Seriously, if you want to cosplay, do it. I know some people worry about what others will think of their cosplay, and I understand that feeling, especially after getting my share of negative comments. Don’t let those comments get you down. I know it’s hard, because it’s really easy to focus on the negative, on the “what if someone makes fun of me.” And, honestly, I do it too. I have that doubtful voice in my head. But then I remember all the fun I have and how amazing I feel when I’m walking around as these characters. That’s what you should focus on, and that’s what you should think about. Instead of wondering, “Will someone make fun of me,” think about all the fun you’ll have. Think in positive what if scenarios. What if everyone loves your cosplay? What if you meet some amazing people? Don’t let the negative, or the potential of something negative, stop you. Cosplay is something you do for yourself; it’s something you do because you want to have fun, because you like to be creative, and you love a certain character or series. Keep those things in mind.
I got to do an interview for Women Write About Comics and I kinda love that they used this snippet of the interview in the preview pic <3 <3 <3 This incident happened nearly 2 years ago but it’s still my favorite response every to being bullied.
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 think plus size women (and men) need to see positive, beautiful representation of people who are their size. I also think they need to see plus size people being happy with who they are. The stereotype of the unhappy, fat loaf who sits on the couch being lazy is such a lie, and it kills me that that’s what some people expect when they think of a chubby person. I hate that it’s such a surprise to some people to see a plus size person wearing nice clothes and looking good, so I’m really glad to see positive representation out there.
Honestly, I think it’s just a great thing for everyone to see, not just plus size individuals. Society has such a skewed view on beauty. It’s always changing and the things we see aren’t always truthful (Photoshop, etc.) I get support from all sorts of people, not just plus size. There are plenty of people who are smaller than me who feel encouraged to love themselves when they see me. I feel like body positivity is something that’s beneficial to everyone. I feel like everyone has their insecurities, so seeing people embrace who they are is such a huge confidence booster.
My interview with The Curvy Fashionista went up today and I haven’t stopped smiling since :)
Thank you so much for your beautiful, inspiring commentary on my interview with LittleKuriboh. It means a lot. <3
Oh! You’re welcome :) Thanks for doing the interview! I really love Martin, lol, we’ve become friends over the years and I actually had no idea that depression was an issue for him, and I figured if he’s brave enough to come out and say it, I can too.
Honestly I’ve been wanting to make a post about it since it’s been a topic lately, and like I said, even if I know its something that runs in my family and my mom is open about it part of me is still like, “Eh…” because it’s looked at so negatively sometimes, like its something you can just turn on and off and be fine, but it doesn’t work like that. It just happens so randomly and sometimes you can’t explain it, even if you want to, and the response isn’t always so great, you know? Some people think they can just be like, “Stop,” and that’s all it takes, but when that cloud happens it ain’t movin’ for a while and it sucks.
It sucks because, if you’re like me, you’re telling yourself, “Get up, move, do something,” and when you don’t you just feel even worse, like, “Ugh I suck I can’t even get up,” and you start feeling guilty (I especially feel guilty because I actually work from home so if I get in this funk and get nothing done I feel really lousy). Then I’d feel bad for admitting it, like, “I’m depressed,” because people take it so lightly, but I’ve seen how heavy it can get, not just from my own experience but from my mother, who I guess has had therapy as a child, and has been in the hospital a few times, and on medication, and it really took that punch to the gut of my brother passing away for her to be like, “Nope. THIS is the worst thing I can go through, and if I can make it through that, I can make it through anything.” And, in a way, that helps me, too. If something really devastating happens (for example, in college, I lost my scholarship) she’ll be like, “It’s o.k., just cry it’s o.k., but you know what you know we’ve been through worse, we’ll get through this, too.” And it works.
But it shouldn’t reach that point with people, you should definitely talk to someone, which I do and my mom does, we talk to each other a lot. Because, sure, there’s that whole “we’ve been through worse” mentality, but that doesn’t mean whatever is getting you down isn’t upsetting. I mean hell, my brother being gone IS something that gets us down, I mean, his birthday is coming up and like clockwork we’ll both feel like shit, so we just talk, go about our day, she may watch movies and I may go to the zoo with my partner, whatever it takes.
Here’s the first part of an amazing interview. Thank you so much to martininamerica for this powerful bit.
This is important. Listen to this. This is really, really important.
Also, I’m going to get a bit personal, and reveal something that not a lot of people know. Depression runs in my family. It’s something I’ve been learning overtime and my mother is very, very open about it. There were times growing up where she would be in the hospital. I wouldn’t really understand why she was there, but she was. She also had medication she would take, and also has gone through therapy. I didn’t really know what the pills were for, I just knew she had them. I really learned about the whole thing when my brother died, because when he died she actually flushed all of her pills down the toilet, because, “I don’t need these anymore, there’s nothing worse than this.”
As I got older she went into more detail. "Remember when I was in the hospital that time? It was because of depression. It runs in our family.“ What makes me so upset about depression is that people take it so lightly, they act like its not that serious, and they mock treatment of it. My mom has said time and time again that there is nothing wrong with therapy, there’s no shame with it, but there’s this idea that it is shameful, you know?
Sometimes, I do get depressed. I’m pretty positive all the time, and it may be partly because I prefer smiles over the alternative, but sometimes those days hit and they hit hard. I’ll sit around and do nothing. I’ll feel like a failure. I’ll feel ugly. I’ll feel everything. And sometimes I break down, and it gets bad, like, "Oh god I can’t breathe,” bad, and at first I didn’t really label it as “depression.” Even if I know it runs in my family to the point where my own mother has seen people for it, there’s still that stigma. But, like she’s told me so easily, “It runs in our family, child. I’m depressed. You’re depressed. We’re all depressed. Every single one of us.” And the way she says it reminds me that there’s nothing wrong with it, and to – for the love of god – talk to someone about it. To not try and face it alone.
So finally I started talking to my partner about it. Originally, I would just be quiet, not say anything, push her away when she’d try to comfort me, tell her to leave me alone. Now, I just accept it. If I have a bad day for whatever reason (feeling like I’m getting nowhere with my writing, frustrated over trying to get to conventions to promote our work, wondering if self-employment is the right decision, missing my older brother, take your pick) I tell her. If she’s at work I message her. She’ll bring me home something (for instance, the stuffed Penguin I’ve named “Nagisa”), we’ll go driving, just… anything. It’s important to have someone you can talk to, and if you can’t get that from family or friends, take Martin’s advice here and go online, find like minded people, go on Tumblr, look at pictures, read fic, play video games, meet a new friend via fandoms, whatever it takes.
Depression is serious, and it needs to stop being seen as something that’s not a big deal. My mother was on medication but the thing that really, really got her out of it was the death of my brother. Don’t let it get that far, o.k.? Talk to someone now.
Just finished up an interview for Heroes United Against Cosplay Bullying! It was via Skype so I wore Peach, which is the cosplay I was bullied in last year. It’s hard to believe that something I was bashed in could be used so positively :) Always remember, cosplay is all about having fun portraying the characters you love. Cosplay is for everyone. Period.
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 :)
