Insecure thoughts are going to happen, they just will. Even with all of my confidence I still have that paranoid voice in my head, that kid who was called “weird” for liking anime and video games, she still talks to me like, “They’re going to make fun of you,” “Remember when they made fun of you,” and I do worry – that’s normal. The worrying stops when the cosplay is done, I put it on, I look into the mirror, and I smile. Focus on that feeling of accomplishment when you finish that cosplay, because the only person you need to impress with your cosplay is you.
I wanted to share an interview my wifey and I got to do for Geek x Girls about our cosplay and body positivity and all that good stuff :)
All cosplay is made by my wifey Snow Tigra:) (and occasionally designed by me, like the Mario dress)
Neo Queen Serenity based on fanart by asieybarbie, photo credit: DWB Photography.
Greetings readers, it’s new feature time with our fantastic featured fatty, Briana Lawrence, also known as Brichibi Cosplays. Welcome Briana! Thanks so much for having me!
Let’s begin with an origin story. Tell us a little about yourself so our readers get an idea of who you are and how you got into cosplay. Let’s dim the lights and have an epic city backdrop as I tell the tale of Brichibi Cosplays! [laughs]
I’ve been with this woman for 13 years and I’m looking forward to 13 more, and more, and more until we reach forever. She’s my co-author, my seamstress, my partner, my everything.
Pictures taken by our friend Lavonne Brite, who’s getting into photography and wanted to do some couple shots of us, from us being in normal clothes to showing what we normally do together, which is this lady making my cosplay and making me feel amazing :) You can also find my cosplay page here and my wifey’s here. We have many new things planned this year and are excited to continue to bring our ideas to life.
So I was listening to the Black Girl Nerds podcast last night, and they had PNW Fattitude as guests. The podcast was amazing to listen to as they covered plus sized cosplay and were all very encouraging. One thing that stuck out to me was the message of “making your cosplay your own.”
A lot of times, plus sized cosplayers think they can’t do certain characters because of their weight. I’m guilty of this. I’m guilty of having this voice in my head that tells me, “No, Bri, you can’t.” As confident as I am, I still have the voice of the fat, weird, black girl who was told that she was strange for being a geek. She’s still there, you know?
But the ladies on the podcast had this awesome message on how, essentially, you should cosplay how you want to cosplay, and do characters the way you want to do them.
Make the cosplay your own.
And it’s something that I tell myself when that voice pops up in my head. When I have that moment of insecurity, I quietly tell myself that it’ll be fine, that I’m having fun, that this is my take on a character and I’m going to rock it.
So here’s some examples of me doing just that :) I started to sketch designs for characters I wanted to do, and my wifey would bring them to life. This is in order of oldest (my Green Hill Zone dress) to newest (my Mario dress).
And remember, always remember, that to love your cosplay is to love yourself :)
Time to Preach the Gospel Truth
Fat is just a size, that’s it. It doesn’t mean you’re lazy. It doesn’t mean you’re ugly. It’s just a size. You can be happy. You can think your hair is cute. You can like that shirt you’re wearing. You can cosplay. You can write. You can be artistic. You can be anything, ANYTHING you want to be. Don’t let these unnamed people ever, EVER convince you otherwise.
We need to stop thinking so lowly of ourselves because of appearance. We need to stop listening to what society is trying to tell us, because society doesn’t know what the fuck it wants. “Too fat.” “Too thin.” “Too everything.” If you keep trying to go by society’s standards you’ll be left with too little, too late.
This is the story of a geeky anime/gaming gal by the name of Chibi. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for... some sort of ride? Oh! I love to write, and I also love doing crafty things. I go to conventions with my partner and sell woodburned things, clocks, mirrors, and more! So expect to see those on here too :)
