MetroCon 2021: Cosplay, Dancing, & Coming Home Again

I am SO EXCITED to share all the fun and pretties with you from Metro last weekend, bots, but first, quick moment of realness: I'm concerned about con season this year. Especially here in Florida and Georgia. As of today John and I don't know if we'll be attending the rest of the conventions on our schedule, which has us pretty torn up. We want to be smart and safe and protect our loved ones, so just know if we do attend any more cons this year, it will be with every possible precaution.

I'm also happy to report that Metro felt safe. They required vaccination cards for anyone who didn't want to wear a mask, so the bare faces in the crowd were actually nice to see. Plus I know some - perhaps many? - of the mask-wearers were vaccinated but chose to wear masks anyway, like our group.

All that said, let's jump in to some happy:



Here's a compilation of all my Stories from the weekend, a few have loud music near the middle, so watch your volume. If you're on a desktop hit the fullscreen option so it's not so tiny.

(That incredible mushroom fairy at the end is @aundi_lanea, and I was *this close* to going Awkward Fangirl and asking her to be friends with me. :p)

In addition to shopping and dancing and just taking it all in, John and I also brought our trusty flash rig out for a few hours, so prepare for some PRETTIES. Woot woot!

Let's start with the incredible cosplayer I ended my Stories with, Duy Truong:

Duy always blows us away; he specializes in DRAMA and making jaws drop. I couldn't light the whole skirt with the flash, so go back to my video to see just how enormous it really is.

Look at all the details on the jacket. Look at them:

::swoon::

I almost tossed this next photo, but the more I looked at it, the more it became my favorite:

There's something about the stream of people in the background ignoring us that feels so surreal, and the visible flash gives it a behind-the-scenes vibe. I dig it.

There's a lot of Lolita fashion at Metro, and I'm a fan. Give me all the ruffles and sweet pastels!

Stunning.

And here's a Lolita Diva from Overwatch:

So cute!

I found an Ash from Overwatch, too:



Er, don't expect me to name all of these characters, though. Metro always reminds me I need to watch a lot more anime.

Feel free to tell me who I'm missing in the comments - and while you're at it, tell me if I should watch the shows they're from. (I just started My Hero Academia again; I've only seen the first season, but really like it. Hoping to get John to watch with me now that I'm starting over.)

Raven and Beast Boy from Teen Titans:

I always chase colorful makeup when we have the flash out; the colors practically GLOW in this light. That's actually with the green toned down on Beast Boy.


Do you read Lore Olympus? It's a webcomic that Google tells me is about to become a graphic novel, sweet!

Google also tells me this is Persephone, Thetis, & Minthe - and is it just me, or does Minthe TOTALLY look like Jennifer Aniston?

Had to get close-ups of all three:

Also let me apologize, ladies, for calling you by your colors instead of your names. I try to know character names, but I've been slacking lately.

(Cosplayers: @MeghanShort & @polychromaticos)

If you remember my black-out photography from Before you know I usually paint out the backgrounds completely, but this round I erred towards leaving more in. I kind of like a shadowy suggestion of the background; it reminds you we're not in a portrait studio.



::blank stare::

Well I know it's Star Wars. Anyone want to tell me if there's a canon Hyena character?


Another thing I love about cosplayers; they're FAST. So happy I found a Loki from Loki (heh), check out the perfectly raised eyebrow:

I immediately yelled, "YAAAS! THE SMIRK!" and we both cracked up. Good times.

Then I spotted a Sylvie!

So good.

I think I had a picture of this character in my Story video, too, but the colors are vastly better with flash:



Trying to keep myself together over here, but y'all, I'm so happy to be sharing cosplay pics again. This is the closest I get to feeling like an artist, and I've missed the whole process, from chasing to editing.


I mean, come on. Look at those colors, the details, the shading!


Fire Lord Zuko from Avatar, The Last Airbender:

Then I found a younger Zuko with Mai and Zuko's sister Azula:

(Azula: @tsukiemblem)

Several cosplayers incorporated masks, including my friend (& FOE) Traci here as Astrid from How To Train Your Dragon:

Check out the matching metal studs in her mask. NICE.

One more, 'cuz she looks super badass:

We caught these next cosplayers coming out of the food line, but they happily put down their snacks and busted out the BEST pose for me:

Jester and Veth from Critical Role! And Veth is wearing button bracers. EEEEE! Veth is a halfling who used to be a goblin who collected buttons, so not only is this a great callback, she even stooped down to be halfling height. LOVE.

This Aziraphale from Good Omens has wings that open/close! You can just see the ring on their finger; there are two cords that lift the wings.


No idea on the character, but soooo adorable.


Pretty sure this is a take on the evil queen from Snow White, but Google has failed me:



Her crown has a knife through a heart, and the dress and underdress are just stunning:



And while we're talking Characters Jen Doesn't Know, here's another one:

SO COOL.

Back to ones I recognize with Princess Peach from Mario Brothers, geisha style:

Her wig was perfect. The dangling flowers!

 Zombie Cap, 'cuz why not:

Usually pics with outstretched hands don't turn out, but I like how his hand is in shadow with the light on his face. Nice and creepy, aw yeah.

Then here's his brother as Spider-Man:

It is SO FUN when cosplayers give me dynamic moves like this.

Which reminds me:

My back hurt just watching her do this. She dropped super low, too!

Back to superheroes with Captain Carter:

Yaaaaaassss.

And Scarlet Witch:

With another excellent smirk.

I have more I didn't post here, so check out my MetroCon Flickr album for the rest. Cosplayers, as always feel free to download & re-post my photos of you: I do all this for free and for fun. Also tell me in the comments if you'd like me to tag/link to you!

I'll leave you with one last pic of our personal posse. That's Arielle, Traci, and Bianca behind John, and I highly recommend being friends with all of them. A++ would drag around a convention floor again.

Also can my man pose for a photo with flashes or what.


Love y'all to squishy pieces, go be weird this weekend, k?

::MWAH::

*****


P.S. If you like the silly stuff I do and capture here on Epbot and want to help fund the fun, you can support me through Paypal! Whether it's a one time tip or a monthly donation, every little bit helps me and John keep pouring our time and hearts into this little corner of the internet - so THANK YOU.