- Member DIN
- S018
I think it's time for me to give a speech, PapaBraus style.
I had a great time at Brisbane Supanova on Saturday, but there's something that's been plaguing my guilt and I want to share it, as well as a call to action stemming from it.
As I was in the convention center foyer, heading off (end of the day), I came across a Lady D... Something Something from Resident Evil (you know, tall lady) and a group of the vampire minions. They had all done really well with their makeup, and the Lady D even had stilts on to make her gigantic. Now I don't play nor really follow the RE series, but I stopped to take a picture for the meme for the Discord folks here. To no surprise, they were getting a lot of attention.
Once I had moved on, I walked passed two other Lady D and vampire cosplayers. Their costumes were great too, no doubt, but because they didn't have the stilts or the large mob of vampires, they weren't getting the same attention from attendees. I could see them looking at the larger group of RE cosplayers, and while I was on the other side of the room, it did look to me like they were a little upset.
And here's where my guilt is eating at me. All I had to do was go up to these two and ask for a picture of them. Not out of pity, but as an excuse. An excuse to come up to them, complement their cosplays and ask for their social media details, if they had any. At the very least I could have done that. But no - for some reason, either I don't know why or I don't want to know why, I kept walking. I know that in their position, something like that could be enough to make you want to just stop cosplaying.
I should've lifted their spirits by doing something as basic as described above, and if I could see they were still upset, consoled them. Said something about how they shouldn't let that get the best of them, and they should be really proud of their costumes. That there would be plenty of people who would love to see them.
We're cosplayers. To me, a cosplayer isn't just someone who makes or buys a costume and gets into character. A cosplayer has a sense of community - they look out for and lift up other cosplayers, nerds and creatives, no matter their interests, beliefs, or physical or mental traits. I failed that time, so I need to step it up for the future. And if you guys ever see that there is someone who needs that helping hand, or just that extra bit of encouragement, please don't hesitate to do so.
Honour. Armour. Unity.
I had a great time at Brisbane Supanova on Saturday, but there's something that's been plaguing my guilt and I want to share it, as well as a call to action stemming from it.
As I was in the convention center foyer, heading off (end of the day), I came across a Lady D... Something Something from Resident Evil (you know, tall lady) and a group of the vampire minions. They had all done really well with their makeup, and the Lady D even had stilts on to make her gigantic. Now I don't play nor really follow the RE series, but I stopped to take a picture for the meme for the Discord folks here. To no surprise, they were getting a lot of attention.
Once I had moved on, I walked passed two other Lady D and vampire cosplayers. Their costumes were great too, no doubt, but because they didn't have the stilts or the large mob of vampires, they weren't getting the same attention from attendees. I could see them looking at the larger group of RE cosplayers, and while I was on the other side of the room, it did look to me like they were a little upset.
And here's where my guilt is eating at me. All I had to do was go up to these two and ask for a picture of them. Not out of pity, but as an excuse. An excuse to come up to them, complement their cosplays and ask for their social media details, if they had any. At the very least I could have done that. But no - for some reason, either I don't know why or I don't want to know why, I kept walking. I know that in their position, something like that could be enough to make you want to just stop cosplaying.
I should've lifted their spirits by doing something as basic as described above, and if I could see they were still upset, consoled them. Said something about how they shouldn't let that get the best of them, and they should be really proud of their costumes. That there would be plenty of people who would love to see them.
We're cosplayers. To me, a cosplayer isn't just someone who makes or buys a costume and gets into character. A cosplayer has a sense of community - they look out for and lift up other cosplayers, nerds and creatives, no matter their interests, beliefs, or physical or mental traits. I failed that time, so I need to step it up for the future. And if you guys ever see that there is someone who needs that helping hand, or just that extra bit of encouragement, please don't hesitate to do so.
Honour. Armour. Unity.
