WHOAH, it's actually been a year since I last did anything on here...

Well, I've got quite the story from the con I went to. I ended up suiting the second day, from about noon to ten at night, which was very uncomfortable and hot but pretty fun all in all. I was supposed to have another cosplay finished by then, but I'd spent so much time on my suit that I decided to give up and wear that on a whim. I made it five feet through the door (I wasn't staying at the hotel) before being asked for photos, and apparently showed up just in time for the costume contest. Participants were supposed to pre-register a week ahead of time, so I just sat in the back and watched. There were some large pokemon suits around and a pony (who was an ex-marine or something underneath all the purple fur!) and after I left the ballroom I had one of the costume judges approach me and tell me that they would have given me a full ten had I entered. Since the convention is actually an anime con, I don't know if I'm going to, especially since there were angry mutterings after a few different non-anime cosplays won prizes.

After that, I just wandered, and peoples' reactions were pretty great. In the hotel lobby, a family with children who were staying there wanted photos, which was really cute because the oldest boy (maybe 8 or 9 years old) was fascinated by my claws. I was sitting down at a table to rest and get some airflow going under my mask, and suddenly there was a little boy sitting across from me, touching my hands. I don't even like kids, but seeing some little kid absolutely psyched to see a dragon was really great. It made all that sewing and cutting worth it.

It was raining that night, but my sister/spotter and I still walked to a nearby gas station to get sandwiches and pizza. The guys working the cash register had already seen some stuff, since other cosplayers had been there all day. However, showing up at the little gas station caused quite a commotion, and one guy wanted to get a photo posing with me so he could show his young son. Kids like dragons, it seems! We also bumped into a pair of furry guys who I'd seen earlier in the lobby, and we continued our conversations about mask construction, and I got to give them a peek at the ugly underpinnings of the head while I ate dinner. I also learned that mayonnaise does come out of suede. Mystery hotel-floor food crumbs and mud, however, does not, but I need to re-fit my feet anyway.

Later in the evening, I played the pocky game (not very easy with those teeth...) and hugged some random teenagers I'd seen around all day. One of them kept yelling "Godzilla!" every time he saw me, which was pretty funny, and apparently I was pretty gender-ambiguous with my sports bra on, because they were pretty surprised to hear me speak. I do think I should sew some kind of binder - I've seen tutorials around and have more than enough elastic and zippers - since I just really like the realism of it. My bodysuit is stretchy enough that, if I wanted, I could totally have dragonboobs, but I do like the confusion factor of it. It seems to keep people guessing... I also have to put some more scales on the chest so it doesn't look so bare.

At the end of the night I attended the rave, which could only have been made more fun by some light-up eyes. After only a few minutes, however, I was too hot to function, and ended up stripping down to my shorts and undershirt so as not to die of heat stroke. Next year, I might either suit on Friday or wear something else to the rave.

I was planning on going to a local furmeet in partial suit later that month, but the friend I was going to go with didn't have his ID and had to skip. I didn't feel like going alone if I didn't know anyone and wouldn't have a spotter, so I ended up not going at all. However, I might head to a September meet sometime, regardless of whether or not I make all the changes I want to.

I'll be re-doing the jawset, probably tweaking the eyes and possibly re-doing the wings so they're a little larger. The head is not very well-ventilated, so I might install a fan. Still, I did manage to finish everything and had a lot of fun! It's just re-furbishing from here on out!

I also have a ton of assorted PVC pleather in various colors, so I'm thinking of doing some more with scales, as much as they're a pain to cut out and sew down... If I manage to get an airbrush, I might make a really cool ice dragon tail with some white spandex and PVC I have laying around.

Until then, when I start refurbising stuff, I'll put up some before and after pics! I do have a turnaround from this spring, but I'm really self-conscious about it... Stay tuned, though.