June 14, 2019: It's amazing how things have changed so much in the past 3 years, and it all started with one man's obsession.

Excerpts from the journal of the now deceased Benjamin Takahashi:

August 19, 2014. I've finally gotten the position of lead researcher for the biological enhancement team for DARPA! If only I could tell those who made fun of me for being a nerd and for going to those conventions. So what if I am a self-identified otaku. Why is my hobby so bad, when their obsession with sports and all things "manly" is perfectly fine. Ohh well, in time I will show them. They do say I am one of the most brilliant research geneticists ever, and success is the best revenge!

November 4, 2014. Breakthrough! We have finally found the key to unlocking more of the mind! So far they are only letting us test the mu1437 retrovirus on animals, but it seems to work! We have tested this on chimpanzees and now they all have an IQ in the range of 100 to 120! They can read, and communicate with us via computer, and they are learning things at a rate that rivals normal humans! They have names and have given them to us! I have been authorized to work on something that will break down and change their larynx to allow them to speak as a human would. This poses a challenge because I will have to not only create a virus to rewrite the genetic code so any changes will be passed along to potential offspring, but I will have to have it regress part of their cellular structure to stem cells that can become what we need them to become at a slow enough rate to not kill them, but one that will allow the changes needed to create what is needed to achieve the goal of speech in a short period of time. This is going to be challenging, but I will get there!

March 22, 2015. I did it. I can insert whatever characteristics I need and cause those changes to happen in an organism. They can speak now thanks to virus bc894. I have achieved greatness with just that alone, though the military wants to rush me along. Increased intelligence and changes to cellular structure aren't enough for them. They want enhanced healing abilities along with increased strength, agility, and endurance. If I want to continue as the lead on this I have to deliver results. I have taken one step that they know nothing about. I have taken a sample of mu1437. I am taking a week off for vacation due to the convention. They think I have the extra few days to prepare my costumes, but that is not why I am taking that much time. I will inject the sample as soon as I get home and shut myself in for a few days. 3 days will be enough for it to fully affect me. I will have that edge needed to pull this off. I cannot be caught, for to do so would be the end of me.

April 29, 2015. I have the edge I needed and am progressing faster than ever. I have unlocked the increased strength, endurance, and agility the military wants, but they still want the enhanced healing ability and now they want resistance to chemical and biological agents. They want a super soldier, and they want to enhance the elites in government. I have a bad feeling about this. I can see where this will go.
Also, I have befriended two of our test subjects, the chimps who call themselves Deronoo and Balbeeda. They are happy about being advanced, but are sad that they are being treated like prisoners and that they could never go back to being with their own kind who have not been advanced as they have.

May 14, 2015. I had to hide the anger inside today. Our test subjects were murdered. No, no one broke in. It was done by another team that I work with. The people in charge wanted to check out what changes were made to all 8 of our test subjects, including the ones I have befriended. They did so via vivisection. It was determined that the changes were permanent and stable. I have now been ordered to get the project over the line by years end, and that if I can I will be allowed to become one of the "advanced humans" with carte blanche on my research. I've also been given the talk about professionalism as one of the elites, not ordered to quit my hobbies, but hinted that it may be for the best to keep the hobbies under wraps. I also found my Sanada figure was boxed up with a note to take it home. So, they don't like catgirls. If only I had the catgirl ray gun she uses, then I would show them.

June 22, 2015. I discovered a side effect to unlocking what I estimate to be 25-30% of my brain. I now can "hear" the surface thoughts of others and I have developed slight telekinetic powers. Centers in the brain for telepathy and telekinesis that were probably not meant to develop any time soon have been activated. I must be careful with this.

August 3, 2015. I know how to give them all they want now, but I have stalled because I am going to give them a little extra. The catgirl ray gun gave me an idea. I am also not going to allow them to become the elite they want to be. After "overhearing" the plans for what amounts to a ruling class over all over the un-advanced humanity I have decided that we will not have that. When I decided the direction my career and studies were going to take I wanted to help humanity, not enslave it. I will make sure this thing is initially highly infectious and airborne, but has a dormancy period of about six months before making the changes needed. We can't have a bunch of jerks running the show, now can we.

September 26, 2015. I have everything they want all in one package called cg288. They have no idea, but CG stands for catgirl. I was able to write a few extra enhancements into the dormant stage. The retrovirus will do what they want. I've found that the intelligence increase from it gives the average human an IQ somewhere in the range of 600, and roughly quintuples agility, endurance, and strength. It also suspends and even reverses the aging process due to the fact that a body will regenerate any damage at the molecular level if given the nutrients needed. This should stabilize any subject taking it at an age of around 25, along with making them virtually immune to any disease. I have unlocked near immortality. I have unlocked the ability to develop telepathy and telekinesis.

They do not know that after the initial changes there is a 6 month incubation period for the rest of the changes to happen. Those changes give the subject a tail roughly a meter long, cause their ears to move higher on the head and become shaped much like a cat's ears, their hair and eyes to change to a random and bright matching color, and their body to become hairless, feminine, with a narrow waist, boobs, and a nice figure, even the guys! OF course they will still retain the equipment downstairs, but their genes will lock in all changes and those changes will be permanent. That will teach them! The surprise portion shouldn't pass along to the general population, so while they are becoming catgirls the general population will get the rest of the package due to the 6 month incubation period. Humanity will advance, they will not rule, and they will be marked for good. I hope.

October 6, 2015. It has been done. All the ruling elites, the special test forces, and the new ruling class have been enhanced. They locked me out of the enhancement. They have destroyed the samples and research. They lied. Ohh, but I have a surprise for them. They have been enhanced all right, enhanced by what I have created. Sometime next April they are going to get what is coming, and by then I will be long gone. I do not care who they get to try to undo it they will not succeed. I have locked it into place in their very structure and it will never be undone.

January 14, 2016. I think I have made a grave mistake. I “overheard” some of them mentally discussing their newfound enhancements, and that one of them had picked up from me that there are surprises in store. I will have to disappear and do so as soon as I possibly can. If only I had access to some of the base retrovirus form I could alter my appearance somewhat and be out of here, but that has been closed off to me. I also need to work on guarding my thoughts so they cannot pick up anything else from me. I am in trouble and I fear from my life.

February 8, 2016. They have me cornered and are going to kill me. I fear this will be my last entry. I pray that someone will find this so they can know why I have done what I have done. I pray posterity will forgive me as well. I may have screwed up royally. The changes that are a surprise for the elites were not able to be separated from the rest of the enhancements, therefore in a couple months the end of humanity as it has been will come. I will email this to my entire friends list. Hopefully it gets through.

NY Times article from April 23, 2016:
Scientists have not yet identified what has been causing people to fall ill and start growing feline features and their bodies to start feminizing. It first started a few weeks ago in the Arlington VA and Washington DC area, but has since spread to numerous cities throughout the world, mainly in Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America. Quarantine efforts have failed to stop it. It appears that the changes happen over a seven to ten day period, and leave the victim physically and mentally enhanced. The military denies any knowledge of what caused it, though military scientists and top government officials were the first to exhibit these changes.

The exchange was a set-up. My partner, James, and I with backup from a few other teams were to meet with an anonymous informant to learn where the disappearances were taking place, how they were taking place, and why. We had gotten indications that an ancient spirit from the Eastern Asia area, possibly Korea, possibly Japan, possibly some of the islands between. This is why we were called in, because we have been trained to deal with them. We met at an Asian fusion restaurant and bar with James and I at the table where we were to exchange the information, and the two backup teams at other tables covering the front entrance and entrance from the kitchen.

The people we were to meet were waiting for us, and after some small talk they told us an incredible story. There was a criminal ring who had contracted with an ancient deity of beauty and talent, and they were based in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. What they were doing was creating pop stars, entertainers, and beauty queens in South Korea and Japan by injecting spiritual power from the deity that would overwhelm the person when injecting it into their neck using a special tool. If the person couldn't overcome it with their willpower their eyes would turn black with a green flame in them as a sign of being overcome and locked into a 600 years of being one of many vessels for the deity. First they would obey, then over the next few months be changed into a young vaguely Japanese looking woman who looked around 18-20 years of age.

The thing they all had in common was they were beautiful, and talented in voice, acting, or dancing. By becoming this they would harvest spiritual energy for the deity and would never age and never get sick. The bigger the change, the more spiritual energy would be required for the change, but the connection to the deity would be better, and therefore more energy could be sent back to her. This si why it was either males or older people who were the missing ones.

It sounded like fantasy, but the list of names, details of their disappearances, and the list of up and coming stars matched the story. The deity would gain the power she used to by voluntary changes of people until the western world collided with her people and wiped them out, and the crime ring had set things up to where a portion of all earnings from the victims was sent to them as agents. The victims would act they were who they were billed to be since all memories were locked away, and their own soul was locked into a dream within the vessel they had been changed into, where they believed that all the experiences as a vessel were a dream.

After they turned all of this information over to us more people burst in and both watcher teams were overwhelmed and injected in the neck before they could react. James and I fought as hard as we could, but he was also injected in the neck, and I was injected in the hand as I wrestled the tool away from the criminals. I was able to draw my weapon and put out a call for backup, but it was too late for teams A and B and James was fighting the change with his will as hard as he could, but I could tell he was losing. I could feel some slight changes working in me, but since I was prepared for what happened and sicne I was injected in the hand I brought the possession to a halt.

The criminals siezed the teams and shoved them into waiting vans and took off, while the informants took off in another direction after unsuccessfully trying to take James with them. I was able to get James into our vehicle and tried to give chase, but the physical changes I could feel working up my arm were painful so I couldn't concentrate as I needed to. The criminals got away, but I had their tool so at least the disappearances would stop for a while and we knew what to look for in the future. Of the 6 of us 5 were a total loss to us, but at least we had one who we could use to communicate with the deity.

As time rolled on the agency was able to communicate with the deity through James, or Aoi as she was now called. We were able to set up a voluntary program where these changes could be made and she could harvest energy while the people who did it would retain themselves, but do as she directed in partnership with her. It was too late for anyone who had been transformed before though. She built a personality for Aoi, left her with the skills she needed, and withdrew as payment.

The changes wrought in me due to the failed attempt on me left me still male, but very feminine looking, and also left me with spiritual based powers. Some would almost call them magic or psyonic, but it was due to me getting part of the spiritual energy from those transformed and from the fact that I was able to fight her off and become partially deified, but locked into my new form. I stayed with the agency and watched.

More time passed, and many things were discovered. Humanity finally figured out how to stop the aging process. Humanity had also reached the stars. Humanity was now more than it had been before, but still needed its entertainment.

Aoi woke up every morning ready to sing again. She couldn't believe she had been one of the early ones to receive anti aging treatments so she could keep her fans, the millions, now billions who adored her, happy. She reflected about how every day was a good day to sing and dance for her people.

It had been 600 years to the day, though she didn't know it. She woke up. Then James woke up. He screamed.

Follow along with our hero as he tells the story of a guy (himself) who was brought along for the ride in his girlfriend's mad quest for perfection in costuming in preparation for the masquerade at an anime convention called Otakon. There is humor, a tiny bit of romance, and an experience he will never forget! It's set slightly in the future, and is told as a series of blog entries.

November 23: Susan called today and said she wanted me to help her with getting ready for next year’s Otakon masquerade. I’ve helped her before by making props, so I told her I will go ahead and help her out. I then asked her what props she wanted this time. She told me it wasn’t props she wants, be help with her skit. She wants to do a skit with Q-feuille and Ascoeur from Kiddy Girl-And. I said sure, I can probably help set that up and work on it with her.

She was pretty excited that I am willing to help her. What she does not know is the reason I’m so willing to help her and whoever she has with her is because I like her, and I like to spend time with her. I’m thinking of asking her out, but I’m not sure she would go for someone my size. It’s not the height, which at 6’2” I am tall, but the weight. I’m a bit fat. Yeah, I weigh 265. Ohh well, working with her on stuff will let me spend more time with her. I imagine she’s going as Ascoeur since she really likes the character. I wonder who she will have with her as Q-feuille?

December 1: Susan called and said she would like to challenge me to lose some weight. She said I need to be in shape for the convention, plus she wanted to help me feel better and get in shape. She even challenged me by saying if I get down to 175 or less she is going to take me on vacation to Japan for 2 weeks with here next September! I have to do it. I also asked her out. I can’t believe she said yes! She told me she’s been waiting for me to do that for over a year now. I must be dense.

She also said she has made an appointment for me at the clinic her mom owns. I know they do some kind of health stuff involving lasers and such. She said it is to help get ready for Otakon next year. I guess they must do weight loss there too. Sounds like I’m going to be doing loads of work to help set this up so I guess I need to be in shape for it.

December 6: OHH MY GOD!!!! The fury of a thousand suns have slapped me in the face repeatedly this evening! Susan met me at her mom’s clinic. It’s called Healthy Look Laser and Beauty. One of the things they do there is something called “laser hair removal.” I didn’t know there was such a thing, but Susan assured me that it was something she wanted me to do because she likes my face smooth and clean shaven, and she hates stubbly faces on guys. She also said it would help with Otakon.

Hmm, I do hate to shave, and since this is free I’ll go ahead with it, though I am not looking forward to getting this done every four weeks for a total of 8 times. Helen, Susan’s mom said it will not hurt as much later on, and by the last treatment I will barely notice it. I have sneaking suspicion Susan means for me to be IN her skit somehow. I’ll have to ask her about it next time I see her.

January 3: I had my second laser treatment today. It hurt, but I don’t think it was as bad as the first one. I’ve also lost over 20 pounds! Susan dragging me to the gym 4 nights a week for a couple hours at a time sure helps. I’m down to 243 now. I asked Susan what she had in mind for me to help her with the costumes at Otakon. She confirmed what I fear, that she wants me to dress as Q-feuille. No wonder she wanted me to lose weight, and no wonder she wants me facial hair free. She has started buying everything to make costumes, wigs and such. She’s doing ALL of it by hand. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound they say. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be able to pull this off, but I’ll give it a try for her. It certainly makes me nervous. I’m going to turn this journal into a progress for Otakon journal now.

March 14: Things have been going well with the weight loss. I’ve actually dropped to 198 as of yesterday. I definitely feel more energetic. I’ve also had 4 laser treatments now and I only have to shave every few days now, and then it’s getting fairly patchy. Susan has finished the wigs now. I never knew how much work went into hand tying wigs, and how hard it is to get the exact colors needed to do characters. She had me lift over 100 shots from all directions of both Q-feuille and Ascoeur from the series. She wants to get everything just right. She has also taken shoes and modified them to make them a perfect match for the ones in the show. Now that’s dedication. The part that worries me is how the heck am I going to walk in those things!

May 7: I’ve finally done it! At my weigh in this morning I was at 171 lb. Damn I’m skinny! I also have more energy than I’ve had in a long time! I think I will stick around this weight. Hey, that trip to Japan with Susan is mine! Speaking of Susan, things are going VERY well between us. She is also extremely excited that I’ve hit the target weight. She wants to start measuring me for my costume tonight. She completed hers already and it looks awesome. Just like it came out of the anime and was brought into reality. I knew she was talented, but wow.

The only thing is I am a bit nervous about me in a costume. Speaking of the costume I’ve been at her house nearly every night practicing in a pair of shoes identical to the ones she modified for my costume. I had a very hard time at first, but I got the hang of it. I also learned that high heels are not comfortable at all. She now wants to get both of us practicing the character’s voices and movements. Sounds like hard work.

June 4: My costume is completely done. I can’t believe all the work she put into this thing. First she took some measurements, and then after reviewing the show some more she said she had to revise something. She went out and got something called a corset and put it on me. It took a few more inches off my newly skinny self. She also had bought some fake boobies for me to use in the costume. They were from some place on Ebay. They look like boobs made out of some rubbery like squishy stuff. Susan says they are silicone breast forms, but I can tell you from working on cars, that’s not like the silicone I use. I do imagine you could make a gasket with the same material though. Not that I’d do that after seeing what she spent on them. She is really into doing this, so money is no object because she wants to win at the masquerade.

Anyways, I’ve tried the costume on with all the stuff, with it. I also had to shave everywhere for the trial fitting to make sure it will all look good. The makeup around the seams where she used some type of adhesive for the boobs on me would have passed all but the closest of inspections, and at that you would have to almost have your nose touching me to see where the falsies and my skin were joined up. She also made up my face for what seemed like more than a half hour. The wig, costume, shoes, and the rest were all on me for a couple hours while she did a complete and thorough inspection. She noted stuff down on a pad that she was going to alter a bit for the costume.

July 18: Well, the con is coming up at the end of the month. We are finally and completely prepared. All final alterations to the costumes have been made, and I seem to now be holding my weight at a steady 168 pounds. The last laser treatment has been done, though to tell the truth I don’t think I really needed it. I have not shaved in well over a month now and my face is smooth. Susan is so excited she can barely hold it in. She bought us some weird contact lenses called “circle lenses” to make our eyes not only look bigger, but be the same color as our characters.

I have had multiple practice sessions moving in the costume and moving like Q-feuille. She has been practicing moving like Ascoeur and we have been practicing the skit we are planning every night for a couple hours at a time. We have also been practicing doing the voices of the characters. I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but it was annoying to practice my lines one word at a time, then play it back and compare it to Q-feuille’s voice. I almost strained myself at first, but I got the hang of it and can now switch between my normal voice and the voice of Q-feuille. In fact we are both very good at it. I know for all the work we have put into this I hope we win. Susan has made us three identical costumes each so we can play our characters all three days of the convention.

July 29: Here it is. The big weekend. We got a room last night in a hotel right across the street from and connected to the convention by a weird bridge thing. To me it’s like wandering through a hamster tunnel. We also got up at the ungodly hour of 4:00 AM to get ready. At least I did not have to shave. Of course I won’t have to all weekend since Thursday morning before we left to come here she and her mom tortured me. They did this thing called “waxing” on me. I thought that when they said they wanted to do that it would involve rubbing something on me to make me shiny, kinda like what you do to a car. Ohh boy was I wrong. Pain, I know you and where you live! You live on strips of cloth that are stuck to a weird yellow warm wax like substance! Anyways, we got ready and out to the registration line at 8:00. We waited for a couple hours in that slow moving line before we finally got our badges. I can’t believe all the pictures people took of us. I also can’t believe I’m here, a guy, and wearing a dress and heels and all the stuff with it out in public. It’s weird, but what the hell, it’s for Susan. Besides, I’m enjoying all the attention.

July 30: This morning I at least got to have breakfast before getting all done up. We got up at a nicer time too, 9:00 AM. Still, this was the big day! Susan took extra care to make sure my makeup was right, her makeup was right, our wigs were perfect, the makeup perfect, and the costumes perfect. She spent 3 hours on me, then another 2 on herself, so we did not head over until after 3:00. We had already been interviewed and had to show pictures of costume construction at various stages, reference pictures from the anime, and some video of what we were planning on as our skit. We were also cautioned to not go over the 2 minute limit, which was fine with us because our spot was only 107 seconds long. I know, we had practiced it enough. Still, it was funny to see the judges reaction in pre-judging when they found out I am a guy!

One of the judges even asked for permission to use our picture for a guide she was putting together to show people how to do cosplay right. I was pretty sure that’s a good sign. We were then told to be back at 5:00 so we could be brought in back stage for the masquerade lineup, and that instruction on what we are to do would be given there. I was a bit nervous because I was going to be on stage, in front of thousands of people and in a dress. Still, it’s a bit too late to back out now.

July 31: I can’t believe we won. In fact some of the people who do these competitions all the time were amazed, and the audience went wild. When we were brought up as winners and it was announced that not only was this Susan’s first time making costumes like that and competing with them, but that I was a guy the house almost came down. I didn’t think they were going to let us leave the stage! Some of the professionals told us they were jealous of how we did, and that we absolutely have to stick with it. I was told I was the best male crossplayer they had ever seen.

The pros started giving Susan ideas for future costumes, and told her that we should definitely use these costumes at more anime conventions, but we needed new ones for future competitions. We were also told we have to wear these same costumes at least one day at all of our conventions for the next year or year and a half since they were so perfect and true to the characters in the anime. One of the judges was the cosplay director at over 20 conventions, and she said as a reward for us being novices but having professional level costumes we get free passes to every one of the conventions she is a part of. I was stunned, so was Susan. We also are going to be featured in the program guide for next year.

August 12: Wow, I have finally recovered. My arms, legs, chest, and underarms all itched like mad for the past week, but that’s finally subsiding. Susan has been walking around with a goofy grin for the past couple weeks now since we won. Ohh, she has also moved in with me too, and is talking marriage. Her mom approved since I was such a “good sport” with the cosplay. Helen also told me the cosplay thing was a bit of a test for me too. I guess before I met Susan she had dated a guy who was an overly macho jerk after they got together even though he acted like a nice guy beforehand, and she wanted to make sure that I would not be the same way. I guess I passed. In more ways than one. Well, now Susan is making plans for the next cosplay we are doing together. She is also planning out our vacation schedules, with the plan to finish out the year with 5 more conventions and at least 12 next year. The costumes? I’m not sure, but she said she wanted me to watch some show called Chobits with her. She said something about Chi and Freya….

The Convention
by Scotty

My life is not the same anymore. Four days ago things were different. Just four short days ago my co workers didn’t whisper behind my back. At that time I did not have the head of my entire department sharing personal things about himself and I was not a part of his circle of friends. This might help my career, but it definitely is making life with my coworkers hell. Some of my friends have deserted me, and some of my family wants nothing to do with me. Why did this happen to me? It all started with a costume, an anime convention, and a couple girls who are really into costuming.

A group of friends and I had been planning to go to Anime Central, which is the largest anime convention in the Midwest. We reserved a room 8 months in advance, prepaid for our badges and had them mailed to us, and finally the big weekend was here. I had the time off, 100 dollars for food and swag from the dealer room. Sara, Michelle, and I were planning on a fun filled weekend of anime, cosplay, pictures, and pure otaku geekiness. We were finally on our way!

We had been going to anime conventions off and on together for a few years now, and I knew the girls had some awesome costumes in store. I had a new Sony DSLR camera, so I was ready to take a few hundred pictures. Between the girls stuff and my bag with enough changes of clothes to last the weekend my car was packed full. I think the girls were trying to set a record for the amount of stuff brought to an anime convention, and guess who was volunteered to get most of it to the room. Yep, it was me.

So, we arrived at the Hyatt late Thursday, got the room, and after 3 trips finally got everything up there to it. The girls spent the next hour and a half getting all of their costumes put up while I kicked back and read a bit. I noticed they did a lot of giggling and looking at me while they were getting it all put up, but I thought nothing of it. I figured it would be the whole “lets paint his toenails and give him a makeover while he’s asleep” thing they had tried to pull on me before. This time I was ready for them. They did not see me smuggle in a few cans of silly string. Still, all in all the preparations for the big day weekend were going well, and since we had our badges mailed to us we did not have to wait in line. They finally finished up and we went out for dinner, came back, and went to bed at about 11:00 so we would have plenty of sleep and be ready for the start of the convention the next day.

The next morning we got up at about 7:00, went to breakfast, and came back. I hopped in the shower since I would get done the fastest. When the girls got into getting ready they took a while, but when done their costumes and makeup were very professional looking. Anyways I hopped in the shower so I could clear out in time for them to do themselves up. While in the shower I heard the bathroom door open and close. I figured one of them must have needed something. They grabbed something all right. My clothes. The door then opened back up again and a hand holding a few razors was thrust into the shower, and Sara said I should shave my arms, legs, chest, and face really well. I asked what for, so she said they were sick of me not having a costume and missing out on the fun, so they brought something along for me for each day, but I needed to be hair free for it. I figured I’d go along, besides, you don’t see too many guys in anime that are hairy, not that I was very hairy in the first place, but the girls were real sticklers for perfection in costuming.

I shaved up, cleaned up, and stepped out. The first thing I noticed is what was not there. My clothes. The only thing there was a girls one piece bathing suit that had a set of bra cups made into it and a pair of nylons. I asked the girls what was going on. Michelle said that was the foundation of my costume, and if I agreed to let them fix me up in costumes all weekend they would get me the a figurine from the dealers room. I reluctantly agreed. I asked what I should put on first. Michelle said I needed to put the hose on, then the bathing suit on. I did that then came out.

The girls looked me over and had me put on something called a panty girdle that had some pads sewn onto the butt and hips over what I was wearing. I did so, then they stuck some foam pads into the bra cups on the bathing suit. Sara said the bathing suit made like that was the perfect thing to get the fake boobs positioned perfectly on my body. They then put a corset around me and tightened it up a bit to give me a really girlish shape. It wasn’t hard to breathe in or anything like that, but I could definitely tell it was there. Next was a really poofy petticoat, a white ruffled and frilly long sleeve blouse, and a fairly frilly black sleeveless dress with inch and a half wide straps. They called it a jumperskirt. It went on over the blouse.

They then sat me down and did my makeup. It took them 45 minutes and what looked like 10 different things, but when they were done my face looked like it was made of porcelain! It was like a life size doll was staring back at me in the mirror. A life size doll with my face! They then sat me down, told me to hold my breath, and sprayed something called a setting spray to seal it where I would not need to be touched up throughout the day. Next was a pair of white over the knee socks with lace trim around the top and some weird black shoes with long straps and what looked to me like chunks of wood on the bottoms of them. The girls called them rocking horse shoes. They wrapped the straps over the socks and then took something called sock glue to hold the straps in place. They also put that inside the top of the socks. Michelle said it would keep them from slipping down until I was ready to take them off that night.

Finally the wig was placed on my head. It framed my face somewhat in a shortish bob, and had 2 gathered bunches with long curls in them that went from the sides, but up high and hung down about 2 feet. It was a dark brown, almost black, or the same shade my natural hair was. They took small hooks and drew some of my own hair through the netting in it, and then pinned it all in place. When they were done you could not tell this was not my real hair. Last was a white head piece with a bow on it. They called that piece an Alice bow. When I saw myself in the mirror I was shocked. It was me, but not as I had ever seen myself before! To say I was astonished would be an understatement, but as I knew, the girls never did a costume only half way; they went all out on it. Now it was time for them to get ready, and an hour later they were in identical outfits to me from the top of the head to the soles of their feet. They handed me a black tote that matched my outfit so I could carry my keys, wallet, and camera. By this time it was around noon, so we headed on down to the convention.

Sara said I was a good sport, and then she asked me out, so of course I accepted. She then started making plans for costumes for me for all of the upcoming conventions. She also confessed that she had wanted to ask me out for over a year, but was scared that I would say no. She also told me she had thrown every hint she could at me, but should have realized that like any good otaku I was clueless. She and Michelle came up with the costume idea to see if I would be a good sport, and that was what made her ask me out. We then went and cruised the dealer room for a while.

A few hours later we heard the fire alarm. We figured it was some idiot that decided to have “fun” by getting the convention evacuated by pulling the fire alarm. It happens every year. Some kid gets bored, pulls it, and everyone wants to kill them for interrupting the fun. We walked out with the rest of the people and went over to one of the parking lots thinking they would find the pulled alarm and let us all back in. We were wrong. I heard some yell “Look, the tower is on fire!’ Ohh my god! The tower on this side really was on fire, and it was the tower on this side that our room was in! In fact it looked like it was right around where our room was! I hoped and prayed that was not the case, but unfortunately it was our floor on fire.

The fire trucks made it there, but by that time the fire was out, thanks to the sprinkler system. When they finally let us back in we tried to go check on our room. They would not let us in that area. The hotel staff did check to see what section was burned. Our room near the wall on one side had caught on fire, and it burned everything there, including all my stuff except for my keys, wallet, camera, and a book I had shoved in the tote bag the girls had given me. Someone in the next room over had left candles burning on the table in their room. They had pushed the table next to the wall, and had all of their manga, props, and various other flammable items in that area too. The candles had melted down and caught the rest of the stuff on fire, and some of that stuff was so flammable it went up like gasoline. It quickly burned through the wall, but then the sprinkler system put it out, unfortunately not before it destroyed a good portion of their room and just a small part of ours. It was just my luck that the part of our room that got destroyed had all of my clothes in it.

The hotel did give us the presidential suite for free because of our troubles. They also said they would file a claim against the people who caused the mess and get some money back to me to replace my stuff. That was going to take weeks though. Meanwhile, we had the rest of the con, and all that was available to fit me was what I was wearing and the other costumes the girls brought for me, which as you guessed it, were more feminine costumes! Ohh boy, was I screwed.

I suppose it would have been fine if I would have been able to lay low, but fate wasn’t about to let me off that easily. Rosemont, IL is not that big of a town, but it is a suburb of Chicago, and it is close to O’Hare International airport. There also happened to be a news station covering the convention, and when the fire broke out they were in place to catch it. Of course they wanted to interview the ones who were caught up in the mess, so Sara, Michelle and I were put on the spot. The girls loved it, I was mortified. It didn’t end there though. If the story would have stayed in the Chicago area I still would have most likely been okay, but nope, again fate decided it was going to have some more fun.

When a news affiliate gets a strange story it’s going to get out. What could be stranger than a fire burning up all of one persons belongings, while that person is in a strange, (though very professional looking), costume. I’ll tell you what, when that person is a boy in a very female looking costume with two girls in the exact same costumes, and when you add in that those girls love attention, and especially love attention given to something that gets their costuming noticed, it’s a recipe for disaster. We were put on a short segment that went national. It also was posted on the internet with the video included. Two and a half minutes of fame, ohh boy. I did not expect millions to see me in a gothic Lolita outfit, but they did. I still may have gotten by, but again, fate decided to have just a bit more fun with me.

I may not have mentioned it earlier, but I work at the headquarters of an insurance company where we sift through files looking at claims. Normally, fire claims. Would you care to guess who the hotel was insured through? Yep, the place I worked. If only I would have known.

The rest of the weekend went by, and I finally got back into having fun. I was at the convention, so I didn’t watch any TV. The battery charger for my phone had burnt up, so I kept the phone off after telling my family and friends there had been a small fire at the hotel which burnt up my charger, so I was going to keep the phone off to conserve the battery, but that I was okay. I thought nothing of it, but that evening on the news they all saw it. Since some of my coworkers are also my friends. They passed the news on to other coworkers. It spread from there. To make matters worse when I got back to work Monday morning the pictures, news clip, and statements were already in the office. They were being reviewed by the office gossip. They were being sent around to everyone. That’s when the whispers started.

My boss’s boss then called me in to his office and shut the door. I knew I was going to get a good talking to about my activities over the weekend. I figured I was probably going to lose my job due to being too much of a distraction to work with. That’s not what happened. He told me he was also someone who “dressed” on occasion, then invited me to a meet with “like minded people” over at his place over the weekend. Well, he did say he was going to look out for me and make sure nothing bad would happen because people like us had to stick together and watch each others backs. I could not get a word in edgewise to let him know I have never done this sort of thing before. After he told me about what he crossdressed as his hobby and went on vacation to Atlanta GA every year for a convention so he could be a girl there and that he went to San Francisco on business trips and would always spend an extra day or two as Jill I felt it best to keep my mouth shut.

When I got home I had all kinds of messages from family. Some saying they support me in what I am doing, and no matter what, they still love me. Others told me I needed to get my life right, and that I was sick and needed help after they saw what was on the news. I had about the same reaction from friends. I also had a message from my boss saying he was going to send someone around to pick me up Saturday morning so I could spend the day with him, his wife, and the CEO of our company who was also into, as he put it, “dressing.” He said to bring an outfit, and if I had a girlfriend to bring her along too so we could all have a good time and talk about where I planned on going in life. I know Sara will love fixing me up again. I still find it hard to believe my life has been turned upside down like this in four short days.