. Silver on flesh.I was so gone that I couldn't tell if he pushed it up, or had the handle facing me and was pulling it upwards... but he didn't stop at my wrist.The metal moved up my arm; it seemed to go too smoothly for a knife with an edge as jagged as that one. The farther up it went, the lighter the pressure Shane delivered. It ran over the short-sleeve of my shirt -- I couldn't even tell if it cut through or went over... The tip finally stopped halfway up the right side of my neck. My eyes, after calming the fuck down and coming back into focus, found their way to Shane, who was leaning on the ledge in front of where I stood, his mouth opened in feigned shock."Whoops. Guess I went a bit too far," his voice oozed with contempt.I couldn't feel anything. Not even Jonathan's seemingly tangible fear at what just took place. He just stood under the archway mumbling incoherently to himself. Shane's sharp eyes shot in his direction like jade bullets, which instantly caused Jonathan to choke out a sob and turn, breaking off diagonally through the grid of the courtyard, away from the scene."Shane..." I half sobbed out, as dribbles of blood began to emerge from the red slit up my arm. I could feel tiny drops finding their way out of the top of the gash... they slid down my neck, tracing the outline of the laceration. "My wrist..."We were alone. Everyone was in class. Jonathan had run away."Put your jacket on, let's get out of here." Shane grabbed my dry left arm and helped me tug my jacket on....if you could call it helping. He was practically shoving me into the damn thing; stuffing my arms into the sleeves. I winced and grumbled and groaned as my right arm was pushed into the sleeve, the rough fabric of the jacket running across the cut up my side.Our uniforms were navy blue, the secondary color being a dark green. The school's crest was embroidered across the left chest pocket of the jacket in the same jungle green shade --- it always seemed to bring out the color in Shane's eyes and in mine too.He had my left wrist in his grasp and he was tugging me along behind him, through the courtyard. The sunlight was now diffused, hidden behind traces of clouds and the slightly darker sky gave an ominous nod to the whole ordeal...Not that the blood seeping through my jacket, down my hand and dripping to the ground wasn't pretty damn ominous enough.Come on Shane, what the fuck?"Let's go... let's go..." Shane led me through the empty halls, out into a different courtyard, a shortcut to the front of the school supposedly. There was a class out there, all standing in front of their teacher, who was lecturing them on something trivial. The teacher's back was to us, but as the loud bell echoed throughout the school grounds, the student's heads turned and they spotted us.My head twisted slowly to look in their direction and the teacher was staring at us by then. His hand shot up and his pointer finger as well -- in a heartbeat, him and his class were after us. My neck screamed out in pain, I shouldn't have turned my head. I realized that too late.Shane grabbed me again and we were back in the corridors of the school. People were spilling out of the classrooms and milling around before they had to be somewhere else. I didn't look at them as people as I was running, really... they became roadblocks. Barriers that kept me from escaping.Escaping to what? I have no idea.An existence made up of hiding and running away with someone who had just cut me. Cut me hard. What the shit are you thinking, Nicholas?I stopped letting bullshit fill my head and I just tried to concentrate on following Shane, following him to the main doors of the school -- to get out of this educational hell. Dodging bodies, sliding through groups of people, ignoring the throbbing pain along my right side. I left a trail of crimson drops on the scratched surface of the floor..."Cover your arm, you stupid shit!" Shane threw me back a dirty look, strands of his hair streaming into his face as he ran ahead.We dashed through another courtyard, this one was near the main doors. The walls around it were made out of tall windows that looked back into the hallways of the school. A decorative grid of painted metal covered certain parts of the windows, giving it all a reflective surface. I could see the gathering clouds above us and then my eyes moved along...Anna!Her back was to the courtyard, her arms wrapped around her defensively. The whole school had heard about us by now. They were looking for us. Anna look worried. Was she really worried about me?I strayed from behind Shane and practically threw myself into the glass behind her. I could see drops of blood fly up onto the glass when I smacked my palms against it, whimpering endlessly. It hurt to speak.She spun around and her eyes went wide at the sight of me --- I could faintly see my own reflection in the glass, over her worried face. Blood had stained my t-shirt to a disgusting dirty brick red. I could feel myself shaking, shivering. Anna's eyes were still open as far as they could go, the whites in her eyes so visible it made my throat close up. I could feel Shane hovering over my shoulder -- that must be why she looked so worried, she saw Shane. He was grabbing at my jacket, hissing in my ear.In the reflection I could see people trailing out into the courtyard, towards us. I paid them no mind. I shoved Shane aside and threw myself at the nearest door into the school. Pulling it open, I could hear the mumblings and excited chatter of the students who were standing around the hallway. I could hear Jonathan, extremely loud, far to my right --- he must've been speaking to an administrator of some sort."...don't know! He just began cutting himself! Right there! In the courtyard!"Whatever, Jonathan.Shane followed me in, I could hear the door slam behind me. I knew he'd be pissed at what I was doing; keeping us from getting away, but I didn't care anymore. Why did I still trust him?I ran to Anna. I wrapped her up in my arms - as much as it hurt to, and I hugged her as tight as I could. I could already feel myself getting lightheaded. I let her go and placed my hands on either side of her face. My blood had seeped into her uniform, which was now splotchy with red streaks and marks."I don't understand... why... why..." She was mumbling to me."It was Shane, Anna... it was Shane who did this." It hurt so bad to speak, but she had to know.Shane was roughly ten feet behind me. I knew he was standing there with that smirk on his face, his arms by his sides, his breath deep and smooth. I knew his sneer was growing.Anna pushed me away, tears in her eyes. I couldn't hold myself up by that time and I began to sway back and forth. Her mouth began to work around soundless words until she finally screamed out."How many times have we been over this?! Shane isn't real!"What are you talking about?I fell over at that point, onto my back, my eyes narrowing because of the blaring fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Blood slowly began to pool at my right elbow; Shane was there in a heartbeat, crouching in the pool of crimson fluid. And Anna must've forgotten any anger that had built up towards me because she was kneeling at my left side, my unharmed half, brushing her fingers back through my hair.They were both speaking to me, I couldn't make out any words though.The clouds broke a bit and sunlight filtered into the hall from the courtyard, giving Anna an oddly comforting backlight and stopping about halfway over my body. Shane stayed in the harsh artificial lighting of the hallway, spitting out curses and commands to 'get up' and 'come on, let's get the fuck out' ...All I could do was stare at the ceiling. It hurt to move anything, except my eyes. I watched as Anna stood and backed away from me, in the direction of my feet. She stood and watched me, her arms wrapped around herself again.Shane stood and tripped back the other way, past my head which was rocking back and forth on the cold floor. Shane began to move backwards, towards the front door of the school, towards freedom.I didn't want him to get away without me. It took all my strength to turn myself over onto my stomach and watch him as he escaped. He was stumbling backwards, running his right hand over the walls and the lockers, smearing trails and spots of my blood that was on his hand. The fucker was laughing the whole way.I could hear his cackles drowning out Anna's sobs.It hurt like hell to hold my head up to watch Shane, but for some reason I just kept on doing it. I kept my eyes on him the whole way down the corridor, as he skipped and stumbled backwards, his emerald gaze locked on me, his eyes bright with laughter. I was dying.Dying and he just left me there. My best friend.Jonathan had made his way to Anna by now. He had her in his arms and I could still hear her sobs. Faint and distant... but I could hear them. Shane vanished into the crowd. Forever."He still believes in Shane?" I heard Jonathan inquire.Through her weeping, she replied. "I tried to get him help... but he wouldn't listen."It was the last thing I heard consciously.But in my head I could hear it...Somewhere, Shane was laughing at me.
[ Strings Across the Bridge ]
DATE WRITTEN: April 11, 2006
RATING: PG-13, for some violence
QUICK SUMMARY: A girl is forced to play the violin for a family she doesn't want to call her own.
I always practiced my violin, that wretched instrument, in front of the picture window that overlooked the moors outside of the mansion.Sometimes I saw the lady with the sharp teeth staring back at me through the glass. A frightening mirror image of myself, with shaggy blonde hair, and smoky coal for eyes -- she peered at me with that hypnotizing gaze. She seethed animosity; even through the glass I could feel it, flowing over my skin, creeping up my bow, gliding across the strings.A haunting melody always bubbled into the air while the lady was present, drifting into the large mausoleum of a room, disturbing dust particles, which fluttered upwards and danced to the echoes of the notes. I recognized it somehow, but the reason had never come to me. Just the notes and how to play them.Adelia never likes when I play that song.My father, who sat with me during practice sometimes, would know I was seeing the lady with the sharp teeth because of the sorrow that the melody brought to my mood.“Sadie Pearl Rhodes,” he would speak in his firm tone, my full name. “You know Adelia does not enjoy that disgusting tune. Play differently this instant.”I would obey and the woman at the window would vanish.My father had made me learn how to play this stupid instrument. Because Adelia liked it. Why she couldn’t learn it herself or why my father wasn’t man enough to pick it up, I’ll never know. He made me do it, to impress Adelia.I would also never understand or even know why my father wanted me to impress this malevolent shrew.After my mother died, my father supposedly found Adelia in town one day. He supposedly fell in love right there and brought her back to the mansion. They were married. I myself believe he had known the woman for a long while before that – and just used mother’s death as an excuse to bring her back to live with us.I was barely past five when my mother died so I don’t recall as much of her as I wished I could. I remember bits and pieces, things she did or said. It was a shame. I also remember that she was pregnant with a girl when she passed away, so I have been alone, no siblings, no pets. Just father and this… this thing.It was exceptionally rainy one afternoon and my father was making me practice the violin again, as always. The humidity and rain together caused the picture window to fog over, so I couldn’t watch for the lady with the sharp teeth.I knew she was there, without laying my eyes on her, when that beautiful song started feeding into my fingers, sailing across the room, throwing a comforting blanket of tension over my father and Adelia. His scowl was one I knew too well and her narrowed eyes and sneer were something I welcomed. I couldn’t bring myself to care what she thought anymore.The melody brought me to my feet, my boots clicking softly as I slowly treaded to the window, fingers working furiously up and down the neck. Strands of hair found their way out of my meticulous braid and fell into my eyes which were now closed tightly, as sweat or tears (I can’t recall which) dribbled down my face.Something stopped me from playing and my eyes snapped open. I peered upwards and with an awed stare, I watched the fogged glass speak to me.PLAY, it spelled out across the glass.Instantly my fingers went back and practically moved on their own, playing that same haunting tune that my father hated so much. Only seconds of it passed before the gigantic picture windows swung themselves open -- the violent wind carrying sheets of rain into the hall. I was drenched within moments, but I didn't care, I just kept playing. My dress was soaked through, the hem of the hoop skirt dripping rainwater. My boots slid across the puddles along the marble floor as I moved with the melody, strands of wet hair slapping across my cheeks.She was there the next time I opened my eyes, moving with me. Her dark eyes bright with something I couldn't quite place my finger on. The bow slid across the strings with a quickening pace as I turned to my father and his vile wife. Their eyes were wide, they were shivering. If I hadn't been in such a trance I would've been frightened of the expression on my father's face -- it was a dirty hybrid of shock and anger, like he wanted to stand up and strangle the life out of me. But his attention wasn't even on me as much as it was on the lady dancing with me.He recognized her, you could see it in his eyes.I faced him as I played, the sudden flash of lightning and the crack of thunder only serving as fuel for my fingers. I kept my eyes wide and on him, seemingly possessed by something. And that was when the lady with the sharp teeth whispered in my ear."You've grown." Her voice was soft, but it somehow floated into my ear over the music and the weather's racket outside. "You have grown into a wonderful young woman, darling."She said that and I realized why the song had been familiar to me. It was my parent's song. A lullaby they had sang to me as a child. I had sung it to myself all the times I could hear my father and mother arguing, the times my father took his hand or his cane to my mother’s face, as if I could drown the whole aspect of his rage out with a song.All these memories I had tried to block out as a child came flooding back to me, my fingers still working over the strings.She was dead. My mother was dead. And it was my father's fault.I stopped playing, but somehow the melody continued to float about the chamber, mixing with the rain and the heavy breeze. That instrument he had forced me to play was in one hand now, grabbed by the neck and flipped around, the bow in the other. My knuckles were on the verge of white as I lifted the violin over my frozen father's head and let it crash down, the wood splintering instantly.I can't remember how many times I raised it and lowered it, I just remember it breaking. And I remember my father bleeding. I dropped the remnants to the wet floor and stumbled backwards, my eyes drifting to Adelia, who looked as confused as she did shocked."Why don't you go find another family to ruin?" I spit at her feet and dropped the bow to the floor, from my other hand, my gaze suddenly staring past her.I knew I couldn't stay there, not with what I knew and remembered now.The melody seemed to follow me as I stormed out the front door, out into the rain, my boots clicking on the steps as I descended. I didn't know if my father was unconscious or dead, nor did I care, as long as I was away from the beast. Rain pattered on my shoulders and my head, a steady pounding stream. It had turned the dirt road ahead into a bank of mud. I didn't care about that either, I just continued to trudge away from that mansion, head down, eyes on the dirt, the song still ringing in my ears.I think the lady -- my mother -- had followed me as well, but I wasn't about to look back to check. I never wanted to lay eyes on that place again.Confirmation came when the song stuck with me and I heard a distant whisper, "I'll always be with you, Sadie."I picked my head up after that and stuck my hands in my pockets, looking to the road ahead. The rain felt good and watching the distant lightning jump from cloud to cloud as I walked was calming.It was good to be alive. It was good to be free from the strings.
[ Photography ]
These are just some random pictures I have taken over the years -- cosplay pictures, vacation pictures, all kinds of stuff. I'm not an amazing omg wow photographer or anything, but it's a fun hobby for me and sometimes I end up taking pictures I actually really like. So here are some! I'm debating on where to upload more of them (besides here lol).
Genii Locorum
Genii Locorum is a project I originally wanted to do many, many moons ago in my last year of high school. I was in Photography III and I loved video games (and fandom in general) then as much as I do now. Originally, I wanted to take my favorite games and set up photographs that looked as if they could’ve popped right out of that universe. A couple were taken with my SLR and processed in the photo lab at school - there was a Persona 2 photo (a hand and a cell phone - Joker!) and a Final Fantasy VIII photo (jet trails that reminded me of the missiles from Galbadia Garden) that started it all.All these years later I find myself taking photos at conventions of costumers from my favorite games, movies, etc., and still find myself taking photos of things that remind me of those universes as well. I figured I could finally take these photos, gather them in one place and show my love for my favorite fictional universes. Nate took interest in this project when I showed him the photos I took in high school and the rest grew from there! You can check out the website for more info!
Vacation Stuff
These are a few shots from some trips I have been on. As you can see I am a big fan of Cozumel, Mexico, and Disney World. ;D
Cosplay Stuff
Other Random Stuff
[ Wearables ]
Jewelry
Below are some pieces of jewelry like necklaces and such that I've made that aren't resin in any way -- you can see those further below!
Armored Webs
When I was updating one of my Tenel Ka outfits one year, I made a sort of arm/shoulder chain jewelry piece and really liked how it turned out. It made me want to experiment with more of these sorts of things for other costumes and just in general. I ended up making one for a Fallout-inspired outfit and a couple original ones and I'd like to make more!
[ Resin ]
I have been into resin off and on for a good while now and I have SO many things I want to do with this stuff and I've been collectings molds here and there. We're in the process of moving and I should have a good place to work on this stuff more when I'm there! Below are only a few things I've fiddled around with/made so far.
[ Bead Bros ]
For Christmas 2013, I made a set of Breaking Bad coasters for my sister out of Perler Beads. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and bought a few more colors of beads (the only ones in the coasters were white, black, tan, and green!) and started making other little things with them. Below are some of the many things I've made with them!
[ Peg Posse ]
The Peg Posse was something I started fiddling around with when I bought some wooden peg people at the craft store one day. I painted Tobias Fünke from Arrested Development and fell in love with making little tiny versions of my favorite characters from things.Below are some of the pegs I've painted that are in new homes (commissions, gifts, etc.). I'm thinking about starting these again cause they're really fun but I need to fix my shaky hands first. :|
In 2015 a friend of mine was getting married and she commissioned me to make Peg Posse characters for all of her wedding tables! Below are all of the pegs I made for her wedding! :D You can read more about them and see more detail shots at this blog post I made about them!The Left 4 Dead pegs were bigger because they were going on their main table -- L4D was something they bonded over a lot when they were first dating!
[ Embroidery ]
I've started some embroidery projects recently -- as of now I've pretty much only done kits (see the first photo below lol). But I've branched out and done some other stuff too, heheh (THAT SECOND PHOTO).
[ Costumes ]
Here's the section with all the ridiculous messes I've made of the costume/cosplay variety since the year I started it all: 2001! I'm by far not the best costumer there is, but I have fun and that's what cosplaying is all about! Making friends, having fun, and showing your love for characters/fandoms!Most of these have been worn to conventions, while some were for Halloween and others for just plain goofing off or projects to kill boredom. There are a good number of sections (that are in kind of a random order) and each picture links to information about that costume and pictures of it.⤏ = denotes original outfit
Dance Central Series
BioShock Series
Saints Row Series
Silent Hill Series
Zero Escape Series
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Tenel Ka Djo (Star Wars: Legends)
Misc. Video Games
Stephen King
Movies
Television/Anime
Other Star Wars
Miscellaneous
[ Dance Central ]
Miss Aubrey - Dance Central
Variant: School Daze outfit
Worn for: MAGFest 2012
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Oblio!
Even though my favorite female character in the Dance Central series is now Jaryn, Miss Aubrey will still always hold a special, snarky place in my heart. If I wasn't playing as Oblio in the first game, I was playing as Aubrey and cackling at all of her snide remarks. Also, I loved the socks she wore with her standard outfit (School Daze). So when Nate and I talked about costuming as characters from the first game, she was the one I gravitated towards. She's too fabulous not to gravitate towards, naturally. ESPECIALLY IF YOUR NAME IS ANGEL.
Jaryn - Dance Central 2
Variant: Crew Outfit
Worn for: DragonCon 2012, Katsucon 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Kerith!
I have SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT JARYN AND THE GLITTERATI. There's a whole-ass blog post about these outfits over at Neon Shores about how we put these together and wanted them to glow. I say above that these are active but we probably don't fit into them anymore?? WE CAN DREAM.
Jaryn - Dance Central 2
Variant: Street Style
Worn for: Katsucon 2012, Otakon 2012
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Kerith!
Just like the crew outfits, there's a whole-ass blog post about these over at Neon Shores too! I made this jacket twice! The first one was worn at Katsucon and I ended up making a second before Otakon rolled around because the white edge bits were coming off the original vinyl I used and making me angry so I used a lighter shinier material instead -- it was much more comfortable and easier to sew with too, hehe.
Jaryn - Dance Central 3
Variant: Haute Blooded
Worn for: PAX East 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Kerith!
We got to meet the person who designed these outfits at PAX East 2013 and it was incredibly cool -- we were honored by the fact that they thought our costumes looked really good. ALSO, ANOTHER BLOG POST! About these costumes this time! These are easily two of the costumes we're most proud of and we used so many skills we had learned over the years while making them. Also, these outfits are just frickin' cool. The Glitterati are so cool dsklfjasdkj
Jaryn - The Glitterati
We loved The Glitterati so much that we put together a number of original outfits for them over the years -- whether it was for their birthday or a holiday, a casual DC project we had, or just for the heck of it. Below are all of those plus a few photos of each!
Outfit: Casual DC Fun #01
When: October 2012
With: Nate as Oblio!
Outfit: Casual DC Fun #02
When: Katsucon 2013
With: Nate as Kerith, Denis as Glitch, Bria as Emilia, and Lin as Dare!
Outfit: Casual DC Fun #03
When: July 2013
With: Nate as Oblio & Bria as Miss Aubrey!
Outfit: Glitterati Saints Row Bosses!
When: MAGFest 2014
With: Nate as Kerith
Outfit: Birthday Outfit #01
When: June 2013
With: Nate as Kerith
Outfit: Birthday Outfit #02
When: June 2014
With: Nate as Kerith
Outfit: Birthday Outfit #03
When: June 2015
With: Nate as Kerith
Outfit: New Year's Eve
When: 2014 into 2015!
With: Nate as Kerith
Outfit: Birthday Outfit #04
When: June 2019
With: Nate as Kerith
Frenchy - Dance Central 2/3
Variant: Icon Crew
Worn for: Katsucon 2013
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Marcos!
We found those full-body suits on eBay and really couldn't resist this. WE JUST COULDN'T. :( We collected the other black and white pieces (the ones we didn't have already) and put them allllll together to make Frenchy & Marcos of Icon Crew! The best part of these outfits is the fact that everyone who knows Icon Crew gets a kick out of it. We were afraid we would be the only ones who would get it and would be super sweaty hot and barely able to see for only our own amusement. But there was other amusement and that was all we could ask for - finding other fans of Dance Central at a con!
[ BioShock ]
Brigid Tenenbaum - BioShock
Worn for: DragonCon 2009
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Aphy as Julie Langford!
DragonCon 2009 was the first year DC was partnering with the Georgia Aquarium for a special convention attendee night so Aphy and I thought WHAT COSTUMES WOULD FIT BETTER IN THE AQUARIUM THAN BIOSHOCK? NONE. And like magic, Tenenbaum and Julie Langford costumes were whipped up! I actually found all these pieces at a thrift store or on eBay and modified them to fit Tenenbaum's character image somewhat - since there wasn't much to go on I had a little bit of wiggle room. Aphy made the Fontaine Futuristics badge for me (thank you, Ash! :D) and she and I had a super nerdy time talking BioShock while we were wandering around. Thanks to Emily also for fixing up my hair!
Jasmine Jolene - BioShock
Worn for: DragonCon 2011
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Andrew Ryan, and Aphy & John as Splicers!
There was an awesome plot brewing for DragonCon 2011 – apparently at DragonCon’s usual night at the Georgia Aquarium, there was going to be a giant BioShock gathering! We had friends plotting some splicer costumes as well as a friend who was coming as a Big Daddy and we thought we’d fill out the group with some of the human characters from the world of Rapture. While Nate went with Andrew Ryan, I went with Jasmine Jolene. I knew it would be hot (end of August/beginning of September in Atlanta, GA!) and I’m a sucker for taking outfits you don’t get much official material of and expanding on them. I’ve also always really been intrigued with the story behind her, Andrew, Jack, and Frank Fontaine (and was really excited to learn about it in the BioShock novel, Rapture!).I took inspiration from the poster of Jasmine that was plastered around Fort Frolic as well as some of the fanart out there and meshed it all into one outfit using the main colors you see associated with her – black, white, and red. As crazy as the time it was getting to the aquarium (the buses weren’t showing up to take anyone, Nate and I ended up in a cab with a golf club, a fake moustache, and this outfit, it was an adventure!), we were really glad we all went because we met some great people and got BioShock Infinite swag from Irrational Games who had showed up to take photos of the shoot! There were some really rad costumes there!
Little Sister - BioShock
Worn for: Katsucon 2008, DragonCon 2008, Halloween 2013
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Aphy as a Splicer (DC 2008)!
The first time I played BioShock I fell in love with it. Everything about the game is amazing and I thought the Little Sisters were adorable in a very (very, very, very) creepy sort of fashion. The fabric of the outfit was sort of thin, but that made it easy to rip and ruin, so I couldn't complain too much. The ADAM needle was an old gas pump, a spray-painted dowel, a cough medicine bottle, and red corn syrup. One of my favorite things about this was when Nate and I started talking, one of the reasons he originally contacted me was because: "OMG IS THAT A PICTURE OF YOU COSPLAYING A LITTLE SISTER?" Ah, BioShock. Bringing people together.
Rosalind Lutece - BioShock: Infinite
Worn for: T-MODE 2013, MAGFest 2014
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Robert!
You know how Nate and I love twins - especially ones who are the least bit creepy or more! The Luteces are our favorite part of BioShock Infinite and we knew we'd have to try to make their outfits somehow. The jackets, shirts, vests, and pants/skirt of these Lutece costumes were all modified thrift store finds and these are the first lace-front wigs we had ever worn. There are still a few fixes we want to make to these outfits but we had a lot of fun putting them (and all the props!) together.
[ Saints Row ]
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row: The Third
Worn for: MAGFest 2013, PAX East 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Matt Miller!
Super comfortable, very warm, and hair in a messy bun - what more could I ask for in a costume? No really though, I knew from the moment I played this game and met this craziness that I would love her. This only seemed like a logical step. I already had hole-ridden jeans and a purple hoodie. WHERE DO YOU GET AN FBI JACKET IF YOU AREN'T IN THE FBI? You paint one, hehe. I tried to find a jacket that had that windbreaker sort of quality (kept finding polyester and denim D:) and once I did and once I knew the fabric paint worked on: HUZZAH!
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row IV
Variant: Spacesuit/Crib Outfit
Worn for: Katsucon 2014
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Matt Miller, Bria as Asha, Denis as Johnny Gat, and Roger as Boss!
SO COMFORTABLE. This is only one of the many reasons I love Kinzie. Comfort! These were jumpsuits we bought online and modified, patterning the patches, cutting them out and outlining them in white bias tape before using a mixture of hand-stitching and machine sewing to add them to the jumpsuits. I embroidered the Zin patches and we added those to out jumpsuits before adding all the little character touches to our outfits. Kinzie was simple - her hoodie, glasses and gloves! This was really nice to wear at Katsucon when it was freezing outside. Comfort and warmth. :D
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row IV
Variant: Super Homie
Worn for: Katsucon 2014
Status: Active
Group: w/ Bria as Asha!
Right off the bat, there are things I want to fix with this costume BUT I am extremely proud of it even besides the fact that there's a lot I want to fix. I want to fix the fit and the collar and the inside of the hood, but this is the second jumpsuit/catsuit I'd ever made, the first time I had to heavily modify a pattern for a catsuit (because of the panels), the first time I worked with stretch vinyl and the first time I'd worked with iron-on stretch vinyl! My love for Kinzie led me to try my hand at all of these things and I was very excited with the way it turned out. I'll hopefully be fixing all the things I'm aiming to fix for when Nate finishes his Super Homie Matt Miller!
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row IV
Variant: Press Conference/Abduction
Worn for: Summer 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Matt Miller!
Kinzie's third set of Cabinet gear came in the form of another round of purple/black (WHICH MAKES SENSE AND I'M TOTALLY OKAY WITH XD) with gray this time! I was very excited about this because so much of my work wardrobe is black and gray with a dash of red and purple. Many thanks go out to Bria who got photos of me at a podium goofing off so it fit with the outfit. Fortunately, there were no aliens who came crashing down while we were taking said photos. I also had fun trying to photoshop The White Crib stuff behind my head. Hehehe.
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row IV
Variant: Cabinet Portrait Gear
Worn for: Summer 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Matt Miller and Bria as Asha!
After the promo image was released and we learned that the Boss was the President of the United States, we learned that his homies made up the Cabinet and that Kinzie was the Press Secretary! They released a set of images that were basically the Cabinet portraits of all the characters and of course we did the nerdy thing and tried to recreate them to the best of our ability (I didn't have a fancy chair or background like Kinzie's but Nate & Bria's Matt & Asha pictures came out pretty well)! Bria and I also took a few shots of us goofing around with the United Saints of America flag we made from scratch -- that was an adventure and a half. I'll have to dig up the blog post on it and link it here soon!
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row IV
Variant: First Offical Image/Game Cover
Worn for: PAX East 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Matt Miller and Bria as Asha!
Right before PAX East 2013, the announcement that Saints Row IV was on the way came along with a picture of part of the gang in a modern-day "Washington Crossing the Delaware" set-up. The first thing I noticed was Kinzie and after freaking out about her I went, "IS THAT MATT MILLER?" - then went back to Kinzie. I had some of the pieces of this outfit already and scored the others from the thrift store. After wearing it to PAX East in March (and meeting some of the developers and fans, which was amazing <3!), Nate (who had thrown together a Boss from the promo image) and I were joined by Bria (who had put together an Asha Odekar costume from the promo image) for a photoshoot in Washington D.C.! Many thanks to Denis who trudged around the city with us and took photos on the surprisingly hot June afternoon.
Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row IV
Variant: "The Girl Who Hates the 50's"
Worn for: Fall 2013
Status: Active
I COULDN'T RESIST. I loved that one of the very first things Kinzie complained about to the Boss was the 50's clothes and how she wanted to be shot if she was ever caught in them - I just loved that it came back and bit her in the ass. This was a mix of thrift store and things I already had (plus finding the right glasses on ebay!) and there are still a couple things that need to be done to it (poodle on the shirt, fix the hair, etc.) but it's really fun to wear! Also a lot of fun to scowl in. SORRY, KINZIE.
Kirsten/Decker Specialist - Saints Row: The Third
Variant: Kirsten
Worn for: MAGFest 2014
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Matt Miller and Denis & Roger as Deckers!
When a few of my friends and I were talking about cool colored lights and other related silliness, I mentioned Deckers costumes from Saints Row: The Third and it went time to look for EL wire and LED lights from there! Nate already had his SR3 Matt Miller costume so he was set. Nate and Roger are saints (lololol pun intended except not cause DECKERS XD) and made me a Shock Hammer for my birthday, which was right before MAGFest 2014 when we first wore the costumes. Roger made the handle which can go from the compact version the Specialists wear on their back to the fully extended weapon and Nate worked on the details and wiring so that the handle, midsection, and the actual tip of the hammer would light up. He also made it so that the blade could be down or out. I am so very much in love with that Shock Hammer and I spent most of this paragraph talking about it because ♥♥♥Besides that, I stitched EL wire to my jacket and ironed the Deckers symbols on a red shirt. The lace was sewn to a thrifted skirt and the shinguards were made from scratch out of the same vinyl I used for Jaryn's original Street Style jacket (before I remade it - I knew that leftover vinyl would come in handy someday! :D). The skates are a pair I've had for many, many years and I painted them with spraypaints and acrylic paints before adding EL wire to those too. This has been a costume I've wanted to do for a while and I had way too much fun at MAGFest in it! I wore a pair of boots there due to the fact that I didn't want to risk rollerblading in the Gaylord but we've got some shots with the skates as well! I'm working on some boots that look like their skates without the wheels/pink frame so the costume is more con friendly. So there may be more shots of this in the future!Many thanks to Erin for the photos from the Gaylord (with boots!) and Lee of Dancing Squirrel Photography for the shots of us (where I have my skates :D)!
Shaundi - Saints Row 2 / 4
Variant: Fun Shaundi! (hehe.)
Worn for: MAGFest 2016
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as DJ Veteran Child & Denis as Johnny Gat!
Nate and I had these costumes done for SO LONG before finally wearing them in 2016. I was surprised at how much I actually liked this costume? It was comfier than I was thinking it would be (especially since the wig was small oyyy) and I love the way the photos turned out -- we had so much fun goofing off in them w/ Denis and his fabulous purple-streaked-hair Johnny Gat!Of course, I actually like photos of me in a costume and some assclown on Facebook -- when the official Saints Row page shared the photos(!!!) -- is like SHAUNDI ISN'T A FAT COW SO THIS COSPLAYER SUCKS so you know, you win some you lose some.I hope that dude is having a really shitty day today.
[ Silent Hill ]
Harry Mason - Silent Hill
Worn for: funsies lol, June 2003
Status: this was never active haha
Group: lol pls no way
Y'all it was 2003 and teenage me was really bored one day that June. I realized that I had all the makings of a Harry Mason costume... SO WHY NOT? This was closet cosplay when the term closet cosplay was just a baby. As you can see, from all the shots, I am in love with the fake gun. But yeah, I happened to have a vest and jacket that worked really, really well and this happened. I said I would put every "costume" on this site that I ever did so this just had to be here.
Heather Mason - Silent Hill 3
Worn for: Katsucon 2005
Status: Active
Group: N/A
I love Heather. She rocks and she has an awesome name lol. The outfit had little details I wanted to make sure I didn't overlook -- of course, these photos are so old and small that you can't see any of them. At Katsucon, the year I wore it, I had questions like: "Where's your radio?!" -- "OMG ARE YOU HEATHER?!" -- It was a lot of fun. :D Since my hair is nothing like Heather's I knew I needed a wig and this was one of the first times I attempted to wear one with a costume. The problem was my hair was so long and thick that I had no idea how to fit it under the wig perfectly.
Henry Townshend - Silent Hill 4: The Room
Worn for: Otakon 2004
Status: Retired
Group: a bunch of awesome people I would have loved to stay in touch with -- good job, past-heather.
Henry is the main character in SH4 -- he's one of my favorite characters and I love him to death because he's such a duh sometimes. I wore this when the game had already come out in Japan but not in America yet so that was entertaining. His outfit is simple and you know I had a blast carrying that axe around. Now I just need to make Travis and Alex costumes and I'll have my SILENT HILL MAIN CHARACTER CIRCLE OF COSTUMES complete. Hehe.Also, how could I resist the urge to make and carry around a last-minute-addition-craft-project Eileen Barbie doll. IT'S LIKE A BIG, AWESOME ESCORT MISSION. XD
Lisa Garland - Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Worn for: Katsucon 2010
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Harry Mason!
Nate and I spent a good number of hours playing through Silent Hill: Shattered Memories trying to get all the endings and find all the odd little details throughout the course of the game. When the beginning of '10 rolled around and we knew Katsucon was coming up, we thought these costumes would be a good fit -- especially since there were supposed to be other SH cosplayers at the con! I loved Lisa's new design so I went with her (I was debating Dahlia for a bit, but I already had the hair and such for Lisa ;D) and Draelight went with Harry's outfit (pre-Hospital visit where he gets his different duds). We had lots of fun taking pictures of these costumes, especially since there was still massive amounts of snow everywhere, just like in the game! Hehe.
James Sunderland - Silent Hill 2
Worn for: Halloween 2002
Status: Retired
Group: lol pls i wore this to high school
I found this jacket at a thrift store sort of on a whim. I thought of James instantly when I saw it, of course, and thought it actually resembled the jacket in the game more than the official Konami replica of it did. The costume was comfy and plain enough that I could celebrate Halloween in costume at school without looking all done up and crazy. ;D The best part was there was a whole two (2) people who knew what I was and I got a: "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR PILLOW?" from them. Bless.Anyways, I've updated the jacket since then with more patches from the game and maybe I'll throw this magical thing on again when the SH2 remake is released!
Mary/Maria Hybrid - Silent Hill 2
Worn for: Katsucon 2007, Katsucon 2012
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as James (in 2012)!
A long time ago I had a Maria costume. I wore it to Katsucon 2002 and no one had any idea what I was. I was sad. Silent Hill 2 is my absolute favorite game though so a few years later I thought of a half Mary/half Maria hybrid sort of thing and made it for Katsucon 2007 (my wig was a mess that year ffff i fixed up a new one for 2012). I had a lot of fun in it and met a number of Silent Hill fans who I geeked out with about the series. Later, after Nate had first played the game, I showed him the costume and mentioned fixing it up and wearing it again, thus the James & Mary/Maria combo debuted/made a return at Katsucon 2012! Haha, I had to go back into my photo folders to find all the years the Maria & Mary/Maria costumes were. WHERE DID YOU GO MEMORY?
Maria - Silent Hill 2
Worn for: Katsucon 2002, Halloween 2002, Otakon 2003
Status: Retired
Group: w/ my sister as Pyramid Head in '02!
Maria is one of the greatest video game characters ever, especially her "backstory" and how she "showed up" in Silent Hill. ;) And, come on, the way she messes with James' mind is priceless. The game had recently been released when I wore this for the first time, so I don't know how many people knew what it was, but whatever, I was on a Silent Hill 2 high (and pretty much always will be). I hope to wear this again one day, but it's been so long since I have that I don't even know if it would fit anymore. Time to go on a quest into the costume boxes and find it! Hopefully, there will be more pictures of it here one day. And maybe with a wig that actually stays on my head!
Nurse (Brookhaven) - Silent Hill 2
Worn for: Halloween 2006
Status: Retired
Group: w/ my mom as movie!Dahlia and Jason as Pyramid Head!
This was fun. XD We took the old, awesomely-cardboard PH head from Halloween 2002 and spruced it up a tiny bit, along with the apron-thing -- then we made a new great knife and PH was done. And I just bloodied up a white outfit, shoes, and hat -- then with mom's help (she dressed as Dahlia!) gauzed my head up. After that there was drawing some veins on my chest/neck, stockings, and arms and then I grabbed a pipe and there you go! The best part was that some of the kids that came around were all "OMG YEAY SILENT HILL U GUYZ!!111!" So I was happy. I've always loved the nurses and not being able to see anything was a new experience.
Sacrament 21 - Silent Hill 4: The Room
Worn for: Halloween 2004
Status: Retired
Group: N/A
Yes, I know. It's basically another Henry costume lol -- if you know the backstory, then you know about this costume. It's something that's never really shown in the game, so I got to put his numbers wherever I felt like it. I was going to put them on his forehead (Wisdom and all!) -- but for Henry-hair my bangs always hang in my face and they would've kept getting caught in the makeup goop. So I put it in the opening of the shirt, on the neck. I would absolutely love to do this costume again, it's been years since I did it the first time but SH4 never gets enough love! I also didn't get enough super-creepy pictures in it, since you know, it was Halloween and I was handing out candy to the children and all. ONE DAY?
[ Zero Escape ]
June - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
Worn for: DragonCon 2011
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Junpei!
People talk crap about June sometimes but I love everything about her. From ridiculous elevator conversations to plans her brain formulates. After finishing 999, I was ready to cosplay her (and Santa - see below, heheh) and started on her outfit while I was working on Santa as well. Since Nate already had his Junpei, these were easy choices to bring to Dragon*Con. We figured no one there would know what we were but we didn't really care either - we just wanted to spread the 999 love. We actually did meet two girls who knew what we were from ("HOLY SHIT IT'S JUNPEI AND JUNE!") and one of them said she was making a Santa costume - we high-fived over mutual love for 999 & Santa and me and Nate had our day made. Yay costuming from obscure games! :D
Santa - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
Worn for: Katsucon 2011
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Junpei, Leesers as June, Solstice Wind as Ace, Bearpigman as Seven, Ukraine Kraine as Clover, and Hayabusa Knight as Snake!
Remember that whole costuming from obscure games? It's even more fun when you have a giant group of you who like that same weird game and you can make an almost complete group of characters from said game! When my friend Leesers mentioned she wanted to make a June costume, I jumped right in as her Santa and Nate entered as her Junpei. We also managed to round up Clover, Seven, Ace, June, and Snake - you can see all of us together in a shot below! We had a lot of fun goofing off and getting some awesome photos. The Gaylord National was actually a great place for photos that sort of fit the setting of the game! Many thanks go to Elemental Photography for the shots from Katsucon! :DOnce upon a time, Nate talked about making a Santa costume to go with my June - so this might be the first costume we will have both made of the same character! WE'LL SEE.(ALSO MY GOD I WAS PROUD OF THOSE SHOES)
Luna - Virtue's Last Reward
Worn for: MAGFest 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Sigma!
After Christmas 2012, at the very last minute (while also trying to finish/gather everything up for our table in the dealer’s room/artist alley) right before MAGFest, we decided to throw together Sigma & Luna costumes! Nate’s Sigma jumpsuit color was off a tad because we bought a coverall set in navy blue (the other colors at the store were black and tan) but we figured it would work since we only had a few days before the con. All the emblems and icons were handpainted on and the wig was one we had for something else and never used so it wasn’t perfect.His Sigma turned out pretty good... MY LUNA ON THE OTHER HAND LOL. The week of the convention I made the wrap skirt and painted the design on it, modified a purple shirt from the thrift store (added a longer collar and completely horribly messed up sleeve cuffs & fabric painted on them I NEED TO REDO THOSE SO BAD OH MY GOODNESS seriously those were painted like the day we left for the con hahahah XD), modified a white shirt from the thrift store for her overshirt (cut the sleeves and added the buttons) and shoved a tiny bird into a gold cage pendant and added a chain for her necklace. Both costumes were extremely last minute (and there are definitely things that need fixing!), but we were excited to wear them because we love the game/series so much! <3Many thanks to Jeremy for the first four photos below! We were excited to find what looked to be a timer for watering the plants in the hotel cause we pretended it was one of the bombs from one of the many crazy points in the game lololol
Quark - Virtue's Last Reward
Worn for: Katsucon 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Leesers as Phi, Solstice Wind as Sigma, Declan as Luna, Ukraine Kraine as Clover, and Hayabusa Knight as Tenmyouji!
C-can we get the elephant in the room out of the way-- THAT DAMN HAT. WHAT IS THAT HAT, QUARK? That was fun to make, haha. I had no idea what I was going to use for the little... things... on the side of his hat until I stumbled upon some clear storage containers in Michael's one day. THESE WILL WORK PERFECTLY, I cackled as I threw them into my basket. The hat was the weirdest part of the outfit. The rest was thrifted and in the case of the jacket, thrifted and heavily modified. The scalpel was a scalpel with no blade in it - well, it had a "blade" but it was made out of instamold plastic. ;)This was a blast because we got to see our pals from the 999 Katsucon shoot again! Nate was going to have Dio done but that coat of his screwed us over and we weren't able to get it done in time. ONE DAY, DIO. ONE DAY.Many thanks go to Jade Smile Photography & Swoz Photography for the photos below!
[ Persona ]
Eriko Kirishima - Persona 2: Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment
Worn for: Katsucon 2014 (and 2001!)
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Kei Nanjo (LOL NATE), Leesers as Ulala, Lin as Jun, Vergil as Tatsuya, Declan as Lisa, Ukraine Kraine as Maya & SS as Baofu!
Eriko Kirishima from P2:EP was actually the very first costume I ever made. When I found out there was going to be a P2 group at Katsucon 2001(!) made up of a few friends of mine, I rushed the week before the con to put together an Eriko costume. My sister was a huge help - we found a jacket and a pair of pants that were the closest match of tan for the time frame (but didn't match each other :|), had to go with a red turtleneck instead of an orange and my sister cut an old Halloween wig we had into the closest thing to Eriko's hair we could manage. You can see a fabulous photo of it to the right, haha!It was so much fun to wear (at my very first con!) and for years I wanted to put together and wear a new version of this costume - Katsucon 2014 was finally the time! For a couple of Katsucons, Leesers and Lin and I had thrown around the Persona 2 idea and we put our feet down and said 2014 was the year! We were joined by other awesome friends to make a Persona 2 group consisting of Eriko, Kei, Ulala, Jun, Tatsuya, Lisa, Maya, & Baofu! Thanks to Felix Wong for the last four photos below!
Jack Frost - Shin Megami Tensei series
Worn for: Katsucon 2009
Status: Retired
Group: N/A
I've adored Jack Frost since the first time I played Persona. He's adorable and the fact that he appears throughout the whole SMT series (plus he's all over a lot of Atlus' stuff) = awesome. That means you get to see him ALL THE TIME. I wanted to show my love for him, but I knew I wouldn't be able to make an actual mascot costume without it looking absolutely horrible (I can picture it -- the head would be all lumpy and the proportions would be totally off), so I modified it a bit! I had the sharp teeth too, but I didn't manage to snap any pictures of them. :P
Ulala Serizawa - Persona 2: Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment
Worn for: Katsucon 2003
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Ahki as Katsuya!
INSERT SHRIEK HERE BECAUSE ULALA. Persona 2 (both IS & EP) are spectacular and Ulala definitely helps make them that way. I love her to bits and absolutely love her design. My mom and sister helped me make this outfit - mom showing me sewing & pattern tips on the way (I HEMMED AND ADDED THE LACE ON MY OWN, WOO!) and my sister figured out a good way to add the spider web. She also magically did my hair the day I wore the costume. She figured out how to get it up in a way that resembled Ulala's and then sprayed the everloving shit out of it with pink temporary hairspray. Again, this was an age where I didn't know how to wig (I still don't - wigs, man! I mean I can kind of cut them but anything else = HA) so we figured just using my actual hair somehow would be better. To this day I still nod in admiration at all of this and thanks to my mom and sister endlessly for all their help on this. :3
Naoto Shirogane - Persona 4
Variant: Formal Version
Worn for: Katsucon 2014
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Kanji, Denis as Yu, Lin as Yukiko, and Bria as Chie!
Persona 4 was one of the games we played through together right after we started dating so it'll hold a special place in our hot messes of hearts for eternity. We always loved Kanji and Naoto and the way they reacted/dealt/interacted with each other - also dat height difference. Finally, characters our height difference would really work for! Our friend Denis had found this Persona 4 art...
...and after we all gushed about it for a while we thought, "It would be fun to turn these into costumes!" AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. Many thanks to Lionel Lum for the photos below!
Futaba Sakura - Persona 5
Worn for: MAGLabs 2017
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Yusuke!
Nate and I played Persona 4 together when we first started dating and when Persona 5 came out we knew we'd have to keep the tradition alive so we began that one. Little did we know we'd fall in love with two characters we would relate to in completely different ways than we did with Naoto and Kanji from 4. Futaba and Yusuke were just about instant must-cosplays and were so much fun once we got them finished and finally wore them. I found a perfect jacket for Futaba at Target and iT WAS LIKE A SIGN.
[ Tenel Ka Djo - Star Wars: EU ]
Tenel Ka is one of my favorite characters from any form of media in the whooooollle wide galaxy. I have a blast making costumes from one image or a small description in a book and being able to take artistic license with parts of costumes, trying to figure out how to make the costume fit the character, personality, and style-wise. These are most likely the main reasons why I love costuming as Tenel Ka, besides the obvious fangirl crush I've had on her for years. Here is a page dedicated to my 3947293.4+ Tenel Ka costumes I've made and worn over the years.They are ordered from the newest to oldest in the order they were most recently worn (although some have been worn more than once and that will be listed if it’s the case)! If there is an image the costume is based on, it will be posted by the costume information. If not, it will be noted in the description where the inspiration from the costume was pulled.
Variant: Legacy of the Force - Queen Mother - original outfit
Worn for: NOVA Con 2017
Status: Active
It's like I don't even know what to write for these anymore. I WANTED TO MAKE ANOTHER ORIGINAL TENEL KA QUEEN MOM OUTFIT BECAUSE I LOVE HER. That's it. That's what this outfit is. Also, I had this pattern to make a cool cape-y thing, had this dress that would go with the fabric I had for the cape-y thing, and had this pendant I thought was Hapan-ish so of course that led to A WHOLE 'NOTHER TENEL KA OUTFIT. :)
Variant: Fate of the Jedi - Queen Mother - original outfit
Worn for: Sleeping With Ghosts - 2017
Status: Active
This is an outfit I made especially for the Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka Djo multimedia project that Nate and I started in 2016 -- Sleeping With Ghosts. There's an AU in it where stupidface Caedus gets redeemed and she goes to visit him when he's locked up. I wanted to try mixing armor + queen mother and had a lot of fun designing this.Sewing that heavy-ass purple jersey though was THE DEVIL.
Variant: Jedi Robes
Worn for: Katsucon 2017
Status: Active
One of the things I always thought about regarding post-Return of the Jedi Jedi were their robes -- prequel Jedi robes were so boring can we get SOME FUN ONES IN HERE PLS? Corran Horn had green ones, I guess. So there's that!But Nate and I always talked about making Jedi robes for Jacen & Tenel Ka that would reflect them more as characters. We got the basic parts and then split off -- he went for more of an animal-catching, nature boy while I went with a reptile print for the tabards, reptile fabric boots, details with beads and small sharp teeth, and made some scaled handguards!I wore mine to Katsucon 2017 but Nate didn't have pants for his Jacen robes yet so he wore one of the 9234529047 jumpsuits that we see Jacen in. :P We need to get more photos in these when he has pants for his Jedi robes lolol
Variant: Dark Nest Trilogy - Queen Mother - original outfit
Worn for: Celebration III (2005), DragonCon 2005, DragonCon 2011, MAGFest 2016
Status: Active
I first wore this at Celebration III because I wanted to make some sort of Queen Mother outfit (little did I know this would lead to an obsession with Queen Motherly garb all over) -- also my darling friend Lin made a Hapan handmaiden dress. <3 I wore the dress again to DragonCon that year after fiddling with a new necklace and cloak (which is totally a curtain, by the way - Tenel Ka does all her royal shopping at the home goods stores, y'all)!It turned out perfect cause at CIII my brother-in-law was joking that the empire waist of the dress was good so she could hide secret Jacen Solo babies and we both cackled -- THE THEN DARK NEST BOOKS CAME OUT AND SHE FRICKIN' DID JUST THAT. Only one baby, but still.For DragonCon 2011, I pulled the costume back out, added some trim to the dress, made a new chain shoulder piece, and wore it to an Expanded Universe shoot the Monday of DC!
Variant: Young Jedi Knights Armor - a billion renditions of it lol
Worn for: DragonCon 2007, DragonCon 2009, Balticon 2010, June 2010, DragonCon 2012, April Shoot 2014
Status: Active
The most recent version of this is probably my third? full iteration of this outfit. This was always one of my dream costumes and I never knew how to tackle the armor so I went through a couple of bolero-stacking versions before I started working with Wonderflex (which I first used on the fanart-inspired NJO outfit below). The DragonCon 2012 was the latest version of the costume and then for a shoot in the woods in 2014 I replaced the fabric scales on the top shoulder piece with Worbla scales, painted/paperclayed some of the armor edges, added lace to the top shoulder piece and reshaped some of the armor....I want to make another version of this lololol
version 3.5
version 3
version 2
version 1
Variant: Legacy of the Force - Queen Mother - original outfit
Worn for: DragonCon 2011, Katsucon 2014
Status: Active
I was going to make the Fate of the Jedi: Conviction back cover outfit for DC 2011 but the sleeves were giving me trouble and I ended up making an original Queen Mother outfit instead (SHOCKER because I love making these). I always loved Paua beads and pendants and thought they might be good for a Queen Mother outfit so I used them on the necklace I made for this. The snakeskin texture of the belt matches a texture on the boots (wanted to keep the snake bits in while still being elegant) and I sort of based the headpiece off of the back cover of Conviction. I'll get to the Conviction outfit one day, I swear!
Variant: Queen Mother outfit inspired by DiHA's gorgeous fanart! <3
Worn for: Katsucon 2013
Status: Active
When I saw DiHA's art nouveau piece of Tenel Ka, I absolutely fell head-over-heels in love with it. It fits the character so well - tying her Dathomirian heritage in with her Hapan side (and job, heh). I asked DiHA for permission to attempt to make the outfit and once I got it, I began brainstorming. It doesn't look exactly like her art (the art is way more gorgeous, haha! ;D) and I'm not able to get my hair in that fabulous an updo without professional help and/or hours of practice, so I'm aiming to wear this again in the near future to try to get some good shots of the costume. The ones we got at Katsucon are some of my favorites though, due to the setting. The Gaylord National's lobby is spectacular and we found a corner of it that could pass for a possible area of the Hapan Gardens where Tenel Ka and Jacen Solo could go to have a talk away from the creepers-- err, Hapan suitors.
Variant: Legacy of the Force: Tempest - jumpsuit described in one random little paragraph lol
Worn for: DragonCon 2007, DragonCon 2012
Status: Active
Some Legacy of the Force costumage I originally debuted at DragonCon 2007. This costume is from a few lines in Tempest that mention Tenel Ka in a gray Hapan jumpsuit (ALLANA MATCHES AND IT'S SO CUTE ;-;). I figured I could design something off of those lines and this is what came out of that. I added a capelet I had made to resemble the Hapes Consortium symbol and wore it all together to DragonCon 2012!
Variant: Young Jedi Knights - original outfit
Worn for: Katsucon 2012
Status: Active
I was going to try to finish a new set of YJK armor for Katsucon 2012 but time just wasn't on my side (WHEN IS IT EVER HAHAHA) so I ended up throwing together a quick original YJK-era outfit the last week before the con. I used my Tempest cover scale sleeves as sort of a capelet and made a waistcape (you know how I feel about asscapes, aw yes). It was weird to have another Tenel Ka outfit I didn't have to worry about my arm for either - woo, YJK era! I would like to refine/change a couple of things on this in the future and wear it again because it was actually pretty comfortable.
Variant: Legacy of the Force: Tempest - Cover Art
Worn for: DragonCon 2006, Anime USA 2007, Katsucon 2011
Status: Active
I was so excited when Tenel Ka got her own (!!!)BOOK COVER(!!!) and I managed to cobble an outfit together for DragonCon 2006. The scales didn't cooperate like I wanted the first time, but I fixed them a bit when I wore the outfit to AUSA '07. I got fed up with those once I wanted to wear the costume again and made a new set of sleeves out of aluminum scales. I also changed/made new waistcapes for Katsucon 2011. I would LOVE to make the sleeves sturdier and find a way to make them stay on better, so, woohoo, future project!
Variant: New Jedi Order Armor inspired by Todd's amazing fanart! <3
Worn for: DragonCon 2011
Status: Active
I have always always always loved Todd's Expanded Universe fanart - especially his art of Tenel Ka! I asked him if I could make a costume inspired by this piece and he said go for it! I finished it for DC 2011 and posted it here on dA thanking him over and over for being such an awesome artist and all around cool person. :D I had a lot of fun making and wearing this costume! Thank you, Todd!It was my first foray into the world of Wonderflex (I also used it that DragonCon on other costumes/props such as my Meg Masters cup and so on) and I was excited to try it out for other costume-related things after I was finished with this one!
Variant: Legacy of the Force - Warrior Queen - original outfit
Worn for: DragonCon 2010
Status: Active
At DragonCon 2010 there was going to be a big EU group (huzzah!) so while Nate fiddled with his Caedus jumpsuit to make a beginning-of-LotF Jacen for the group, I fiddled with the idea to make an original sort of Warrior Queen Tenel Ka that all fell into place when the colors popped into my head. I was surfing eBay for something completely unrelated (well, it was costume-related, but not TK lolol) when I stumbled upon this corset that had all the colors I needed. The original design wasn't going to have a corset, but I couldn't pass this up. I put the pieces I already had with it and made jewelry to go with the whole thing - for some reason I had a lot of fun doing the jewelry! I DON'T KNOW.
Variant: Dark Nest Trilogy - Queen Mother - original outfit
Worn for: BaltiCon 2010, DragonCon 2010
Status: Active
I first wore this random Queen Mother dress I decided to make to BaltiCon 2010 and wore it again to DragonCon that year! I made the dress and jacket sleeveless cause it's easier to hide an arm with no fabric on it and cause of a random passage in the Dark Nest books where Jacen notes TK is wearing a "sleeveless frock"... THAT WAS MY EXCUSE. Apparently, all I need is one sentence and I will go ALL IN.
Variant: New Jedi Order: Star By Star - Jedi Strike Team
Worn for: Celebration III (2005), DragonCon 2010
Status: Retired
This is a costume that's near and dear to my heart. A group of us had set it up and were planning it a long time before Celebration III and we had a blast at the convention. We all got our copies of SbS signed by Troy Denning and he and the others at the Del Ray booth got a kick out of our geekery. The group was brought back to DragonCon 2010 with some people who couldn't make it to CIII! We had a lot of fun then too (and all three Solo children that time! :D).
[ Other Video Games ]
Lily Burns - Layers of Fear 2
Worn for: fun lol - Summer 2019
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as James!
We haven't worn these anywhere and definitely want to take more photos like the ones we have so far -- but we played the game and HAD TO GET THESE DONE BEFORE WE FORGOT lololol. Really though, we love LoF2 and have lots of ideas for photos and stuff! HOPEFULLY SOON! I'M TIRED OF THIS CREATIVE RUT THIS IS THE LAST COSTUME THING I DID. :)
The Wife - Layers of Fear
Worn for: Selma Mansion Shoot 2016
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as the Painter!
So this game was one of the things that helped me to start writing again in 2016 (it had been A GOOD WHILE since I had before that)! Nate and I loved it so much that we knew we wanted to put together costumes from this game somehow (even though you only see the characters through paintings) and we knew we wanted to try to get photos of ideas that wouldn’t leave our minds once they got lodged in there.We never wore these to a con (we'd like to at some point?) but we wanted to try out some photo techniques which is where the first batch of photos is from.We’d like to take the first photo again with paint that has more substance (we used Halloween facepaint here) so it stands out more but we weren’t prepared to get paint all up in Heather’s wig and stuff. That photo was KINDA LIKE symbolism for him loving The Lady In Black, how his obsessive nature re: painting was one of the things that began to tear them apart, etc. etc. I DON’T KNOW IT MADE SENSE IN OUR HEAD WHEN WE FIRST THOUGHT OF IT? (Also, with paint that has more substance it might be easier to tell what it is.) -- I told you this game got me thinking lol.This was the first time I attempted to sew a jacket like this (which you can’t see as well :|) and the first time we attempted low key lighting and we were excited with the results of both!The second batch of photos is from a trip to the Selma Mansion that worked SO WELL for Layers of Fear photos! The fifth photo is by Dancing Squirrel Photography and the rest we took of each other hahaha. xD
Jacket - Hotline Miami
Worn for: InterventionCon 2015
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Biker/Helmet!
Hotline Miamiiiii!!! We had these costumes done for so long and never had a chance to wear them -- so we were excited to finally put 'em on! I originally had a frog mask (which I will most likely wear at another con when we wear these again since we would like to!) but I felt the pull of the Richard mask when we talked about wearing these at Intervention. I searched online and found an awesome rooster mask but it was around $50 which is way out of my price range. Doing some more searching lead me to a yellow rooster-ish mask called a "Supreme Chicken" mask. I saw they had it in white and bought it almost instantly. It was $30+ cheaper than the original rooster mask I found and looked awesome! So I had fun with my Supreme Chicken, my stage blood, my bat, and of course, my jerkface Biker lololol. Also many thanks to Roger of Monki Makr for taking these photos for us! I had way too much fun editing them. Especially the 80's-VHS-styled ones. ;D
Corey - Hotline Miami 2
Worn for: MAGClassic 2015
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Tony!
Just like our Jacket & Biker costumes, we had these costumes pretty much done for a while before finally getting them 100% done and having a chance to wear them to a convention. MAGClassic 2015 was in September which should be pretty cool weather, right? NO, WE WISH. It was hot and humid and latex masks are no fun in that. Neither is long pants and a jacket. Serious props to Corey for piling all that on in Miami. The shot of me crouching and about to run with the mask on was when I could most definitely feel my legs shaking and sweat dripping down my face. I AM REALLY HAPPY WITH SAID PHOTOS THOUGH SO YES. Many thanks to Roger of Monki Makr & Denis for taking photos for us at the con!
Ashley - Until Dawn
Worn for: MAGFest 2016
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Chris!
We couldn't resist this when we first played Until Dawn it was too perfect it's like they were begging us to cosplay as Ashley and Chris lololololThere was a group at MAGFest 2016 that was full of amazing people and there was another Ashley (WE HAD THE SAME BEANIE!) who was the best -- also, later I realized (and messaged her about it) that she was also the Jesse in our Barbie and Ken photos! I KNEW SHE LOOKED FAMILIAR. :D
Nora - Fallout 4
Worn for: MAGFest 2016
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as...... NATE!
Don’t forget about baby Shaun(ita)! It was the least creepiest baby doll at the thrift store (we didn’t want one of those ones where the eyes close when you lay it down and stuff, oh man) and it’s covered in pink everything (except for the little green embroidered eyes, hehe). So instead of Shaun, it became Shaunita. Luckily little Shaunita didn’t get kidnapped.(Also, that marked the first time I had sewn something from scratch – the green shirt – in forever due to all kinds of things going on and IT FELT GOOOOOODDDDDD. So expect more things on that front, hopefully. :D)Super props and thanks to Roger for taking these photos and making us take the first picture over and over until we actually looked worried.
Touko Fukawa - Danganronpa
Worn for: Katsucon 2016
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Byakuya!
These are two of our favorite characters in the Danganronpa series and we had these costumes for the longest time before we FINALLY wore them to a con! We were only at Katsucon for Saturday but we still had a blast. :DRoger was getting some costume photos for us down by the arcade in the Gaylord National. There was a booth there where you could get photos done with different borders/backgrounds/etc. and on the monitor outside the booth, it would show you examples of what it could do and then take example photos of the space outside of the booth.…………….so we had some fun with it. Major A+ to Roger (LOOK AT HIS MODEL POSE IN THE SECOND PHOTO) for snapping photos of the monitor in time, every time, since the monitor only put the example photos up for .2 seconds. :PThese are pretty fitting. Especially that first one.
Chica - Five Nights in Miami
Worn for: MAGFest 2016
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Foxy, Denis as Freddy, and Roger as Bonnie!
You have one new message! BEEP Hello, it’s ‘Mike’… I need some entertainment for a birthday party right away. Got some kids here that need to be amused. I’m at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Make sure you keep these brats in line and don’t let them cause any trouble. CLICKThe four of us were talking one day and somehow this crossover came up. Nate and I had recently done Jacket & Biker costumes from the first Hotline Miami and were preparing to wear Tony & Corey from Hotline Miami 2 (as well as getting the stage blood shots). Creepy animal masks were a big part of our recent conversations due to this. Roger and Denis helped out with both the HM & HM2 shoots so really, creepy animal masks were everywhere. Also, Five Nights at Freddy’s was also relevant in recent conversations – which also features… creepy… animal… masks. Of course, that led to this costume idea.So we sort of meshed the four main animatronics from FNaF with Jacket/The Fans (since The Fans were fans of Jacket) and made this monstrosity. This really fun, really ridiculous monstrosity. It was fun trying to figure out how to make the FNaF animatronic details work in an 80′s HM sort of way. Foxy’s pirate hook became a sickle, Bonnie & Freddy’s instruments became weapons, and Chica’s plated sugary delicious friend became a gun called, what else? Cupcake.We had a ton of fun in these at and found it really interesting to see how many people reacted to the costume as, “Hotline Miami!” –and how many said, “Five Nights at Freddy’s!” instead.
Michael De Santa - Grand Theft Auto V
Worn for: MAGFest 2015
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Trevor!
Another one of our last-minute shenanigans!This ended up being a wort of test run on these costumes cause it was late and we just sort of wanted to run around in them and be stupid. It was good cause we realized problems lie with the tattoos we made for Trevor, and the wig/hair for both Michael (p.s. don’t even talk to me about how we were dyeing that wig until 1am Thursday night/Friday morning – BUT IT WORKED, THE WIG ACTUALLY DYED and you know us, we can’t wig… but we’ll be using a different wig for Michael from here on so ahaha dyeing wigs till 1am for nothing) and Trevor (Nate’s hair didn’t stay back and crazy like we originally had it - we have IDEAS THOUGH) – even with all those things we want to change though we were having fun wandering around the atrium Snapmatic-ing at 2:30 AM with Nate poking things and me going “TREVOR, NO.” With Nate adding: “TREVOR, YES.”There was a point before we went downstairs and wandered around where I was dozing off on the heating pad. Nate came back into the room after playing a board game and took those photos of Michael before waking me up. M & T bffs for life.Of all the companies we went through for the t-shirt under Trevor’s flannel, Nate settled on Merryweather Security because lololololol Trevor in MERRYWEATHER. With that plus the Pißwasser bottles we made and other little details about these outfits, we’re really excited to wear them one day for real (perhaps a Trevor + people shoot?…). But that early Sunday morning we were content to just take blurry Snapmatic photos. (Do you have any idea how much I love taking Snapmatic photos in the PS4 version of GTAV? SAVE ME, I GET LOST IN IT.)
Mike Schmidt - Five Nights at Freddy's
Worn for: MAGClassic 2014
Status: Active
Group: N/A
Less than a week until MAGFest 8.5 was when I decided to try to get a FNaF costume together. It hadn't been out for long but Nate had been playing it and we had seen Markiplier's videos so we were on a FNaF high. I owe this costume to Amazon Prime because without it I would never have gotten the hat or any of the Beanie Babies in time. They were all pretty cheap, which was a definite plus. The Thursday night before the convention (that was when everything had arrived) I sat and gave the Beanie Babies their modifications, hehe.The people who understood what I was doing with a bear on my head laughed which was really fun - I loved seeing the realization on people's faces. :D I also scared a little girl when our elevator door opened and she saw the bear sitting on my head. She said the bear was creepy and skittered away from the elevator. Job well done, Beanie Freddy.
Pots - Jet Set Radio
Worn for: MAGFest 2015
Status: Active
Group: MY SKATING BROS
I have loved this series for far too long and was so excited to wear these with my darling BFF bros. Erin/TheWhaleBaby (who is Gum in these photos!) and I did JSR costumes a LONG, LONG time ago (I had a Rapid 99 costume that I would like to remake one day which you can see below) and always wanted to do costumes from the series again. We also wanted to be able to wear them with rollerblades! Finally, in 2015, we did all of the above! Pots is one of my other favorite characters in the series so I chose him and humanized him up a bit, hehe. Joined by envirion (as Beat) and Bethii-chan (as Rhyth), we laced/buckled/etc. up our skates and Jeremy of JeremyDesignz snapped some photos of us -- many thanks to him for the first four photos below! He also wore his Corn(/Tab) costume and Nate (thank you, Nate :D) got that last photo below.
Lolly - Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Worn for: MAGFest 2014
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as DJ KK, Denis as Nat, and Roger as Porter!
Lolly is my precious babby. PRECIOUSSSSSS. She was a villager in my town of Derpton, which was started in the Summer of 2013 when the game came out and she is still living there to this day. That is probably because I stalk her and do everything she wants me to and skljdfkajdfadas SHE'S JUST SO PERFECT. There was a period where Nate, Roger, Denis, and I were all buried in our 3DS screens and of course, that led to HAHA COSTUMES. I instantly went to Lolly of course and had fun collecting bits and pieces to paint, making ears and a tail, and wearing mittens all day. I wanted to add some stripes to the wig like the ones she has on her head but I had no idea how without it looking all wtf so I just left it. Maybe one day?
Ophelia - Brütal Legend
Worn for: DragonCon 2010
Status: Retired (I wanna make a new one!)
Group: w/ Nate as a Grave Digger!
I absolutely love Brütal Legend. The first time Drowning Doom came on screen I laughed so hard - it was so perfect. When Nate and I were sitting around playing it one night, I mentioned how I love Ophelia's DD design and that if I could manage it, I would make a costume. I ended up saying WHY NOT and tried it out, and Ashley was excited to try her hand at the makeup (since her + makeup = otp). Nate said he wanted to do a BL costume too but he wasn't buff enough to be Eddie Riggs. Our eyes lit up when we both mentioned the Grave Digger ("This music makes me want to kill myself... in a good way.") -- these were too much fun to wear. <33
The Twins - The Cave
Worn for: PAX East 2013
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as... the other twin!
We had a blast at PAX East 2013 in these -- we were at the Double Fine booth to get some prints and met Tim Schafer and Chris Remo! Tim Schafer asked us why we dressed up as the twins and we said we enjoy creepy twins (as you can see from our other costume choices) and he snapped some photos to post which was definitely one of the highlights of our con. :O
Elaine Marley - The Secret of Monkey Island
Worn for: DragonCon 2010
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Guybrush!
MONKEY ISLANDDD. <3 This series has always been one of my favorites and Elaine has always been one of my favorite characters - I've wanted to do this costume for years. Thing is, it wouldn't be as much fun without a Guybrush! When Nate played the remake of the first game, he kept saying how silly Guybrush was and I told him I had always wanted to do an Elaine costume HINT HINT. He thought it would be awesome and the first thing he said he needed was a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle. The best part of this was all the people pointing to Nate and going, "I WANT TO BE A PIRATE!"
Luke Triton - Professor Layton series
Variants: PL & The Curious Village and PL & The Last Specter
Worn for: Katsucon 2010, Tekkoshocon 2011, Otakon 2012
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Professor Layton!
When I started the Layton series I was like, "THIS KID. WHY." But as the first game (and the series) went on, he became my tiny, little precious cinnamon roll. When Nate started playing the first game, we both cackled, "COSPLAAAAAAAY!" And we knew it had to happen. Especially due to the height difference - it actually worked for us here! :DI did a last-minute tiny!Luke from the Last Specter for Otakon in 2012 -- a friend of ours (Leesers, who you might recognize from the 999 & VLR photos!) was bringing her Remy costume to Otakon and to match her we decided to do Last Specter Layton and Luke! This was really easy for Nate since Layton apparently never changes his clothes. Tiny, younger Luke needed a little bit more though. Also, this is when my foot problems were acting up. I was in a wheelchair all weekend and had to lean on magical convention center glass for these photos, hehe. It's also why my foot is hidden because of the wrap thing around it.
Hunter - Left 4 Dead
Worn for: DragonCon 2009
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as a Smoker and Ashley as a zombie!
This was technically the first costume Nate and I did together, so it holds a special place in our zombie/horror-loving hearts. Many, many thanks go to our friend Ashley for the makeup jobs (and Nate's Smoker tongue XD) and for joining us as a Mercy Hospital zombie - also to her and Sara for helping me take my ridiculous claws off afterward too. That was an adventure!
Rapid 99 - Jet Set Radio Future
Erin and I had been talking about these costumes FOREVER. So finally we figured we'd finish them. I never had the chance to do anything with a wig before Katsucon, which made me a tad emo. Also making me emo was the fact that I had to get in the costume so fast (photoshoot at 4pm oh shi it's 3:26) and I was lollygagging around in the Mary/Maria costume that day lol) I didn't get to wash my hair and blowdry it and tease it out all fun for the pigtails. D: I was proud of the shorts though (first time with spandex oyyyyy). I had never been good at sewing stretchy things and I was finishing these up the day before the convention and putting the pink stripes on them. When I tried them on I was excited because they fit and actually looked good! I figure I'll fix up this costume with new shorts and a wig and then it can be worn again in all its Lollerskate glory. Mayhaps we will take pictures with actual skates too.
Raven - Twisted Metal Black
Worn for: Halloween 2001
Status: Retired
Group: N/A
Raven from TMB was a last-minute Halloween costume to scare little kids with (what can I say, i'm horrible D:). At first, my sister and I were Jay and Silent Bob, then it was time for something a little different and I changed into this. It was a last-minute kind of thing which obviously made it different than her design (plus I wanted an excuse to wear the wings, lol) but I had lots of fun in it. Raven was always my favorite in TMB (besides Bloody Mary and Agent Stone) and I was on a super Twisted Metal kick that year. I need to play that game again.
Player - Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Worn for: Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2007 - Disney World
Status: FOREVER ACTIVE
Group: N/A
TELL ME YOU REMEMBER THIS NINTENDO GAME? My sister and I can't be the only ones. We always tried to beat this game when we were younger and we just COULD NOT beat the Haunted Mansion and Pirates levels, so years later, before she moved out we sat down UNTIL WE BEAT IT. And then there was a trip planned to Disney World! During their Halloween party! What better costume to wear than THE STUPID KID WHO RUNS THROUGH THE MAGIC KINGDOM COLLECTING KEYS FOR MICKEY MOUSE?! We freaked out when we thought of this costume for the Halloween party. It was such an epic, nostalgic flashback for us and it's WHERE THE GAME TAKES PLACE. That's even more of a score than Kingdom Hearts cosplay in Disney, which is what I was originally planning! XD
[ Stephen King ]
Chris Chambers - The Body/Stand By Me
Worn for: DragonCon 2008
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Aphy as Gordie!
ASHLEY AND I LOVE STEPHEN KING, CAN YOU TELL? D:Yes, we're not dudes, but we love this story and the adaptation of it. This, naturally, meant costumes! I found a great toy gun for Chris, rolled a pack of candy cigarettes up in my sleeve and Ashley slapped some fake leeches on us. If we had more time we probably would've actually made the outfits dirty, but this was sort of a "HAHA WE SHOULD HURRY UP AND THROW THESE TOGETHER TO WEAR AT SOME POINT AT DRAGONCON" -- which is what happened. We didn't really have them scheduled and the Saturday morning of DragonCon, before the parade, I woke up, poked Ashley and said "WE SHOULD WEAR STAND BY ME" ...luckily, she knew what I meant. I wasn't fully awake yet (hahahah when am I ever).
Lisey Landon - Lisey's Story
Worn for: DragonCon 2008
Status: Active
Group: N/A
So next to The Long Walk, Lisey's Story is my second favorite book (STEPHEN KING, MAN). Obviously, like with The Long Walk, there is no official character art to go by here. So this was a matter of descriptions in the book and so on. Lisey is described as having dark hair and blue eyes. I didn't have dark hair, but it wasn't light so I thought GOOD, WHAT NOW? One of the passages that stands out to me EVERY single time I read the book is when Lisey gets cut on her chest and goes to Boo'ya Moon in a towel and shorts. She places a small towel stained with tea over her chest but there was no way I was walking around the con like that, so I got a towel with an elastic edge and stained it. Ashley helped with the makeup for the cut (which looked perfect) and I also had a garland I had made of various fake flowers of all sorts of colors to sort of be a smattering of flowers from Boo'ya Moon (IT'S A BOO'YA MOON BOA~ sorry, I'm so sorry I had to say it) - besides that, I got a mini shovel and Emily made me a yellow afghan square that I put some fake blood on. I couldn't have done this without Ashley and Emily and many thanks to them - I got to do it. Lisey is one of my favorite characters and LS is such an amazing book. I'm glad I was able to try to bring this to some sort of life!
Peter McVries - The Long Walk
Worn for: DragonCon 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011!
Status: FOREVER ACTIVE
Group: w/ Nate as Abraham, Aphy as Art, Sara as Harkness, and Emily as Olson!
The Long Walk is my favorite book (thanks to my sister for introducing me to it!) and I've pushed it on so many people over the years (10+ at the moment!) - the only clear thing to do after all that is dress up! Ashley loves doing makeup so once we decided we were going to be our favorite Already-Received-Their-Ticket Walkers, she started researching how to make bullet holes with makeup. The bullet holes have differed somewhat over the years and the last year we did these we were too lazy (and tipsy) to even bother with them but we still had a whole lot of fun. We've been joined now by Sara (as Harkness), Emily (as Olson) and Nate (as Abraham) -- maybe one year we'll get a Garraty?
Thad Beaumont/George Stark - The Dark Half
Worn for: lolol around the house 2007
Status: it's retired come on
Group: pls no i was goofing off
One weekend in 2007 I was straightening up all my costume crap and found lots of Halloween makeup. This was dangerous because I had just finished reading The Dark Half and I had actually just watched the movie adaptation (in which George Stark has amazing makeup). So of course, what do I do? LET'S TRY GEORGE STARK MAKEUP!!11 I had to balance it all out too, with Thad, so I quickly yanked some closet cosplay out (Thad wears women's shirts, apparently) and took a few Thad shots and then went crazy with the Halloween makeup and managed some George Stark. I was very happy with it, for it being a HEY-I'M-BORED-LET'S-THROW-ON-SOME-STUFF thing. Didn't technically wear it for anything but I said I'd include everything on this site so HERE THIS IS.
[ Movies ]
Evelyn Carnahan - The Mummy
Worn for: InterventionCon 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Rick!
We have a whole one photo of in these costumes and we'd really like to rectify that. The Mummy has been one of my favorite movies since its release and for years it was always I'M GONNA COSPLAY EVIE I'M GONNA DO IT and then I finally did.And we got one photo lol
Meg - Paperman
Worn for: Eastern Shore Fan Con 2013
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as George!
When we saw Wreck-It Ralph in theaters we absolutely fell in love with the short, Paperman, that showed before the movie (we loved WIR too, naturally). We had talked about making Paperman costumes a bit but put it on the backburner until 2013 when WIR was released on Blu-Ray/DVD and we fell in love with both the short and the movie once more. There happened to be a cozy convention we were headed to in Maryland and thought this might be the perfect time to put these costumes together! We went with bits and pieces we had as well as parts from a trip to the thrift store. Heather brought a stack of ready-to-recycle paper home from work and our friend Denis helped attach the paper airplanes to Nate's coat on the way to the con! For last-minute costumes, we were extremely excited with how they turned out and would like to wear them again in the future!
Barbie - Toy Story 3
Worn for: Halloween 2010, Katsucon 2011
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Ken!
We're both huge fans of Disney/Pixar movies and when we went to see Toy Story 3 we ended up cackling way too loud at the parts with Barbie and Ken. They were just written and animated so perfectly. We had talked about making these costumes for DragonCon that year but it was sort of just a joke (plus there was no time!). After we got back though, we realized we needed a Halloween costume and this came up again! We wrote a blog piece detailing the process of making these costumes since we get a lot of questions around Halloween - you can check out said post here! Overall, these are a lot of fun to wear despite the fact that Barbie's shoes are pretty painful and that wig + hiding all Heather's hair under it = headache.
Ariel - The Little Mermaid
Variant: Sail dress!
Worn for: DragonCon 2011
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Eric!
This was sort of a last-minute thing before DragonCon 2011. Friends of ours were doing a Disney Princess group and they didn't have an Ariel! She's one of Heather's favorites and while we knew there would be no getting a crazy princess dress or a fin done in time, Ariel DID have the torn sail outfit when she gets her legs. And bingo! Nate used his shirt from his Guybrush Threepwood costume and a belt was thrown together -- there was also getting pants from a thrift store, cutting them, and adding a cuff -- and suddenly Eric too! Too bad Nate's wig (which was my L wig and didn't fit his head) kept coming off, hehe. He finally gave up after a while and went with his own hair.
Deb - Napoleon Dynamite
Worn for: Halloween 2014
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Napoleon!
It was Napoleon Dynamite's 10th anniversary in 2014 and there was a slew of promotion for the movie around because of that -- it had always been one of our favorites and both of those things together made for a perfect Halloween costume!
Mrs. White - Clue
Worn for: DragonCon 2009
Status: Active
Group: w/ Aphy as Mrs. Peacock, Nate as Mr. Green, and Emily as Yvette!
Even though it's been forever since I wore Mrs. White, I would LOVE to wear this costume again. This is one of my absolute favorite movies and to find other fans of it at DC was awesome because then it became a giant Clue quote-fest. ALSO, I LOVE MADELINE KAHN WITH ALL MY HEART. Everyone is that movie was fucking stellar but she stole my heart with her snarky Mrs. White. <3 At the con, when we went back to the room to change, the lining of my Mrs. White dress ripped! This is why we haven't brought these back out -- my dress is still broken. :\Many thanks go to Sara for taking these photos of us being goobers! :D
Maid Marian - Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Variant: "The Night is Young and You Are Beautiful"/"Men in Tights" forest scene
Worn for: DragonCon 2008
Status: Active
Group: w/ Erin as Will, Jeremy as Blinkin, and Josh as Robin Hood!
This group was a lot of fun to do. We had all talked about it for a long time and when it happened it was a blast - especially seeing Jeremy take his role as Blinkin so seriously/perfectly. The reason I still have it listed as "Active" and not in the old costumes section is because we keep talking about making Nate a Robin Hood costume! Hopefully it'll happen someday (we already have the tights for him and the beginnings of the hat!) and it'll give me a chance to find a better crown. The one I ended up with at the last minute was a gold tiara sort of thing - the first crown I ordered was way too big and fell around my neck. :B
Cowboy - The Warriors
Worn for: DragonCon 2006
Status: Forever active
Group: w/ Rhane as Snowball and Jason as Ajax!
The best part about this was getting "WARRIORS! COME OUT TO PLAY-EE-AYYY!" yelled at us randomly throughout the day. We also got pictures taken and comments on how much the movie was loved -- which is awesome because the movie deserves a lot of <333 and it's always been only sort of a cult favorite (not that that's bad at all ;D). While I went as my favorite, Cowboy, Rhane went as Snowball and Jason went as Ajax. We got these vests from the sadly now-defunct website A-1 -- and we originally just bought them to be cool pieces of movie memorabilia, since we loved the movie so much. Then we realized "DUDE COSTUMES" -- and this is what came of it. I love this movie with all my heart and had to pay it tribute. CAN YOU DIG IT?
Murphy MacManus - The Boondock Saints
Worn for: DragonCon 2004, DragonCon 2005
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Sarah as Connor!
Sarah and I were in love with this movie and her favorite was Connor while mine was Murph -- so we thought WHY NOT? XD We bought the official crosses off the website (for real we were in love with this movie), along with the temporary tattoos, and had a ball at DragonCon. My favorite was when I was walking into the girl's bathroom; and there was a guy outside who hit one of his friends -- "HEY! IT'S MURPHY FROM THE BOONDOCK SAINTS!" Much love to Sarah for the pictures below, cause we got them all with her camera. Muahah!
Yukie Utsumi - Battle Royale
Worn for: Otakon 2003, DragonCon 2003
Status: Retired
Group: w/ a whole mess of people at Otakon!
When a giant Battle Royale group was happening at Otakon in 2003 I got extremely excited. I had recently seen the movie and loved it (I don't know what it is about a bunch of people being trapped somewhere and being forced to discover secrets/fight/ANYTHING that I love). I was still uber-novice on the sewing machine (lololol pretty much still am) and my mom helped me a TON with the blazer and skirt here. I had blue sneakers like Yukie for this costume so we all just rolled with it and said I was Yukie, hahah. ;D
Jay - Jersey Trilogy
Worn for: Halloween 2001
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Valerie as Silent Bob!
Hehehehe. My sister and I got it in our heads to be Jay and Silent Bob for Halloween one year so this happened. My favorite part of the whole thing - besides goofing off and singing/dancing - was the fake beard hair my sister found for her Silent Bob. That stuff was SERIOUS. It looked really good and really confused people. Snoochie boochies!
[ TV / Anime ]
Henrietta - South Park
Worn for: MAGFest 2015
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Michael, Roger as Pete, and Denis as Goth Stan!
We have always loved the Goth Kids from South Park and somehow SOMEHOW this came up in a conversation about something (I wish I could remember how - maybe we were talking about BURN DOWN BURN DOWN HOT TOPIC DON’T LET IT STEAL YOUR SOUL) with Roger and Denis. It turned into a costume group and after almost a year of yapping about it - we finally did it! I made Firkle the week of the convention and was actually really happy with the ridiculous way he turned out. He really brought the whole gothy hot mess together.
Carol Peletier - The Walking Dead
Worn for: Katsucon 2014
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Daryl and Denis as Glenn!
I'd be lying if I said we were never invested in this show -- there was a period in the middle where we were digging it completely. I think it was Carol's turn to badassery. We talked about Nate doing a Daryl costume and then I was all MAYBE I CAN TRY A CAROL COSTUME??? ...do you know how hard it was it fit all of my hair under that wig? :PMany thanks to Roger for getting photos of us at a nearby abandoned prison! :D
Worn for: Katsucon 2013
Status: Retired
Group: w/ TheWhaleBaby as Katara, Neoqueenhoneybee as June, Ceratopian Song, Bethiichan as Toph, and Denis as Zuko!
This was a costume group we talked about for a very long time and it was amazing to make it happen! Nate and I have always loved Sokka and Suki. Our absolute favorite scene is when Zuko goes into Sokka's tent when Sokka thought it would be Suki so with the time we had and everything going on we pulled together outfits from our favorite part of the series.Many thanks to Lin for placing the 44 bobby pins in my hair that held it all into that short bob for Suki! And thanks to Roger for the first photo and TLY Photography for the last 3!
Tamama - Sgt. Frog
Worn for: Otakon 2012
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Keroro!
We wanted an easy costume at the last minute to wear to Otakon the last time we went – which was 2012 – and we had been marathoning Sgt. Frog (a show we love both the original and dub of :O)… so of course, this happened. We saw a really adorable image of the Keroro Platoon humanized and kind of went off of that (I WISH I COULD FIND IT AGAIN IT WAS DARLING D:)~This was also the weekend my foot was really messed up and I had to be in a wheelchair throughout the con. SO THERE WAS THAT TOO. (I ate a metric crapton of Pocky as Tamama, btw.)
Meg Masters - Supernatural
Worn for: DragonCon 2011
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Sam Winchester!
Nate is already a giant moose so it was not hard for him to become this other giant moose named Sam Winchester. I love Meg. I also love Meg’s red jacket so being Meg was an obvious choice.We first wore these to DragonCon 2011 and Nate brought his Sam back for DC 2012 -- I was just wearing a Sam flannel that night and chilling. Meg's wig was hard to keep my hair under ffffff. I love her though.
L - Death Note
Worn for: Tekkoshocon 2011
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Light!
I was all about this because it was comfortable and I got to eat lollipops all day. Also, we didn’t just want to do Light & L, no, we wanted to do Light & L handcuffed together because how can anyone resist this fun?We wore these at Tekkoshocon 2011 and loved every ridiculous second of it. Nate has a habit of forgetting dress socks for costumes that he requires them for and as you can see, that happened for Light, hehe. When we found another L we had to be nerds aaaaaaand that last photo is how I read the convention schedule every single time we needed to check it.(Light & L skipping merrily away from the camera is one of our favorite photos.)
Princess Bubblegum - Adventure Time
Worn for: DragonCon 2012
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Finn, Aphy as Marceline, and John as Ash!
Aphy took her awesome makeup skills and painted her and John gray (and gave him amazing hair, heheh) and made me pink. Nate dressed up and ran around yelling things with his tiny Jake. I had a lot of fun creating my handmade Lumpy Space Princess and to this day she still snarks around our house looking judgy. ;)IT WAS A GOOD TIME.
Charlotte "Chuck" Charles - Pushing Daisies
Worn for: Balticon 2010
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as Ned!
We first wore these to Balticon 2010, which is where the second row of photos was taken. The rest of the photos were taken by Shelley Shearer at our favorite area park in the spring of 2012. We always have a lot of fun in these costumes but we miss this show so much. :(
Buster Bluth - Arrested Development
Variant: TIME FOR ARMY
Worn for: DragonCon 2010
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Nate as GOB, Sara as Lindsay, Valerie as Maeby, Brian as George Michael, and Aphy as Lucille!
This was one of the most ridiculous costume groups I've ever been a part of -- I love all these people and their senses of humor. We've known them all for so long and we all love the show so quotes were thrown around and scene reenactments were a thing. Also, making Franklin Delano Bluth was a learning exercise in puppet-making for me, Nate, and my sister (who is Maeby in this group... with her husband as George Michael XD).Franklin has been scrapped for parts for other projects but I still have my Army Trophies! The seal is for marksmanship and the gorilla is for sand-racing.
Elliot Reid - Scrubs
Worn for: DragonCon 2008
Status: Retired
Group: w/ TheWhaleBaby as Carla, Jeremy as J.D., and Rhane as Turk!
At DC 2007, the four of us and I talked about doing these costumes and a whole year later we still managed to do it (this was awesome since usually our ideas for costumes change a GAZILLION TIMES)! I'm not blonde (and I didn't bother with a wig and such, since these costumes were so casual) but I am a flake like her, so we thought it was fitting. :P
Wednesday Addams - The Addams Family
Worn for: Halloween 2008
Status: Active? (i wanna make a new one)
Group: w/ my mom as Morticia!
I wasn't really specific on a version, whether it was the TV show or movie Wednesday, cause I love both, but whichever one it looked more like (probably TV), I had so much fun with this. I was cruising around eBay and I found this dress and instantly thought HALLOWEEN IS SOON, THIS IS A SIGN. So I got it and then started searching around for a doll and so on -- I love that doll. XD I made a dress for her and then yanked the head off and threw it into the yard to add to the decor (after I made the head look nasty, of course). My mom was Morticia (we've wanted to do Morticia and Wednesday for years for Halloween) and the whole night we had a ball in these costumes. I want to wear this to a con, but I will probably have to invest in a wig or something -- the black hair spray stuff I used looked really good but it pretty much turned the white collar of the dress black. -_-
Yohji Kudou - Weiß Kreuz
Worn for: Katsucon 2003
Status: Retired
Group: N/A
Okay but legitimately the only thing I remember about this is: Weiß Kreuz was goofy as hell (flowermen by day, assassins by night?) but I loved it and Yohji was my #1 (followed by Ken) and I wanted to do a costume of him but had no idea how so FLOWER SHOP COSTUME!
[ Other Star Wars ]
Han Solo - The Empire Strikes Back
Worn for: SW: Attack of the Clones IMAX 2002
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Valerie as Hoth Luke!!
My sister and I wanted to dress up to see the AotC IMAX with our group of SW fiends (who were all also doing the same). And we didn't know who to be. Finally, we settled on Hoth Luke and ESB Han [pre-carbonite] -- we did these costumes in ONE day. We stayed up till 6am, got up at noon the day of the movie, and finished them. Valerie hand-sewed my whole shirt while I sat and cut the pants and made her Hoth accessories. Fun yet horrendously tiring. What do you expect in 24 hours? I'd say we did pretty damn good???? Also, Chewbacca came with us as you can see.
Hannah Solo - Star Wars???
Worn for: DragonCon 2003 (v1), Celebration III (2005 - v2), DragonCon 2009 & DragonCon 2011 (v3)
Status: Active
Group: most recently w/ Nate as DJ Prince Lee, Aphy as Luka, TheWhaleBaby as Landa, and John as Ool!
Okay, so in 2003 I made a Hannah Solo costume for DragonCon, and years later, at DragonCon 2011, it was brought back with some modifications and some good friends! :DWe were trying to figure out how to bring in Leia’s hair and we had a giant pair of headphones - so Nate turned Prince Lee into DJ Prince Lee because it sounds like a bitchin’ DJ name (lololol). TheWhalebaby joined us as Landa Calrissian, Aphy joined us as Luka Skywalker and John absolutely killed it as Ool. Hehehe. Jeremy took these amazing photos and these remain some of our favorite costumes to this day.I'll include photos of some of the older versions here as well lolol
Kale Longo - Death Troopers
Worn for: DragonCon 2010
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Kyle as Dr. Zahara Cody, Natalie as Trig, and Draelight as Han Solo!
So none of the new characters that were introduced in this novel have any art of them from the book, so we pretty much had to go it alone here and come up with stuff ourselves. It wasn't too hard. Prison! Jumpsuits! I made the backs for Trig, Kale and Han's jumpsuits and Nat and I sat for a good half an hour trying to pick out wigs that could look similar but not the same cause we're dorks like that. We goofed off way too much in these and didn't really get any good pictures WHOOPS
Goth Princess Leia - Halloween Fun!
Worn for: Halloween 2007
Status: it was active for halloweeeeen!
Group: N/A
So we were trying to figure out what to do for Halloween (since you probably figured out that it's an important holiday at Casa de My House XD) and my mom said she wanted to make a Goth Dorothy (as in Wizard of Oz Dorothy) costume. I giggled at the idea and then I was like OH GOTH MOVIE CHARACTERS. And you know I'm a Star Wars nerd, hence the Goth Leia! In the picture I have of both of us though, she had taken her wig out of the Dorothy pigtails, BUT YEAH. THAT WAS THAT. And I was going to use one of those semi-cheap Leia wigs, but I have too much hair for that small of a wig, so I used my own hair, which worked better, I think. Then I got to put chains and safety pins in it and stuff lololol
Shmi Skywalker - SW Zombie!
Worn for: DragonCon 2008
Status: Retired
Group: w/ lots o' SW zombies!
So, Star Wars doesn't hesitate to kill off like every character ever, right? Well, a couple of us decided to use that to our advantage and do a zombified group of characters who have sadly passed away in the GFFA! Hehe. I was Anakin's mama, Shmi Skywalker. I had a few cuts and scrapes here and there, not to mention all the blood all over me -- and can't forget the rope around the wrists! We also had Teneniel Djo (poisoned), random Hoth Soldier #26 (froze to death), Mara Jade Skywalker (Caedus-ized!), Falynn Sandskimmer (all blowed up), and Padme (lol died of "a broken heart" -- note the runny makeup). We had a lot of fun running around in these and I especially loved the way my makeup turned out. THANK YOU, APHY~ :D
[ Miscellaneous ]
Jade - Morning Glories
Variant: School & Woodrun Uniforms
Worn for: Eastern Shore Fan Con 2014 (school), Free Comic Book Day 2014 (gym)
Status: Active
Group: w/ Nate as Ike, Bria as Zoe, and Denis as Jun!
This is all Denis' fault because he was the one who introduced us to this comic. THANKS, DENIS. XD Anyways, of course I was drawn to Jade because I shared some traits with her in high school (plus, you know I <3 redheads) and I just want to hug the precious child and tell her she is fabulous and nobody can hurt her. Her fashion sense is also A++. I want all of her clothes and accessories and her hairstyle is perfect. If I could pull it off, I'd cut my hair like that. My face shape is a no-go for that though. I CAN DREAM.THEN: When I got to the Woodrun issues of MG - and after I got all caught up in the Casey, Miss Hodge, Ike, & Jade craziness - I cackled and contacted the other MG bros about doing these outfits. Free Comic Book Day was coming up and that gave us enough time to get shorts that would work and find t-shirts. Denis did the logos on our shirts because his looked perfect and we were worried ours would be all lopsided and horrible. We put so much trust in Denis' awesome skills and bug him all the time. How is he still our friend?
Poison Ivy - Batman
A best friend of mine wanted to do a Harley Quinn costume and we both thought it would be fitting if I did a Poison Ivy costume! I've always liked Poison Ivy - she had extremely cool powers and red hair. Plus, since there were so many different iterations of her and her outfit, I could sort of merge some together and add my own spin on the costume. I love being able to take some creative liberties with certain things and I had a few ideas that I incorporated into this and had so much fun doing so. Also, running around and being evil with Erin is always awesome. :D
Dr. Cube - Kaiju Big Battel
Worn for: Katsucon 2004
Status: Retired
Group: N/A
I just... I have feelings for Dr. Cube okay. LOOK AT HOW AMAZING HE IS. It was fun walking around with a giant box on my head because I could dork around and not worry about a thing. I also didn't have to have to do anything to my hair or put any makeup on OR make any facial expressions for photos. SMASHING! (Also, many thanks to my sister for helping me make my Cube perfect.)
Mario - Super Mario Bros.
Worn for: Otakon 2004
Status: Retired
Group: w/ Rhane as Luigi!
My friend Rhane and I decided we wanted to be Mario & Luigi at Otakon one year. Although, we didn't just want to be regular Mario and Luigi, no. We settled on (god we were such dumbass teenagers) Maria Mario and Thug Luigi as Rhane called it. He had this pretty awesome L to wear around his neck and this gave him a reason, haha! This was also at the age and stage in our costuming lives when we were feeling SO WEIRD to be in costume so we changed in the parking garage near the convention center since our hotel was right outside Baltimore and OMG PEOPLE AT THE HOTEL NOT NEAR THE CONVENTION CENTER MIGHT SEE US AND THINK THINGS. First rule of Cosplay/Costuming Club - don't give a shit what anyone else thinks ever.
Random Tribe Kid - The Tribe
Worn for: DragonCon 2003
Status: Retired
Group: N/A
This was just an original design thrown together for the Tribe track at Dragon*Con. The costumes on the show look like a mix of random and usually mismatched things, seeing as how there are NO adults left to tell them they look pretty stupid (j/k i frickin' love the outfits in that show). So I just took a bunch of things and threw it all together. IT FIT????? Also, I had no idea what to do with my hair and my sister did this and it was A+++++
Red - The Rainbow Group!
Worn for: DragonCon 2005, Katsucon 2008
Status: Retired
Group: w/ the other Rainbow Kids!
Rhane (yellow) and TheWhaleBaby (green) and I had the clever idea of being colors at D*C '05. Except not really. We just wanted to put together a bunch of crap to each make up an outfit that was mostly one color, with one secondary color. My primary color was red, obviously. XD And my secondary was black. There's a lot of black in my costume I know, but if I didn't have that black skirt breaking all up, it would've just looked like wtf. So I'm really glad I threw that extra skirt in there. ;D We had a lot of fun with these costumes and even had more participants besides us! Sarah as pink, Ed as black and so on. XDThe second time I wore this was in 2008 at Katsucon. And that was cause we had talked about all making original outfits and having big giant hammers to match them. Why hammers? Just cause it was amusing. So I decided to wear this outfit again and have my hammer be red and black. Many thanks to Jeremy and Erin for making my MEGA WEAPON! :D
Rez Nyena - Star Wars, original design
Worn for: DragonCon 2007
Status: retired of course girl pls
Group: N/A
I wanted an excuse to wear this awesome dark blue wig I had, and there was a character in a fanfiction series I had been working on for years with dark blue hair -- hence, THE COSTUME!!1 I really love this outfit, even though corsets make it hard to sit down. The character is basically a badass snark who always wears black and white. And is usually seen in major city areas, which is why all the pictures are like "LOOK HERE'S ATLANTA-- I MEAN, CORUSCANT!!11" I can easily admit I'm a total dorkout nerd. Come on, a fanfiction character (and also a good excuse to wear a wig what can i say).
[ Layouts ]
Ever since the early 00's -- since my sister taught me basic-ass html -- I've been making some sort of ridiculous website (mostly in notepad until like... a couple of years ago). I have a whole site dedicated to old layouts of mine and you can find it right over here at Sleep Sweet!Below you'll find some of my absolute favorite layouts from over the years.
Site: Drifting in Nines
From: Jun. 2010 - mid-2015
The site?: It was my personal/cosplay site!
On the layout?: BioShock
Site: Errant Venture
From: Jul. 22 - Aug. 25 2003
The site?: My old blog!
On the layout?: Ram from The Tribe
Site: whatthefun.net
From: Mar. 2007 - Nov. 2008
The site?: The network I ran with my sister!
On the layout?: Dr. Cox (Scrubs), GOB Bluth (Arrested Development), and Dwight (The Office)
Site: Paper Bag Joker Studios
From: Never online! :O
The site?: Art site w/ a friend -- we never got this layout up.
On the layout?: Concept art Brad from Persona 2
Site: Viridity
From: 2012 - 2015
The site?: The Jacen Solo site! (Now known as Sylvan.)
On the layout?: Jacen!
Site: Through Her Skin
From: 2006 - 2007
The site?: The Tenel Ka Djo site! (Now Aecoreus.)
On the layout?: Tenel Ka!
Site: Headstrong
From: Nov. 2008 - Mar. 2010
The site?: Silent Hill site collective w/ friends!
On the layout?: Mr. Red Pyramid Head <3
Site: Sleep Sweet
From: 2007 - 2010
The site?: The layout site! Where all the layouts are!
On the layout?: Stick figures I drew of the Battle Royale movie cast.
Site: Drifting in Nines
From: May 2008 - Jun. 2010
The site?: It was my personal/cosplay site!
On the layout?: Me as a Little Sister from BioShock
[ Graphics ]
This is going to be a weird catch-all section. Over the years I've made icons (hello livejournal lol), wallpapers, banners for message boards, ads for stuff -- these will just be some of the things I really liked over the years (that aren't layouts which are above ^^^). It's nowhere near all of it but these are the things I had the most fun making and still like to this day, which is a hard thing to do, hehehe.
Icons
I've made hundreds of these things over the years AT LEAST. Here are just a few of them I made and then used all the time. :P
Random Photosets & Edits & Stuff lol
Some photosets and photo edits and stuff I've done -- usually posted on tumblr. I always use official art from whatever medium or photos I've taken. Otherwise (like the Tenel Ka set on the right) it's a mix of photos I've taken + images from free photo sites. I cannot stand CREDIT TO THE ARTIST I DUNNO WHO IT IS :B and I see it all the time.Clicking on any of these will bring you to the original post from when I first put them online!
Star Wars RP Stuff
I have way too much fun making promo art for my SWRP blogs can you tell. Frickin' Jared has so many good gifs that work for Jacen + Caedus that I was on a gif kick for promos for Jacen's RP/inspiration journal for too long. :P
[ Star Wars Stuff ]
Star Wars has been part of my life for a long time now and even though I'm not as into it overall as much these days, I'm still here 110% for Tenel Ka Djo, Jacen Solo, them as a pair, Allana Djo Solo -- just that whole little family unit, hehe. Over the years I've created, been a part of, and enjoyed many projects and works about/related to/of one or both or all of them. That's just a long rambly way of saying I've made a bunch of Tenel Ka Djo/Jacen Solo stuff over the years and here is a list/links to all of it!
[ Websites ]
Some of these are linked in the domain section but I will put them (and others) here as well! Click on the button to go to the site!
Site: echuta.net
Originally Opened: Aug. 2002
What is it?: A Star Wars Expanded Universe/Legends-related collective of fansites -- mostly J/TK stuff now lol!
Site: Sylvan
Originally Opened: May 2002
What is it?: A fansite dedicated to Jacen Solo of the Star Wars: Expanded Universe (originally Viridity).
Site: Petrichor
Originally Opened: Mar. 2003
What is it?: A fansite dedicated to Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka Djo of the Star Wars: Expanded Universe (originally Under Control).
Site: Chivalry
Originally Opened: Aug. 2005
What is it?: A site full of all of my Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka Djo fanworks from over the years(including fanfic, edits, icons, etc.).
Site: jacensolo.net
Originally Opened: Feb. 2016
What is it?: Started out as a Jacen Solo roleplaying account and then on top of that became an aesthetic / inspiration / creative journal surrounding him. Sort of a place I can reblog, create, and write things related to him.
Site: tenelkadjo.net
Originally Opened: Jan. 2016
What is it?: Started out as a Tenel Ka Djo roleplaying account and then on top of that became an aesthetic / inspiration / creative journal surrounding her. Sort of a place I can reblog, create, and write things related to her.
[ Costumes ]
Most of these are Tenel Ka Djo costumes cause she is my favorite bb but there are some other SW related-things in here as well, hehe. You can see the rest of the Tenel Ka costumes over here!
Character: Han Solo
** Variation:** Hannah Solo!
When: DragonCon 2011
⠀⠀Okay, so in 2003 I made a femme!Han Solo costume for DC and years later, at DC 2011, it was brought back with some modifications and some good friends! :DWe were trying to figure out how to bring in Leia’s hair and we had a giant pair of headphones - so Nate turned Prince Lee into DJ Prince Lee because it sounds like a bitchin’ DJ name (lololol). One of my best friends Erin joined us as Landa Calrissian, Aphy joined us as Luka Skywalker and John absolutely killed it as Ool. Hehehe. Jeremy took these amazing photos and these remain some of our favorite costumes to this day.
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
** Variation:** Young Jedi Knights armor
When: DragonCon 2012
⠀⠀This outfit has been my dorky dream costume since forever and I finally got around to making it for DragonCon 2007. I wore it a few times after that (D*C '09, Balticon '10, etc., hehe) and changed some things on it since then. These photos are all pictures taken of the almost completely remade YJK armor that I finished for DragonCon 2012! I remade the armor, shorts, belt/cord, and necklace, used/modified a new stick, and made some shinguards. I also got braid help from Bria! The last four photos are after a couple more fixes and a photoshoot in the woods from 2014. :)
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
Variation: New Jedi Order: Star by Star Strike Team
When: Celebration III (2005) DragonCon 2010
⠀⠀The first two pictures were taken by Valerie (group shot) and Brandyn (Troy Denning signing) from Celebration III (thanks guys!) from when we tried to get the whole Jedi Strike Team together - I need to put the project site back up so the whole gallery can be online again! The last three pictures are from Dragon*Con 2010 when we got another group together for a round of Strike Teaming (thanks to Valerie for these also)!
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
Variation: Legacy of the Force: Tempest cover
When: DragonCon 2006, Anime USA 2007, Katsucon 2011
⠀⠀I first wore this at DC 2006 (the first two pictures) -- since Miss TK got a cover, I figured I could throw something together and so I did. XD The scales didn't cooperate like I wanted the first time, but I fixed them a bit for Anime USA 2007 (third picture). The last three are from the latest version of the costume I made for Katsucon 2011 with aluminum scales for sleeves (I also made new the waistcapes)! :D
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
Variation: Original Jedi Robes
When: Katsucon 2017
⠀⠀I figured Jedi robes for Tenel Ka wouldn't be the norm so I took bits and pieces from here and there to make the basic robes and then designed the tabard with a matching reptile-patterned fabric. I also made some scaled handguards and a little beaded/feathered clip that went in one of my braids but these photos were taken at night at Katsucon 2017 so you can't really see all the details. Planning to get more photos with Nate when he has his Jacen's robes done!
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
Variation: Original Queen Mother outfit #1 lol (Dark Nest era)
When: Celebration III (2005), DragonCon 2005, DragonCon 2011, MAGFest 2016
⠀⠀I first wore this at Celebration III (2005) because I wanted to make some sort of Queen Mother outfit. My friend Linh (<3!) went as a Hapan handmaiden! I wore it again to DragonCon that year after fiddling with a new necklace and cloak with Sarah as Tahiri and Ed as Zekk (the second photo)! And then at DragonCon 2011, I pulled the costume back out, made a new shoulder piece, and wore it to an Expanded Universe shoot that Monday with a bunch of amazing Expanded Universe costumers! MAGFest 2016 (last photo) saw another wearing of this to get photos for our Jacen Solo/Tenel Ka multimedia project!
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
Variation: Original Queen Mother outfit #2 (Legacy of the Force era)
When: DragonCon 2007, DragonCon 2012
⠀⠀More LotF originally worn at DragonCon 2007. This costume is from a few lines in Tempest that mention Tenel Ka in a gray Hapan jumpsuit. I figured I could design something off of those lines and this is what happened. I added a capelet I made to resemble the Hapes Consortium symbol and wore this again to DragonCon 2012! (With Jess as momma Teneniel Djo! :3)
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
Variation: Original Queen Mother outfit #3 (Dark Nest era)
When: Balticon 2010, DragonCon 2010
⠀⠀I first wore this random Queen Mother dress I decided to make to BaltiCon 2010 and wore it again to DragonCon that year! I made the dress and jacket sleeveless cause it's easier to hide an arm with no fabric on it (;D) and cause of a random passage in the Dark Nest books where Jacen notes TK is wearing a "sleeveless frock"... THAT WAS MY EXCUSE. XD The last three photos of the five above (the first 3 are Balticon and the last 3 are D*C) were taken by Christa!
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
** Variation:** Original Queen Mother outfit #4 (Legacy of the Force era)
When: DragonCon 2010
⠀⠀At Dragon*Con 2010 there was going to be a big EU group so when Nate fiddled with his Caedus jumpsuit to make a beginning-of-LotF Jacen for the group, I fiddled with the idea to make an original sort of Warrior Queen Tenel Ka and it all fell into place when the colors popped into my head. It was a lot of fun to make and I don't know why I had so much fun making the jewelry especially, hehe.
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
** Variation:** Original Queen Mother outfit #5 (New Jedi Order era -- fanart based)
When: DragonCon 2010
⠀⠀I have always always always loved Todd's Expanded Universe fanart - especially his art of Tenel Ka! I asked him if I could make a costume inspired by this piece and he said go for it! I finished it for D*C 2011 and posted it here thanking him over and over for being such an awesome artist and all around cool person. :D I had a lot of fun making and wearing this costume! Thank you, Todd!
Character: Tenel Ka Djo
** Variation:** Original Queen Mother outfit #6 (Legacy of the Force era)
When: DragonCon 2011, Katsucon 2014
⠀⠀I was going to make a costume from the image on the back cover of Fate of the Jedi: Conviction but I ran out of time before DragonCon 2011, so I made another original Queen Mother dress instead! I always loved Paua beads and pendants and thought they would be good for a Queen Mother outfit so I used them on the necklace I made for this outfit. The snakeskin texture of the belt matches a texture on the boots (wanted to keep the snake bits in while still being regal ;D) and I sort of based the headpiece off of the back cover of Conviction.
[ Writing ]
Pretty much every single Star Wars story I've written is Jacen + Tenel Ka in some way (and all of them are Expanded Universe/Legends based) so I'll probably just drop a link to my AO3 profile where you can find them all, but I do have a couple that aren't which I will link to specifically here.Here is the Star Wars tag on my profile over at AO3!And now some stories that are either Jacen + Tenel Ka AND extremely close to my heart or just EU/Legends-related in general.
Family Portrait -- A couple of years after her daughter had to kill what her oldest son had become, Leia finds something she had forgotten about that she had stashed away.
(Written in April 2016.)Beast of the Olde Galaxy -- A crossover between Star Wars and well... old cinema? And Godzilla? Featuring the Solo twins and some of their pals.
(Written in August 2004. Also one of my early fanfictions and this stupid-ass idea popped into my head somehow and wouldn't leave till I wrote this weird shit SO HERE YOU GO. :3c)Galaxy Rendezvous -- Jacen Solo spends four days on Hapes for the Marauder's Masquerade. None of the four days go how he planned.
(Written in April 2016.)You're The Wrong I Need -- When something happens to Allana and Caedus tracks down Tenel Ka to find out what's going on, the two end up on somewhat of a downward spiral in the process of finding her -- and possibly finding what was left of themselves that they had lost over time.
(Written on and off throughout 2016.)Fixate -- A simple motion repeats itself throughout the intertwined lives of Jacen Solo & Tenel Ka and it ends up being one of the last things shared between the two.
(Written in Spring 2017.)At Least Smile -- A missing scene from Destiny's Way. Tenel Ka's reaction to Jacen's return and his reaction to hers.
(Written in April 2003! This was my first fanfiction and I've written more versions of this missing scene cause why the hell didn't they get a reunion BUT ANYWAYS this one will always be dear to my heart since it was my first ever fanfiction.)
[ Miscellaneous ]
Some other various Star Wars things I made here and there. Crafts, modified things, all kinds of stuff.
A set of wooden pegs I painted up to be Young Jedi Knight era Jacen Solo & Tenel Ka Djo!
A needle felted Jabba the Hutt. I had fun making him, hehe.
I had a couple of the old Unleashed figures in storage and one of them was the Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker one which I always thought looked super badass, especially the lightsaber. Of course, the green lightsaber gave me an idea and I painted the hair and the jumpsuit to sneakily make it a Jacen Solo Unleashed figure instead. I should paint the other hand black so it matches Luke's glove. Maybe I'll go back and do that.
[ Waxing Sky Studios ]
Waxing Sky Studios is a shop I run with my mom! I have candles, resin stuff, jewelry, stickers -- all kinds of weird stuff. And she has her Halloween-All-Year-Round art and other creepy trinkets I have always loved. If you're into all things creepy and also stuff that smells good you should check the shop out. ;)
[ Redbubble ]
This is zhobot's RedBubble shop and it's full of weird fandom things! We have shirts from obscure Stephen King books, stickers of our favorite Monster Factory quotes, and prints of video game-inspired photos! Among other odd things. Check it out!
[ Site Stuff ]
Site Stats
Background: Originally -- a frickin' long time ago -- I had separate sites for my personal junk, costumes, and writing. In early 2010 I realized just how much easier it would be if I put all of those things together. The name of my personal site was Gateway to Insanity (okay edgy teenage angst heather), while the writing site was Kasou and the cosplay site was Drifting in Nines. My favorite name out of the three was Drifting in Nines and I carried it over to this site, which later I sort of stopped updating like everything else I had built from notepad when I just fell into A Rut of the Ultimate Magnitude.In 2016 I ended up getting hexterah.net and knew I wanted to put all the stuff that was up on Drifting in Nines on here. Of course, I had a whole bunch of new stuff I wanted to add here too. Finally in 2022, I got the damn thing online. I wish I was a professional procrastinator. :|Dates: These are some old opening and closing dates of all the sites that I meshed together to form what ended up being this one years and years later. I wanted to keep them here for nostalgic reasons, hehe.
Gateway to Insanity (personal site) -- September 2002 to March 2010
Kasou (writing site) -- November 11, 2004 to March 2010
Drifting in Nines (original cosplay site) -- July 16, 2002 to March 2010
Made With: Originally all of the sites above were put together with Notepad and Photoshop 6.0. With this site, I upgraded to Affinity Photo (was tired of the Other One's everything lol) and am using carrd.co cause I am so over coding websites in notepad since I had been doing that since 2001 lolol
Thanks
Valerie: Thanks for getting me into web design, helping me with costumes when I started out, and also starting all these awesome/ridiculous/crazy projects with me. WE ARE A GOOD EVIL TEAM (hahahahha). Also, thank you for pushing me to be creative, especially when I thought I sucked (and when I still think that, lol). And seriously, one day we will get all the sites/projects done we talked about but never finished. ONE DAY! (I'm looking at you, Meltigemini!)Nate: I don't know how you're still putting up with my special brand of dumbassery after all this time but <3333 -- I'm extremely happy you can still handle my oddness and I hope it never drives you away. I'll never forget when you said one of the reasons you messaged me back the first time was because of the picture of me in the Little Sister costume. Thanks for bringing nerds together, BioShock. <3MA: Thank you for helping me with costume issues and you know, life/me-being-a-dumbass issues (I called her from Ikea one day cause I thought I swallowed a bug). ILU and am so thankful that your wonderful type of weirdness rubbed off on me. I wouldn't like half the shit I do if it wasn't for you and Valerie.My local bros: You guys are ridiculously supportive with all things from life to stupid projects I start and make my angry, little dark heart warm and fuzzy which I never thought possible. I've been in a shitty place the past few years and am so thankful I have you all as a support system. <3Everyone @ Chaos Coterie (& previously Mindbreak & LJ, etc.): Over the years you have kept me working on stuff and kept my creative thoughts flowing. I'm glad I've talked to you all over the years and met you at cons, costume grouped, written stories, and laughed with you -- all of that fun stuff. The boards + their ridiculousness has been going since 2004 and there's no getting off this train anytime soon lolol
[ Linkage ]
Links
Do y'all remember link sections? Remember when the internet wasn't a frickin' set of 4 social media sites everyone scrolled endlessly through all day? Remember FORUMS?????? It's not here yet but I'm gonna collect sites that my friends run and put them here in this link section cause holy shit the internet all looks the same now and I'm fuckin' tired of it. :B