The Most Adorable Cafe Ever

So this is pretty off topic for my blog, probably more in the vein of Gothic Lolita than steampunk, but dang, is it cute! This new trend of "bunny cafes" is just another one of the many things that makes Japan an awesome place. See for yourself:

D'aww! Aren't they adorable!

My Prom Dress

As any good Neo-Victorian would, I prepared for prom as though it were a grand ball at the queen's palace. It turned out being much rowdier than that (crowd-surfing commenced within the first five minutes), but a good time was had all round.

My dress came from Milanoo's extensive Lolita collection. My review: Though the price for the dress itself was quite reasonable, I had to pay an extra twenty dollars in shipping to get it on time. The quality was mediocre--some of the ribbons were completely frayed after just one night of wear--but that's easy enough to replace. If I may brag a little, it looked fantastic; very Victorian. Some even recognized the style as being Steampunk/Lolita. And since it doesn't have sparkles all over it, it can be re-worn to non-prom events. In conclusion, I would recommend it, although I advise ordering a size up--I ordered a bit larger than my usual size and still found it too be rather tight around the shoulders.
 
OK, picture spamming time:

Video Game Review: Alice: Madness Returns

I don't even know where to start with this--I think this game might be my new obsession. Even so, I'll try my best at giving this an unbiased critique. So, let's head down the rabbit hole and into this twisted re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland. Let the madness begin!

The cover art.

The Story:
Roughly ten years after whole Wonderland incident, Alice is grown up--and so is Wonderland. Driven mad by the death of her family in a fire, she has just returned to society after ten years of staring at a wall in a mental hospital. (The first game in this series, American McGee's Alice, takes place during her time in the asylum.) Just when she seems to be getting the hang of real life, she finds her madness returning, and, she soon discovers, Wonderland is not the cheerful place it used to be--and it's up to her to restore it.

The Gameplay:
A fairly standard mix of platforming and action combat. The combat is fairly straightforward, with the added twist of some basic strategy needing to be employed. Different enemies have different methods of defense and attack, which the player must keep an eye on to defeat them.
Much of the gameplay focuses on collectibles, including bottles, memories, and pig snouts (yeah, you read that right) which are technically optional, but needed to unlock story details, extra content, and weapons upgrades. There are some puzzles, none of which are exceedingly challenging on normal difficulty.

A screenshot from the Hatter's Domain.

How steampunk is it?:
It's pretty damn steampunk. Essentially, the world of gameplay is the mental construction of a delusional Victorian maid--resulting in a surreal blending of Victorian and fantasy elements. Most of the first level takes place in a floating factory constructed almost entirely from gears and teapots, so I was just about puking rainbows most of the way through. Other than that, the aesthetic touches on a lot of steampunk's sub-types and cousins, such as industrial, Gothic, Victoriental, and a twisted, creepy-doll-based form of Lolita.

The Good Stuff:
This game is art. Like, it needs to be in a museum. The scenery ranges from jaw-droppingly beautiful to utterly disturbing. It would take me pages and pages to describe the look of it, so I'll just cram this review with pretty pictures.
My compulsive character-analyzing self simply can't help but be impressed. With the entire game being a symbolic journey into into Alice's subconscious, the whole thing is basically one big character study, and creator American McGee clearly put a good deal of thought into her personality. Mental illness in fiction is usually reserved for psychotic villains, but Alice seems to be the exception--as far as I can tell, much research has been put into her condition(s).  Even so, her personality still holds remarkably true to Lewis Carrol's original character--Alice may have matured a little and developed a rather cynical attitude over the years, but glimpses of the strong-willed and curious character on which she was based still shines through. In fact, I'd say this is a more accurate character interpretation than the more famous Disney version.

Just another butt-kicking day in Wonderland...

The biggest thing, though, is just how badass (do pardon my recent overuse of that word, but it's absolutely necessary here) this game is. I spent a good portion of the game just playing around with the weapons instead of actually progressing. I mean seriously, a flaming hobby horse/war hammer that shakes the very earth when thrown upon the ground? That's the kind of thing that makes my day! Playing this legitimately gave me a massive boost in self-confidence. After taking out a couple dozen mechanical monsters with a single shot from an exploding teapot cannon, one feels capable of doing just about anything.

The Bad Stuff:
Most major game reviewers kept Madness Returns firmly in the average range, and, as much as I loved this game, I can see why it might not appeal to the hardcore gaming crowd. Other than the scenery, remarkably little changes throughout the forty-odd hours of gameplay. Many players have lamented the rather long length, and, as much as I enjoyed it, it was quite an endeavor. It's clear, at least, that the creators were aware of this--a lot of big scenes and even entire subplots were awkwardly compressed or hacked out. While the amount of cut material didn't really detract from the game, I really wish they would release some sort of extended version which would include more story depth and actual boss fights. From what I've been able to track down on the internet, a lot of that cut material looked pretty awesome.
The only flaw that seriously bugged me was the ridiculous number of technical issues. The computer I played this on is only a year or two old, but I still had to turn the graphics to near-minimal settings just to get it to play smoothly. Glitches abound, most of which impede progression in the game, such as platforms not moving when they should or invincible enemies. In order to get past them, one must restart the entire level. I was lucky enough that both glitches I encountered were fairly early on in their respective levels, but less fortunate players could face a good two to three hours of replaying just to get past one spot.

The Verdict:

Victorian London. LOOK AT THAT ATMOSPHERE! O.O SO EPIC!

To begin with, a few things to clear up. Alice: Madness Returns is a horror game--sort of. If you were expecting an Amnesia-esque experience of sheer terror, you might be dissapointed/relieved. Even playing alone in the dark with headphones, I wasn't really scared. If you've never played scary games before, this could serve as your gateway into that realm, as it will likely do for me in the long run. Excluding a few gory moments, the horror of Alice: Madness Returns is mostly quite subtle, more creepy than terrifying. Being the kind of horror that one must think about for a bit to be afraid of, this might be one of the few scary games out there that's likely to be more effective adults than kids.
That being said, this is most certainly not a kid's game, although the big letter M on the box doesn't seem to deter all those twelve-year-olds who insist on announcing their age on the internet. The story, style, and gameplay cater mostly to the older teen emo/goth crowd. I don't want to sound like a prude who insists that kids can't play video games, but really, I think the themes would have fairly little meaning to younger players. The scares of the game are real-life things, like mental illness and the stigmas it carries, child abuse and how easily it goes unnoticed, and, at its core, the strange and often painful process of growing up.
That in itself is what makes Alice: Madness Returns as haunting as it is fun. I could really just write about this game for days on end--it's the kind of thing that sticks in one's head long after it's done. So be prepared for a lot more posts about this series; I don't think I could get it out of my head, even if I wanted to.

Skirt to Top Tutorial

I've had this skirt sitting around and collecting dust for a couple years, so I finally decided to do something with it. This was pieced together in a rather improvised fashion, with numerous mistakes, so please let me know if this tutorial makes no sense.

1. I started with an ankle-length velvet pencil skirt. It wasn’t exactly ugly, but it certainly wasn’t unique or steampunk. This needed to be fixed.

2. Cut the bottom third off the skirt. Hem the rough edges on the front, but keep the back as is for now.

3. Cut two strips of fabric, each about sixteen inches long, from the cut off bottom portion of the skirt. Hem all rough edges to make straps.

4.Sew the straps onto the waistband of the skirt. Trim the straps and the front of the waistband with lace.

5. Cut two pieces of fabric, each about 2x16 inches, and sew along the edges to make two long tubes. Sew these to the side of the top to make ties.

6. Take the remaining fabric and sew it to the back of the skirt, making pleats as you go. To make pleats, pinch the fabric, fold it over, and sew down the crease. 

Easy Mini Top Hat Tutorial

 Having received a surprise invitation to a convention in less than a month, I found myself in need of something outrageous and awesome to wear, and fast. So of course I went for a mini top hat.
I ended up getting caught up in the creation process and taking fewer pictures than I should have, so please let me know if this makes no sense.

You will need: An empty cereal box
                       A disposable cup
                       A hot glue gun
                       Some fabric (I up-cycled from an old shirt)
                       A ribbon


1. Cut two circles, about 1.5 inches larger in diameter than the disposable cup. Glue the two circles together to make a sturdy base for the top hat.








2. Cut a piece of fabric around the cardboard circle. Place the cardboard in the center and fold in the fabric so it wraps around both sides of the cardboard, with the gathering point in the middle. Glue it into place.

3. Trace the open end of the cup onto the cardboard. Cut out the resulting circle and cover it with fabric using the same method as in the base.













4. Cut a large rectangular piece of fabric and wrap it around the cup so that the sides are covered. Glue the bottom of the fabric-wrapped cup to the top of the base.















5. Glue on the top portion of the hat. Tie a ribbon around the point where the base and cup meet to hide any drippings of glue, and, if desired, adorn it with feathers, pins, or whatever else you'd like.

6. Glue it to a headband, ribbon, hair clip, etc, to keep it securely in place. It also makes a nice decoration for a steampunk-themed room.

Surprise Steampunk Fashion!

I came across these banners while waiting at the Keflavic International Airport in Iceland. I'm not quite sure what the steampunk theme has to do with the airport, but I'm not complaining, certainly.

No-Sew Floral Lace Fascinator Tutorial

1. To begin with, you’ll need a little bit of felt, a simple headband, about two yards (this may vary, depending on the size of your fascinator) of fairly wide lace, and some hot glue or textile glue.

2. Cut a circle from the felt. Mine is about two to three inches in diameter. Keep in mind that, due to the width of the lace, the finished product will be a few inches larger than the felt circle.

3. Pin the inner edge of the lace to the outer edge of the felt circle. It's okay if the lace warps from  being pinned to a round surface; this gives it a more realistic petal-like shape.

4. Remove the pins one by one, replacing each with a dab of glue. Allow the glue to dry.

5. Repeat this process a little bit at a time, gluing the lace in a tight spiral pattern. As you near the center, you may want to fold the lace in half to give a more rounded effect. Continue until you have made a rose shape.

6. Glue the fascinator to the headband. Cut another circle of felt, and then glue it on so that the headband is sandwiched between the two felt layers.

7. Wait for the glue to dry, and it’s done.

Ribbon Choker Tutorial

            So since I was gone all last week, I’m doing more posts than usual for a little while. Here’s a tutorial for a basic choker made from a ribbon. I like to think of this as the neo-Victorian equivalent of the punk dog collar. It’s quite versatile and looks great when layered with a pendant or longer necklace.

1. Cut a piece of ribbon about two inches longer than the circumference of your neck.

2. Fold over the end of the ribbon. 

3. Push down on the fold to make two flaps

4. Sew it down, making sure to leave the two flaps separate. Iron them flat.

5. Repeat steps two through four on the other end.

6. Place the two hook clasps between the flaps on one end and hand sew into place. Repeat on the other end with the eyes.

7. Sew on any ornamentation, beads, etc, if desired. 

Here's a finished one, layered with a cameo necklace.