Hello fellow Geeks! It’s cosplay time! This week, we travel east coast to the sunny (and very humid, but lovely!) state of Florida. Amongst all the sunshine, we find the talented Moderately Okay Cosplay, who has been making great strides in the cosplay community since 2013! After shaking off my awkwardness, I managed to reach out, pry his brain for answers (not as gruesome as it sounds), and he gave us a little preview into his crazy world of cosplay!
Photo Credit: Papanotzzi
1. What first inspired you to begin your journey as a cosplayer?
Honestly, I wanted to dress up as a League of Legends character and Halloween felt like too far away. A friend suggested I go to a convention, and I had heard of like, San Diego Comic-Con, but that was it, so I didn’t know that conventions were everywhere! I also didn’t know people dressed up for them, but once I learned that I made a (basically all thrifted and hot glued together) costume and went to my first convention.
2. What kind of characters are you most drawn to when searching for a new cosplay?Â
Honestly, if they look like a pretty anime boy (See: Any Final Fantasy protagonist) I’m drawn to them! All joking aside, a lot of things catch my eye, design is really important to me. For example, Jhin from League of Legends has this crazy design unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and it really caught my eye so I knew I had to at least try to cosplay him.
3. Do you have any big accomplishments you’d like to share?Â
I got to cosplay with Nintendo and Spencer’s at San Diego Comic-Con last year, and honestly I don’t think anything can beat that for me.
Photo Credit: TEoSB
4. What has been one of your favorite con/cosplay moments thus far?
Photo Credit: TEoSB
6. Is there a dream cosplay you have yet to create or have already created? What made you choose this?
I’ve cosplayed Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII before, but I’d have to say my dream is perfecting the cosplay. Like, REALLY nailing it. So I’ll say that’s my dream cosplay because Final Fantasy VII is the stand-out game from my childhood. I have a lot of nostalgia for it.
7. How has cosplaying influenced you as a person?
It’s also given me more of a creative mind when looking at things. I think I enjoy like…games a little more because I’m constantly looking at outfits or weapons and in my mind, I’m like “How can I make that, how would that translate to real life?”  So I think that’s cool, even if I spend half of my time playing games or watching anime looking at character design!
8. Do you have any advice/words of wisdom you would like to give to aspiring cosplayers?Â
You do you! Don’t let anyone tell you how to think or how to feel, at the end of the day stay true to yourself and what you’re doing. Cosplay isn’t easy, you’re doing this amazing thing by yourself, actually embodying characters you love, and that’s so awesome. If anyone tries to tell you you’re doing it wrong or tells you the reasons you’re doing it are wrong, don’t listen to them. Do it for you! Stay above the ignorance and, should it ever happen to you, people talking behind your back. Unabashedly support your fellow cosplayers. Help people where you can. Be excellent to each other!
Photo Credit: Travis Photography
