erikaalamode

[erikaalamode]

Look we got one nice family photo and then things fell apart, aka the Organas are not the most photogenic family in the world and then Crylo threw a tantrum . . 📸 @dorkyshorts (at Alderaan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSgOTrTrlaT/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Keeping Up With the Organas S1 E1: Bail and Breha need official portraits taken, but with young Leia underfoot, portraits do not go as planned . . Anyway this might be my favorite thing ever, thanks @finding.sana @abonilla84 @dorkyshorts @evilqueencharlotte for putting up with me and my PowerPoint on all of you!! (at Alderaan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSfA1L2JOxu/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Trying to take family photos be like 👀 . . Aka wow guys I can’t believe we all got into costume and got maybe three nice pictures and then this, next time let’s try to get maybe six nice pics 😂 . . Bail @abonilla84 Breha @finding.sana Kylo @evilqueencharlotte 📸 @dorkyshorts (at Alderaan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSciIFYh_m0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

“Good intentions aren't enough. They're not meaningless, but - that's where we have to start. Not where we end.” - Leia Organa . . Lots of love for my Organa family!!! When I met @finding.sana and @abonilla84 last year, we immediately launched into our love for the Organa family and the Leia book and Alderaan, and I knew these nerds were my kind of people!!! And after more than a year of planning, we finally got ourselves together in costume for a few family photos!!! . . And of course, because we are an absolute clown car of chaos, we couldn’t take nice photos without being dumb for 90% of the shoot (or at least, I was, swipe through to see Bail and Breha disappointed in me) . . 📸 @dorkyshorts (at Alderaan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZvOxWFOIJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

“My parents. My friends. My world. These are the things the Empire can never take away." . . Ahhhhhh y’all have no idea how happy I am that I finally got Leia pics with @abonilla84 as Bail and @finding.sana as Breha!!! We’ve been talking about this shoot for over a year and I’m so so happy we could finally make it happen!!! . . Now we just need @evilqueencharlotte to get Mon Mothma done so we can finally reenact our fav Leia Princess of Alderaan scenes!!! (We’ve done so many dramatic readings of our fav scene over zoom, IG voice message, group calls, it’s high time we get it in photos) . . 📸 @dorkyshorts . . #leia #leiaorgana #princessleia #leiaprincessofalderaan #princessofalderaan #bailorgana #brehaorgana #starwars #starwarscosplay #alderaan #anewhope #organa #cosplay #costume #cosplayphotography #rogueone #revengeofthesith (at Alderaan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSXTQb5JMtW/?utm_medium=tumblr

#leia #leiaorgana #princessleia #leiaprincessofalderaan #princessofalderaan #bailorgana #brehaorgana #starwars #starwarscosplay #alderaan #anewhope #organa #cosplay #costume #cosplayphotography #rogueone #revengeofthesith

[erikaalamode]

I’d rather be Shiny Watch me dazzle like a diamond in the rough Strut my stuff; my stuff is so Shiny . . Tamatoa, my idol, aka my life philosophy when I get dressed in the morning (at Japanese Tea Garden) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR4c9Q2Dngf/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Hey all!! So I took a week long break from social media, just to recharge and get some rest, I ended up catching a cold and between that and the burnout, I just needed a little bit of down time. Stay tuned for some new content coming soon, and in the mean time thanks @finding.sana for this cute kimono pic!! (at Japanese Tea Garden) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR15Iwdj7zi/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Dol Guldon’t even try, no man can kill me!!! *hair flip* . . All the LotR puns y’all submitted to my story yesterday were great!!! I was laughing all day!!! Some of them were so funny but def not shareable material 😂 anyway send me your best LotR garbage, I’m living my best Naztygûl life through today!! (at Britannia Arms South San Jose (Almaden)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRcIxLjjskH/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Forget hot girl summer, I will only be accepting hot gûl summer from here on out!!! . . (Naz)gûls just wanna have fun!! Aka hop over to my story to send me your best LotR puns, extra points for haute gûlture related puns!!! . . Please enjoy these super dumb but triumphant selfies from @riskyquizness.sj LotR trivia night, as the Naztygûls celebrated our victory!! (at Britannia Arms South San Jose (Almaden)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRZbyU6jxrC/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Naztygûls of Dol Guldur!! . . Aka @riskyquizness.sj had a Lord of the Rings trivia night and so naturally we had to do the dumbest costumes possible 😂 . . Look, this might have been my dumb idea but I would like to point out that these booboos @evilqueencharlotte @dorkyshorts @finding.sana said yes so we’re all hot garbage but at least we crushed it at trivia and took home first place!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CRW13VdjBJM/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Just so you know, we might look elegant in the photos we are posting but we are still goblins!! . . @waxsealedcostumes and I learned that our shoes are not meant for following yellow brick roads, @evilqueencharlotte is just a full on weirdo, I told @finding.sana to pose nicely and she instantly turned into a po po, and I’m working on perfecting my frat bro squat (at Japanese Tea Garden) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRURJ6AjOp1/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Look at how elegant this lovely photo that @finding.sana took!!! And then two seconds later I was like @evilqueencharlotte come over here and take a picture with me... and swipe to see our actual goblin souls 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏻‍♀️ . . In all honesty though, I really had such a great day. It was so rewarding to be surrounded by friends who love our traditional dress as much as I do, to learn from my friends, to share these experiences. It was so much fun to have Charlotte tie my obi in the parking garage while I stuck combs in Sana’s hair, and it was just so great to share that with them. I’m so excited for our next gathering!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CRR4JkOjoUC/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Reclamation (noun): the process of claiming something back or reasserting a right . . I am taking back my heritage. I am reclaiming pride in my Asianness, in my culture, in my family history, in the things this world has attempted to stamp out in me and people like me. . . This project has been a long time coming for so many of us. So many of my Asian friends have borne the weight of racism that makes us ashamed of who we are and where we’ve come from. We’ve had our culture stolen from us by people who ostracize us for being different, while simultaneously appropriating the markers of our culture that can be taken for themselves. . . This weekend, I got together with a lovely group of friends to take photos together in our traditional dress and take back a little piece of our culture for ourselves. We got to celebrate our ethnicities and the beauty in our traditions, and enjoy the company of others with shared experience and struggles and love for our cultures. . . I’ll be sharing my friends’ photos to my story to showcase the beauty of those who have joined me on this cultural reclamation project, so be sure to flip through my stories throughout the day to see the gorgeousness and diversity in these lovely people!! . . Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey, I am so incredibly humbled by the kindness and generosity and love that my community has shown me in this process. I’ve lived so much rejection because of my Asianness that it still kind of blows my mind that I’ve found a community who sees me, not in spite of my race, but for whom race can be celebrated and respected. Arigatō gozaimasu 💜 . . 📸: @finding.sana (at Japanese Tea Garden) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRPO-rhDo8M/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Excited to see another female led superhero film! Though I’m still unenthused about movie theaters, even masked, so I may opt to do premier access or just wait 🤷🏻‍♀️ https://www.instagram.com/p/CQy4atSjBWo/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Had so much fun at Marvel MCU trivia @riskyquizness.sj last night with @finding.sana @dorkyshorts @evilqueencharlotte @abonilla84 at @britanniaarms !! Ughh the fish and chips were so good, I haven’t had a good piece of haddock since I was in the UK years ago!!! Looking forward to the LotR trivia in two weeks and my next plate of fish and chips!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CQwkEixjeTI/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Almost time for Black Widow!! I haven’t done an MCU Natasha cosplay, but remember that time when I made 616 Natasha overnight for a kids lit event I was working??? Wild times, back when I actually finished things!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CQuCOuSDBsU/?utm_medium=tumblr

[erikaalamode]

Wow this med change has really been brutal, I haven’t been this tired in so long 😴 . . Lyme disease is interesting because it’s one of those things that becomes very comfortable in your system if you’ve had it long enough. It creates a sort of baseline that’s not great but seems pretty bearable. Once you start treating it and attacking the Lyme, it attacks you back, and your system crashes in a process called herxing. . . Each time I change meds, it’s to treat a different aspect of the Lyme disease, or a different coinfecton. And so each time I change meds, I crash pretty hard when the herxing hits. It’s a good sign that the Lyme is reacting to the medication, but it can really put a dent in my life when all I do is sleep. Hopefully I can get some work done today 🤞🏼 https://www.instagram.com/p/CQrJ6tdjsew/?utm_medium=tumblr