Friday and CosPlay pictures in Book Five: Working Through the Maze 2018

Started my day with a bizarre nightmare with a clear message. I was working at a HUGE corporate law firm and it sucked! I was repeatedly asked to do seriously unethical things, almost criminal things, and everyone in the building was abusing drugs and alcohol just to make it through the day. Whenever I passed a mirror I could see that my hair was thinning more rapidly than medically possible and I was trying to figure out if I should help bring the firm down, let the firm kill me, or just run away.

An appropriately timed dream as the first thing on my Calendar for today is a phone interview with a government office!

The Government Office Interview was funny because it informed me about why I didn’t get certain other jobs. For example, Garrett County’s first Assistant Attorney moved to Story County (thus why I didn’t get the Story County job). Garrett County’s second Assistant Attorney moved to Jones County (thus why I didn’t get the Jones County job). It is funny to trace things back that way. It’s a full domino system. Opening in a Large Area cascades down creating openings in smaller and smaller areas until poof… the smallest places have the most need. Trick about Garrett, though? It is another place that considers an hour’s drive to be “appropriate travel for errands.” I know, I know… I’m an urban snob. But seriously? An hour’s drive to me is a trip not errands. Errands suggests a quick pop out to the stores and back. If it takes an hour total that should be several stores visited. Just an hour to get there? Not errands.

Though… I do have to point out the humor of the Phone Interview. It is a rare event when you can interview for a job while being entirely naked. lol. Though, of course, sitting here with my junk hanging out reminds me of something from last night. Laying in bed… feeling utterly disconnected from Wife… having the needs that I do and finding her attractive… I just asked. I felt like a child requesting cookies before dinner. I simply said, “Do you think we could try to have sober sex tomorrow night?” To her vague response of “we’ll see.” I have very little hope or expectation of it. Sober sex has not happened in our marriage of seven years and I find it more likely that giving her such ample time to consider it is more likely to make it NOT happen. As with every time I request sex or attempt to initiate… it requires Wife to say no suddenly. Giving her such lead time may likely result in her rejecting me before I even attempt anything. Though… you never know, I suppose. She could surprise me.

Rest of my day is (1) RESPOND to Therapist and Write New Therapy thing; (2) Unload Dishwasher and Reload Dishwasher; (3) Swim Workout; (4) GEICO claim termination on Totaled Car.... and by that time Wife will be home so… it will either be me avoiding her because she’ll be upset that her costume pieces didn’t come in… or me sitting with her being bored as she watches her TV shows… or it could be something else all together (but unlikely.)

Leads me to thinking about “us” and “our future.” No matter what, I think a Trial Separation while I take a new job would be beneficial. She stays in DM, continues to do her job, continues to see her therapist… meanwhile I leave to establish a life and a career… we see where it goes. That could work. But… if we stay together we’ll need counseling. If I get the job in Que… no problem. If I don’t get any job… I’ll have to quit individual therapy for cost reasons, but other than that… no problem. If I get Web or Garrett? That will make Couple’s Counseling a problem. :/

Then I asked myself… if while separated or at any point… if you found Wife on a Dating App, how would you feel? The honest answer: At first, hurt; but then relieved. I’d be hurt because it would be confirmation that she did not want to try at our marriage, but I’d be relieved because that would mean I could officially stop trying as well.

This line of thinking led me to thinking about the possibility of being single. Something I was entirely terrible at being when I was. Being single at all was tough. But add in that the last time I was single was 2005… when I was just starting medication… and had not been to law school nor worked as an attorney… and you’ll appreciate that a lot has changed. But then… if I were to become single again? Depending on what you define as “sexually active” that opens up all new doors. Before I started dating Wife; my sex life had been receiving oral sex from two women and giving finger stimulation to two women. Now I’ve had actual sex. Though it is humorous to point out… the oral sex associated number hasn’t changed, lol. But the idea of being a fully sexually active individual in the dating scene? I’d avoided that possibility forever due to extreme religious views being made my normal. Opening those floodgates would be a new adventure, a new struggle, a new source of profound anxiety… a whole new world of questions on etiquette and protocol. And reading about it is no help. I’ve seen a wide assortment of recommendations. Two prevailing theories (that I worry got me to where I am now in different ways): “Have sex on the first date or at least do as much as your date feels comfortable with. The first date is ‘the interview date’ and you want to know as much about this potential new love interest as you can.” versus “Reserve sexual intimacy until emotional intimacy has been established. That way, if the two of you are not sexually compatible, you will have already built a firm foundation of trust and emotion for the relationship to fall back on.” Ultimately in my marriage… I think there were about 92 extra scoops of the second opinion and ZERO percent of the first.

I did realize something interesting (on my own, without being prompted). I’ve always wanted a girl that Cosplayed. Someone taking their passion for something, turning it into art, and then displaying that art via costume appeals to me greatly. And Cosplay can be stressful. From design to construction to trying to beat a deadline… there can be a lot of stress there. And as I said… I’ve always wanted a girl that Cosplayed. But with Wife? I don’t know. Perhaps it is our history together… perhaps it is that she doesn’t express “anxious or stress” but is constantly channeling that energy into rage… perhaps it is merely that I know she isn’t cosplaying because of love, she is cosplaying to try to get a reaction out of David Tennant.... I mean… she doesn’t even know the 5th Doctor but she is trying to Cosplay as him because the actor is David Tennant’s father in law. It almost feels like a “be careful what you wish for” scenario. I told the ether “I want a woman that cosplays” when I should have said, “I want a woman that enjoys cosplaying”. Oh… the difference phrasing makes. As Wife has been grumbling about pieces she’s purchased (see… another thing! If she were creating/sewing/fabricating costume pieces… I could be FAR more tolerant of her rage outbursts related to the task. But she bought everything. If you’re buying everything… why the rage? Why?!).... as Wife has been grumbling about pieces she’s purchased, I have spent my time looking at CosPlay pages myself. I know I’ll never have the body or the ability to do the CosPlay at the caliber I see on-line but… some of it is downright beautiful!!

Here is a Picture shared from Jutsu Cosplay. This is clearly supposed to be Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail. THIS is workout goals. And I’m not just saying that. I’ve specifically said that if I can get beyond “in shape”. If I can actually get to looks good without a shirt… I’ll get the Gray Fullbuster Guild tattoo.

Here is a Picture of the primary player in Jutsu Cosplay. This is my favorite character from “High School of the Dead” Saeko Busujima. My appreciation for this character may fall into the Creepy Scale, lol. Interesting thing about Jutsu Cosplay… she actually does have fight training. Or as she calls it “Puts on demonstrations of kicko fighto, lol”

I originally found Jutsu Cosplay via the below picture. Jutsu Cosplay described it as “Sakura PE Uniform from the Kotobukiya series!” For reference the immediate link is the Kotobukiya Figure: https://www.kotous.com/retailstore/nycc-exclusive-sakura-p-e-uniform-version-bishoujo.html
Anyway… I saw this CosPlay and said, “Yes. This is the kind of thigh I appreciate. So many women bitch about having good thighs… like they want their thighs to be the size of their wrists or something. Fuck that! This is awesome.” But when I clicked on the picture… it seemed that Jutsu herself was conflicted. She mentioned that she was happy to see that she still had some strength in her legs, but made sure to say “I’m not actually this thick, it is a bad angle!” And I’m like.... thick? Woman that is power. Love it. But… her fans seemed to agree with her. A lot of “Chun Li” comments. Then again… I think Chun Li kicks ass!

Here is the same costume with a slightly different angle:

And because I want to encourage support of CosPlay I enjoy.... you can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jajutsu/ or Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Jajutsu/memberships

Randomly shared CosPlay picture on a Comic Book forum I frequent. I understand why guys do this… they’re like “Look… hot!” but I really wish that everyone everywhere gave proper reference when sharing CosPlay. Of Primary Importance? WHO THE PICTURE IS OF… not character, player. Because if someone put the hard work into their costume… or hell, even if they just purchased it… and you appreciate it enough to take a snap and post it… you should credit the damn thing. This, sadly, was not.

This photo was shot professionally by a studio in Denmark by Honosuke. The CosPlayer is PhantomLex and… seriously?! I’m freaking jealous of this Kirito (Sword Art Online)! I WANT THIS! lol

This is the famous Yaya Hand as Faye Valentine from Cowboy Beebop. Personally, I have kind of a love/hate/love thing for Yaya Han. Arguably, she is trying to be the face of CosPlay in many ways. And while that is making CosPlay more mainstream (yay) I don’t exactly think she should be the Face Of Cosplay. I can’t explain it, so it may be something foolish, but her always grabbing Top Billing and All Spotlight just… annoys me. That being said, her CosPlays are often extremely good.

This is CosPlayer Akatsuki Tsukasa as Nami from One Piece. Granted, the CosPlayer herself is beautiful but this is shared to demonstrate that… sometimes you don’t need elaborate set pieces and a $1900 costume. If you do a character that is understated, you can also be somewhat understated.

Katyuska Moonfox demonstrates here how Wig plus Weapon plus Limited Clothing can work in a cosplay as she depicts Yoko Littner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I don’t know if she purchased the weapon or fabricated it. If she purchased it… I’m not going to call her out on it as that could be an absolute BITCH to fabricate. If she fabricated it, very well done!

Next… I wanted to share one of my favorite Resident Evil CosPlay characters: Ada Wong. Love her. Love her cosplay options. But for this I wanted to demonstrate that… even if many people select the same character… even if many people select the same character AND the same costume… CosPlay because you love it. CosPlay the character you love. Race and Body Type shouldn’t require you to limit yourself to strictly “certain characters!” Different styles, different types, different genders.... but all in tribute to Ada Wong!

by AllyAuer
by Ally Auer
by Lolita Amane
by Lolita Amane
by Tommy Bastien
by Pixel Rose
by Rejiclad
by Wongcosplaybr
by AZWesker

To finish out the gallery share: A few interesting or beloved CosPlay concepts.

(1) I adore Tifa Lockhart and will support anyone who does a CosPlay of her

(2) I really like Nico Robin in One Piece and I love when you can get a side by side of the Cosplay and the Anime Art. This is excellently done by @VampyBitMe:

(3) Ghost in the Shell, The Major (Motoko Kusunagi) offers a surprisingly wide range of different costume options, but the following may be the most instantly recognizable

(4) I enjoyed the Anime Hell Girl but honestly can’t remember much about it this many years later. This is an example of how… technically… you don’t need to go crazy with Anime CosPlay. Something as simple as a “Japanese School Girl Uniform” can connect to a well known Anime. (Costume for sale on Amazon)

(5) Lastly, you can always play to a strong point. Lets say that you can sew okay, but your heart lies in fabrication. There is always something like “school girl” Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill. Skirt, Top… but pull off the glove and blade, and that is what people will remember most. (Costume and Blade Replica available on Amazon)

As for me? What will I be wearing on Sunday? Generic Corporate Henchman Number 3. Also known as: me in a black suit, black shirt, and red tie. I may do a Death’s Head Mask in white makeup on my face, I may not. We only decided to go to this thing last week and have spent that time trying to get Wife’s costume sorted since she has the photo op. There was absolutely no available time to throw something decent together for me, lol.