November Writeup

This month's writeup is sponsored by Rose of Battle.

Hey there! We've got a small smattering of what I can only link together as "Youmacon themed" cosplays for this round! Youma cancelled fairly late this year without instituting an official online convention and a lot of people have been upset about that. I figured this could be a seasonally appropriate tribute. Astute eyes will remember that didn't wear Tennis DLC Milla at Youma, but I *did* wear default Milla. I also have a progress photo from when I was making Kiyoh, which was also worn at Youma. That, or you could call this the blonde-themed month? Whatever floats your boat. Let's goooo!

Character: Milla Maxwell

What they're from: Tales of Xillia

Variation: Default

Debuted: Youmacon 2015

Group: I have it listed here.

Wig: Unsure of origin, but it's Niho's; ahoge described here.

Bought or borrowed source: Niho bought the default outfit from a friend, which I then borrowed.

What parts I made: For this one, you can tell in the pic without the wig that the bust seams are way too small for me, so I had to make a custom tube top from white stretch vinyl that was leftover from Aqua. If I recall correctly, I also had to make a new strap for my leg? It was also vinyl, I believe. Curse these thicc American thighs that don't naturally fit leg accessories. Another fun fact: when I wore this on the floor, it was basically only for the shoot, so I wore my ballet slippers under the bootcovers!

Character: (Fractured) Milla

What they're from: Tales of Xillia 2

Variation: Tennis DLC from the sports set

Debuted: Anime Boston 2016

Wig: Borrowed, but we do not speak of it

What parts I made: The dress was cobbled together using existing stretch cotton fabric. I know I used a bra I had as a base and worked around that, but as this was built during a somewhat tumultuous time in my life, I don't recall all the details. For example, I know there's binding on the edges, but it looks like I did maybe bias tape on the stripes? I'm unsure. The dress was also one that I had put up for sale, so it's buried somewhere I can't access for a little while. I do remember getting stabbed a lot and the use of many safety pins to adjust the fit, as well as painstaking hand-tacking for that little triangle in the front. I also covered the hat with fabric, but used an existing hat for a base. There are little armbands that I did using the typical stretch applique technique, not shown here. I did also paint some old tennis shoes with red to ensure that they looked close enough to the design. I regret that I look fairly unhappy in the progress photo and that there are negative memories associated with this costume, as considering it was made during a stressful crunch, it looks pretty dang good!

Character: Kiyoh Bachika/Black

What they're from: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Debuted: Youmacon 2015

Wig: Oh! I have NO idea of the origin of this wig, but I had originally bought it to be a wig for Mugi from K-On and is probably from... if I had to guess, 2011. I had cut the bangs pretty badly so I had to pull the wig forward on my head to make up for it.

What parts I made: Most of this outfit is black straps and tubes! Gloves were a borrow from Niho. The skirt was an existing skirt from a Limited Brands sample sale that a friend had nabbed for me probably years earlier and I hadn't had a use for it. I hemmed that up higher, and then quickly serged the leg straps, arm straps, and top. Is... is that necklace something I repurposed for Velvet? I wonder! It might be! Not pictured here are little bags that she has, which were hastily hot glued foam pouches that attached via removable hair clips. There's also a wide white belt, which was probably hastily interfaced and thrown together. The belt buckle is pretty clearly just aluminum foil. Lol, I have no explanation for that. I could have done foam quickly and efficiently, but I was learning. I'll be honest, this was an absolute last second cosplay I put together in case a group wanted a Kiyoh, and it turned out that I wasn't needed, sooo I had a costume to wear for 0 reason. I still enjoyed it, though! I wish I'd been confident enough to cosplay Yoko at the time, but given that there's still a LOT of fatphobia toward Yoko cosplayers, I don't know that I ever would have gone for it. (The series itself is from about 2010 and I've gotta say, the fans really haven't progressed from the being-an-asshole thing that was predominant at the time.) But Kiyoh is a sweet character and I'll always appreciate that I cosplayed her, even if it was brief!

Photos by me.

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