Reading SVSSS: Chapter 16
For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!
If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.
Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.
Hello! Another day, another chapter!
I really don't have much to ramble about today, but I am back on my tea. This is a new one from the ren faire this year- vanilla chai with sugar and milk. The cup is from the same ren faire (but purchased last year).
let's go let's let's go- I am already impatient to get into this chapter.
Last chapter we ended on a cliffhanger with Luo Binghe totally unconscious- we start this chapter with Shen QIngqiu ready to rescue his man and escape!
It's really so upsetting that he is going back to trash (two bar) spiritually energy in this body when he was so used to his mushroom Unlimited Power p65
RIP Luo Binghe's skull LOL he is really being tossed around like a rag doll. SQQ needs to be more careful. p66
MXTX said forget the only one bed trope, I raise you -> There Was Only One Coffin p67
Fuck. This is actually so scary 10/10 I would pee myself if a little skeletal arm was worming it's way into the coffin I was temporarily occupying (really anything in this book's reality would make me die of fright. as an aside I was talking to my partner about this while watching MDZS donghua yesterday, in the world of cultivators I would be a dumpling stall owner. I could never with the sword training and literal corpses). pp67-68
I CANT 'extenuating circumstances'. SQQ definitely: I just HAD to kiss his cute little forehead to save our lives. p68
i'm crying LOL "a person's abdomen is supposed to be the softest spot on their body, but Luo Binghe's was uncomfortably hard against Shen Qingqiu's stomach. The farther down he pulled him, the more he was sure that Luo Binghe had an eight-pack. Was that a rock slab down there?" p70
this keeps getting worse LMAO
OOOOO Meng Mo is back! Is it weird that I kind of love this guy? He has such a cool power and is a bit of a dick, but in the best and worst of ways. Him and Airplane give similar energy and I am not mad about it. p72
oh gosh! LBH is either "fatally ill" or "close to death" p72
wait- adding to the above point. he could also be mentally very unwell :( poor buddy -> it's likely this option. p72
so even though SQQ is processing nothing , I think SQQ admitting (not naming the feeling but admitting) that he is feeling a mess of emotions about Luo Binghe is a big step for him! p73
Meng Mo seems to have a lot of feelings about LBH. I am not sure if it's just pride or what but whatever it is he is correct here, "The way this elder sees it, he (LBH) should either kill you (SQQ) or do you!" p74
PLEASE OH NO
I AM WHEEZING
+1000 Protagonist Satisfaction Points for touching LBH's "Heavenly Pillar" p76
IM DYING OH NO
WHY IS THIS EVEN A THOUGHT IF HE THINKS HE'S STRAIGHT "He couldn't exactly help Luo Binghe jerk off under these circumstances, right?!" p76 But like if not these circumstances he is cool with doing it in other circumstances???????????
oh no! SQQ blocking the blades with his bare hand for LBH p79
Dang. the Old Palace Master has been through some shit. p80
Are we getting more of Shen jiu's story??? We have Qiu Haitang here too! p81 (just as an aside because my notes did not revisit this, we do not get more of his story just weird little hints. That I hope Shang Qinghua clears up later). p81
What a terrible combo. Old Palace master is just butthurt Luo Binghe doesn't want him as a teacher or to marry his daughter and Qiu Haitang seems to be just a vile woman with a grudge against SQQ for some reason. pp82-83
Okay but as horrible as OPM is, that cultivation he's doing with his voice is kind of cool. p85
Wait. Did the Old Palace Master have a thing for Su Xiyan? This is so fucking weird for LBH and he's not even conscious pp86-87
reading further the above point got so much worse omg :(((((((((((( I'm so upset for Su Xiyun. p87
It got even worse with the implications of what it meant for Luo Binghe in that sect. That terrible terrible man deserved that horrifying death. Fuck that guy! pp 89-90
OMG SQQ, basically half dead carrying LBH, barely got away from the death flower room, and here we have Tianglang-jun back on his bullshit. p94
SQQ is in such a bad state :o pp94-95
Is this another dime??? Our demon blood piggy bank for SQQ is now at $0.40 p97
YAY! Luo Binghe is awake! (is he going to be okay mentally though??)p 99
Why is Luo Binghe so mad? Like this man just nearly died trying to get you the fuck out of there p100
Fucking finally okay, it got better LBH is realizing what SQQ did while he was unconscious pp102-103
I'm glad they cleared that up (even though there was the other added miscommunication about LBH thinking SQQ was crying when he was actually just in a fuck ton of pain). p104
I am actually so glad that the discussion was interrupted before LBH found out about the dick touching being real LOL p108
MORE DEMON BLOOD. -> SQQ's dime bank is at $0.50
How many times does this man get kidnapped?
We really ended with him being kidnapped again and with Luo Binghe being conned by his own dad. That was so rough. -500 dignity points (not really but it sure feels like it)
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it's still a distant goal for me since I'm just in the beginner stage of my sewing journey but I really want to cosplay Choso from JJK and make a costume from scratch, and after some research I think I've figured out how to do it. I'm hoping these notes will motivate and inspire me to actually go through with this haha.
(heads up: I'm gonna get super detailed with my notes, it's like a legit blog post)
At first I didn't know what type of clothing Choso was wearing or how to deconstruct his outfit until episode 37 of the anime Red Scale came out recently and we got to see him in action, and it made it way easier for me to analyze his outfit (and draw up some sketches, none of which are shown here haha)
BTW my goal with this isn't to create a costume as accurate to canon as possible, but I do want to have it as a foundation that I can later modify to suit my beginner sewing skills and to add any personal touches.
Vest
I had the most trouble figuring out the purple vest (there's probably a more accurate name for it but that's what I'm calling it), but the breakthrough came when I realized that the sides from the shoulders down are completely open and tied together with a separate belt/obi at the waist (although it looks like it could also be sewn from the waist down to the hips; the ribcage area is definitely open though)
I'm still unsure about how that crisscross shape of the neckline works, probably folding over fabric, but to simplify it, I could just make a rectangular shape for the torso panels and cut a slit down the middle for the neck part and it would drape down the shoulders, or just cut it into a V-shape neckline
Choso's fandom wiki page says it's a gi (like the uniform used in martial arts) but this one doesn't have sleeves so idk I'll probably disregard that, I don't trust fandom wiki haha. That's probably where the crisscross neckline comes from though; I just wouldn't know how to make that.
The scarf also looks really simple too, probably just a circle scarf made of the same material as the vest and obi.
for the material, maybe a medium weight cotton? it looks like it has a texture to it but I won't be too picky if I can't find anything like that
Top
as for the white top I could borrow from a haori design and modify it so it's just not open in the front (more so just to make the long flowy sleeves)
material: maybe a light or medium weight breathable cotton or linen (but not too thin or see through), or a polyester/synthetic or poly blend (I probably won't use synthetic fabrics though)
Pants
I'm not sure what style of pants/trousers these are, but I've seen a style called bontan that are pretty similar which are baggy like this and I'll probably refer to that; and it's not shown in these examples, but there's also a black (elastic?) waistband; there could be an elastic cuff but also the hem could just be cut shorter and have bandages wrapped around the shin/calves, or I could also use kyahan leggings. I think I'll just go with the elastic cuffs on the hems though since the boots will cover the ankles anyway.
I'll probably just use the same material as the top but add a lining or double layers as a reinforcement
I briefly considered that the pants could be a tattsuke-hakama style and combine it with the kyahan (kinda like designs for the characters in demon slayer), but those are pleated, and Choso's pants aren't like that, they're just wide and baggy.
I have a few pairs of combat boots I can wear to complete the outfit (if I wanted to be dead on accurate I would need a pair of Doc Martens boots but I'm not too picky about that, I'll just use what I have)
Hair & makeup
I'll probably end up buying a wig and style it into the bangs and buns bc my natural hair is very fine and doesn't hold any style!
I've already tried a few different makeup looks just for funsies, but generally I go with either a reddish or purple-ish eyeshadow all around the eyes and heavily line my eyes with black gel liner. Plus contour the nose and inner eye socket before creating the black mark across the nose with liner (and shadow to set it). Also, bushy brows.
I'm not one of those girlies who wears makeup all the time, and when I do it's not really heavy, and I don't wear foundation or any other complexion products, but since Choso kinda has pale skin, I could maybe use it and powder and contour my face to enhance the tired/ghostly look. I don't really want to do that though bc I don't think I want to keep touching up my makeup through the day if I ever go to a con. It might look weird and unbalanced to not have a perfect smooth base with such heavy eye makeup but that's just my thing.
I also think he would look good with dark nail polish and piercings, so I'll add those as my own little details.
Final thoughts
Generally speaking, since I'm a beginner and my goal is to create this costume by May/June 2024, I still have a lot of time to practice and to do further research. I just wanted to put my notes together now to inspire and motivate me.
I've seen so many people cosplay Choso already and I love their interpretations! They're also giving me inspiration on what I can do with my own cosplay.
I realize that cosplay doesn't need to be accurate to canon, and being 'accurate' doesn't make it better, but I'm just using the canon accurate clothing more as a template so that I can then modify it to suit my preferences, like following a recipe precisely and then making changes to it once you've learned the basics.
And I'm gonna try to avoid using synthetic fabrics bc I don't wanna create more plastic waste, even if they may be cheaper (and more durable?) than natural fabrics
Anyway, idk if anyone is actually interested in this except myself, but I'll be providing updates whenever I can. Once I've reached a point where I'm ready to start making clothes, I'll start off by making a mock up using muslin or some other cheap fabric I can find in a thrift shop like I've seen others do, before I fully commit to making the final costume.
If anyone actually read this whole thing, thanks! And if you've made cosplays before and would like to offer some advice, I would appreciate it! 😊👍
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Hi! I just wanted to jump in and say thank you, because your blog has actually helped me a lot recently. I read your post from a while back (like a WHILE, 4ish years ago) about the aro/ace future and what that looks like as we get older. I’ve been coming to terms on and off in the past few years about how averse I am to relationships and dating, and with the fact that really don’t care if I’m single for the rest of my life. But you very nearly articulated the main concern: what happens when everyone else is wrapped up in their marriages and their families I am truly alone? I’m still not sure that the aromantic identity is accurate for me, but it feels pretty close and so thank you, again, for opening this world up to me and putting words to my feelings. :)
Aww thank you for telling me!! 💚
I still feel the way I did when I wrote that post, although it occupies less of my brainspace than it used to. However, I will take this opportunity to talk about the big thing in my social life that changed since 2020: I dove hard into my local community. Any local community will do I think, but the main one for me was my local trans community. I was also in a community music ensemble, I spent a couple years in a survivor support group, and I went to local queer events. I valued those communities highly enough that they were the main reason I was upset to be moving to a new city.
Community made a huge difference for me. I wasn’t really friends with any of them exactly (like I rarely hung out with any of them outside of whatever thing we had together), and community definitely doesn’t occupy the same niche of social requirements as friends or a partner. But it HELPS. It helps with social support, feeling connected to other people, having regular social interaction, and (crucially imo) meeting people who are older than you in a peer environment instead of one where they are of higher status than you.
I know so many trans people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, even 70s, from my local trans community - variously single, married, divorced, multiply divorced, dating, polyamorous, nonamorous, etc. It really broadened my view of what people older than me are actually doing in real life, not just what the twenty-somethings around me anticipate they will be doing when they are that age. People who are like me too, queer transgender people who will never fit the conventional narrative. It enriched my life in a way I wasn’t expecting.
I still don’t know what an aroace future looks like and it’s still scary but at least now I know that mine will include local communities and that I can get a fair amount of the social fulfillment I’m seeking from them.
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