How to: Ahoge

This is my first cosplay-related tutorial so please pardon my noobness. Hehe.

I'm going to show you how I make my ahoges for some of my wigs. There are actually plenty of different methods out there. This is a method that I tried and discovered myself so I'm not sure if it will be the best. Nonetheless, it has worked for me pretty well so, I'm gonna share how it's done.

Before I start, for those who don't know what ahoge is, it is essentially, 'foolish/stupid hair'; referred to as ‘呆毛’ in Chinese. It is an exaggerated, often single (certain characters have 2) lock of hair sticking out from the head of silly/carefree characters. In many animes/mangas, main characters normally have them.

One of the most common example: Konata Izumi from Lucky Star.

Most people grab a lock of hair from the top of the wig and tie it using a rubber band, which I don't really prefer since the rubber band can be clearly seen in a close-up photo. Also, this does not work very well with thinner wigs, since when you grab a lock of hair from the middle of the wig, you easily reveal the wig net underneath.

Normally when you buy your wigs, they come unstyled and you have to cut your own fringe and trim the ends to make it more accurate. I normally keep those cutouts and use them to make ahoges.

So, on to the tutorial.

#1: Grab a bunch of scrap wig hair, arrange and hold the ends together, and apply a blob of UHU glue. 

#2: Allow it to dry slightly, and using your fingers, sort of mould the glue so that it holds the entire bunch of hair in place, as such:

Then let it dry completely, until it hardens.

#3: Trim the other end to your desired length. Spray with hair spray to keep it standing and in place.

#4: Position it on your wig and sew it on using a thread with colour the same as or closest to your wig.

And it's done!

This method of mine has not given me any problem so far, though I may be lacking in experience so the problem has yet to arise. (Haha, I sure hope not...) I've washed wigs with ahoge done with this method and there doesn't seem to be any problem. Then again, I always handwash my wigs gently with hair shampoo so I'm not really sure how well they hold with other harsher washing methods.

I hope that this post is at least somewhat helpful to whoever out there looking for an easy way to make ahoge for their wigs. Feedback all welcomed, and thanks for reading! :D

Miku and Neru visits KL!

Late update on my 3rd outdoor photoshoot!

I was invited by Tanaka Photography to cosplay as Akita Neru along with Airi as Hatsune Miku. Had a great time during this shoot, really enjoyed working with everyone. You guys are super nice and I'm really honored to be able to do a collab with you all. Thanks for the wonderful experience. :D

Oh, and I'm glad that I got to see that part of Ampang too! Never knew Ampang looked so beautiful, especially at night.

So, Miku and Neru's outing in KL!

Photo credits: EXE.cute Photography

Photo credits: Tanaka Photography

 Photo credits: Aki the Photobug

Just some of the photos from the shoot. Lots more to come~

The more I cosplay Neru, the deeper I fall in love with her. I don't know why I like her so much. OwO

Coswalk competition this Sunday as Akita Neru, again~

I'm thinking of posting up some guides on props/wig soon. Stay tuned! I wonder if anyone ever reads my blog...

How to: CBTL Coffee Maker Machine

My friend's friend got this family suite in Empire Hotel, all paid for by her company, and she's out doing sales most of the time so we went to her family suite to jakun around.

So there was this really cool coffee maker around. And I decided to take pics of how it works as I prepared coffee. Here's a guide by me showing you how to use the CBTL Coffee Maker!

Step 1: Pull up the handle

Step 2: Insert coffee of choice. You don't need to tear open the seal, just insert the whole thing.

Step 3: Press down the handle firmly to lock it in place.

Step 4: Check water jug

Step 5: Remove to add water and fit it back in if the water level is low

Step 6: Place your cup under the dispenser

Step 7: Select based on your cup size. The example shown here is medium-sized cup

Step 8: The magic happens!

Step 9: Look at that. Take a whiff of that aroma.

Step 10: Done!

And nope, Coffee Bean did not pay me or give me free coffee to do this. And I'm actually more of a Starbucks fan. I don't normally go to Coffee Bean. This is all just random fun since this machine is so cool. XD

C'mon, let's go~

"You coming?"

Photos credit to: TWAI Photography

Calm down. Remember it's just a game.

A few nights ago, I realised (again) that Dota 2 has made me lose sight of my priorities. During the game, I got a call from my boyfriend and I couldn't pay attention to the call. My entire concentration was on the match, and half the time I answered without really thinking or listening to the full sentence he said. I can't even remember whether I said 'I love you' back. Now why is this such a big deal? We're both busy most of the time and we don't get to see each other often. It's pretty hard to find a time where both of us are free simultaneously, so these chances become very precious to me. But even so, I allowed it to slip by, for Dota. And we didn't even win.

Sometime in the middle of one of the matches that night, my mom called out to me and I must have sounded annoyed when I answered. My dog, Mystie was emo and I ignored that fact and continued playing. Mystie came into my room later on her own, lie down in her bed and stared at me quietly. I neglected her the whole night and was unaware that she was bored and probably lonely.

Apart from that, this semester marks the beginning of my final year and hence I am supposed to work on my proposal for my final year project. Yet I spent the entire night playing Dota, responsibilities untouched.

I lost sight of my priorities, we lost the game, and the tension was high as there were those who couldn't keep their cool and lashed out at other people. After everything I asked myself, was it worth it? Nope.

Every Dota 2 player who has played the game long enough knows that this game is damn capable of making one lose self confidence. I, myself am a very good example. I start feeling incompetent like a total fool and scold myself for every small little mistake that I make.

And on top of blaming oneself, Dota 2 players blame each other too. I use to do this a lot but have stopped doing this since (about a year ago I think?) after I went on my first losing streak. That was when I started realizing that team morale affects a lot. And we need to stop raging.

Then again, sometimes I understand that people just couldn't control themselves. Because there really are trolls and retards out there.

Spectre was our MVP, obviously.

We would have won if only he had taken his 3rd boots of speed and 2nd stout shield from his stash.

But! We could all learn to take a chill pill and not be too quick to lash out at others. Heck, maybe they are really new or naturally stupid. So, why not give them the benefit of the doubt?

Anyway, people still blame each other all the time. I won't deny that I sometimes still end up putting the blame on someone who screwed up the game, even though I didn't do very well myself. Of course, we are free to judge, to think, but perhaps we should stop feeling like we are entitled to scold them and shove it in their face. Everybody has their share of bad days.

With blaming comes raging. Dota 2 has the ability to turn people into the rudest, and harshest monsters ever. Look at the way everyone swears in game. Myself included.

But with all that's said and done, I can't keep my hands off the game just yet.

Well. I'll just live by that particular quote on that loading screen, perhaps every dota player should too.

Take a chill pill, and calm the fuck down. At the end of the day, it really is, just a game.