#28DaysOfBlackCosplay at The Mary Sue, Day Sixteen

Happy sweet sixteen to our #28DaysOfBlackCosplay series of features! In our continued celebration of Black excellence in cosplay, we have two more cosplayers to introduce everyone to. Check out their cosplay journeys and what they’re up to when they aren’t embodying their favorite characters.

Eden Yayehyirad

Eden Yayehyirad has been cosplaying for a year, inspired by her love of anime and the opportunity cosplay gave her to be an anime character! You can check out her story below.

How do you decide what you’re going to cosplay?

I get inspired by the anime I watch and the other cosplayers I follow.

What cosplay are you most proud of? And yes, it’s absolutely ok to say ALL.

I love Nejire’s (My Hero Academia) my friend helped me out with her accessories and they turned out sooooo cute!

What’s a cosplay moment that you remember fondly?

I remember I was getting ready to go to a con and I was cosplaying for it for the first time and I did Bulma. I was rushing cause I took forever to get ready and I posted a few pictures of my cosplay on Twitter and just all the love I got made me feel so good. I was really nervous about it cause I had to put different pieces together for it like her bag and trying to find the exact Dragon Balls she had in the first episode.

Hey, it’s time to take a break from making that cosplay or buying it off your wishlist, what are you watching/playing/reading to unwind?

I’m definitely watching Jujutsu Kaisen!!!

Speaking of unwinding, who are your comfort characters? Who are you going to when you need a pick me up?

Deku! I love me some My Hero Academia I can fall asleep watching it every night!

If you could live in a fictional universe where would it be and why?

Definitely would love to live in a universe where 80% of the population has a quirk. MY HERO ME PLEASE lol!

Do you tend to cosplay the character/creature/entity as is or do you put your own spin on them? Any particular reason why? And yes, it’s perfectly ok to say “because I like to.”

Definitely depends on the character but I do tend to try to put my own spin on things. For plus-size cosplayers sometimes it’s harder to find the exact match so we gotta get creative.

It’s cruel to ask what your favorite cosplay is so what are your top three (at most)? Are they the ones being featured or are they different ones?

Top three I would say are Nejire (My Hero Academia), Bulma (Dragon Ball franchise), and Chun-Li (Street Fighter franchise).

What do your 2021 cosplans look like? If you’re trying to keep it secret OR you have no plans, that’s fine!

I’m tryna get D.Va (Overwatch) and Bakugo (My Hero Academia) done.

In an alternate universe where money and resources are plentiful, all your bills are paid, and you’ve got nothing but time, what dream cosplays are you doing?

Azula from Avatar!

In yet another alternate universe, conventions are safe to return to, so where are you headed?

Definitely AX in LA and Dream Con in Waco, TX. My New Years’ resolution for 2020 was to attend one con a month and I only got to do it for January and February before COVID hit so I’m hoping we can all attend one soon.

What inspires you to stay active in the community, especially in these trying times? If you haven’t been active that’s fine, too!

Definitely all the cosplayers I follow on Twitter and IG, they’re all such great inspiration. As soon as I see something amazing posted it makes me want to get into a cosplay outfit IMMEDIATELY!

What does #28DaysOfBlackCosplay mean to you?

To me, it’s like a safe place for us to do our thing.

It’s March 1st, 2021, what would you like to see happen after the 28 days are over?

I would love for all the Black cosplayers I know to get some more shine and feel accomplished afterwards.

How can the community (people, events, etc.) do better to represent you and other Black cosplayers?

Just respect what we’re trying to do. We all put so much work and effort into our cosplays we don’t need to hear if we missed a detail or if the character were cosplaying isn’t Black. WE KNOW!!!

Any tips for newcomers who are waffling on whether or not they should cosplay?

Definitely go for it!! I always say to start with your favorite character that you have in mind, doesn’t have to look like you doesn’t even have to be the same gender, and just try to piece it together.

What are you looking forward to in 2021? It doesn’t have to be cosplay-related, it can be anything.

I’m trying to plan a birthday party that’s anime con-themed. I’m naming it Eden Con and I’m hoping all my friends will come in cosplay and have a good time.

Social media time! Tell us where we can find you! Give me as many links as you want. Twitter? TikTok? Patreon? I want it all!

I’m on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.

Chrissy (Chrissy Plays Dressup)

Chrissy (Chrissy Plays Dressup) has been cosplaying for 19 years! However, she didn’t start posting photos online until about 8 years ago. “I started going to anime conventions way back in the day and saw a couple of cosplayers there! It wasn’t nearly as big as it is now but I thought it was so cool and wanted to try it!” She ended up dropping cosplay for a bit due to work and school, but later realized that it was a great outlet for creativity and expression! After that, she returned to cosplaying and has been active ever since. You can check out her story below.

How do you decide what you’re going to cosplay?

Whoever gets me excited! It’s all about how much I love the character and the design. I have a hard time cos I want to cosplay so many things!

What cosplay are you most proud of? And yes, it’s absolutely ok to say ALL.

Pearl from Steven Universe. My friends and I were celebrating our love for the show and how proud we were to be LGBTQAI! It also just turned out so beautifully and I ended up having a dance battle on stage with a beautiful Blue Diamond at the Steven Universe movie premiere in Atlanta! I didn’t get many pics of her but I hope to change that soon :)

What’s a cosplay moment that you remember fondly?

I think most of them happened outside of cosplay. People telling me I inspired them to cosplay outside their race on Tumblr and Instagram. That was such a big moment for me. I struggled with feeling like I needed to be “accurate” for so long, but eventually, I said you know what? I’m going to be the one I actually LOVE regardless of skin tone. Knowing that my own personal growth was inspiring others – that just being myself was helping others to break down their own barriers – I mean what else can you ask for?

Hey, it’s time to take a break from making that cosplay or buying it off your wishlist, what are you watching/playing/reading to unwind?

I’m either watching a sci-fi/action movie that may or may not be good (the latest was Rampage) or playing Pretty Princess Party on the Switch. Animal Crossing is too stressful for me lately lol.

Speaking of unwinding, who are your comfort characters? Who are you going to when you need a pick me up?

Magical girls all the way. Aikatsu, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Pretty Cure!

If you could live in a fictional universe where would it be and why?

Probably the Aikatsu universe. People would probably think a magical girl world but I don’t want to fight all the time! In Aikatsu you have a magical girl transformation to sing songs and dance and that’s perfect for me!

Do you tend to cosplay the character/creature/entity as is or do you put your own spin on them? Any particular reason why? And yes, it’s perfectly ok to say “because I like to.”

I do both! Sometimes I like to be faithful to the original design because I think bringing the simplicity of 2D into a 3D world can be a fun challenge. Sometimes I embellish it, add fun fabric details or give them curly hair! I initially wanted to be a concept artist so it’s kind of a callback to that passion to both honor the source material and spruce it up a bit for real life :)

It’s cruel to ask what your favorite cosplay is so what are your top three (at most)? Are they the ones being featured or are they different ones?

Glimmer is top three for sure. I felt so WONDERFUL as her and it was one of the few costumes I commissioned parts of (all info is on my Instagram)! Realizing I don’t have to make everything all the time and can sometimes just have fun wearing an outfit was a huge step for managing my chronic illness and still being able to cosplay. Pearl is another favorite but I desperately need to get some professional pictures of her! And any time I cosplay Cardcaptor Sakura is my favorite! She’s meant so much to me in my life… just, again, most of my pics are a bit old. I’ll have to change that in 2021 :)

Photo by Aime Photos.

What do your 2021 cosplans look like? If you’re trying to keep it secret OR you have no plans, that’s fine!

Magical girls! I want to do all Black magical girl groups nonstop – we’re talking Pretty Cure, Tokyo Mew Mew, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura – and also finish some of my giant pile of WIPs, oops…

In an alternate universe where money and resources are plentiful, all your bills are paid, and you’ve got nothing but time, what dream cosplays are you doing?

I have three. I want to have the guts to finish my Cardcaptor Sakura OP 1 outfit I’ve been working on for literal years lol but now need to rework since I don’t fit it anymore. My second is I want to do a sakizou version of Cure Flora from Go Princess Precure! It would be a full ballgown with tons of rhinestones, detail stitching, fancy fabric, the works! And the third is Ellie from Tokyo Mirage Sessions. I love all the floral accents on her costume and her bow is insane!!! I haven’t made many props before but it would be such a fun challenge.

In yet another alternate universe, conventions are safe to return to, so where are you headed?

Dragoncon, Momocon, Anime Weekend Atlanta, and Katsucon – If I had the money lol.

What inspires you to stay active in the community, especially in these trying times? If you haven’t been active that’s fine, too!

I am currently on a social media break due to my chronic illness. Staying active is important but so is recognizing when you need to step back and focus on you! There is no shame in that, do what you need to so you can be your best for yourself and the community.

What does #28DaysOfBlackCosplay mean to you?

A great chance to spotlight lesser-known cosplayers who work just as hard as everyone else – even harder – but don’t get to shine cos of bias and algorithms. I’m so happy that the hashtag was created. I’ve personally found so many great friends and new cosplay inspiration because of it!

It’s March 1st, 2021, what would you like to see happen after the 28 days are over?

The community continuing to support us!

Any tips for newcomers who are waffling on whether or not they should cosplay?

I’d say go for it! If you like any of the following: fashion, makeup, hair, playing pretend, Halloween, anime, games, making new friends – then cosplay is for you!

Photo by The Pic Witch.

Social media time! Tell us where we can find you! Give me as many links as you want. Twitter? TikTok? Patreon? I want it all!

I’m currently just on Instagram, but I may be starting up a Patreon in the future? Stay tuned, hehe!

–

See everyone tomorrow!

(Image: Eden Yayehyirad and Chrissy (Chrissy Plays Dressup))

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Briana Lawrence

Briana (she/her - bisexual) is trying her best to cosplay as a responsible adult. Her writing tends to focus on the importance of representation, whether it’s through her multiple book series or the pieces she writes. After de-transforming from her magical girl state, she indulges in an ever-growing pile of manga, marathons too much anime, and dedicates an embarrassing amount of time to her Animal Crossing pumpkin patch (it's Halloween forever, deal with it Nook)

twitter Link to www.magnifiquenoir.com