Why did I make this costume and go out in public just to get some nice pictures in the heat of June? That's simple: there was a contest, lol. But perhaps I should back up. I had been planning to make Chris ever since I laid eyes on him. I loved his outfit and thought that his ax was freakin' sweet! So up to the top of my list he went (along with Chrno and Katsushiro) until I could find the time to make him and a con to wear him to. Late July I stumbled across Cosplay.com. I'd heard of it before, but as I hadn't had any luck with their picture gallery, I never really paid it much thought. Until I saw it. An annoucement for a Scrapped Princess Cosplay Contest. I knew I had to enter. One slight problem...

I only had 12 days to make my entire costume.

Needless to say, I made my decision right then and there that I WAS going to enter, no matter what! There were prizes involved and I was going to make the costume anyway, so why not just do it! And so I did. That day I made a Jo Ann Fabrics run.

The next few days I did nothing but eat, sleep, and make my costume. Considering JAFs didn't have any coupons out at the time, I ended up spending $85 on this costume, the most I've ever spent on any costume, and the most I ever plan on spending. It was even more than the retail value of the prize! I just kept telling myself that it would turn out great and that I was going to make it anyway... ^_^;; But yeah, I drew up patterns, cut and sewed fabric (some of it with my mom's help since she had a sewing machine and I didn't), went to countless thrift stores looking for boots (only to find that the closest pair was one size too small... they REALLY hurt during the photoshoot ;_;), and bought a brand new wig. The ax alone took me over 2 days.

I was behind on my progress and ended up calling in sick to work that morning... he didn't care, honest! ^_^;; I still didn't get it completely finished, but I needed the pictures taken that day so I could send them that night, or else I would miss the deadline. Luckily I had talked with T4 about my predicament earlier, and since she had a digital camera, I had asked if she would be willing to do the photoshoot with me. And she agreed, thankfully. ^_^;; I really owe her one, lol. So we went to the park, and after some "Idiot!" moments on my part, we actually were finally ready to take the pictures. I felt really weird walking around a local park in costume, but T4 made it fun and not so awkward, lol. Though I think I scared some people. XD But hey, we had 2 people tell us that they thought what we were doing was cool, so that made me happy.

A bunch of pictures and 2 sore feet later, we were done. I got the pictures from her, picked out the ones I wanted to send, and sent in my entry. Right before the deadline, and also right before vacation. ^_^;; We left for vaca, and the whole time I was like "Are the pictures up yet?? Can we vote yet??" and since we were in the smallest town on the face of the PLANET, it was really hard finding a computer... But eventually the costumes were up! There were 8 of us - 5 could win, lol. I knew the odds were good, but I was still nervous. I could have saved a lot of money had I waited to make the costume, so I really wanted the prize. XD

Finally, a month later, the results were posted. I was one of the 5 winners. ^_____________^ I was so happy! And what makes this story even better is that just a week later, on my birthday no less, the package came. What a great b-day surprise, ne? I was actually leaving to go to work and the mailman stopped me asking if I wanted the package now or if he should just leave it by the door. I took it to work, lol. I didn't show anyone or brag, if that's what you're thinking. In fact, I think only my family, T4's family, and Ri (another friend of mine) know I even won, unless someone else told someone. And thus ends my summer cosplaying adventure...

Now all I need is to find a con to wear it too! XD

Although I still have to finish it first. It's still not done. ^_^;; The cape (which was most expensive - dang that stupid purple lining that cost me a small fortune!) need the collar and random pieces, I need new boots, the gloves need to be made correctly (though they'll work in a pinch), the ax, sadly, needs to be completely redone (;_;), the belt needs to be tighter (a lot of pictures from the photoshoot didn't make it on here for that reason as it would droop and show my pants ^_^;;), and a few other small things that I would like to fix as well... ^_^;;;;;;;;;; But hey! It's still wearable at this point (well, except the boots)! But yeah, I still need to work on it before wearing it to a con.

And now, on to the pictures! The biggest possible THANK YOU goes out to my photographer, T4!!! She did an amazing job with these shots (and the ones that can't be posted due to costume problems, lol), and I swear I couldn't have done it without her. I notice that people on Cosplay.com not only look at the costume, but the photographs as well. So having good pictures was very important to me, and T4 couldn't have done better. ^_^

One of the first shots of the day, and one of the best. This shot was entered into the contest because I believe it showed off the costume well, and just in general had a nice look to it. My favorite normal shot of the whole shoot, lol.





I really like this one too, but for a different reason. I love the lighting in this picture, though it does cut down on how well you can see the costume. But as a simple photo, I really like.






This shot was also used, but only to show that my ax folded up, lol. I really don't like the shot myself. I think it's because my face looks weird... All the profile pics came out better, lol.






And a shot of the back of the costume, the last picture entered. Not a bad shot, though the pose could have been more dynamic (I was a bit stiff, lol). But it shows off the details of the back rather well, I think.





Another shot that I'm not so fond of simply because of my face. ^_^;; Well, and it makes me look kinda fat. XD Ah well, I'm working on ways to make the costume fit better so it doesn't happen in future pictures.





I really liked this shot too... until I noticed that my ax was crooked! XD Ooops... When I put it back together, apparently I didn't push it back in right. ^_^;; But I'm so glad we went somewhere with water!





Same shot as the last only from a different angle and a lot more scenery. I love this shot because of it! Yeah for T4 as this shot was her idea! ^_^ (As were several others, lol.)






A picture by the cool rock! No really, the rock IS cool, lol. T4 was like "Oh, we NEED a picture by the cool rock" but I think she was kidding, lol. We still took it anyway. I would really like it if my shirt weren't poofing out. >_<





The rest are more comical, lol. I had no one to attack, so this picture resulted when we decided I attack this random metal... thing. I really should get into character more as, again, I look too stiff, but it was my first photoshoot! I'll get better...





Hahaha, me listening to the sewers. ^_^;; Only it looks more like I'm trying to be the rock behind me. Anyway, yeah, we took quite a few pictures on this sewer, but sadly most of them showed the top of my pants. ^_^;;





Hiding! XD People really seem to like this one... ^_^;; Not that I don't, in fact I think it's quite humorous, but I didn't think other people would appreciate the joke, lol.






EYE. An odd shot, lol. But hey this picture shows off my ax - and you can see why I need to remake it. ^_^;; I won't go into the whole story, but let's just say I was misinformed about a certain material I used...





And last but not least, me trying to sneak into the guy's bathroom. Why? Why don't you tell me...