A bit of a rant but I feel like this is a good word of caution for cosplayers wanting to buy bits of their costume offline.
DO NOT BUY FROM FM-ANIME!!!!!!!!!!!!
I placed an order with them back in early February and the whole thing has been a nightmare from start to finish! The dress is question had a note saying that it might take up to 40 business days to complete (which is why I ordered it so early), it has now been 74 business days and apparently, they're still not done. I asked for a refund since I figured I could just use the money to make the cosplay myself now that I'm out of school but they said they wouldn't because enough of it was already done. Also, to make sure that the cosplay arrives in time, they informed me that I would have to pay more shipping.... for their laziness? That was the worst part of the whole thing. I paid up front and in full with an e-mail saying that it would be shipped out by the end of April at the latest. The only thing I've gotten is excuses and continually postponed send out dates.
So, a long explanation, but seriously, don't buy from them unless you're ordering a year in advance.




And because I said I would post, here's the first page or two of a book I'm working on....

(prologue's in my gallery)
The loud screech of the morning alarm made Nira stir. Grumbling, she flipped over on her thin mattress, stuffing the off-white pillow into her ears to try and block out the noise. It didn't work.
"Are you going to sleep all day?"
Nira's head lulled up from the safety of her dreams to look at the small screen beside the door. Green eyes set in a grey disapproving face stared back at her. His middle aged scowl always accompanied the wakeup call these days.
"Good morning to you too, Avin." Nira rubbed the remnants of sleep from her eyes, "Did you sleep well?"
He ignored the question. "Ever since you got close to that boy, you've let yourself slip in your work. If you're not careful, you're going to end up getting caught."
Nira nodded as though she were hanging on every syllable, but in reality his words became nothing more than a jumble of sound as he prattled on about the consequences of mixing classes. She walked over to the chipped mirror beside the monitor. The smudges on her cheeks remained defiant, surviving a harsh hand scrubbing.   
"Yes, Avin." She pulled her brown hair back into a tight ponytail, "Anything you say."
An unappreciative grunt was the only response to her sarcasm.
Nira chuckled, walking over to the screen. "Don't worry; I'll bring you your breakfast right away. Same as usual, right?" Without waiting for a response, she switched the monitor off. Aching muscles stretched as she pulled out her black jumpsuit. Soft lavender bruises just beginning to turn yellow dotted her arms and legs. Pacing around the cramped living quarters in tight circles to get her blood flowing, she flipped several yellow switches above the pull-out toilet.
A crackling sound fizzed through the room before a young man's voice bled through, "Good morning, citizen. This is day—" the voice turned mechanically female "—Three eight seven nine two—" the man's voice returned "—of Quarantine. Sectors one and two are having difficulties with their water recycling so all the Dispo water rations will be cut in half until their stations can be returned to working capacity."
Nira felt her stomach curl in on itself as though it were taking a preemptive strike against starvation. She went to switch off the depressing broadcast but Doctor Parson hadn't quite finished.