Cosplay: What is it? Why I do it? And What am I working on?

Cosplay to put it in very basic terms, is Halloween anytime you want. It's the art of creating costumes, and even acting as a character. This art form has been around for quite a while, but I am not going to include any facts that you can easily find with a quick google search. Cosplayers spend hours, and sometimes even thousands of dollars to create beautiful costumes, and bring characters they love to life.

Cosplays have no limit to the creativity, you can dream it up, you can build it. I have always been interested in fashion, and sewing, and just dressing up. Putting on a costume always felt like I was putting on a different persona. I could literally be anyone. It was the same reason I fell in love with acting and writing. I had a chance to escape the hardships of life, and come back to them when I felt a little more energized and confident.

However, due to a lot of personal things, I did stop cosplaying for a number of years. I stopped wanting to make costumes, I stopped dreaming up different characters I could be. I stopped wanting to be a part of this amazing community. However, as of last year, that has changed. And in May of 2016 I am going to my very first convention here in the city: Anime North.

Anime North is a three day anime convention, with panels, fashion shows, workshops, art, and of course amazing cosplays. Usually when you go to an anime convention, you cosplay as anime characters. And though my love for anime is strong, cosplaying as an anime character is difficult. So I have decided to do cartoon characters instead.

The first cosplay, that I have already started is: Wirt from the series Over the Garden Wall. If you've read other blog posts, you'll know how much I love this series. And Wirt is one of my favourite characters. And his costume is super simple. Something I can create in a matter of a few hours.

The next character is of course: Mabel from Gravity Falls. Mabel is a bright bubble of sunshine. She is cute and into all things sparkly. Her costume is also very easy, and I have part of it already in my possession. Or at least something that will work. The only downside is I am going to be kinda hot in a sweater.

The final character isn't so much a character, but a j fashion coord inspired by a character as he is not human. But turning the coord into a cosplay wouldn't be hard. And the character is again from Gravity Falls: Bill Cipher. Bill is such an interesting character. He is evil without being scary, he is actually kind of charming. And there is so much mystery behind this character. This one will be the most work, but I do not need a wig for this one.

I will keep you updated mostly through instagram if you want to follow me @fairyprincebasil that would be awesome. My question for you is, if you are a cosplayer, why do you cosplay? And if you aren't what are some of your favourite characters from books, tv, movies ect?

September Favourites.

So, the first month of school has just flown by. And like most people, there are things that I have fallen in love with. So without further adieu, my first favourites list. I have no idea if I'll be doing these every month, but we'll see. And I will not be listing everything, but enough to have a decent list of things I love.

Alright, so I've been going back to some of my old interests. One of those being anime, and I have been watching a lot of anime this month. Actually over the last few months, but regardless, here are the shows I have fallen in love with.

Madoka Magica: This show is so cute, and so sweet, and ripped my heart out. The animation style is stunning, the story line is interesting, and it's just so amazing in so many different ways. There are three movies as well to go along with the series, however two of the movies are a compilation of the entire anime series. But the other movie is just heart breaking as well.

Attack on Titan: Now, when I first started it, I am not going to lie, I didn't like it that much. However, I continued watching episode after episode. It's safe to say the series has grown on me. The animation is again so beautiful to watch, and the story line is interesting and heart breaking. The one big drawback besides the gore is the series ended on a huge cliff hanger, and it won't be back for a while.

Devil is a Part Timer: I watched this after I finished Madoka Magica, and Attack on Titan, I needed something light and funny. This fit the bill perfectly. It's goofy, cute, has a bit of a dirty sense of humour, and the characters are so likeable. If you are looking for something silly, a little childish, but still fun I highly recommend The Devil is a Part Timer.

I figured I would add cartoons to this list, because there are two cartoons that I need to mention.
One is Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls is about twins Dipper and Mabel and their summer with their Great Uncle Stan in the sleepy town of Gravity Falls. This show is so intricate, and there are mysteries within the mysteries. The characters are funny, and relatable, the villains are surprisingly scary for a kids cartoon.

The second cartoon is a super short series called Over the Garden Wall. Now, I have watched bits of it before, but I could never find where to watch it. That was until now. I finished the whole series in the course of an evening. And I am so glad I did. The series is a little weird, but one has to expect that from Cartoon Network. But the story telling in this is beautiful, and is riddled with symbolism and so many deeper meanings. The Beast, the main villain of the story is terrifying. He is one of the most serious, scary villains I have seen in a show meant for kids.

For me, this wouldn't be a favourites list if I didn't include books. Now, I haven't been reading a lot, but that's because after I moved, I don't own many books now. But one that I did finish not that long ago was Steven Kings the Shining. This book was scary, and intriguing, and I had such a hard time putting it down. There is a reason this book is so iconic.

The final favourite I want to squeeze in here is the laptop case I bought at some anime store here in the city. It is a little small, but it's super durable, and I find myself taking it everywhere. Plus the Attack on Titan wings of freedom are nice touch.

Those are most of my favourites for this month, hopefully next month, I'll have more interesting things to write about. Tell me, what sort of things do you want me to blog about?