Lol, I've been posting a ridiculous amount lately XD;;; ONE CANNOT RESIST POSTING THE PRETTINESS THAT IS NEW ARINA TANEMURA SERIES:

Okay so it's not the latest news ever but I am slow on the updates and have only just found out, I'm not hardcore enough lolol.

Apparently it's called "White Rose Academy Vampire Rose" and it's about a crybaby who hates blood, bugs and ghosts. I'm suspecting she meets a vampire, is scared to death of him but then they become a lovely dovely couple at the end. Yeaaaah her series are pretty predictable but I love them nevertheless :'D I shall now stop researching into her new series, I want it to surprise me! (I read the being scared of blood bit by accident, blaaargh. That's one surprise gone!)
(And who else thinks the dude with blonde hair in the corner looks like one of the characters from Gentlemen's Alliance? Like a cross between the Warren and Maguri! The the main girl (assuming she's the main girl), looks a lot like errr, the chibi from Sakura Kaden xD)

Speaking of Sakura Hime Kaden I seriously need to continue with that sometime .___.;; Got a bit sidetracked from it! (And because of my dislike of waiting for each chapter, there's still only 10 chapters out. Will wait till it finishes I guess unless this is another long series? Then it's marathon time >8D)

This looks like fun, thought I'd jump on the bandwagon!

WARNING: LONG JOURNAL IS LONG

What can I say? I had a blast and definitely want to go again. This picture sums up how I felt about the con:

... Okay end of con report |D
... Well you wish, it's going to get very very long and boring now! *clears throat*


Cosplay: Mitsuki Koyama from Full Moon O Sagashite

( Friday )


Cosplay: Takuto Kira from Full Moon wo Sagashite

( Saturday )</div>


Cosplay: Jeanne from Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

( Sunday )

I shall leave you with Rave Boota:

That's one hard-core raver right thar~

OMG FUYUCON WAS SO GREAT AND I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE AT ALL TT______TT
BEST. CON. EVER!
IT WAS SO GREAT THAT IN ORDER TO DESCRIBE HOW AWESOMESAUCE IT WAS I AM STUCK IN CAPLOCKS HURRRR.

</caplock>

No really, I had a cracking time and I would miss Expo anyday for a con. Seems like I'm going to turn into one of those "CONS ARE BETTER THAN EXPO DUUUURH" people now. While there wasn't as much to do I managed to sit down and chill and get to know people a lot more and it was a whole new experience for me so I'm glad I went. I'm just importing photos now (taking ages though because for half the photos I completely forgot I shot in RAW format so they are HUGE X_x;; Baka Fifi...) and then I shall do a proper con report : D

Adious!
Hope you guys had fun wherever you went to~~~

Next up, Kitacon (BIG MAYBE) or Minamicon! *big grin*

I will be leaving within the next 1hr and half. Exciting stuff!

I have just enough time to do a journal entry ;D
Then I'll get round to replying to my last journal entry lolol~

I've done as much cosplay as I can, decided to go for the four costumes so I'm leaving Meroko behind just because I was in dire need of sleep already. So excited paaaah! (I even wrote "polycotton" instead of "polyphonic" in my Music essay last night, I call that a mix of lack of sleep and overexcitment!)

Really nothing interesting in this entry, I just need to put my excitement into words |D Harhar~

See y'all on Monday/Tuesday x]

THREE DAYS I TELL YOU! Fuyucon is soooo close I am jumping off the walls about it! So this was what I felt like when it was my first Expo over three years ago 8D *excitedddd*

I'm still a bit sad I won't be seeing a few people that are going to Expo (especially since lately I've been getting messages like "Oooo, are you going to Expo again?" from various sites/IMs), but a good lot of friends are going to Fuyu so that's okay~
Really not ready though, I have so much to do and I don't have much time to do it in with my Physics homework (will take 3-5hrs), Computing revision and Music essay to do as well. Hopefully costumes shouldn't take -too- long, I have quite a bit but they're minor details so for some of it I can hand sew in the 3hrs drive or Thursday evening... Or I can just not do it altogether lolol~
One biggie I am a bit miffed about is remaking my white wings, I really wanted to remake them but I guess I don't have time. I only have two evenings!!!! Eeeeeep! (Does not help I have ballet this evening either lolol)

BEGIN PRE-CON PANIC MODE!

May or may not be last journal before con. If it is, then
HAVE FUN AT EXPO EVERYONE~~~
(Apart from those few who are coming along to Fuyu |D)
P.S. I went a bit mad with changing my icons, LJ has too much talent with their icon making and so I am constantly changing them around :P

It's that time again folks, Fifi's watched another anime! Random babbling Review time!

I have to say, when I first started the series I didn't think much of it which is why it took me quite a while to finish! I thought it was just your typical comedy/shojo anime filled with love triangles and other cliches. But it had promise, comedies and shojos are my thing so I gave it a chance and somewhere in the middle it picked up and I was hooked and didn't want to stop watching it. It's an anime that made me cry too, properly cry, and I haven't done that since watching Code Geass whenever that was a couple years ago. Toradora was adorable, heartwarming and definitely a tearjerker and I strongly recommend it to all shojo fans.

This show had great character development, while I loved Taiga at the beginning of the series I think I came to love Ami the most towards the end of the series because of how much she's grown and developed through the show. I love her mature with a hidden childlike personality that yerns to be shown personality. I also love Ya-chan, she wins best anime mother of all anime for me lolol! I do really like almost every character in the series, they're all very lovable in their own way!

One thing that did confuse me was the purpose of Inko-chan. I really did not see the point of her, yes I know she's just a little mascot. But a pointless one, I didn't like Inko-chan very much ^^;;; (Though the ending with Inko-chan did give me the chuckles)

And to think I said to myself I would spend the whole day working on cosplay, that failed a bit (to top it off, after I had finished Toradora I spent 2-3hrs watching Grease School Musical XD)! All I did was rip up strips of purple fabric lolol, ahhh well!
Must go find a Toradora icon now...

Woohoo! Who's hitting Southampton next April? ;D
ME!

Will be my first Minamicon, dead excited now! Hope it's as good as people say it is - may pop into my uncle & aunty's Chinese takeaway to say hi too seeing as they live in Southampton :3
Will be sending crazy cosplayers their way over the weekend if people ever fancy Chinese loool!

As I thought - I was a bit confused towards the end! However the story was good, I don't care too much (I tell a lie, I care loads and am shuffling ideas into my head constantly!) and the end images were so sweet <33333
I am also looking forward to the bonus chapter which should help resolve things. I'm also looking forward to the end of xxxHolic which should help clear up Watanuki's story :)

SPOILERS AHEAD

( Cut for mega spoilers )

END SPOILERS

Overall, I am 50/50 over Tsubasa. It's a great manga, confusing but it's left endless possibilities for the power of imagination. However with so many mysteries unresolved it's kind of made me a bit miffed. Still I can't call it bad, I enjoyed it and that's all that counts.
Now to finish off Shaman King to amuse myself looool!

OOOOH EMMMMM GEEEEEE DDDD8

*fanspazz x120891325468321890132*

I'm a sucker for a cheesy, cliche shojo, srsly. I finally ordered VK Vol 7 and it came the other day, instantly read it (well, after I had finish reading Gentlemen's Alliance as that came in the post a few days before. I had read it before though so I wasn't fanspazzing as much) and I was pretty much glued to the manga.

SPOILERS AHEAD

( Cut for spoilers spazzing )

END SPOILERS

Still on the topic of manga, TSUBASA HAS JUST RELEASED THEIR FINAL CHAPTER. I'm two chapters away from finishing, however I had pointe so I couldn't finish it. And now I'm stuck here doing Physics homework. If I finish early I may treat myself to reading it, but it's so confusing I honestly have no idea how they can end it just like that. I need an explanation! Expect a journal sometime about me whining or fanspazzing yet again about Tsubasa xD
Though I've heard they're going to release a special chapter on 7th October-ish. But one chapter isn't going to help sum everything up, ah well. Here's hoping it's still a pleasing ending nevertheless!
*crazily finishes Physics so I can read Tsubasa*

Now on a completely different topic altogether... DAYUM NEW POINTE SHOES HURT LIKE HELL. I take back what I said about pointe work being fun and painless because you get use to the pain. I forgot just how painful new pointe shoes were T^T *misses old ones* For my Princess Tutu cosplay I am so totally using my old pointe shoes, they're not -that- dead x'D (Good thing too, I'm allowed to let them get dirty. Whereas I'd be screwed if I got my new ones dirty loool. That is if they last that long, Minami is ages away and so my new pointe shoes may die by then!)

Pia-pia-piano, piano, piano. Pia-pia-piano. Pia-piano!

Every now and then I tend to record myself play the piano using the floppy disk seeing as I have an electric piano. However I found the camcorder and decided to record myself live and what a difference it makes. I can also record myself on violin this way lolol.
Reason why I record myself is because I often don't notice the mistakes I make. Decided to post a couple of videos of me playing and I'll tell you exactly what mistakes I make lolol. Take note that both these pieces have been in-progress so mistakes are bound to happen, though mistakes such as speeding up without realizing is something I can pick out.

( Listen to mah piano playing~ )

FYI I do know other anime tunes, like Cruel Angel Thesis from Evangelion... But a lot of them I learnt donkey's years ago (or in EVA's case, I learnt that last year) and so I can't remember them as well. May re-learn and record them though to keep a record of my playing. I know I've done what with my floppy disk and the earlier recordings were absolutely terrible LOL.
I included Maple Leaf Rag because I'm always raving on about it in my music journals and it's my most "impressive" piece. It would be more impressive if I could play it without mistakes though xD;

*overly dramatic*
There... is a conspiracy against me rewearing costumes. This conspiracy is eating up my monies BAWWW. (Totally said this on Twitter, but then I ventured into the world of YouTube and saw amazing costumes I want to do xD)

( Vocaloid/Meiko fangasm +videos : D )

Basically, thank you to those who have helped me pick out fabric for my Haine costume. I've asked on various sources and the majority vote was satin, however that polyester satin I found on eBay proved too shiny when a victim to flash therefore I decided to just splash out on expensive mysterious satin over at Fine Fabrics. I have no idea what it is, it's definitely not something I've worked with before however it has a nice sheen to it. I'm glad I went with it over the velvet now so thank you <333

Reference picture:                                 In-progress:
              

Still need to do the little rose accessories, style the wig so that it has tight curls, make the necklace and also FIND MY SECOND GLOVE XD;

On other news, almost caught up with Bleach now! Well, when I say almost I'm like... 70 episodes away. But it's an improvement because at the beginning of the Summer I was still stuck on episode 40 or something! (Heh, it's taken me over two years to catch up x'D)
After Bleach I promised Charlie I'd catch up with Macross Frontier, so I guess I'll finish that off next. I did say to myself I wouldn't actually watch all of Bleach but I'm struggling to find a good stopping point, because it's too addictive x'D (Though I may stop soon because I'm stuck in the filler arc...)

Someone like Yui could not possible learn a song like this, srsly D'8 GOD DAMN YOU ANIME CHARACTERS, GOD DAMN YOU XD

( Opening )

BOOO POWER CHORDS! HISSSSSS.

Alas, Don't Say "Lazy" is an easy song to learn 8'D
( Lazy )
Fifi is not amused by Fuwa Fuwa Time either.

( Read more... )
I can learn Don't Say "Lazy". But for the rest of the songs I am tempted to cosplay Mugi so I can play keyboard part kkthxbai 8D

Ah, the joys of musical animes. If you know how to play an instrument from the show you just have to learn it as well - INSTANT TORTURE 8D
I am very grateful that the user has posted such helpful videos though <3 He even has the bass parts, go look if you want to learn the K-ON! songs~ Oh and the drum part for Cagayake!GIRLS too (This guy is an absolute legend <3)

Annnd one more video to end: (LEFT HANDED BASSIST FTW *_*)

The point of this LJ entry? To show how awesome these YouTubers are, and so I can go back to them whenever I need to learn the songs |D *shot*
Apologies for the messed up LJ cuts btw...

The UK needs more flashy skits like these:( Utena~~~ )
I completely squealed over how awesome it was! I know colour guard is likely to be rare in the UK - but what about other talents like rhythmic gymnastics, music or breakdancing? C'mon flashy skits, I command you |D [Although I bet you, knowing my luck there will be a ton of flashy skits in Ayacon Sunday Night Live lolol, God damn you 18+ rules!]

I give you one more flashy skit before I take my leave [Now this kind of skit is VERY UNLIKELY able to be done in the UK, but I just thought I'd share it xD]
( Spirited Away )

I'll link you to two more.. Just because I can hurhurhur~
Amusing Pokemon dance skit       Another amusing Pokemon skit

I fav'd all these a while ago - however as I was doing more planning for my own skits I remembered these again. They're very inspirational for skit-writers!! Oh lord, please don't let LJ cut die on me today...

Uuuurgh, what is wrong with LJ!? I post two videos and it leaves a MASSIVE gap between the text and the video *tantrum*

I'm stuck as to whether to use velvet or satin for a dress or not? TT___TT I want to make this version of Haine:

However I'm torn between two fabric choices X___X
Satin or Velvet?

I like how the satin is wider than the velvet. However because it has "polyester" in the name it got me panicking because it may end up stupidly shiny (only trusts duchess and crepe back when it comes to ONLINE fabric shopping - my Garnet and Haine dress was made from polyester satin however I bought it in real life!!!) - the trouble with the velvet is that because I know it's a heavyweight fabric it may not drape nicely? Plus I don't know if 124cm will make the dress full enough?? [Darn you Arina for your lack of full body references!! I'm a cheapstake you know!]

Does anyone know if "polyester satin" is ridiculously shiny or not? If so then for the velvet shall I fork out on buying 2m or is the 124cm width enough? [Normally I would buy more than I need however it's not really a fabric I would be able to use for other things X_X]

HELL YES CHECK THIS OUT


www.yesasia.com/global/arina-tanemura-2010-calendar-sakura-hime-kaden-comic-edition-japan/1020667431-0-0-0-en/info.html

Do want do want do want D; Only problem is - I am not paying £25 for a calendar - especially if it's two months per image! D8<
*mourns over prettiness*

Shall have to eBay it after it comes out to see if it's any cheaper ;____; [But it's A2! It's so biiig~]
One thing's for sure, I am not waiting till -after- New Years for a calendar because all the anime/manga calendars went UP after the New Years lolol *could have gotten InuYasha one for £8... it went up to £12 D8<*

Bawww~

Doing this meme because I'm bored |D

( Meme meme meme meme )

According to this meme I am a dude |D

On other news, my brown wig arrived yesterday! Will be cutting and styling it into a Yoh Asakura [Shaman King] wig soon, I also need to use the off-cuts for wefts because it's fairly thin at the front especially! But that's what I get for a £9.50 wig, it's lovely to touch *-* [Is the exact same base wig I used for Brock lolol, the difference between the two is so weird! XDDDD]

Decided to type this up now because I KNOW I'll NEVER get it done otherwise!
{WARNING! SUPER LONG JOURNAL ENTRY AND PICTURE HEAVY}

Germany was amazing. Everything about it was so much prettier than Britain could ever be. From the landscapes to the architectures it was just amazing! It turns out that our orchestra had a little game they like to play: PEGGING. It involved pegging pretty much everything you can without getting caught - people, objects, etc. They gave us a bright pink sheet at the beginning as well explaining how many points we got depending on what we peg, it was a rather fun game actually haha! So that's what I mean if I suddenly sprout pegging nonscence throughout this journal.

The pieces we played throughout the tour were:
Grand Grand Overture by Malcolm Arnold
5th Movement: Finale by Bartok
Kaiser Waltzer by J. Strauss
Violin Concerto: 2nd Movement by Barber
Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin
On Screen (medley of different TV and movie themes) arranged by Weatherall [I think????]
Heal the World arrangement for orchestra {Original by Michael Jackson}

( Day 1-7 )

Overall it was an amazing experience and I'll definitely try and go on the tour next year if I can. I've made so many friends through tour and I look forward to seeing them again in Christmas ^_^

Highlights:
- ARISTOCATS JAMMING!
- Pegging
- Lidls invasion
- loling at fat heads [it's a crisp called Teddy Hits - they're pom bears with a tumour therefore we call them fat heads]
- Pringle addiction
- Switzerlaaaaand~
- More jamming
- BULLDOG >8D
- More but cannot be bothered to make this journal any longer!

Haha, I seem to be posting quite a bit as of late...

Finally acquired Vampire Knight 6 and La Corda 10!! Looking forward to the rest of the volumes~

I was rather surprised by La Corda actually, it turned out ever so slightly different to the anime and the anime seemed to have followed the manga almost precisely. All I can say is LILI TT_______TT <3333

As for Vampire Knight there were a lot of segments to completely fangirl over haha! Including how adorable Aido's thoughts are in this volume, I forgot how much I loved him *smoosh*~ The volume also satisfied my ZeroxYuki obsession however Kaname is finally starting to grow on me (It only took 6 volumes for me to start taking a proper interest in him!), I knew he had a dark side in him but I am now curious. Unfortunately I know what's going to happen to Yuki due to spoilers posted around the net despite how careful I try to be (banned myself from all Vampire Knight fan-forums and also all VK threads on forums yet I still get spoilers! Darn you cosplaying world! xP) - it's just a matter of when that's going to happen. I'm predicting soon so Volume 7... Which is good because Volume 7 will be out next week, yes!

Other things I've read recently is the Runaways. special_pleb lent them to me a while ago and I only just managed to read through them. Just finished Vol 5 and still have Vol 6 + 7 to go (got distracted by La Corda and VK when they arrived...) and I have to say it's pretty good! I liked seeing different Marvel characters come and go in the series - I love the eccentricness of the whole story too. I'm especially fond of Gert and her pet dinosaur, Old Lace. 

On an anime front - I've decided to carry on with Bleach. I've been on and off this series ever since the anime started now and I'm still incredibly behind. Watching it again reminded me how much I loved Orihime and Toshiro TT_____TT *must cosplay them xD*