I have had days where I've written things. I've definitely had more days where I haven't. All part of the process, as they say.
I think I'm just having trouble finding the joy in writing again and artificial, arbitrary deadlines for stories that no one is waiting for isn't helping things. So we'll see how things go.
As you can probably guess, while my own stories have stalled, I've been rabidly consuming others, specifically DropoutTV's Dimension 20, a D&D storytelling show that I've become absolutely obsessed with. From Fantasy High to Unsleeping City to Misfits & Magic to A Court of Fey & Flowers, I've loved going on these Intrepid Heroes journeys. Filled with humor and heroics, romance and tragedy, rebellion and revelation, they are amazing stories told expertly.
So how could I not want to create my own little piece of that?
So, taking advantage of those post-Halloween sales, I started my next convention cosplay: a Box of Doom cigarette girl aka the Babe of Doom, if you will.
For those unfamiliar with the show, the Box of Doom is a dice-rolling box reserved for the most influential and pivotal rolls of the game. It can determine a character's fate: to find love or not, to triumph over adversary or not, to live or not. Every time it's brought out, the stakes of the game and story rise and make the storytelling seem thrilling.
I'm not entirely sure exactly why I thought crossing it with a cigarette girl made sense, except I really like the idea of inviting people to gamble with Destiny and disaster. And there is something about the classic cigarette girls, who literally - though they may not have known it at the time - doled out death with a flirtatious smile. I think the Box of Doom, despite it's ghastly appearance, does the same, in its own way.
Also, why do so many of my cosplays make me look like a serial killer?
Taking that discount skull, I screwed and glued it into a hinged box, adding clasps to the front and foam board "bricks" to the sides. I then covered those with foam clay. I created the Box of Doom's cliffs using tin foil, before covering that in more foam clay. And, of course, using more of that foam clay, as well as hot glue, to texture the skull.
Then it was time to spray pain the box, using textured "stone" spray paint. Then I used acrylic paints to add shading, that left my hands looking like I'd messed around with the Darkhold, as well as highlights.
Then I lacquered the box and added a ribbon harness, using some discount, remnant fabric I found. I added a bow that is both decorative as well as stabilizing, as it's sewn directly into the box and the ribbon strung into the box through holes I drilled into the box.
For those who haven't watched Dimension 20 (though you should, both Fantasy High and Unsleeping City are available for free on Youtube, and the rest are available via subscription to DropoutTV - which is well worth the price for the hours upon hours of content), the show is shot in the Dimensional Dome, a color-changing room in the shape of a large multi-sided die. And I really wanted to incorporate that into my design. So, grabbing some double-sided tape, battery-powered Christmas lights, and construction paper, I got to work. While it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, I'm so happy with how it did turn out.
So there it is, all assembled and ready. I'm not sure when I'll actually begin working on the dress. I have all the materials, but I might take a bit of a break. Or start another of my many projects (I have two other planned cosplays for Convergence this year - an arachne woman, like in my novella Thoughts & Preyers, and Delloso de la Rue from Dimension 20's Court of Fey & Flowers).
Or maybe I'll write.
Who knows.
But this was fun and I can't wait to invite my fellow Intrepid Heroes to take a chance and roll in my Box of Doom.
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