Utena LARP "Still Places": Through the Looking Glass Edition
Because I wanted to do this LARP right (both because it's Utena and because I didn't have five to prep for like at Intercon), I decided to turn myself as much into Ruka as possible. Luckily, the cosuming part was fairly easy, so it was just a matter to changing the way my face and hair looked.
First of all, the baseline:
That is Ruka as he appeared in the anime. My character sheet informed me that he now keeps his hair short and his eyes changed color (but not to what, so I decided on - surprise! - brown). He's also tall and thin, but I can't really do much about that. I considered my glasses part of the costume (unlike most of the sight-challenged people there, most of whom went out of their way to tell me so), and switched to the second new pair I got last time I had an exam. They will be my primary pair from now on, since the other ones are pretty beat up.
Friday I bought a cheap toothbrush to color my hair (and a razor and shaving cream). When we got home from game Friday night, qarylla applied one coating of Special Effects blue velvet, then had me wait twice the normal time before washing it out. It didn't turn my hair bright blue, but in sunlight or bright indoor lights, it was obvious that it was dyed. Like our Anthy, you had to be looking to find it most of the time. After staining the bottom of the tub indigo, we went to bed.
The next morning I did most of the rest of the prep while qarylla worked on homework with meranthi. The first thing was to lighten the lock of hair. For that, I combed iGlow blue hair gel into the front of my hair. And glow it did:
What it didn't do was show up in the light. Unlike the orange stuff that qarylla used later when she went out dancing, this was the generic glow in the dark color, not blue, when it wasn't brighter than the area. It did harden the front of my hair to the point where I oculd have cut the rose off someone's chest with it, but I was destined to have monotone hair for the LARP.
The rest of the costume was easy. We were asked to wear what we would wear to a formal function, which in Ruka's case was an expensive suit. I had the latter half covered, so the first time I wore my new suit was to play. I was pleased with how it fit and the fact that I could still move in it; of my two old suits, one was a tent and the other I don't think I'll ever be able to squeeze into. Anyway, my other jewelry came off, ending with something like this:
This photo was taken this morning, and includes the prop ring I got (and never returned to our Wakaba as I promised - oops!). The flower I got after the game and is the wrong color for Ruka, but as the outfit is very boring without it, and it forms one of my common usernames when applied to the character in the icon, I think it's a good addition. This was definitely the creepy stalker expression. The five o'clock shadow wasn't there at the game, but definitely adds to the general psycho effect.
The other two pictures (nearly identical) were taken this afternoon. This is the heroic prince/fencing captain aspect of Ruka. One of the side effects of the gel seems to be that it stripped the blue from my hair, so you can see where it was. But these pictures show off the color on the top well enough. My wedding ring is back on where the Rose Seal would be. The patch belongs on the back arm, but Ruka is a lefty and I'm not, and I wanted to show it off, so I posed with it in front.
For what it's worth, I think I dueled once left-handed and once right-handed at the LARP, both times with the arm closer to the audience, which is bad acting. I did more tech than performance the last time I worked with the theatre, but it's still a mistake I shouldn't be making (especially if I'm not being consistent and/or quoting Inigo Montoya.
I didn't actually wear the fencing gear to the LARP, but I considered it. I had the Utena patch for years, and intended to put it on the jacket (my other one has a BU patch), but didn't get around to it until yesterday morning. Maybe next time.
Before anyone else says anything: I appreciate being told that I look okay like this, but it will not be permanent. It is entirely too weird to see high-school me in the mirror, and I have been caressing my stubble like I was first getting it because I want the beard back. So enjoy or whatever while it lasts.
I emailed yunatwilight my thanks (and offer for myself and qarylla to play again if there's another run with space coming up) this morning, conveniently at the exact same time as balsamicdragon IMed me to talk about it.
First of all, the baseline:
That is Ruka as he appeared in the anime. My character sheet informed me that he now keeps his hair short and his eyes changed color (but not to what, so I decided on - surprise! - brown). He's also tall and thin, but I can't really do much about that. I considered my glasses part of the costume (unlike most of the sight-challenged people there, most of whom went out of their way to tell me so), and switched to the second new pair I got last time I had an exam. They will be my primary pair from now on, since the other ones are pretty beat up.
Friday I bought a cheap toothbrush to color my hair (and a razor and shaving cream). When we got home from game Friday night, qarylla applied one coating of Special Effects blue velvet, then had me wait twice the normal time before washing it out. It didn't turn my hair bright blue, but in sunlight or bright indoor lights, it was obvious that it was dyed. Like our Anthy, you had to be looking to find it most of the time. After staining the bottom of the tub indigo, we went to bed.
The next morning I did most of the rest of the prep while qarylla worked on homework with meranthi. The first thing was to lighten the lock of hair. For that, I combed iGlow blue hair gel into the front of my hair. And glow it did:
What it didn't do was show up in the light. Unlike the orange stuff that qarylla used later when she went out dancing, this was the generic glow in the dark color, not blue, when it wasn't brighter than the area. It did harden the front of my hair to the point where I oculd have cut the rose off someone's chest with it, but I was destined to have monotone hair for the LARP.
The rest of the costume was easy. We were asked to wear what we would wear to a formal function, which in Ruka's case was an expensive suit. I had the latter half covered, so the first time I wore my new suit was to play. I was pleased with how it fit and the fact that I could still move in it; of my two old suits, one was a tent and the other I don't think I'll ever be able to squeeze into. Anyway, my other jewelry came off, ending with something like this:
This photo was taken this morning, and includes the prop ring I got (and never returned to our Wakaba as I promised - oops!). The flower I got after the game and is the wrong color for Ruka, but as the outfit is very boring without it, and it forms one of my common usernames when applied to the character in the icon, I think it's a good addition. This was definitely the creepy stalker expression. The five o'clock shadow wasn't there at the game, but definitely adds to the general psycho effect.
The other two pictures (nearly identical) were taken this afternoon. This is the heroic prince/fencing captain aspect of Ruka. One of the side effects of the gel seems to be that it stripped the blue from my hair, so you can see where it was. But these pictures show off the color on the top well enough. My wedding ring is back on where the Rose Seal would be. The patch belongs on the back arm, but Ruka is a lefty and I'm not, and I wanted to show it off, so I posed with it in front.
For what it's worth, I think I dueled once left-handed and once right-handed at the LARP, both times with the arm closer to the audience, which is bad acting. I did more tech than performance the last time I worked with the theatre, but it's still a mistake I shouldn't be making (especially if I'm not being consistent and/or quoting Inigo Montoya.
I didn't actually wear the fencing gear to the LARP, but I considered it. I had the Utena patch for years, and intended to put it on the jacket (my other one has a BU patch), but didn't get around to it until yesterday morning. Maybe next time.
Before anyone else says anything: I appreciate being told that I look okay like this, but it will not be permanent. It is entirely too weird to see high-school me in the mirror, and I have been caressing my stubble like I was first getting it because I want the beard back. So enjoy or whatever while it lasts.
I emailed yunatwilight my thanks (and offer for myself and qarylla to play again if there's another run with space coming up) this morning, conveniently at the exact same time as balsamicdragon IMed me to talk about it.