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Post by Chammy on May 27, 2016 4:20:19 GMT
Lucia tossed her unruly red hair over one shoulder with a huff, jingling the ornate hair piece she had bought parts for and constructed herself, along with the rest of her costume. She thought for sure that someone would have asked for a picture or at least noticed who she was cosplaying as by now! But to her chagrin, that didn't seem to be the case. And she was a little disheartened. It didn't seem like too many other people were dressed up. At least, not among the girls that were here, anyway. ...Maybe she shouldn't have dressed as the full princess version of Yona? This outfit was only in a few of the beginning episodes of the anime and then she chopped her hair off with a sword and got new clothes. But... cutting her hair just for cosplay seemed kind of ridiculous! It was more convenient this way. She didn't even have to wear a wig! The redhead sighed, straightening her silk robes. It was her first time cosplaying and attending a convention at all, so maybe she couldn't expect too much, she decided inwardly. Did she stand out in a bad way? Was it weird to wear cosplay to a Monster Boy convention? Gosh, maybe she really ought to have read that website information more than she did. What if she wasn't supposed to dress up? She fingered the digital camera that she had looped a chain for around her neck, looking around the area with curious blue eyes. She had a few pictures take from afar already, but she wondered if she could get close-ups of some of the amazing costumes if she asked... A lot of the monster cosplay (save for a few that were a complete wreck of poor craftsmanship and execution) looked a lot better and more well-constructed than she had expected. In fact, she thought that men generally went the lazy route with dressing up for these types of geeky gatherings, unless they were experienced and really into it. Perhaps it just so happened that she stumbled upon an entire group that took it seriously? ...That made her want pictures even more. Anime convention cosplay might pale in comparison after this. Animatronic ears and tails, elaborate designs... some of it just looked so--so real!
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Post by darkduran on May 27, 2016 5:14:19 GMT
It is, occasionally, interesting how two people can see the exact same thing and come to completely different conclusions. Lucia looks out on those passing by the photo booths and sees skilled enthusiasts that are highly dedicated to an artistic pasttime, wonderment over the efforts and dedications that are around her, whereas Orli Sperling looks across the room and spies...
"Buncha friggin' nerds." Orli announces to no one in particular, her Boston accent thick like 'buttah'. She's already managed to lose her friends, which seems oddly fitting because it really feels like a lot of the people in this place have lost their minds. She's giving many of those that pass by the hard, slightly disbelieving stare of one whom is on the outside of a culture looking in at something they don't understand and are a little intimidated by. Her friend Molly told her that 'it's kind of like Halloween'. But no, this is nothing like Halloween. Lucia is getting one of those stares now. It's pretty blatant and, to be perfectly frank, rude. Were she male many would consider her a 'creeper' at this point.
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Post by Chammy on May 27, 2016 6:02:15 GMT
Needless to say, that wasn't the first thing Lucia expected to overhear someone say--and so blatantly loud, for that matter--in a place like this. Her cheeks colored a little, lips tugging into a displeased frown as she turned to face the speaker. She was familiar with being treated like a "nerd" and a "geek" and any other derogatory term people could find to use when describing people who enjoyed anime, fantasy, or cosplay. It instantly sparked her irritation.
This was the kind of friendly gathering to get away from that type of condescending attitude! She was excited to come here and embrace the fantasy as much as she could!
Meeting the other woman's stare levelly, the redhead placed her hands on her hips and marched right over to her with her chin held up in a snobby way--rather fitting, considering her princess costume. "If you don't want to be associated with a 'bunch of friggen' nerds'," she mocked, badly attempting to imitate her way of speaking. "Why did you even come to a convention like this in the first place? People put a lot of work into this kind of thing, you know!"
Lucia wanted to have fun, but now feeling ridiculed on top of no one recognizing her hard work to make a nice cosplay she was proud of is making her annoyed and sulky. Even though the dark-haired woman might have very well meant the mens' costumes more than her own, the self-consciousness she had been feeling made her feel grouped with everyone around her regardless.
"That's dedication!" she claimed with a vibrant flourish of her flower-printed robes, pointing in the direction of a group nearby. "What's wrong with having fun dressing up as things you like?"
She was being needlessly confrontational for a simple off-handed comment, but at this point, Lucia was fired up. Her passion about her interests was second to none and no one here deserved to be looked down on for having fun this way.
And then, extremely belatedly, she abruptly realized that the woman she was talking to was also wearing a costume. The outfit reminded Lucia of one of the many horror video games she had played. Her expression fell to confusion. "Wait, you--" she gestured to the other girl's outfit, disbelieving. "You're dressed up too!"
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on May 27, 2016 16:59:52 GMT
Blimey. Zastech fluffed out his feathers beneath his sterling pearl suit. The gryphon man never thought he'd be beat to a convention by a task force applicant, of all things. He patted down his feathers flat and proceeded onward. Oh well. The gryphon would find the applicant soon enough. Time to check out this year's attractions! Normally that meant roaming the building for all the new monster men and selecting one lucky newcomer for a guided tour. But this time around, he wouldn't be giving tours to men nor would he be roaming to find said attractions. He already caught a glimpse of them on the way in. In front of him were sterling women, even though sterling wasn't the Orli would use for herself. Sterling certainly was the word Lucia would use for herself, though. The supple, white silk embroidered with flowers, diamonds, and striped pink and gold hills made the freckles on her face not an anomaly. Truly, the redhead's efforts would have been a sight to behold if it weren't for the fact that it was in style to strip the women of style. Oh the irony. Orli had her own charm. Her worn and torn look reminded him of his own simple childhood. The elbow and knee pads that she worn were like the ones his mother would put on him when it was hunting time with the fullboods. But alas, Orli wasn't as polite as his mother. What was up with that foul mouth? Such indecency shouldn't be spread here. He preened his face feathers before taking a step towards the two. "Now now, my dears," He said to them with a gentle smile in both his eyes and cheeks. "There is no need to argue! You're both dressed fabulously for this event." He outstretched his hands to welcome them, exposing their golden scales and black talons. "What are your names?" (( made textual description of Lucia's image, hopefully I transcribed all the details down right ))
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wulf
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by wulf on May 27, 2016 17:01:57 GMT
Orestis looked around, happy to see two delicious-looking girls embracing on a heated argument. He grinned underneath his wolf mask, which was simply a fun idea to cover his real wolven characteristics. His hoodie was pulled up, covering his wolf ears and his shoes covered his furry legs. The wolf started walking towards the fighting snacks and decided to speak up in an attempt to break the tension.
"Hello there. Why would two lovely girls, such as yourselves be fighting like that? This is supposed to be a place to have fun after all."
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Post by darkduran on May 27, 2016 18:53:43 GMT
In truth, as Orli watches Lucia move about, she's actually a little intimidated. That is, she supposes, what a woman is 'supposed' to be like... and about as far removed from Orli herself as it gets. The other woman is beautiful, feminine, and Orli can not help but mentally process her as 'other'. Unfortunately, Orli is fortunately handed something to cling to in order to make sense of the situation.
When Lucia starts going off on a self-building landslide she gets more and more confrontational. And a confrontation is something that Orli well knows, something that she's comfortable with. She goes into her comfort zone in such situations, that being to push back until someone either stands down or falls down.
"Holy crap, lady, who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?"
Not the most diplomatic of rejoinders, but it gets the point across. She tucks her thumbs into her tac-harness, leaning up against a nearby support column. It's an action that can easily be interpreted as either casual or dismissive, depending on one's point of view. "Putting an awful lotta words in my mouth, there. You really need to calm down before I p--"
The interruption of two newcomers makes her break off what she was about to say and she gives a glance over at Zastech and Orestis before giving them a shrug. "Ain't no fight here. If there was, it'd be a two hit fight. I'd hit her and she'd hit the floor." She offers her hands over to the newcomers, deciding to ignore the redhead for the time being. "Orli." She's got a strong grip; not for a woman, but rather for anyone. She's not afraid to use it, either.
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Grick
New Member
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Post by Grick on May 28, 2016 0:15:49 GMT
Upon arriving at the convention, Thietero was overwhelmed by the sheer number and density of people. Sheltered in remote opulence for most of his life, he rarely dealt with more than one or two humans at a time. In fact, he had eaten more humans than he had spoken to. What few conventions of conversation and sociability he possessed he had gleaned from popular culture and the brief (often one-sided) dialogues he’d had with past visitors. As a result, he kept to himself at first, observing the crowd around him in an effort to understand proper interactions between persons.
This condition irked him, as he wished more than anything to display his outfit and earn the admiration of the humans around him. Fine leather bracers hid is scaly shins like stockings before parting at the talons like fingerless gloves for his feet. With his wings folded, his arms appeared much thicker than a human’s, and so a blooming cloak of deep purple covered him in false feathers, evading suspicion when his real ones bristled and shifted. Beneath it, a sky blue silk vest covered his torso and waist, barely concealing the real feathers beneath. A veil from the same silk vest hid his face from the nose down, obscuring his sharp teeth as he spoke. He allowed his tail feathers to trail regally behind him, taking care not to shift them too suspiciously.
Perusing the attractions, he decided to first visit the photo booths. He wanted to capture the outfit’s full glory before the strain of the day and the jostling of the crowd could dishevel it. On the way, however, he espied another finely dressed birdlike creature with carefully dyed feathers. Unaware of his dispositions, Thitero bore an instinctive hatred for anything remotely resembling another male harpy. Though the creature possessed a beak as well as a distinctively feline lower half, the colorful feathers alone drew a ireful glare from the harpy as he walked towards the photo booth.
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Post by Chammy on May 28, 2016 3:12:17 GMT
Lucia didn't consider the fact that her sudden outburst might attract outside attention. She had gotten ahead of herself and snapped before considering the consequences of making a scene. Now, it seemed that a few of the monster-dressed men had come upon them. And although she had been hoping to find some of them at the booth, but these were not quite the circumstances she was hoping for.
With a hint of embarrassment lighting her cheeks, she turned her attention to the newcomers. They were quite the contrast to one another---one dressed in a rich suit with a feather-adorned costume that looked expertly made, and another young man wearing a more simplistic canine mask with a hoodie draped over it.
"I---I'm sorry," she sputtered, looking at her feet for a moment. "I got carried away." This wasn't going to make a grand first impression, was it? She shot a look of venom at the other woman for her following comment, but sighed and decided not to retort--no matter how much she really wished to. The truth was, she had gotten out of hand and jumped to conclusions. Prolonging it any further would disrupt the mood and drag everyone around into it. She didn't want that.
Being complimented and subsequently asked for her name, however, brought a glint of excitement to her eyes. "I am Princess Yona of Kouka Kingdom!" she introduced with a bow. Then, straightening, she smiled cheekily. "Nah, but my real name is Lucia! Nice to meet you...?" She looked between the two guys, waiting for their names.
To her surprise, a third person then entered the scene. He seemed focused with a rather unfriendly expression toward one of the other men, but she nonetheless ventured a cheerful, "Hello!"
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Grick
New Member
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Post by Grick on May 28, 2016 4:29:28 GMT
Busy focusing his baseless ire at the sharp-suited gryphon, Thitero barely heard the finely dressed human until she greeted him directly. At first, he did not know how to reply. She spoke with a measured and friendly tone, neither the sultry teasing of his owner nor the shrill screaming of his meals. Before today, he had only ever seen humans exchange pleasantries in films and books, and until he could acclimate to this society, he considered it best to mimic their examples.
“I call myself Thitero,” he replied in the overacted baritone of a 1950’s Twilight Zone actor. He also brightened his expression to match the character’s square-chinned confidence. Pausing for a moment, he considered the human’s name. Though he missed much of her introduction, he had overheard her refer to herself as a princess. If memory served, that was a high station among humans, and so he would be wise to impress her. Moreover, judging by the half-gryphon’s attire, he likely also bore some title. Fearful he would be outdone, he added, “Captain Thitero. A pleasure to meet you.”
Bowing and scraping, he extended his scaly hand while fanning his tail feathers behind him.
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on May 28, 2016 5:23:59 GMT
Zastech raised a feathered eyebrow, punctuated with golden feathers, at Thitero. Shouldn't birds of a feather flock together, rather than eye each other with jealousy? He shook his feathered head and smiled. It must be the harpy's first time here.
His guess was confirmed when he heard the harpy's introduction to the pretend princess. Exaggerated accent, check. Exaggerated title, check. But Thitero did look the part with those lush fabrics. The gryphon would give the harpy credit for that.
He winked at the harpy, gave him a thumbs up, and turned towards Lucia to properly greet himself.
"I am Zastech," The gryphon answered Lucia. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Unfortunately," He continued. He glanced to the side. Hopefully Lucia would figure out he was now pretending to be a character too. "My own title cannot be divulged. As a member of a royal family, I'm sure you have elite subjects that you also give titles which must not be pronounced. It's essential to kingdom security, no?"
"As for you, my darling Orli," He clamped his hand around Orli's. Impressive. He could see some of the skin under his scales with Orli's tested hands.
His bright green eyes expanded in delight. Two hits to knock down another woman, she claimed? He'd like to see her get three hits on a monster. "You a fan of the survival horror genre, judging by your outfit?" The gryphon wasn't sure if Orli liked playing pretend, so he kept it brief.
He tilted his head towards the wolf, signalling the canine hybrid to properly introduce himself. Zastech was glad he's not the only one that's brought the party spirit with them.
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Post by darkduran on May 28, 2016 5:37:31 GMT
Orli can not help but notice how all of the male attention defaults almost instantly to the 'princess' and it makes her feel like a lesser person in ways she can neither describe nor properly express. It is thus Lucia that her frustrations land on and she returns the acidic look with a contemplative snort. God, look at how they're trying to impress her so bad.
"Zastech, huh." The girl with the rough Boston accent replies. "'zat like, Polish or Romanian or summin'?" She's genuinely curious and eager to move the topic away from other things. "Eh, someone told me that this was like that 'Walking Dead' show and..." She waves a hand over her gear. "Dad found some old stuff laying 'round the station house. City ain't gonna miss it much, ya know?"
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wulf
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by wulf on May 28, 2016 11:02:41 GMT
Orestis accepts Oril's handshake and smiles underneath his mask. It takes him a little time, but he realises they would not be able to see it. He carefully removes it, without taking off his hoodie as it hid his real wolf ears. "Nice to meet you Oril" He says smiling. He notices the gesture from the griphon to properly introduce himself, but also needs to joke about the cosplayer.
His attention turns to the princess, smirking at her cosplaying acting. "It's an honor to meet you princess Lucia" He chuckles. His eyes turn to everyone else as he puts his mask on. "It's really a pleasure to meet you all. You can call me Orestis. But I am more commonly referred to as The Big Bad Wolf. I believe you have heard the stories." He exclaims laughing.
As Thitero approached, Orestis Saluted the harpy chuckling. "Sir, Captain Thitero Sir!" He said smiling to the newcomer. "Really nice costume you have there!" He winks as he breaks character.
"Now isn't this a lovely bunch we've created. I hope everyone is having a good time today." His eyes turned towards the girls, but the others wouldn't be able to tell, thanks to his mask. "I sure am."
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Post by Chammy on May 28, 2016 17:37:52 GMT
The redhead was glad to see the new arrival warm up to a company a little bit, and took his hand to shake it daintily, still intending on "playing princess" while she was in costume. "A pleasure, Captain Thitero."
She then turned to the other, and felt a giddiness birth inside when she realized he seemed to be playing a character, himself. This is what she had been hoping for! "And Sir Zastech," she curtsied. "I understand, of course."
Man, the guys in the campus anime club were all about the big-boobed girls in the shows and not much for cosplay or role-playing. This was a complete turn around from what she expected! Maybe the men here were just more sophisticated or perhaps just as geeky about these things as she was.
She's genuinely surprised to hear that Orli put her cosplay together with that much ease, though. And honestly, she's impressed. "You've got an eye for cosplay," she complimented cautiously, despite the other woman's clear disdain of her. Now that she felt less like a freak for dressing up, the ire has settled down. "I was trying to figure out what video game the outfit might be from. It's really well done."
When the third young man addressed her, she turned a smile in his direction, giggling under her breath. "Princess Lucia" had a nice ring to it, but truth be told, she would have rather cosplayed Yona from later in the series if the cost wasn't at cutting her own hair. Yona gave off the vibe of being a spoiled princess at the start, but she grew strong over the course of the series and was not a woman to be crossed. "It's a pleasure, Sir Big Bad Orestis," she responded in kind, bowing forward slightly. And she's delighted to hear his positive input, which instantly reminds her of what she's doing over here in the first place.
"We should take pictures!" she announced enthusiastically, eyes sparkling as she lifted her camera. "I've been wanting to get a bunch more and this looks like a great group to pose with! What you guys say?" Her blue eyes shined hopefully.
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on May 29, 2016 5:28:53 GMT
Is that like, Polish or Romanian or something?
Truth be told, Zastech never got a clarification from his parents. They grew up in a rather tender zone during World War II. His mother said they were German, his father said they were Polish, and his sister never gave a flying fuck about human nationalities.
The aristocratic gryphon answered Orli first, putting aside Lucia's question for now. "That's actually a good question." He said. "I tried asking my parents about that and they never gave me a straight answer. My sis never understood why it was so hard for them to decide."
He leaned towards Orli's ear and whispered. "Consider me German, milady. It's such a shame what the Germans had to go through." The majestic gryphon's voice broke during the last sentence. Hopefully telling his little, but treasured secret would reassure the dressed-up survivalist of her worthiness.
Zastech clasped his hands and turned back to his silken little princess. Back to roleplaying for now! "As for you, I'd love to take a picture with you. I'm sure that it'd be a good way to establish diplomatic relationships between our two countries. But," he adds on, sure to not leave anyone out of the fun, "We must not limit ourselves to established officials such as you, I, and Thitero."
"Here we have the more humble ones like Sir Orestis, the head of one of my kingdom's clans." He cooed, careful to make his sound like imperfect human mimicry. "And to our right, we have the epitome of people power, Orli. She may appear uncouth, but it's understandable. She's been through a lot. A nasty necromancer sicked her entire city on her. Only through determination does she stand here today. And I'm sure you, my dear princess, could use someone like Orli. She could teach your villages to fend off zombie hordes so the army isn't overburdened!"
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Post by darkduran on May 29, 2016 5:59:35 GMT
"Uuuuhhhhhh-huh." Orli, whom has a Star of David tucked underneath her top and is named after a great-grandmother that didn't survive the camp at Dachau, just kind of nods her head. She's not used to people pitying the Germans for... well, anything. Ever. She just gives the benefit of the doubt and assumes it's a Berlin Wall thing, though she's put a bit on her guard by the confession. "Yeah, distantly German back on my father's side... not for a long while, though."
When the griffon starts to speak of diplomatic relations, it throws Orli into a confusion, really. It sounds like acting, because if it isn't, then it's got to be madness. But it makes her wonder... was he acting when he said he was German? A lot of this is confusing for Orli and she just sort of assumes that when people say 'let's take a picture', the unspoken context is 'with the pretty girl in the dress'. And so she offers to be friendly, "So do you need me to like, hold the camera for ya?"
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