#the downsides to being a cosplayer

[its-a-dam-blue-brick]

Why I would Die pt. 2

Gotham

Mc: *jumping around the rooftops in full costume*

Batman, exiting from the shadows: “The Penguin.”

Mc, trying to stick my pointy nose back on: “Um… yes?”

—————

Mc: *stabs Joker bc fck that guy*

Batman, aiming his weapon: “You killed.”

Mc: “Yeah? People do it all the time around here, it didn’t seem like a big deal!”

Batman: “I don’t allow murderers in my city.”

Mc, pointing exaggeratedly at dead Joker: “So, what, I gotta have some weird homoerotic relationship with you, first?”

Barbara: *mutes comms bc everyone is laughing*

—————

*In Arkham Asylum*

Crocodile: *ignoring mc*

Mc: “So what’d you do to get put in timeout?”

—————

Red Robin: “Batman doesn’t like vigilantes in his city.”

Mc, just walking around looking for fights: “What’s he gonna do, adopt me?”

—————

Nightwing: “it’s not safe to be on the roof at night.”

Mc: “… *shrug* safer than on the ground.”

Nightwing: *sigh* “Look, can I walk you home?”

Mc, pointing: “Yeah, sure. It’s about five feet that way.”

Nightwing: “You’re homeless?”

Mc, sarcastically: “We are in Gotham, y’know.”

—————

*watching Red Robin fight criminals*

Mc, idly: “Red Robin - yum! 🎶 “

RR: *looks around for mc, gets stabbed*

Mc: “oops.”

—————

Mc: “I never understood why people have a Daddy kink. I mean, what? You want him to beat your ass and be emotionally unavailable?”

Bruce: *bruce noises*

Mc: “Uh oh.”

[tavyliasin]

The Highs and Lows of Fandom Creation

Hello darlings~ It has been a little while and this one has been on my list to get to for a while, and with the Baldur's Date Valentine's Fanworks event soon to draw to a close it seems appropriate to start preparing ourselves for the cycle of what happens when we release our works into the wild. So without further ado, our latest essay~

The RollerCoaster of Emotion That Comes With Being A Creative In Fan Spaces (FanArt, FanFiction, Cosplay, Photography, Music, and So Much More) ((Another CallOut Essay Prepare To Be SEEN)) (((Also I Have Some Coping Techniques Here Too!)))

As usual with my essay pieces I will be making plenty of use of the headers to divide topics, and I fully welcome any thoughts and feelings in the comments. Whilst I am really only in the FanFic side, and a focus on Baldur's Gate 3, I do intend to make this essay inclusive of the trials and tribulations that we all tend to face in making and sharing fanworks of all kinds and through all fandoms. The more people I speak to, the more it seems to be a universal experience, so hold on to your hats it's a bumpy ride! The first part will talk about the Rollercoaster itself, the how and why behind it all, and the second will be around how to cope with it. For readers and appreciators of fan content, I urge you to have a little look too, and at the end I will add in some ways you can help support your favourites too~

Creatives Are Emotional Beings

Starting off with the obvious callout - most of us are. We feel things deeply, and that emotion can often be an incredible driving force behind our works. Whether we're creating around things we've experience, being inspired and influenced by our current emotions, or drawing on our well of imagination to work out what characters might feel (and often more importantly how/why they feel that way), emotion is a strong part of the process.

This can be an incredible strength! Tapping in to the deeper parts of ourselves, our experiences, and the emotions at our cores, can bring out the very best in our works across all creative formats. It also tends to help our audiences engage too, as they recognise their own emotions mirrored in the works.

The Downside to Strong Emotion - The Rollercoaster Effect

This chart was initially drawn up based on writing, but truly after speaking with a few beloved Discord friends it was quick to see that this easily applies to art as well, so I'm going to go over this slightly differently to the initial plan.

The Start Of Every Ride

We begin usually around a neutral baseline, or maybe a little below if we haven't created in a while, perhaps we might start higher than baseline with the rush of an exciting new idea. Either way, the first part of the project tends to go up in mood very quickly when we share those early unfinished parts.

For writers this might be a beta reader or sharing a sample of the work as they're still writing as a teaser, artists might see this as their initial sketch or linework stage if they're sharing progress and teasers too. Cosplayers could be the first part of a build, musicians sharing a few bars of the melody - whatever it is, that first little positive boost that says Keep Going is a powerful one.

But what happens next? Well, you still have more work to do! That initial boost and confidence can drop down to a slump, especially if it's taking longer to complete than you thought it would, and double that if something goes wrong that needs to be changed or fixed.

You may, hopefully, find it begins to rise as things start to come together again and that finish line in sight, but then...

I Finished Making The Thing, Now What?

Well, first you're going to feel that massive surge of satisfaction from completing the thing. Sometimes a dopamine rush in the brain, and all that excitement of "Finally I get to share the thing I worked so hard on! It's done!" So, off you go, you post it. You share the links, maybe drop them in some Discord servers, other social media...and then, often very quickly, it hits you.

Post Publishing Drop

Those of you in the convention and event scene might also know this feeling as "Con Drop", which can take a little longer to manifest. Post Publishing Drop hits quite quickly. Sometimes it might take a few hours, but other times it starts almost within minutes of posting as all that rush of energy finishing and publishing is just...gone.

If you're lucky, you might get some quick and early feedback, especially if you're a well known or popular creator, but I imagine even those of you who tend to get very high engagement can feel a lot of this too so I don't mean to exclude any of you in any way at all~ So what is it? What's happening? WHY?!

Well darlings all that adrenaline is wearing off and realistically you're not likely to get that creative feedback and validation instantly. So that wonderfully powerful emotional heart of yours is going to crack a little. It won't last, it won't stay this low, but good gods that lack of engagement and positive reinforcement can be devastating.

The first engagements you get - kudos, likes, reaction emotes on a Discord post - they may be enough to boost you right back up to your baseline or even a little above, until the worry creeps back in again. And I know that it does, clawing and slithering in the back of your beautifully creative mind whispering those horrible lies:

Why isn't this getting the reaction I hoped for yet? Is this work not as good as before? Have people stopped liking me? Is the website/platform hiding my work? Have I upset people somehow in ways I can't even see?

Then Back Up We Go, And What Goes Up...

Hopefully those voices don't get a chance to be too loud for too long before you see more of that engagement. Maybe it's a heartfelt comment from someone, or a share from someone you respect, or just a little surge of interaction in general. You're back on top, darling, your creative heart is soaring, finally your work is being seen in a way that reminds you why you put in all that time in the first place!

And each time, the high wears off again, with a drop, though the extremities of each is likely less and less as time goes on. Unless, of course, we make one little mistake and the gradual confidence build comes crashing back down...

The Perils Of Comparing

Sometimes this might be looking at someone else's work, seeing a similar style or similar topic get far more engagement than your own. It can be really hard not to feel discouraged by this, and falling into that trap of questioning where you're "going wrong" can lead to absolute agony - I urge you to do your best to move away from this as soon as you notice the feeling. I'll cover some proper techniques later though, I promise!

The other trap with comparison can be looking at your own past works, and over-analysing why some pieces never got the same love and appreciation as others. Picking it apart to find what you can do better is not as wise a plan as it seems for one simple reason:

Over half of this is down to pure chance!

It might be the time of day it was posted, or just one or two people seeing it and deciding to share it on that gives a work a massive boost to interaction and engagement. Maybe a work was lucky enough to get shared in a prominent community by one of the members, or even had someone with a huge following give it a boost.

At the end of the day, there seem to be very few ways to predict this. Of course there are some characters, topics, art styles, writing tropes, etc that will have a tendency to get more love from their respective fanbases - that's how popularity works - but there is no guarantee that, for example, two portraits of the same character in similar styles by different artists will have the same levels of engagement and "success". The main person you should be aiming to please with your own work is yourself~ After all, when working on it you will be the one going over it again and again, knowing every detail in and out, if you don't love the subject of those details your less likely to even reach that finish line~

And It All Begins Again

At the end of the cycle there's often one last spike up. Maybe it's a comment or interaction from someone who truly felt the depth of meaning in your work as you hoped it would, or you realise that it has done better overall in the numbers, or most often you get that creative surge of a shiny new idea that calls to you with that familiar siren song, promising the high of satisfaction and sweeping the memory of that Post Publishing Drop under the rug all over again so you won't see it coming when you trip on it.

How Do We Get Off This Ride? Where's The Safety Bar?

Darlings, be honest, you didn't want to stop. You still don't. That's why you're still right here, reading this with me. Your cycle might take a day, a week, a month, or you may go through the whole thing in a matter of hours.

Riding The Waves

The first way to begin coping is to prepare. Know yourself and how you're likely to feel, and plan ahead for it. If you know the drop is coming, you can try to avoid it, or deploy distress tolerance when it feels too much.

On a very simple level, this can be reminding yourself that the lows do not last, and those highs will still be there. You might even be tempted to try to regulate the highs as much as the lows, to bring everything a little closer in to the baseline throughout the cycle.

Distress Tolerance techniques can be important to practice when you're feeling close to your baseline and calm so that they're easier to turn to when you're feeling that low hit. There are lots of things that work for different people, so it might be trial and error - largely you're looking at relaxation techniques, distraction from the source of the distress, and/or community support.

You Can Rely On The Community!

It is ok to ask for help! You can ask people for reassurance, directly ask for feedback, or even just talk over how you feel with other creators and find out how they're handling things. Sometimes just knowing you're not alone and that your feelings are real, valid, and matter can be a real boon - that's why I'm here, spending a couple of hours putting all of this into words as best as I can for you all. I've felt this cycle too many times, but the more I talk about it with other fic writers the more I feel we are connected and that I'm not just losing my marbles over nothing~

We are human, we have emotions - strong ones, remember? - and there's nothing wrong with that at all!

There is nothing wrong with having emotions and experiencing them!

Knowing When To Step Away

If you know you're more likely to have a swift drop from lack of quick feedback, it's a great idea to plan to step away from socials as soon as you're done. Have an activity planned, or do it all write before bed so you can switch off and go to sleep. Turn off those notifications so you aren't fussing over each one of them as they come in and don't go back for a while.

Allow a realistic amount of time to pass for people to see and engage with your work before you worry it is invisible!

The Next Shiny Idea

Conversely, if you're feeling too much of a creative itch, then as soon as you're done sharing move right on to starting the next project. Let the initial surge of energy from completing and sharing something be the driving force to kickstart the next great adventure! That way you're thinking more about the new work, the sparkling allure of a fresh idea, rather than fixating on the success of the last.

Cashing in on that adrenaline rush to make a good head-start can boost you right to that early feedback stage too, then if you're really lucky when you hit the first drop-off you'll have the positive engagement from the last work to boost you back up, so in some ways you're overlaying your graphs to balance them out with each other.

Naturally this only works if you have the time and energy to do so. It's also important to know when to take breaks to avoid burning out.

General Mood Boosting Ideas

These might not work for everyone, but here are some things to try when you're in one of those lows. A lot of this may be trial and error and knowing yourself best, so treat this as a few things that may or may not be effective rather than Lia's Super Snake Oil Cure For Everything (you have to buy that from me separately, it's super expensive but it is delightfully cherry and cinnamon flavoured~)

Check in on your basic needs. Drink, food, meds (if applicable), sleep/nap, caffeine (if you usually have it), shower/bath/hygiene needs (even if just a quick freshen up it's better than nothing), fresh air/outside time (if possible), exercise/physical movement (if you're able to), social needs (can be in person or online, any social interaction/support)

Music can be a powerful mood tool. Sometimes it's cathartic to listen to music that matches your current mood, but other times it is better to listen to music with the mood you want to feel.

Media from the fandom, like the book/film/game/etc that you're making fanworks for - return to the thing that inspired you to create and remember all the things that you loved about it in the first place.

Look at other fanworks but be very cautious! Do this for inspiration, to look at things you do and don't like in other pieces, but do not do this if it will be likely to cause a mood drop for you.

Do something different and change up your routine. Something entirely new or something you haven't done for a while.

Try something small, not connected to a large piece. A few sketches, doodles, make a meme, write a few short lines of dialogue or a brief scene. Share something with far lower stakes for a little boost.

Talk to others in the creative community and have a bit of fun, maybe try some games together, whatever you like!

I'm Not A Creative, How Can I Help?

This also counts for creatives who want to support each other, too! Of course I will put the caveat that I do understand that not everyone is comfortable visibly interacting with spice and that's fine~

Drop a like or kudos if you enjoyed the piece, it takes a second and means the world~

Leaving a comment, even a couple of silly words of "I loved it" is great!

Leaving a longer comment, picking out your favourite parts? That is the kind of boost that lasts weeks darlings it really does.

Sharing the work is also a big boost, whether publicly or privately to friend/fan groups, but especially when sharing art/images please share the link with it not just the image or a screenshot~ let people find and appreciate the artist.

Follow or Subscribe or Turn on notifications if you really want to see more of their work, then you can interact sooner and give that much needed boost~

Try to be patient, especially with longer or higher effort works. Expressing excitement is a boost, but just be careful you're not putting too much pressure on the creator. We do have things going on behind the screen that can delay our plans at times.

Consider dropping an interaction on something else, or check in on how they're doing in general - a little kindness outside of just the works being produced can be a boost too!

The Grand Finale of the Rollercoaster

Thank you for staying with me to the end darlings, I know this was likely a bit of an emotional ride, but please do drop in some comments or reblogs with the other things you experience and how you handle the emotional whirlwind of being a fan creator. Always remember, you are valued for more than just what you can produce, your works are adored but the person behind them is worth so much more and always will be. Look after yourselves, I love you dearly~

[ghastlyvampire]

Large 1 am thought dump about the ghovie under the cut (contains spoilers) (it really is large and pretty disorganized and a bit random)

(I rewrote this at 8 am ☝️)

The theater was PACKED!! The session I went to was almost fully sold out. There were cosplayers where I went too, it was great. No merch available unfortunately, but hey I didn't even expect it to show in my country so I'm very pleased.

(downside: no popcorn because if we tried to get popcorn we would have been late. The popcorn line basically took over the cinema's entry hall. The ghovie coincided with a bunch of parents taking their kids to see inside out which made for a funny mix at the waiting line).

I basically didn't know anything about what to expect but it was so cool. I'M JUST SAD I COULDN'T GET THE LAST QR CODE IN TIME SIGH BUT IT'S OKAY!!

I went with my dad and he loved it. This is the first movie we watched in a theater that he somehow didn't fall asleep in the middle of LOL.

The downside: as usual, sexual innuendos were a bit awkward to witness when your father is sitting right next to you. That didn't stop me from enjoying anything though dkkskfkdk

I kind of wish the people in my session had been more... Idk I mean it was basically a concert right!! I was expecting more singing and stuff. I normally hate loudness but in these contexts I really like it, but judging by the wait line we were all nerds so it makes sense why no one was extroverted enough for that.

(We did all laugh sometimes and also everyone groaned at the cliffhanger which was funny) (twice, once when the screen turned black and then when the lights of the theater turned back on) (everyone waited)

I did unfortunately also conclude that there's like a 90% chance that I could not ever actually go to a Ghost concert (or most big concerts) because of the lights* 🥹 (autism). I just looked away whenever it got too much but I was also kind of transfixed but regardless I had fun.

*well, really thinking about it I would probably already be overwhelmed just by being in that big of a crowd. Then having to listen to it scream the whole time would have probably kill me so there's that

I got so scared that Copia was going to die at the end. My heart was beating so fast nearing the end and when the balloon thing start I was like It's Over. Then it wasn't!

(In my heart I kind of knew Tobias wasn't going to do that because we are all very attached to him at this point and I would imagine he is too)

THE SKELETONS WERE SO SILLY I LOVED THEM

The Mary On a Cross animation made me very happy

The costume changes were so cool to witness and I really liked Papa's (or Fráter's now, I guess hehe) little boxer outfit.

Someone brought their baby AND THE BABY DIDN'T CRY OR SCREAM ONCE! Idk how their mom did it since I'm sure they couldn't have been sleeping but maybe they were raised with Ghost so they were just as hooked into the movie as the rest of us.

Oughhh ouch now I'm craving cinema popcorn so bad I wish I could have seen the movie while eating popcorn.

It was nice to get the confirmation that Copia really is Nihil and Sister's son (even though we all knew).

When they were in that box thing I thought that Nihil was going to possess him. I was expecting for him to possess him when he did the pose too for some reason.

I was like wow I will be completely normal about this I'm not even autistic about Ghost anymore. Then I sat down on the chair and immediately was fighting back tears. Apparently I can never be Normal About Things (specifically Things That I Like a Lot).

IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS!!

The new song is great

I was sad that Sister died but she's a ghost so really it's okay.

Immediate edit: THE TWIN THING ALSO YEAH THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

I might edit this later with more thoughts but I'm too sleepy to think right now. If you somehow read everything then hiiii thank you for reading my messy thoughts

Edit #2: The ghovie had no ads before it. Like at all. I was pleasantly surprised but also feel bad for the people that went into it a bit late thinking they wouldn't miss anything because the ads usually take minutes.

Edit #3: Another reason that makes me think that I'd die at a real Ghost concert is that the music is probably very loud as well, and while my brain dislikes loud music that I like less than the other loud things, it's still not immune to it. Thinking about it, it's crazy that somehow I didn't feel overwhelmed by the sounds in the ghovie once, considering that usually that happens at least once in every movie I see on the theater. Idk if it's just me or they just made it like that, but I'm VERY pleased about that too.

If you want more specific spoilers then dm me I love rambling about things I like

[regarding-stories]

Some looking back and some rounding up

So, a while ago I did a selection of series I was watching this simulcast season. And some other stuff. Here are my updated thoughts on several of them - plus more other stuff! Yay, other stuff!

...

Dead Dead Demons DeDeDe Destruction

I can say I'm interested where the series is going, but there are two factors stopping me. Following an unfolding catastrophe by itself would already be a downer. But particularly this year, I am really not inclined to watch scenes of cutesy aliens being brutally murdered over and over. First I banned the series from watching at mealtimes, but now, with 11 episodes already watched, I haven't picked it up in quite some time.

GIF by animescreencolle

2.5 Dimensional Seduction

Turned out exactly as I expected it to be - an enjoyable watch all in all, a cute collection of blushing included. I find two downsides with the season:

Unrequited love interest / girl #2 was absent from half the season in spite of being spotlighted in the credits. My guess she was a bit of a filler right from the start, but seldom has a character been sidelined so hard. When she reappeared at the end I actually found she had grown as a character, being some necessary counter-pole to the airhead main girl. (Sorry Ririsa, but your commonsense is entirely absent. The total focus on Ririsa is less surprising when you know (only) her name is in the Japanese title, though.)

GIF by a-titty-ninja

There were... probably two... episodes that were almost entirely composed of internal dialogue that was highly repetitive and stretched out far too long. Yada yada I love all cosplayers. Change of heart. It was tiresome. There's a limit to how much internal dialogue is good in this kind of anime.

I had fun, though.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines

I thought this would become a harem comedy or at least have some harem vibes, given the narrator-protagonist we follow around is a dude surrounded by girls with widely differing hairstyles and personalities (and he actually tries to help them all).

I'm gladly surprised how much time this show takes to actually follow along the three titular losing heroines, though. It seems to be very willing to explore their struggles - first with their respective love interests, but now also expanding into shy bookworm's struggle to find friendship, acceptance, and a place in the world she can trust.

GIF by senjo

This focus is reflected in the credits sections which vary and focus on the girl currently taking the spotlight. Bonus: The show has some great music.

I still think that inevitably the protagonist's kindness will lead to a second round of falling-in-love trouble, especially given that girl-who-never-stops-snacking seems to already fill the girlfriend role in most aspects.

Still, loving the attention to characters, emotional scenes, some drama, and it being outright charming, funny, and delightful - this is so hard to wait for each week!

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

Ended up watching it, and it's a fun diversion. It actually works quite well as anime!

I still think the MC and his sister are absolute jerks when it comes to pranks. And the time he spent in Russia is even more sidelined than in the light novels.

Pseudo Harem

Now for an entry I picked up late. The basic premise is easy - there's a girl named Rin with a crush on her Senpai in drama club. To overplay her cowardice and blatantly flirt with him she invents a series of characters she portrays based on tropes/stereotypes (Imp-chan, Tsundere-chan, Cool-chan, etc) that her Senpai is absolutely enthralled with - so it becomes their own private thing (and probably a bit of a love language).

It surely helps the character is the most adorable little thing ever and voiced by the same voice actress as Yor in "Spy x Family", lending her this particular quality that is a bit timid and easily lured into blushing embarrassment.

The only downside I see to this series that can make you seriously go "Squeeee!" is that it overly focuses on only two characters and hence is more like a gag-comedy manga in terms of plot than an unfolding story (though it has elements of both). The anime certainly transports the whole thing way better than the original manga which I sampled at random before the show was picked up but I found a bit lacking.

Not sure why Senpai and his family (at least his mom) have constant "I lack sleep" eyes...

Days with my Stepsister

In hindsight, a chore with nothing much happening. Girl who is a loner who only relies on herself becomes stepsibling with boy who is a loner who detaches himself from everything. They fall in love.

Which is what you see mostly not happening for a dozen episodes as you watch them asking themselves questions and denying their feelings. And lots of inner monologue.

(Can't find a GIF for this under the English or Japanese title, so tumblr seems to have spoken...)

The show aims for an elegic, nostalgic quality, but it sometimes feels just slow. It is better, though, than shows that stall the plot with over-the-top drama. I watched it to end, after all. The end of the season is such that I find it hard to relate to her as a character, given how he discovered her feelings way before him. (I get that this is a heavy conflict for her, though.)

Side characters are almost entirely sidelined and mostly there to further what little plot there is between the main couple. And it wins the prize for the worst way to draw eyes in female characters, I thought at times she was having a mascara accident when it turned out it was still part of the eye.

Solo Leveling

Didn't expect that one, huh? I was rather annoyed by the hype, as I sometimes am, and had a preconceived bias about what the show is, well, about.

So glad to be wrong!!

The premise is much better than anticipated. Instead of this being about a game, it's about events unfolding that have game-like characteristics underneath. Except the protagonist is the only one to find that out after many years of this going on and hence in a unique position to improve his station in life - though through a very risky, painful means.

The show is well-paced and gorgeous in general, though also gory and overly dramatic. It pulls it off so well, you're on the edge of your seat rather often. And it manages to pull you in for the ride first.

The main criticism I have of this one is that the human side of the MC is... too passionate, focused, and a bit unconvincing. Come on! There is this girl desperate to go out with you but you're not only too consumed in feeling like a loser to take her up on it when you're failing, you still have no clue when you're succeeding! I don't buy into this level of onesidedness. (I guess the "hero" is destined to be with the ice queen we see portrayed so often. But season 1 has zero contact between them and they live in completely different worlds.)

A very harsh show, gore-wise, and more than a tad cruel. Be prepared.

Haganai - I Don't Have Many Friends

It's hard to have an opinion on this one. I read on in the manga because the show leaves off somewhere in the middle. And I must say, it really really has flawed characters - and displays them in all their misconceptions.

At one point I thought I almost got it - when the manga turned against the whole "rumor" and "reading the mood" and the mood turning on people culture. It was nasty how the group-think blamed one girl for the fact a dude had a stupid crush for her instead of the other girl. Of course she contributed to it - not through encouraging the dude like she was accused of (so she was essentially slut-shamed, I guess), but because her response was so horribly tone-deaf as well.

But when you read the defense her friend conjures on the spot, it's no better. So is the author himself horribly tone-deaf or is he meaning to portray characters that are so strongly flawed? I couldn't decide.

There's more of this - like the male lead thinking this girl attracting so much attention and supposedly super smart (but lacking any commonsense) is some sort of goddess. It's hard to tell if that is his flawed thinking or partially the author's? Because she's very flawed, and in turn the anime constantly makes fun of her - including playing a "moo" sound whenever she runs towards someone because, you know... dare I say it? Cow udders.

So it's a flawed show with a desperate amount of fan service and flawed characters, but I was still interested in where these characters would go. And it can be quite funny and/or sweet at times. It doesn't exactly inspire me to read the light novels, though.

My First Girlfriend Is a Gal

Now here's an anime that had some issues that had little to do with the actual story. Boy asks gal out on a dare and she actually accepts - apparently she had a secret crush? Whatever gets the ball rolling.

What the show does make clear is that she as a person/character is very different from the hyper-sexualized image some guys seem to have of gyarus. It actually mostly is a sweet and rather harmless romance with typical anime hijinks - let's go to the onsen (hot springs), MC gets to see her in a yukata, etc. And in this regard the show does fine.

However, the anime version specifically is turning what probably were very short scenes in the mind of the MC into long "censored" sequences, entertaining - at length! - the exact same mindset the character herself so noticeably disproves. While I only started reading the manga picking up at some point towards the end of the show, I don't see the same there. It nowhere takes as much focus. It's clearly a device the anime makers seem to have come up with.

I also have failed to find so far the story arc the show's only season ended on. The whole late story arc was so confusing in the end, not even I was sure what was supposed to happen between them versus what happened. It was a whole lot of "you should have known better" and "I'm disappointed in you" that I couldn't quite follow.

If you look past the blatant "sex sells" treatment the anime got, you find a nice enough story mixed with very silly and unrealistic hijinks. Not exactly destined for greatness, but it's worthwhile (and quite long-running, actually).

My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex

While I'm watching shows I originally had no interest in, this one turned out to be quite decent. The setup is interesting - boy and girl have a middle school romance between nerdy loners that breaks up when they can't cope with change and the communication needed to keep the relationship up. Shortly after the breakup his dad marries her mother, with neither knowing they used to date.

The show varies between different territories. On the one hand it plays with the lingering feelings, especially hers towards him. A lot of the show's humor and premise is based on this, and frankly, it's quite sweet.

What sold me in the show much more, however, is the introduction of a third character into the equation. Another girl who loves the boy - but most of all she treasures the friendship and connection she has with him - more so than "having to have him" or "being the only one." She just is happy to connect to this person - and a romantic relationship would be a bonus.

First the other girls think she is naive and hasn't admitted her feelings. But in the end, her take on emotions, feelings, and love is more mature than frankly most people's (in the show or outside of it) - including the mother of the newly formed family. Her character seems entirely believable and is an interesting expansion of what characters exist in these kinds of stories. She's also a wonderful combination between clueless and having a deep understanding of what love actually is. Brilliant!

The show then proceeds to portray as much the failed relationship as their current one, highlighting the need for personal growth and going beyond the past. The middle school romance isn't portrayed much at first, but as its realities are laid open, we understand how much of the current situation is rooted in them having been socially inept people - or simply kids growing up.

While doing all of this it's a lighthearted show full of banter and little silly situations, and people trying to guess each other's true motivations and feelings. Which makes it a really good take on the premise.

[ghouldump]

if I may ask, what’s Nola really like? I’ve never been there, I’ve barely been to the south in general lol. I know everyone talks about the French quarter mostly, but I’m sure there’s a lot more to New Orleans than that, not that the French quarter isn’t cool or important, but it isn’t all of Nola, that’s what I mean lol. Is it fun? Is it vibrant? What’s the weather like? What’s the FOOD LIKE (I’m such a foodie, like I literally have to try food wherever I travel)??? Any food recommendations? What’s the culture like? Are the people there relatively cool/social? Here up north, the people are like the weather, very cold. I feel like that’s a big reason as to why I’m socially awkward lol. What are cool things to do there? Is the tourist situation bad (besides those stupid cosplayers with no respect or home training)? I wanna visit one day, but if tourism is negatively affecting the place, then it’s cool. I know that Airbnbs are bad everywhere though. Before going there, what’s one thing you’d want people to know? I’m asking so many questions lol, I’ve always been so curious about New Orleans ever since I watched The Princess and The Frog when I was a child lol.

I love these questions so much!! So I’ll start here, the food is amazing 😆 seafood, cuisines, sweets (especially king cake and beignets) — all of it is so delicious. Obviously there are people of all backgrounds here, but I highly recommend crawfish with a snowball, anything Cajun, or Creole 🤌. The weather in the south sucks being honest lol. It’s humid, cold but not enough for snow, and hot as hell in summer, it also rains a lot out here (and we get hurricanes 😭)

We’re definitely called a party city for a reason, and that’s because the only thing there is to do out here is party, dance, and eat lol. We don’t really have many attractions, other than occasional big events, but nothing compared to Houston or Orlando. I’d definitely say for tourist, come for Mardi Gras. The parades are awesome, and you get to see the culture first hand. I’m pretty sure there is even a tour to see Lestat’s house (I worked at Disney World and one of my managers told me he went and saw the house)

Southern hospitality is real, there are racists or your ordinary assholes, but majority of the people are nice to tourist and like to ask questions, especially if you’re from somewhere far. We’ll be like : what made you want to come here 😭. I once ran into this man from Washington State and it was his first Mardi Gras. He stayed by us and we even shared crawfish with him lol.

Princess in the frog is one of my favorite movies, the soundtrack is so good — but as appreciated as it is. There are plenty of things that aren’t really accurate, like most Disney movies.

Now the downside, other than there isn’t too much to do if you can’t legally drink lol. The French quarter isn’t actually all that special, neither is bourbon street. I actually don’t like going there bc the streets smell like ass because people get so wild 😂. Also, it is expensive in these touristy areas. They will overcharge the hell out of you, for candy that doesn’t have flavor, or liquor that is watered down. Not saying all of the places though because some of those places, Lord 😩 my back will never not be big because of these restaurants 😭

Tourism is one of the many reasons things are getting so expensive and people are moving but I feel like most popular cities have tourism issues, so I really don’t care, when New Orleans has bigger problems. So if I was you and you wanted to come, then don’t let that stop you. As long as you are respectful, then what other tourists are doing has nothing to do with you.

But I would definitely go on tiktok for places to go to eat and have fun. There are people who specifically post new places, even I check to find places I’ve never been before.

Hope this helped!!!🩷

[outsiderace88]

Probably the best Ghostface shots I’ve taken since my previous ones I posted on here.

Cosplayer: @Sowrongitsliz on IG

📸 by @Jordan.J.Cosplay on IG

I really love Ghostface, I honestly don’t care about “the reveal” of who they are. I don’t even care about the story, I just wanna know how much better one ghostface is compared to the other.

I love the entire franchise, I don’t see a single bad entry. I use to, but binging all them from beginning to end, Sidney’s journey is one of if not the best final girls in horror.

As for my previous Ghostface related posts I’ve noticed a few of my photos have been making the rounds across the internet, being used as Halloween party flyers for bars/club, random Amazon ghostface posters college, etc without asking if they can use them. Downside of posting cosplay images on here.

So I put watermarks on them now, people are probably going to remove them when using the image, but I’ll know it’s mine regardless.

***Do not reuse/edit my photos without my permission***

Thank you

[dervampireprince]

Ok so… where did you get the chest prosthetic? I’ve seen a couple other cosplays online with a chest prosthetic but didn’t really look into any of them because I wasn’t sure about which one or the quality or how it would feel with the weight and texture but my transmasc ass is over here like Gender Goals Unlocked XD

-Luccio

okay so how i wear it is i put binder, then old tshirt i dont care if it gets messy, then prosthetic. i have really sensitive skin, but even if you don't, you do not want that thing going directly against your skin unless you use talc or something. at least in my opinion. idk. maybe people with less sensitive skin it doesn't matter. i personally like wearing a tshirt between it and my skin not just for my sensitive skin, but so i don't sweat directly onto it. you gotta psych yourself up to get one of those things on. if you have long hair, tie it up, ideally in a bun, while you pull this thing over your head because it will try and stick to your hair and it's a pain untucking your hair from inside the neck of these things. most of the weight you'll feel in your shoulders. be careful laying down in it, i made that mistake and most of the weight shifted to my neck. i also find that it rides up on me, i have to keep pulling it down because the bellybutton ends up a good few inches above where mine actually is.

this is the shop i bought mine from https://www.aliexpress.com/store/4643010?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_home.pcShopHead_12645020.0 which was recommended to me by another cosplayer on tiktok. they do prosthetics of um.. everything.. i couldn't say which specific chest listing is the one i have because i got mine years ago so they might not sell that exact one anymore but i have a short-sleeved one which yes has the downside of you can't go shirtless or wear a tank top without seeing that line, but the idea of a long-sleeved one made me feel uncomfortable. they do skin tone options, i got the palest one and even that is a bit too dark and too orange for my skin tone so i edit it in photos to make it match my skin tone. ah the curse of being a vampire.

[no1ryomafan]

Con photos! I’m nearly home from my time at the con and it was all I could hope for! I got to meet Copens English va Alejandro Saab who took a photo with me and signed my copy of striker pack, I nabbed the blu ray of getter robo arc + some guilty gear goodies and got recognize as Ryoma twice! Not to mention saw so many amazing cosplayers. I couldn’t have wished for a better first con experience, only downsides were my costume being too tight-my legs are gonna die later lol-and there wasn’t much to do after a bit so I left significantly early, but otherwise great! I hope to go to another con one of these days.

[hashtagordinarygirls]

#July24mailbag

Art by AyylaGTS

Which of you has the highest-valued wardrobe?

Whitley: Depends. Do you mean whose cost the most or whose is the most valuable?

Krysta: I would like to preface by mentioning my wardrobe includes eleven custom-made bras lettered in the latter half of the alphabet and designed by a licensed mechanical engineer.

Alicia: ..and my wardrobe includes two custom made fur suits, not-one-not-two-but-three pairs of angel wings, and a suit of armor.

Whitley: And it's still me by a landslide #gigantique

Krysta: Other than bras, the rest of my wardrobe is secondhand and tailored.

Alicia: You're welcome. And I make most of my own clothes or get them free through sponsorships.

Whitley: Downsides of outgrowing the big & tall shops.

Alicia: But if you're asking who has sold their clothes for the most money...

Krysta: Keep in mind, I do not sell bras for any less than twice what I pay for them, and I have a penchant for outgrowing them.

Alicia: ...and my old cosplays were designed and handmade by a professional cosplayer *two thumbs at self*

Whitley: I still win, and it ain't even close. #thankyoufootstuff

If you had to spend a day as one of your roommates, who would you pick?

Krysta: Whitley. Standing taller than everyone for a day would be refreshing, and I am already used to people staring at me.

Whitley: Alicia, because burning an entire day spent lifting heavy stuff while baked sounds kinda fun.

Alicia: Krysta, because she has humongous boobs that she doesn’t let her roommates play with.

Whitley: Speak for yourself.

Krysta: I know what you are talking about, and that did not qualify as “play.”

Alicia: Wait, what?

To Krysta and Alicia: how does it feel now to not be the shortest people around? Now you can understand what Whitley feels all the time around the "normal height" people.

Whitley: Okay first, who says I’m not the normal one and all y’all are short?

Alicia: You might even say she's rather ordi—

Whitley and Krysta: Stop.

Krysta: To begin with, the only thing we “outgrew,” was the room. And we did not change size, it was an illusion using—

Alicia: LIES! So, last weekend we got this mysterious package in the mail. No return address. Inside was an ancient magic wishing stone that, when we touched it, made the three of us suddenly start growing, and GROWING. Bigger, and bigger, and bigger until...

Whitley: Before you go on, does the 'no speaking with the intent to arouse' house rule still apply in this interview?

Krysta: Yes.

Alicia: Um, next question, then?

Which of the trio likes filling the room the most?

Alicia: Loved it. Got some next level selfies. There's something about being thirty feet tall really brings out your eyes.

Krysta: Your sense of scale is atrocious.

Whitley: Thumbs down. If you think being too tall to stand in a room sucks, try being too tall to sit.

Krysta: Indifferent. seeing as I am the second most likely in our group not to fit in a space due to my proportions.

Whitley: Remember that time your tit got stuck in the elevator?

Alicia: That video was amazing! Oh, and Krysta's right, Whitley. That doesn’t count as 'play.'

Whitley: I had fun.

Alicia: It did look fun.

Krysta: Moving on…

And to the whole group: Anyone have an update on our friend Nika?

Alicia: I haven’t heard anything now that she’s back with her ex.

Krysta: …again.

Alicia: She mainly posts about the two of them. Date pics. Beach pics. Volleyball. Talk about legs for days!

Whitley: …

Alicia: I forget, what was her name? Sue Ellen?

Krysta: Selene?

Alicia: Sonya?

Krysta: Sienna?

Whitley: …

Alicia: Salome?

Krysta: Solange?

Alicia: Shiloh?

Krysta: Siobhan?

Whitley: Sloane.

Alicia: Someone sounds jeaaaaalous.

Krysta: It’s not because she’s tall is it?

Whitley: I hear Lexie Cheer is up to an H-cup. No wonder she’s up to four million followers.

Krysta: …

Alicia: You two are so competitive. Yumi has like, five times more followers than me and we're great! We even played strip Mario Party live on stream last weekend—which I won, by the way—because I was naked way before her.

Krysta: I believe that means you lost.

Alicia: But did I? That’s the thing because I don’t actually care!

Whitley: It’s like they they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, fu—

Whitley was a big eater before...now what'll she do??

Whitley: Probably buy and manage my own farm where I can ethically and sustainably farm my own food, employ a few staff. Then work out a co-op deal with my neighbors for any leftovers.

Alicia: With the money you’d be making on foot stuff at that size, you could probably buy two.

Krysta: You appear to have thought about this.

Whitley: I do two-hour weekly live chats. You think this hasn’t come up? Besides, what are your guys' contingencies if you keep growing?

Alicia: I figure the government will come pick me up at some point and hire me as Captain America. Except I won't do the superhero stuff. Just the stage shows with backup dancers where I wear costumes and dance.

Krysta: Macromastia to immobilization would easily make me enough to afford full-time breast care professionals.

Whitley: Wait, is that a thing?

Alicia: I would do it for free.

Krysta: Professionals.

Whitley: Seriously though, is that a thing?

How difficult is it to use technology at this new size?

Krysta: I have a touchscreen and small hands to begin with, so it was only a mild inconvenience.

Whitley: Not worth it. Just gave me more reason to unplug.

Alicia: It was sooo hard! I kept accidentally smashing stuff because if you think I'm strong now, I'm a freakin' behemoth at nine feet tall—

Krysta: Do you have no sense of scale whatsoever?

Whitley: You probably could have deadlifted the entire house.

Alicia: OMG new life goal unlocked!

Krysta: Must you plant these ideas?

Whitley: What? I'd like to see it.

Whitley: Have you considered doing a web series that documents your ongoing growth spurt? I'm sure that it would be very popular.

Whitley: Why? I have fans to do that for me.

Alicia: No kidding. Have you read her Wikipedia page lately?

Krysta: I have. I also corrected several errors in her Vietnamese page last week.

Whitley: Aw, I’m flattered, P-Cup.

Krysta: I have a low tolerance for inaccurate information.

Alicia: I only have English, Japanese, and German Wikipedia pages, but I also appear on the trivia section of Yumi's IdolWiki page.

Krysta: I do not have a Wikipedia presence, but I do have one of the top-three highest traffic pages on the Big Titty Wiki.

Whitley: Wait, who’s higher than you?

Alicia: If I had to guess—

Krysta: Next question.

Alicia: Have you ever considered a career in professional wrestling?

Alicia: Oh absolutely! I tried out a few times. I even made a costume and everything. Didn't work out though 😞

Whitley: Too many rules?

Krysta: Lack of creative control?

Alicia: Yeah, those and I kept accidentally putting dudes in the hospital 😇

Whitley, can we say you are unquestionably a mini giantess now?

Whitley: Dunno. How tall am I?

Alicia and Krysta: 226 centimeters

Whitey: There you go. Y’all can call me whatever you want.

Alicia: Except “late for dinner!”

Krysta: Alright, I am done here.

[goodwoodpod]

this might be too late to still be included but i still wanted to offer my opinion about your questions on change in how fandom is done! sorry this ended up so long 🥴

a lot of how people approach fandom in general (& criticise/talk about how fandom is performed today) depends on how they first engaged with it.

i'm gen z, so my first "real" fandom activity was firmly on centralised fanfic sites (like The german fanfic archive, wattpad and ao3) and then on social media like twitter and recently tiktok. i think this is quite similar to how most younger folks today got into fandom.

in my experience, this way of doing fandom makes for a more passive (more consumerist than productive) fandom experience, especially in massive fandoms like HP or popular bands. it ends to be very public and open; you might even interact with official twitter accounts, maybe comment on twitch streams, etc. often, fans attach their face or at least name to their fandom activity and there is virtually no barrier of entry to the content (opposite e.g. to password-protected vintage forum fan communities)

but: my actual first experience with fandom or the core activity of fandom - expanding on existing universes - was roleplay forums in the early/mid-2010s. it wasn't (always) building on a "classic" fandom but operated in a shared universe where you HAD to create new content yourself in order for the format to work (basically LARPing but online!)

this format of forums feels very "old school fandom" (i.e. pretty private & built on personal connections to anonymous users you came to know). i think it might also be why i do fandom more actively (and am also more conscious of privacy) than many others in my age group.

at the same time, it feels like discord groups are bringing back the closed universe-feeling of old-school fandom - but in a slightly different way i can't quite articulate? in my experience, they have less emphasis on anonymity and absolutely no regard to any kind of archive function, but at least establish the boundary between fandom in- vs non-fandom out-group (including creators/objects of fandom) again.

i'm super interested in what you all have to say about this topic!

I am full-on "how do you do fellow kids"-ing you with this response, because as someone on the cusp of the generational divide I feel like I really straddle the millennial-gen z cusp, even for fandom (being that I missed the livejournal heydays and was around for infamous 2014 tumblr), but oh my god does hearing about kids getting into fandom via tiktok make me feel OLD ahahahaha.

it blows my mind, and I also find it interesting in light of debates happening on tiktok about fandom cringiness (mostly around cosplayers and the stranger things fandom, from what I've seen). for those out of the loop: the collision between fandom-goers and non-fandom-goers is continuing, in that people who don't "get" fandom are deeming those in fandom (in this case, con-goers who are REALLY into the tv show stranger things) "cringe," and it's resulting in some interesting conversations about which people get exposed to fandom and which don't.

back to your ask: the roleplaying is so interesting! I also did roleplaying (on facebook, oh how times have changed) waaaaaay back in the day. I totally feel like you're right in saying you starting with rp might've encouraged you to be more open and active!

I wholly agree that discord has abolished senses of privacy... which has some upsides, and (in my opinion) a lot of downsides. I'm of two minds on these things, because while I'm an optimist at heart, and I love making connections, I've also seen that go awry a time or two. I feel like I knew how to navigate the "old" internet really well (tell no one your name, or what country you're from, and BY GOD tell no one how old you are," but the new internet, with its radical openness (name, age, pronouns, location in bio with tons of identifying features ready for consumption), sometimes still makes me wary!

but then I'm like, oh, well, I want to connect with people... and you connect by being open with them... and it very much feels like I want to have my cake and eat it too re: what to put online. it's a weird place to navigate! all I know is that I'm grateful I'm navigating it right now as an adult, as opposed to a kid. I really feel for the young gen z'ers and gen alphas who are truly growing up in this environment. it's a convoluted one!

-bec

[bitter-sweet-coffee]

okay @authorleaandres took one for the team, let's deep dive into infinite's family lore in my canon! get ready for pretty lady oc's and cursed genetics

Eteri

so, infinite's "oldest sister" is Eteri, and she's sort of forgotten by most people despite being the most popular. tall, curly hair, compassionate, the "ideal lady" of the 20th century but with the confident sexuality of chrissy chlapecka. no one knows who her dad is but her mum is the same as all the other sisters & finn (lol sure) so it works out! she has a very calming aura to her, which is also somehow unsettling

Tamar

the sister everyone seems to know. outspoken, master swordswoman, aggressive, cuthroat, and challenges all tradition from their hometown. 7 years older than finn, and the first to learn english & seek formal education, and the one to mandate that everyone gets a crack at it. the only family member to persistently acknowledge/raise finn but basically made his life hell by pushing him to unrealistic expectations and punishing him when he was anything less than perfect. loves him, protects him from everyone else, but is still embarrassed by him.

Our Dog

THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET MESSY. infinite is sort of a bastard child. his supposed mum fell in love with a much younger man, whom she had tamar with. who was he? stealing from @doomfox , T.W Barker. why is this where things get messy? eteri had a thing for barker, he could have been her way out of town, but their affair done fucked when it resulted in finn. barker dipped (i don't blame him, i wouldn't stick around this family either) and the only people know finn's genealogy are eteri, barker, his supposed mum, and tamar!

he's raised as just another sibling, nothing weird going on besides his fucked up genetics! he has more mobian (and as established in my fic, babylonian) dna because his father is an actual dog, and this also explains his decreased muscle mass and increased height compared to other jackals (who are tall but stockier). it's also why tamar is built similarly to him (they share a dad) but infinite is curlier and heterochromatic (from eteri: she isn't heterochromatic but the dog genes of barker plus her own mystery father are why his genetics are more screwed)

anyways, shall we move onto the younger siblings?

Natela

the first actual legitimate child between infinite's mother and father! tamar and finn are passed off as legitimate kin since barker never married their mum, but eteri is the known outsider being much older than the others. natela is infinite's irish twin, and she's also genetically fucked up! sorta. she's just, all white. not albino, just all white for some reason... googling the names might clue y'all in. she's perfect, basically. pretty like eteri, smart and formidable like tamar, musically talented like finn, it's great! they're actually quite close considering how polar opposite they are. the downside is she's annoyed and overshadowed by finn's problematic behaviour, but after seeing how her sisters get treated she isn't complaining as much to be out of the spotlight!

Gulisa

his youngest sister, 10 years younger than him. even though their mum has eteri as a teen, it's a miracle she was successfully born with her mum's age. they FINALLY got it right though! a legitimate child, no weird genetics, and—

oh... oh she's traumatized isn't she :/ yeah, gulisa was born around the time finn stopped being nice and passive as the town's punching bag. tamar got him to go to school with her in the mobian city nearby, but that made him too cocky so he'd act out and get into scraps with other people in the village. all she remembers is him being the worst fucking loudmouth there is, which is why she's very quiet and doll-like. when he comes back to finally meet her, she's a mix between tiktok alt and decora. y'know the ones, it's like the dangan cosplayers! she's still quiet but a bit more cute yet passively pissed, massive fluttershy vibes if that means anything to people.

What(?)

so, finn doesn't have a name. he's regarded to as nothing (araperi) or scolded with "no" (ara) which makes him think these are actually his names! whoop! when he finally goes by infinite after ep shadow, so that's really him naming himself for the first time. he uses to want everyone to love him and be happy around him, but after realizing no one would actually love him, he decided to embrace it and be a shit disturber. he goes to highschool when he's not old enough (tamar dragged him down when he was like 11 and asked the school to just let him wander around so he won't be an issue) but eventually worked his way into "highschool" which was a deal he made with natela, who was obviously not old enough yet (finn was only there before her so tamar could keep an eye on him). if he snuck books home for her from the library, she'd actually teach him the subjects he's supposed to be learning (tamar is the "my dad yelling at my bad math at the kitchen table while i cry" type of tutor so he never learned much, and what he DOES know is thanks to cram sessions with natela)

he eventually befriends two jackals in the drama club (one of which is Quatro... more on him another time) and they decide to run away and do odd jobs to get to broadway! they end up being mercenaries though (other jackal leaves, Quatro stays duh) and they team up with a pair that already existed (Deux and Trois). Uno has been watching them all for a while (as an established merc god) and decides to work with them anyways to see how things end up. i'll talk more about them all another time but that's how infinite leaves his shit family!

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Batboys x Cosplayer!reader (preference)

Requested by the great @middevil465​: Batboys dating a cosplayer,but downside is that they have to put up with their sewing at 2am

Dick: 

Okay so this boy will be your biggest fanboy

ESPECIALLY if you cosplay him as Nightwing

(Not to be kinky on main, but depending on how..uhm... showing... the costume is he might get a bit frisky if ya know what I mean)

He wants to help as much as possible

You have to finish sewing that cape, but your wig isn’t styled yet? Don’t worry, Dick has enough expirence from his long hair phase to take care of that for you!

You want to cosplay a certain hero (or villain), but can’t fid that specific item that would make the cosplay perfect (maybe a weapon, a mask, etc.)? Dick might or might not steal borrow said item from the original hero for you (of course he gives it back after you had a photoshoot or something similar and he always feels a bit bad for the hero (not for the villains tho))

Now to the “downsides”

Dick, unlike some of his siblings, actually rather enjoys sleep

“I need my beauty sleep, all this perfection doesn’t come from nothing”

And he is honestly torn

He loves and supports you so so so much and he understands that you can be your most productive around the nighttimes, but he just came back from like two to three hours of patrol after a whole day of working at the police station and he honestly just want to sleeeeeeeeeeeep

So he finds a comprimise and fucking sound isolates the room your sewing in

It’s a win-win if we think about it and you probably would go as far as to just completely take over the room to make it your own little cosplay studio 

Everyone sleeps is happy 

Jason:

Jason is a whole ass hurricane 

Don’t misunderstand me, he loves your hobby and he thinks it’s cool, but how excited he is depends on who exactly you cosplay

Him? Amazing, showstopping, great, breathtaking, nothing more amazing ever happened in this triste gray world before that

Robin (also slightly depending on which incarnation)? Cute, want to cuddle, 9/10 would do again

Batman? “That looks nice babe, you can take it off now” (Please don’t wear a more feminine toned (or just in general reaveling if you’re not female) batman cosplay. Jason is not ready for that amount of daddy issues) 

Someone like Harley, Ivy, Selina? Hell, even penguine or Riddler? He digs it for some reason and he might even show the respective rouge a picture of the cosplay (if he knows that it’s not possible to identify you).

They all love it, possible have a little fanclub

You cosplay as any other hero? Depending on how much of a little fangirl Jason is he will be really exsited and happy with you

Now, if you, for some unknown reason like losing your brain, because quite honestly that’s what it would take for me, decide to cosplay the Joker...

Welp, you’re single now... Sorry not sorry, but Jason is not okay with that

But that’s just a real extreme so let’s get away from that again, shall we?

Jason is used to being kept awake at night, be it from his thoughts or his nightmares (Housten, we’re sinking to deep)

So when he comes home from patrol around 2/3 a.m. and finds you sitting in the living room or the bedroom on your sewing machine (a gift from Bruce so state of the art technology and relativly silent, BUT NOT SILENT ENOUGH) 

He just sighs

He might just sit down beside you and watch or chat a bit or, if he feels a bit more touchy, stand beside you and braide your hair 

When you’re finished he’ll pick you up and cuddle with you in bed, trapping you effectivly for the next 8 to 10 hours

Tim: 

Did someone say couple cosplay? Because Yes. Yes you do

It isn’t that Tim ever really thought of doing cosplay or plans to use his rare free time to do it, but as soon as seing you cosplay literally anyone, he’s sold

He is a gigantic fanboy, has you cosplaying him (not Red Robin, just Tim) as his lock screen and you cosplaying Red Robin as his home screen

He’s not sure what it is, but one day he’s just sitting at his computer doing Wayne Inc. stuff when you send him a picture of you cosplaying someone and just has a metaphorical lightbulb over his head

He sneakily finds out who you will cosplay next and luckily for him it’s Zelda 

He puts everything in order and the day you want to test the cosplay out, see if everything goes together and you can pull it off, a wild Link appears

He did one hell of a job for his first cosplay (he might have had Wayne Inc. designers for the upcoming clothing line do it, but who cares amiright?) 

After that it’s kind of a tradition that once in a while the two of you pull off a couple cosplay and it’s the cutest thing ever

The highlight was when you cosplayed Batman and Catwoman on a (private) halloween party, just with the catch that you had it gender bend so Catman and Batwoman (not the Batwoman-Batwoman, but y’know what I mean), not breaking the character to the amusement of everyone present (excpet maybe Bruce who acts annoyed, but kinda thinks it’s funny)

So now to the nights

contrary to popular belief I do think Tim sleeps more than an hour or two at times

Maybe not in a healthy rythm or with any logic behind it, but he does 

Mostly

Just not nights for the most part, it’s mostly in the afternoon after a few hours at Wayne Inc, or the homeoffice or college (depending on which Tim!state we’re thinking off) and before Patrol

so when he comes home to find you sewing he’s actually rather happy

He won’t let you go to bed after you’re finished until you’re really tired or if you have something important the next day

You will watch a movie or do something stupid or even go out and see what Gotham city can give you around 3 a.m. (of course with a hidden weapon on tim’s part and him not letting you out of sight) 

Those nights are his favorite

Damian: 

Damian, like so many things, doesn’t quite understand

What’s the appeal of dressing yourself like someone you’re not?

Why do you wear fake hair?

He also doesn’t seem to see any connection between him dressing up every DAMN NIGHT 

It’s two completely different situations for him

It’s not like he does anything against that hobby of yours, but at least at the beginning he just keeps out of it 

That most likely will change if you ever decide to cosplay him (as Robin) 

If he comes to visit you after school at your place and he walks into your room (given your parents opened the front door for you) seeing you in a surprisingly good replica of his costume?

Bby boy is sold

The better the replica looks the quicker he is to fuzz over it

After that he kinda sees the point behind it (or not, but he supports it now and wants you to have even better, more detailed, costumes)

He’ll get you so much stuff

You want to cosplay someone, but the only wig you have that fits is a bit too long?

Well hillerihoo, you got a new one that fits perfectly and is almost life-like now

Don’t ever mention that you don’t feel comfortable with him spending so much money for you, because he won’t stop

He’ll find his ways to spoil you, believe me

quick interruption before we go to the night part:

If you’re Damian’s GF, you’re most likely bound to be good friends with Jon

So it’s only a question of time until he asks you to cosplay him

If you do he’ll be excited like a puppy you just gave a treat while Damian will pout

A lot

And I mean A LOT

You’ll either have to suffer through a few days of pouty Damian or you make an even better Cosplay of him (as Robin) or Batman (both works for him since he sees himself as the future Batman already)

That’ll make him happy again

Now to the night-part

Okay so let’s assume we’re talking about Teen!Damian (obviously also Teen!reader!!!) 

You two won’t be living together so that won’t be a problem and since you’re living with y’alls parents and I will assume they won’t be happy about you sewing at 2 a.m.

Also, Damian will offer to have people make the costumes for you, but he will let that go if you tell him that making the costumes is a big part about all that, the part that makes it so amazing

IF we’re talking about grown up!Damian and Reader and the two of you live together, it’ll be a lot similair to Dick (in as he get’s you your own little cosplay studio) so that he won’t be kept awake by it

but somedays he’s more like Jason and will stay up with you and to keep you company during these creative sessions

[imdefyinggravity]

I did actually, but thats because I'm a weirdo and focus on camouflage makeup and things like that. I did cover up scars and tattoos on my friends or myself and therefore I think they did a horrible job, but that's the perfectionist speaking, for those few moments it was good enough, but you can do it better.

In the cake scene in ep 13 you can see where they tried to cover up Plan’s tattoo but it looks like a bruise and people are commenting like “wow they’re wild in bed” and I’m dying 

[cosplayinamerica]

COSPLAY THEME PAGE : ShareMyCosplay.com

Tell us about ShareMyCosplay, what was the genesis of the ShareMyCosplay? 

Share My Cosplay has gone through quite the journey to get to what you see today. I can still remember the day that I came up with the idea that would eventually lead to Share My Cosplay. I was eating lunch with a few friends at my day job. A friend of mine showed me a cosplay of Jessica Nigri as Pikachu, and because I worked in IT,  for some reason had an idea of doing a website related to cosplay. The actual website took a while to set up, but I started off slowly, with an initial launch on social media. We launched with Tumblr and Twitter, slowly building an audience. Then eventually a little bit later adding Facebook, and eventually much later introducing Instagram into the “family’. Eventually we added the website and have been going strong since then. We’ve of course made tons of adjustments over the years, and most recently started adding content on YouTube. It’s been a great ride so far, and hopefully it will continue.

What was your first experience with cosplay as well as the convention scene?

Like a lot of people who are into gaming and comic books, I was aware of cosplay, but didn’t really know much about it. It was only after looking into the idea of starting a site that I really got to know what goes on behind the scenes. It was meeting and talking to people in the scene that made me realize what an amazing community of people are involved. That is why I have continued the site for so long. As our social media following grew, I got to know more and more of the cosplayers, and was so happy I was able to use what I had created to help them gain more exposure. Share My Cosplay exists as a place where all cosplayers can have their work properly showcased.

As for conventions. While I live in the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is a relatively small city of one million people. Conventions have only really made it big in the last 5 years or so and before that were never a really big thing. I had travelled to other cities within Canada for some conventions, but those were mainly toy based conventions, so there would just be a handful of devoted cosplayers hanging out. It wasn’t until much later, when conventions started to take off, that our city got it’s own “Comic-con”. Then things exploded quickly. When our first Ottawa Comic-con launched, I was there day one, and the lineup was out of the building and wrapped around the whole building. I think it took a couple of hours to actually get into the convention floor. I could only assume it was similar to something like entering SDCC, but on a much smaller scale.

So while that has been a staple in our city for the last 10 years, I’ve also been traveling to Montreal Comic-con, which is a little bigger. Since there are maybe fewer conventions in Canada, people seem to come from great distances to show off the cosplays they had worked out. The dream has always been to try and get to SDCC, but that hasn’t happened yet. Travel is so expensive from Canada.

So for the short term I had set my sights on visiting NYCC, which is a “quick” drive from my area of Canada. However like all plans, they fell through. I had plans to go to NYCC and E3 in 2020, but of course those fell through because of what happened around the world. I miss conventions. One because they are such a great way to meet and interact with the cosplayers, and two, it’s one of the primary places we get content to share on our site and pages. So that has been lacking for us recently. Fingers crossed things will get back to normal soon.

How has cosplay changed over the years in your perspective?

Like everything you get to know, it evolves and grows over time. Being knee deep in cosplay all the time (my inbox once had 100+gb of cosplay submissions), I have certainly seen it change over the years. Obviously cosplays have become more elaborate in construction. Things like LEDs are so cheap now, I always find it amazing when people incorporate them into a costume. So the cosplay builds just get bigger and better every year. Also I find the resources on the internet have gotten better. Cosplayers are now able to find more detailed pictures of what they want to create, giving them a way better idea of what and how they will do it for a certain character.

Another thing that has changed, are the absolutely stunning Cosplay edits you’ll see on social media. So why the cosplay photographers have always been an integral part of the equation (we try hard to tag them when people include their details on submissions), the level that the editing on pictures has changed over the years is dramatic. You’ll often see the time-lapsed photo creations on Social, and they are just mesmerizing to watch. People put so much time into creating these worlds to help elevate the cosplay to the next level. That has certainly changed over the years. That being said, we still love regular shots of cosplay too, the amount of photographers that specialize in cosplay has jumped a lot too.

In general, it seems cosplay has evolved from a simple hobby where you could throw something together to wear to a weekend convention, to a full time gig where people spend months on at a time for each one of their creations.

How has ShareMyCosplay changed over the years?

In my eyes SMC has evolved greatly over the years. As the editor there have been two major changes, and I think it has improved the way we do things. The first thing would be, when we first started I used to go “collect” the cosplay that we shared. So I had to either go find it, or reach out to people. I spent a lot of time tracking down cosplay to share, that I personally thought was cool or very creative. As you can imagine this took a lot of time. So this has changed dramatically over the past 3 -  5 years. Now I’m happy to say that we are 99.9% based on submissions from users. So while there is less than 1% of content that we do go out and ask for, it is basically all based on what people send us to share. So that is why you see such a great variety of cosplay content on our pages. There is a downside to this in a way, as compared to some other pages out there that only feature certain types of cosplayers, some people enjoy that a bit more and those pages can have more of a following then we do. However we are really happy with the content we put out. 

Then the second big change, that has certainly led to better content for our pages, is the introduction of automation. When SMC first started, I had to do everything manually. Like I would be on Twitter or my phone doing everything live, and sharing items. It took up a lot of my time, and greatly affected my personal life. At times I think I must have been crazy, as this is a free service that we provide, and I was putting hours into each day. Now of course things have changed and the Social Media aspect of SMC is way easier to manage. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have official tools available that allow you to schedule your posts. So you can easily take an hour or 2 and work on several days of a week at the same time, or if you were really organized, schedule the whole week. So I’ve learned to embrace this a bit more and learn the ins and outs of it. This leads to a more constant stream of content that our followers seem to enjoy. Which seems to lead to more engagement from our followers.

What’s the best part / worst part of running a cosplay theme page? 

The best part has obviously been meeting & interacting with the community throughout the years. We do our best to present a positive place where everyone can share their cosplay creations. We’ve been invited to some really cool events over the years, and our team has been able to go to a lot of conventions all over the world. It’s been a fun ride.

The worst part for me personally, is that while our team has grown and shrank over the years, I do most of the work by myself. Sharemycosplay.com is run by a single person, me. Also for the most part there is a single person doing all of the social media. So I do my best to have content up all of the time, but sometimes life gets in the way. We’ve put a few calls out for people that might want to help with content creation for the site, but sometimes it’s hard to attract people interested in helping. Right now I’d love a few writers that could write articles that I could wrap around cosplay posts for the page. We will have to see how that turns out.

What future plans do you have for ShareMyCosplay?

I’m always looking to expand Sharemycosplay.com with new content. During the pandemic I’ve been off my normal schedule so unfortunately updates have been a bit slow, but hoping to get back to things. With conventions off the table for now for the most part, I’m trying to move in different directions. I’ve recently tried to put more effort into YouTube, but even that has been impacted by the Pandemic, so I’ve leaned more on gaming content. That is going to change as I’ve started a new initiative that I just launched on our page a few days ago called “CosplaySELF''. Basically we are looking to have cosplayers interview themselves, and us edit the footage into the “episodes' ' featuring 3 cosplayers. Hopefully those will start to be live very soon. We are already into the editing phase and hope to have the first episode live soon, over on our YouTube page. Keep your eyes peeled. Hopefully, as long as people show interest, this is something we will continue to create and upload on a regular schedule.

Is there anything that wasn’t covered you like to talk about?

 Lastly I want to thank you for taking the time to include Share My Cosplay in this interview. It really means a lot when someone else in the community that you respect, takes a moment out of their busy life to recognize the work you’ve done. There have been times in the past where I have considered possibly giving up doing SMC, but getting some recognition really helps put things in perspective and allows me to continue on. Hopefully Share My Cosplay will continue to grow over the coming years, and continue as a great tool for all cosplayers to use.

https://www.sharemycosplay.com/

[secretobsessionstuff]

Could I request a fic with your sweetest, softest male character? He has a really terrible stomach flu (fever, shivering, cramps, cant stop throwing up or retching even when he's empty) and is trying his best to hide it from his friends-- maybe afraid of being a bother. Bonus points for eventual comfort and lots of belly rubs.

Dude this is such a good request! I love when characters hide being sick!! thank you. This ended up being rather long, for me anyway, so I couldn’t add in everything you wanted. But I would be willing to write a second part to this fic if anyone was interested. 

---------------------------

Alexi felt disgusting, but he looked pretty darn good for someone running a 102.2F temperature. He didn’t have much choice; it was either admit to feeling like absolute garbage, thus ruining the whole day for his friends, or keep up the façade and pretend that his eyes weren’t melting inside their sockets.

So yes, Alexi looked perfectly normal…he hoped. Though his cheeks were flushed, the convention center was insanely hot and crowded for anyone to think something was wrong. He just pushed through the mass of people, knowing that in such tight quarters he was spreading his flu…well like the plague.

It felt like the plague anyhow. His head was throbbing, as if his brain were trying to escape through his ears; that unnatural chill that only came from a fever was causing goose bumps to pop up all over his arms and down his back; and his belly was roiling.

As Madix, Riley, and Micah were all waiting in line to get pictures with obscure, second choice and therefore affordable actors, Alexi snuck away to the bathroom for what felt like the billionth time that day. By noon, he was very aware of where every single bathroom was located in the building.

This trip to the toilet was like all the others. He locked himself in a stall and gave himself permission to express the pain he felt clear across his face. Hugging his aching stomach, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to take slow breaths through his mouth. Alexi had no way of knowing how high his temperature had gotten since that morning, but he could tell he was feeling worse. Breakfast was sitting heavily in his gut which he knew wasn’t going to be there for much longer.

The nausea was intense, so much so that he needed to brace himself against the stall walls to keep himself upright. This time he was lucky that there was no line to get into the bathroom, because he felt dangerously close to seeing partially digested waffles fill the toilet. Alexi’s Adam's apple was bobbing up and down like a buoy on the choppy ocean. He continuously swallowed down waves of saliva. As he shoved the bottom of his palms into his eyes, his knees gave up and he slumped to the tile flooring.

With his elbows on the dirty toilet seat, he spat sticky tendrils into the bowl. Deep and guttural burps echoed in the small space around him, and could probably be heard by every other person in that bathroom, but he couldn’t find the effort to care.

A gag suddenly took him, and he found himself leaning into the toilet, prepared to catch anything his stomach was going to send up. His jaw felt tingly and heavy, but still nothing came up but wet belches. One harsh heave interrupted the burps, but it was dry. The second heave came soon after and this one was much wetter. It brought up gush of thick pale vomit that made Alexi shiver as it rushed up his throat. Tears leaked from his eyes from his eyes and his arms felt weak as they supported his body. A deep groan was heard from his stall as Alexi flushed the toilet and left while rubbing his face. The few stares from the witnesses didn’t bother him, not while his stomach was bothering him so much more.

Alexi returned to the line after having cleaned himself up. He washed his hands, gargled water in his mouth, and splashed his face so that he didn’t look so ashen and sweaty. Of course, as he met back up with his friends, a new wave of sweat had broken out across his nose and a new chill shot down his back. He wrapped his arms around themselves, partly to stay warm and partly to hide the goose flesh that any sane person would question in this scorching room.

Alexi ducked under the rope and joined his friends halfway through the line. He plastered his happy-go-lucky smile on his face and said something random. That was one of the downsides of always being chatty and bright – it was so much more obvious when something was wrong.

His boyfriend seemed to relax slightly once Alexi had returned. Micah took Alexi’s hand and swung it against their legs. He gave Alexi a quick peck on the cheek, but he moved away rather slowly. The smallest trace of worry crept across Micah’s features, though it dissipated as soon as Madix changed the topic of conversation.

The lineup took ages. Thankfully, it gave Alexi time to rest. He wanted so badly to sit down but he knew that would draw attention to himself. So, he stayed standing, shifting his weight back and forth on his legs. Alexi soon rested his chin on Micah’s shoulder, hoping that it came across as boredom and not fatigue.

Micah gave him a strange look. Though before he could question it, Alexi excused himself to the bathroom once more. As he turned to leave, Micah grabbed his wrist.

“You just went, Lexi,” Micah remarked. “Besides it’s almost our turn.”

“I know, but I’ve been drinking a lot of water.” Alexi looked around nervously. “I’ll be quick I promise.”

Alexi wasn’t quick. In fact, he stayed in the bathroom even while the three other boys got their pictures, autographs, and merch. Micah was getting worried. As the three of them left the line, Micah’s eyes were darting in all direction, looking for his boyfriend. There weren’t even any bathrooms in sight.

“Micah, slow down,” Riley said as he struggled to keep up with his cousin. Madix was trailing behind as well.

Micah bit his lip worriedly. They were stopped in the middle of the room, with booths and people all around them. “We have to find Alexi. He won’t know where we are.”

Madix urged the group to the side of the room where the likelihood of being trampled was far less great. “He has been gone a long time. Is he okay?”

“I don’t know.” Micah started to chew on his thumbnail. “I’m gonna go look for him, you guys stay here so we can meet back up.”  

Micah embarked on his mission. He pushed through slow walkers and squeezed past people in amazing yet impeding cosplay. The first bathroom he saw was his destination. He made a beeline for it, and just as he came upon the door, Alexi emerged. He hadn’t spotted Micah yet. Micah noticed the way his boyfriend held his stomach and the way he staggered slightly as he walked. He called out to him.

Alexi jumped, but quickly composed himself. Before the pair could head back into the madness of the con, Micah pulled Alexi to the wall.

“You were gone forever, Alexi.” Micah said, sounding a bit annoyed, though he changed his tone to something softer as he carried on. “What’s going on? Are you feeling alright?”

Alexi slumped his shoulder against the wall. Apparently, he wasn’t so good at hiding his pain. In that moment, he was sure that his face was sickly green and betrayed the truth of how he was feeling. The sour taste of vomit was fresh on his tongue, but he tried to ignore that while he spoke. Micah didn’t need to know that he was throwing up, because then he would surely make them all go home, and Alexi couldn’t do that. They’d all been waiting a year for this con. He could keep up the semblance of health.

Alexi’s face turned red. “My stomach was a little upset, but it’s better now.” That was lie…but Micah didn’t know that. In truth, Alexi’s stomach was killing him. He would have loved for Micah to take him home.

“You sure? It’s okay if you need more time, I was just worried before.”

“Yeah I’m sure, let’s go.”

“Okay…” Micah said hesitantly. He wasn’t entirely convinced, especially with the way Alexi was holding his belly, but he didn’t want to press the matter and make Alexi embarrassed.

It was easy enough to find Madix and Riley. They were pulled off to the side of the room, casually watching the cosplayers walk by and gawking at their favourite characters come to life.

When Alexi approached them, he looked less alive than he had seconds ago. His belly was still so upset, despite having just thrown up; apparently, he rushed himself a bit too much. He stumbled to the wall and caught himself, narrowly stopping his aching head from colliding with drywall.

“Whoa Alexi,” Riley said, reaching his hand out to grab his friend’s shoulder, “you look rough.”

Madix got closer as well, which Alexi wasn’t too thrilled about considering that he was pretty sure he was about to heave his stomach into his hands.

Madix looked back and forth between Alexi and Micah, wondering if Micah had noticed his boyfriend’s state. “Lex, you look like you’re about to pass out. Your face is grey.”

Micah wanted to jump in and relieve Alexi of everyone staring at him, but he really did look awful. Perhaps it was worse than what Alexi was letting on. “Babe, I thought you were feeling better. Tell us what’s wrong so we can help.”

As if he were drunk, Alexi’s vision darkened and he swayed where he stood. There was no denying it now, not when his friends were interrogating him like this. “I feel awful,” he admitted, while dragging his back down the wall and sitting on the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest and groaned.

At the same time, the three other boys all crouched down as well. When Alexi’s eyes focused, he found both Micah and Madix staring at him worriedly. But they were so close, too close. He only wanted Micah. Just Micah and no one else. He wanted to be away from all the noise, the people talking, the bright lights, the crowds.

He put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I tried to ignore it, but my stomach is a mess, I can’t stop throwing up, my head is killing me, my –”

Micah put his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “What! You threw up?”

Alexi nodded miserably.

“Oh Alexi,” Madix added, “you should have said something.” He gave a sympathetic look to the sick boy, seeing the way his nose dripped with sweat.

Madix instinctively reached his hand up to touch Alexi’s forehead, then paused with his hand hovering halfway in the air. “May I?”

Alexi nodded weakly, already aware of what Madix was going to find. His golden curls were brushed back by Madix’s cool hand that felt nice against his burning skin. He leaned into the touch, momentarily letting someone else support the weight of his head.

“Shit, man.” Madix pulled his hand away slowly. “You’re on fire. No wonder you feel like crap.”

Alexi moaned and curled in on himself. “I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”

“Yeah, we’re going home right now,” Micah said decidedly. “Lexi, can you stand?”

Alexi probably could not have stood up in that moment, but he didn’t need to try because it was then that his stomach decided to spasm again. He retched emptily at first, succeeding only in making his body lurch forward. Everyone took a step back out of shock, and everyone except Riley moved back to keep Alexi from falling forward.

The second heave burst from his chest, sending up a thick wave of vomit that covered his legs and dripped down his chin. Alexi choked out a sob and squeezed his eyes shut as a felt his stomach do another flip. By this point, Micah was rubbing his back and muttering something sweet he couldn’t hear. Blood was pulsing in his ears, making him dizzy and drowning out any attempt at comforting him.

God, he felt so sick. His stomach continued to contract painfully, even when he had nothing left to throw up. He clutched at his chest while he heaved dryly in the crowded room. Thankfully, Micah and Madix were partially covering him from view. This privacy, however, did nothing to lessen the gut churning sensation in felt in the pit of his stomach.

By the time he finished, his cheeks were streaked with tears, his chest was tight, and his hands were shaking. The worst part was that he still felt like hell.

Micah was soothingly brushing his hair away from his face. “Alright, take it easy, babe. Try to catch your breath.”

“I feel so sick,” he moaned while looking at the mess drying on his crotch. “I want to go home.”

“I know you do.” Micah said, still gently massaging Alexi’s head. “Madix and Riley went to find the car, so you don’t have to walk as far.”

Alexi wanted to thank his boyfriend. He wanted to apologize for being sick. He wanted to do so many things, but he couldn’t even keep his head from lolling around. He simply closed his eyes and wished for the day to be over. He wished to be lying in bed while Micah played with his hair. If it was any consolation, part of that wish came true. 

[britnxyspears]

The problem with a lot of princess peach cosplayer's wigs in the modern era of cosplay is that they 'spike' the hair on the sides using the goku wig technique, making the wig look more like a generic anime hairstyle wig.

Another problem, and these go hand in hand, is that aside from the tips of the spikes the rest of the hair falls pin straight.

Peach's hair isn't straight or super curly, it's just very big and wavy, like Farrah Fawcett's hair, but also with a touch of cartooniness, with her middle bang section being sort of heart shaped.

It's strange how cosplay has changed so much within the past decade, because I feel like before these (the goku one in particular) techniques were massively available, people put more soul into their cosplay, since high quality wigs were rare, we did more realistic takes on characters' hairstyles, but even when exaggerated, there was always a sense of discovery in the process. I remember talking to people at cons in the early 2010's and there was a big shift in wig styling then, because wigs were actually being made for the community at pretty much everyone's price range, in the colors that were needed, but the styling techniques from the 90s and early 2000's were still present.

I'm happy that cosplay as a community hobby had become more accessible than ever, people are okay with people buying cosplays rather than making them from scratch, body shaming and sexual harassment are so much lower than they used to be in these circles, and taken more seriously. Disabilities have been recognized in the community as not taking away from an experience or being a hurdle, but inspiring more creation.

Instagram, and social media at large is partially to thank for that, but the downsides are still there. I feel like with the rise of costume makeup as regular makeup (aka contour, lip liner, you know) the actual costume makeup has gotten awkwardly glamour focused. Even the most soulful part of a cosplay- making your features blend or emulating a character's features- has gone down the drain for a more neutrally basic attractive look of winged eyeliner and bright nude eyeshadow.

I just kinda miss when interpreting characters was a part of cosplay, instead of cosplay being just a look.