Memage!
Comment "WORDS" to this entry and I will comment back with five words I associate with you. Then you post this in your journal elaborating.
I've got lists from both beccastareyes and yuuo, so you get a two-fer from me today. ^_^
ELVES (this one's a double-dip--it was the first word on both lists!)-- Elves have been a part of my existence since, well, as long as I've been alive. I consider myself Elfkin, and there are days when the connection is truly unmistakable, even to a physical level. One of my many nicknames is even "Elf!" It's also affected me in other ways, because although I have almost no sense of the passing of time (take away all clocks and natural lighting from my environment and I can't tell if a few minutes or a few hours have gone by), I am keenly, even painfully, aware of the ephemeral nature of humanity. Due to all of this, I've been connected and drawn to elves of all kinds ever since childhood. On appropriate occasions (usually cosplay purposes), I even glue the tips of my ears into points to highlight the elvenness. Apparently, pointed ears look so natural on me that people don't always realize I've done it. I do know a few words and phrases of Tolkien Elvish (most specifically, Quenya), though I've not made a great deal of study of the language to date.
Elves are also prominent in my original worldbuilding: there are four distinct elven races on my conworld continent of Nyrya. Also, I'm working to invent my own version of Elvish just for this world.
...you may have also noticed that elves are the major theme for my journal here, seeing as I have a "pointy ears only" rule for all the icons I use.
From beccastareyes:
COSTUMING - This would be my expensive hobby. XD I've always loved dressing up, for as long as I can remember, and I will take virtually ANY excuse to wear a costume. My mother used to make my Halloween costumes when I was a child (starting around the age of 2--I think my very first costume was a bat to coordinate with my big brother's vampire costume), but by the time I was in about the sixth grade, I started putting them together on my own and building up my costume closet with things that I bought or made myself.
For various extracurricular group activities, including school plays, Odyssey of the Mind/Destination ImagiNation, promotional activities and assorted creative projects, I usually was a one-woman costume and makeup department, not only dressing myself, but also my other group members (I ended up losing several costume bits over the years this way, so I'm a bit more reluctant to lend out my supplies these days).
My first year of college saw my first foray into true cosplay in the anime fangirl sense, thanks to a dare from my friends to transform myself into Naga the White Serpent from Slayers. I did it, and pulled it off to great effect, I might add. Other projects have since followed, and I presided over both the cosplay panel and the cosplay contest of the first Anime NebrasKon.
I still compile my own costumes, and now also make Halloween costumes for my young son, including a Baby Link costume when he was less than two weeks old (he's also been Prince Boushin and Shippo). I have never missed a single Halloween since the age of two, and don't expect to for the rest of my life. I try to avoid any permanent body modifications because I still feel compelled to be able to slip into the skin (or at least the clothes) of any character at any given time.
Various costumes I've worn have included (but are not limited to) a bat, a bunny (no, not the Playboy sort--a little pink bunny to go with my big brother's magician outfit), a fairy snow princess, a spider, a witch, a pioneer girl, a ghost, a gypsy, a Greek goddess, Queen Titania, a tavern wench, a vampire victim, an astrologer, a 1920s period woman, a knight, a ninja, a centaur, a Christian prisoner from Roman times, Queen Amidala's handmaiden Eirtae, Padme Amidala, a Knights of the Old Republic-style Star Wars dancer, Storm, Kitty Pryde, a Child of Zion, Celebrian, Elbereth, an avariel, Naga the White Serpent, "Bad" Excel, Emperor Hotohori, Chocolate Misu, Kagome, Miss America, Rocky Horror, Columbia and Countess Elizabeth Bathory. My next hopeful project will be Nabooru from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
GREECE - Ah, a country near and dear to my heart, even though I've yet to see it with my own eyes! My infatuation with Greece started at a young age when I was first introduced to Greek mythology back in elementary school, which I promptly fell in love with... and things grew from there. Since those early days, I've learned to like Greek food (particularly tzatziki, souvlaki, dolmathes and, of course, baklava) and have gained a basic mastery (as in, I can speak and read simple things) over the Attic dialect of Ancient Greece. Someday, I'd love to visit it in person--but maybe AFTER the political unrest in Athens is settled.
EXTROVERSION - Honestly, I'm less sure where this one came from, as I don't consider myself particularly extroverted. I do like people on the whole, and I've virtually killed all sense of shame and inhibition, but I do still like my personal time.
However, being on the cosplay scene and making a living in retail means that I can't afford to be an introvert. After all, I have to be able to give convincing cosplay performances while at play and be a good pitchwoman while at work (I've actually had a number of customers compliment me on my salesmanship).
MAGIC - This in part ties in with elven stuff up above, seeing as the two are pretty inextricably linked. I do believe in magic and consider the magic around me an important part of my life, as I've had a sense of it for as long as I can remember. Strangely enough, though, I've really never been an active caster. Virtually all of my magic is passive in nature, although I CAN channel it to some interesting effects under the proper circumstances. Among the abilities I've been able to use including making little energy balls with my personal field and being able to physically see auras from time to time. I also have some skill in divination/self-discovery with tarot cards, astrology, geomancy and chiromancy.
From yuuo:
LINK - He come to town! XD Link is a very special character to me. I've had a bit of a crush on him ever since I was a little girl watching syndicated runs of the Super Mario Brothers TV show (with the Legend of Zelda segment). My very favorite canon incarnation of him is definitely Ocarina!Link--he's just so darned adorable (plus he's part of one of the better LoZ plotlines). I have an incarnation or two of him living in my head, mostly just as a soundingboard for some of the other characters of mine in there who interact with him.
ROLEPLAY - This is another fun hobby, although I don't get to engage in it nearly as often as I would like, just due pressures from things like full-time employment and motherhood, in particular. I've done various versions of it, from tabletop to LARP to freeform stuff on instant messengers and internet message boards to the occasional bits that are best not mentioned in polite company. ^_~ I've got nearly every character sheet I've ever used somewhere or another (though a few were taken custody of by my GM/DMs and I've not seen them since), and a whole mess of RP-ready characters living in my head--and, no, they don't all get along.
PICTURES - I love visual art in nearly all forms, and this is one of my favorite media as an artist, either by drawing or through photography. I've often given pictures as gifts to my friends for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions--you can't beat handmade and cheap, after all. ^_^ I've been producing approximately one or two full-detail, full-color drawings every month for a year and a half now, and also managed to get through about a year and a half of daily photography (mainly self-portraits) at one point in time. I hope to continue the drawings for a while, and may at some point resume photography on a more regular basis, but that may depend on how much time I can allot to this specific creative medium.
AL HAT - Quite possibly my greatest knitting triumph to date! The story behind this goes back to Christmas 2008, when I decided I would give handcrafted gifts to people who requested them. One of the requests I received was a hat shaped like the head of Alphonse Elric from FullMetal Alchemist for my dear friend yuuo. She showed me a picture of a felt version (probably an actual licensed fan project) and said she wanted one. So, I invented a pattern to try and recreate it through knitting, and actually managed to pull it off! It remains my most celebrated knitting project since (it even made my mom, who's never seen a shred of anime in her life, smile when she saw it)--although some day I may have to concoct something even more awesome. XD
I've got lists from both beccastareyes and yuuo, so you get a two-fer from me today. ^_^
ELVES (this one's a double-dip--it was the first word on both lists!)-- Elves have been a part of my existence since, well, as long as I've been alive. I consider myself Elfkin, and there are days when the connection is truly unmistakable, even to a physical level. One of my many nicknames is even "Elf!" It's also affected me in other ways, because although I have almost no sense of the passing of time (take away all clocks and natural lighting from my environment and I can't tell if a few minutes or a few hours have gone by), I am keenly, even painfully, aware of the ephemeral nature of humanity. Due to all of this, I've been connected and drawn to elves of all kinds ever since childhood. On appropriate occasions (usually cosplay purposes), I even glue the tips of my ears into points to highlight the elvenness. Apparently, pointed ears look so natural on me that people don't always realize I've done it. I do know a few words and phrases of Tolkien Elvish (most specifically, Quenya), though I've not made a great deal of study of the language to date.
Elves are also prominent in my original worldbuilding: there are four distinct elven races on my conworld continent of Nyrya. Also, I'm working to invent my own version of Elvish just for this world.
...you may have also noticed that elves are the major theme for my journal here, seeing as I have a "pointy ears only" rule for all the icons I use.
From beccastareyes:
COSTUMING - This would be my expensive hobby. XD I've always loved dressing up, for as long as I can remember, and I will take virtually ANY excuse to wear a costume. My mother used to make my Halloween costumes when I was a child (starting around the age of 2--I think my very first costume was a bat to coordinate with my big brother's vampire costume), but by the time I was in about the sixth grade, I started putting them together on my own and building up my costume closet with things that I bought or made myself.
For various extracurricular group activities, including school plays, Odyssey of the Mind/Destination ImagiNation, promotional activities and assorted creative projects, I usually was a one-woman costume and makeup department, not only dressing myself, but also my other group members (I ended up losing several costume bits over the years this way, so I'm a bit more reluctant to lend out my supplies these days).
My first year of college saw my first foray into true cosplay in the anime fangirl sense, thanks to a dare from my friends to transform myself into Naga the White Serpent from Slayers. I did it, and pulled it off to great effect, I might add. Other projects have since followed, and I presided over both the cosplay panel and the cosplay contest of the first Anime NebrasKon.
I still compile my own costumes, and now also make Halloween costumes for my young son, including a Baby Link costume when he was less than two weeks old (he's also been Prince Boushin and Shippo). I have never missed a single Halloween since the age of two, and don't expect to for the rest of my life. I try to avoid any permanent body modifications because I still feel compelled to be able to slip into the skin (or at least the clothes) of any character at any given time.
Various costumes I've worn have included (but are not limited to) a bat, a bunny (no, not the Playboy sort--a little pink bunny to go with my big brother's magician outfit), a fairy snow princess, a spider, a witch, a pioneer girl, a ghost, a gypsy, a Greek goddess, Queen Titania, a tavern wench, a vampire victim, an astrologer, a 1920s period woman, a knight, a ninja, a centaur, a Christian prisoner from Roman times, Queen Amidala's handmaiden Eirtae, Padme Amidala, a Knights of the Old Republic-style Star Wars dancer, Storm, Kitty Pryde, a Child of Zion, Celebrian, Elbereth, an avariel, Naga the White Serpent, "Bad" Excel, Emperor Hotohori, Chocolate Misu, Kagome, Miss America, Rocky Horror, Columbia and Countess Elizabeth Bathory. My next hopeful project will be Nabooru from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
GREECE - Ah, a country near and dear to my heart, even though I've yet to see it with my own eyes! My infatuation with Greece started at a young age when I was first introduced to Greek mythology back in elementary school, which I promptly fell in love with... and things grew from there. Since those early days, I've learned to like Greek food (particularly tzatziki, souvlaki, dolmathes and, of course, baklava) and have gained a basic mastery (as in, I can speak and read simple things) over the Attic dialect of Ancient Greece. Someday, I'd love to visit it in person--but maybe AFTER the political unrest in Athens is settled.
EXTROVERSION - Honestly, I'm less sure where this one came from, as I don't consider myself particularly extroverted. I do like people on the whole, and I've virtually killed all sense of shame and inhibition, but I do still like my personal time.
However, being on the cosplay scene and making a living in retail means that I can't afford to be an introvert. After all, I have to be able to give convincing cosplay performances while at play and be a good pitchwoman while at work (I've actually had a number of customers compliment me on my salesmanship).
MAGIC - This in part ties in with elven stuff up above, seeing as the two are pretty inextricably linked. I do believe in magic and consider the magic around me an important part of my life, as I've had a sense of it for as long as I can remember. Strangely enough, though, I've really never been an active caster. Virtually all of my magic is passive in nature, although I CAN channel it to some interesting effects under the proper circumstances. Among the abilities I've been able to use including making little energy balls with my personal field and being able to physically see auras from time to time. I also have some skill in divination/self-discovery with tarot cards, astrology, geomancy and chiromancy.
From yuuo:
LINK - He come to town! XD Link is a very special character to me. I've had a bit of a crush on him ever since I was a little girl watching syndicated runs of the Super Mario Brothers TV show (with the Legend of Zelda segment). My very favorite canon incarnation of him is definitely Ocarina!Link--he's just so darned adorable (plus he's part of one of the better LoZ plotlines). I have an incarnation or two of him living in my head, mostly just as a soundingboard for some of the other characters of mine in there who interact with him.
ROLEPLAY - This is another fun hobby, although I don't get to engage in it nearly as often as I would like, just due pressures from things like full-time employment and motherhood, in particular. I've done various versions of it, from tabletop to LARP to freeform stuff on instant messengers and internet message boards to the occasional bits that are best not mentioned in polite company. ^_~ I've got nearly every character sheet I've ever used somewhere or another (though a few were taken custody of by my GM/DMs and I've not seen them since), and a whole mess of RP-ready characters living in my head--and, no, they don't all get along.
PICTURES - I love visual art in nearly all forms, and this is one of my favorite media as an artist, either by drawing or through photography. I've often given pictures as gifts to my friends for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions--you can't beat handmade and cheap, after all. ^_^ I've been producing approximately one or two full-detail, full-color drawings every month for a year and a half now, and also managed to get through about a year and a half of daily photography (mainly self-portraits) at one point in time. I hope to continue the drawings for a while, and may at some point resume photography on a more regular basis, but that may depend on how much time I can allot to this specific creative medium.
AL HAT - Quite possibly my greatest knitting triumph to date! The story behind this goes back to Christmas 2008, when I decided I would give handcrafted gifts to people who requested them. One of the requests I received was a hat shaped like the head of Alphonse Elric from FullMetal Alchemist for my dear friend yuuo. She showed me a picture of a felt version (probably an actual licensed fan project) and said she wanted one. So, I invented a pattern to try and recreate it through knitting, and actually managed to pull it off! It remains my most celebrated knitting project since (it even made my mom, who's never seen a shred of anime in her life, smile when she saw it)--although some day I may have to concoct something even more awesome. XD