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Shutting One Door, Keeping others Open

UPDATED ON 8/20/21: Facebook, Patreon and Blog IG pages have been shutdown/discontinued As the COVID pandemic rages on and cons are even shutting down into 2021, it got me thinking on a drive home one night about how I'd feel with even coming back to blogging. When cons eventually do come back at some point. Truth be told, many of the posts and content I shared here could be transferred over to more discussions via my podcast CosplayBytes. I've been blogging my love for games, cons and cosplay for 7 years now and maybe it's time to say goodbye for now? My podcast has gotten me some incredible opportunities as a member of Press for conventions, and the rapid love I've had for streaming is also taking up a lot of time now. On top of multiple personal things on my end, I don't think I have the energy to keep this up even post COVID you know? The very first cosplay centered post I wrote was on Jessica Nigri's Deadpool, and since then it's spawned over 800 posts

Cosplay Showcase: Katsucon Cosplays!

Photo by Beethy Photography
Katsucon hit the area of Washington D.C. last month around this time and boy did I wish I had the ability to attend it. While there were some vendors located at the con itself, it's mainly a huge cosplay gathering where many photos are taken. This works along with the beautiful scenery of the Gaylord Hotel which served as the venue for the con itself. Notable locations within the area include the Gazebo which can definitely serve as an incredible background. Much like my write up on Dragon*Con, I scoured the Internet for all the photos I can find so here's your warning that this will be an extremely photo heavy post. I chose a total of 14 cosplayers who attended Katsucon with several photos spanning each of their cosplays they wore with the exception of 1 lovely lady. 

Basically I'll have a very brief mention of the cosplay itself and the way it was "roughly" made. There's also a definite chance that you'll see some of these cosplays again in their own solo Features so you'll get a more in-depth breakdown there. Trust me if I treated each cosplay I found like an individual write-up, you will see no end to the madness XD. Every one of these cosplays blew me away and I'm honestly intimidated as all hell since I feel that I can never accomplish what these cosplayers have made for Katsucon. I also fully know I didn't include some cosplayers that you probably expected me to show, trust me I meant no disrespect! I didn't want to make this crazy long as I've stated before. With that being said let's DO THIS THING! Also the cosplayers are presented in no particular order whatsoever :).

Photo by John Jiao Photography
Why don't we start with Lyz Brickley? For the convention, Lyz created a Warrior version of Fluttershy from My Little Pony as part of a massive  cosplay group consisting of other characters dressed in a similar manner. Involved in this group were also cosplayers Chubear Cosplay and Joanna Mari (who I'll get to down below in a bit!). Out of all the girls, I find that Fluttershy's design fits her the best. While there's very little on it's incredibly elegant and soft much like the character's nature. I get a sense that Fluttershy herself would be majorly shy in that outfit.

Lyz also wore Asuka's Plugsuit from the anime Evangelion and the bodysuit is worn by her very well. I also love the wig she's wearing for it. Casey Anne Cosplay certainly had a huge weekend full of both cosplay groups and creating her dream cosplay as well. Casey wore her Koga cosplay alongside both her sister, Destiny Nickelsen and her sister as an Inuyasha group. Casey has stated multiple times that Inuyasha was her first anime love so she was more than happy to be able to cosplay from it. The fangs were a super nice touch to the cosplay. Casey also made an Umbreon Bunny Suit as part of a Eeveelution Playboy Bunny group with Destiny and her sister as well as Stella Chuu and a handful of others.

Photo by View Beyond Sight Photography
Yea it also seems like one main theme to this con was ALL THE EEVEELUTIONS 0_0. Casey's Umbreon looks incredibly cute and I'm more than looking forward to seeing more photos of the group entirely. Lastly, she tackled her dream cosplay of Yuna's original garb from Final Fantasy 10 which is one game near and dear to her heart. As someone who accomplished a "dream cosplay" I can understand the amount of happiness she felt with having it done. Seriously look at how beautiful she looks ;_; yea I'm totally in love with it. Would love to be in a group cosplay with her one day. The fabric is gorgeous and Casey nailed every single part of it. The staff looks awesome as well!

Negative Stacey was also there and she wore both her Poison and Roxy. I've pretty much gushed on how perfect Stacey is as both of these girls before so the photos taken were especially on the sexy side. THOSE BACK SHOTS HNNGGG. In addition, Stacey wore her Slay Belle Katarina which is all sorts of Christmasy and I loved it! The blades look like they were made with Gingerbread cookies (no not really but how awesome would that be), and she did a fantastic job on it overall. Hoping to find more shots of it as more time passes on!

Photo by Eminence Rain

Photo by Eminence Rain
Ely Renae who I featured not too long ago with her female Ganondorf also attended with the mentioned cosplay. She also made a Steampunk version of Jinx from League of Legends. What I love about this cosplay is mainly the steampunk elements such as the bullet straps going across her corset and the classy black top hat with a pink bow. Jinx's signature gun looks absolutely massive and has that industrial look with all the metal plating as well as the rust colors. 

The boots look absolutely awesome with the pink lines traveling throughout them. The frilly back part is also a great touch. The photos Ely got of her Ganondorf make her look super menacing and powerful. The scenery works so well you guys! 

Byndo Gehk practically slaved over her new Diablo 3 Firebird Wizard cosplay and I loved how it turned out. She manages to look so beautiful in pretty much every single one of her cosplays. The red is vibrant in both her armor and cape. I LOVE the helmet she's wearing too and the orb Byndo is holding gets enhanced thanks to some photo editing in some of the pictures shown. Byndo also wore her Shy Girl cosplay and Toothless gijinka from How to Train your Dragon. Both of these cosplays show off her ridiculously cute side. I miss her tons you guys ;_;.

Photo by John Jiao Photography
Lindsay Elyse made a last minute effort to attend Katsucon and worked heavily on the Snowstorm Sivir skin from League of Legends. The giant snowflake ninja stars look so awesome and the combination of armor and snow suited clothing pieces (the hood stands out here) work well with each other. I love the armguards she's wearing along with the shoulder pieces! In addition to Sivir, Lindsay brought along her Elsa which she has a huge love for. The blue dress is absolutely beautiful and the wig is incredibly spot on. The editing in some of the pictures make the cosplay ever more realistic! 

You guys still with me? Good! Getting back to Destiny Nickelsen for a second, she wore her Inuyasha cosplay as part of the group I mentioned above with Casey Anne. For the Eeveelution Bunny goup, Destiny portrayed Sylveon with her sister wearing Glaceon. The amount of cuteness Destiny has in these cosplays is too damn high! She also brought along her Red Queen Sakizou cosplay is definitely jaw dropping! I initially thought I had seen the cosplay before but just got it mixed up with her Vivienne cosplay she wore at RI Comic Con 2 years ago (similar in design, that being giant gowns!). The amount of work put into that cosplay is insane and I feel like Destiny had many sleepless nights in working on it! 

Photo by Daivd Ngo

Photo by Martin Wong
Jaycee Cosplay was definitely someone I had my eye on after the many teaser pictures she posted in making her cosplays. All of which were Pokemon Gijinka related. Jaycee had her Shaymin cosplay remade and it looks more like she's some kind of shrine maiden for gardening. I love it so much that it's currently my background on my laptop! The white body suit with the corset on top looks very attractive to me in all honesty. To the right, you can also see her Queen Glaceon cosplay and it looks exactly as you might expect it to be. The gown is gorgeous beyond words and I'm especially in love with the blue wig and ears on the crown. Hint hint this is getting a feature of it's own <3. 

The staff with Glaceon's head looks absolutely incredible and so well made! Unfortunately Jaycee was unable to bring her Ampharos gijinka so her Jolteon made a comeback return. I've featured that outfit before but let's just say the picture I found is more so on the attractive end for you guys ;). Glaceon and Jolteon may be my all time favorites of Jaycee's! 

Lisa Lou Who managed to attend Katsucon only for one day but that didn't stop her from creating something SO INCREDIBLE :O. For that Friday, Lisa wore her own design of Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender. This concept imagines Azula as a full fledged Firelord and I just can't take my eyes off the cosplay. Look at the dragon etched into the drape extending downward! Lisa's wig is also spot on. Topped off with the ceremonial crown, Lisa looks ever so majestic if not also menacing considering Azula is insane. For Friday night, Lisa created a simple pin-up style dress around Ryuko's Senketsu from Kill La Kill!

Photo by Cozpho Photography
One of my best cosplay friends Marie Grey debuted her long worked on Anya Stroud from Gears of War! She tried out a completely new material to work with in forming the armor pieces. I love how it turned out even if she knows what needs to be fixed to make it even better. The cog armor has an awesome paint job and definitely looks like it's been through some rough fights against the Locust. The gun is the official lancer replica when the second game launched and it looks badass beyond all reason!

Jessica Nigri went all out and I mean ALL OUT for Katsucon. She went the crazy route and created all 9 Eeveelutions each with a distinct style. As of now only Glaceon, Leafeon, Flareon, Sylveon and Eevee got some shots along with Umbreon who was debuted back at Blizzcon last year. I won't focus on these since they're getting their own massive feature once all of them have photos. However Jessica didn't stop there and decided why not make a full Death Knight armor set from World of Warcraft. She wore this alongside Ryan Brandt Cosplay and I just...Jessica I really hope you take a well deserved rest from this <3. The amount of work eventually prompted her to get hep from all her friends with the armor making and paint jobs. Plus IT LIGHTS UP :O. So proud of you Jessica!!

Photo by SF Desgin

Danielle Beaulieu who I will be featuring soon wore her Fiddlesticks cosplay from League of Legends (that game seriously is cosplay heaven for most people), and the shots taken of it look awesome! Danielle definitely wears it well even if it apparently started out as a joke cosplay from haters stating she should do it XD. She also wore her Kim Possible cosplay which while being simple, works because Danielle in my opinion has a very strong resemblance to her!

Joanna Mari Cosplay took part in the My Little Pony Warrior group as Twilight Sparkle. Can I just get this out of the way and say how beautiful it looks? From the wig to the armor, Joanna knocked it out of the park with the paint job. All various shades and combinations of purple and pink. The arm guards look so cool as does the staff with the mace ball on top. In addition to Twilight Sparkle, Joanna wore her Zero Suit Samus cosplay which looks spot on. She even tried to add in her Jet Heel Boots worn in the recent Smash Bros game but has expressed a desire to remake them. The poses look so cool as well!

Photo by Martin Wong

Photo by Martin Wong
Last but not least, Yaya Han attended Katsucon complete with 2 new cosplays in addition to wearing her Heartseeker Ashe which I've featured before. Also from League of Legends, Yaya made Warring Kingdoms Katarina which has that sleek style and look from the jacket to the blades. She also got in on the Diablo 3 love and created a Wizard class concept. I have to say that it looks especially beautiful and badass. The edit done by Martin Wong is practically one of my favorites as I love how fierce Yaya looks with the purple lightning coming out of her hands. Worbla and foam seem to be the main materials used for most of Yaya's cosplays and as such she doesn't disappoint! 

I covered about 13 cosplayers for you guys so from here on out it's just pictures showing each of the outfits I discussed! Do you guys have a personal favorite cosplay? I'd love to know down in the comments! I also included a link to each of the cosplayer's Facebook Page so you can check them out! I truly hope you guys enjoy all the pictures!






Photo by Martin Wong
Photo by Obscura Vision
Photo by Destiny Nickelsen 

Photo by James Andreoli
Photo by Martin Wong
Photo by Jason Chau Photography
Photo by Coolsteel27 Photography

Photo by David Ngo
Photo by Anna Cosplay Photography
Photo by Valderana Photography 
Photo by AshB Images

Photo by Cyberhead Designs 
Photo by David Ngo
Photo by John Jiao Photography
Photo by David Ngo
Photo by James Andreoli
Still from MLZ Studios
Photo by Martin Wong
Photo by John Jiao Photography 
Photo by Martin Wong
Photo by David Ngo
Photo by Cyberhead Designs 
Photo by Sweet Sensation Photography
Photo by WhiteDesertSun
I want to also thank all the photographers that attended Katsucon and took these incredible photos! You all have a unique style bringing to each shot and it shows! Here are the Facebook Pages guys!

Byndo Gehk:
https://www.facebook.com/genderbynder
Casey Anne Cosplay:
https://www.facebook.com/CaseyAnneCosplay
Danielle Beaulieu:
https://www.facebook.com/Daniellecosplay
Destiny Nickelsen:
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDestinyNickelsen
Ely Renae:
https://www.facebook.com/ElyRenae
Jaycee Cosplay:
https://www.facebook.com/Alissa.Jess.Cosplays
Jessica Nigri:
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJessicaNigri
Joanna Mari:
https://www.facebook.com/joannamaricosplay
Lindsay Elyse:
https://www.facebook.com/LindsayElyseFanpage
Lisa Lou Who:
https://www.facebook.com/LisaLouWhoCosplay
Lyz Brickley:
https://www.facebook.com/LyzBrickleyCosplay
Marie Grey:
https://www.facebook.com/MarieGreyCosplay
Negative Stacey:
https://www.facebook.com/NegativeStacey
Yaya Han:
https://www.facebook.com/yayacosplay

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