♡Introductions♡

TheStephil

Hai!

I thought it'd be nice to have a thread where we could introduce ourselves. I'll get the ball rolling...

My name is Steph! I got introduced to cosplay and anime in general by my fairly new boyfriend in May 2012. I had only heard negative things about anime. I was always told that anime was animated smut created by pervy old Japanese men. However, my boyfriend always went to Fanime in San Jose, CA and I'd either go with him or not see him for a few days so I went with him. There would be booze and partying after all and maybe I could laugh at anime nerds. I was a nerd and a dork but somehow liking animated cartoons from Japan made you a different type of person? I have no idea what I was thinking. Instantly I fell in love with the convention. I kept asking who that cool guy was, or who that pretty character was, where the awesome sword was from, etc. I knew nothing about anime but I feel in love with cosplaying and having Halloween whenever you wanted.

By the end of the convention we had watched a few animes together and I started to clear up my misconceptions about anime. I thought I'd like to try cosplaying one day but I wasn't happy with my body so it was a back burner idea. In January 2013 I decided I wanted to lose weight. Fanime was coming around again and I wanted to cosplay. That was my number 1 reason for starting to lose weight. I bought an Erza Scarlet (from Fairy Tail) costume online but the pants didn't fit (even though I gave them my measurements). When I had gotten the pants I had roughly 4 months to fit into them. I pushed and pushed and push and was able to fit into the pants with serious muffin top. Since the cosplay showed my stomach, this was a no go. I was sick most of the morning we were going to cosplay with nerves. I hadn't tried the entire costume on, hadn't learned how to wear a wig, etc. After a few hours of wig malfunctions, stomach pain, nerves and overall costume failure... I scrapped the idea of cosplaying. We had tons of fun the rest of the con but I was disappointed.

I finally cosplayed Erza this May and it was amazing. I ended up having to make my own chest wrap and modified the crap out of the pants because they were made very poorly. My boyfriend made the swords and I helped paint them. It was so fun to cosplay but scary too. I learned that I still have a lot of self-esteem work to do but it was such a rush. I usually hate pictures but I loved people asking to take my picture. My boyfriend went as Jellal and it was a great bonding experience. I got the rush and I want to continue to cosplay.

My next step is to continue to lose body fat, learn how to sew, learn how to work with foam and make my first full costume. I have a few ideas but don't have any concrete plans. Cons are coming quickly though so I better come up with something.

BombshellPhoenix

Great idea! Tagging to come back later. Gotta go to work ♡

Guinevere117

Hello. My name is Reimon and I am 24 years old. I am currently living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but will be moving to Seattle, Washington next May. I am a university student graduating with a BS in Archaeology this Fall and then moving onto my MS and PhD. I am also majoring in Japanese and Asian Studies.

I was brought up on the Japanese culture and media from an early age. I started watching Tokusatsu (Godzilla, Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman; really relatable to anime) when I was 3 or 4, and starting watching anime at the age of 5. My first anime experiences were UltraMeow and Ultraman Mini Mini shorts, which were including at the end of the live action movies. At the age of 6-8, I started getting more into anime with Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, etc. I have since continued to build a strong interest in anime, manga, toku, and related things.

I found out about cosplay when I was 18, but due to my weight at the time, I never considered it as an active hobby. To me, it was something only models and attractive thin people did. Eventually (2011), my desire to cosplay became so strong that I decided to end my “fatness hell” I was in, and seriously lose weight. My first cosplay experience was with my best friend last November at a local con called Con Jikan. I cosplayed Ciel Phantomhive and then wore a Wa Lolita outfit for the second day. It was a lot of fun.

I am unsure whether I will be able to go to this year’s Con Jikan, due to a head surgery that will need to be scheduled soon, so I will have to see about it (I might be able to adapt a costume to account for it). Next cons on my list are Sakura Con 2016 and Anime Expo 2016. As of now, my goals are to continue losing weight, become more self confident, and overcome my social anxiety (which was one of the draw backs to my first con).

Thank you. ^_^!

BombshellPhoenix

Hiya! My name is Kristin! I started playing video games at around 3. Things like Mario, Sonic, etc. I grew up as a self proclaimed tomboy. I would play Power Rangers with my barbies. My first official system of my own was the Sega Genesis. From there it was PS1, Game Cube etc. My first anime was Sailor Moon. I was enthralled in its world. From there I got into Digimon, Pokemon, Tenchi Muyo...it goes on Final Fantasy VII was my first final fantasy game, super smash, Harvest moon, dark cloud, silent hill. My life outside of school work was watching anime and playing video games.

After high school ended in 2006 is when I started to gain weight. I just kind of gave up on trying to maintain my health. I started dating my now husband (who was my high school crush from my freshman year). HE is the one who immersed me into world of war craft for years of raiding and awesomeness. He introduced me to Cowboy Beebop, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Trinity Blood, Death Note, Samurai Champloo...again, the list continues haha. I owe him a lot for immersing me further into this culture.

I believe it was 2012 when I went to my first convention. I was in love. It was a multi level convention center and I remember standing up top to overlook and people watch. It was fascinating. I remember someone cosplaying as Solid Snake had a box and him and a few other cosplayers were taking turns hiding in the box. A guy dressed as a Dalek amazed me, as I genuinely thought it was a robot. I held this childish amazement and wonder about it all. I wanted to do it so bad but I had no idea where to start and zero confidence to do so.

It wasn't until June of last year, after I had my second baby and topped out at 190 lbs, that I finally decided to change. One of my major motivation to get into shape was to cosplay. I wanted to look good in a costume and embody that character I was portraying. Eeee. And here I am, actually having the courage to build my first costume. Going through a year of weightlifting and losing weight taught me that being uncomfortable was just part of life. I pushed back that fear of being uncomfortable in lifting and I could apply the same courage to cosplay.

I'm very thankful for this community and everyone I've met. I can't wait to see what everyone does and to help one another perfect our craft. I've always been artsy. I drew a lot in high school, wrote books, sang. I think of cosplaying as an art.

Nimue108

Hi guys! My name is Laurel and I am a myriad of things, lol. I am 29 years old and work as an environmental engineer for the Air Force (civilian not military). I also have 2 kids (2.5 and 4.5) that are both the light and dark of my life because well, they are 2.5 and 4.5, lol. Thirdly, I am a roller girl by the nmae Dr. Who's YerMomma and I play for the Middle Georgia Derby Demons. It is the best thing I have done for myself in a LONG time.
I have loved video games since Super Mario and Sonic, but didn't really start playing myself until college because my brother hogged it all the time. I am a complete geek/nerd and proud of it. I have been cosplaying since I was 20 and have been to Dragon Con 6 times (this year will be 7). Especially after kids it is hard to try to get back into cosplay form, but I am trying harder now to not jsut ben thin, but to be strong as well. I look forward to getting to know you all and share advice!

SansWings

Hi! *waves* I'm Budgie. I've been a sci-fi junkie my whole life and got into cons/costumes about 6 years ago for the first Steamcon. I'm big on the steampunk thing, but have started expanding into other stuff. I spend a lot of time on making my cosplays!