Homstuck Cosplays

I have been looking at a few ideas for a cosplay for the next Anime Bonzi. Since the fandom that I share with the most of my friends is Homestuck, it is a safe bet to assume that we will be doing a group cosplay of it. Last Amine Bonzi we planned to go as Homestuck one day, Fairy Tail the next (mostly because Milly is oddly very persuasive), and have the last day be a sort of free for all madness day. Sadly I did not make the last day and missed out on interesting panels, Japanese candies, and a truth or dare game that I am more than a bit happy to have skipped. The other two days cosplays turned out well, with the exceptions of the loss of a wig and the fact that Tavros's giant bull horns are not meant for crowded spaces and therefor broke about five or so times.

It makes sense to do a cool group cosplay, and no one wants to cosplay a reference that they do not get, so Homestuck is a good solution. I think that I would like to cosplay either Vriska or Karkat, since I think a Vriska would be cool to do and I have the horns for Karkat. It might also be fun to try Tavros again, maybe with crowd friendly horns this time. Any of the Alpha or Beta kids would be fun to cosplay as well, it is so difficult to chose which one I would want to cosplay the most, but probably Jade. I feel like she is the kid I look the most like, and she is not a usually cosplayed character when Godteir. At least I did not see any Godteir Jades at the convention.

The Beta kids from left to right: Dave, Rose, John, and Jade

I have seen a few amazing cosplays on google images and if I am being honest, they were intimidatingly good. So for the past few weeks I have been simultaneously being inspired to make a fantastic cosplay and scared that anything I do would not be nearly as good. I would have loads of fun making something as intricate as that no matter what it turned out looking like.

I would also have fun cosplaying a supernatural character like Sam Dean or Cas. There are loads of Hetalia cosplayers so a chibitalia (baby Italy) or Canada. Maybe even a Nordic like Finland or even Denmark. The possibilities are endless (Actually around 50 or so but whose counting?).  I know that my friends would probably want to go as their favorite trolls like they did last year, Sollux for Milly and both Terezi and Nepeta for Alice, but if we got another person going as Godtiered Alpha or Beta kids would also be very fun to go as. That sounds like a good plan, now I will just have to go find someone to turn into a proper Homestuckian. Well, I have until September so I may just have enough time to convert someone into a Homestuck, wish me luck! Oh and for anyone looking for a cool cosplay help, here is the best website for that.

Soul eater

Recently my sister and I have started watching an anime called Soul Eater. It is about a school run by Death for misters (the ones wielding the weapons) and their weapons, who are people that can become scythes, swords, and other weapons. They fight evil humans and monsters, and to become a death scythe, they must kill and consume the souls of ninety-nine evil humans and one witch. The main characters are Maka and her weapon Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki, Death the Kid and Liz and Patty, and Crona.

Maka is the daughter of Death’s Scythe, and after her parents divorce, does not want anything to do with her dad, but has to deal with him regularly because he works at her school. She is very good at sensing other souls around her and creating strong soul bonds with teammates. Soul is from a family of musicians who he left to go to Death’s school, DWMA. He is also great at playing the piano, but hardly ever does because of his family.

Black Star is obsessed with always being the center of attention in every situation, and is dead set on being the one who transcends God. Tsubaki is really sweet and always looks after Black Star, even when he does something stupid. Kid is as the name implies, the son of Death. He chose to go to DWMA, even though being Death’s child he could have skipped school and immediately become an official meister, he did not. He also has a weird thing about symmetry, and can not fight or concentrate when things are asymmetrical. Liz and Patty are American sisters chosen by Kid as his weapons so he would not have to be asymmetrical while fighting. 

Crona is the demon blade, which means that Crona very powerful and his blood is black and can cause madness in other people. Crona was controlled by the witch Medusa and fought against the rest of the main characters, but they eventually become friends and Crona attends DWMA to learn to fight witches. He is also my sister’s favorite character in the show.

Left to right: Black Star and Tsubaki, Crona,
 Maka and Soul, Liz Patty and Kid

At the end of the second season, it is revealed that the reason Death started the school was that he had to use his soul to bind a powerful enemy in a prison underneath the school to prevent him from escaping. Even with him miles underground, drained of blood and trapped in a bag of his own skin, Medusa was able to revive the Kishin with Crona’s black blood, adding to his madness. It is not always that serious, and is actually incredibly funny, since many of the adversaries are not scary and Death is like an over enthusiastic teacher with really no idea what he is doing most of the time.

So if you are looking for a good anime to watch and have yet to see Soul Eater, I would defiantly recommend watching it because of the humor, amazing storyline, great lovely characters, that add up to an overall beautiful story.

shadow and Bone Trilogy review

Last summer when I was visiting my aunt we went to the bookstore and bought me the first book in the Grisha trilogy. The main character Alina is part of the first army of Ravka (fictional sort of Russia), which is basically the regular army. Her troop is scheduled to go through the fold, land that became dark and full of monsters after the black heretic unleashed his power apon the land. While traveling through, they are attacked by monsters called Volkra and Alina’s best friend Mal is attacked, and Alina discovers that she has the power to summon sunlight. In this world, there are people called Grisha, who can heal, stop hearts, invent new objects, and summon things like fire, wind and water.

Alina is the only person who can summon sunlight and her talent interests the Darkling, a man who can summon the darkness, and she is drafted into the second army, which is comprised entirely of Grisha. I really liked this series even though it is a little more serious than what I am used to reading. The author, Leigh Bardugo is a talented writer who was able to successfully create such an stunning world with relatable dynamic characters. 

From Leigh Bardugo's website

Another brilliant author, Veronica Roth the writer of the Divergent series, gave a good review for the book that made me want to read the book even more than I already did. It has a fantastical theme to it obviously, but it also manages to incorporate elements of real life into it in a straightforward way, like the abuses of power and manipulation inside of Ravka’s court. It has a few twists that I did not see coming and a few that I did as well (not to brag but it was obvious), and they are rather shocking, so for those that want a good fantasy drama with adventuring and consorting in the palace, this is an excellent book.

I have also heard that a Harry Potter producer has picked up the rights for a movie adaptation, so for those that do not like to read longer books, it may be available to watch at the movies. As always with book adaptions, there will be some inaccuracies, but so far it looks like it has the potential to be a great movie. I would be especially interested in how they would make their powers look. As I said in an earlier post, Alina is my favorite character, but her best Grisha friend Genya has become one of my favorites after reading the most recent book. Genya is a “taylor” or someone who can alter the appearances of others as her Grisha talent and is technically a servant to the queen and not part of the second army. She is still an amazing and strong character. I am still not quite finished with the last book, but I really like them and would recommend them strongly to anyone in need of a world to get lost in this week.

About Demon Dean

Hey Supernatural writers, I do not want to sound ungrateful, or like I am questioning your story writing abilities, but, with all due respect, no. Demon Dean (Deanmon) is a pretty cool cracked version of a character, along with the likes of Soulless Sam and Crazy Cas, but if it all ends with Dean being forced to kill Crowley, Cas, then Sam as Cain predicted, I probably will not be a functional human being for at least a few weeks. Probably much longer. 

In the most recent episode, Cain went out of his mind and started killing his blood relatives -and being the son of Adam and Eve, that is a lot of people- and the only way to stop him was by killing him with the first blade, a weapon that could only be controlled by Cain or Dean. A weapon that makes Dean turn into a demon a little more with every use. In their final showdown, Cain tells Dean that he is destined to live out Cain's story backwards, killing his friend (Crowley), then his love (Cas), and last his brother (Sam).

After nine and a half seasons,  people tend to get a bit attached to their favorite characters. Never mind the fact that between Sam and Dean alone, they have had 117 deaths, 103 occurring only with Dean in a single episode. Besides that episode, the most amount of deaths between them was in season 5, but hey, it was their first apocalypse, so some mistakes were bound to be made. Wow, I should be much more accustomed to the idea of their deaths by now.

Back to the point, it has been ten seasons (technically 9 7/12) and I do not want the entire show to lead to such a heart wrenching final scene. I would nearly rather have a cliffhanger like season two of Sherlock that we will cling to and have more than a thousand theories about as we drift into insanity. What ever happened to the common decency that is letting characters have a happy ending? It could still end tragically with their deaths, but they could go to heaven and be with all of the people that they loved and lost, like their mom, Ellen, Jo, Cas, and Bobby. That sounds like a satisfying ending that is both  happy and plenty traumatic.

It is good that the show is not going to end this season though. One more year for the writers to decide what they are going to do and weather or not to crush every fangirls and Deans soul like an bug. I hope they will at least consider trying to keep the shred of humanity deep, deep, within every Supernatural fans heart from being totally and absolutely obliterated this time around.

Anyways those are my feelings about the most recent episode and the events within it while I am waiting for the next episode in the series. Also I want to say hi to everyone that I have found out to be a Supernatural fan in the past few weeks, so hello Aliegh, Alice, and Mr. Coleman. I am really sorry if this spoiled anything for you, and that I would not tell you that Cas did not die at the part where you are at, it was funny to see your reaction.

Fandom Rules

There are a few rules that all fangirls should hold themselves to, somewhat like an honor code. Some are just plain common sense, like not spoiling a book, or a recent episode of a show. Others seem like they should be common knowledge, but are sadly not, like never insulting someones OTP, favorite character, or fandom, no matter what. Not only is it horribly rude to do, but death will likely occur. Here are a few of the most important fandom rules of any fandom.

Lots of Fandoms

1. Never judge a fandom by the fan, and never judge the fan by the fandom. Like with anything, one person is a bad representation of a group, and their fandoms are not be an accurate way to tell anything about them. Stereotypes are not something that should be a part of fandom culture.

2. Do not make other fangirls feel unaccepted. Since we are a subcultre, some fangirls do not have any friends that they can talk to about their fandom, head canons, or other fandom related things. It is of upmost importance that everyone is always kind to each other, like they say, “Birds of a feather stick together”. 

3. Good fandoms must be accepting of other fandoms, unless there is a fandom war going on between them. Fandom wars have no rules, so they get incredibly terrifying and should be avoided at all costs. Unless they have insulted your fandom, then destroy them without a trace of mercy. Like when Supernatural star Jared Padalecki insulted Justin Bieber and its fans pledged to stop watching the show. Supernaturals next episode was the most watched episode in the shows history. Haha. Although when Homestuck and Hetalia used to fight, it got scary.

4. To reiterate the point, OTPs (One True Pairings) are not to be messed with. Seriously. People are dangerous when something they love that much is threatened. Even if it is the most vile NOTP (anti-OTP) possibly imagined, someone loves it and you will probably need an exorcist to calm them down if it is insulted.

5. If an actor, youtuber, or celebrity expresses that they are uncomfortable being shipped or having their character shipped, just do not do it. It is not easy for them to say they are uncomfortable, and ignoring them and their request will lessen their opinion of the fandom and cause problems in their lives, like with youtubers KickThePj and Crabstickz. Although if they are fine with it like the vast majority of actors and such are neutral or even supportive of the ship, like Misha Collins, Dan Howell and Phil Lester, and basically every Hetalia voice actor. Respecting our idols is very important, and the last thing we would want to do is to make them quit doing the job they love because of us.

I have seen so many fans doing these things lately, and it is really not okay. It is about time that fangirls started treating each other, actors, and characters with respect.

Pottermore

After finding a Harry Potter house quiz and finding out that I was a Hufflepuff (the best house) I happily told my friends. Only then did I learn that to find your true house, it is paramount that you only listen to "Pottermore" the website designed by queen J.K. Rowling, for the most accurate test on where the sorting hat would put you.

I was both excited and nervous to find out, so in my typical nervous habit, I waited as long as I could before actually doing something important. So, after signing up, I first had to take a test to figure out which wand I would have and personally, mine is a really nice one, although apparently it is also like the one Lucius Malfoy owns, but Harry's wand was Voldemort's wands twin, so having a villains wand can not be that bad.

My lovely wand here's the sign up link

Then it was time for the moment of truth where I would find out if I had what it takes to be a Hufflepuff. Most of the time with character tests and the like it is easy to spot what answers to give to get what you want, but with this test I had no idea. Then, the quiz was over and I saw what I was. I was now most officially the newest member of Ravenclaw. They are all really nice houses and I am rather happy with what I got.

The game also gives the player wizard money, also known as Galeons. With the money you can purchase a multitude of items, including potions items and messenger owls. I am not very good yet at handling potions, but they are fun to make and important for winning the house cup.

 With each successfully brewed potion, the house the brewer is in will receive house points. The house with the most points by the end of the year wins the cup. Houses can also earn points by being excellent finders, good friends, or winning duels. It is a friendly competition that also breaks all of the house stereotypes in the best ways. 

I have also seen the Daily Prophet, the Harry Potter version of a tabloid paper that no one should believe a word of, but for some reason think that it is absolutely true. The pet shop was cute and included a half dozen owls and cats. Eventually I had to pick a Barn Owl because my aunt gave me a book about them that was really nice and gave me more feels than an owl should.

That was my complete experience in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, it was really cool and for any potter head out there not yet on Pottermore I would highly recommend signing up and I hope you get your favorite house. Then for any muggles, you ought to read the books or watch the movies, because they are awesome.

Dan and Phil

I have recently discovered another thing to be totally obsessed about. Youtubers danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil.  They are British best friends who make videos about their lives and vlogs (video blogs). Both of them are tremendously funny and give surprisingly good advice. 

They are some of the most popular people currently making these sorts of videos, but other ones I like are Tyler Oakley and animators Domics and OnlyLeigh. All of their channels are pretty comedy orientated and binge watching all of their videos has a part in why when I sit down to do homework I never get anything done. 

Back to Dan and Phil, together they also have a gaming channel, creatively named ‘DanandPhilGames’ where they play games such as Five Nights at Freddy's and the Sims 4. On Dan's main channel he does ongoing segments called Reasons Why Dan’s a Fail!, Internet Support, and What not to do at the (beach, public transport, town, ect.). 

And Phil has invented many popular youtube tags. Some of them are the Toilet tag, a silly Q&A video, the Seven Second Challenge were he obviously has to do a challenge the person he is playing with tells him to in seven seconds or less,and the Explore my Brain tag were he talks about his thoughts. Since they live together they regularly appear in each others videos and help each other with video ideas, which is pretty nice of them.

Dan's channel trailer

Phil's Channel Trailer

Together they host a popular radio show on BBC1, and because of that UK Disney asked them to have cameo roles in their new movie Big Hero 6. I want to see that version just for the five seconds they are going to be speaking. Phil also voiced an emo goose for the app crossyroad.

Together they have been nominated for these awards in their youtube careers, Shorty Award for YouTube Star, and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Web Collaboration. Dan has over four million subscribers and they have ongoing jokes about how long it takes for him to upload a new video. Quite honestly there are pretty big pauses in between each of his videos, but it is ok with me as long as he stays a part of youtube. phil has a little over two million subscribers and has a end segment on most of his videos called “Draw Phil Naked” and I do not think that I can explain that to make it sound any less weird.

Both love Pokemon, Doctor Who and many different animes, which is why I started reading death note and watching the best ever Attack on Titan series. Well, that and the fact that three of my friends would not stop pestering me about reading/watching them, and ok, you guys were right I love them, you win for peer pressure.

Seriously, they are some of the best people on youtube, and if you want to check out my favorite episodes of theirs, here is Stuck on a Roller coaster by Phil Lester where he 'nearly died', and here is Dans video What Not to do on Public Transport where Dan accidentally got his head stuck in a subway door. Yep, I am proud to call these guys my role models.