Marquis does Versatility.

Good morning, minna-sama~ have you been well? This week has been especially arduous to me, but not without some enjoyable things as well. The weekend is also looking to be splendid, so I won't be down and out by the looming storm clouds just yet. Besides, how could I think to be down when something as pleasant as an award has been recieved?

Award? Nominated by the up and coming, rose descendant after my heart, Liz of Aristocratic Elegance, this marquis has been bequeathed the Versatile Blogger Award that is being passed around [ah, I don't know who the creator is!]. Thank you very much, my dear! It is a great pleasure and honor to recieve it, and I hope as the community gives shout-outs to one another, we can all make friends with someone new.

To the best of my knowledge, the rules for those given the award are as follows:

1. Thank and link the person who nominated you.


2. Share seven random facts about yourself.


3. Nominate ten of your favorite bloggers for the award.


4. Be sure to inform your nominees of their nomination~!

And so, right after I decided it would be a great time for the '20 Random Facts' post, here's seven more facts about me [jeez... better just come be my family now at this rate.]

1. I walk [and in general, move I guess] very, very slowly. In fact, the fastest parts of my body are my tongue and my fingers. Forcing me to run is a sure fire way to tick me off.


2. I lack a pronounced heartbeat in part caused by hypotension. So when doctors put the stethescope to my chest, it takes them a really long time to hear anything. I can tell they are both perplexed and irked by it.


3. I can't decide how I feel about the rain anymore. I hated it for a long time, now I don't mind it so much as long as I have an umbrella, but yesterday it basically monsooned and I watched the whole time. Bah. Damn rain.


4. My favorite candy bar ever is Twix.


5. My favorite ice cream flavor ever is chocolate chip cookie dough.


6. I like collecting pins and phone charms [the pins go on my messenger bag]. When I get to cons, I try and pick up at least one or the other of series I like, so as to represent. At Otakon this year, I'm on the look out for Devil May Cry, Legend of Zelda, Uraboku, and DOGS Bullets and Carnage.


7. I like gijinka. Particularly the brush gods from Okami.

And for my nominations~...! Alas, I am not even following ten blogs, but all the same, I will post my favorites. Please give them a look~ and see if you can't broaden your blogsphere. ^_^

• My good friend and rising banba/gyaru Toriberry of East Meets World.


• The lady of Gothic for the work and play, Victorian Kitty of Sophistique Noir.


• Everything-Japan-lovers in New York, sisters Mina and Steph of Ja ma vrouw.


• [and though it may seem redundant] My newfound rosebud stirring up magnificent Aristocrat outfits, Liz of Aristocratic Elegance.

Versatility abound...! The splendor of spontaneity does become us...! Let our oneness as a community shine through as we show appreciation and compliment our peers. Thank you~ and enjoy.

For loveless loving, you fly about this broken world. Mercifully, the rain falls~

Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak
p.s. Formatting for the blog is being a pain recently. Is anyone else experiencing trouble [especially with line breaks]?

Plus 20 [of him]

Good afternoon minna-sama~ and my, look at this splendid weather that has finally come around, hmmm? Pleasant to no end. I hope everyone can get around to enjoying it. Sebastian and I have sat around outside in the lanai for a stretch, and Firi-kun left me a cute message earlier this morning. Hopefully that'll be enough pleasantries to get me through work.

As for today, I thought I'd just come to keep up on things, and do a '20 Random Facts' post. I've been reading some that have been passed arounds a bit, and thought, 'Sure, that would be nice.' Maybe we'll get to know each other better and share our experiences. So, that is, take from this what you'd like, and enjoy for what it's worth.

1. I'm two halves of the same coin. My own brother from another mother. However you want to say it, I'm a dual person. Not to say dual personality, or bi-polar. More of, I can and do readily advocate, act on, and believe two different things that often contrast simultaneously. I chalk it up to my Gemini zodiac sign, but that's just an easy way to say it.


2. I'm an easy to please person, really [yet, following number 1 it would go without saying that I can be hard to please at the same time]. I don't need much to keep me content; an empty house with a book, or my PSP, or a pencil and paper, or nothing but a bed to sleep on would satisfy me.


3. My handwriting continues to spiral into scrawling semi-cursive. Mind you, my cursive is shit, but my print is often mistaken for cursive. I write very quickly, and so the pen/pencil rarely is lifted from the paper [even between words], creating a very... pretty mish-mash [some will say it's just illegible].


4. I wish I had a dog. Not to replace Sebastian, but in company of him. I'm afraid that getting a dog that is the same size or smaller than Sebastian would result in an injured dog. [Sebastian knows I'm talking about him.] So I'd go for a Russian Wolfhound or a German Shepard. Maybe a Shiba Inu.


5. I like chocolate, except in the pudding, cake, and ice cream configurations. I think it's because I had too much of it growing up. I LIKE CHOCOLATE OTHERWISE.
   


6. I am allergic to Benadryll. If I was a allergic to pollen or anything else, this would royally suck, but mercifully, that is my only allergy.


7. I can speak in tropes and tv idioms. Most frequently will be trope equations, e.g.: Battle Butler + Fetish Fuel Station Attendant + Gentleman Snarker = Sebastian Michaelis of Kuroshitsuji.


8. Officially, I have [self proclaimed] theme music. Violater by Nobuo Uematsu.


9. I'm [still?] an otaku. It is controlled, sans conventions. Because I grew up with dial-up, I wasn't privy to watching a lot of anime on Youtube, so I read manga more. Currently, the collection extends to about 150+ manga spread over at least 25 different series, discluding series magazines [which would add about another 20]. An interesting title can get me interested in an anime.


10. Since I am studying Japanese [semi-fluent, at best, I'll say], that means unless I'm talking to someone else who knows Japanese, I don't add 'kawaii' and 'desu ne~' to my sentences and Youtube comments, etc.
    


11. That being said, I do sometimes pick up a verbal tic. For a while it was 'Context' after an ambiguously double meaning sounding sentence. Now it's a trope that fits whatever I just said [hence... verbal tic].


12. I believe one of my most formidable weapons is my tongue [context]. With or without a single spoken word, my tongue can take care of a good number of situations.


13. I'm indecisive a lot [and, quick to decide]. I've come up with the example, if I was in a room filled with endless supplies of all my favorite foods, I'd still starve because I wouldn't know what to eat first. [The times when I am decisive, it's probably because I'm not deciding something for myself, and the better choice is clear.]


14. I like ALL foods. And I am perpetually hungry. So that crinkle of your chip bag, the fizzing of contained carbonated soda, even if you're trying to be a ninja, does not escape me. I'll eat pretty much anything, and as much as I can in that one bite you offered me.


15. 15 is my favorite number. [I didn't plan it this way, but when it came up, that's the first thing I ended up thinking.]



16. My ideal profession is to be a glassblower. That pretty much has nothing to do with anything I've been studying for the past... my life. This is something I decided when I was six or seven years old, and haven't shaken yet. While I would readily accept other great professions [writer, massage therapist, translator, ehm...], this is my 'dream job', as it were.


17. I am a gamer. I don't know if I should call myself a hardcore gamer, because I don't have topline equipment and headsets and keyboards and modded controllers, etc. And I don't spend unholy hours a day [...all day...?] playing either. But I LOVE~ video games [and video game music~!]. Because I didn't grow up with a game console in the house [ohh~ I was so depraved~ ah~] I played my friends' games with varying degrees of frequency. So I know lots of video games, without ever having owned them myself. Nowadays the game count is increasing little by little [with Capcom games in the lead, oddly].


18. I mostly listen to J-musics. But anything with a good sounds can entice me. A GOOD sound. Lyrics in my own language that I can't understand does not usually lend itself to a good sound.


19. I read spoilers sometimes [not usually intentionally]. I don't mind if you tell me spoilers either. I believe that the sign of a good story is one in which you CAN know what is going to happen, or if that one character survives, and still be on the edge of your seat when you get to that part in the story yourself.


20. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be as fortunate as I am. In the future, I can only to continue to go towards what I really want, which is freedom. More than anything in this world, I want to know, embody, and exist in true freedom.

Oh my, did that get too thick and heavy at the end? [Context... damn.] Don't think too much on it. I'll look forward to seeing your own 20 random about me post in the future. ^_^

If I can just get through this week... things will be so much better...

Shall you bring me to further roses...?
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

Casual Aristo Friday

Good afternoon mina-sama~ I hope you all had a good weekend. This post comes as of this past Friday, do forgive the lateness. I haven't posted as many outfit pictures as of late, for the obvious reasons of not dressing as often [unfortunate to the nth degree], and trying to get my projects done. I have the tendency to wear things more often after I've made them [they become my new favorite piece for a stretch]. Thus, even though it's casual, please enjoy.

I haven't worn my waistcoat in a long time I realized when I put it on. It seems to have somehow loosened a bit, if one can imagine such a thing [and no, I do not believe it's because I lost weight, because I know I haven't]. It's nice and light though, relatively, so I plan to wear it a lot when I go Spring Aristo. With the pant legs tucked in, I feel this may seem a bit dandy/ouji rather than Aristo [and when paired with the Demonia platforms as they are, which are suitable for Visual Kei too], but I don't mind so much. ^_^

Because I love my little brother Sebastian so much~ [and because he loves me so much he finds the camera when it's on] I let him be in my pictures. The last one may seem as though he does not want, but that's because he's purposefully camera shy/uncooperative when I go out of my way to include him.

Some things have been piling up, so it may be a while before the next post, but hopefully not. I want to say there may be expiremental make-up posts in the future as well, along with another nail "art" and hair entry. Please look forward to it.

Pagoda of the Misty Moon.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Music Revisted

Good evening minna-sama, ahhh this feels better, doesn't it? A nice, relaxing--...a gently breezy cool evening, with tea and dinner. Oh, I haven't done a meal post in a while, either have I? More things to look forward to. ^_^ Things are still keeping busy, but I have a feeling it's all for the better. Once May rolls around, things will be good. In the meantime, here's to touch on something new.


As you may or may not have noticed, depending on where you read this blog and if you choose to keep your speakers off, etc. etc., I have added music to thy blog. Music, herr marquis, how can that be? There's no music player to be seen anywhere. Now, now, no need for formalities, we're all friends here, and I'll let you in on my secret~


The non-existent music player is actually a Youtube video, the embed code of which I copied, and shrunk down to invisible. You can't force it that small if you try to custom size it before you copy and paste it, so just copy it as is, and stick it in any place on your blog where HTML coding works. Then, change BOTH width and heights [one in the beginning and another towards the end of the code string] to 1 pixel wide. Now your music is out of sight, out of mind. In order to make it play, add the code '& autoplay = 1' DIRECTLY before the "greater than-less than-param-greater than [you may find you have a res=0 or similar in front of it; it goes there, with no spaces or other characters]. With careful scanning, and a good reliable video, you've now discreetly added music to your blog. The only downside--your mileage my very if this is a downside--is that this does not loop, nor give the option to pause the music as you go. Unless I haven't figured it out how to do so. But~! Do give it a whirl if you'd like, I am happy to hear your blogs as well~


The current selection is 'No Turning Back' from the Soul Calibur 2 OST [yes, the video game]. Previously, when I first started fiddling with Blogger's trippy HTML coding screws, I had 'The Love from a Dead Orchestra' playing as the first song, followed by 'ASCENDEAD MASTER', both by Versailles Philharmonic Quintet. My love for Versailles--the ideal combination of what this blog is about really, Japanese Street styles focusing on Aristocrat and Visual Kei--continues onward and onward~ and I hope they can continue to bring us beautiful music.


The reason I couldn't keep it to their songs however, was because the videos I was using seemed to be deleted or moved--thus messing up the HTML code--not long after I would add them. While I am by no means compromising by using 'No Turning Back' [I LOVE this track], I would like to use something more readily related to thy blog's purpose. While troping, by some way or another I got onto Castlevania, which led to looking up some of the OST from various games on Youtube. I've been listening to Castlevania Lament of Innocence tracks as of late, and I already know at some point or another at least three of them are going to have to go here. [For those unfamiliar with Castlevania, it is a Konami video game series, that is well regarded for it's Crowning Music of Awesome across all of its 25+ games. Lament of Innocence features some of the best music of the series, which is saying something.] I am thinking I might change the music once a month, just for the sake of variety [this is hoping I will remember, among other things].


That being said, I am open to suggestions or requests for music to be featured~. During the summer, I feel I have time to even do day-to-day/week-to-week things for super special occasions. I'm into anything that sounds good, and happy to recommend things as well. If you're just tuning in, that's alright by me, too. Music is a wonderful thing, let's be sure to have fun with it.


This weekend I am actually formulating a mini-schedule to get the Altelier Boz jabot done, and perhaps the Nudy Boy mod. We'll see how that works out when Friday evening rolls around~


Holy Cross Obsessed by the Moon~
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

The 50th Post [Extensive]

Good morning, minna-sama~ [ohto, here I am again coming in the morning to do things (especially when I should be doing something else)] Have you all been well? I apologize for being away so long. Aside from upped business, I wanted to make the 50th post something noteworthy [as opposed to what the next post is going to be]. Thus, here's the big events from Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, the Japanese American Student Association [JASA] hosted it's annual Taste of Japan event on campus; it's just like it sounds. A taste of Japanese things, from fashion, food [catered by the awesome Matsuba], travel, origami, song, dance, and raffles. After some kinks getting into the event from the start, Jingu Bridge: A Japanese Fashion club joined up with the fashion branch of JASA and hosted our raffle that went quite well. As we take interest in the sub-styles of Japanese fashion, Jingu Bridge members dressed up~ to represent. As the resident man of the club, I donned my Aristo for the whole day [including work and classes]. Though I am pleased with the ensemble, I actually forgot one part. The hat is part of a match set that the mother person bought for her and my late grandmother. It's a little small on my head [I think because I have too much hair], and made me feel a little more Ouji than Aristo, but that's okay. Toriberry was kind enough to give me smoky eyes [quickly], and I accidentally mashed my black lower, red upper lips halfway through, heh heh. This is what I had in mind; the difference is the half skirt [shown in earlier posts]. ...I hope everyone recalls I like strange positions. [a squat is strange, deshou ka?]Underneath. [Oh yessss~ so classy. *Snerk.*]

As a very new club with not much out about us, the raffle was quite a success. Taste of Japan was also a lot of fun, as usual~ and JASA gathered a lot of support and contributions to the Japanese Red Cross. It was a have fun, feel good, do good night. Jingu Bridge has another event coming up in which we shall have a slot to showcase our name; please look forward to it~

Then, come Saturday, the mother person and I went out to the Cherry Blossom Street Festival in D.C. It was cold, about 50 degrees at the most, and cloudy [no chance of a brief warming in the sun~...!], but it was not unpleasant. Even with the newly instated $5 admission, the Street Festival did not disappoint, continuing to uphold it's tradition of wonderful musical entertainment, interesting info/participation booths, and great food. And while by no means mandatory, the Street Festival is a great opportunity to dress in one's yukata or kimono suited to the fesitval atmosphere. The otaku will show you otherwise, but only Hazel-kun seems to dislike the weeaboos cosplaying at a festival rather than a convention... The hakama I bought in Japan, from a street stall in Harajuku. I think the guy was going to give me a discount, because I was about to buy two [there was a green and black in similar gradient], but~ either way, I am happy to have it. The haori is a captain's robe, from Bleach, bought from Otakon '07. Since I have nothing else of Ukitake's cosplay, I tend to wear it only for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It's got the traditional feel to it. Also, my hair is in a topknot, but the ends curled down a little, haha. ^_^ Way back before I made The Crow [my cane], my sword, Yasumisame [also bought at Otakon '07], served as my makeshift cane. I thought I'd show it some love and feature it with the photos. [No, I didn't bring it with me to the festival, as much as I'd like to.]

The cherry blossoms around campus are still blossoming, but I expect with a light breeze and the sporadic warm days we've been having, they will soon become bare again. I will enjoy them in the meantime. If you have some growing where you are, have a picnic under one, and let a blossom drift lightly into your drink. ^_^

The next few projects I hope to do over the weekends, since the two cosplay projects I hope to do in May and June will be all consuming. Please look forward to the jabot from Altelier Boz, and the detached sleeve Nudy Boy shirt modification, among others.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Spring Break, or if you are in the midst of it, continue to enjoy it~ minna-sama~

Admiration of the Clan~ We shall Triumph.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak