Lil Black Bloody Hood: Of CosTrips & CosPlays

NOOOO, I'm not addicted to anime. I find most of those typical anime characters childish, whiny, and annoying most of the times in every episode. I used to be an otaku though (okay, I admit), but that was way back when I was an elementary kid, and it was mostly because I loved the way the characters dress.

I started to give up liking and watching anime when I realized that high school anime characters act too childish for their age, and when I accidentally watched an anime of the ecchi genre for the first time.

But nowadays, I've been totally in the clouds, always fantasizing every minute how I would look like when I dress up as the character I'll be cosplaying next. I've been spacing out as I thoroughly plan out how I'll be able to save up money for the next cosplay event.

COSPLAY -- short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Favorite sources include manga and anime, comic books, video games and films. Any entity from the real or virtual world that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Inanimate objects are given anthropomorphic forms and it is not unusual to see genders switched, with women playing male roles and vice versa. (Wikipedia)

Before I started cosplaying though, I was into CosTripping because I didn't have the money, and I used to think CosPlaying was exclusively for the otakus.

The etymology of the word “costrip” has its roots in the more archaic and unwieldy term “hugot-closet cosplay”, meaning cosplay that involves recycling existing items in your wardrobe to approximate the look and feel of a particular character. This term was in turn coined to differentiate cosplayers who had their costumes tailored to order from those who — for lack of a better description, turned up in closet scraps.The word then evolved — via collective knowledge, to “costrip”, which means “the act of dressing up in attire not normally worn”. This definition encompassed con attendees who showed up in punk, gothic lolita, and sweet lolita attire but did not sign up for the formal competitions, as competition rules at the time (about 2003 to 2006) did not make concessions for such costumes. (Magnetic-Rose.net)

I still remember why I decided to try this whole thing out. I had this Filipino Goth friend from far away whom I met on facebook. We were talking about how hard it is to find Goths in the country, and how bad it feels to be isolated. We both had more or less the same dilemmas, so we tried helping each other out. He recommended attending CosPlay events and just dress up in Goth clothes, because there could be those people out there who choose to dress in Goth attire and look "goth". He told me he's tried attending several events so I tried to view some of his photos, and there, I've seen beautifully-dressed "goths" with him. A heavy gush of envy hit my heart as I stared at him, getting pictures taken with girls wearing fishnets and laced dresses. How blissful it would feel to see Goths personally! *A*

It was until moths later when I heard of a CosPlay event scheduled, and I finally attended it. I was fifteen then, and the whole experience was epic.

Me and Darth Vader! Welcome to the Dark Side! >:D

However, after the first event I've ever gone to, I was grounded and financially drained. So it was until the next school year when I joined in again. It was on a family vacation to another island. Luckily, there was a CosPlay Event while we were there, so I took the chance, and I met the CosPlay queen of the Philippines, Alodia Gosiengfiao. She was one of the judges of that competition.

A month later, I wasn't just a CosTripper, I was the host and organizer of the first ever CosPlay Competition of my school, and I was already CosPlaying.

I borrowed this Vampire Knight blazer from a friend.
The stockings and the boots are mine.

My schoolmates started to label me "Goth CosPlayer" but I totally hated how it sounds. I found it disgusting and just plain heterogeneous. Whenever some of my friends inform me of an upcoming CosPlay event, I'd say, "LOL, dafuq, I'm no cosplayer." I wasn't an anime fan at all, and I was completely aware that my Goth manner of dressing also got called "casual cosplayer attire", which made me furious and irritated, and pushed me to reject all the CosPlayer titles. I remembered that I decided to attend to such events in order to meet fellow Goths, not to be some f*ckin anime-addicted cosplayer.

Around half a year went by when I came across American McGee's Alice. I got so addicted and fascinated by everything in the game (I went as far as getting hallucinations of the Red Queen's maze whenever I enter a room) that dressing up as the mad, twisted Alice came into my head. I became interested in cosplaying her and maybe some other dark fictional characters as well. I saw CosPlays of Emily the Strange and Ruby Gloom and got so enticed.

And so, I came up with my very own Characters-To-Be-CosPlayed List (I'll be posting it soon), and started saving up moolah for what I might be needing soon: wigs, contact lenses, costumes, and perhaps props.

I kept refusing the CosPlayer label before August, though, because I know that they labelled me such due to the fact that I wear an unfamiliar type of fashion, and that I look like a budding cosplayer and TV personality those times, Myrtle Sarrosa. When people start getting curious and bring up what cult I'm in or if I'm emo or if I like anime, I just politely and briefly explain to them about Goth: the fashion and the music.

AUGUST 12, 2012 -- I invited my younger/youngest sister and designed her costrip outfit, because all this lace and stripes craze of mine seemed to have infected her interests too (mwahaha). I also invited my fun and adventure-loving friend to the event. August 12, 2012 was the Japan Festival where Series of Japanese culture events were presented such as Wakodaiko drum club performances, Awaodori dance, Karate demonstrations, Japanese & Filipino singing competition and COSPLAY.

Japan Festival 2012 in Cebu

My sister :p those are my boots! xD

That's me holding a cute Jack Skellington stuffed toy.
That's my best friend wearing a school girl outfit.

I met new friends! :3

Okay so, here's one wonderful thing I realized from CosPlay events..
PHOTOGRAPHERS just love doing their job.
.. which means you'll be seeing beautiful photos of your dressed-up self online soon. :)

AUGUST 25 & 26 2012 -- Celebrate two days of electronic gaming and exciting cosplay action this August 25-26th 2012 at SM City Cebu North Wing. Watch our new breed of young cyber athletes compete for the much coveted spot to become the Philippine representatives to Korea!

DAY 1 -- I didn't have the time and money to dress up well. xD

Here's my best friend again :3 I made her borrow my clothes. xD

I met a lot of new friends. I spent the rest of the day with them,
strolling around the mall with our costumes on!

DAY 2 -- I prepared well for this day. I finally checked one character from my Characters-To-Be-Cosplayed List! Here's me as Amane Misa from Death Note. ♥