There’s this idea I want to discuss, this concept people have in regards to plus sized cosplay.  Some people say things like, “they need to be aware of their body.”  They say these things to be helpful, because “people can be mean,” and things like that.

I get what you’re saying, but honestly?  That’s not very helpful.

I get that you’re trying to give us warning, because you’re right, people CAN be mean.  They can say horrible things to plus sized cosplayers, tell them who they shouldn’t cosplay because of their weight.  This also goes for cosplayers of color, how they’re not the right race, or crossplay, or just… anything really.

However.

At this point, we as diverse cosplayers… already know that these people exist.  Not just because of the cosplay community, but because of society as a whole.  Honestly?  The people who give me the most crap for my weight, race, gender, and sexuality are people outside the cosplay/geek community.  Hell, election season showed a lot of men in suits telling me what rape really meant, or who I should marry, and things like that.  I’ve been told that I would be really cute “if I just lost some weight,” I’ve been told that I “sound white,” and have heard, “that’s gay,” on a daily basis thanks to retail.  All of this has been outside of cosplay.  

It’s INSIDE the community where I’ve felt the most confident, have gotten the most compliments in regards of my appearance (even outside of cosplay this last Sunday I was told I looked pretty in a pair of jeans and a shirt).

I mean, I get where people are coming from with their warnings, because yes, those negative people do exist.  But honestly, most of us coming into this community have already faced negativity for our looks, and we’re coming here to have fun and be ourselves.  If you want to be positive towards us, don’t tell us to “be conscious of your body,” because… we already are.  We can’t help BUT be conscious of our bodies, not because you tell us to be, but because society tells us to be.  I can’t get a cute hoodie without paying a hell of a lot of money because places charge more for a bigger size.  Good luck for me ever finding a bra under $60.  Weight loss commercials run like political ads during elections.  

And don’t talk to me about racism because even fucking Oprah was discriminated against recently.  Fucking.  Oprah.  And fuck, I’ve been with the same girl for 11 years and I JUST NOW have the option to marry her, in what is it now?  13 states or something?

If you really want to support us, offer compliments (real compliments don’t say them if you don’t mean them because WE WILL KNOW IF YOU ARE TALKING BULLSHIT because, trust me, we’ve heard it before).  We already know about the negative folks, the bashers, the “you’re too big to cosplay Sailor Moon” or “Sailor Venus isn’t black” and just… we get it.  We already know.  So don’t assume you’re doing us a favor by saying, “I am supportive of all cosplay I just want you to understand that there are some people who won’t support you because of your size,” or, “be careful if you weigh this much and want to cosplay this character not everyone will like it.”

The correct thing to say, if you really are supportive, is, “Do what you do and rock it.”  

Here’s the finished Armored Princess Tiana cosplay!  The first picture is the sketch, then the second is the finished product.  The armor is over my Princess Tiana dress and is made completely out of craft foam, paint, and thin fabric on the back.  The sword is also craft foam  :)

(I plan on getting more pictures together later for a sort of “story” with the cosplay, but we’re resting after the con so I’ll do that later)

Check out more cosplay here:  Brichibi Cosplays

Picture one:  Hmmmm, so I’m supposed to kiss the frog and it will turn into a prince, right?

Picture two:  AH WTF IS THIS?!  THIS ISN’T A PRINCE!

Teddie:  Sure it is, I’m Teddie, and I’m beary excited to be your sweet prince charming.  Now, as your prince, I believe I am allowed to score with you?

Tiana:  *rage face*

Just some silly pictures from Geek.Kon that we took while sitting at our table.  There will be more kissing mishaps posted throughout the weekend  ^^

Also, check out my cosplay page here:  Brichibi Cosplays

You know what, ladies?  Sometimes, the princess just has to save herself.  

Facebook Cosplay Page:  Peachy  :)

snowtigra:

More shots of the Beauty and the Beast Jim Shore cosplay I made for myself and my wifey!  The library shots are at Anime Iowa, while the kiss is from Anime Central in the Disney group. 

Oddly enough, these are the first dresses where I experimented with making the outfits out of quilter’s cotton so that I could get the patterns to match the Jim Shore statues.  Belle’s dress is a combination of different dress patterns I had (I think about 3) while Beast’s outfit is an altered Uncle Sam costume, lol.

I can’t make clothing patterns myself, so instead I Frankenstein different patterns together to get all the pieces I want, then tailor it to each of our bodies.

Any questions about the cosplay? What do you guys think?

The Belle dress  :)  

All right.  To celebrate the huge amount of followers I’ve gotten in the span of a few days, I’m going to confess something.  It has come to my attention, thanks to one of my aunts sharing the picture on my 30th birthday a few weeks ago, that I’ve been cosplaying since the 80s.  This is me as She-ra.  I remember doing this for Halloween, but I also seem to remember not wanting to take the costume off.  I think I may have worn it outside of Halloween at times.  I also remember being Storm from X-Men, and my dad actually helped make the costume ^^

So this is me cosplaying before I knew what cosplay was.  Guess I was sort of meant to do this huh?  Did cosplay even exist in the U.S. in the 80s?

napsarethebest:

cosplayingwhileblack:

brichibi:

All right, I have a cosplay page now  :)  I thought about it and decided it would be a good idea, since I’m cosplaying more often now and I want to give my partner some exposure (she makes aaaaaall of my costumes, so if you’re looking for a plus sized friendly costume maker, she’s a good person to go to).  

Anyhow, it’s definitely a race, gender, sexuality, size friendly page.  And uh, yeah, you can see my costumes and stuff  ^^;;;

Facebook Page:  Brichibi Cosplays

SUBMISSION

I love to see a larger, Black woman cosplaying anything.  It’s like we don’t exist in the world of make believe.  I was doubly thrilled to see that she had her own sexy, high heel-wearing Beast, too! 

Reblogging for the comment above.  I’m a plus sized black cosplayer who comes equipped with her own sexy Beast  ^^  A sexy Beast who knows how to sew!

snowtigra:

Ummm… hey everyone who stumbled over to my tumblr from my wifey’s page

Since a lot of you seem to like the Belle dress I’ve made for her, I thought I’d share a close up of the handpainted panel from the front of the dress.  This is what it looked like before I sewed it in. 

So yeah, my tumblr is going to be full of progress pictures and crafty things and all of that.  Feel free to poke me for sewing stuff.  I’m not an expert but if I don’t know it, I’ll find out someone who does and point you in the right direction… or something… ^_^;;;;;  

(I didn’t expect this to get so popular!, still adjusting!)

This is my wifey/costume maker’s tumblr  :)  This is a picture of the Belle dress front panel before she sewed it.  She actually printed out this huge picture, taped it all together, traced around it and then drew the rest and painted it.  So this is hand done.  I’m super lucky she’s so patient with the cosplay I want   :)  She’s getting into doing commissions more, which is great!  We need more plus size positive costume makers  :)

And randomly, hello new followers, somehow I’ve over 400 in the span of about three days  O.o  Hi!