An encounter with the Full Metal Alchemist

On Saturday, March 19th I hosted an exclusive dinner for voice actor Vic Mignogna (best known as Ed Elric from Full Metal Alchemist) and members of his fan club. This was something that I had been planning for a while and I had called The Cheesecake Factory in advance to confirm that they would take our reservation. I was assured that they would but when it was the day to actually make the reservation, I was told that I couldn't because our party was too large and they only take reservations during lunch hour. Needless to say, I began to panic.







Dozens of emails were all ready sent out to Rangers and I arrived at the mall early to try to find another resturant who could accommodate our party. No one would. Now that plan B failed it was time to move onto C.  I would still meet everyone outside The Cheescake Factory and once they all arrived we would take the party to the food court around the corner. The plan worked and Vic arrived to a cheering crowd bringing fellow actor Todd Haberkorn (who plays Ling on "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood) . I went to greet him, introduced myself and told him the situation. Unfortunately Vic had some news of his own; he had a prior commitment and couldn't stay for dinner. Vic also inquired why I didn't attend the anime show (and jokingly pulled my hair and pretended to choke me) and invited me to the show the next day as his guest. I promised to attend in the morning before traveling to Philadelphia for a photoshoot (how could I say no?) and he made the call to make sure I would get into the show. I accompained Vic as he addressed his fans, expressing his love and appreciation for them and apologizing that he couldn't stay. He did encourage us to remain and have dinner with the fellow rangers and then proceeded to take pictures and sign autographs. If anyone wants to witness a true display of fan appreciation, this is the man to watch. He is genuinely gracious and generous to his supporters and was sure he spoke to every person present. In true Vic fashion he gave out plenty of hugs and kisses (yes, I got some too). It was considerate of him to spend time with us even though he could not stay and also bringing Todd as an added bonus.











Afterwards us Rangers shared dinner and it was wonderful to get to know each other and make new friends. One of them even gave me some scented soaps as a thank you for organizing the dinner. Sunday morning (after getting very little sleep because of a current cold I'm fighting) I threw on my Zatanna costume (and went with a very different look; wavy hair and natural makeup because I had the shoot afterwards) and headed to the anime convention with my ex husband. At the front desk there was a pass waiting for me courtesy of Vic and we were lead to the room he was in. Head of security, Kiwi was there to take care of us and I got a great big hug and kiss from Vic when he was able to come over. He asked how the dinner went, wanted to make sure I got into the show okay and thanked me for organizing the dinner. I was incredibly grateful for his generosity for getting me into the show and had a fun time shopping and talking to con goers. When it was time to leave, I thanked Vic again and he said he hopes we will meet again soon. I hope so too.



After my vintage shoot (I loved it!), it was finally time to go home and rest. The dinner didn't turned out as planned but with a little faith, perseverance not to mention an incredible guest of honor, it turned out beautifully and I got to attend the show as his guest. Safe to say, things definately turned out amazingly well!




P.S.
I got a Ed's State Alchemist pocket watch!!!








God Bless
xoxo
Victoria

Cosplay upgrades, alterations & more!


Ookie Dookie, Friday night I finally whipped out my Hermione Granger wig to give it a hair cut. I originally purchased this wig for my Justice League Unlimited Hawkgirl cosplay but I retired that outfit with the quickness (those stupid wings were a freakin' pain in the butt). I held onto the wig and used it for a Belle shoot (which I will be redoing cause the wig isn't the right shade of brown for Belle) and my Hermione shoot. That was two years ago so I decided to finally make the wig officially Hermione and brought out the scissors. A friend and I plan to cosplay for the midnight showing of Deathly Hallows part 2 which will take place before I leave for San Diego! I love how the wig looks; it's so much better and just screams Mudblood, um I mean Granger!



My Saturday began with an invitation to a Horror Show (that I also attended last year). Last year I cosplayed Black Canary for the show and it was a big hit but this time around I wanted to go more with the theme so I did an Alice in Wonderland goth makeup test Saturday morning (the show was Sunday afternoon). I used white makeup, black eyeliner, black lipstick and my Supergirl wig. I loved the result and was super excited. I ventured out to three stores and was certain one of them would have an Alice dress, right? WRONG! I was outta luck and the closest thing I found (dark) fairy tale related was a Red Riding Hood cape. I was severely bummed because I had my heart set on Alice but I relented and bought the cape then headed back to the mall.







I found a store were corsets were on sale so I picked up two of them; one red and one white for Zatanna. Then I purchased a red skirt and headed home to expermient. In the end I combined fishnets with boy shorts, Mary Janes shoes, my Supergirl wig and basket from my Snow White shoot. I threw in a wolf that came with my Barbie Red Riding Hood set and viola! Instant Red Riding Hood! It was literally put together in a few hours. I have never put a costume together so fast and this wasn't based on any particular version of Red. I just went with what was classic (blonde hair) and obvious (red clothes) and sexed it up. I think the result was pretty impressive and fans loved it at the Horror Show! 




So next came the Zatanna upgrade. Dun, dun, dun! When I first put the costume together early last year, I had the worst time ever finding a corset that fit me. I'm so tiny and very skinny so I had to settle for the tank top version you see on my site. I was thrilled when I finally tried on a white corset that fit me! I think the costume looks a million times more fabulous now and sexier than ever! Sunday I attened the show and had a blast. You can read all about that in my pervious entry: http://victoriacosplay.blogspot.com/2011/03/so-i-was-banned-from-facebook.html
I plan to do a pro shoot with the Red Riding Hood costume when the weather gets warmer and I am not giving up on Alice! I will get a dress soon enough and again, will do an outdoor shoot soon.



True it was stressful putting a costume together so fast but if anyone can work under those conditions, it's the Cosplay Girl! I also like upgrading my all ready exisiting costumes and making them better than ever before. Zatanna comes so easy for me; I guess it's because I all ready have black hair and usually wear red lipstick. I feel the most like me in that costume cause I'm not really altering my look. I still look like me, just wearing Z's clothes. lol  Oh and my super fabulous comissioner is making my brand spanking new Supergirl Michael Turner outfit and it will be ready in 4 weeks! Can't wait and thanks again to the fans who donoted all that money so I could get the new costume! I will keep my promisel; you will get autographed pics of me in that outfit once it's complete!


xoxo
God Bless
Victoria

So I was banned from Facebook


For the past few days I have been getting Facebook warnings on a daily basis saying that my modeling pictures violate Terms of Service. It all began with someone reporting one of my Bettie Page pictures, then they reported all of my implied topless shots. If you read the Terms of Service it states you cannot upload anything pornographic or sexually explicit. My pictures are ART and all of my naughty bits are covered. There's nothing sexually explicit about them and if you think that qualifies as porn, then clearly you've never seen a porno.



Obviously someone is out to get me, being that I was being reported almost on a daily basis. This morning my accounts were disabled and I have been banned on Facebook. The outraged emails from fans poured in and traffic on my site went through the roof and I got dozens more followers on Twitter. So thank you to the pathetic stalker/hater out there who has nothing else better to do than report my pics! Looks like I'm more popular than ever now! I've been cosplaying for five years, modeling for 2 years and I made a name for myself long before I created a facebook account a year ago. Just like I proved I didn't need to win a voting contest to go to the 2010 San Diego Comic Con (I dropped out then I was hired by Gentle Giant and got mad press as Slave Leia and will be returning this year), I'm going to prove that I don't need Facebook to further my career. I have nine lives; I always land on my feet. I'm a hydra; cut my head off and three more will grow back.





And just to show you how BEAUTIFUL karma is and the balance of the universe, on the very day I was banned from the most bogus social networking site on the web, I got to meet the orginal Catwoman, actress Lee Merriweather! I also met Birds of Prety actress (Batgirl/Oracle) Dina Meyer! She gave me a hug and said I was beautiful and loved my new Red Riding Hood outfit! I met the wonderful people who run an animal rescue center for Yorkies (will prob be doing some work with them) and I also hung with some friends (Comic artist and creator Ken Haeser and my gal pal Amber Love who is a journalist/cosplayer) and made new contacts. Fans loved my new  Red Riding Hood costume and I posed for tons of pics. So you can suck on that while you mope about your virginity or scarf a box of donuts. The one and only Cosplay Girl is here to stay now and forever and will live on through my site, Twitter, Flickr, Deviant Art & Blog. God Bless!











Hotel with Evangelion Theme

Another posting about Neon Genesis Evangelion, In Japan, Evangelion goodies are everywhere, even in combini. Cookies, headsets, glasses, Evangelion watches, soda bottles shaped as bodies of the heroines, and even $2000 swimwear in the colors of “plug suits“and a theme park.

It lacked only the hotel room on the theme of Evangelion, which is now done… For about $350, you can now enjoy a night in the world of NERV. The room has a bed in the shape of an “Entry Plug” and a life-size Shinji.





source: http://www.ufunk.net/

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Browsing around and found this Neon Genesis Evangelion wetsuit. Looks good quality. Yes! Ofcoz must be good quality, kotaku.com said this price around $2000. Wew.. want to buy for next cosplay event?

Becoming the Queen of Pin-Ups: Bettie Page

I've always wanted to do a Bettie Page themed photoshoot. I absolutely love her style; I am very much into jet black hair, fire red lips and black clothing. It's the reason why I love women like Bettie, Liz Taylor, Jane Russell (who passed away this week) and Angelina (in her dark haired days). I've adapted that look myself; I even dye my hair black (it's naturally brown). Anywho, I was recently contacted by a photographer named Ken who wanted to work with me and when I suggested Bettie Page for a theme, he thought it was a great idea. We shot at an abandoned movie theatre that had no heat (in Feburary). We froze our butts off but it was worth it!  I also took some black and white shots with  my own camera, mirroring some of the pictures on the official Bettie Page website. Those pics are by Brian G.

I didn't need a wig for this shoot. I curled my bangs with a large barrel curling iron then pinned them.  I also purchased and watched the 2005 bio pic "The Notorious Bettie Page" before the shoot. Great movie!



















Ken and I shot outside the theatre and inside as well. We also squeezed in some Black Canary (corset version) shots that I am very pleased with. Heck, I'm pleased with all of the pictures! So happy it all came together smoothly for the love of art! I've officially retired the body suit version of Canary. I like the corset version better and it's also more flattering for my figure.













A little bit ago I got an incredible email from an artist who said that he's been unable to paint for the past five years due to personal reasons. He suddenly became inspired to pick up a brush again after reading a short story I posted on my Blog and seeing my pics. He's currently working on a painting based on one of my Cleopatra photos. He's calling me his "muse" and I was floored that my words and photos could drive someone to practice their craft once again. It truly touched my heart and I can't wait to see the painting when it's done! And finally, last monthh I was featured on Nerd Bastards "Sexy Cosplay of the Week": http://nerdbastards.com/2011/02/04/sexy-cosplay-of-the-week-cosplaygirl/




        





Marking 12 years since the day I nearly died

Going out for a drive with your mother to run some errands is something that millions of teenagers do every day. After making the rounds to the grocery store, the bank or car wash you head home to prepare dinner and spend time with the family. On March 1, 1999 however, my mother and I never made it home. While traveling down the highway, a car in the opposite lane went through a red light and hit my mother's car (she was driving). Our 4x4 Blazer spun across the highway before smashing into a telephone pole. I was in the passenger's seat where the telephone pole had struck and was trapped. I was in and out of consciousness. I recall the first thing I saw was my left hand and it was bleeding. My mother was holding it. It was a cold day and several people were standing around watching us. One man said help was on the way. I couldn't feel nor see my right arm and feared it had been cut off. I kept passing out and when I woke up, my mother was gone and I could hear and feel a drill on the door that was crushed up against me. It took firemen twenty minutes to get me out with the jaws of life.


In the ambulance, my leather jacket was cut off of my body and I was screaming that it was my bestfriend's birthday. I remember arriving at the hospital but then blacked out. When I woke up again I was in ICU and recall seeing a clock on the wall that was set to milary time and several men and women in white coats. I thought I was going to die. I honestly thought this was it and I didn't know what happend to my mother. When I awoke again I was surrounded by what looked like my entire family. Everyone was crying and upset, my mother was gripping my hand. Turns out I had 17 fractures, two blood transfusions and three titanium rods were put in my body; two in my right arm, one in my right leg. Doctor's weren't sure if I'd be able to walk again.



It's amazing when you can no longer do simple things like tie your shoes or go to the bathroom by yourself. Standing is impossible and it is a truly scary thought indeed when no one knows if you will even be able to walk. I spent about two months in two seperate hospitals and was released early because of my determination in therepy. I pushed myself because I wanted to go home and be with my family. The power of prayer also prevailed; I was told I should have died and it was a miracle I was alive. Furthermore I did NOT sustain any head or back injuries. Once I began therepy I was told I should be walking within a year and a half, maybe one year. I was walking again in nine months. I was apparently a miracle and it was because of the love of my family and friends and prayer.





So now it's twelve years later. I have since gotten the metal rods removed from my arm but still have the one in my leg. I have scars on my arm, wrist and leg and suffer from bone pain when winter hits or when it rains. But I am alive so I have no complaints. It wasn't my time to go. I truly feel I lived to be part of my niece's lives. They were born a few years after the accident. I continue to draw breath for them. I have two successful careers as a teacher and a model, have my loving family and friends and I beat the odds by living and walking. Life hasn't been easy, but that ordeal taught me alot about my self, my faith and the importance of family and loved ones.