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.

Of lace and space

Oh my Godoka, I am so tired. That could be because I just walked home with three bags of groceries, but this summer in general has been a wearing one. So obviously, it's pic spam time.

I turned 22 last month!

My friends threw me a cupcake and cookie making party. :3

Also I've finally made some progress in my wares for Etsy.

(wrist cuffs)

(headpieces)

(chokers, and one more headpiece)

 

I made a friend who's a boss at doing hair. Also I sold her the first of my wares! Which she is wearing here. Along with the results of her hairboss skills.

She also tried on the first corsage I made, for my own wardrobe.

Later that night we went to a goth club and I took an outfit snap. 

A few weeks ago (on an unrelated note), I had an attack of ZOMG CUTE in my university's bookstore. I'll show you why.

It's a roly poly fluffy manatee! You're welcome, Sweet Lolitas.

And now some Doctor spam. I was a wee bit excited about the new season of Doctor Who, and Eleven had me firmly in his squee-inducing clutches. Uh, more than usual. So I sketched him. (Yes, in the middle of Japanese class. I have to stay awake somehow.)

And THEN the ballroom studio at which my mom and sisters take dancing lessons (I would love to join them, but it's an hour away from my university, so maybe later) had an open house, and the theme was the greatest object of my nerdly adoration: space. So obviously, I had to go as the Doctor. And this involved pulling Eight's wardrobe practically out of my closet, since he is rather steampunk-romantigothy-ish. Also I made a TARDIS. Out of a tissue box. 

 

And Sheepie (consult previous post) was my companion. ^u^

Of sheep and black lace

I made a skirt for Sheepie (my cute stuffed sheepie), who is also known as Annabelle Lee, so she could have something gothy to wear to Das Bunker. I finished crocheting it in the dark in a moving car on the way there! It was exciting. o.O And this is now the background of my phone.

 

I want to post more often. But this Japanese class is being quite difficult, so be content with sheepie (at Das Bunker) for now. :) 

Of seeing famed frills in person o.O

Recently I went with my Japanese study group to Japanese style karaoke (and finally got to sing Ascendead Master something by Versailles!). But the point of this post, interesting as that outing was, is that afterwards we visited a lolita boutique that opened in Little Tokyo, on that very day, actually.

Pic spam! (I just typed smap. Maybe I'm a little distracted. I'll admit I was thinking about how one could make a magical girl transformation sequence involving the words "pic spam!" so...)

^That's my friend Joy in the black and white dress.

And that's Jamie of the previously mentioned lolita tea meetup, holding her amazing purchase aloft. 

I sneakily snuck this shot of them. >.> Plus, lovely mirror bonus! (That should definitely be a brand name.)

One of the few gothic things they had at the time. They had more when I went back though, which was nice to see. You know, I'm going to have to implement my dream of selling my crafty stuffs to all the lovely gothic lolitas. Fairytale Boutique has inspired me! *determined face* 

This amazingly dressed person is part of a band, Midnight Shinigami. I told her I love naming things with Midnight in the title too. I guess that totally shocks all of you.

Of tea with lolitas

A few weeks ago, I finally attended a Lolita meetup at a teahouse! It was such fun, and quite worth the wait. (For one reason or another I hadn't been able to until now... You know how it is...)

I have finally figured out how to send pictures from my phone to my email, too, so expect some pic spam for the next couple of posts.

First, meetup pic spam time!

 My friend and fellow Japanese student (and translator!--which is what I aspire to be, though more on the interpreting side), Jamie, organized the meetup.

 

Also, I can finally show you my dress! (Click for larger, I think.)

(If any of those pictured wish to have their names added or photo removed, please let me know!)

I'll return with a couple of visits to a new Lolita boutique that has opened in Little Tokyo (return with pic spam of that, I mean).