Hey guys and gals. I'm all excited that I turned 17 last week. No, it's not because I can brag about almost being old enough to get cigarettes and go to some clubs. No, it's not because of getting a driver's license. It's not even because I'm planning on living up my last year as a legal minor. It's because next year...I'll be old enough to go to Yaoi-Con!!

A few friends and I have been waiting for this quite awhile and now that it's coming up so soon... Some of us even have costumes picked out. I'm going to be working out like crazy in an attempt to get abs because I want to crossplay as Sai, and he has such a cute lil tummy.

...Anyways, on to the survey. Swiped a la ninja style from

[The Great Cosplay Survey]

[V1 by Rifa, feel free to add any relevant questions to this survey]

[Introduction]

- What is your cosplay alias?
Hinata, Hina-chan, that's what people who see me at cons but barely know me call me

- How many years have you cosplayed?
1 1/4 years (soooo specfic xD)

- How did you get into cosplaying?
I've been obsessed with anime for years and I love wearing costumes. Plus I got inspired by seeing amazing pictures of other cosplayers so I thought about it. As fate would have it, a few days later one of my best friends calls and says "Wanna go to Fanime?" After getting my mother's ok, my friend asked "Should we cosplay?" And the rest is history.

- What was your first convention and how did it go?
Fanime 2007. It was amaing. I was Ash Ketchum (not a very good one, mind you) but as soon as we walked in the building, this woman comes up to me and says "Oh, you're Ash! Can I have your picture?" I was so shocked but obliged for a few pictures. It felt so...wonderful.

- How many cons have you been to?
6 I think

- How many cosplays have you done?
I'll admit to 4 xD

[Your Cosplays]

- What was your first cosplay and why did you choose it?
Ash Ketchum. First cosplay and it looked simple enough. Plus I always wanted to grow up to be a Pokemon Master when I was younger

- What is your favourite cosplay you've done so far?
Hmm...honestly? When I perfected my Ash costume and went to school. I was surprised people actually had the same idea, but a lot of people commented on the fact I made the vest myself. Plus I brought my talking Pikachu, although he DID disrupt Chemisty class...

- What is you least favourite you've cosplayed?
None really.

- What cosplay is the most uncomfortable?
None of them. They're all pretty comfy

[Process]

- How do you research the cosplay before you make it?
Watch anime episodes with the character, sometimes refer to manga, and/or collect internet pictures. I'm not really good at making costumes though.

- Do you sew your cosplays yourself?
Well, I'm a bit of a closet cosplayer. I find things like jackets from the Salvation Army and I'll make alternations with some sewing by hand. I fear my sewing machine :3

- Do you make your own props?
I've never really used any props, except for Pikachu, a pokeball, and a pokedex--all toys from when I was going through my poke-craze.

- Do You style your own wigs?
Eh, I've never really had to style any of my wigs, other than braiding the hair of one.

- What other skills do you use to create your cosplays?
My super special awesome skill of being able to spend money >D

- What skill has been most useful for making your cosplay?
I don't really have any useful skills. I'm working on my sewing though. I'm alright at sewing by hand, but I'm having trouble with my machine.

- What is the hardest thing when making a cosplay?
Everything if you're me xD

- What was the bigest screw up you've had making a cosplay?
Being unable to get green gloves for my Ash costume DX I have them now though so it's ok

- How often do you injure yourself while making a cosplay?
I injure myself A LOT regardless of what I'm doing, so I'll say a lot

[Budget]

- On average, how much will you spend on cosplay in one year? (not including conventions, etc)
On just materials? I'm not sure, depends on the costumes/how many cons I'm going to

- Do you try to stay cheap or do you slurge on materials?
I don't really splurge, especially since my dad's a penny-pincher and would give me a lecture for goig a little overboard. Once I manage to get a job, I'll splurge since I'll actually have some income.

[Conventions]
- What is your favourite conevention?
Fanime is fun but I prefer AOD for meeting people. It's a smaller con and more intimate, and that's where I've met people and actually kept in touch with them.

- What conventions have you gone to?
Fanime 07 and 08, AOD 07 and 08, Sac-Anime, JTAF 5. Planning to attend Sac-Anime this month.

- How far have you travelled for a convention?
To San Jose, where a really cool group of people called hail from.

- Do you usually stay in a hotel or stay at home when you can?
I would ike to stay in a hotel if it's far away, like Fanime or Sac-Anime. But I live near San Francisco, so those ones I just head home.

- What was your worst convention experience?
I haven't had any too bad...but I felt like I was being stalked at AOD 07 by a certain male cosplayer. He was nice and all, but it was a bit...creepy.

[cos-PLAY]

- Have you ever cosplayed with a partner or group?
I cosplay with a close group of friends, including and

- Do you try to act in character?
Only for pictures really. Otherwise, I act like myself. I turn Hinata into a pervert O.O

- Have you ever done fanservice at a con? (Yaoi, yuri, etc)
Eh, not really. I've taken crack!pairing pictures with people dressed up as male characters from Naruto while I was Hinata, since she's paired with practically everyone in the fandom.

- How do you react to cosplayers dressed as character from the same anime/game/etc?
When I'm Shippuden Hinata, I don't really notice since..well, there's always a ton of Naruto characters. Once this girl who was Hinata before the timeskip and she asked me for a picture. She was too cute, I swear!

- What was your funniest experience of acting in character?
At Fanime when I was Ash, I was walking by and out of nowhere this guy and girl as Team Rocket come into view. The Jessie cosplayer points at me and goes, "Look James! It's the twerp with his Pikachu!" They were great xD So funny, and so cool.

- What was your worst experience acting in character?
I've never really had one

[Competetion]

- Do you compete in Cosplay Contests?
One day. I write down a lot of skit ideas on my computer. I've considered whoring myself out as a skit writer to cosplayers on cosplay.com that need help writing their skit.

- Have you won anything?
Never performed yet

- Do you prefer skits or walk ons?
Skits, but as long as it's not Hare Hare Yukai. Sorry guys, I'm not here to bash anyone but I'm tired of seeing random characters do it. If you're actually from The Melancholy Haruhi Suzumiya I won't care as much.

[Community]

- How many friends have you made because of cosplay?
A few. I meet some nice people but not too many stay in touch sadly. But I did get a very sweet and pretty little sister out of cosplay: *edit: Oh, I can't believe I forgot to mention the beautiful, wonderful, super special awesome Sorry about that sweetheart, you know I love you

- Are you a part of any convention or cosplay forums?
I occasionally go on the cosplay.com forums

- Do you attend photoshoots and meet ups outside of conventions?
I would like to, but it hasn't happened yet

- What is the funniest reaction you've gotten cosplaying from people outside of the community?
Nothing funny yet, just some stares

- What was the worst?
People giving us dirty looks I guess, which happens a lot, especially when we go out to eat

[Future]

- How long do you think you'll be cosplaying for?
I'd like to be one of those convention moms who gets her kids into it X3

- Name a few cosplays you're planning to do next:
Kagura Sohma (Fruits Basket), Iris (Phoenix Wright), Lute (Fire Emblem), Sai (Naruto Shippuden)

- What is your dream cosplay?
Tomoyo (Tsubasa)! It's a gorgeous costume but I'd never be able to make it =.= Maybe when I'm 25 and become a very good seamstress

[Misc]
- What do you take into consideration when picking a character to cosplay?
How much I look like the character, difficulty of making the costume, how much time I have until the con I plan to wear it at, and how much it's probably going to cost me

- Is cosplay serious business for you?
Not really. Effort > Quality in my opinion. It's all about fun after all.

- What is your favourite thing about cosplay?
Meeting people. I feel more...open xD

- What is your least favourite?
Mean people. No matter where you go, there'll be mean people in your life. I hate on youtube seeing comments like "LOL!Naruto's fat!" or "Wow, ur all ugly" I don't see why people feel the need to be holes. It's a pretty sad life when the only way you can feel good about yourself is putting others down.

- What is it that makes you keep cosplaying?
All the fun that goes with it, plus getting to parade around in costume without looking like a fool

- How would you like cosplaying to change in the future?
I think it's great the way it is. The only thing I'd love to change is for people to stop hating on people for their weight. That's not cool, and the more I see it, the more disappointed I am in humankind.
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