This is my first serious-ish cosplay ever in... basically ever? But it's definitely not going to be my last! I've already have so many plans for future cosplays. If you have any suggestions or want to have a voice on what characters I should do next, feel free to contact me anyhow you prefer! Of course, you can also incentivise me to cosplay as a specific character by financially supporting me on Ko-fi!
I've always wanted to cosplay ever since I was a middle schooler. As a clueless kid back then, all I could've ever done was to save up the money from my savings and then maybe somehow hide every details from my parents and eventually buy it. The first time I tried this, since I wasn't a very intelligent kid, I misread the price I was targeting as wig-included. When I realised, I've also lost a friend's basketball, which I had to rebuy for. At that point, I was so unmotivated I ended up spending all the savings I had on mobile games. Continuing from that, every year onwards I've always told myself "I'll definitely get around to cosplaying this year, actually." and as much efforts as I've put into every single time... There would always be something in my way.
Fast forward to 2023, and the same thing unfortunately happened. I ordered everything by the beginning of december, suspecting it would arrive around Christmas or right at the end of the year. But turns out, I've only realised I forgot to buy some additional things for the cosplay way later, and so the shipping date for those already past into 2024. The cosplay I ordered also forgot a wig, for some reason. The cosplay store was very responsible and eventually deliver the wig to me, although at a much later date now to the point where it's around mid-January of 2024.
Now that everything arrived, where do I put all of this on? I mean, I don't live alone, so doing it in my room would be out of the question, simply because I don't feel comfortable enough to let my roomate see me in those clothes. I asked around with my friend, and as I expected, not many people are willing to let a friend use their room for a while for whatever reasons. But right before February started, I've gotten into an wholehearted agreement with a good friend that I'd borrow his room in exchange for the pizza I'll be treating him with. So, that's how I got my room for photoshoot.
Putting the cosplay on was definitely a challenge. There are a lot of intricate details that attaches to one another loosely, and all of it is very fragile. I really have grown a newfound respect for the cosplays who cosplay as very detailed characters and walk around outside like it's just their normal clothes. At first I thought I just wouldn't fit through any clothes, but I managed to just about did it. When I eventually finished putting everything on, there was barely any time left for the photoshoot itself, so everything was somewhat rushed, and frankly I wasn't really happy with the results; there goes my perfectionist side again. But, looking at the bright side, I'm definitely very glad I managed to pull this off, at least for once, finally.
The only thing left now is to edit the photos. I picked one that I'm the most happy with, and just retouched some parts to be more attractive/less "off" with photoshop. The end result is what you just saw in my Ko-fi gallery page. I'll have to be honest and fair to myself and say that I think I did a great job with all of this. I'm really happy I did any and all of this, and I plan to do more in the future.
Can anyone of you notice what's wrong with this Keqing? The astute enthusiasts might immediately be able to tell that her fringe are swept to the wrong side, and they would be right. I've realised this way after the photoshoot was done, and when I'm nearing the photo editing deadline, I just couldn't be bothered to somehow photoshop it together. There's probably more things slightly off that I haven't noticed also, but oh well, it is what it is, I guess.
Massive thanks to: Bee, Lucina, Taha, Cabbe and Zeref who have been my top supporters here at Ko-fi, and who have made this cosplay possible!
Also thanks to IRL Friend A-H, E, M-M, C-P and Z-N who have been emotionally and physically supporting me with this cosplay, helping me with Chinese translations, give tips on cosplaying as a cosplayer themselves, as well as providing a room to photoshoot!
Lastly: also thanks to Kren, JL, Choco and Nitsu who have essentially been giving me a 101 of "how to woman", hahaha.
I love you all; So, so much. I mean it. 💜