Bec Stafford interviews Lynette Lounsbury.

Bec: Dominic Mathers is your central character in Afterworld. Can you tell us a bit about him and the Trials he faces in the Necropolis? How long did it take you to write Afterworld?

LL: Dom is a guy who is really uncomfortable with his place in the world – he feels out of place in his skin, in his family and in his country. His family lives in India and he doesn’t know how to deal with the poverty he sees there. He is quite depressive and would be happy never to draw attention to himself. I thought it would be interesting to follow this sort of person into the afterlife – it takes death to make him realise that life is actually quite an amazing thing. The Trials are something I adapted from Roman history – the idea of taking pleasure from wielding a huge amount of power over others suited the Nephilim, particularly Satarial who was incredibly angry with the humans. In the beginning, it was a place to train and prepare, but as people became more listless and “stuck” he turned the Trials into a way to torture and “collect” humans.

It took me nearly two years to write Afterworld – I was writing around having a baby boy who demanded a lot of time – but it was also a complex story and there were periods of time where I just needed to think it through.

Bec: Afterworld features a nasty Nephilim, Satarial, and I’ve read that you lecture in ancient history, as well as creative writing. Do you find that the former often informs the latter? Can you talk to us a bit about Satarial and how his character developed?

LL: My love of ancient history definitely influences my writing. I love mythology especially – the stories that people believe and which define their cultures.

The Nephilim are mentioned in quite a few ancient traditions. Sometimes they are called “The Watchers” and other times “Giants” – and in the Bible it mentions that they were the children of Angels and human women.

Satarial is the name of one who is recorded in a Jewish manuscript called The Book of Enoch. Since the first part of the name means “adversary” but the whole name means “on the side of God” I thought he must have been a very interesting and complicated being.

Most religions also have a flood myth – from the Mesopotamians to Indigenous Australians – and so I put the two together. I found Satarial’s motivation in the fact that humans (in this case Noah) allowed his people to die in the flood. It’s just a case of me reading these ancient stories and imagining the human face behind them.

Bec: You grew up in Papua New Guinea, are the editor of Ytraveler.com, and each year you volunteer in the South Pacific on behalf of an Australian aid organisation. How do your travel adventures influence your writing, and do you like to write while you’re in transit and abroad?

LL: Travel influences everything I do. Growing up in PNG meant we had very close contact with magic and witchcraft and people who both practised and completely believed in it. I remember some locals bringing a little owl to our house once when I was about 6 and they were talking about how it was evil and carried spirits in it. It as actually just a very cute little bird, but I can still remember that the locals really believed it was evil, and that was all that mattered. I was heavily influenced by this idea that our beliefs control us.

 Travel has made me very aware of the “serious” side of the world. Which sounds a little bleak – and I don’t mean I like that. I just know from experience that the world is fragile and that for a lot of people it is a difficult journey.

I write a lot when I am overseas. I just feel more open and inspired when I don’t have “everyday” life to worry about. And I like warm weather – hot even – I’ll write anywhere if its hot. 

Bec: Which of your fictional characters Burns Brightest in your mind and why?

LL: Eduardo definitely burns brightest in my mind. This is a being who has been waiting for thousands of years for the love of his life and is committed to continue waiting. He’s not happy about it, he is not enjoying it – but he won’t give up. And at the same time, he is not so jaded that he doesn’t see something valuable in Dom. He invests time, energy and eventually love and loyalty into Dom and because he is willing to give like that, he  opens himself up to the possibility of letting go. When he lets go – he ends up finding what he was looking for.

Ruth Cohen talks to cosplayers, the Beer Legion

This gang have to be my all time favourite armour-toting cosplayers. They’ve come up with these characters themselves and have graciously agreed to do a mini-interview for this armour segment!

They won Best Supanova Skit at both Brisbane and Gold Coast Advanced category from 2012 to 2013, Special Creativity Mention at AICON comp and Cosplay Guest at flippish.com segment ‘mt.fuji’ in the Philippines 2013.

All the amazing photos you see throughout are by Lorenzo So Photography. You can find the Beer Legion here.

What are your core materials and approximately how much do you use?

We primarily use Beer Boxes that represent our characters. I myself use XXXX as I am the XXXX Samurai. Pure Blonde Valkyrie uses Pure Blonde boxes and the VB Knight uses VB boxes. We use ALOT of boxes so that we can get some nice designs out of our armour. For example, Pure Blonde has a set of wings where each of the feathers is created from a beer box, and my armour is plated to simulate a real set of samurai armour. We also use undergarments like shirts, or items like knee guards or shin guards to build on top of. Generally we just use things we find around the home that we haven’t used in a while, as we see it as a form of recycling. Other materials include duct tape, ribbon, super glue, rope, cotton, core flute and zips.

[Beer Legion 1 – XXXX Samurai, Pure Blonde Valkyrie, and VB Knight]

What sort of man-hours does it take to put together the armour?

Each of the completed armours took roughly 1-4 months. We are perfectionists when it comes to these armours. On our site, it shows our first incarnations of the armours and then we just simply improve upon them more and more. Most people don’t realise how much time we put into these armours, seeing as they are made of beer boxes. They assume we just throw these boxes together the night before an event!

[Beer Legion 2 – XXXX Samurai]

Are there simplified versions of your armour or is it all out, all the time?

There are simplified versions of the armour. I myself wear a half armour when it mixes with my martial arts. And VB Man has chain-mail version that is easier to move in. We do have our well-made armours for great events and we also have our simple armours for doing skits and videos. Half the time we just wear the hat and helms, just for our shenanigan videos on YouTube!

[Beer Legion 3 – Pure Blonde Valkyrie]

What made you think of the materials in the first place?

We were stumped for what to Cosplay before the 2011 Brisbane Supanova. After a fun night of shenanigans we thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we made armours out of these beer boxes?” Hence the creation of the Beer Legion. Initially, we just did this for the LOL factor, but we were such a hit, we began expanding on the Legion by moving into skits and storylines. We focus on having a good time. I guess the Legion represents the fact that Cosplay isn’t just about looking awesome; it’s also about having a great time with your friends!

[Beer Legion 4 – VB Knight]

Well that’s me for a wrap this week! Remember that patience and persistence are important in creating massive features like armour… (Oh and fun… remember to have fun)! ~Ruth

Tools for Extravagance by Ruth Cohen (aka making those wicked awesome armour Cosplays).

Welcome back again for another Cosplay Blog! Now that Mel and I have covered the basics on what Cosplay is and why it is fun to do, I thought I’d get right into the ‘cool stuff’ and talk about how you can make that awesome looking armour at home! Now don’t be too worried if it doesn’t look flawless the first time… remember that every amazing armour Cosplay has 10 dead brothers or sisters lying in garbage dump somewhere.

Lightening Empress Armour

[Zhel as Erza Scarlet ‘Lightening Empress Armour’ with photographer Dennis “Shoti” Li]

So what do these creative Cosplayers use for their extravagant Cosplays? Well let’s just say I didn’t use the word ‘creative’ for no reason… I’ve put together a list for you of the more common armour materials: worbla, cardboard, yoga mats, craft foam, latex, and fibreglass. Now these are just core elements remember… when creating good armour you’ll also need bits and bobs like: duct tape, string, glue, and patience!

So worbla is a thermoplastic, which means it is activated by heat and moulds really easily once heated up. This makes it a good material to mould over things or create details on something. The best way to use worbla is to stencil your shape first with pencil or sharpie, cut it out, and then activate with a heat gun (woohoo! Bunnings shopping!). You can head here  for some quick tutorials or brilliant gallery shots.

Middle Earth Barbie with heat gun

[Middle Earth Barbie with heat gun and Janna armour]

Yoga mats and craft foam are good things to use as a guide to put worbla or cardboard over. They can give you a guide for shape and make your Cosplay more padded and comfortable to wear. You can stencil out your shape with sharpies and use scissors or a stanley knife to score out the shape.

Fibreglass will give your cardboard armour a smooth and professional finish, not to mention make it easier to paint. But I’m not going to pretend it’s easy for an amateur props maker to pick up how to fibreglass in a week. Push your Cosplay boundaries, but know your limits… you WANT to succeed.

Latex is a great way to add small detail to your armour without getting into the hassle of worbla sheets. It is also a good solution to wanting more moveable armour for those Conventions you’ll want to actually sit down at. I’m not going to profess to be an expert, but there are tutorials online by those who are!

 Finally, cardboard, I bet you thought I’d forgotten it! Well worry no more; I have a special segment for cardboard armour from some of the most resourceful kids out there. 

 The Beer Legion

This gang have to be my all time favourite armour-toting Cosplayers. They’ve come up with these characters themselves and have graciously agreed to do a mini-interview for this armour segment!

They won Best Supanova Skit at both Brisbane and Gold Coast advanced category from 2012 to 2013, Special Creativity Mention at AICON comp and Cosplay Guest at flippish.com segment ‘mt.fuji’ in the Philippines 2013.

You can find the Beer Legion here.

Read Ruth’s interview with the BEER LEGION next week.

The Book –

I think buying the movie tie-in cover for this book was perhaps a mistake, as I kept flipping back to the cover to reference the appearances of the characters. I’m now wondering if I found a blockage in my imagination because I had them ‘figured out’ already.

Basic storyline is the old … sixteen year old girl coming into her full powers and having to choose between good and evil. There are massive consequences for either choice and the man in her life is her reason for fighting on.

I loved the way a male and female character spent the majority of the book working towards a common goal without having loads of sex, and the tonsil hockey was kept to a minimum.

I found it intriguing the history of the town played as much a part of the story as the storyline itself, tipping a hat to those who do not know their past but are having to relive it. Nicely done by Garcia and Stohl.

Lena’s family are a kooky lot, and considering the ‘mortals’ are supposed to be the epitome of ‘normal’, they’re just as odd in their own ways.

Of all the characters, I think I like Link and Amma the best, mainly because of their loyalty and their drive to do whatever it takes to be there when Ethan and Lena need them the most.

We’ll see how much CGI is needed to create as much life to the film as was given to us in the book. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what Richard LaGravenese can do to up the ante, and make us believe.

Mass Market Paperback, 563 pages

Published November 20th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published November 23rd 2009)

original title: Beautiful Creatures by K Garcia and M Stohl

ISBN 0316231657 (ISBN13: 9780316231657)

The Film

In the process of cutting down a 500 plus page book into a 2 hour film, director, Richard LaGravense had to do some serious reshuffling. This is a film BASED on the book, which effectively means the creative license is used liberally. Though I now understand why the cover of the book had me confused.

The casting was done well, and between the three leading adult roles, Jeremy Irons (Die Hard: With a Vegence) Viola Davis (The Help) and Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee) you’d be hard pressed to hear much history about the actors playing the teenagers.

LaGravense used the K.I.S.S. method and simplified both the character list and removed the unimportant plot points. He hits the most important bits, though they may not be in the same chronological order as the book.

The CGI is impressive and considering the Visual Effects department credits on the IMDB website (more than any other department in the whole production by far), you’d be a little perplexed if the effects were mediocre.

There were few weak points with the film. The one that bugged me the most was the contrasts in the dark scenes were so undefined. I watched the DVD in the darkest room in the house and had trouble making things out. The other was the southern accents. Now this may be a side effect of having a friend in the south who has taught me to pick the awful mimics, but whoa Mumma, I think they need to spend some time in the south. Yikes!

The wrap up…

I read the book first, and though the film and the book are of the same essence, they are far stronger as separate entities. The book was more detailed and the time restraints in the film perhaps weakened the emotional elements Stohl and Garcia were highlighting.

I enjoyed both though, and I’m heading off to  watch the extras on the DVD. 

Melanie Stevens has been going to Supanova since 2007 and cosplaying since 2009. This year marks her 11th convention. She’s a bit of an anime otaku (one who is obsessed with anime) and loves write and read, although is possibly the slowest reader in Australia. Mel spends large parts of her week with headphones on, watching shows and listening to hours of music, generally escaping reality. Her first novel, Bound, is out now.

If you are seriously asking me why people cosplay, with a straight face, then clearly you have no idea what it is and need to check out my friend Ruth’s previous cosplay blog.

Cosplay is awesome! There are no other words. Whether you know it or not, you probably are a cosplayer. You’ve just never strapped on a wig and tights before.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you buy your outfit online or skilfully handcraft each detail. If you love it and are 100% committed to looking and feeling awesome then you’re doing it right. However, for those of us born with the power to shoot a hot glue gun like nobody else, creating your own cosplays are what it’s all about.

A masterpiece in the making

[Don’t worry if other people can’t see your vision… yet…] (Me making boots I think ha-ha)

There’s nothing like letting your imagination go wild as you transform yourself from the normal you, into the super you! With this comes the main challenge. There are easy outfits and insanely hard outfits, no matter if you love games, television, movies, comics, anime, manga or any other aspect of pop culture.

Soul Eater

[It feels good when things turn out better than you thought!] (Me: Soul Eater, Tadpole Bomb)

I started off with something easy. But a lot of people, including myself now, enjoy a good cosplay challenge. I love thinking, “Wow. Imagine if someone did that as a cosplay!” and then of course, do it. Sometimes this requires a mixture of online purchasing, borrowing a friend’s sewing skills and painting the same headpiece five times until your inner perfectionist says “It’s…done!”

Mel as Kagome and Shugo Chara

[My first cosplay Kagome from Inuyasha from 2009 Brisbane Supanova and most recent from 2013 Brisbane Supanova, Amulet Fortune Shugo Chara]

So then what? Are you going to sit around your house? Maybe, but most people enjoy creating cosplays to show them off! Whether you plan to hit a convention or organise a full blown photoshoot, there is nothing better than allowing the world to see your genius. Cosplay can also be a door to other opportunities including careers in the arts.

Keik

[Keik Cake Store (yes odd name!) Underwater Miku shoot. Photographer: Pireze (Isaac Leung).

Finally, and most importantly, the reason why people cosplay is simply fun! That is my main motivation for burning my hands with glue and breaking the bank at Spotlight. Because at the end of the day, I cosplay because I love it!