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(Please excuse the  one-day-later post but this couldn’t wait another whole week). *Ahem*. . . Hello there, fellow Dark Diamond readers and friends, and welcome back to another one of my very well-received coverages about events that gather our one similar trait; that what makes us wake up early on a cloudy Saturday to be ready just in time to assist the one event you’ve been waiting all year long: The -anime- Halloween Party (because most of the other parties . . .just don’t cut it).

Read more!

Well we had the controversial Hello Kitty contact lenses, then we had the face mask vixens. So it was bound to happen. The Hello Kitty face mask vixen. With eyes as penetrating as the Hello Kitty ones and makeup that challenges the Hello Kitty MAC ad, this woman rules fearlessly over the rest of the face mask idols!

Oh yeah and I guess she’s also protecting everyone else of her flu. That’s awfully nice of her, isn’t it?

[Tokyomango]

Harrison Krix, a Graphic Designer from Atlanta, cosplayed as Big Daddy for Dragon*Con 2009. His costume was superb. That alone is enough reason for praise and fame but then Harrison went the extra mile and posted a complete log of the construction of the costume, all the way down to the fully functional drill in video.

It’s very rare to get a glimpse into the making of such a professionally made costume. Reminds me of the Pyramid Head cosplay video we showcased back in ‘07 (pulled from the internet now).

The Little Sister is not included in the how-to, that’s his fiancée, though no explanation on how he managed that!

[Volpin Props]

There’s a lot of great cosplay out there but even some of the best cosplayers out there often forget about the play in cosplay. Not so for this amazing man cosplaying Heavy Weapons Guy. The guy not only has a spot-on costume, he has the voice and mannerisms down to a science. Cosplayers, we need more of this! Heavy Weapons Guy is credit to cosplay!

Looks like there’s more than just a disturbance in the force with this right here. I’m not entirely sure why Darth Vaderess is holding her coochie. She might be hiding the camel toe. Or, perhaps it’s a guy wearing it and trying to hide the bulge! But let’s not ruin this for the Star War and cosplay fetish crowds by dismissing the possibility of there being a woman in this rather disturbing outfit. So we’ll say that Darth Vaderess is holding her coochie because she needs the toilet. Or she wants somebody to check out her Death star. Or perhaps she’s impersonating the late Michael Jackson?!

Would I be far fetched in saying that out there in the world somewhere, a fan boy had an orgasm?

…thought not.

They’re probably flicking through the Yellow pages to find a dungeon where Darth Vaderess mistreats her slaves. “Kneel bitch!! HUUUUUUURRRR puuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

[Boing Boing] via [Flickr]

There’s no real reason to add functionality to cat ears, they are functional enough by themselves. It would be like adding a cell phone to a blender or good games to the Wii. It doesn’t need them and it would just feel wrong. But this case is a brilliant exception because it makes sense. See someone took a pair of cat ears and fitted them with earphones allowing you to 1) better ignore the mob of sweaty nerds stalking you and 2) do some caramelldansen in your own, very private rave.

It is also a marvelous addition to the USB maid cosplay from 2006, the one with the USB camera in the tail and the keyboard on the apron. This is a fashion trend that’s taking a little too long to catch on.

[Thanko / Via Boing Boing Gadgets]

One man’s garbage is another man’s… scenery. Some Russian Fallout fans have taken advantage of what they had and turned the post-communism into post-apocalyptic. Using the ruins and debris of decades past these fans went all out for a Fallout 3 photo-shoot complete with some… equally resourceful costumes.

Never mind that the Brotherhood of Steel looks a bit under the weather or that the Scribes look dorkier than they are, some of these photos are absolutely stunning. Goes to show how much the surroundings affect a good cosplay project. On some of those shots you could just see a super mutant coming out behind a corner. I’m a bit let down though, no Vault jumpsuits?

[English Russia]

Nothing is sacred and safe from Hello kitty anymore. Nothing! As we can see from the picture, the Jedi force is strong, but Hello kitty’s force is way stronger.

Whilst I’m sure we’d like to shake a fist at the cosplayer who bastardized and raped Darth Vader in the name of Hello kitty. This picture has been photoshopped from the image of a cosplayer donning an all whtie Darth Vader costume. So instead we can shake our fist at the sod that bastardized and raped Darth Vader in the name of Hello kitty with the aid of Photoshop.

Though as much as it pains me to admit it…I do find this cool.

Could you imagine if this is how Darth Vader was dressed when he told Luke he was his father? Having had your hand chopped off would’ve been the last of your worries. It’s bad enough you find out your father is an evil bastard. But then to know he has a Hello kitty fetish and that he rules galaxies in white and pink with a picture of a mouthless cat who wears a bow etched onto his chest?! It’s just too much. Way too much.

[Hello Kitty hell]

Play @ Otaku FESTIVAL III from Otaku Entertainment on Vimeo.

Otaku (おたく/オタク): A Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly in the subcultural fields of anime, manga and videogames. While the term derives from the “Land of the Rising Sun” (Japan), Otaku knows no ethnicity or geographic region. You may find them young or old, male of female, and here for the Otaku Festival 2009, Romanian.

Held over 3 days in the capital city Bucharest, Otaku Festival 2009 has a number of offerings for budding artists, musicals, game programmers, and competitions for best costume troupe and AMV production. While it should come as no surprise that some Romanians love all things otaku, holding a well organized multi-day convention blows my mind. Otakuism: a common thread that stretches across the globe.

After the break I’ve included some select 8-bit games made available from the Maid Cafe that will be on site at Otaku Fest ‘09.

[Otaku Festival 2009] Read more!

In an ever increasing trend in fandom, gamers in Lyon, France have taken to the streets reenacting the classic gem PacMan. While not nearly as serious as the Russians when it comes to real-life RPGaming, Pacman@Lyon transforms the city grid of Lyon into their playground. Not relying on anything but cellphones and costumes, Ghosts act as spotters on the ground communicating with their “controller” to find PacMan. All the while, PacMan is searching for power pellets in the hopes of turning the opposing team into lunch. This information is tracked by the controllers and posted online for their internet audience to follow live gameplay.

Pacman@Lyon’s hope is to inspire other teams across the globe to organize their own Urban PacMan. I’d be interested in participating and running amuck in my city, how about you?

*News Radio Spot*

[Pacman@Lyon]
[The World]