overhaul.

To anybody reading this blog,

Very recently, I've made the difficult decision to leave The Lost Aria cosplay group. We've shared some pretty awesome times and created lovely memories together over the past year-and-a-bit, but it was an appropriate time, considering my own life circumstances, to break away from the group. Make no mistake that there's no enmity amongst the members/former members. It is simply time for some of us to blossom into our own kind of beauty. So here, I want to thank everyone in the group for the wonderful time we've spent together and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours, whatever they may be.

However, this isn't a goodbye post. It's a hello again post. As if I could leave behind this blog of snarky, fangirly goodness. Pssshh.

Though the name Rhapsody is behind us, now is the hour of II, III VII and IX, and the 

Cambio Cosplay group. 

Look forward to something so ridiculously great, your eyes will melt out of their sockets.

Love,

Septem.

5 party member archetypes.

By no means am I an expert in gaming. I could barely call myself a gamer, if at all. However, I have noticed several overused game character archetypes, especially in RPGs, so I created this post to present my findings and to serve as a reference if I ever decide, for whatever obscure reason, to somehow create my own RPG. Do keep in mind that these traits are also common in anime and manga too. 

As always, this list of character archetypes is not the be-all-and-end-all, but the types listed here are so common it's not even funny. Or maybe it is funny. I dunno.

1. The Hero (a.k.a "You")

hey, sexy lady.

Now, I don't like to boast, but in case you haven't noticed, the ladies of The Lost Aria are really, really goddamn beautiful.... So much so that I didn't feel like my joining the group would do them (or my self esteem) any good. 

I remember hanging out with Nocturne one evening during my pre-cosplay days; she showed me a bunch of pictures TLA had taken in the past, and I distinctly recall myself going home that night and brooding over how I would probably never look that good.

But enough of that. The point of this post is that I am now surrounded by a harem group of gorgeous ladies, and recently I've had a chance to (maybe?) join the ranks with my cosplay of Deathnote's Amane Misa!

Herein lies a photodump of some of my favourite TLA cosplays that ooze femininity and all sorts of loveliness:

5 shows that shaped my childhood.

Do you ever wonder how you turned out the way you did? I do. Very often. And I've come to the conclusion that the shows I watched as a kid have greatly influenced my taste in various things later on in life, even my teenage and adult years. Here are five of my fondest, most nostalgic shows, all of which were watched before I turned six:

1. Power Rangers

To be specific, I am referring to Power Rangers of the Mighty Morphin' variety. Having been brought up in Kiwiland, especially having had little interaction with other Asians up till that point, I remember being extremely chuffed when I knew that Yellow Ranger was an Asian girl. Later on I realised with amusement that Black Ranger was an African American guy, Pink Ranger was a pretty, goody-two-shoes cheerleader, and Red Ranger was the footballer. Still, while I was an innocent child, naive to the ways of the world, I was always highly entertained by the eternal struggle of good and evil, terrible special effects, and superfluous explosions.

Nocturne's guide to combating dark circles.

Recently Nocturne updated her blog with a guide to treating and preventing under-eye circles/bags. Since this is a problem we of The Lost Aria often struggle with, and I'm sure many other people do too, I thought I'd share her wisdom with you all.

Click here to go to Nocturne's blog and find out how you, too, may be rid of those annoying dark circles. :D

this is my fangirl face.

Since I became a full-time fangirl at age seven, there have been many occasions where, whilst fangirling over something, I momentarily snap out of my delirium and think to myself "I must look like a complete idiot". Thankfully, these stupid expressions of mine are often made when I'm by myself in front of my laptop, and nobody is present to judge me. In public I try to act cool, calm and collected (doesn't always work but hey).

In a moment of inspiration, I have chronicled a few of these weird faces for your viewing pleasure. Or displeasure, if you will.

(I should also mention that I am, in fact, responsible for these horrid doodles. I am a total failure when it comes to digital drawing. >:P)

1. Content fangirl

This is what I look like by default. Sort of. I've perhaps managed to get my hands on some merchandise, caught up on news concerning whatever fandom, or just hoarded a whole bunch of pretty pictures. You know, that triumphant kind of feeling. Endorphins all round.

retail therapy.

I have many bad habits, one of them being my penchant for buying things for the hell of it, especially when I know I have the money for it.

I suppose I don't really have the money for it, but I spend anyway. What's worse is that although I would like to buy things when they're discounted, if I want it enough, I'll pay the full overly marked-up price. Don't take spending tips from me, boys and girls.

As of late, I've been doing next to nothing aside from going to work, going home, and being a mad fangirl, so I haven't had many chances to show off my new acquisitions. So here we go, I'm going to show the citizens of the internet instead.

First and foremost - I have a blue streak in my hair now. :O

This is one of the only two pics I've taken of it though, and unfortunately there's more face than hair here... But I was rather pleased with how it's turned out. I've never done anything to my hair prior to this, and I was a bit nervous that it may not look very professional, but my boss saw my hair and asked (sincerely) why I didn't dye the rest of my hair blue as well. XD

This was also my first time in a hair salon. I didn't realise how expensive it was going to be. This little streak of blue cost me over $100. D:

Next - since I bought those 5 pairs of Big Bang socks in Odaiba, I have rarely worn any of the other socks I own, and as a result those 5 pairs are getting seriously worn out. To counter this problem, I ordered 5 more pairs of Big Bang socks - this time it's the Alive edition! Can't resist Daesung's blonde and TOP's mint green. 

cosplay marathon.

Last weekend, Lullaby and Requiem came to town. We stayed at Symphony and Fantasia's place, where there was much wig brushing, fangirling, eyebrowing, and general mayhem.

While I can't show any official photos, I have plenty of photos from my phone, taken with little or no artistic sense. So here they are in all their noisy, unedited glory...

onward!

This weekend will be a productive one as Lullaby and Requiem come to visit. We'll be staying (yes, myself included) at Symphony and Fantasia's place and doing a whole week of cosplay (and maybe some other stuff like eating and sleeping too).

Although Symphony, Fantasia and I live in the same wee little city, we don't really get to see each other, so I'm really looking forward to the next few days. 8D

Unfortunately, it seems I'll be bringing the entire contents of my room with me... One glance at my bags and it looks like I'm going to be spending a month in the widerness or something.

The above picture was taken when packing was at 30% completion. Nezumi's superfibre cape takes up all the room. I may just end up wearing it to save space. Plus there's a bedsheet, wigs, several rolls of bandages, and a bottle of PVA glue. Probably one of the more unusual suitcases I've packed.

So everybody watch this space! (And other places you'll find The Lost Aria) There'll be lots of exciting stuff popping up soon, which may or may not include pictures of Lullaby in skimpy clothing, depending on how stealthy the rest of us can be.

5 music videos.

In all honesty, I don't watch many music videos. I never really have. The bulk of the videos for songs I listen to mostly involve the group in question dancing/singing/playing instruments, and not much else. It's such a shame because a lot of the time it's just wasted potential. There are so many possibilities but nobody seems to seize these obvious opportunities.

However, here we have music videos/MVs/PVs or whatever you want to call them, that have some sort of story to them, or at least a development of the ideas and motifs used. For this simple trait, they are all flippin' epic.

(By the way, the picture above is the best part of the Monster MV :D)