JMCM: Season's End Bankai Bash - Part 1: Intro

Well, I had thought I would have posted this by yesterday, but the best-laid plans of mice and translators often come to naught, as I only managed to finish the monster-translation yesterday AND edit around a 100 of the JMCM photos. But I digress (yet again)...

JMCM: "Japanese Music and Cosplay Marathon". First thing of the sort in Greece, ever and I should think, perhaps the only independent such effort done anywhere by such a small handful of people, as Ordre de Ciel: taking to the decks for 12 straight hours, running a cosplay contest until midnight (with Yu-kun managing the voting process - dear girl that she is), having Lamia Cross over (Lamia herself and Fab, as it were, without the recently-returned Druid) AND dressing up for the occasion. This was a project room302 had talked to me about around one-and-a-half month earlier, one in which I would contribute with some guest sets (though, at the time, we had no idea what form the time-allocation would take). I thought it was completely nuts, therefore I was sure he would go through with it.

As it turned out, the JMCM took place during one of the most busy weeks of my life, having to push onwards with the translation to meet the deadline, some other public relations-related work, help my folks pack to leave on vacation AND tend to the innumerable animal population my mother cares about, in various places. On top of that, I had decided that, for 12 hours straight inside KABATZA, I would need at least three different attires, seeing as I would sweat to death in there. Now, Tomodachi, the Cosplay Hive Mother, had insisted on my cosplaying as Tomitake from "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni". True enough, it is an easy cosplay and the guy DOES go around with a camera for nearly 3/4 of the series, but I had some issues with the particular attire. Well, it doesn't really matter what and I will probably do it sometime in the future but for that night, as Baldric would put it, "I had a cunning plan"...

Hence, on the day of the JMCM, besides having to go through some paperwork and other annoying stuff, I just HAD to go to a t-shirt print-shop, recommended by Kyoshiro, to get my very own, personally designed t-shirt (Iam so proud of it *tears of joy*), the final piece of attire for the JMCM. As I was on my way to take care of yet some other business downtown, Kyoshiro called me: she was with Lamia and Fab at Psyrri and was wondering if I could make it over. Sadly and steaming with envy, I told her we would have to meet at the JMCM. Ah yes, did I mention that Fearless Leader room302 (truly fearless, as I had wanted to throttle him) had told me about a particular time-allocation which did not quite agree with my sets, so I had to pull off some changes? Granted, he had told me quite a few days earlier but when you listen to something over and over again, it just might so happen that you find a solution (for the rearrangement of the songs), the very day when you have to play the set!

Well, to cut an even longer story short, around 15:30 I got a call form Larva, confirming I was to play my first set at 18:00 sharp and telling me he would be going to KABATZA in approximately half an hour. Everything seemed on schedule, despite some last-minute changes as to who would meet with whom and come over at what time etc.

True enough, at 17:15, packed and ready and wearing an innocent enough Captain Harlock t-shirt, I reached my final destination for the next 12 hours, finding some people waiting for us. Among them, was Artact, near-frantic at Larva NOT having arrived yet (he is terribly punctual when it comes to events) with Yu-kun and company, fearing that something had happened to them. It was, of course, a grossly exaggerated assumption, given our facts, but Larva not answering the phone only made matters worse. Seeing as things are usually not as bad as you tend to think, Larva arrived, in fact (and intact) at 17:20, terribly flustered and rather pissed-off. Something to do with work and faulty plumbing had caused his day to start rather badly and delayed him. No matter, the party could now begin...!

Meet the Opening Crew

Larva.

Alexiel.
(Told you I would get back at you).

Sophia.

Artact.
(Scary lady, yum!)

Yu-kun.
(Fishnet tights, yaay! "Eguzactury!").

Roxas (Kingdom Hearts).
(The guy made the key all by himself, out of wood!).

...and yours truly!

That is what KABATZA looked like at 18:00.

King, Queen and Knave
(Don't ask me who is who...)

Raven as Sugizo.
(One of my favorite cosplays ofthe JMCM. She is
a spitting image!).

room302.
(I ain't saying anything but my
comment still stands...heh).

With ever-Spartan, KrizD.

KABATZA, 18:45.

If looks could--ahem, never mind...

Tut-tut! Shame on you little Artact!

Not-so-Silent Hill

Tomodachi, the Cosplay Hive Mother
as a Nurse from Silent Hill: Origins!
(Another favorite).

Kabamaroudis (cut and shaved - he

is in the army!) as Travis from Silent
Hill (Origins?).

Guys dressed as Haruhi Suzumiya are in serious
danger of a good wallop. And I thought the Japanese
cosplayers were weird. They have nothing on us!

Soooo weird...!

Ahem.

x2...

x3... (=XXX)!

Silent ru-mu...

Ayami-chan and didi-doll.

KABATZA, 19:30.

No seriously, the likeness is uncanny...!

Three for True Silent Hill Fans

Ergo Proxy, looking VERY innocent,
meaning he is VERY guilty of something...

Aaah... I see...

Masami Eiri (Serial Experiments Lain).

Strictly for Female Naruto Fans
(I think...)

Orochimaru and Sasuke at the Beach!

Notice the writing on his back...

Now, now girls, stop drooling over your PCs...

Sugizo and fangirls Yu-kun and
Keru-chan.

Super Loved Fearless Leader.

Sugizo spreads the Super Love...

FAITOU!

Destroying an illusion...

...beyond repair!
(Though, if you ask me it IS kind of
creepy in its own way).

Meggi, apparently surprised at being told...?
(Hmmm...).


The clock struck Nine, when all the actors
of this "Spectacle Surreal" had gathered, under
the watchful eye of one whose bout with mystery and
crime has become legend...

En Avant!

Finally, KrizD arrived with Lamia...

...and Fab.

The gathering was completed...

...with Lady Cosette's arrival!
(Fun factoids: (a) I convinced her to
cosplay that, WITH the blond wig,
though I had kind of hoped she would
dye her hair. (b) Somehow, I did
something to this photo and it came out
like a 1930s picture or poster).

(Fun as the previous one was, I let this one
alone. Too much of a good thing...)

And just whose hat is Artact wearing
and posing so idly?

Aah, mais c'est moi! Hercule Poirot!

With the Lamia Cross duo having arrived and myself having put on my second attire for the JMCM, it was time to get the party seriously rolling. Stay tuned for what ensued and what my "little grey cells" deduced.

Cordiallement,

H. Poirot