DarkCrimsonBlade

Excuse the slight shoddiness of the make-up as it is boiling hot here but latest costest is finally up! This is just the wig, the makeup and the hand scarring so far. 

Three years of progress and I am finally beginning to see the changes. 

Years of doubt, misery and isolation led me to believe that I could not be the person I wanted to be. 

I know this will come as a shock to you all but this is something I’ve been wanting to go through for a long time. We’re talking ten years of googling, asking questions and binders. Not to mention nights of crying, depression and feeling trapped because of wanting to be this and yet holding myself back to make others happy.

It’s going to be a long process. First it will be years of hormones and passing but I’ve been undergoing the transition from female to male. That’s right. I’m going to be a guy. Well, a hot guy hopefully but a guy nevertheless. 

For those who don’t know me, they may not see me as male. But for those that do, it may not come as a surprise. Regardless, being male is not going to change character. My voice is going to be deeper, I’m going to be hairier (maybe) and I’m going to be flat. But I’m still me. 

But the mistake I did make was letting others dictate my choices. Enduring years of making others happy because they thought that being a chick was what I would always be. But you know what? I’m not making that excuse again. And yes, I am going to endure a lot of crap for this choice. But it is my choice and mine alone. NO ONE is going to convince me otherwise. 

So people if you are in my situation, be it FTM or MTF, don’t let anyone else dictate your life choices. It’s your choice and if that’s what makes you happy, go for the gusto. Because we’re all human and we all deserve happiness. 

I know not everyone is thinking this but lately, I’ve been seeing this epidemic first hand. You arrive at a con dressed for fun, social interaction and to pay homage to your favourite character from a particular series or genre. You meet new people. You get your photos taken. You feel happy that you’re part of such a diverse artform. 

But then your photo comes up in a newsfeed, blog, video, any kind of network that showcases photos and visual displays. And the comments start to pour in. “This person is a joke.” “Another person wore this ten times better.” “I rather see [famous cosplayer] wear this over a newbie.” 

I am sure not everyone has experienced this but unfortunately, I have. Not in a news feed but in person. And frankly, I believe it is other serving to further dissolve the fun of this artform. 

There are a lot of popular cosplayers out there who are incredibly talented and skilled and who put so much time and effort into their work. And to see people belittling it to nothing more than a highly-debated beauty pageant is just disappointing. 

I will admit, I look up to a lot of cosplayers (Reika, Narcisstic Puppet, Wirru and Sakuya to name a few ) but it is mainly due to their art and how beautiful the tone, setting and overall scene they are portraying is. I admire the detail, the passion and carefully chosen setting each piece is displayed in. How physically attractive or “sexy” a person is is irrelevant to me. 

And cons are a brilliant way to interact with others, swap stories about their cosplay dreams (or nightmarish experiences if they wish to tell them) and also talk about how they went about creating their pieces and receive or give tips on how to improve theirs to better their own work for themselves. 

Cosplayers do not cosplay to be popular or be someone’s wet dream or sexual fantasy. They do it because they wish to pay homage to that character in the way they feel is the best way to do so. They are not seeing to be crowned King (or Queen) of cosplay, nor do they feel bad for being dethroned if that is the case. 

A few snaps from today’s shoot courtesy of a member of the furry coat brigade. 

Cosplay: Akira (Togainu No Chi)