Happy Santa-Day to you all!

I hope all of you, even if you don't celebrate anything, are having a great day!

I myself have been visited by Santa Claus! The first gift I received was a 3 month deviantART subscription from an anonymous gifter. Thank you, whoever you are!

My second gift was even more interesting.

had gone to the grocery and went home to have Santa Claus come to her door, handing her a wrapped gift and said, "I heard you want this book." She received a hardcover version of the first Harry Potter book. He also mentioned that he visited her friends houses.

So on a whim, I checked my own mailbox. Low and behold, there was a wrapped present too. I opened it and couldn't believe it....who would have known this is what I wanted? Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 21. I had only told =artemislee and =sekia13san I had wanted it. My mother never buys me anything anime, so she was out; and my other friends I never talk to enough for them to know. Lastly, we told to check her mailbox. And she got a gift too. DNAngel Vol. 13. With it, she got a note; the hand-writing is a dead ringer for =artemislee's



We're all stumped on this one.
But I've come to the conclusion it just has to be Santa Claus
Thank you Santa, for everything

2009 is coming to a close, and I'm pretty happy to have it end. 2010 will be a nice, fresh start!

Life seems pretty good right now, though I hope it is for all of you.

College is going well. We don't have a lot of money, but home life is improving; and that's all I've ever wanted.

deviantART has been extremely enjoyable this year, and a large part of my life as this year ends. Cosplay has boomed as my primary category of submissions, and I've made a lot of great friends and connections through it.

As far as the winter season goes, I'm still in Halloween-mode. I want to dress in costume and see everyone else do the same, view Halloween decor and eat some Halloween food/candy. To quench that Hallo's Eve thirst, and I will be having a Vampire Flick Marathon this Friday. Watching Dracula, Dracula: Dead and Loving it, Hellsing OVA's 1-6 and anything else vampire-related. I'll also be cooking up some Halloween food! Sandwiches, Deviled Eggs, and cookies too. Maybe with a blood pack here or there

As for the rest of my year, I will be managing things here on this account and my two groups.
Hellsing cosplay with and will start more next week, too! I'm looking forward to that most of all We'll also be meeting for a nice day at Greenfield Village and go out to eat in place of buying one another Santa-Day gifts. Yes, I said Santa-Day




I've launched 2 groups! and (also with an off-branch Hellsing site [link]) which have launched within the last 2 weeks and growing exponentially

Another dA update: I recently made a new screenname if you want to readd/add me there. xCirceBakax is my new name.

(Btw my mood is Happy, I just liked the Vampire Emote xD)

No, this is not about the latest Twilight movies. If you like Twilight, I won't bad mouth you or anything. I'm just personally not a fan.

I have been in a Hellsing kick for about a year now. In that time, I have read many different books, articles and the like about vampires.

And I wanted to know what all of you knew about vampires.
Please tell me, what do you like/know about vampires!!
I also wanted to share my knowledge of vampires and vampire pop culture with all of you.

Vlad the Impaler(Tepes) also known as Vlad Dracula the III
Vlad the Impaler was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Vlad himself was never thought of as a vampire in his own time.

He was born in Sighisoara, Transylvania in early winter of 1431. His father, Vlad Dracul, had been living in exile at the time. Vlad was the middle child, having 2 brothers; his oldest brother, Mircea, and his younger brother, Radu the Handsome.

In 1444, at the age of thirteen, Vlad and his brother Radu were sent to Adrianople as hostages, to appease the Sultan. Vlad remained there until 1448, and was released by the Turks, who supported him as their candidate for the Wallachian throne. Vlad’s younger brother chose to remain in Turkey, where he had grown up.

Vlad’s initial reign was short, only spanning 2 months. It was not until 1456, under the support of Hunyadi and the Kingdom of Hungary that he returned to the throne. He established Tirgoviste as his capitol city, and began to build his castle some distance away in the mountains near the Arges River. Most of the atrocities associated him took place during this time.

More than anything else the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty. Impalement was his preferred method of torture and execution. Impalement is one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable, as it was typically slow and painful. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake. (For more content on this, visit [link])

Legends surrounding Vlad suggest he had his servants collect the blood of the impaled warriors so that he could dip his bread in the blood and consume it. Other accounts show Vlad eating dinner at a table set next to his dying victims. But it was not until Bram Stoker's book that Vlad the Impaler was thought of as a vampire.

Other Vampire Myths
To be born the 7th son of the 7th son
A cat jumping over corpse turns the corpse into a vamp (England); in Romania the same but the cure (antidote) is to put a piece of iron into the corpse's hand or place Hawthorn in the coffin
To be borne born with teeth or a caul or stillborn - is believed to be a Vampire
A dead body that has been reflected in a mirror - is believe to be a Vampire
To be bitten by a Vampire - will turn you into one
Those who do not receive proper burial - run the risk of returning as a vampire
People who have eaten the meat of a sheep that has been killed by a wolf
Having red hair (Greece only)
By renouncing the Eastern Orthodox religion (which is why the peasants may have thought Vlad Dracula was a vampire)
By being excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox church
Wild dogs jumping over a corpse (don't go dying in the bush)
Leaving any kind of knot in the coffin, in a tie or a rope, it was thought to prevent the corpse's decay and to disturb the dead person's ability to make the transition into another life.

Vampire Sub Culture
The vampire lifestyle is an alternative lifestyle, based on the modern perception of vampires in popular fiction. The vampire subculture has stemmed largely from the goth subculture, but also incorporates some elements of the sadomasochism subculture. The Internet provides a prevalent forum for the subculture along with other media such as glossy magazines devoted to the topic.

Active vampirism within the vampire subculture includes both blood consumption, which is commonly referred to as sanguinarian vampirism, and psychic vampirism, through which the practitioners believe they are drawing spiritual nourishment from auric or pranic energy.

Vampires in Pop Culture
Movies
The Vampire (1931)
Nosfertaru (1922)
A Fool There Was (?)
Son of Dracula (1943)
Dracula (1944)
Dracula's Daughter (?)
House of Frankenstien (1944)
House of Dracula (1945)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstien (1948)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Vampyres (1974)
Old Dracula (1974)
Love at First Bite (1979)
Interview with a Vampire (1994)
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
Van Helsing (2004)
Lust for Dracula (2005)
Twilight (2008-?)
The Lost Boys (?)
Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel
True Blood
Moonlight
The Vampire Diaries

Video Games
Castlevania
Shadowrun
Darkstalkers
Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil
Shadow Hearts
Guilty Gear
Boktai
Rosenkreuzstilette
Vampire- The Masquerade
BazBlue- Calamity Trigger
The Elder Scrolls
Warhammer Fantasy- Vampire Counts
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Comic Books
Vampirella (1969)
Tomb of Dracula (1972)
Blade (1973)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (?)
30 Days of Night (2002)
Dracula Vs. King Arthur (2005)

Anime and Manga
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1987)
Vampire Princess Miyu (OAV 1988, TV series 1997)
Nightwalker (1998)
Vampire Hunter D (2000)
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
Hellsing (2002)
Vampire Host (2004)
Tsukihime, Lunar Legend (2003)
Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase- (2004)
Bleach (2005)
Blood+ (2005)
Trinity Blood (2005)
Vampire Knight,(2005)
Karin (2006)
Black Blood Brothers (2006)
Hellsing Ultimate (OVAs) (2006)

(Other Media [link])

Totally epic.

YoumaCon 2009 has been the biggest and best thus far. Tons of great cosplays, so impressive. My absolute favorites were
as Pip Bernadotte from Hellsing Ultimate
as Hagi from Blood+ (who I was mistaken for, and he was mistaken for me xD)
Amor!Alphonse from FullMetal Alchemist
Metal Wargreymon from Digimon
The Saiyuki Group, including Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, Hakkai and Lyrin
All the Yu-Gi-Oh! cosplayers (so many o.o)
Horned!Joshua from Chrono Crusade
The 3 Sailor Moon Cats including Luna, Artemis and Diana (which were flawless!)
and many, many others!

The weekend was long with walking and posing, more often than I am used to, but it sure stoked my ego >3 Posing was too fun, and even after being exhausted, I went out walking solo for more! We must have gotten triple the photos we'd received the previous Youma.

My group was widely recognized for the 6 foot coffin I had strapped to my back. And I'm more than happy to say many people called my coffin bad ass, epic and, 'Hey, did you see the girl with the coffin?' <333 Just what I was hoping!

We managed to get many shots of =sekia13san at night, thanks to her suggestion.

We also made some great friends with and her 2 friends and You guys were by far the greatest this weekend. We may have sat waaaay too much xD but we had so much fun with you 3.

Photoshoots this year seemed to suck due to sucky organization. My group is planning to volunteer to run a photoshoot, if possible, to keep everything from seeming like a zoo. Not only that, but the shoots were at the pool terrace, which in costume, was sweltering.

Shoot's aside we had a great time at the charity ball, dressed in formal variations of our Hellsing costumes, complete with fancy masks. I'm not the dancing kind of person, and even I was enjoying my time, just dancing slow songs to be safe lol.

We also skipped the masquerade and rave due to lines, and spent many hours sitting and chatting and running up and down 4 flights of stairs. Yes, I ran down steps with a 6 foot coffin. Boy was it interesting. I somehow didn't hurt or knock anyone unconscious And running with that thing was so much fun, though =artemislee couldn't believe the speeds I was reaching.

We also received candy and many, many hugs for our costumes.

Oh, and did I forget to mention we had a picnic on the coffin? xD yes, I set up a tablecloth on the coffin, and we ate our food we had prepared. We got many great comments for it, and about 5 people snapped photos of it too!

We completely gave up on attending panels, and enjoyed being photographed and socializing more. Though we did make about 3 stops to the game room where we played DDR and some shooting game I don't know the name of.

Con suite was better than previous years with individual bags of chips and soda cans.

All in all, I didn't want the weekend to end, and begged my groupmates for at least a final once over to absorb as much con high as possible.

Now I'll just have to upload more photos, search for the many we were in and get ready for the next conventions!

HOURS LEFT...

I am currently TOO HYPER to pay any attention to college or anything non-anime related...will 6pm ever come?!

Remaining List of things To Do:
Finish =sekia13san's masquerade ball mask
Buy/Cook Con food

Cooking food for the Con as well, all Japanese foods:

The Con Menu:
Chicken Fried Rice
Meat Buns
Rice Balls
Lychee
Tea (Holiday tea requested specifically by =artemislee


I'm also posting on the YoumaCon Forums a lot as well. My name of there is Nymphias in case you post at all It's the closest thing I have to not going crazy waiting for the convention to start >w<

Nothing left but to wait, and jump around my house, cosplay in the meantime and watch the clocks at college for time to pass quickly.

Be sure to check out my Feature Box below for some Youma '08 shots, just for old time sake

Youma is coming up fast, hope you're almost ready!





Nacht Members
Alucard, Rio de Janero!Alucard, Shamballa!Roy Mustang, Female Miniskirt! Roy Mustang, Envy
Girlycard, Shamballa!Edward Elric
Young Walter Dollneaz, Dark Walter Dollneaz, Shamballa!Alphonse Elric

We will also be meeting with other people. Can't wait to meet and catch up with each and every one of you. Make sure to look out for our Full Metal Alchemist and Hellsing group all!