Kamura armor from Monster Hunter Rise / Cosplayer echo_waters
I got into cosplay through pole dancing. As a theater kid at heart all of my pole dance performances were very theatrical and I wasn’t happy with just making skimpy versions of costumes just to make them pole-able (pole requires grip which normally comes from skin). So I started with just modifying store bought Halloween costumes to make them as true to original as I could but still allow grip where I needed it.
My first full cosplay build was the Nightingale Armor from Skyrim as a pole cosplay. I was covered head-to-toe in clothing but I used a combination of grippy fabric and upholstery vinyl to allow me grip and still pull of the original Nightingale armor look. I then went on to do Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx for my next pole competition. After that I started making cosplays that weren’t for pole competitions or performances.
Fabric was/is the medium I am most comfortable in but seeing all the amazing foam builds made me really want to branch out into foam crafting as well. Monster Hunter has so many amazing armor build and I have a whole list I would like to try but I chose the Kamura armor from Monster Hunter Rise because it was a combination of fabric and foam so it allowed me to work with something I was comfortable with as well as branch out into a new medium.
It took a whole summer to piece together the build but there were so many moments where I stood back in absolute amazement of how well it was coming together and how cool it looked. I wore it for the first time for the 2021 Anime Matsuri cosplay competition and place 3rd in the Novice category! I almost cried it was so unexpected but it really drove home that I had truly made something amazing and I couldn’t be prouder!
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
This story first appeared Cosplay In America and if you want to share a “Cosplay Stories” to be shared here on this website, full details can be found here.
Other Cosplay Stories
06/06/2023Cosplay StoriesNatty Cosplay began cosplaying about 10 years ago, and since then she’s fully embraced the fandom, and found her tribe amongst fellow cosplayers and friends who attend conventions in and around her home state of Florida. Like many of us her journey into cons, and cosplays, began with a push by friends to join them for a trip to a nearby anime con.
Natty recalled, “My friends already got tickets, and they were like “come on book your ticket. We’re going to MetroCon”. And I was like, “You’re right I should. I lived here this whole time, and I never went. It’s almost like I almost forgot, but they reminded me.”
It was at this convention where she debuted her first cosplay, as she tried out the world of anime conventions.
“I just put together a little Poison Ivy cosplay by gluing on a bunch of leaves I had to a bodysuit, and you know we just walked around and had a great time,” Natty said. “I didn’t even delve so much into con culture. I just thought it was a place to shop really. I walked around the vendor area and saw so many booths, comics, and figures, and [other[ things.
As time went on, I found I had more space and time and resources and funds to get deeper into the hobby. That’s when I started being more consistent with it.”
She has continued to delve further into cosplay, and now has quite a variety of cosplays she considers her favorites.
Natty said, “My very favorite one is that first cow cosplay. I did that one for Holiday Matsuri, and we had a cow meet up with other people dressed as cows. That was really fun. We did some pictures, videos, and I passed out little cow treats like candy. That was really fun.”
Natty continued, “My second favorite one is from ‘The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!’The anime is not as popular, but I love it. I dressed up as the Demon Lord. I love that cosplay. She never speaks, and she just eats all the time. It’s such a cute character, and it’s a very funny show.
Lastly Natty mentioned her third favorite cosplay she cosplayed was “Katara from Avatar The Last Airbender.” Natty remarked, “I want to revisit that and get more props for it, but I really had fun in that cosplay too. I want to bring that to a con.”
Natty loved the camaraderie and togetherness she had experienced, and she really wanted to help others find that as well, so she developed her first app “Show Buddy.” Natty recalled, “I launched Show Buddy around 2018. That was to help people find friends to go to concerts and festivals together. I would basically make a listing and curate a bunch of events that were going on in the United States, and have a group chat attached to it so people could sign up, join the group chat for the event and message back and forth. I think it’s still on Google Play, but I had to take it down off the Apple App Store around 2020.
I pulled the app down due to the nature of things at the time, but it was really fun while it was up and running, and I did meet a few people while I was using the app at that time. So it was a great experience, and I might pursue something a little bit more updated in the future.”
Natty took away some key lessons from her experience creating Show Buddy that have informed her about friendship and social hangouts in this day and age.
Natty remarked, “I learned that for some reason, it’s a lot harder for people to make friends and find people with the same hobbies in this day and age. I think a lot of people don’t like going to events alone, and if they have a chance they would rather go with someone. Though there’s nothing wrong with going places alone, I think just that the social atmosphere of things is just really lonely now. And there’s definitely a demand for people that want to meet new people and make new friends while they’re traveling or going to an event.”
When asked if Natty thought this related to conventions too, she replied “Oh yeah, for sure. There’s definitely a demand for with cons too, especially with this type of group, a little bit shy and feel they’re pushing themselves. They’re putting themselves out there, but maybe they don’t have a lot of experience going to places alone. So I can see that being a thing for cons too.”
Though many generations can of course struggle to find friendship and connections, I was wondering if this might be extra challenging for today’s youth.
“I think a lot of people agree,” Natty said. “It feels like more pressure now because on social media, you want to show a really flashy life. You want to not see your truest self sometimes. You kind of put up a perfect snapshot of that moment on your social media compared to what really happened behind the scenes in real life. So I do think that it was a little bit freer back then. It was easier. It was more natural. People liked posting unedited pictures of what they did with their friends for the weekend, whereas now everyone’s maybe pushing a product or something.”
One aspect of cosplays and conventions that Natty really appreciates is how it’s a wonderful space to meet a wide variety of people.
At conventions for instance, Natty said “I’m meeting married couples, families, and kids. It’s interesting but of course cosplay is everyone. It’s all different ages. So it’s nice to meet other people. You sort of just find your tribe and where you fit in.”
Natty stumbled into another fandom that really took her into a new unfamiliar world she then fell in love with. Natty recalled, “When I was younger, I was always searching online for shows on websites that had them hosted free, and I was looking for something and I accidentally clicked on a Korean Drama (K-Drama). It kept coming up, so I was like “I’ll watch this”. And I was so invested. I was like, “Wow, my mind was blown!” I didn’t even know about this culture and this country until I started getting really into that K-Drama. The K-Drama was ‘My Girl’, by the way, super old, but I just fell in love with it.”
Natty really went full steam into her love of Korean culture afer that, and this accidental click would lead her to studying overseas.
Natty remarked, “I was so inspired. I was learning Korean, like very beginning Korean, and my college had a study abroad program for South Korea. So I did a summer abroad at Yonsei International Summer School. And I met so many different people. We had a great time. We were always hanging out together, and it was great.” Natty continued, “ learning so much about the culture and just a different way of life. It was way more advanced, and a lot more convenient.. It had its good and bad , but
I enjoyed all of it. And then I went with my Korean friend to see her family because she was visiting. They were just so kind and generous to me and they gave me so much fruit, which is very expensive. We had to carry this huge bag of fruit back to our dorm. It was like watermelon, strawberries, peaches, all sorts of things, and I was so happy and grateful for that.”
Natty made sure to capture her time over in Korea, and she actually turned this into an eBook for others interested in learning about the country and culture of Korea. “I made a journal for each day,” Natty said. “It’s kind of like a blog with a picture for that day and everything I did. I’m glad I did that because it was for all those three months, so it was really well documented.”
She’s considered revisiting it, and perhaps re-editing parts, and when considering that she revisited many of her entries.
Natty remarked, “I read it and I remembered things that I did that I completely forgot. I had my fortune told, which was very fun. I also went to Japan from South Korea for like three days with a few friends, and that was also so much fun.”
Though Natty missed a lot of what Korea offered when she returned, she has noticed how much the cultural landscape has changed here, and how so many international foods, products, and stores have come over to the U.S. Natty remarked, “Ten years ago when I came back from South Korea, I missed having Korean food and everything, but now I can get that at the tip of my fingers with DoorDash. That did not exist before. Now we have a lotte Mart and so much more coming. So I’m happy about that.” Similarly she’s seen the world of cosplay and fan conventions evolve too, and primarily for the better. Natty said, “I like how much the cosplay space has grown. Now I see all types of shapes and bodies and skin tones and hair textures. Cosplay doesn’t have to be exactly like the picture or the anime. You can make it however you like and be creative with it.”
Now about 10 years on into her fandom, Natty’s continuation with cosplays and conventions just makes sense for her. “It just feels so natural to keep doing this,” Natty remarked. “It’s fun, I love the social aspect, and I would rather be spending my money on that than bills and stuff. So I feel like if I’m working at least I should work for something I enjoy too. So I always make a point to try to get one cosplay item and that keeps me going. I’m just working, but not enjoying myself.”
After slowing down her work on Show Buddy, she continued to embrace her side-hustle side, and she’s used her creativity to work on a new Exchange app. Natty explained, “It’s a listing website where you can post what services you offer in exchange for what service you’re looking for. For example, if you are a hairstylist and you’re looking for a makeup artist, you can post that and contact each other so that you don’t have to pay. You can just exchange that service. It’s kind of similar to Freecycle and other websites that do that. A lot of people do this already. I noticed a lot of people looking for things and they’ll offer their professional services, so I just wanted to make a website listing so that it’s all in one place and you don’t have to make a Facebook post or make a random post elsewhere looking for that.”
Like with cosplay, Natty has gained a lot through her creative efforts working on projects like Show Buddy and now her new Exchange website.
Natty said, “I love having a little side project. I work full-time for a Fintech company, but you know in my free time I do like to put out my websites and thoughts and apps and all of that. And there’s always a place for everything. You always have an audience for everything. It’s just finding the audience. That’s the hard part, but you know you should always do it because you never know what may come out of it.”
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
This story first appeared Cosplay In America and if you want to share a “Cosplay Stories” to be shared here on this website, full details can be found here.
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30/05/2023Cosplay StoriesC2E2 sign sweetieplague
The idea to cosplay as the C2E2 sign has been in the making for around 4 years now. I was previously inspired to think outside the box by creators like @vj_daguru, who is the mastermind that cosplayed the ACen Hyatt statue…
The idea to cosplay as the C2E2 sign has been in the making for around 4 years now. I was previously inspired to think outside the box by creators like vj_daguru, who is the mastermind that cosplayed the ACen Hyatt statue as well as the person who cosplayed the Javits Center. Absolute legends! That had planted a seed in my mind and this costume is what bloomed.
I’ve always loved taking inanimate objects or non-human characters and reimagining them into humans. It’s a fun design challenge which can lead to delightfully creative and surprisingly recognizable results.
Focusing on creating a convention-specific costume was right up my alley. C2E2 is “the con” for me—it’s the event that I always plan the most for and try to debut something big. The idea to “go as the sign” is one that was just sort of… there. I threw it into my future cosplay list and let the idea marinate.
One of the main sources I ended up drawing inspiration from was a character who was onstage for about 5 seconds in “The Spongebob Musical”. The costume design by David Zinn for that show is outstanding. The show is a visual delight, but the costumes are on an entirely different level. The specific character who inspired me was a man in a giant, armless Krabby Patty showgirl getup. It was so camp.
The first iteration of my design drew heavily from the boxy nature of the Krabby Patty costume. I wanted to nearly disappear inside of the costume, save for my legs and head. After doing some quick math on the ratios to figure out how big this sign would be once I crawled inside of it, I discovered that it was very likely out of the realm of things I could tangibly build and maneuver through a convention floor. I scrapped that idea and went back to the drawing board.
I had done some heavy research into showgirl costuming and started pulling directly from that to figure out how to bring those darn letters and numbers into reality as the flashy showgirl piece of my dreams. Looking at the structures that were available for sculptural showgirl costumes, I began investigating the idea of using a backpack fixture, like what you would see used for giant feathered wings. I scavenged my old costumes and took the back piece from an original character I used at a haunted house around 10 years ago and tossed that into the ring.
With that, the costume suddenly had feasibility. That back piece informed the rest of the sculptural elements of the costume, and everything else was made on the fly. Besides that structure, my design was very loose. I made up the small details as I went, which is a refreshing break for any cosplayer! I really had to trust that seeing the forest instead of the trees would serve me in the end, and I can say that I was thrilled with how it all came together.
Ever since the start of the pandemic, I’ve struggled to watch new films and TV shows—an aversion to new conflicts, perhaps? Anxiety manifesting in odd manners, maybe? I had begun to worry that I was falling out of touch with the rest of the convention base… worried that I would never capture lightning in a bottle with another cosplay as everyone moved on to new series, shows, and stories (as I rewatched the 1931 Dracula for the 7thtime because the I know the story doesn’t stress me out). Because of this situation I find myself in, it was very appealing to create something instantly recognizable to anyone at the convention.
By design, I chose to stay in the main lobby of the convention (where the actual C2E2 sign lives) since my costume would have been far too large to navigate the show floor on a packed Saturday. The pictures and joy from others were never ending, which was an incredible honor. In the past, there have been several times where I have been excited to wear a costume that barely anyone recognized. You go into it knowing that you made and wore this cosplay because it was something you loved, not because everyone would instantly recognize you.
However, as the C2E2 sign, I went into it knowing that I would likely be quite recognizable. People (including me, obviously!) love how iconic the giant sign in the lobby is. It can sometimes have a line that stretches for an intimidating long distance. In dressing as the thing that people love taking photos with, I wasn’t surprised that I ended up being in and posing for a lot of photos. It was really fun to embrace that and get to talk with so many different con goers. With some of my other recognizable costumes, they grab the attention of that character’s fanbase and I end up having a lot of great conversations with people who also love the same specific thing. In this case, anyone who felt inclined to approach me had an instant connection to what I was wearing, no matter what specific fanbase they were a part of. It was really special to be able to reach across interests like that and see so many people smile and light up when they saw what I had created.
https://www.instagram.com/sweetieplague
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23/05/2023Cosplay StoriesPhoto : dtjaaaam
Prestige Empyrean K’Sante blackacecosplay
I am a cosplayer that just does what ever I find fun. Originally from the Bronx, I’ve been all over the place after college and join the Air Force. My love for cosplay started in 2014 when my dad brought me New York Comic Con tickets.I went on Friday with no costume felt out of the loop. So the next two days I went as my favorite Street fighter character Dudley. I made the costume in a night! Met Yoshino Ono and everything.
After that, I took a pause for two year to focus on school. Went broke due to student loans. Join the Air Force to pay them off. Once I paid off I started cosplaying again. But now I was in England and England was a different beast so I was like how do I make friends. Welp join a community! My first one was the RWBY community. Made my first prop and little bits armor my self. Turn a One Piece costume into sage cloak.
For Prestige Empyrean K’Sante cosplay, I told myself after Worlds I will try my best to make it ready for a con. Big motivation to see a skin with lil nas x influence. First cosplay where everything 100% made by me.
Man Katsu is a great con for cosplay! I learn a lot and how to improve my techniques by talking to others.
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
This story first appeared Cosplay In America and if you want to share a “Cosplay Stories” to be shared here on this website, full details can be found here.
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16/05/2023Cosplay StoriesPhoto : alfashots_photography
Kamura armor from Monster Hunter Rise / Cosplayer echo_waters
I got into cosplay through pole dancing. As a theater kid at heart all of my pole dance performances were very theatrical and I wasn’t happy with just making skimpy versions of costumes just to make them pole-able (pole requires grip which normally comes from skin). So I started with just modifying store bought Halloween costumes to make them as true to original as I could but still allow grip where I needed it.
My first full cosplay build was the Nightingale Armor from Skyrim as a pole cosplay. I was covered head-to-toe in clothing but I used a combination of grippy fabric and upholstery vinyl to allow me grip and still pull of the original Nightingale armor look. I then went on to do Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx for my next pole competition. After that I started making cosplays that weren’t for pole competitions or performances.
Fabric was/is the medium I am most comfortable in but seeing all the amazing foam builds made me really want to branch out into foam crafting as well. Monster Hunter has so many amazing armor build and I have a whole list I would like to try but I chose the Kamura armor from Monster Hunter Rise because it was a combination of fabric and foam so it allowed me to work with something I was comfortable with as well as branch out into a new medium.
It took a whole summer to piece together the build but there were so many moments where I stood back in absolute amazement of how well it was coming together and how cool it looked. I wore it for the first time for the 2021 Anime Matsuri cosplay competition and place 3rd in the Novice category! I almost cried it was so unexpected but it really drove home that I had truly made something amazing and I couldn’t be prouder!
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
This story first appeared Cosplay In America and if you want to share a “Cosplay Stories” to be shared here on this website, full details can be found here.
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09/05/2023Cosplay StoriesCosplayer: thefoambender // Photo : bakedzita
Arthur was a huge part of my childhood, so when they announced the series was ending I wanted to do something to celebrate its 25 years. I was really inspired by leothemoonman’s viral photo of his Arthur’s fist meme cosplay, but I wanted to add my own flair to it. So I thought, why not combine two classic Arthur memes into one cosplay!
At the time, I was actually concrunching Jin Sakai from Ghost Tsushima, but then I realized I wouldn’t finish in time for Katsu. I didn’t want to rush the details. Didn’t wanna be a normie either so i threw this altogether just so i can get a few laughs haha. But BOY did i not expect SO MANY wholesome reactions at Katsucon! <3
I am so used to doing serious armor cosplays and killing myself to get stuff done that doing Arthur made me take a step back and realize that cosplaying is suppose to be having fun. This is why i love this community so thanks everyone!!
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This story first appeared Cosplay In America and if you want to share a “Cosplay Stories” to be shared here on this website, full details can be found here.
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02/05/2023Cosplay StoriesNot all heroes wear capes; however, in the appropriately comic book sounding League City, Texas, there’s one hero who certainly does, and his good deeds are getting noticed. That hero is Dash Gordon, alter-ego of gregarious, family man Timothy Glover, whose early attempts to connect with his community while DoorDashing morphed into a life of its own.
Glover recounted, “On November 21st, 2021, my wife was sick, and I wanted to take us on one last big vacation. I felt like I needed to do something proactive that would get her out of the house, get her moving around, and we could be a dynamic duo together in the process. So I said to her, ‘let’s DoorDash’”.
“We’d ride around together, and she’d help me find the numbers for the apartments and the doors on the houses. After two months of Dashing, I wondered why aren’t people coming to the door? There was no social interaction whatsoever, and I couldn’t deal with that. So I said “I’m going to call myself Dash Gordon, like Dash from DoorDash, and Gordon from Jeff Gordon cause he’s really fast, and I’ll combine the two and I’ll be Dash Gordon.”
“So I started sending GIFs and emojis using the Flash and Flash Gordon to customers as I was delivering, or right before I’d get to their door, and they liked it. They’d laugh back or send something funny, but they still weren’t coming to the door at the magnitude I was wanting.”
That’s when Glover decided to take it up a notch, and made a purchase that helped set up his entire journey.
Glover continued, “I turned to my wife and asked ‘Would you order this? It’s a Flash costume. It’s pretty generic, not really expensive, and I think people will come to the door more, they’ll tip more, and it’ll help with our goals to go on our vacation’. So a couple weeks went by, and the costume came in, and I put Dash Gordon on my uniform. And I started dashing like that and it caused quite a stir.”
Glover’s big gamble paid off, as he was meeting more people at the door than ever.
Glover recalled, “If I did 10 dashes, 9 of them would come to the door. They wanted to see the spectacle.”
What Glover did next though is what truly set his hero journey in motion, as he answered the call of someone not needing food from DoorDash, but help from their community.
“A woman posted in a local Facebook group saying she was struggling,” Glover mentions. “She was putting her feelings out there, and I felt really bad because no one was really giving her guidance, so all I did was type in that thread ‘Dash Gordon to the rescue.’ I then instant messaged her and asked ‘what do you need’, and she said ‘I’ve got a roof over my head, I’m in government housing, but I’m struggling to buy diapers and wipes for my child’. So I said ‘give me sometime and I’ll message you back’”.
“So then I put the costume on, I went through my neighborhood, I got donations to get diapers, wipes, and I even got some extra money to give her some for the next couple weeks,” said Glover.
This one charitable act then caught the attention of the local community. Dash Gordon was asked to join Helen Hall Library’s Pop-Up Storytimes, a storytime event for children, teens, and adults. Then he was also featured in a local documentary all about Dash Gordon. Leigh Kirkland wrote the story, and it went on to win a Savvy award.
Glover emphasized “It was a big deal.”
That’s when the Houston media market really took notice. Dash was on the morning news, afternoon news, and newspaper articles began to be written about Dash. What gave Glover a spark though for what to do next, was when non-profits and individuals in his community began to reach out, including special needs organizations, victims of human trafficking, and others needing help.
Glover then realized “We’re creating a community superhero.”
READ THE REST https://cosplayinamerica.com/dash-dizzygordon-league-city-tx/
STORY : Michael Miller // PHOTO: Elizabeth Conley
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
This story first appeared Cosplay In America and if you want to share a “Cosplay Stories” to be shared here on this website, full details can be found here.
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25/04/2023Cosplay StoriesOver the last decade Atlanta’s reputation as a hub for fandom and geek culture has grown. Much of this growth is driven by the success of major conventions like DragonCon and MomoCon as well as the presence of major Hollywood film and television production teams around the city. Co-founders Tolden Williams, aka Troop Brand and his wife, Stephanie Lindo Williams, still felt like there was something missing, especially when it came to nightlife. So as the peak of the pandemic faded, they created Trap Sushi, an incredibly popular bimonthly celebration of anime, music, Japanese culture, food, and, of course, Atlanta itself.
“We used to always hang out up and down Edgewood Avenue in Atlanta, and visit the performance venues, clubs, and bars, but when Covid hit, all the places that we really enjoyed in Atlanta shut down,” said Stephanie, reflecting on the loss of major entertainment businesses and spaced during the pandemic. “We would just watch them topple one by one. So when everything started opening up, we knew there was a void now. So we were like, ‘Let’s throw something ourselves.’”
Stephanie and Tolden were particularly interested in establishing a space for fellow anime fans looking for fun activities to do year round.
Stephanie shared, “For anime, you do have MomoCon, Anime Weekend Atlanta, and other cons, but those are only once a year, unless you travel across the country to other conventions. We wanted something recurring here in Atlanta.”
Both Stephanie and Tolden had their own unique story of how they got into fandom, and how it’s impacted their lives. For Stephanie she grew up in Atlanta with friends who were already into anime and Japanese culture.
Thinking back on her youth, Stephanie said, “My best friends growing up are Vietnamese, and they were really into anime and manga. So that’s how I was exposed growing up, and I was watching a bunch of girly high school anime and reading Chobits and stuff like that. I’ve just kept at it over the years.”
Tolden’s environment in Mississippi was quite different from Stephanies coming from a smaller town.
Thinking back to his youth, Tolden said “My first introduction to anime was watching cartoons on Saturday morning. I later found out many were anime. I then went to a thrift shop with my mom, and something drew me to this VHS tape in the store. It turned out to be Akira, which is one of the first Japanese movies to break out in America.”
When asked if Tolden felt alone in his love of anime in his hometown, he replied “I definitely did until I came across other fans. It’s funny how your love for things will introduce you to others and create bonds. I found two other people who were into anime like I was, and they are still my closest friends to this day.”
This sense of community found through fandom, and especially anime conventions, was a key driver for Stephanie and Tolden in creating Trap Sushi.
Tolden recalled, “Stephanie took me to my first anime con Anime Weekend Atlanta. I’d never gone to an anime convention in my life, but I’ve been an avid reader of manga and watcher of anime for years. So at my first convention I’m mind blown. This is everything I love all in one place? How long has this been going on? It was very surprising. Then I’m like wait, this is only once a year? No this is not enough.”
Now Trap Sushi welcomes hundreds of fellow anime fans to celebrate their love of all things anime and Japanese culture. In the process of hosting Trap Sushi events, Stephanie and Tolden recognized they were serving a major sub-community in fandom as well.
Stephanie noted “Trap Sushi is open to everybody. It’s all inclusive. But we have noticed that the community it really speaks to a lot is the black anime and cosplay community. That’s a whole sub-community to itself that kind of gets overlooked sometimes, and I know that group found a lot of solace in having a place where they can let go and be like ‘ok, here at Trap Sushi we can really get loose and be free.’”
Photo: @jsncamera for Trap Sushi
Read full story https://cosplayinamerica.com/trap-sushi-atlanta-ga/.
Trap Sushi’s next event is this Thursday 3/23/23 in Atlanta https://shor.by/doEW
Writer : Michael “Zippy” Miller for Cosplay in America
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
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18/04/2023Cosplay StoriesSpaceballs // Cosplayer: OYIMI Cosplay
We, Ben (Lone Starr), Victoria (Barf), and Karen (Dark Helmet), start tossing out ideas where we can convincingly incorporate the wheelchair into the cosplay. There is usually a bit of bantering back and forth until we come to a consensus. We all agreed that making the Winnebago from “Spaceballs” would be fun and unique. It’s a favorite movie for all of us, and it is often quoted. Deciding who was going to be which character was easy for Ben and Vicki. Barf is usually in the Winnebago, so it was perfect for Vicki, who is wheelchair bound. Ben looks a bit like Lone Starr and would be in the Winnebago, too. Karen’s costume was a bit more difficult because there are so many other characters in “Spaceballs” that would be fun for her to play. She chose Dark Helmet combing the desert because she doesn’t like costumes that are too bulky or complex.
Plus, Karen really wanted the challenge of sewing the pith helmet and the fabric cover for the Winnebago. We then told our friend, Jacy (Skroob), about our idea and our character choices. Jacy said he’d be Skroob beamed backwards, especially since he likes to play characters with mustaches for me since it’s his one change to rock one without his wife complaining.
We had an amazing time at ECCC 2023! The responses to our cosplay was priceless. As the Winnebago started to roll past people, they would get a curious look on their faces. When they saw Barf and Lone Starr, they’d get a smile and a chuckle. But we knew we did something amazing when they noticed Dark Helmet behind us combing the desert, and the people would clap, gasp, and double over laughing. Then the “Spaceballs” quotes started flying at us from every direction. The great thing about ECCC is the entire community is so accepting and supportive. We felt welcomed even though we took up half the aisle and the entire elevator. So many people told us that we should enter the cosplay contest because we killed it with our costumes. We entered the ECCC Sunday Cosplay Showcase, just as a fun thing to experience, but we were awarded the Best Group Cosplay. Apparently, we did really well.
There was a moment that stood out to Ben, Vicki and Karen was meeting a woman, named Heidi, in a wheelchair dressed as an Irish queen with her husband and son dressed in Star Wars costumes. They were inching closer and closer to us as other people were taking pictures of us. When they finally came close enough, they noticed the wheels sticking out of the bottom of the Winnebago and realized it was a wheelchair. Heidi got next to the window of the Winnebago and when Vicki popped her head out, Heidi got a huge smile on her face and said, “OH MY GOD! I love the whole thing.” She was curious how we put the Winnebago was constructed and how we got the idea. We started telling them other ideas we had thought about doing and showed them some of our costumes. She was so excited and said she was starting to get ideas of her own since being in the wheelchair was more than likely a permanent thing.
We told them that if they ever needed any help figuring how to creatively incorporate the wheelchair into their cosplay or hints on building it that they could call. We hope we gave her some inspiration and will see her in an awesome cosplay next year at ECCC. For Jacy, it was just the overall vibe at the cosplay showcase we were in. How supportive and enthusiastic everyone was of each other’s hard work and passion.
The frame for the Winnebago was built with pvc pipe that has been glued or pinned at the joints. Then the frame is attached to Vicki’s wheelchair with clamps. The pins and the clamps make it easy to take apart, transport and reassemble. The cover for the Winnebago was sewn together with canvas, cotton-poly fabric, ribbon, organza, bias tape, and interfacing. The decorative elements like the “Eagle5” seal, the bumper sticker, the license plate, and the portraits in the windows were all made from printable fabric. And it was attached to the pvc frame with zippers, snaps, and shoe laces, so we could easily put on and off.
The biggest challenges we faced making the Winnebago were scaling and sizing. Trying to scale down the actual Winnebago to fit on to a frame and look close enough to be recognizable in a smaller proportion was hard. The finished size of the Winnebago was extremely important so it would fit through doors and elevators. The size was especially complicated this year since ECCC moved facilities and we didn’t know if the doors and elevators were bigger or smaller than the old convention center.
There were also some smaller challenges with the Winnebago, too. We wanted to add the wings for the Winnebago to take flight, but knew that if they were permanently attached we would never fit through doors and take up an entire aisle way. Making sure the wings were detachable was the only way it could work, but how was the problem. Ben and Vicki discussed numerous possibilities and physically put together a few before solving the problem with an easy slip-on/off joint. Another challenge was the unusual angles on the front of the Winnebago. There aren’t any pvc pipe joints with the angles we needed, so we looked all around the house and found a piece of plastic tubing left over from a different project. The piece fit perfectly into the pvc pipe with a little modification to make sure the tubing wouldn’t slip out.
We are very new to the cosplay scene. Everyone at ECCC has welcomed us with open arms, making us truly feel like we are seen for who we are. They don’t look at us and just see some generic white guys, a little old lady, or some poor girl in a wheelchair. They see us and the fun we are having. We also see them and the joy they experience when they notice us. That is the best reward for us.
Disclaimer: All images and videos used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
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11/04/2023Cosplay StoriesHestu from Legend of Zelda / Cosplayer: any_reason_to_empower_cosplay / Photo: jamesyealyvisuals
My mother helped me make different Halloween costumes always different then before. Looking into homemade Halloween costumes kinda lead down the rabbit hole into cosplay. In school I had other friends who’s been to conventions and talked about cosplay, it helped fuel me into looking in the community more. Since jumping into cosplay, it’s something I’m not looking into quitting anytime soon.
Our instagram came to life because we are two best friends with a love of a good theme and having any reason to dress up. The idea of anyone feeling empowered to try something new because they saw something we did would just be amazing. But even if we don’t reach others, we are constantly inspiring each other, and that in itself makes this all so much fun.
The con goers loved Hestu and he even got an honorable mention during the hall costume contest. People who were familiar with the character would say dialogue from the game to him and many others requested photos. It was amazing to hear a passing voice yell “Hestu!” “Yahaha” or “SHAKALA” when walking around the con.
Our Hestu at Katsucon was my second version of him. The first version was rough (but still brought much joy) and I wanted to redo him so he could easily be reworn whenever we wanted. He is a larger than life character that makes everyone smile, especially when shaking his maracas. I like to make cosplays that evoke nostalgia or joy especially if I get to learn a new skill set.came from both.
For his construction, the original pattern was hand drawn on large paper by looking at pictures of the character from the video game Breath of the Wild. I used nylon rip stop fabric so that he could be inflated. There are two fans that insert into the back. He was hand painted with acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium to lessen the cracking of the paint. His eyebrows, nose, and canopy are made of the same fabric as the body but are filled with polyfill. They attach to the body using Velcro. His leaf mask is a thin piece of foam painted with acrylic and coated with a sealant.
The person wearing Hestu is actually wearing a steel shoulder strap harness (what snare drummers use for marching band) that was modified to screw pvc pipes into it to help support the structure of Hestu’s tree limbs and canopy. The maracas were made from a balloon and a pvc pipe. Paper mache, plaster caste strips, and foam clay helped make the final form before painting with acrylic paints. Just like in the game, korok seeds we made from resin were used to make the maraca sounds. Our Korok named Jeff also loved handing out golden korok seed pins to con goers who found our group throughout the day.
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28/03/2023Cosplay StoriesPhoto by felixwongphotography
CVS receipt // Cosplayer ashentrees
So i did change like the credit card numbers to be like 2023, all of the coupon codes are the dates of the first weekend of the first Katsucon back in 1995 and then all of the other numbers on it that relate to like the care reward card is the actual GPS coordinates of the gazebo. All the coupons were kind of like a satire for Katsucon like, one of the coupons was like $2 off $100 purchase of convention food, you know, playing on the joke of like, oh, convention, food is expensive.
(Video: Mineralblu)
I think the biggest reaction for people was just how long it was. And then when people actually like I encourage them to read it. And when they actually did read it, they got a chuckle out of it. It’s something that like you can relate to and get an additional kick out of.
I think it was funny that like anybody could recognize it. I feel like Katsucon like New York Comic Con, anything goes, you know, I look how many. I saw Napoleon Dynamite cosplay at Katsucon this year, and there was a giant group of just people dressed as Pitbull, the singer, and had some kind of like, I feel like, you know, that’s such a vibe of Katsucon.
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21/03/2023Cosplay StoriesMothra & Godzilla from btanselanoican’s gijinka D&D/fantasy kaiju series // Cosplayers: strangecatcosplay & Fooprawn // photos: Ejen Chuang
My Mom is a skilled sewist and used to make Halloween costumes for my sisters and I when we were young. My sister was born on Halloween so we always had costumes and fun celebrations. That started my fascination with dressing up in costume and I always had fun doing it.
As I got older, my Mom taught me how to sew. In 2010 I saw Alice in Wonderland, and fell in love with the costume designs Colleen Atwood brought to the screen.
My Mom helped me a lot with making an Alice cosplay, and I went to my first anime convention. I had never been to one, and after that I wanted to go to more. I fell in love with the fun process of making cosplays and have been doing it since. It’s a huge part of my life now, and I met both of my partners through cosplay.
Godzilla movies have a special place in my heart. I always loved sci-fi and fantasy, monsters and crazy costumes. Mothra and Battra are my favorites, so when I saw the designs by btanselanoican, I was inspired. It brought back a sense of nostalgia and happiness while making parts of the cosplays. I still have more details that I want to add and fix, but my Mothra cosplay is one of my favorite projects I have worked on in a long time.
It was a long process, and involved many different materials. For Mothra, I started with the wig. It involved a lot of cotton batting and white felt to build up the shape without adding a lot of weight, then shaping the wig fibers over that. I made the antennae out of wire and painted felt. The earrings are made of cut brass and painted beads. For the dress, it was a lot of patterning by pinning fabrics to my dressform, making a first draft, then using that to cut the actual fabric. I made a corset and skirt, and then the robe/dress piece that wraps over that. The skirt started out white, but was then dyed to the right colors. The sleeves were the hardest part to figure out. They were dyed and painted by hand, before being sewn to the dress. There are also a lot of appliqued gold fabric pieces on the dress. I made the belt, and all the shiny belt petals are also hand-cut brass pieces.
The wings are made of wire and old tights, that I then stitched, painted, and shaped to fit along my back.
The staff is made from a PVC pipe and foam base, then I added the electronics. There are green LEDs, and a small 10rpm motor that makes the moth wings move. I covered everything with foam strips, making them look like wood and vines. There are compartments made of foam and magnets, that way I can get to the battery pack or motor if I need to. I then added the paint and flowers. The moths are made of foam, pipe cleaners, painted posterboard, and faux fur. The moth wings are attached to the motor via some old ukulele strings. The monofilament keeps its shape and is light, but also strong. It’s fed through old metal brakeline tubing that goes through the staff.
For Godzilla, it was a lot of use of canvas cotton. We found these huge canvas dropcloths at the hardware store, and they were surprisingly soft, but sturdy, after washing them. They have a thick woven texture and take fabric dye really well. We used that for making Godzilla’s pants and shirt. The cape was made of thick cotton, cut, weathered, and painted. The spine has LEDs in it that go up into the hood. His chest and hip armor is all actual leather, patterned by hand and stitched together. The chainmail on the hip armor is hand made as well. His arm and leg armor is more canvas and layers of thick fabric. His shoes are leather and layered canvas and cotton. They are made by hand, and if you look on the bottom they have a Godzilla footprint.
All the “claws” on his hand armor and foot pieces are made of bamboo from the backyard. All of the woven rope pieces are cotton wrapped fleece, braided together for a thick and lightweight rope.
The sword is PVC and foam for a base. The lights are two different sets: a LED string light set, and a neopixel setup. The neopixels were soldered by hand, and are controlled by a command board that also controls a speaker. We set it to play Godzilla’s roar with custom light animations. It has a plastazote foam to diffuse the lights, and then more EVA foam on top.
When I saw the designs I fell in love with the props, the attention to detail, and the use of color. Plus, I have always loved Dungeons and Dragons, so putting them into that universe was such a wonderful idea. I also look for fun challenges when it comes to props, and Mothra’s staff was so beautiful. I couldn’t resist.
Having experience in textile studies has helped me so much with my understanding of how different fabrics work with dyes. I used a lot of dye techniques for different parts of these cosplays. Godzilla’s pants and shirt were dyed, Mothra’s skirt was dyed two different times, the sleeves were dyed, painted with more dye, and then painted again. I don’t think I would have been able to make my Mothra cosplay the way I wanted to without that prior knowledge and experience.
The best part is the magic staff. I am so proud of how it turned out and the way the moths move makes me so happy!
The only thing that I get tired of is that occasionally I run into things with the wire wings, and the long dress can make it hard to go through crowds in convention halls.
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14/03/2023Cosplay StoriesToshiro Hitsugaya from Bleach / Cosplayer: LittleViolet.cosplayer / Con : Ohayocon 2023
Ohayocon was definitely the biggest convention I’ve been to, to date. It was also the second ribbon game I participated in, that definitely helped me with talking to people. How to earn and trade ribbons with others. My favorite interaction though was an in series joke between me and another cosplayer
Cosplay has definitely helped me by getting me further out of my shell. I’m normally the person cheering someone else on, someone else having to start the conversation. With cosplay, it’s easier to have something, like a prompt to socialize easier. If you’re in a cosplay, that’s something easy to be able to talk about or compliment someone else’s work. Once you get me talking it’s easier for me to come out of my shell. Seeing other people who look like me, plus size abs confident, really helped with my own self confidence and self esteem too. I hope I can be that same feeling for someone else
I know it might be little cliché but not worry about how your look. I was always and still can be really self conscious of my appearance, my body shape. Once I put on the cosplays the worries of my appearance gets shoved in the back. Talk to others! I’m an anxious person so getting to talk with people was definitely a learning curve, one I’m happy I’m doing better with.
I’m a Halloween kid! I grew up loving Halloween and the Renaissance festival and the outfits that came from both. My mother helped me make different Halloween costumes always different then before. Looking into homemade Halloween costumes kinda lead down the rabbit hole into cosplay. In school I had other friends who’s been to conventions and talked about cosplay, it helped fuel me into looking in the community more. Since jumping into cosplay, it’s something I’m not looking into quitting anytime soon.
I’m cosplaying Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya from the Bleach series. If you looked at the progress from some of my other looks you can see that a major part of my builds are props and how to incorporate them differently.When watching the series I absolutely loved the look of his bankai and how he’s able to manipulate the snow/ice into so many different abilities. His bankai look definitely scratched my love of constructing bigger and more unique designs. Also with the look always changing between panels in the manga or in the anime meant I had a little more wiggle room when crafting the ice creations.This was my first project with LEDs you don’t see them unless I’m not in really bright con lights but it was a touch I liked. Getting the lights to only shine through the eyes and not the rest of the head was little more of a challenge then I expected. If you look on at his back, he has ice blooming from the center that connects to the wings, that made attaching wings was interesting. The straps are actually fed through the captain hoari and top black ‘shirt’ layer.
The pants where also another fun one. When looking for information on traditional hakama pants most talked about 7 pleated with the ties and open side panels. What the reference images show though is fully pleated pants with ties and open side panels. So I mixed them both, I did seven pleats in the front with a gathered elastic half waistband for the back to give the full, many pleat look. This also allowed me to have a more secure waist band then ties and hide the belt for the tail as well. Since the belt was actually in a fabric sock with another one secured over the buckle for the tie in the front. I also have pockets! Which is nice cause I don’t have access to my hands easily in this one.
@littleviolet.cosplayer I finally finished Hyōrinmaru’s head! This is my first projext with LED’s so huge step and im really happy how it turned out! #copsplay #cosplayanime #bleachanime #bleach #bleachhitsugaya ♬ original sound – Violet
This experience was overwhelming but an amazing one! On Saturday night I ended the night by receiving krazykatstudios judges pick! I am absolutely honored and still little in shock about it. This was my third competition but my first time competing at Ohayocon and the largest one I competed in. This competition also required a build book, it’s a binder holding information on how you crafted the cosplay and troubleshooting parts, explaining your progress essentially. So that was a new skill I had to try out too. Sitting in a chair with 5.5ft wings and 4ft tail was also a very new challenge that I may have forgot to take into account before the day of.
It was a surreal experience being announced as a judges choice! There was so many other competitors and amazing outfits that I wasn’t expect it. This was also my first award in cosplay and it’s surreal, I truly am honored.
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07/03/2023Cosplay StoriesPhoto by katsudamnn_cosplay
Celty (Bunny version) from DurararaCosplayer: _mandehhPhoto : katsudamnn_cosplayKatsucon was not my very first convention, but it was the very first convention I cosplayed for. Because of that, Katsucon has such a special place in my heart. I love the community, I love all my friends and mutuals I gather with every year. It’s something I hope everyone gets the chance to experience at least once !! I think we can all agree the best thing about Katsucon is the convention center. Beauty aside, the Gaylord is such a distinctive venue that draws so many people from across the country to its infamous Gazebo.
Katsucon is by far my favorite convention, I’ve been coming to this convention since 2017 and each year the attendance & crowds have grown. I only worry that a day will come we all outgrow the Gaylord and will have to relocate, but I hope not!This year, I really wanted to pay homage to some of the animes I grew up watching. All my cosplays this weekend are from an anime I fell in love with during a time when I was younger & really getting into anime. Durarara!! was at the top of my list, so of course I had to do my favorite character from the series, Celty.The biggest difficulty was definitely having to cover a bunny suit entirely in caution tape and duct tape. Thankfully with help from my best friend and an extra pair of hands the process was fairly seamless. Pun fully intended.I was surprised my character was recognized at all to be quite honest! My favorite responses so far have been ones from people who also expressed their love for Durarara!! and while we all may not have watched it in a long time, it was a nice reminder of a series so many people love.
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28/02/2023Cosplay StoriesPhoto by marcosmedia
Red Hood from DC Comics // Cosplayer: raijincosplay // Photo: marcosmedia
I’ve always had a particular love for characters with tragic backstories which they turned into strengths and what drives them. The Red Hood has a soft place in my heart for these reasons as well as the personality he has.
I have gone through several renditions of the character over the past 5 years I’ve done him. Tapping into my own creative talents as well as various other artist’s creations. I started primarily at the suggestion of a close friend of mine (@8o8darkknight) who gave me a helmet he created. Over time in our group I had a love for the character more and more that I decided to do a version of him all my own using different parts from other artists. A helmet from godofprops, leather jacket from lucajackets, body armor from UD replicas along with a few other pieces I’ve had sitting around and I had something I liked and felt comfortable with. Err well maybe not comfortable but rather looking the part (The entire outfit is an OVEN).
Goodness me the past 5 years with this character has certainly blended together. Aside from our local conventions, I’ve taken the outfit to Anime Expo and Dragon Con. I’ve done more sidekicks and obscure characters so I often get mistaken for other characters but it’s no problem to me. I believe the best response I’ve ever gotten was during the 2018 Dragon con parade. There a young child in the crowds that was along the parade route back, recognized my buddy and I as Red Hood and Batman Beyond. When he shook my hand as I walked by I forgot about the heat and all I remember was making the little guy happy. That made my entire day worth it.
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21/02/2023Cosplay StoriesSelenaCosplayer : gamegoddess4ever1Photo : joshua_astacio_photographyJust seeing people being excited seeing Selena. There are so many Selena fans at the convention and it makes me happy honoring her by dressing up as her. I’ve always been a fan of hers since I was a little girl. My grandma always have the Latino Channel on and saw her live on the TV performing. I’ve became a fan of her since then. I’m also a mother and I do cosplay with my son quite often. It’s something I love doing and sharing amazing memories with him.I’ve wore this cosplay to phillycomiccon when I was a Cosplay Guest, as well for nerdtino during keystonecomiccon weekend. This cosplay was also wore amazicon_ as a cosplay model for @theartoflancefooter . Who knows? I may wear her again in the near future.
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14/02/2023Cosplay StoriesGalacta Knight from KirbyCosplayer: cory_inthehousenowPhoto: pennydox for Cosplay in AmericaI think the best part in my honest opinion was having others recognize who I was cosplaying as. Originally when I had finished this project, I was under the impression that no one would recognize who I was supposed to be, but surprisingly I was proven wrong as Galacta Knight had been recognized by a lot of convention goers at ALA, which made me really happy when I was asked to have photos taken with others.
I decided to cosplay as a character that not only not many people know of, but primarily to give a bit of diversity for cosplaying since I rarely see Kirby character cosplays at conventions. I wanted to give the series some well deserved love and since its my favorite game series, it was a no-brainer!
The armor I had made was made out of a thick 8mm eva foam and I didnt have access to a heat gun so it was very stiff. I managed to have a ribbon tie system in place to maintain the armor’s form around my body, but this got in the way since my belongings were in a bag underneath the armor. To resolve this issue I’m planning to have pockets added to my pants.
It’s quite interesting as I used to go to conventions when I was a kid. I remember taking photos with a lot of kind people and got to meet some of my favorite characters. Since last year, a close friend and her friend actually convinced me to start cosplaying as a side hobby in addition to my normal college studies. I was a bit shy and hesistant at first, but it was worth it as I love doing it now.
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07/02/2023Cosplay StoriesVelouria from Fire Emblem FatesCosplayer : @kimbearliiiCity: Anchorage, AKVelouria is a character whose design I instantly fell in love with upon seeing the images from Fire Emblem Fates. Her wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood design was too cute to not replicate, and I really wanted a character that I could take photos of in Alaska that would fit the beautiful scenery we get year-round. Her personality is borderline obsessive, but her lazy side I found super relatable. I started creating the outfit around March and finished in August, piecing together things as I found time between working and going to school full time
The cloak is probably my favorite piece, partly because of how much I love the lace but it’s also functional and ridiculously warm! The corset was also fun to modify, and the pants and boots I actually use in everyday outfits because they’re great outside of cosplay! I didn’t have anyone recognize me at Senshi-con, but that’s okay, a couple people knew who I was at PAX West and it was nice getting to know other fans!a
I’ve been a cosplayer since 2009 and started sewing and making my own costumes since around 2012, I’ve lived in Alaska part-time since 2010, but moved up here full time in 2015. I got into cosplay after googling pictures of Naruto characters to use as a wallpaper for my computer and saw someone cosplaying Sakura and was instantly like, “I want to do this!”. Little did I know that cosplay would have introduced me to my best friends and a whole new avenue of creativity.My first costume was a closet-cosplay of Misa Amane from Death Note, no wig, no makeup, but people still recognized my character which I thought was amazing and instantly hooked! My first hand-made costume was of Homura Akemi from Madoka Magica, which introduced me to sewing stretchy boot covers, sewing bias tape, patterning, and experimenting with different types of seams. Definitely not what I would consider a good first choice, but I learned so much!
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31/01/2023Cosplay StoriesHelping Hands from Labyrinth // Douglas from Terminator 2 // Cosplayer: pagsamiam
I’ve been a fan of Labyrinth, since VHS tapes. And I wanted to do this costume since the 2nd grade, but didn’t know how. I guess thanks to Flight of the Conchords and others cosplaying Bowie’s character, the idea came back! And with many events like movie screenings, renaisance fairs, and Halloween contests, I felt ready. Finding the supplies and putting it together, makes it so much fun. It was fun to see the final product, fall into place and I would keep going without sleep.
Terminator 2 is in my top 10 favorite movies. I’ve recently been watching movie reactions on YouTube. And those reacting to T2, along with myself, get pretty disgusted with the character Douglas, the abusive orderly at Pescadero hospital (who licks Sarah Connor’s face). I thinks he’s never been cosplayed before so I combined him with the T-1000, to make an easier reference.
When I saw silver shiny, mini baking pie cups, they looked liked the T1000’s shot wounds. So I found the uniform of Douglas easily at the thrift store. I added a metalic finger. Foil and steel tape is hard to work with, so I got thermal emergency blankets. The fold creases and wrinkles tighten up. Some people at Los Angeles Comic Con, said I was one of the twins which I believe is the story behind the actors who played the coffee vending machine guard. That makes me just as happy. Because they got T2 right
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24/01/2023Cosplay StoriesLady Bow from Paper MarioCosplayer mythril_artsPhotographer: felixwongphotography
Lady Bow is my favorite of all the partners in Paper Mario 64. Her design is very simple as she’s just a green Boo with a fan and bows, but those few elements along with her sassy yet refined demeanor inspired me. I decided to go with an 18th-century rococo-inspired dress with a shorter poofy skirt inspired by lolita fashion. I came across a YouTube tutorial for bow-shaped smocking that I decided to try out for the panel in the front, and it turned out to be very easy and relaxing to do, just time consuming!
Other than the bow smocking, my favorite parts of Lady Bow’s costume are all the cute coral red bows I created to give my dress a pop of color. Mint green and red can be challenging to pair together, but I think I was able to balance those colors cohesively.
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17/01/2023Cosplay StoriesPOM Wonderful / Cosplayer: catcancraft
I decided to bring the Pom Wonderful bottle costume to life after years of joking about sharing the same body type. “Hourglass? More like Pom Wonderful bottle!” The overall aesthetic was inspired by retro cigarette girl costumes, hence the off-center hat that amusingly irritated so many!
Like most of my costumes, the process was all about the details. Everything on the dress was cut, stitched and written/painted by hand. Since I don’t have a dress form, I had to fill trash bags with Polyfil to roughly fit my measurements. I even bothered to work up the math for the accurate serving size information for my weight & “liquid volume”. As for materials, the dress details are all done in felt & puff paint. (I wanted something that wouldn’t crack when stretching over my body!) The hat is made from cardboard, paint, netting, and phonebook paper. The bottle I’m holding is a fully functional purse that was dyed with alcohol ink, lined in cellophane with a ribbon strap and button closure. Purses are a must with all of my costume designs, as the function is as important as form!
The response was INCREDIBLE! My costume went viral and FAST. I posted the original photos on my Facebook page around 6pm, and by 8pm, I was getting messages about being on the front page of Reddit. (I didn’t post it there, but many others did!) By the next day, my phone battery couldn’t stay full as I was receiving an unbelievable amount of messages thanking me for my body positivity, fan art (!!!), and (uncredited, grrr) memes, etc! There was a bit of a backlash (re: my size) from some darker corners of the internet, but far and away the positive reaction overshadowed the bad. Pom Wonderful’s PR team re-posted my costume and sent me an amazing gift basket filled with all the Pom goodies a bottle could ever want. Over the years, I’ve had many people message me thanking me for my visibility, as well as sharing recreations of their own versions of the costume.
The night after I posted the costume, I was handing out candy on Halloween night and I was recognized IN PERSON! Many of the parents had apparently seen me on Reddit. I was floored. Within the first few days of posting, I’d been interviewed for a podcast, featured on Buzzfeed and numerous body-positive articles, so you can imagine the response since the initial posting. It’s been three years since I posted the costume, and every Halloween since, the original post and the uncredited meme re-circulate.
I’m still humbled by the massive response to a costume I ultimately made for my own amusement. But, I think that in itself sums up the spirit of Halloween and cosplay. You can be anything you want, and the joy in what you’ve made will shine. Many people commented on how genuinely happy I looked in the photos. Because I was! A silly vision come to fruition.The Pom costume checked off so many boxes: silliness, body positivity, creativity and more, that it resonated with a wider audience than I’d ever conceived it could, and continues to do so every Halloween. And the fresh pomegranates in my gift package weren’t so bad either.
https://beacons.ai/catcraft/
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10/01/2023Cosplay StoriesGoku and Chichi from Dragon BallCosplayer: ssj_lalo & Hey_StephiePhoto: zeroe_filter for bigcityblerds
Hey_Stephie When we first started dating 8 years ago, Dragon Ball Z was Lalos favorite anime. I on the other hand never really watched. It’s the first show we watched together from Dragon Ball all the way to Dragon Ball Z, even purchasing every dvd in the collection.
ssj_lalo Dragonball was my favorite anime growing up and when Steph and I started dating I was able to rewatch it with her since she never had the chance to watch it. It was such an enjoyable time, seeing my partner fall in love with the anime I enjoyed dearly. So for it being our first time going to comic con it felt right to go with Goku and Chichi and like Steph mentioned it made it easier with our situation haha.
Hey_Stephie This was our first time going to NY Comic Con. We had always talked about going but never actually went. But being that we are huge anime fans we decided to give it a try this year.
We truly enjoyed ourselves and seeing not just the cosplay but the people who love and enjoy the same things we do! Being surrounded by people with a common interest and the ability to start a conversation with a stranger about a topic you both love was a lot of fun. I cannot wait for next year, and what ever costume my husband decides for us to wear, and me to design !
ssj_lalo Definitely best reaction was when we were just walking around. And a adorable kid was yelling “GOKU” and he was so excited to see me and show me his action figure that he just got and we took a picture together. It was just such a great feeling to experience. It was so wholehearted.
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03/01/2023Cosplay StoriesPhoto by felixwongphotography
Aizawa from My Hero AcademiaCosplayer: ame.at.your.serviceCon: Otakon (Washington DC)Aizawa or Legzawa as I’ve been calling him was an idea I had while sleep deprived on the way back from a long trip, and It ended up being one of my absolute favorite joke cosplays. I usually cosplay must more feminine characters because that’s what I feel most confident and beautiful in, but every now and then there’s a weird outlier like my Aizawa that I just have so much fun wearing because it makes the people around me laugh and happy.
I don’t think there’s anything very deep to that, I just like seeing my friends and other people in my community having fun, and it feels really good getting to be a source for that feeling when I can. It’s also just a good break for myself sometimes because even if I’m not feeling the best about how I look at some points I never worry about that in Aizawa because it is 100% just for the fun of it.
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29/11/2022Cosplay StoriesGritty Bunny : thebreezybiz
Oh, I have an obsession with Gritty and absolutely love the chaotic mascot! To the point I’ve contemplated with my roommate to theme our bathroom with gritty colors, artwork and fuzzy bath mats. But I just love the chaotic energy of Gritty and I loved the idea of combining a mascot head with a bunny outfit for Dragoncon’s Bunny Hutch event.
Haha, everyone’s reactions are usually the same: shock, disgust, confusion, love, lust(?), but by far the best thing to happen to me in the costume was at the Bunny Hutch Event at Dragoncon 2021. Someone gave me $10 and I started dancing immediately, the best $10 I ever made! I will also say that the costume is great for getting drinks at the sailbar since it’s kind of hard to not stand out!
I have to give credit to my mom actually. She knew I loved anime and manga and saw that there was an anime convention happening while she was on a work trip in California. She went and picked up some posters and swag for me, told me about it and then helped me find my first convention: Animenext 2004. She mentioned that a lot of people dress up and that I should pick a character and cosplay them. That first one was Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2.What inspires me to keep going is the joy and connections I make through cosplaying. I love being able to dress up as characters with friends and have the ability to connect and make new friends because of those costumes.
Follow https://www.instagram.com/thebreezybiz/
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22/11/2022Cosplay StoriesPhoto by quachstar.jpg
Somnacanth from Monster HunterCosplayer: the_gnome_queen
I’ve been cosplaying for 9 years and every time I choose a cosplay I like to add something new to my skillset. Sometimes it’s from a franchise I’m deeply familiar with and sometimes it’s just something that catches my eye. Somnacanth was an example of the latter. I saw the concept art for the armor and was immediately drawn in by how different it was. The colors, the design, and the potential to add my own details to the armor was what attracted me. But I don’t like being ignorant of the source material and I hadn’t played Monster Hunter in years, so I started picked up Monster Hunter Rise. What I love about the game is the creature and world design, as well as the ability to craft materials into your own weapons and armor.
Although the world of Monster Hunter doesn’t technically have magic, there are similar qualities to the experience. The Somnacanth Armor reminded me of something inspired by mysticism and the creature itself has almost supernatural qualities that I wanted to capture in the amor and details. I love finding new technology and incorporating it into my cosplays. With a recent project I discovered tiny LCD screens that play back eyeball visual effects with movement. I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the monster head prop. However, I had never used that technology before and so it took some time to learn and master the coding needed to customize that effect as well as the wiring involved.
One of my favorite aspects of cosplay is connecting with other creators and “talking shop”. Each year, NYCC draws extremely talented individuals to compete in the Crown Champsionships of Cosplay. I’ve been able to meet some truly amazing makers who are so giving and passionate about sharing knowledge within the cosplay community. NYCC was one of the first conventions I returned to in a post pandemic world and so it’s special to me in that way.
This was my third time competing in the Crown Championships at NYCC and while I had won a category in the past, this was my first time placing in the contest. It’s truly an honor (and so humbling) to be recognized by such inspiring judges and stand alongside other cosplayers who are at the top of their game. I’ve never travelled to a convention that hasn’t been within driving distance from my home. The chance to attend C2E2 for the finals and meet other cosplayers from around the country and the world is thrilling! I hope to make the Monster Hunter community proud!
Something I really love about cosplay is seeing people’s reactions to something I’ve worked so hard on. With my Somnacanth Armor I was especially proud of all the details I added. From hand beading to lighting sfx and foam smithing to 3d modelling I am floored when people get to see the details I’ve added. There’s nothing more gratifying than someone saying “look at this…but then look at this….and then there’s this!”
I love sharing knowledge about making things. When someone reaches out with a question about how I did something, or how they can learn a new skill it feels good. I hope my passion for this craft and community comes across in what I share.
Cosplay has given me the opportunity to have a creative outlet among a group of likeminded people. Growing up, my father always taught me that age is just a number and if you love something you should embrace it. He passed away just before I started cosplay as a hobby and so I threw myself into it to deal with my grief. I was initially reluctant to share my hobby with those in my everyday life, but as I learned more about myself through crafting, I became more confident and proud of my creations. I realized I wanted to be the person that younger me would be proud of.
I know a lot of people find them creepy, but I really just love gnomes! I’m totally dating myself, but I grew up watching a cartoon called David the Gnome. Gnomes have always kind of followed me throughout my life. Friends and family give them to me as gifts. They’re all over my house in small and large ways. I even have two gnome tattoos!
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15/11/2022Cosplay StoriesPhoto by shotbyryandee
SnowWhite from the MotherlandCosplayer: lakelilovescosplay
I am an African American cosplayer and there is very little African American representation in certain genres, so I love to take well known characters and add my own cultural influence. It means a lot to me to have opportunities to show that cosplay can be inclusive and have diversity and that you can be creative and bring your own representation to any character. Snow White even by her name is historically the “fairest of them all” quite literally. Her name is even coined from having skin as white as snow. I thought this would be the perfect character to bring some color and minority representation to.
The biggest challenge was creating her dress utilizing African fabrics and designs in a way that the character would still be recognizable but I could still pay homage to African culture. I tried several different skirt designs before finally going with a design that could tie in the same colors as the original Snow White costume but add some flair to it. It wasn’t hard to add the accessories once I figured out the skirt and dress design
The best experience was being stopped by children and adults off all different colors, seeing the smiles when they saw my colorful dress, asking for pictures, wanting hugs, and being told that they loved my cosplay dress. It was so rewarding to have such a warm reception and to genuinely have my work appreciated.
Photo by shotbyryandee
I am a co-founder of a disability nonprofit organization called Telic Empowerment and the best part is helping bring respect, inclusion and acceptance of people with disabilities to my community. It is very similar to how I feel about cosplay in that I am passionate about helping change the culture of how people see others that are different. In cosplay, I’m trying to also expose people to seeing characters in all different shades and I’m advocating for people to respect, accept and appreciate the creativity a cosplayer of color has when they decide to cosplay a character that
means creativity, diversity, and inclusion for all. Cosplay means anyone can participate and be free to create whatever you want. Cosplay is a positive outlet that allows people from all walks of life to come together. Cosplay is community.
The worst part of being a cosplayer is seeing the tremendous amount of hate, disrespect, and outright abuse that cosplayers of color have to endure when they choose to cosplay a character that is not of color. I have even experienced this type of racism. This is why I continue to make efforts to showcase representation in all characters I portray.
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08/11/2022Cosplay StoriesPhoto by fxdandy
Mipha from The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild : bambilashesdesign
I specifically designed this cosplay to wear to the Cosplay Met Gala event at Katsucon 2020. l decided this was a perfect opportunity for me to cosplay Mipha since I love her original design but it wasn’t my style of costume to create. So, I jumped at the chance to redesign it into an outfit I would love to make and have a ton of fun with!
This cosplay was a great opportunity for me to get creative and experiment – since it was my own design, accuracy wasn’t an issue! At the same time, I had set myself some challenges. I wanted as dramatic a mermaid tail effect as possible, so I ended up constructing a knee-down hoopskirt to get the right shape! One of my favourite parts of the whole build was the embellishment, since I let myself go all out in attaching beads, rhinestones and sequins wherever I pleased. The shinier the better!
Photo by key.ve_living
I first found cosplay years ago when I tagged along with my best friend to a convention here in Ireland, wayyyy back in 2008. Our con scene was absolutely tiny at the time – in my first year, the convention I went to was the only one in Dublin and had an attendance of about 800!
When I cosplayed for the first time the following year, it was in a bought costume and it was definitely just so I could run around with my friends! It wasn’t until about five years ago that I switched to making all my cosplays, and the con scene has exploded here since.
Mipha was the last costume I got to debut at a convention, back when it was safe to do so. Looking back at this cosplay reminds me that sooner or later, we’ll all be back to cosplaying together. For now, it’s okay to just be crafting at home, because it’s not forever!
https://bambilashes.storenvy.com/
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01/11/2022Cosplay StoriesPhoto by gimmiecookie
Powerline from A Goofy Movie : roquois
The response when I first debuted this cosplay at Katsucon was amazing! I really felt my character was obscure and that many people wouldn’t remember it but I was wrong lol. So many people came up to me and we talked about A Goofy Movie and how the music was dope and it was really a great feeling. Just hearing someone say “OMG is that POWERLINE!?” and then stopping me in my tracks to sing and dance with me was sooooo amazing.
I had a tiny bluetooth speaker attached to my back and was running around the con with Eye 2 Eye on repeat and so many people asked me to do the perfect cast and I did lol. Too many people stopped to sing and dance with me so I think the entire day was memorable. I didn’t think it could get any better but when I went to BlerDCon as powerline a few months later it was even more of a warm reception. The feeling of someone enjoying something you made, and that something meaning something special to you is a feeling I don’t have enough words for.
I have always loved A Goofy Movie and felt Powerline was such a great character and decided to put my own spin on it as I am also a singer/songwriter. I had an idea of what I wanted my Powerline to look like. I love to dress up and be a bit over the top for my own performances so I felt I had to do the same with Powerline.
I started with a zentai suit for the base and then I purchased thigh high sparkly boots from Amazon to start things off. I love a good high heel and the boots are really what brought it all together. What was challenging was hand drawing the atom symbol and making it removable so I could wash my cosplay. I also made the neck and arm bands removable too so I can easily wash my cosplay. I added buttons on the back of my suit for securing the neck piece. I also made the ears with hair clips so I can freely style my hair. Wearing my natural hair for this cosplay was so important to me. It really brings my personality to this character.
I think for me cosplay has always been part of my life. I have always loved dressing up for halloween and really wanted to embody every character. It wasn’t until I discovered Otakon when I was 18 that I realized that people dressed up outside of halloween. It was my first con experience, I hand sewed a Sailor Moon cosplay and attended the con solo. I don’t think it gets any more nerve wrecking than that. It was a time when there weren’t many Black cosplayers at cons and not much Black or POC representation at cons. Despite that, I still managed to meet a few new friends and enjoyed every moment of the con! I even ran into two friends from high school which was super embarrassing but I was also happy to see them lol. Overall it was a new experience for me and learning the term “cosplay” was amazing, and the feeling of being my true nerd self amongst thousands of other people who loved anime and pop culture as much as I did was an unforgettable experience.
Cosplay has taught me to love the skin I’m in and through cosplay I have learned that I am way more creative than I think I am. Creating cosplay and coming up with ideas to fit my body shape and hair type has been so fun! Putting my own spin on characters I love has taken my creativity to new heights. It doesn’t matter if I look like the character or if I’m even the same gender or species of a character I like, If I like them I can cosplay them and make it work for me. Cosplay is about having fun and expressing yourself through that medium and its such a unique type of fun immersing yourself into another world, dressing up, acting out and just living. YOLO right?
Photo by jollette_merino_delvalle
I have been making an effort to help others be fearless with things they are passionate about. Who I am now has brought so many amazing people into my life who I admire, who I draw strength from and we mutually cheer each other on. I had to go through a lot of hardships and feeling like crap to get here, but I keep reminding myself that it’s ok to be unapologetically me. I have to inspire myself to be great and to not revert back to who I was and I have to motivate myself to keep pushing forward to help others push forward. I basically had to fight myself to find my best self. I’m still a work in progress but I am making the best out of this journey.
My greatest struggle is figuring out how to be both a cosplayer and a musician. Bridging the gap between the two hasn’t been easy for me. I have been told by industry people to “be sexier” or do things a certain way or make certain types of music and to separate my social media, and my brands too confusing… It really isn’t easy. I just want to make music, watch anime and cosplay when I want to and to share my passions with the world. Why can’t I write music, sing, perform across the world and still share my cosplay from the con I went to the week before? I often think “what am I missing” or “why can’t I love and do both”. I would love to get booked at a con again and get to do both! I love artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Robyn, Megan Thee Stallion and so many others, but I also just want to be myself and make pop music without feeling like I have to fit some specific mold. They all found a way to be themselves and thrive doing what they love and I want that too.
I just want to be Roquois; Singer, Songwriter, Superhero.
http://roquois.com/
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25/10/2022Cosplay StoriesSkull from Persona 5 // Cosplayer : boolprops
I was enamored with P5 when my fiancee and I played through it together, but I decided to cosplay from the series when my sister and cosplay partner @calorline decided to cosplay from the game. I cosplayed Skull to complement her Joker because he’s my favorite Phantom Thief and these two characters are close friends like my sister and me.
The other major reason I cosplayed Skull was to cosplay the game’s user interface (UI), which is almost like its own character in the game. I’m a UX/UI designer, so I spend half my time playing games looking at the user interface/experience. P5’s UI is an inseparable part of the game and reinforces the theming and game “feel” so well I couldn’t resist incorporating it into the costume.
Similar to how cosplay can translate character representations in the real world, props can translate graphical game elements into tangible artifacts. I can also easily transfer the UI prop to my sister when we cosplay from P5 and it’s her turn in battle!
For Skull, I bought the base costume from ezcosplay.com and made my own vertebrae pieces for the back out of EVA foam and spray paint. The mask is a gorgeous piece by @detravoid (IG) and the pipe is PVC from Home Depot. The wig is courtesy of Arda Wigs.
The battle UI is comprised of a trifold display board, foam board, and construction paper – I’m a walking science fair display. Getting the base “backpack” to fit over the jacket vertebrae without damaging them was tricky, so I made a prototype with an extra board. Once I had a working prototype for the base, I added some adjustable backpack straps, which blend in with the black of the Skull suit, and the UI “wings”.
It made my day seeing how excited people got when they saw me with my sister as a complete P5 cosplay unit. I enjoy sharing our builds because this and many of our other projects are collaborative.
It’s extra satisfying to watch a project come together when the result is greater than the sum of its parts and is a testament to teamwork and a shared vision. I’m glad we made people smile and recall the joy of experiencing Persona 5, because that’s what cosplay means to me: expressing yourself and the shared love of meaningful media, stories, and characters.
My one piece of advice is keep learning. Whether you’re picking up a new skill, having difficult conversations, or trying to understand the experiences of others, I think having an open mind and an open heart is really important, for yourself and others. You can learn something from everyone’s story.
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18/10/2022Cosplay StoriesZohakuten of Hantengu from Demon SlayerCosplayer: aerospace.acePhoto: jaecin_88 & gkcarter21Convention: AnimeFest 2022 (Dallas, TX)
I was drawn to Zohakuten’s design and since I generally lean towards the shorter characters when cosplaying, it was perfect. This cosplay was a chance to challenge myself with sewing his skirt and making his drums since it was only my second time working with EVA foam. Besides that, I love to cosplay characters that not many have cosplayed before. It makes me happy seeing reactions to characters I love that may not get as much recognition.
I learned quite a lot through this cosplay. It was pretty tedious but overall it was super fun to create and design everything. I’m most proud of how the skirt and drums turned out. Since he has no official coloring yet or have been cosplayed barely at all, I wanted to make the cosplay my own. I love the fabric I used for the skirt and even added details that aren’t in his official design. I think it makes him look more extravegant and demon like versus how his manga design would look in real life. I think the biggest challenge was making the harness to wear the hoop of drums. Luckily I was able to figure it out but I was really crunching for time since I barely gad a week left until the convention.
At Anime Fest I expected maybe a few people to know my cosplay since he’s only in the manga right now but I was honestly surprised with the response I got. Including those who didn’t know the character but loved my cosplay! It really made me feel like all the work I put into it was worth it.
I was honestly surprised I won best prop in the cosplaycontest! That may be the perfectionist in me talking but when the judges said that the prop looked real I genuinely didn’t think it was me! What was even more surprising was when an actual drummer (unconnected to the con) thought they were real as well! Winning best prop was one of the happiest moments I had at the con! I can’t wait to enter more in the future!
Cosplay is like an escape from reality for me. With college and work, it’s exhausting to live day to day only thinking about my future and studying. My motivation comes from the breaks I make to work on creating my cosplays and dressing as some of my favorite characters. I find a challenge in every costume and prop I make but it’s more fun than anything. I’ve made amazing friends through this hobby and feel like I can really express myself.
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11/10/2022Cosplay StoriesAdmiral Ackbar from Star WarsCosplayer: propstohistoryPhoto: erikjawsphotoConvention:; C2E2 (Chicago, IL)
I was working as the Propmaster for Netflix’ Bridgerton Experience which is set in the Regency Era of England. We were coming towards the end of the show in Chicago and I wanted to “dress up” for the last show. I had recently acquired the mask for Admiral Ackbar and I remembered Adam Savages take on the character, where he combined period clothing to create something similar. So, off to Etsy to find an Admirals coat and accessories. Thats how you have ‘Grand Admiral Ackbar’.
The very first time. Which of course was on the set of Bridgerton Experience. My coworkers loved it (for the most part) and our Violinist began playing the Star Wars main theme when I first walked out onto set. This led to that last show of the tour being filled with Star Wars references added by the announcer, the musicians and the actors. Some subtle, some not so subtle. And largely the guest received it rather well, as to them, i was just another guest in costume.
Surprisingly, it was extremely easy to put together. The biggest difficulty was cooling. As anyone knows, wearing a big rubber mask for hours at a time is not the most comfortable thing ever. I’ve since solved the problem with simple fans, but when I first built it, it was done on a bit of a time-crunch. And walking around a con (or in my case, work) without adequate ventilation is just not fun.I work full time in the film industry as a propmaker/sfx artists and that affords me the very fortunate opportunity to be creative as job. Every day is something new. and right now its Space Suits, lots of Space Suits
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[…] Cosplay Stories : Kamura armor from Monster Hunter Rise by echo_waters […]