Of much plans, and such art wow

Hello, Ballroom Dancers. It's been a while. Writing about gothy and lolita things, though, is very much on my list of "I want to do this for the foreseeable future." I've just had a lot going on as I try to move into my adult life (in what feels like a rather belated and anxiety causing way).

I haven't been to clubs much recently, but I did randomly meet VictorianKitty from Sophistique Noir! That's the second time I've unexpectedly met her while clubbing, and both times we each apparently debated with ourselves whether the other was who we thought they were, or were we just seeing things. (We weren't.) I wasn't as gothed up as I'd have liked to be (it was an unexpected outing), but she was lovely and impeccably dressed as always.

So, there are a few...tangentially related things on the list of major changes in my life recently. I won't be bringing them up that often, but I want to kind of share my evolving paradigm and sense of who I am. I've realized that I'm bisexual, and polyamorous. I've found that the spiritual path that most speaks to me is Wicca--so you could say I'm witchy in more ways than one, hehe.

On the school and business front (wow that sounds like a really legit official name for something), I've finished my undergrad! Finally. I majored in Japanese, so I'd like to translate and eventually interpret. But I also want to go to grad school for astronomy (specifically extrasolar planets), after taking some classes at a community college or something.

Speaking of jobs, I am in the huntings. It is frustrate. Catspeak is seem to halp my mood a bit. Really hoping I get a job at this one diner I really like (yay pancakes all the time!) which is within walking distance of where my partner and I will be living soon.

Creative stuffs: I haven't had the chance to sew much lately--though I do finally have some fabric, and a sewing machine of my own (frustratingly its pedal is currently misplaced)--but I really want to get back into that. Although first I have to finish a long overdue commission for a friend. The lateness isn't entirely my fault, as I haven't had much access to a sewing machine, but it still feels awful, you know? Like, I want to be a more reliable commissioner than that, and intend to be in the future.

I have done a lot of digital art recently though (mostly of my characters). In fact, a store in my area that sells local artists is going to carry a few of my prints once I get them printed. It's exciting! I'll post the five down below that I picked, which I thought would be suitably halloweeny.

I'm also looking to take commissions (of art). If anyone is interested. I probably will crosspost this to my deviantart, BrushstrokesofFire. I'm not expecting a huge income from my art (and I very much still want a regular job of some sort), but every little bit helps. I mean my partner and I aren't in dire straights, but I need some financial autonomy. Anyway, while examples of my work would currently include mostly original characters, I hope to add some fanart too, soon. Just to show I can do that too. ;)

Anyway, time for halloweeny art pics~
(This is Taralyn and friends. I recently started writing a new draft of my planned book about her, which is really exciting. Been wanting to do that for a long time!)

And don't forget, it's almost October! (Which is Best Month, for obvious reasons.) Have a whimsically spook night until I see you again.

Of more updates and more art

Two of my characters in the faerie ballroom for which this blog is named.

Hello again! I've missed writing to all you gothic lolitas and other lovely dark types. In the future, I have Very Important Plans about the way I want my life to be, and upkeeping the Ballroom is one of them. I'm just currently in an in-between phase where I have to live at home, rather far away from the urban life (and friends) I've grown to love...so I've been feeling too lethargic to try and write a post. But someone I met at Noize Factory (Faktory?), who turns out to be a fellow blogger, inspired me to do an update.

Hmmm... Not a whole lot has been going on (unfortunately XP). I was going to do a post about the picnic and swap meet we had in...March? But I missed attending because of some work I had done on my teeth. (Fillings. Ugh. Also I just got all four of my wisdom teeth out--the back molars, in case you're unfamiliar with that term--which was my first time under general anaesthesia.)

So, my goal of making more friends in the loli community is still pending, but I have been making some goth friends, which I've been wanting to do for even longer. Kinda sucks being the only gothy type you know. Hence the outing to Noize Factory mentioned earlier!

Speaking of gothy friends, laser tag is amazing. Just putting that out there. It's not as non sequitur as it sounds.

The other thing that's been happening is more digital art of my characters and their dark fantastic world. I need to put the new pics on deviantart (which I linked in the previous post I think, if you're curious), but let me show you a few of the new ones. I feel like this post would be boring otherwise, hehe.

Umeko, my gothic lolita character. It sort of seems appropriate to post her first. I'm sure you understand why.

Umeko in her magical girl form.

Taralyn, my perkygoth dreamer and main character. Friend and fellow magical girl of Umeko, and later girlfriend.

Lorcan, the slumbering prince in Faerie whose spell Taralyn tries to break. Also her boyfriend. (A lot of my characters are polyamorous.)

Taralyn having coffee and a heart to heart with Rivarwe, the Raven Goddess. Who is also a biker. Sometimes.

 Thorny Kiss. Taralyn with King Ayava, her mentor and patron deity.

I wanted to add one more of Taralyn and Ayava, but it's not showing up, so maybe next time. Stay darkly romantic, okay? <3 Edit: Oh, that's what happened. It posted this pic at the beginning. Twice. I think I'll keep the other one as an intro pic.

Of returning and plans and dark fantasy art and stuff

Hello my goths and lolis, I hope everyone had a fun or at least not stressful holiday season. I'm currently in the process of a grueling (traditional! for my family) 36 hour roadtrip back to my home, so I wanted to do something slightly more glamorous for the moment and reconnect with my gothic lolita dream world that I haven't had much energy for in the chaos of school.

Still working on those pics from Halloween, where I dressed as a certain witch I rather crush on, from Madoka Magica.

As for sewing news, I've had to move back home briefly before graduate school, and while difficult in some ways, that does mean I can sew more easily. I had a severe lack of fabric while I was in my apartment. I do finally have my own sewing machine though! Thank you, boyfriend. And craigslist.

I am doing a lot of digital art of my characters, though, so I thought I'd post some of those. This project started out as my own version of Tarot cards, and then I decided to make a fan deck for the card game Weiss Schwarz, which has groups of cards based on different anime and manga serieses.

Most of this project is on my deviantart, if you're interested. Thanks for looking!

Also stay gothy and lolita-...y? Yes. Do that.

Of witches and a particular witch's symbol

I've missed you and the bloggingz so much! I don't know if I can post often till after this quarter, when I graduate (finally!), but I wanted to pop in for a Halloween greeting.

A couple days ago I figured out what I should do for this Halloween, costume-wise I mean. I haven't gotten to craft much lately, so this also gave me a chance to crochet.

Anyone recognize this? Sorry for the quality!
(It's a 2d representation of a 3d object, so I don't blame you if you don't)

If not, follow this page (spoilers for Madoka).

Yep, it's the grief seed of my favorite Madoka witch, who's outfit (well, an anthropomorphic version of it) I can luckily pull out of my all-black closet. >:D 

Of my love for this subculture that will shine until class M stars go out

It's 2am here, but I was spurred to write this post by reading the farewell post of another lolita blog that I've loved for a long time. It made me cry, to see the blogger go, not just from lolita blogging but from lolita itself.

It made me think how I've posted much less in recent days than I want to, sewn much less than I long to. But that isn't because I'm losing interest. It's because school and chronic depression / anxiety saps so much of my energy sometimes. It's because I don't (YET) have a sewing machine with me in my apartment. It's because on the weekends I do go home, the house is always so cluttered (an ageold very frustrating problem for my house) that it's hard to find space to sew.

You have to understand, to a goth, saying "I'm leaving the [fashion/subculture/whatever]" is, well, confusing. A lot of my approach to lolita comes out of my having discovered goth first; so I don't consider it something I'll ever tire of or (Goddess forbid!) grow out of. No, I plan to grow into it. The reason--one reason--I feel so strongly about that is that I haven't really had a chance to shine in it yet! I'm still in the protostar phase, winding up my accretion nebula so that I can start nuclear fusion in my core the moment I get the chance.

That was an astronomy metaphor, yes. I love astronomy! It made me realize there is ONE thing that would make me suffer through more school after my bachelor's. And it wouldn't even be suffering! Because stars and exoplanets and nebulae and galaxies and yay!

I end up using science metaphors all the time. It's really amusing. And useful! And nerdly.

Back to my point: what I meant in that metaphor was I haven't sewn as many lolita clothes as I would need for a full "basic" wardrobe. I haven't sewn stuff to sell to my other lovelies out there either! The thing I am happy about though, is that I've been working on some other long-dreamed-of goals, such as art of my characters. My characters always inspire me, including in fashion, so hopefully I can get some fabric and start sewing soon! *dusts off ribbon-rose making skills*

(By the way, class M stars, the dim red ones, shine for like a hundred billion years, literally. The Universe is only 14 billion years old or thereabouts, so we haven't actually observed a class M star going out. They almost LITERALLY burn forever.)

Of pretty, pretty boots

Oh dear, what happened to the time? I've been caught up in a bunch of stress lately, such as school and family matters. You see, my grandmother, who was very 'classic lolita' at heart, passed away in November. So that's been....weird. And it takes getting used to.

But having my bf and my friends around, loli and non-loli, has really helped a lot to make me feel like pursuing all my creative stuff. I've wanted to post again for quite some time, just didn't have pictures of the things I wanted to show you...or I felt lethargic and only wanted to play zomg on Gaia Online. O.o (And my character's wardrobe inspireth le envy! In this goth-loli-fae-witch, that is. I want that wardrobe in real life. Soon. *scurries off to sew*)

*comes back because BLOG and also, don't have fabric* (Sadface)

You know what I really love about sewing? The dresses, or other big items like that, which i can make extremely fancy and ribbonful and darkly decadent. So i've decided I'll have much more energy and dedication to making stuff to sell if I jump right in with a few skirts. Skirts in lolita are easy to make, and easy to make adjustable (elastic waists for the win!), and the part I really love, the fancifying, can be gotten to very quickly. So watch out for updates on that.

Speaking of characters, I'm trying to make a fighter game with my magical girl team (the main characters in my stories...basically). The idea comes from my fandom I mean obsessive love of Grief Syndrome, a 2D platform game about the characters in Madoka Magica. I'll give you a few in progress sketches of Taralyn, my main main maaain character. (There are levels of main, you see. But Tara is the most main of them all. Sort of.)

Also: I GOT NEW BOOOOOTS! (From Sweetboots.com.) Proper gothy boots that lace up to the knee. I thought they'd be hard to walk in but surprisingly no. At least, they're a lot less hard than when I learned to walk in the first and much much lower heels I bought a few years ago. When I was but a mere sophomore in college.
But yeah, pic spam!!!!

I proudly sent this last one to a fellow goth who's a dear friend and slight crush of mine (so, a normal friendship for me haha), because as he says, finally getting some proper goth boots is quite a landmark. In a bout of randomness I also along with this pic told him that I had had a dream about him and his pet snake. o.O (Does anyone else love snakes too? They're so cute and mysterious, like cats.)



I went to a loli meet a couple weeks ago and will be going to another next week, but I didn't get any pictures of the first one. However, my lovely bf came with me and it was awesome. :3 I'm hoping he can be my transportation next time too, so when I remember to take pics you can see him.
I lied, actually. I got one picture.

Till next loli picspam though, I give you Sheepie.

She's wearing the scarf my sister gave me for Xmas. I love wearing it too, but it just looks so cute on my sheep. Also, here's an awesome cross necklace someone else gave me, along with another cross necklace I had made earlier.
I think it should be clear which is which. I don't work in metal so much.

Of costumes and hooves

Good Godoka, why do I have to be a senior and have mental issues at the same time? I'm so glad there exists a support network of friends (especially one who KNOWS WHO HE IS *cough muscovite cough*) to keep my spirits up. And meds. Those exist too. Which reminds me. *excuses self for a moment because it's pill time which yes I normally put off till this late in the day because swallowing pills is not in fact a piece of cake for me*

I want cake now. I shall make myself chocolate milk instead.

But anyway! Happy Halloween! I hope it was fantastic and witchy for all of you. I dressed as Luna from My Little Pony, with her cutie mark drawn on my shoulder in makeup. Then I watched the Japanese movie Wild Zero with my friends, and that movie defies all explanation but I highly recommend it. So, SO epic.

 And a bonus outfit with my pretty crimson corset.

Also, Sheepie has a hat now. Hats are cool.

Other highlights of October: I got another corset top, which was on clearance, and started work on my first commission (a cloak for a friend). Pictures will be forthcoming.

And now, I will be using November, AKA NaNoWriMo, to write a readable draft of a book I've been working on for quite a while. It's the first of several concerning Lorcan and Taralyn, if you've heard me mention them on here. Also the one that begins with a vision/dream that inspired Taralyn to write that song under my profile pic and ALSO inspired the title of this blog. It was a pretty fantastic dream.