Christmas.

My Christmas was a quiet one. I didn't really get up to much, but for the first time, I bought myself a Christmas present.

On the left is UraBoku 1 (I think it's volumes 1 and 2 combined?) and on the right is Vassalord 1. ^^ Really I just wanted UraBoku because the cover art is nice. And I've been meaning to get Vassalord for a while now, especially since I couldn't understand a thing from the scanlation. It was a very worthwhile investment. The quote below from Vassalord made me laugh too:

Oh! Also, when my dear brother came back from Australia, he bought me a nice little Christmas present as well (with his own money too!). This CD has a new version of LOVE Girl. Tbh I prefer it to the original....

birthday.

Ah, it's been a while since my last post. I had honestly intended to do a birthday post, and then a Christmas one, yet New Year's eve is upon us now... It's time to catch up!

My birthday fell on a Sunday this year. Traditionally, whatever happens to me on the 27th of November tends to be rather unpleasant. I did not even enjoy my 21st! However this year I was quite content. My waifu took me out to dinner and wasted $200 on our stomachs. D:

This was my dessert - a chocolate caramel torte with hazelnut cream and a miniature espresso milkshake. SO GOOD.

A few days later, I received something wonderful in the mail from my princess, Lullaby~

I am so in love with this gift wrap. I actually couldn't bring myself to discard it, so I kept it~ 

Anyway...the contents of this beautifully wrapped package?

Ta-da~

A tiered cupcake stand! Funnily enough I had been wanting to get one of these for a while now. Ah, Lullaby, how can you read my heart so well? |D

A little while after that, I received yet another generous parcel! This time it was from Nocturne and Requiem! When I unwrapped the packaging I really wanted to squeal >u<

This Bodyline number is officially my first proper lolita outfit.

I'm a big fan of wa-lolita. How did you guys know? *A* (Am I that easy to read?)

Sadly, I couldn't get a proper full-body shot with my short arms...but above is a picture of me trying. 

And of course, there's one with my face in it. :3

Thank you so much guys! Love you lots~

5 fanfic turn-offs.

Fanfiction has been a part of my life even before I knew what fanfiction was. It started when I was seven - Pokemon started airing here, and I wasn't satisfied just with what our mediocre TV stations offered. I wrote 'extra' stories to complement the series at school when we did creative writing exercises. Since then, I've written a number of fanfics and I've read a lot too, both good and bad. I've always had pet hates when it comes to fanfiction; the moment I see one of these turn-offs in a fanfic, I immediately stop reading. Immediately.

HIROTO.

Alice Nine is the sort of band that really grows on you. Even their members really grow on you. The one who has grown on me the most is probably Hiroto. He's small, cute, is a bandboy, and he looks hot with blonde hair.

What is it with me and effeminate boys? xD I simply love his eyes and they way they do his eye makeup. He also has nicer eyebrows than I do, which is somewhat upsetting seeing as I'm female and he's...well...not. But I think he's shorter than me, and he even has narrower shoulders... I feel masculine just thinking about it. T_T

Really though, I could probably go on and on about not only Hiroppon, but the other A9 boys too... But let's save that for another post. I'll finish with this pic of his most recent look:

If I was that good-looking, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off myself either.

instant abs.

I have a reputation for being excessively lazy, especially when it comes to exercise. I hate sports (with the exception of dance), I've set foot in a gym only once in my entire life, and when it comes to jogging... I went a few times but ended up walking 90% of the time anyway. I've never cared much for having a bikini body, since I don't have nearly enough boobage to fill a bikini anyway. But since I became a member of The Lost Aria, it has come to my attention that a lot of the cosplays I want to do will require, at the very least, a toned abdominal region.

Thanks to Lullaby, who provided these links for a fantastic tutorial on open-chest binding and makeup, because really, I don't know the first thing about makeup contrary to popular belief...

5 boys in dresses.

It was one of my favourite things to do; show some unsuspecting person a photo of a Visual Kei boy, wait for the person say "oh I like her dress/makeup/hair", and then reply "yes, he's pretty isn't he?". Ah, when did I get sucked in to such a fandom as Visual Kei? The music can sometimes be so painful to listen to if you chance upon the wrong band...but seeing these beautifully made-up boys is what satisfies me. Sadly, the number of boys in big dresses and big hair and big makeup is declining, so most of these pictures are from 'the good old days'.

Here be five boys that people often mistake for girls, until they hear them speak.

5 reverse-harem archetypes.

Confession: I love me some reverse harem. There's nothing like the ability to choose from a buffet of different boys. I've probably said it before, but I often have a hard time deciding on one I like best, since I have such broad preferences (a.k.a low standards).

With every reverse harem (as with a regular harem), you get a selection of various personality archetypes to appeal to a variety of preferences. Here, I'll write about five of these common archetypes. You won't find them just in reverse harems, but in normal (lol) series as well. Sometimes the traits may overlap. But lists are cool, so don't say a word!

testing testing.

So, I'm quite unmotivated when it comes to getting stuff done. That's why it takes ages for me to finish writing stuff, watching dramas/anime, study...

However, I do like to dress up. Even if I'm not going anywhere or doing anything else. I get sudden spur-of-the-moment urges to wear a flashy outfit, or do my makeup, or even try on my newly-acquired wigs.

In this instance, I wanted to try out my Kagamine Len cosplay. Just for kicks. I did have contact lenses on, but they weren't the right colour...plus it was an overcast day so the green didn't show up in photos... But ah well. Here are a couple of the better pictures I took. Largely unedited, just upped the contrast to make the yellow yellower.

Unfortunately since the wig is a bit small, my natural hair sticks out the side...It's not noticeable if I angle my head correctly, but it still sucks. :( And I'm really not sure how to remedy the situation either. *cry*

I still haven't had a chance to practice open-chest binding yet, but I'll get around to it soon! Since Lullaby and I have a lot of open-chest cosplays in mind....

The other day I thought of how many cosplays Lullaby and I have planned to do together, and I was highly amused by the number of plans that involve us being shirtless/nearly shirtless guys. Looking forward to it. ^^b

5 accessories.

If you read my first post, you will see that lists are cool. I also like to show off, so here is a list of my current favourite accessories. This was all done on a whim...so no wigs, no makeup, no photoshop, plenty of bad lighting... Enjoy!! xD

the final stretch!

Alois x Ciel Magnet ver.! And my fail colouring/photo editing skillz.

Procrastination rocks! I've almost finished all the chapter plans for Phantom High School Host Club! This was the first ever piece of writing where I've done so much planning, and I'm thankful for it. If I didn't plan, I'd have no motivation to write the actual chapters.

I wrote out bullet points for each chapter, and then wrote chapter plans in which I expanded on the bullet points. Since I've got everything written out, it's easier to keep things consistent, and see where everything fits together. Right now I've planned for around 30 chapters, but it may increase or decrease depending on how I write the chapters. Gosh, why didn't anyone tell me how to do this when I was younger? So many good stories gone to waste due to bad planning.

Upon finishing the plan for the final chapter, I'm really excited to get writing! I almost cried when I typed up the last summarising point... What a dork I am. And hopefully the ending meets expectations... Perhaps I shouldn't raise them too high during the course of the fanfic. xD

At this point though, aside from my slow rate of update, what concerns me is that my writing style has become rather bland. Sometimes I get bursts of creative energy and I'm surprised by how well I write, and other times it feels as though I have to force myself to even come up with a nearly-decent sentence. That's kind of what happened in the most recent chapter. That, and I had to plan out an entire murder mystery plot (even though I barely used it in the story at all - I guess this means I can use it for an actual murder mystery party?).

Anyway. I wonder if it'll be any good to write up my post-chapter-writing thoughts? Sometimes there's so much I want to tell people about my chapters, but honestly I don't think they'd care. :/ Ah well. I shall post them here if I do get around to writing them, because I really need to get that sorta stuff off my chest. You are hereby forewarned.

Btw if someone can fix those flowers in Ciel's hat in the above pic, let me know. I can't draw flowers to save my life. =_=;;

a rather hairy acquisition.

This post has been a long time coming. I got some new wigs a couple of weeks ago, and was waiting for a chance to take some halfway-decent photos wearing them. And once I did, I needed a chance to actually upload them...

So these wigs are just a continuation of my blonde frenzy... I had hoped for them to be rather versatile, so I could cosplay several different characters with them, but alas, they are, 1. not at all good for any other characters I want to cosplay, and 2. a tad too small for my ginormous head. But ah well, here we go.

So this one is intended for a Kagamine Len cosplay. Unfortunately, because it's too small for my head, a little bit of my hair peeps out around the back and side... Hopefully I can find a way around it, especially if we're going to be shooting more videos!!

Oh, and excuse the mess in the background.

I feel like a dork when taking camwhorey photos like this one...but it really suited the style of the wig... Now that I think about it, I really don't know what to do with this wig. It's a bit light for a Amane Misa cosplay. I can't, for the life of me, think of who else I could be...

Oh! And this one I bought off Nocturne! I really like this one - I wore it out in public that day (since I had wig hair) to meet mai waifu, and he didn't recognise me. orz

writer's block.

For months, Rhapsody struggled in a losing battle against every writer's nemesis - Writer's Block. Every time she turned on her laptop, she would see the latest chapter of her fanfiction, still unfinished. Each time she laid eyes on that icon on her desktop, her heart felt heavier than a morbidly obese person (BMI over 50) carrying a baby elephant, riding a tank.

However, she couldn't let it end like this! There was still so much to write, there were still so many fangirl wishes to grant. Her reviewers encouraged her, and she herself mustered up the willpower to soldier on. Sentence by clumsy sentence, she slowly pieced together the next installation of Ciel's adventures with the Stoneleigh Park Academy Host Club, and finally, on the thirteenth of October, 2011, Rhapsody submitted Lesson Seventeen of

Phantom High School Host Club.

...And there was much rejoicing.

.

.

.

Really though, I'm so relieved to have finally finished this chapter. I've literally been working on it for months due to lack of motivation/inspiration.

If you don't know what this is, it's my Kuroshitsuji fanfiction - I stole the concept of Ouran and combined it with Kuro, to make a rather interesting mix.

Do check it out if you have a free moment! Although...if you're more into sci-fi and fantasy type stories, this won't be your cup of tea - I absolutely fail at writing that genre...

blonde.

My parents never really liked it when Asians dyed their hair blonde. "They're trying too hard to be like those Westerners!" they would say. They told me not to worry about wanting to be like a Westerner, to be confident being an Asian. I guess... I didn't really have much of a choice but to be confident in being an Asian. It's not like I could force myself not to be Asian, no?

I don't have to worry about dying my hair anyway, since my scalp is sensitive to dyes and stuff (fortunately my natural hair colour is pretty light anyway), but I've come to accept that blonde is a legitimate hair colour for Asians too. In fact, it looks really good on some people. Take all these people for example.

Actually, I suppose blonde became somewhat glamorous. That's why all these jrockers bleach their hair yes? Mind you, some guys pull it off better than others, meanwhile others have been blonde for so long I get used to it...and once they dye their hair dark again it feels off.

Yes, this post was inspired by Lee Hongki. And yes, this is just an excuse for me to spam my blog with pics. I'm a hoarder, so naturally I have a lot of pics saved up for occasions such as this, where I'm required to show off. /nolife

Oh, btw, from top to bottom, it's: Gackt, Hiroto (Alice Nine) and Kamijo (Versailles).

a last minute fangirly moment.

Lee Hongki:

Good hair - check.

Lovely smile - check.

Kind eyes - check.

Looks good in makeup - check.

Beautiful voice...

...check.

미남이시네요 (you're beautiful).

I'm typing as I sit in the library. I originally came here for a study group, but got here too early, and the session ended up being cancelled. So what better way to pass the time than to watch some dramas?

Right now my drug of choice is You're Beautiful (Minamishineyo), starring Jang Geunsuk, CNBlue's Jung Yonghwa, and FT Island's Lee Hongki. Oh, and there's a lead female too...

Before you say that I'm really behind and this drama is really old etc etc, I should put it out there that I'm never interested in something when it's popular - only before they become popular or after they've stopped being popular. What's wrong with me, I wonder?

Anyway. The purpose of this post is to give me a place to vent and be a fangirl in general. As you may already know, I am a total sucker for pretty boys, guys who wear eyeliner, and guys who play instruments. And since this drama has all three things combined, I'm really going crazy with each episode!

As for my favourite character... It's hard for me to choose. When it comes to picking favourites I go with the one with the best character development or backstory. If there are too many characters there's not much room for development, in which case I choose primarily based on looks. Although looks are important either way. *nodnod*

However, in this drama there's only three males in our reverse-harem, so we get lots of chances to see each boy shine. That's why I simply can't decide.

Taekyung (JGS)

I'd have to say that although I like this character, he's the one I currently like the least. Usually I'm a big fan of asshole-type characters, so I thought I'd be head-over-heels for Hwang Taekyung... But he's not a typical drama asshole character, who don't tend to be very asshole-y. He's an obsessive-compulsive, arrogant, self-centred prick who keeps people at a distance because he can't trust anyone. It's a bit extreme for me, but after seeing his backstory, I was pulled in, and he's always had his sweet moments. He's kind of like the Seto Kaiba of You're Beautiful (since he often likes to screw the rules, too).

You can tell from a mile away (right from the first episode) that he's going to be the guy our lead female Park Shinhye is going to end up with, regardless of how cruel he is in the first part of the drama. I can't tell you how much this breaks my heart.

Jeremy (LHK)

Being the youngest character, you can already tell what Jeremy's personality is going to be like. He's bouncy and outspoken and naive...and when he gets up to his childish antics my heart literally goes 'doki-doki'. The best part about him is that he's so naive, he doesn't realise that the new addition to their band is a female posing as a male... So he thinks all his bandmates are turning gay (and often has BL fantasies to accompany his suspicions). Better yet, he's afraid that he's turning gay for the new guy as well. It's hilarious, and so so so adorable! Yes, it's not a new trope for dramas...but it's such a fun one to play around with.

Although I'm only up to ep 6 and there's not much development for Jeremy, I just love him to bits. How could you not love such a cute, stupid character? Also, I think LHK looks fantastic with blonde hair.

Shinwoo (JYH)

Ah, the beta-male. He melts my heart into a puddle of mush. I adore this type of character and I'm always cheering for them even though I know they'll never get the lead female... Basically, the way it goes in dramas is that the nice, quiet guy is never going to get the girl. It's an age-old tradition really.

Butbutbut... Shinwoo. He's the first guy to find out Mi Nam's identity, but he respects her enough to not fluster her by telling her that he knows. And he's always telling her that he's there for her if she needs someone, so that she can come to him of her own free will. And! The stealth date! That was such a wonderful idea! If only his plan wasn't ruined by Taekyung... And! The stalk-date! Another wonderful idea - again ruined by Taekyung. My heart breaks every time his smile falters...I really wish he would just approach her and tell her he knows who she is, and just kiss her or something. Will that happen in the later episodes? Wait -- DON'T SPOIL IT FOR ME!! xO

Melt omake

I'm back home after spending the weekend with Requiem, Nocturne and Lullaby down in Studentville. For two nights Nocturne had to put up with me sleeping on her floor and making a mess everywhere... But she was so lovely about it all, makes me feel like a slob. orz

vocalomania.

I'm spending the weekend in Studentville. The kids at the School of Pharmacy have taken the baton from out of my hands, and are holding the second ever Pharmacy Revue. Wonder if they'll do as good a job as me and my people did?

...なんてね。They'll probably do better than we did. I sure hope so!

Anyway, seizing this opportunity, I'm going to meet with Nocturne, Lullaby and Requiem to shoot some photos!

Probably due to my relative height, I'll be cosplaying Hideki from Chobits, with Nocturne as Chii. I can't wait - she'll make the most adorable Chii! I believe that she's going to make her own ears too, for which I wish her luck...

Afterwards, Lullaby will be my Miku (yes, MY Miku) in what will hopefully be a Melt PV, with screenplay by Requiem! (Co-written with Lullaby, I understand. :3)

I'm actually relieved that these are going to be casual cosplays...since I don't currently have any costumes of my own. orz

I have recently applied for a debit card so I can stop relying on other people to buy stuff online for me...just set up a paypal account and bought a wig for a Kagamine Len cosplay. Hooray for a step forward! (J 'o')J

KyAaaaAAAaaAA can't this weekend come any faster?!?!?!

30 years of awesomeness.

Yesterday was Miyavi's 30th birthday!

He's a truly inspirational person - talented, crazy, caring. And damn, only he would think of tattooing the Heart Sutra onto his back...

I'm not gonna claim to be his biggest fan or anything like that...I'm sure there are lots of fans out there who are more eligible for that title... But he really is someone I admire, not only for his talent, but for the simple fact that he's married with kids. *shrug* Something about that impresses me.

And speaking of talent...this:

Ah, Miyavi. Happy birthday, and don't stop being awesome. =u=

Magnet omake

When I was going through the photos I took for this con, I realised that 90% of it was useless random crap I took on a whim... And so I'll share some of those here, while I leave the pretty pictures to our expert editors.

Also, I haven't included pics where you can see the other girls' faces, since I haven't asked their permission to use untouched pics of them... So my apologies, but you'll have to bear with staring at my ugly mug. :P

Fake lashes and pastel makeup...neither of which I'd used before! D:

Even Vocaloids need cash, you know.

We were in the local newspaper too... D: With a friend of ours, who also required cash.

Had only bubble tea and a little bit of Ballade's meal for lunch...otherwise I would not have been comfortable in that dress. Dx

Ballade was originally in this picture, but for the reasons I mentioned above, I cropped her out.

It's not just because I'm an attention whore!

Aaaaaand finally...the Rhapso-razzi strikes - Nocturne just looked so adorable...especially with Rin's bow and the coat and the backpack... She looked like a little schoolgirl~

I can't wait to see her Rin look again!! xD

Magnet

Draw me close to you, just like a magnet

So that even when we're separated, we'll reunite again.

~

As I mentioned, earlier this year, Ballade and I cosplayed Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka, Magnet ver. Believe it or not, it was my first time putting on makeup properly and wearing false lashes. It was also my first time wearing such a revealing dress in public... But while I was in public, I was being Luka-nee-san, so everything was fine~

The next day, Ballade became Luka, and I had a go at crossplay, being 'that guy from the Just Be Friends PV'. I don't think he has a name, so we referred to him as 'Mr JBF'...

We caught up with Nocturne too, and convinced her to cosplay Kagamine Rin's Meltdown look. She was so cute, I had to stop myself from pinching her cheeks or just squeezing her to death.

You'll see, in my next post.

the obligatory awkward first post.

Rhapsody here. Since I joined the Lost Aria crew (like, a whole 2 days ago), I figured I should take this new identity of mine and run with it. And so here I am, starting this blog.

As is the case when I start all blogs, I am having trouble conjuring up something creative for my first post. So here's a quick and easy solution - I'll tell you 10 facts about myself, different to the facts on our official site. Because lists are cool.

01.

Lists are cool.

02.

If you're fine with it, then I'm fine with it too.

03.

At 16 I wanted to be Yoshiki's psychiatrist.

04.

When not being a ditzy fangirl, I'm your friendly neighbourhood pharmacist.

05.

Offer me sweets and I'm yours forever.

06.

I'm a sucker for bishounen - fictional and real.

07.

...Which is perhaps why I like Visual Kei.

08.

Balance is key - I like a bit of everything except sports, really.

09.

I will laugh at anything, and cry at anything.

10.

Daydreaming isn't a habit, but a lifestyle.

And there you go. Let's hope my next post is more interesting!