Aki-con 2013: Snapshots

I'm going to admit something here: Sometimes I'm not as strong as I make myself out to be on the internet. Sure, I'm strong, and I have a thick skin, but over the course of Fangasm being on TV and all of the hatred I received there were some moments where I just wanted to hide under my blankets and cry. I had kind of isolated myself from all of my friends because I've been so busy lately, so I was living on the internet and despite myself I was falling prey to some of the cruelty that has been thrown my way for being an outspoken feminist on television.

Aki-con is a small convention here in Seattle, down at a hotel in Seatac. This year they were kind enough to invite me as a guest, so I did a lot of signings and Q&As. I got a hotel room with some of my closest Seattle friends and the entire thing was just so, so good for my soul. I went from feeling lonely and sad to feeling completely fulfilled and happy.

I'm so lucky to be surrounded by strong, outspoken, brilliant women who aren't catty and are a great support network for one another. I feel like sometimes I forget that I have that and start feeling sorry for myself, and this weekend reminded me to suck it up and be super thankful for what I have. It's amazing what good company, good conversation, and an overload of geekiness can do for a girl!

I also made some great new friends, like that brunette babe covered in geeky ink in the above photographs. She's an extremely talented cosplayer known as Feoranna. She and I are getting married, just fyi. And I also spent some time with amazing voice actor David Vincent, who is a truly genuine individual and gave me some really good advice on my career.

Basically, Aki-con was everything I needed... and now I'm super energized and ready for Stan Lee's Comikaze next week where I get to re-unite with all of the Fangasm crew since we filmed our promos back in July! YAY!

Cosplay: Steampunk Wonder Woman

This cosplay was an absolute labor of love and the collective effort of myself and some wonderful friends. I knew I wanted to completely overhaul my Steampunk Wonder Woman from last year's DC Steampunk Group, but had no idea how to pull it off. Luckily, I have incredible friends.

First, my friend Chelsea designed the concept for me while we were riding in the back of a car on the way back from a convention. Then, I asked my dear, talented friend Niall to make me a corset. He put his own spin on it with the chain maille, created by his incredible lady friend Angela. The leggings, boots, and jacket were bought and then altered by myself and my dear, dear friend Becki.

The JACKET was an INSANE find. I initially wanted a blue duster, but we were running through Good Will with 3 days until SDCC and I found this incredible red leather duster for SEVEN DOLLARS. Becki painted it for me, and I sewed on new buttons and D rings and put stars along the hood.

We sewed the stars onto the side of the leggings, and I cut up old belts and put them on the bottom of the boots after I painted them. The bracers and crown were also created by the amazing team of Niall and Angela.

The entire costume was down to the wire. I actually had Niall and Angela overnight the corset to me in San Diego, and when I opened it I nearly weapt. It weighs about 15lbs and is one of the most beautiful (albeit uncomfortable) things I own.

The above photos are by Debshots; the ones below are by ljinto  (Thanks, guys!!)

I'm ridiculously proud of this cosplay and I cannot thank those involved enough!

Convention Style: Darth Vader [Aki-con 2013]

Darth Vader Dress: Her Universe // Boots: Thrifted (Steve Madden) // Belt: Gift from old roommate // Jacket: Love Culture // Headband: eBay // Darth Vader Ring: Gift from Arsenica Accoutrement // Boba Fett/Hello Kitty necklace: Gift // Wig: eBay

So, Aki-con was this past weekend and while I only took photos of TWO of my outfits, I'm still trying to keep up with this series! I promise after next week when things die down I'll be back to documenting my daily looks, ahh!

I haven't had time or the funds to do any cosplay lately, so I've been trying to find fun ways to spruce up my geeky clothing at cons to be kind of cosplay. I am so obsessed with this dress that I got from Her Universe at San Diego Comic-con this year (well, I pretty much love EVERYTHING Her Universe), but it was too short on me since I'm 5'10". I added a fluffy tulle skirt underneath and it made it so cute that I formed an entire Gothic Lolita inspired look around it!

The ring is one of the most amazing things ever. It was a gift from a fan of Fangasm named Pattie, and she made one for me, Regina, and Kristin! So we all have matching ones. I love it!! I want a million more of her jewelry! Here's her Etsy Shop.

Cosplay: Julia from Cowboy Bebop

Character: Julia
Anime: Cowboy Bebop
Cosplayer: Me! (Molly McIsaac)
Photographer: DebShots

This is one of my favorite costumes, despite its simplicity. Cowboy Bebop is one of my top ten favorite anime, and Julia is just such a sexy badass in her black leather and stacked boots. Now I just need to find a Spike to make out with...

NYCC 2013: Cosplay

This year at New York Comic-con I took a surprisingly lack of cosplay pics. For a girl who generally amasses nearly 500 photographs a convention, my SD card was shockingly sparse by the end of this weekend. However, there's some reasons for that.

1. The red carpet that Reed Pop just LOVES TO USE makes everything look terrible. TERRIBLE, I TELLS YA.
2. I was walking around with 3 of the other Fangasm cast. We were being stopped for photos constantly. It was hard to take photographs of my own!

However, I did the best I could and here are the snaps of some of my favorite cosplay that I saw. There were a few I REALLY wanted to photograph (like the Breaking Bad cosplay!!), but they were surrounded by too many people or I didn't have time to stop.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my snapshots from my nightlife and NYC adventures.

What about you guys? What was your favorite NYCC cosplay you saw, in person or online?

My Sparkly Life in Instagram: NYCC 2013

Bathroom selfies right before a redeye flight, on which I did not sleep a wink.

Immediately upon reaching our hotel, we had to take weird pictures of the Fangasm crew. It's just how these things work. // Reunited with my beautiful, perfect, wonderful bff Kristin. <3 // The NYCC Fangasm crew on Thursday! // Regina gave us all little Stan Lee Pop! Figures! AHH!

Kristin and I with the beautiful Ashley Eckstein of Star Wars & Her Universe fame! // Drunk selfies with Regina. We were channeling Miley Cyrus? // CHOCOBROS!! // Our AMAZING fan Pattie made the Fangasm ladies these insanely awesome Darth Vader rings. THANK YOU, PATTIE!!

Sexy Professor Layton. One of the best things I've ever seen. // Obsessed with my new limited edition undead Alpaca plush from Tasty Peach Studios! // The new Psylocke statue from Kotobukiya is so beautiful that I don't even know what to do with myself. // Visiting Endor with Kristin.

I NEED THEM ALL. The non colored prototypes for the rest of the Sailor Scouts were there, too. UUUGH.

Champagne toasts and Regina smelling Kristin's hair. That was a bizarre running theme throughout the convention... // Morning selfies as I procrastinated. // Super Best Friends Forever Poison Ivy statue by Lauren Faust! She was an NYCC Exclusive and I'm so happy to have her - she looks amazing by my SBFF exclusives from SDCC. // Not only did I find an Ah! My Goddess statue (I love that anime), it was absolutely stunning. Need.

We got to see our lord and master Stan Lee again for the first time since we filmed Fangasm. He is always so amazing and gracious.

Last day selfies with my Kristin. I miss her already :-( // Bonnie!!! // With Jill and Kristin, two of the most amazing geek ladies I know. // And finally... reading material for the flight home!

Photo dump time! I just returned home from New York Comic-con on Sunday and I am predictably afflicted with convention plague (gives me an excuse to play a LOT of Pokemon X, though!). The trip was amazing - I met so many great people and saw a bunch of old friends. I abused my liver and had a lot of laughs, got some good toys, and fell in love with NYC all over again. It was probably one of the best NYC trips I've had - convention or otherwise.

The real SLR photographs will be up later this week (I have to edit them first!), but for now here's the snaps from my phone over the weekend.

Who went to NYCC? Did you enjoy yourself?