BASICS
Name: Joss Alex Rose
Alias: Joss , JossIsARose (Social Media)
Pronouns: They/Them & He/Him
Age: 29
Date of Birth: November 13th
Gender: Genderqueer (AFAB)
Sexual Preference: Queer
Occupation: Costume Designer and Professional Cosplayer
Personality
Positive
creative
driven
independent
Negative
fickle
withdrawn
jaded
FAMILY
People
Mom: Millie Rose
Twin: Marley Rose
Pets
Cat: Lena
PAST
Hometown: Plant City Middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, Florida
triggers: instance of misgendering and reference to Jossâs dead name early on, stalking, violence, rape, self harm, substance abuse
[dead name mention] Joss Rose wasnât always who they are now. Once upon a different time, Joss was Jocelyn and âsheâ was troubled. Or so people liked to think. Born the youngest of a set of twins, to a single mother, Joss never really fit into gender norms, or societal norms, for that matter. Whether it was going without a bra until long after most girls started wearing one, a disinterest in anything outside of their art, or an increasingly morbid sense of humor, Joss was an outcast from day one. Small town life was often the bane of Jossâs existence.
As a child, Joss enjoyed Little Mermaid, but more importantly, Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. Joss related to Melody on a level that they didnât quite relate to Ariel. It sparked a love of all things mermaid, and all things Disney, in them and their art portrayed this. Their mother, Millie, taught them to sew and crochet, two activities that seemed to be the only âfeminineâ thing about their interests. They would alternate between drawing and painting to crochet and sewing, often designing their own clothes. They werenât necessarily nerdy, but they had their loves. Mostly it was things like Harry Potter, Doctor Who, or other such media, but they also had a love of sports, predominantly hockey. They were a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan and would often go to games when they had the chance. They were an excellent runner and ran track all throughout middle and high school.
However, in school they did often struggled with anything involving a majority of their body being seen by other people, but especially changing for PE and track. The idea of getting changed in front of other people unnerved them. It was when they felt most vulnerable, most exposed. It was also when they felt the least like themself. Seeing a female body under typically masculine clothing really hurt, but living in a small town, that was only known for a festival based on strawberries that often invited country and Christian musicians, being anything but straight and cisgender was asking for trouble. More trouble than Joss needed.
In high school, as their sense of self wavered further they withdrew into themself, their passion for costume design became even more apparent. They started cosplaying, attending conventions all over the state of Florida, as a way to be themself, without being themself. They tended to cosplay male characters, taking pride in their ability to pass a male, but refusing to think anything of it, in terms of how they felt. It was this that led them to find a college with a crafts department, where they could major in costume design.
They skipped eleventh grade and then received an early acceptance letter to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. With permission from their mother, and a number of legal officials, Joss took off. Moving from small town life, to big city, took Joss by surprise. They were in a place where people who werenât straight and cisgender were more widely accepted, which made trying to find themself much easier. As a freshman, Joss began to experiment, with a lot of things. Between sexuality and gender identity, they found out a lot more about themself than they were ever expecting. This included the realization that they were trans.
For Joss, the idea of being anything but a female made perfect sense. They tried a lot of things over the next few years, in an attempt to figure out just who they were. They knew they didnât identify fully as male, and definitely had no intentions to transition, but for the longest time couldnât figure out just how they felt. Outside of gender being a completely social construct, they needed a label. It came in the form of the terms âgenderqueerâ and ânon-binaryâ as well as the idea that there was an area between female and male. To Joss, being both agender and male made more sense and they quickly began to explore it as a full identity.
By the time Joss graduated, they had legally changed their name, going with a gender neutral name, as a way to alleviate the pressure from being misgendered, which quickly became a sore spot. Given their more feminine features, being called by male pronouns was a difficult thing to get across, especially given their decision to not transition. When they discovered the singular they as a pronoun, Joss jumped at the chance to use it. While itâs still hard to get people to use it, and they often encourage people to use male pronouns if unable to use it, the singular they felt right.
While in college, between balancing a job with the Pittsburgh CLO and cosplay commissions, their career as a cosplayer, youtuber, and twitch streamer took off. They won a number of cosplay contests and with their youtube channel they really became a household name in the Pittsburgh convention scene. Shortly after graduating from college they were a featured cosplayer on Syfyâs Heroes of Cosplay. They would then go on to be one of Twitchâs first partners and earn the money needed to move out to LA.
Once stationed in LA, Joss went headfirst into life as a streamer and cosplayer. Between winnings at cosplay contests, being invited as a guest to larger and larger conventions, their streaming, and their cosplay commissions, Joss was able to establish a life for themself. One that allowed them to take on international conventions and get their name even more known around the world. In 2015, they were invited as a guest to San Diego Comic Con, and took on a job as a costume designer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Thus sparking both their spot as a returning guest to SDCC, NYCC, and a job with DC as a costume designer for their films and consultant on their shows.
[stalking tw / violence tw] However, after a number of years in LA, Joss found themself overwhelmed by a growing fame that was starting to trouble them. They were more frequently recognized in public and with that came danger. Joss ended up being stalked repeatedly and it ended in a number of physical altercations and the cops being called. After over a year of court battles and a restraining order, Joss decided to leave LA. Their initial destination wasnât Clover City, TN but they had someone who had commissioned a costume dress from them for some big pageant and was informed that the town could use someone with their talent. It was close to Nashville but just far enough that Joss didnât think theyâd have to worry about being recognized too often.
In the two years theyâve been in Clover City, Joss has flourished. Theyâve done more work for the DCEU and found their place in the world again. Just famous enough to be recognized when they visit bigger cities for conventions but just the guy next door with the great sewing skills to everyone in town. The perfect balance theyâd been missing in their life while in LA.
[rape tw / self harm tw / substance abuse tw] Under the seemingly perfect surface, however, Joss is starting to fall apart. While itâs been two years since they escaped the hell that was LA, Joss has only now started processing everything that happened to them. Including the fact that part of the court battles involved reliving multiple instances of rape. In trying to cope with it all, Joss has started being self destructive, both in the form of self medicating and self harm. Doing anything they can to stop the way their hands constantly shake and the nightmares that plague what sleep they get around their busy schedule.
Joss maintains various forms of social media that pertain directly to their career. Their twitch channel is often filled with in-cosplay gaming, cosplay building, and even live convention coverage. Their youtube channel is full of cosplay videos, tutorials on everything from how to sew to how to pack cosplays for conventions without breaking them, and everything in between.
When theyâre not working, Joss spends their time running, watching hockey, hanging out in clubs, playing video games, or hanging out with their cat, Lena. They run at least one marathon a year, but typically more, and have even run the Boston and New York marathons. They have a giant comics collection and an annual pass for both Disneyland and Disney World. Theyâre also an avid swimmer.
CREDITS
Syfyâs Heroes of Cosplay (2013) - Cast Youtube (2014) - Hit 1 million subscribers Twitch (2014) - Became partner Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Costume Designer Wonder Woman (2017) - Costume Designer Birds of Prey: And the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020) - Costume Designer Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) - Costume Designer San Diego Comic Con (2015 - Present) - Featured Cosplay Guest New York Comic Con (2016 - Present) - Featured Cosplay Guest
APPEARANCE
General
Face Claim: Melissa Benoist
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brunet & Blond
Height: 5'8"
Biological Sex: Female
Gender Identity: Genderqueer
Gender Expression: Androgynous
Other
Tattoos: tbd
Scars: tbd
Piercings: Ears and Nose
Hair Cut/Style:
Joss typically wears their hair loose around their shoulders, but will occasionally pull it back into a braid or low ponytail.
Clothes/Style:
On a regular basis, tends to stick to more of a punk-lite style, mixing comfort with style. They enjoy wearing beanies, leather, and anything with studs. If they go out, they definitely tend to wear a lot of necklaces and/or bracelets. When it comes to formal wear, they really like suspenders and bowties.
Make Up:
While Joss doesnât always wear anything more than concealer/foundation to correct for sitting in front of bright lights while on stream, they appreciate a good lipstick and are rarely seen without black nail polish, at least outside of cosplay.
