A King in Yellow

SO. GUESS WHO JUST WENT TO A CON.

Happy Halloween! Spooky day seems like the best time to post my costest of John Doe from the horror podcast Malevolent!

This was a super fun cosplay to make, especially since this is a character from an audio-based medium who has no corporeal form in the story to begin with. Design-wise, I took inspiration from both the cover of the 1865 edition of Robert W. Chambers’ novel “The King in Yellow”, as well as various fandom interpretations of the character.

"I do remember my name, Arthur. I am the King in Yellow."

This photo shoot in particular was a really fun and interesting challenge for me, as I had to emote without any facial expressions due to the mask. I can in fact see through the eyeholes pretty well, since they're covered in black mesh, but I do lack peripheral vision when wearing it.

Photo by Allison the Photographer

Thank you all for the love on the Malevolent photoshoot pictures! Due to the interest, I thought I'd give y'all a peek under the cloak for some details about my half of the cosplay!

This is essentially what I wear under the yellow cloak: long black turtleneck, black leggings, and 5-inch platform Demonias, as I'm quite short. For the photoshoot, I added a long black skirt for extra swishy movement in photos.

A question I get a lot is if I'm able to see out of the mask, and the answer is yes! As you can see here, the eye holes of the mask are covered in a black mesh fabric, which allows me to have vision through them while giving the illusion that there's nothing behind the mask. I don't have much peripheral vision, but I can see pretty much everything else. You'll also notice that I glued a chunk of a paper towel tube to the mouth area of the mask, which modulates my voice similar to how John sounds in the podcast.

Arthur finally took John to the movies! Venom 3, no less.

Revamped my John cosplay recently for a Malevolent cosplay contest. Thought you all might enjoy.

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full john at the impromptu renfaire post. featuring a chapel i had to ask a priest for permission to photograph in 💃💃

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa