Cosplaymania Torch Manila Leg: Grell & Sebastian Cosplay

Oct 04, 2010 14:04

Pic spamming.:D Sometimes low-res pics due to some shots taken by my trusty celphone

The first time I saw Kuroshitsuji, Grell was in it. So Grell was actually the first one that drew me into the Kuro fandom.

solitaryaya told me I look like Grell (when he's grinning devilishly) and that turned the cogwheels in my cosplay mind which has been dormant for almost 4 years.

I quickly asked silentside to cosplay as Sebastian (because when bishounen cosplay is mentioned, she comes into mind lol). She quickly complied (unlike the time when I asked her to be Itachi loool).

So before I knew it, I went out and bought the wig (which sealed my fate and I knew there was no turning back), asked my best friend to make my chainsaw (which she did in a VERY short time), asked her to accompany me in looking for fabrics and buttons in Divisoria which took an epic whole day (especially the epic neck ribbon), and asked my mom to help me find a very good (and very affordable) seamstress.

I also managed to buy some Kuro merchandise whenever we would meet lol.


The Kuro headset that I don't plan to use until I get my own work PC lol.:D

We got fitted and stuff. I even brought the Kuromyu pics as her reference. It was tough waiting for the clothes because it's the rainy season here. And the seamstress can be very absent-minded.

silentside was pinched a lot in the midsection by the seamstress, who commented that she is indeed a woman, having such a soft and fleshy body (ROFL). So we were compelled to go on a diet (which wasn't strict at all lol). I specifically asked that we shouldn't have any allowance because we would look boxy.




silentside getting fitted.

When we got it, the clothes looked soooo good.:D And it was pretty tight fitting that even silentside was surprised, after how many weeks of wearing it, to discover that she has pockets lol. She was so excited to wear the complete get-up.:D

I love my red coat.:D And my vest. I looked slimmer when I wore them.:D

Then the next step was making the skit. I picked Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment because I can so see Sebastian and Grell conversing using the lyrics of the song.:D I wanted also to avoid speaking and using the mic because it's troublesome (which was a good idea in the end). Then I made a storyboard of the skit so that whenever I couldn't practice with silentside, she can practice by herself (we practice every sunday, after lunch at her house).


A page of the skit storyboard that I made.:D

During practice, we only used her laptop or my celphone for the music. Whenever it rained (and it would rain REAL hard), we would practice inside the house and that restricted movement lol.:D

The wig was fixed two weeks prior to the event. When I first bought it, it looked like Shakugan no Shana's hair (lol thanks to my evil friends who say it for the lulz). My dad called it Alias wig.:D


The wig before it was styled.

I knew it had to be cut to make the Grell look possible.:D But when we were fixing it, Chris, the make-up artist, wasn't satisfied with just the bangs. So he also cut up the back. We hand-carried the wig home because we had to maintain the curls and twirls on it.


The wig getting styled.XD

silentside also joined a Cosplay Picture contest.:D I couldn't join her because I was in Subic for the company outing. But her shots came out really great.:D The pictorial was held in UST, in our alma mater.^^


Oh that look.XD

When I got back, there was only one week left before the event. So we practiced like heck for almost half the day. silentside bought cat ears and a mask for our incognito look before the actual performance.

I was trying my best to avoid thinking too much about the event. I was concentrating on the little things that needed to be done like the reference pics that the judges will use, the hairpins, the clips, the false eyelashes, etc.

People were scaring me about the event. LOL. But for some weird reason, I was excited. Not nervous. I guess it's the showgirl inside of me. hehe.

silentside had her hair dyed black, and her nails painted black, with the contract seal as well.:D

THEN.

FINALLY.

COSPLAY DAY.

I woke up at 6 am. Because silentside said that Chris the make-up artist is coming over at 8am. And we had to have a dry run before that. Luckily I already packed my things in my bags so I just took a bath, ate a light breakfast, drank meds for my cough, and then ran off.

The weather was very nice in the morning. The sun was shining and the air was cool. That's a rarity here during these months because it's the rainy season.

When I got there, Chris has already arrived in the train station so we fetched him. When we arrived at silentside's house, Chris quickly got to work. He did silentside's make up first. While that is happening, I quickly changed my clothes and started playing random anime songs to calm us both down.

silentside's folks kept reminding us of the time. We have to be in SM Manila by 1pm.


silentside getting prepped by Chris.:D

Then it's my turn. It took longer of course because Chris tried to capture both the anime Grell and the Kuromyu Grell.:D It's my first time to wear fake lashes and it was lighter than I thought.:D The wig sorta gave us a hard time because at first my bunned-up hair was bulging on the back so we had to redo everything lol.

Then we put our stuff in silentside's trolley and rushed to her parents' car. We almost got lost. Luckily we remembered the way to SM Manila (it's been years since I last went there lol).

I forgot my cel in her trunk, which lay in the back seat of the car. So I leaned down to get it. There was a motorist behind the car and he saw me (red hair, make-up and all) and he removed his helmet in disbelief and tried his best not to look at me. I flirtatiously smiled and thought ' Sir, if you keep looking at me like that, you'll hit a street sign.' lmao.

That's when I realized that her car windows aren't tinted and I'm exposed for all to see. lol. There was a schoolbus beside us, and despite the airconditioned soundtrap of the car, I could hear the loud shrieks and chattering of the schoolbus riders.o_o



This was probably what they saw.:D

When we reached the entrance, we quickly jumped off the car in our vests, shirts, ties and pants and quickly grabbed our bags and ran inside the mall. The local peeps (who know nothing of anime and call it cartoons lol) screamed 'Lady Gaga' behind me and I said ' When the heck did Lady Gaga wear red hair and butler clothes'? They didn't know how to answer it so they just kept repeating 'Lady Gaga' at me. How annoying lol.

Once inside, everyone kept looking at me (silentside looked normal compared to me lol). I almost felt like someone's eyes will punch a hole through me at the intensity of their stare. Inwardly I lold because I missed this attention and the feeling of shocking everyone!:D I love to shock people. And this brought back sweet nostalgia. We ran to the registration booth, out of breath, and registered on time. We were the 8th pair. There were 14 pairs all in all. We handed them our music CD, and had our pic taken with Sun Cellular sims (lol).

Then we met with conflictx, who will be silentside's prop helper. I saw my boyfriend MJ there, watching people play the giant chess set.:D Then we saw my best friend Joy, who will be my prop helper and the one who made my chainsaw and most of my accesories.

I can hear fangirls screaming " Grell! Sebastian!" from the top floors.:D And there were tittering girls too.<3

When I went to buy some load, non-anime salesperson came up to me and asked why won't I cosplay Sailor Moon because she's sexy and cute. I have nothing against Sailor Moon (I love her.:D), but I hated being stereotyped that because I'm a girl, I should also cosplay a girl. So I replied smilingly " I'm sorry. I don't cosplay girl characters." And left with silentside in tow.

We ate in the food court (or rather, drank our fruit shake. We weren't allowed heavy food because we need to be light onstage.), enjoyed the astonished looks, and prepped up so we can go to the cosplayer holding area.




Because it's hot in there.:D

We had some nice pics taken by professional peeps before we went in the holding area.:D There were top shots, flirt shots, serious shots and drama shots.:D silentside and I weren't able to take shots ourselves because we're busy preparing ourselves for our performance. So we relied on everyone else for the pics.:D

Once in the holding area, silentside's best friend, Maan came along and helped me get my red fan. silentside was already sweating a bit because of her mask and the overcoat. So I fanned her up and gave her some pep talk. I could see some of my friends in the audience.

There were a lot of Sentai pairs, a Star Ocean 4 pair, a Fate/Stay Night pair, and a Code Geass pair.:D We were the only pair who crossplayed.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I was already wearing Grelly glasses by now. That means, everything beyond a foot is a blurry mass of color to my 250/275 vision.:D It's an advantage and a disadvantage as well. Because I can't see the audience, I have more confidence.:D

Then finally it's our turn. We were standing on opposite sides of the stage. I signalled to silentside if she's fine. And she is. So we waited for our cue and we went in finally (after the Egyo Sisters, which were a cutie dance group number).

Hmmm... I'll let the video tell the story (once it's uploaded.^^;).:D Because frankly, from my POV, all I can see are blue and pink lights, people shapes, and silentside from my peripheral. Heheh.

I was warned by my best friend Joy to avoid hitting the chainsaw's blades because they could be damaged. Well I forgot all that and smashed the chainsaw straight to silentside's bocchan cane. It sent the blades flying and I didn't even realize that lol. I was like " Oh, something went flying past me lol." Joy, of course, nearly fainted when she saw that lol.:D

I commend silentside for being able to parry and catch all the stuff I threw at her on cue.:D



Flirting onstage.:D

And before I knew it, I was crawling on the floor and silentside was stepping on me. I was like " WUT! It's OVER!?! O_O" It all happened so fast. I didn't even notice that 4 minutes have elapsed.

I stood up and we were interviewed.
Emcee 1: You're cosplaying as?
Me: Grell Sutcliffe
Emcee 2: And you're?
silentside: Sebastian
Emcee 1: How long have you been cosplaying?
Me and silentside: Since 2001 ( Most of the cosplayers are young and just started cosplaying since 2005 or so)
Emcee 1: Oh, they both answered at the same time. It must be true! So we've got some veterans here.
Me: It wasn't a steady streak. We've got a lot of hiatus.
Emcee 1: Well yes. But what a comeback for you two. So tell me, how long did it take for the chainsaw to be completed?
Me *staring at my best friend*: I had good help. It took less than 2 weeks.
Emcee 1: And what was the hardest to make?
Me: The body. Because that's where the weight of the entire thing, especially the blade, rested.
Emcee 2: I see. So you two are cosplaying as butlers?
Me: Yes.
Emcee: So these are men that you cosplayed. Why didn't you cosplay as cute and sexy girls, since you're both females? Why crossplay?
Me: It's cool to dress up as female characters and be sexy and cute. But everybody did that already. We wanted to go against the flow.

At this, the audience cheered and even the judges gave us a thumbs up sign.:D

We were made to pose one last time onstage.:D
After we got off the stage, silentside went and got a hotdog lol.:D I just fooled around with my friends and my boyfriend backstage.:D


Crossing weapons.:D

There were also a lot of people who asked to have our picture taken.:D That didn't happen before when I cosplayed Mad Hatter (Angel Sanctuary) and Mello (Death Note).:D I grew to love our Kuroshitsuji cosplay a lot.:D



With solitaryaya, who tried to steal Sebas-chan.:D


with conflictx. My favorite stalker.:D

Even my BF, who wasn't into Kuroshitsuji or cosplaying, supported us a lot.:D


My real life boyfriend disowning er supporting me.^^;


Ironman getting reaped.:D

Some professional shots by Romeo Encisa Jr. of http://www.facebook.com/cosplaynetwork.ph








After the announcement of winners, we started picking up the pieces of the chainsaw so we can rebuild it afterwards. While doing so, we had our picture taken on the stage so we can pretend to be the winners loool.:D

It was an honor to be able to participate.:D

Then we changed to our normal outfits. But I didn't remove the red wig and the make up.:D So everywhere I went, I still drew attention. I looked like Jrocker Grell now.:D lol. I wasn't very hungry after that. I don't know why.:D We had fun in KFC, chatting away until 9.


Jrock Grell eating in KFC.^__^


With my best friend, the awesome talent behind my chainsaw.:3


Chris and silentside.

Before we went home, Chris removed the wig carefully. Luckily, no hair was ripped off lol (we used lotsa clips to avoid my dark hair from showing underneath). And silentside again kept the wig (because she has wig heads, being a veteran cosplayer.:D) for future use. Then we all had to part ways and go home, very tired but happy.:D

The Star Ocean 4 pair won. But somehow, to me, it didn't matter. I felt no bitterness or regret about all of it. In fact, I felt everything was so worth it. silentside was awesome. Her efforts and willingness to undergo the practice sessions made her a most valuable partner indeed.:D The make-up was so good that I looked so unlike myself that day. Our friends were uncomplaining and so supportive that we were so warmed by it.:D

So when I got home, I sorted through all my stuff. I found some of silentside's stuff (like the cat ears lol).:D When I got around to removing the make-up, I hesitated because it looked so pretty. But of course I can't sleep with make-up on so... I'm back to being me. And my cough came back in full force. Luckily, the next day, it was fully healed.:D

Because of that, we made up our minds to do Kuroshitsuji photoshoots.:D Because it ended so abruptly here and we want more. The costumes were so good that we had to use it more than once.<3

I'll be Grell again.:D I've never been so attached to any character that I cosplayed until now.<3 I'm so glad we got into Kuroshitsuji and had the time of our me of our lives.:D



VIDEO TO BE UPLOADED SOON!:D

cosplay mania torch manila leg kuroshits

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