COSTUME INFO: Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Brief Bio: Riza Hawkeye is a first Lieutenant of the army of Amestris and serves under Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang. She's very skilled with firearms, and keeps up a tough facade, rarely showing any emotions other than anger or annoyance, though she is very compassionate on the inside. She is very protective over Roy Mustang and would follow him to the ends of the earth and back if it was his wish. For a full biography, check out Riza Hawkeye's FMA Wikipedia page.

Why?: I absolutely Love Riza Hawkeye. I think it's just her overall personality, she's independent and dependent at the same time, but still strong enough to take care of herself at the same time. As for the outfit itself, I've always had a liking for military uniforms for some reason, so it totally works for me.

Construction: I consider this my first real cosplay for some reason, even though Tohru was technically my first. My mom helped with a lot of this too, but I did a lot of detailing, and things that didn't involve the sewing machine.

The jacket was bought from a thrift store and modified with fabric bought at JoAnn's (added collar, cuffs, and closing flap), the skirt and pants came with it, and the skirt was cut to fit. The silver trim and yellow shoulder stripes are ribbon from JoAnn's held on with Heat 'n' Bond, and the buttons are hand-sewn on. I already owned the combat boots.

In the pictures here, everything looks a lot darker than it is (bad camera quality), but the main reason I made this costume instead of buying one is that I didn't feel that the store-made costumes were a dark enough blue. My Riza is actually a proper navy blue.

Originally, I used my real hair for this cosplay, though you can't tell in the pictures here, my hair actually was blonde. However, I ended up cutting my hair and dying to black, so Riza went into temporary retirement. Now I have a blonde wig, so I'm hoping to un-retire her at a con soon-ish.

This costume is 95% complete.
The missing 5(ish) percent is the silver nameplates on the collar, the star buttons / pins on the shoulders, and a handgun.

Convention Info: I first wore this costume at Comic Arts & Anime Teen Expo (CAAT) '06. Since then it has been worn to various small conventions as well as both Fanime and Kin-Yoobi '08. It has never been entered in competition. As mentioned before, it has been temporarily retired since '08, but I hope to un-retire Riza some time in '10.

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COSTUME INFO: Edward Elric ~ Female Variation (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Brief Bio: Edward Elric lost his right arm and left leg in an attempt to resurrect his mother with the use of alchemy, "the science that makes you feel like you're magic." After obtaining a state alchemy certification, Edward travels the country with his brother, a soul bonded to a suit of armor, searching for a way to get their original bodies back. Edward is hot-tempered shorty with a soft-spot for his loved ones. For a full biography, check out Edward Elric's Wikipedia Page.

Why?: My Edward Elric costume just sort of fell into my lap. At a certain point, I decided that if I found usable pieces, I'd make an Edward Elric cosplay, but I wasn't going to search for them. I've always had a fangirl crush on Edward as well. I did a variation because I debuted him at a convention where I expected a swarm of Edward's. The idea was to do a female variant, partially because I flat-out didn't feel like binding, and to make it look like I was a fight.

Construction: The red jacket was found at a thrift store, and I took out the lining and took off the buttons. I added the symbol on the back using iron-on dye crayons. I'm considering going over it with Sharpie though, to make it more solid. I just chopped off the leg of one of my pairs of pants and grabbed a belt. The shirt was from my Riza Hawkeye costume, and the boots were mine. My boyfriend was Roy Mustang at the time, and we went for the whole "dog of the military" thing, with me on a leash. The collar actually says "Edo-Kun" on it (it's my boyfriend's and his name is actually Ed), and I stole one of my dog's leashes. The scar / cut on my face is eyeliner and eyeshadow, the scar on my leg is Scar Putty, and my automail leg is silver body paint. I did not dye my hair or get a wig because, well, I just didn't feel like it. The final touch was an autograph from Vic Mignogna (Edward's English voice actor), and was obtained at Super-Con 2009.

This costume is 80% complete. The main point of it's incomplete-ness is the automail, I'd like to make some actual automail, but as far as I'm concerned, this costume is retired.

Convention Info: I only wore Edward Elric to Super-Con 2009, specifically because Vic Mignogna (pictured with me, left) was going to be there. I really doubt that I'll ever wear it again.

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