Waicon 09
If anyone actually noticed I've been around online lately... even less than usual, then it's safe to say that that thing where Waicon was last weekend probably had something to do with it.
After attending every one since 2004, the point has been reached now that I don't think there's much I can say about this year's Waicon that I haven't already said about a previous one - or about several Waicons, if not about every other con I've ever been too. It was even bigger than last year, pinneagig's store make a killing, and despite all last minute stress our costumes came out great - business as usual. Preparations take over your life for anything up to several weeks beforehand, then the con takes over your life, then you wake up Monday morning feeling vaguely hung over yet strangely convinced it was all worth it and completely prepared to do it all over again at the next opportunity.
I also realised that excluding one or two posts about a giant key I've said sweet bugger all about what I was I've been working on that kept me so busy in the lead up. Oops?
Anyhow, apart from recyling my well-traveled Millia costume for its first appearance in the state from whence it hails, my new costume for this year was Syaoran from Tsubasa (the scary one-eyed black-coated version who escapes from Fei Wong's hideout somewhere around volume 16-ish. I would use the general nickname fandom uses to distinguish him from his counterpart, but it's still a bit spoilerish). I've wanted to cosplay that version of Syaoran ever since I encountered him, but didn't get to it last year as Hiei turned out to be more than enough of a job by himself. Putting it off a year did have the advantage that by the time I got around to doing it I'd been to both the Genghiscon and Swancon Jedi Bootcamp sessions of '08 (Star Wars-inspired fight choreography workshops, for the unaware) and came away itching to find an excuse to use some of those moves in a cosplay skit. Lucky me, Syaoran carries a sword. This will be important in a minute.
So how did it all go?
Probably my favourite of the photos we got of me that day. The sword was commissioned from k_chan009 (as woodwork is not exactly my forte and I had that giant key to worry about), I just added the paint job and some of the detailing. Tattoos were done by an airbrush tattoo artist down at the Fremantle markets - not cheap, and requiring something like an hour of applying them on Friday then a slightly stressful night of doing my damnedest to avoid rubbing any of it off. They came out a little smudged and uneven in some places, but nothing too visible from a safe distance, which is pretty much our cosplay mantra.
The three (four?) of us up on stage. Incredibly, the six-foot-tall key was easier to transport than either of my giant Yuffie shuriken from previous years, thanks to being made to separate into three parts and lacking all the spikey bits which meant the shuriken had to be nursed the whole way. We probably should've asked for a medal for him too.
Completely OOC, but what the hey. Cosplay medals make us smiley. =D
After attending every one since 2004, the point has been reached now that I don't think there's much I can say about this year's Waicon that I haven't already said about a previous one - or about several Waicons, if not about every other con I've ever been too. It was even bigger than last year, pinneagig's store make a killing, and despite all last minute stress our costumes came out great - business as usual. Preparations take over your life for anything up to several weeks beforehand, then the con takes over your life, then you wake up Monday morning feeling vaguely hung over yet strangely convinced it was all worth it and completely prepared to do it all over again at the next opportunity.
I also realised that excluding one or two posts about a giant key I've said sweet bugger all about what I was I've been working on that kept me so busy in the lead up. Oops?
Anyhow, apart from recyling my well-traveled Millia costume for its first appearance in the state from whence it hails, my new costume for this year was Syaoran from Tsubasa (the scary one-eyed black-coated version who escapes from Fei Wong's hideout somewhere around volume 16-ish. I would use the general nickname fandom uses to distinguish him from his counterpart, but it's still a bit spoilerish). I've wanted to cosplay that version of Syaoran ever since I encountered him, but didn't get to it last year as Hiei turned out to be more than enough of a job by himself. Putting it off a year did have the advantage that by the time I got around to doing it I'd been to both the Genghiscon and Swancon Jedi Bootcamp sessions of '08 (Star Wars-inspired fight choreography workshops, for the unaware) and came away itching to find an excuse to use some of those moves in a cosplay skit. Lucky me, Syaoran carries a sword. This will be important in a minute.
So how did it all go?
- I WON BEST INDIVIDUAL SKIT ON THE FIRST DAY!!! I was not expecting this. The limit of my weapon handling experience comes down to a bit of background in gymnastics, a bit more in some poi twirling, and having been to Jedi Bootcamp sessions for a couple of weeks. The whole skit consisted of less than a full minute of sword-twirling to music - I didn't think it was going to be long enough to even be considered eligible. But clearly the judges thought otherwise, so who am I to complain? :3
- WE WON BEST GROUP ON THE SECOND DAY!!! This was a narrower thing than you may think. jaseroque - who was to be the A.B.A. to go with my key - has a history of finishing her costumes at the very last minute, and this year it was something like five minutes before we went up on stage. So not kidding there. But she made a fantastic A.B.A., and velithya joined us again as Sol, the walk-on went well and everything paid off on the day.
Probably my favourite of the photos we got of me that day. The sword was commissioned from k_chan009 (as woodwork is not exactly my forte and I had that giant key to worry about), I just added the paint job and some of the detailing. Tattoos were done by an airbrush tattoo artist down at the Fremantle markets - not cheap, and requiring something like an hour of applying them on Friday then a slightly stressful night of doing my damnedest to avoid rubbing any of it off. They came out a little smudged and uneven in some places, but nothing too visible from a safe distance, which is pretty much our cosplay mantra.
The three (four?) of us up on stage. Incredibly, the six-foot-tall key was easier to transport than either of my giant Yuffie shuriken from previous years, thanks to being made to separate into three parts and lacking all the spikey bits which meant the shuriken had to be nursed the whole way. We probably should've asked for a medal for him too.
Completely OOC, but what the hey. Cosplay medals make us smiley. =D