Last year I attended BCC as Black Cat with my boyfriend as Venom. This year I was flying solo, and for a while I wasn't even sure I was going to attend. I went back and forth on the idea for a few months, not really sure if I was up for going on my own. But when I heard that Ivy Doomkitty and Bellechere - 2 cosplayers who have inspired me in so many ways - were going to be guests, I knew I had to go.
For BCC this year I crossed another cosplay off my list - Power Girl. I had so much fun wearing this costume, but I swear this costume was cursed from the beginning. At one point Saturday morning, I was ready to skip the costume and just go to the con in my normal clothes. From wig troubles to fabric mishaps, shoe issues to boob problems, it took all of the tricks and skills I've learned over the last year to get this costume together and out to the convention floor. Once I did, though, the response was incredible.
While at BCC I had the pleasure of meeting two of my cosplay idols, Ivy Doomkitty and Bellechere. I also was lucky enough to get a seat in the room for Ivy Doomkitty's panel, "So They Say You Shouldn't Cosplay". Ivy hosted the panel, and along with Bellechere and Bethany Maddock, the panel talked about some issues that are hugely prevalent in the cosplay community right now, such as body shaming and age/size/color discrimination.
After the panel, I was able to meet all three of them in person at their respective tables. They say you should never meet your heroes in person, but I've followed all three of them for a while, and this was like a dream come true. Bethany Maddock is so sweet and so funny, I wanted to just hang out at her table all day. After taking a couple of selfies together, we talked about BCC and the upcoming GraniteCon. After hearing Bethany rave about GraniteCon, I think it is going to be the next one on my list. Bellechere is beautiful, funny, and refreshingly real. She is one of the reasons I finally took the plunge into cosplaying to begin with. I had the chance to talk to her for a couple minutes at her booth and was able to finally thank her in person for all the inspiration she's given me. She was all smiles, and complimented my costume (which in turn made me beam from ear to ear). She was also nice enough to pose for a photo with me. Lastly, I was able to finally meet Ivy Doomkitty. Along with Bellechere, Ivy is a huge inspiration for me. She has helped me find my confidence and jump into cosplaying feet first. After a short, but slightly embarrassing, fan girl moment, I was able to tell Ivy how much she has helped and motivated me. She hugged me and told me that I was a brilliant cosplayer who rocked this costume like few could. She took some pictures with me and told me that I owed it to myself and to everyone around me to keep following my cosplay dreams because I had awesome talent. As I walked away, I was elated. The 10 minutes I spent with her at her booth made my weekend.
After this weekend, I've decided that I'm ready to take my cosplay to the next level. Since I started cosplaying, my boyfriend has been encouraging me to build myself a facebook page for my cosplay. He has insisted since the start that I had talent and that I should share it with the con-going community. Honestly, the reason I haven't done this yet is because I've been afraid of what people would say. But I have to be like a duck, in the words of Bellechere. I have to just let it roll off my back like water. Sure there will be negative comments, but there will also be positive ones. I've already had positive feedback from three talented cosplayers, as well as countless strangers, plus the support from friends and family. I'm ready to put myself out there and see where it goes.
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