Brittany Seitz For Brittany Seitz, cosplaying wasn’t something new either. She spent some time online in high school on web forums like Gaia Online and 4chan so she had seen photos of people cosplaying, and had really enjoyed looking at people dressed as lolitas. She started cosplaying when her roommate at the time took her to the anime convention San Japan in San Antonio. Her roommate insisted she would have a better time if she dressed up, so she went as a Lolita. Brittany likes to pick strong female characters or at least characters she considers strong. She sometimes sources ideas from her friends but always keeps in mind to be realistic when choosing a costume. She tries not to go outside of her skills until she feels confident that she can create it and it will look right. “I try to design my own costumes as much as possible as I find that to be the most rewarding of the process.” Brittany has only been to three cons, San Japan twice and NebCon in Omaha. She hopes to cosplay She-Ra, Ruka, and Digimon characters in the future. Caitlin McGrew Caitlin, or Suzu as she is known in her cosplay group, has been cosplaying the longest. She started in 2004 and has been to 24 conventions with plans for another 3 or 4 this year alone. She originally became interested in cosplay as it was something she could do with her friends. She was in 8th grade when her friends invited her to a convention they were attending in Orlando, FL. Her friends had gone the previous year and wanted to dress up this time. “Since I was really big into dance and performing, I was always willing to dress up in costumes.” She saved up, as she wasn’t good at sewing yet, to buy a custom-made costume. “I ended up going as the leading female character from a video game that all my friends and I would constantly play. I was expecting there to be many girls dress as the same characters since it was a popular game, but I was actually 1 of 3 other girls. So I ended up getting a vCOSPLAYING continued on page 26 www.visioncareassociates.net A S S O C I AT E S 605.665.7762 2701 Fox Run Parkway, Yankton, SD 57078 This fall is a perfect time for a new pair of polarized prescription sunglasses. HERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018v15