Allegra’s Cos-Friends - VisibleSpectre and Ongaku88: Kevin and Tracy

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I’ll always remember—not verbatim, but paraphrased—the tweet I received on the Friday of New York Comic-Con 2011. It was basically: “Hey, are you still here? I’d love to see your Isabela in person!” from a twitter user named visiblespectre. I’d never spoken to him before, but, always eager to make new friends, I told him to come find me downstairs where I was spending time with some Assassin’s Creed cosplayer friends.

What ensued was the first of many lengthy conversations with my soon-to-be friends Kevin and Tracy, and their friend who I had actually met at PAX East earlier that year, Smitty. I was really impressed by how intelligent and mature they seemed—I’m so used to meeting very excitable people at cons that it was very refreshing to talk to people who legitimately wanted to talk. In fact, the ultimate goal of taking a picture of my Isabela only came in hindsight when we realized after a very long talk that we had never done just that.

I didn’t realize this at the time, but Kevin and Tracy would, very quickly over the course of the next year, become some of my closest friends—in fact, I would argue, among my dearest friends that I’ve made throughout my lifetime. We have our rituals and habits, most often spent eaten copious amounts of food in the East Village at our favorite dessert places and drinking far too much bubble tea. No really, far too much bubble tea.

Kevin and Tracy had done a bit of cosplay before then; if I remember correctly, Kevin had cosplayed from Black Butler at the very least, and I don’t remember if Tracy had done anything prior to then. But when they shared their plans to do Warden Bethany and Genderbent Merrill with me—I think this conversation took place really early on, possibly still at NYCC—I jumped on the idea encouragingly because seriously? Manrill? Fuck yes. And, as always, I offered to help, and we did spend many an afternoon chatting over bubble tea about where to buy fabric or body paint or how to handle x or y section of this costume.

Not that they needed too much help, frankly. I’m always thrilled to see how they tackle the problems they face. There’s something so delightful about seeing someone work on a specific kind of costume piece for the first time—a jacket, a bodice—hearing them talk it through and finally seeing the finished piece. As Kevin and Tracy can attest (and just about anyone else I’m friends with), I always run up to them when I see their completed cosplays at conventions and immediately start complimenting how they handled the trickier sections. I once actually got on my knees in front of Tracy (*wink*) to stare at the way she handled Anora’s incredibly non-intuitive bodice. And then the cycle starts again, and they share their new plans over bubble tea and I start bouncing up and down at the opportunity to watch their work unfold.

But what I always appreciate about spending time with Kevin and Tracy is and will always be the conversations. I don’t think there’s ever been a dull moment, awkward pause, or tense instance between us. This is a friendship, I am incredibly proud to say, that was born on mutual respect for each other’s insights and intelligence. And I’ve never felt like a third wheel spending time with them either, even though that seems unlikely when you’re the third person spending time with a couple who has been together for over a decade. But they are just that respectful, just that considerate. They are, to me, just about the epitome of Good Peoples.

As I think about leaving New York for Seattle and all the people I’m leaving behind, I think two of the people outside of my longtime friends and family that I most regret leaving behind are Kevin and Tracy. Their friendship is stabilizing, their support is endless. I’ve never regretted a single moment that we’ve spent gorging ourselves on amazing food and talking about musical theatre and video games, about problems and hurdles, about life and the universe and everything. I know I’m fortunate as a convention-goer that I have the ability to see my friends every few months at this or that convention, but it’s going to be really painful to not get that text every once in a while that they’re going to be in the city that weekend so am I down for some bubble tea?

The answer is and will always be yes, I am down for some bubble tea with Kevin and Tracy, no matter where we are in the country and in life. I’m impossibly grateful to have friends who I know, even after only a year of friendship, will stand by me. And I will stand by them.

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Allegra’s Cos-Friends

ongaku88 replied to your photo: SHHHH I GOT MORE WORK DONE AND I ACTUALLY WORE IT…

You look ready for all the space partying that’s happening!

 oliviasatelier replied to your photo: SHHHH I GOT MORE WORK DONE AND I ACTUALLY WORE IT…

You were also doing space things! SPACE.

 filante-star replied to your photo: SHHHH I GOT MORE WORK DONE AND I ACTUALLY WORE IT…

Aw snap, space party time!

hemisphere:

GPOY and my BB/Bondmate/SpaceWife/FavoritePantslessPirateontheCitadel SubitoAllegra

omg memories I just I just I just

my derpy face with the Bethany sandwich I just

and Rana I just

and that adorable pictures of us with Patrick I JUST

HEY GUISE LET’S TALK ABOUT PAX. More specifically, cosplay at PAX.

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FRIDAY

• Briefly: The Corsair from Assassin’s Creed: Revelations multiplayer, along with Cae as the Vanguard and Aziza as the Brigand. We will literally be in these costumes long enough to enter the AC Costume Contest, and then we’ll run off to a hotel to change into our big costume for that day:
• Isabela from Dragon Age II — now with updated Dicks! I’ll be joined by Cae as Romanced Isabela, Aziza as Sebastian, and Beth as Bethany. We will be attending the DA panel that afternoon.
• also I’m totally going to throw on my Team Vanguard shirt over my Izzy for the ME panel and there’s a chance that Beth will too XD

SATURDAY

• Trish from Devil May Cry 4, along with Cae as Lady and Aziza as Nero. Featuring Allegra as a damn blonde what the hell

SUNDAY

• Back to the Corsair from AC:R, this time for the full day. Again, I’ll be joined by Cae as the Vanguard and Aziza as the Brigand.

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This list obviously doesn’t include all of the wonderful people I know I’m going to see! These are just the Official Plans on our end. I know for certain that Coles’ Shepard is going to hang out with Rivaini and Sunshine, because fuck yeah Team Vanguard. I’m also excited to see Jack’s Trickster and ModernBela, Kevin’s Manrill, Tracy’s Merrill, Alyssa’s Meredith and Chakwas, Sheila’s mage Hawke, Kristin’s rogue Hawke and Little Sister, Jess’ mage Hawke and Ashley, and 600 other amazing cosplayers whose plans I don’t concretely know yet (so please tell me so I can add you!) or have totally, shamefully forgotten. OTL

editing to add more awesome peeps: kittylexy as Ed Elric, Venetian mask Zevran, and Saber; Alyssa’s friends will be attending as Morrigan, Flemeth, Mordin, Samara, Tali, and Thane; Bill as Garrett Hawke.

…that is the first time I have ever used “OTL.” and that marks the second, I guess.

Please let me know if you’re going to be at PAX East, at the DA/ME panels, or anything! I’m so excited to see some of you again, meet some of you in person for the first time, and generally have an amazing time.

And now that I’ve said all of this, I feel immense pressure to finish the Corsair. WELP

Oooh what did you do the detailing with? Is it paint? :DD

It is! Puff paint, specifically, applied with a brush. That way I have control over the lines with all of the 3D THIS COLOR IS GOING TO STAND OUT AGAINST BLACK VINYL of the puff paint.

Staff should be okay! As long as it can’t shoot anything and it doesn’t have a blade it should be all right.

And there you go! That’s what I assumed as well. So I guess that means you’ll have to scrap your plan of the staff having a gun on top, but we all have to make sacrifices. XD

 ongaku88 replied to your post: urbanberber replied to your photoset: THIS ONE…

So should I not bother starting to make my staff this weekend? The materials aren’t heavy (my purse is usually heavier), but I don’t want to put a ton of work into something if I can’t bring it :(

I would make an account on the PA forums and ask about it—that’s what Aziza did for us. I think a staff should be okay? It’s really the guns that they’re most horrible about there….

jancola:

So, this is my next costume, Circle!Bethany. I’ve finished the skirt too, and the wacky giant belt buckle thingie. Still have a lot of work to do (like the collar and the shoulder bits and the eyelets in the back, ack) but I’m excited it’s finally coming together.

Also really excited about being fully clothed at a Con, yay. Oh, and the fur is faux, natch.

CIRCLE BETHANY! HDFJSHFJSDF

Can I just collect you guys? Hemi for Default Bethany, Tracy for Warden Bethany, and now you for Circle Bethany? I want to sit you around in a circle and tell you saucy tales and get yelled at by Avelines and Hawkes—or at least the Hawkes who don’t sit down and join in.

I just. Guise.