Katsucon 12 Highlights [My... Special Coffin?]

Good morning, everyone, aaaaaah what in the world am I doing here so early? Well, if I have to be up, then let's make the most of it [this is disregarding the fact that a) half the time my usual goal is try and salvage semi-sleep when awake this early, and b) that I could be doing something else a little more urgent at this moment]. Also, since this is a derailment from the norms of the blog, I didn't want to put this off too much before it became overly irrelevant [like a birthday post did... eheh heh...]. Saa~ minna, if you will, a brief memoir of Katsucon 2012.

Like last time, I only went for one day. I'm okay with this, because the one day pass is cheaper, and realistically, I'd only go on Saturday and maybe Sunday anyway, since I'd usually have class on Friday. I also drove myself; I'm terrible with directions and wary of misinterpreting signs, but I made it alright [then I remembered I need directions going back, ahaha...]. Also like last time, I didn't dress up in a full cosplay; I wanted full mobility, and not be detracted as much with being photographed myself [I will do a full cosplay if I go the whole weekend though]. The majority of the day was spent standing in the registration line, photographing [yaaaay~ a Sengoku Basara group was there~], Streetpassing with other 3DSers, and shopping like a psycho otaku that I am. I had quite a haul for just one day [equivalent to roughly three days at Otakon]. 

MORE PINS~ MUAHAHAHAHA~! Also a new bag at last [though I still use the Hellsing one.]

But truly the best finds of the day were the face mask down in the front, and that big old red book in the upper right corner. Why you ask~?

And yet another thing on my person that jangles.

Well, first, the face mask. It wasn't terribly expensive for what it was [$10], has given me some inspiration for the one I still plan on making--in terms of design, accessories, and material--, and perhaps the best of all, it does not fog up my glasses when I breathe. This is a very important point for me, as one might guess, because if I'm wearing a mask for when I'm actually sick on top of wanting to look formidable, I tend to be even more miserable having to deal with not being able to see half the time.

It's probably because of the swimsuit-esque material.

This one will be going out with me a lot for weekends in Visual Kei. Since the safety pins are removable, no da, I might substitute them with a lighter brooch if I want to add some sort of neo-Aristocrat touch to it.

As for that big red book? That, my friends, is 'Coffin: The Official Artworks of Vampire Hunter D' by Yoshitaka Amano [gamer fans may know the name as the illustrator of Final Fantasy artworks]. 

Includes color pages not shown in the novels, and an exclusive short story.

I saw this book in a Barnes&Noble several years ago while window shopping on a double date or summat, and immediately desired it. I didn't even know what Vampire Hunter D was; the author of the novels, if it was a movie, whatever, nothing. I just wanted to have it. It was $60, which I didn't have on me at the time. So I lightly thumbed through some of the pages, probably gaping like a fish, then put it back on the shelf, and forgot about it after a while.

 

In that time, I've acquired the VHD movie and several volumes of Takaki Saiko's manga adaptations, and in general become a fan of Hideyuki Kikuchi's legacy work [my shadow has even told me I should cosplay as the titular character D]. So when I saw this artbook in a booth at Katsucon, those dormant desires from way back when flared up ten-fold in combination with my fandom. 

Needless to say, if I ever did cosplay D, it would be one of the most intensive ones ever.

I would've bought it no matter the price, but the conventions gods loved on me; the seller put it out for $30. He also mentioned something about it being out-of-print, so if that's true, it'll probably be worth hundreds somewhere down the line. Maybe. Who knows? Even if it's not, I'm happy to have it.

Do you have any special promotional works for books or movies you like? Have an autographed piece that you'll hold onto forever? Any series that you love enough to buy a collectible item for? Hahaha, that pretty much defines otaku.

My this week flew~! What on earth have I been doing? Class? Eh?

I thank you for your indulgence, everyone.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

White and Eyelets and Hair, say what?

Good evening, everyone, hope your end-of-weekend is proving to be as it should be; relaxed, so one can enter into the week refreshed [even moreso if you have tomorrow off~]. My weekend started on Friday, and what a splendid three days it was. Friday was a SpaWorld day, and hardly anybody seemed to be around~ so it was as if we had the whole place to ourselves~. Saturday, I went down to the Gaylord National Harbor for one-day Katsucon [more on that to come]. And today~? 

Well, today I did work, and went to GSO rehearsal. Since laundry day was pushed back from being out all day Saturday, I had less things that were climate appropriate and decent to wear. But~, if the post title is any clue, guess what I managed~?

I couldn't have planned it better~ the perfect pair of eyelets all around~

Lo, despite a few posts back saying I wanted to get an all white Aristocrat ensemble, with the recent completion of the Nudy Boy shirt, I now have a nice coordination for a casual all white Visual Kei. I am not displeased by this. It's fun to come up with new things from ideas of something slightly [or even not at all] related.

I went with the checkered suspenders this time, rather than the one black, one white.

I don't have any white foot wear [yet], and I ran out of the house in a rush after stringing up the sleeves [since I can't use the same ones for the legs if I want to wear this combination, ahaha], so... barefoot marquis.

I also tried to do something with my hair. Emphasis on the 'try' and the 'something.' I double pinned the top part down, before changing it to up [V-kei is all about gravity defying mess o-dyed parts, haha]. I liked it well enough to take some pictures. Maybe I'll replicate it tomorrow and see how practical it is for work and class.

I approve of taking pictures of myself in the bathroom mirror if it's this way; after all, if you just turn the camera around, you can look into the mirrored camera and see what it's focused on, and avoid the flash.

I single pinned it here, but I'll probably double pin it if I wear it for a whole day.

And there we have it~. I'm glad I can showcase more Visual Kei, as this is the other major half of the blog. I say that, and then already know the next post[s] will be heavily cosplay related [but that too, is a part of the blog, my Triforce of me~...!]. Please indulge me this, if you will.

Do you ever do one color outfits? Do you find you break up the one color with a contrasting/complimenting colored accessories? And what's that rule about wearing white again?

February is soon coming to a close~

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Palette Swap Manicure

Good evening everyone~ I feel on such a roll. I would say please look forward to this in the future, as it I did before, but chances are I'm just on a lucky streak. But it would be nice, ne~? The future is a mysterious thing, saa na~. That being said, onward to a little update.

Since we both have Fridays free, Toriberry and I decided to get together sometime between a doctor's appointment and covering a work shift to do our nails. Considering neither of us live on campus at the moment, we floundered a bit wondering where we should go that isn't utterly secluded, or outside [since winter is finally coming around, thanks groundhog], but wouldn't choke people in the vicinity with nail polish fumes. We ended up in a study room in the main library, and went to work. You'll notice the familiar manicure~

It's playing season again, so just the right hand, since there is a noticeable length difference.

Sparkle quota, met.

Again, I used the color changing Del-Sol as a top coat, so added sparkles and bonus ruby-silver in sunlight. [I should really just get some clear coat though.] The blue is really globbing up for some reason; are there methods for thinning nailpolish without it becoming a watery mess?

What are your all time favorite designs, or colors for your nails? Do you have seasonal changes? Are you an acrylic nail type?

Haaaah, brand new week already~? Okay.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Into the New Year; A Variance

Good evening, everyone, and happy holidays to you all~! Whether you like to spend time at home with just you and a nice cup of hot cocoa, or travel hundreds of miles to gather with family and repeat your Thanksgiving feast all over again, I hope you all have a great end of the year! Get yourself a little something [or hey, maybe like me, one little-big something], and say to yourself, "I deserve it." because everyone can use a little self-love every now and then.

Before the year wrapped up, I wanted to do a little recap and reflection of my own as it were, and pretend to pass out sage wisdom about fashion lovers and lifestylists through the changing seasons of every year. Let's see where that goes, haha.

Undertaker continues to be my favorite current cosplay, despite the work.

I am reminded of a certain school...

Visual-Kei madness in all it's... madness. The coat will be featured soon~

Who the heck is this? Oh.

So what does this all add up to? Well, for those who might be confuzzled by my last little caption there, I suppose it comes down to this. Dressing in a select style allows for as much freedom as you have imagination. And that even if you are a lifestylist in your particular fashion, there are times when you're just going to have a "normal" day. I know for a fact I have lots of casual days, where I'm back in my graphic t-shirt and pants staple, sans anything remotely Visual Kei.

Well, that may be all well and good if you're the flexible type who doesn't mind having the occasional day out of the petticoat or without the dark make-up. This would seem meaningless though, to those of you die-hards out there who have been at your fashion lifestyle for years now. I applaud your skills and passion towards what you love~! But I can bet you you've had a day or two, maybe when you were sick, or knew that you weren't going to leave the house on a nice lazy weekend, where you may have question "How much?" if any you would dress up that day. But you still made yourself look amazing as always. This isn't a bad thing. What I'm getting at, is that a casual dressing day doesn't have to equal lounge-clothes or, che gasp, normal civilian wear. And how do you do that, even while staying true to your particular style? Simple~

Perhaps the easiest thing ever is to stop before you go all the way. Thought about those cupcake rings and necklaces to match the lone bow in your hair, Sweet Lolitas? Give them a day off, and wear just one petticoat, too. Like lots of necklaces like I do, all sorts of chrome and crucifixes and wallet chains galore, punk generation and Gothic friends~? Put one of each on, and leave it at that. Makes your morning routine a snap, too. You might not know what to do with those extra five minutes.

If you can stand the thought, add, subtract, or substitute some colors in your select style. I've stood by the all black Aristo myself, but I know all white Aristo, along with the regal colors of dark purples, blues, and reds, will look just as amazing [budget willing I finally can get around to adding some of that in]. Haven't got another color in sight? Make-up artists, show your stuff, and instead of a dark shadows or lipstick, try a bright, but radical color; dare you try red and gold phoenix-dragon eye shadow, with a ruby red lipstick? I'm out on a hunt still for blue lipstick myself.

Since we're on a roll here, if you're feeling as though, yes indeed, today I will be Gothic, Lolita, Gyaru, Visual Kei, etc., even though the weather isn't right for all those layers [or lack there of], another thing to try is to switch the garment itself. If you're a skirts all day everyday, why not try a pair of slacks, or gauchos [the pants that look like a skirt because of the flowyness] for those easy-breezy weekends? Are you a graphic t-shirt fan like me? Blouses can have awesome graphics, usually taking up the entire back, that are great when you might be out for just a night.

In the end, of course, everything you do is up to you. You know what you do and don't like, what works for you and what doesn't, so go out there and have fun with it. I'm satisfied with myself to be able to switch up between two fashions [and then some one the side, for cosplay], but know full well that because I am lazy in the morning, I can make due with my t-shirt ensemble. Here's to more trail and error, and amazing looks for the future.

Happy New Year's everyone, and all the best~!

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

p.s. Sebastian is sharing his well wishes with you all, too. ^_^

*Hack hack hack.*

Monthly Theme: Spot the Lace

Koncha, minna. Well, this is a little better, mmm~? Perhaps it will still only be a one time thing, despite my best efforts [che sigh]. But nevermind the details~ it's finally become October~! Surely, October is probably my second or third favorite month ever. Good things happen. The weather--like today, oh yes--becomes cooler, Halloween looms, there's inevitably another show, and, oh yes... If you are the lovely Victorian Kitty-tan of Sophistique Noir, you have the first-day-of-the-month theme. For this October, behold....! Lace~!



As far as my trifecta of styles go [Aristo, V-kei, cosplay], the sharp dressed lady of the Aristocrat may find the touch of lace on blouse sleeves, or the top-layer of a fine blouse, along with lace gloves for the warmer weather. However, since on a whole, the three mostly do without, I seem to have sublty reflected that in my own wardrobe. In fact, I nearly forgot the lone piece of lace something or other that I do have until I just looked around the room and spotted it hanging on the doorknob. You've seen it before. It continues to serve me well, even into it's slightly 'broken' state. I'm of course talking about the ever fashionable rose lace zip-tie.

As aforementioned, it was delightfully cool today, as I threw myself out of the house to run to the bank again. The new long jacket--that when buttoned reminds me of a Japanese delinquent, hence the armband [which reads 'gang leader']--is one of two given to me over the summer by Nobu because they're too long to look right. It makes me favor windy days, too, for the billowing effect [who doesn't love that~? ^_^]. The hair is a mess and got rained on while coming home, aaaaaaand... hooray for my diligent tie, it didn't slip too much.

I'm still sick; the ear infection I had earlier this week transformed into a regular cold and cough. By transformed I mean that I didn't get any sort of lapse in between them, one turned into the other. But I can crack my neck again, at least, so that's good. Usually, since I don't like being a pain and getting up to leave class when I have a cough, I'll don the mask. Same for everyday happenings, since the mask is a staple of Visual kei fashion. This one also serves me well, it needs a new protege though. It's mostly little kids who will stare. I've yet to have anyone call me out on it or say a rude comment, and of course, when it is needed [like at my bank for example], I remove it, no problem. I have a feeling it's because I leer a lot when I'm out and about by myself [default expression].

I swear it seems way bigger in proportion to my chest. The picture in the linked post above shows it better than this one, the seeming difference in size... All in all, the tie itself would be great, to me, even without the rose or lace [or just one or the other], because of the material, and that it's neither a regular tie or a clip on, it's affixed via a zipper. Easy to adjust, no worries for length, and fits under even the smallest of collars like the long jacket has.

The mother-person has more lace things than I do... I have considered making a pillbox hat and adding a nice half veil to the front; it's good to remember that fashion goes from head to toe.

Do you prefer whole lace pieces, or lace accessories? Colored lace, or tradional black and white? Do you make your own lace? [if so I bow to your immense prowess~!]

Stay well everyone, and have a wonderful October all around.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

The Fabled Tea-time with the Marquis

Good afternoon, minna~. How positively coincidental of me to say that I'll get a post in on Saturdays, and then forget the upcoming Saturday will consume my soul [shadow casting of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, with my favorite fandom, ahem... 'prodding' people in line]. And then I got sick. But I'm getting better, and thus I was inspired to do the tea-time post, since that is helping me feel better [also, hot apple juice with a bit of honey; it's really amazing]. So let us journery to that quiant cozy little corner of the world that's all yours, where the weather is exceptional, and nothing would be better than a spot of tea.

So a while back [...yeah, June-ish], gallavanting about, the parent-persons and I stopped at a Teavana. I swear I would buy a tea set from them if it wasn't so expensive... [well, not entirely overpriced, per se] The sample brews were delicious as always, and the mother-person bought some this time around. But it was caffeinated, and it didn't sit well with her stomach, so I ended up drinking most of it. On a calm Saturday morning that I planned to do a lot of work, I made a pot with a touch of honey. Generally, I will let tea steep for however long there is water in the pot; it makes each cup stronger. However, I do know that can impart the taste and make it overly bitter. Teavana brews will come with suggested steep times on the back of the bag.

The tea set came from my cousin Jo from when she was moving. Oh, the mother-person also made bread [with a breadmaker borrowed from a friend], and I do love my starches with every meal. I had honey and or butter with the French bread. The house was empty, so my little tea-time was very~ calming [and, since no one was around, and it was early in the morning, I hadn't dressed to match the part either, oops]. Even with the caffeine running through the veins.

Sebastian likes bread of all types, and thought he would help himself to some. [I would've had let him had he not also climbed up on the tabletop itself and almost spilled scalding tea on himself and I.]

Oh, the serving plate for the bread is a lovely number made by my awesome godmother. It actually comes off more a sushi plate to me, given the long rectangular shape, but like most dishes, it's versatile. We now have quite the small collection of various pieces from her. [I wonder if she's started to sell online, too...]

What's your favorite type of tea? Cold, hot, sweet, bitter, decaff, caffeinated? How do you enjoy your perfect cup of tea? If you're not one to brew your own, are there any good cafes around where you live that serve great tea?

And with that, I'm going to make some more chai and probably go back to sleep. *Sniff.* Take care of yourself, everyone~

Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

Osaka -- Visual Kei Summer

Good evening, minna-sama~ and I apologize for the long gap since we last spoke, as it were. The title takes inspiration from 'Osaka -- Tiger Summer', a location level in Sengoku Basara 3; this is part of the reason I've not been allotting myself time to post. That, and the weather has finally taken a definitive turn into the hot, with a side of humid with all the off and on rain we've been having, so I've been going to my old stand-by, graphic t-shirts and whatever pants I feel like [I don't wear shorts].


But, as luck would have it, today, I had the day off from work. And the mother person suggested [read, forced me to] that I go to SAM's Club along with the bank to take care of some transferring of funds. What the hell, I might as well have more of a reason to get dressed than running up less than a mile or so to cut a check. But since it is still ungodly humid, today was definitely a day for some light Visual-Kei wear.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night shirt: Hot Topic
Black and white suspenders: Hot Topic
Wallet chain: Hot Topic [damn... what the hell...?]
Platforms: Demonia via Otakon

A long time ago~ in a world where I cared even less about things than I do now [odd. very odd, considering], I wore T-shirts at naseum. Then along came my sense of humor, and fanaticism with video games and anime. Thus, my T-shirt collection expanded into the graphic T land. Now anytime I can't wear the things I would prefer, including enladen Visual Kei things, I will wear a graphic T. Because everyone needs to know I'm a Jenova's Witness, from the Church of the One-Winged Angel of the Latter Day Summons. So, along with the magnificent makes-me-want-to-touch-myself Castlevania shirt, I paired it with my stand by V-Kei pants which I modified from a regular pair of black pants.



Just to mix things up, I also added two boot straps from my Undertaker cosplay to the bottom of the pant legs. Up close they look great in my opinion, but they are probably very subtle from afar. So in the future I might add more, and wear different shoes, or, instead of decking out my "leg" half, when it gets to be that season again, I may instead put them around my arms. I had meant to wear my 'gang leader' arm band, but I didn't think about it until after I had already gotten back; besides, I would've had to pin it to the t-shirt sleeve, since it's too loose to stay up on my arm, unless I perpetually flex. My hair is univentful because of the humidity; left to it's own devices, it would've been a flyaway mess from all the windows-down, sunroof open driving I did.


Alternately, as I've been going along, I've been thinking how the bootstraps around the leg might look with the Aeon pants [the eyelet heavy ones]. Definitely, I think I need both more wallet chains [or chain link belts in general] and some other colored suspenders. Fingerless gloves would be fun, HT has some in silver that look great.


I got some new musics--notably some songs by Lisa Komine--to keep me preoccupied between... everything, nghh... oh well. It'll be eventful from here on out, everyone~ I hope I can help keep your summers entertaining. Coming up, hopefully along with some more V-kei, will be the adventures of handmade cosplay. If you are a veteran homemade cosplayer, I welcome all wisdom~


"Lonliness fighting back again, seems to be like it never ends. Give us hope through the love of peaceful shine on me~"


Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak
p.s. While I was out, I bought Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. If I don't post for another month, even with my best intentions not to have that happen, Dissidia 012 is the reason why.

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

Thrift Store Shopping

Good evening, minna-sama. I'm sorry I've been away so long, I've been... in a difficult position, really. I'm doing things I hate, and I hate them because I am bad at them. I haven't had my head in the right place to post for a while, do forgive me. The holidays are a wonderful way to brighten my spirits, as is the completion of a project [yes, another spur of the energy moment thing], and so I return with hopefully two posts back to back [or at least, today and tomorrow] as to catch up with aristocrat and visual kei related things that have in fact been happening.

Jingu Bridge has been going splendidly. Truly. We're going to have to work out a few things here and there and work on preparation, but that's all well and good; the club is just starting, and it's the latter half of the semester, so we're having a great trial run of how things will work out for the spring semester. The group project for my global literature class on Visual Kei went smoothly as well; no one wanted to volunteer to be dressed up, but that's alright, I make my own suitable manequin. Perhaps showing them Neo Ark [Phantasmagoria] was a little too scaring... but, as it were, that's updates for that.

A couple weekends ago, I went to the thrift store near me [that I readily know of]. I was reminded why I both love, and to an extent, dislike the thrift store. One the one hand, there always seems to be scores of little heathen brats running around, and either screaming their heads off for no apparent reason, or crying excessively loudly for their parents. But if you can ignore that, the upsides outweigh the atmosphere's downsides. Prices are amazing, and if you have a little more time than I did to look, you can almost certainly find something that you were looking for [or perhaps not even, and that's never really bad]. I went with the intent of buying some white blouses--ahh, white blouses? what the hell...?--and a long skirt, so that I could expirement with something premade for making the half skirt [see previous project entry]. I also happened to pick up another pair of slacks, since my trusty black ones with pockets are having wardrobe malfunctions with the zipper, and some leather pants. In total everything came to just over $30, with the leather pants being the most expensive thing of course.

Since there is no fitting room at the thrift store, I immediately tried things on as soon as I got home to see if I properly eye-balled the sizes of things correctly. Here are my finds.

A long black skirt, made out of rayon I believe, so it's stretchy compared to the sateen fabric I bought to make my own from scratch. The plan is to cut down the seams of the sides and hem the back, creating a half skirt. With the extra I cut off, I would make a waist band to go through D-loops I bought a while back to put on my slacks.

The shiny white blouse--with breast pockets--that was the cheapest thing of the day, and the pinstripe slacks. They lack pockets, unlike the black ones I adore, and they have a bit of red in them, which immediately makes me want to add a touch of red into my Aristo. I don't know why I don't think add to V-kei, although that might be because there's limited colors [excluding Hizaki of Versai] in V-kei... though white isn't excluded... anyway. I wore this some day during the week, with the tailcoat jacket. I like the shirt a lot, a lot.

The leather pants, that are just a tad too long, and just a tad too tight. So tight in fact that I took a picture as soon as I got the button closed, not trusting myself to be able to fit into these again by the time I posted it because they were that tight [coincidentally, I have put them on with much less struggle two times since then, and before now]. I'm not sure why the shirt seems off-white, pale creamy at the top there... but it's all white, as the other picture shows.

Upon hanging the skirt up in my closet, I came upon an interesting discovery; lo, another skirt. This one was from the uniform of my high school's orchestra. It's very long, and has four pleats down said long sides, along with a band that has the button fasten, and a zipper. Had I recalled before hand that I still had that in my posession--since it was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for to base a already made beforehand turned into half-skirt on--I would've bypassed the skirt at the thrift store. Be that as it may, since it's a different material, I'm going to use it as well, regardless. I may choose to sell it once it is made, but we'll see how that goes.

To be sure, since I had the uniform skirt, I chopped that up quick like, and the results I will show in my next entry. Look forward to it, I'm getting fancy with a video, desu ne.

For whatever reason, when I was younger, I was a little turned off by thrift stores, and I think it was that atmosphere--aside from the crying kids--of... fervor and scurrying around. Now it's just the tight isles and screaming kids that make me pulse point when I step foot in there. A neutral scowl keeps them at bay however...

So, if you've got one near you, and you're just plain fed up with brand or replica prices, take a stroll down to your local thrift store. You never know what might turn up, and for REAL cheap no less. For those of you who have gone there, did you ever get a great find for a steal price? Got one nicer than mine? Love to go if it's nearby.

Whether with friends in your area, traveling back home or hosting family, or with the company of yourself, I wish everyone a splendid holiday, good food, great memories, and safe travels.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Semi-casual Aristo

Good evening, mina-sama. I know I write this in the morning, but more likely than not it will be after noon o'clock when I finally finish. I'm looking back a post and it appears that my pattern post yesterday didn't go through; I'm hoping Yoshimaru wasn't stupid and actually managed it, because I don't remember any of what I said outside the main point of the post, nor do I feel inclined to go back and type it over again [aside from the main point of it]. I'm already rather dispondant that I haven't been able to keep up as much as I want with Aristo, so something like this is the last thing I need.

On a more pleasant note however, before things got ridiculously busy, I was able to get a semi-casual Aristo and Aristokei combo coordinate together. Coincidentally, when Toriberry and I proposed our Jingu Bridge club pitch to Naito-sensei to ask if she would be our sponser, we were decked in our semi-casual Aristololi. I think I should start taking pictures of her too, for the sake of photos, friendship, memories... Tonikaku, as it were, here's what I've got.

The white shirt is the second shirt I bought from Nudy Boy over a year ago in Japan [on the back it says Believer. We got a big thing in this music]. This was the first time I'd worn it [today is actually the second], and it was a big hit. Paired with my staple cane [which I need to touch up a bit for the foot], I think it makes a decent coordinate. The top one uses accessories for the neck, and my neck frills. I hope to add to the flexibility of my outfits by making the Atelier Boz jabot from the pattern acquired from G&BL [normally I'd rather wear my neck frills with a white blouse and vest of some sort, to bring it together; the Boz one lays flatter and would work with just a blouse].

The mother person has located the candelabra, but I think I might have to buy a couple white candlesticks if I can't find anymore in the garage [these things get spread out you see]. Hopefully, this disgusting weather known as rain will go away, so it won't be a soggy mess in the woods a week later when I want to try to get the Dollpart Halloween Photo Competition shot done.

I can't get 'Ageha' by MUCC, 'Alsatia' by Galneryus, or 'Lamento' Japanese version by Itou Kanako out of my head. This isn't bad per se, these are all beautiful songs [or I suppose for 'Alsatia' a heavy song that drives me forward]. But I haven't been able to write anything to help get the inspiration out of my head and onto paper.

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

Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

The Casual Aristo, at night.

Good evening, mina-sama. I've been much too busy. Far too busy for any one person such as myself to even think of having the slightest inclination of a labor of love. No. All labor, no love. I'm so tired, more so than my default. Ahhh, what might become of me by the weekend, when I seek to go out with Grimmy...?

Saaa, I'll manage, hopefully. Anyway, onto more pleasureable fair. After straightening my hair to the best of what I wanted for the evening--which was more decent that what the humidity has turned it into--I upped and stole the end table to set my camera and had a whirl with some pictures. I meant to crop these some, so as to focus more on the attire worn, but I didn't think I'd end up posting tonight if I went through all that. So for your judgement and enjoyment, here is the beaded collar blouse aforementioned in the last post, paired with my super wonderful black pants and clunky shoes. [I teased the idea of putting on the boots, but again, I'd still probably be fiddling with my camera if I went through all that.]

With the shirt tucked in. I wore it out all today while I was at work.

Until I acquire a cane, Yasumisame is a very good to me, and supplements in it's place like a good sport [loose or tucked in is okay with me depending on the circumstance. I'd wear it either or on a normal basis.]

Also in place until a top hat is acquired--and heavens knows I need one that actually fits properly around my noggin--Undertaker's makes nice very well. I might have to work with the posing a bit, unless I want to sit and crop.

Close ups of the beadwork. I'm thinking of maybe just a thick black ribbon to tie into a big loose bow up front. We'll see.

While it was so damn blistering hot today I really wasn't focused on anything outside of central AC. But in hindsight, I am seeing this as very plausible, once finessed with a few finishing touches.

So I'm afraid that's all for today, mina-sama. I simply cannot focus on anything much at the moment [laying down is probably not helping]. Let us chat again soon though, very soon, and talk tea and dessert.

With patterns ever weaving in thy head...
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak