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Riding on the excitement from Anime Expo this weekend, I kind of wanted to talk a little bit about the fandom experience. I’ve touched on the subject a little bit before in a general sense (see: Why I Cosplay), but I think it’s important to share the feeling of having what I call a “fandom family”.

If you’re not in the cosplay scene, and/or are otherwise unfamiliar with the term, a fandom is a group of people (aka nerds) who are all interested in the same thing. Game of Thrones fans, Star Trek fans, etc. are all fandoms. These can be huge fanbases like the aforementioned, or all the way down to the most obscure, niche thing you just happened to find on the internet and show your friend. If you’re part of a group that likes a thing, congratulations: you’ve joined a fandom.

I’m in a lot of different fandoms, and each of them have their own unique vibe from the people in it. It was a bit of a culture shock going to a comic book convention after having exclusively attended anime cons for a couple years; the energy in the hall was completely different. Some fandoms are loud and boisterous, others more laid back. Every fandom basically has its own dynamic and culture, and not all are created equal.

Fandom families are what I call it when you join a fandom and it just… Clicks. You really start to feel like not just a group of people that like a thing, but people who have bonded and developed friendships. Your fandom family are the people you miss after the con ends, the ones who develop nicknames and inside jokes, who burn cupcakes in your oven and who your cat probably loves more than she loves you.

My first fandom family was the Hetalia fandom. I’ve known some of my Hetalia friends for almost 10 years now; they only knew me as Hungary when we first met, but a lot of us have gotten to be super close personal friends. The other day, I saw a post I made on Facebook just after I met my cosplay husband eight years ago (love you honey <3 ). I had no idea back in 2011 that all the people I’d met then would end up becoming so incredibly important to me. In cosplay or out, these are people who have become a regular fixture in my life. Even when I started branching out and cosplaying other fandoms, I always found myself migrating back to the Hetalians’ domain at the end of the day; years later, going to a Hetalia gathering still feels like coming home.

As I said, not all fandoms are created equal. I’ve made friends and had good times with all the fandoms that I’ve been in, but most are not what I would consider a fandom family for me. That’s not to say I disliked any of them, on the contrary; I love each and every one of my fandoms, and have represented all of them with pride. It’s just that I didn’t feel whatever it was that kept drawing me home to Hetalia, and for the longest time I assumed it was the nostalgia for my first fandom. There was just something special that made it stand out, and I couldn’t even figure out what it was.

As I sat at another fandom’s gathering recently, I took a second to look around. There were perhaps a couple faces I recognized from here and there, but the only person I really knew was the friend I had come with. When I joined that particular fandom, I remember more of my Hetalia friends had been into it, but they had long since migrated to other things. I came to realize that while I liked the fandom and the media it was based on, it lacked the connection I had felt with my Hetalia friends. I had fun, but it wasn’t a fandom family.

Now, who wants to take a wild guess as to what my newest fandom family is? Drum roll, please……………….

If you guessed Castlevania, you are 100% correct. Gold stars all around ! I was honestly a bit intimidated stepping into the Castlevania fandom. Everywhere else I’d been, I had either my main circle with me or overlap from the Hetalians. I was the first of my friends to stumble across this franchise, and didn’t know what to expect from the fanbase. As I fell in love with Alucard and began work on his cosplay, I prayed that the fandom would be kind; I didn’t want to be called a “fake fan” for not having played the games (gatekeeping is bullshit by the way, let people enjoy things), and I was afraid of the fandom being super elitist or something.

Boy, was I worried for nothing. I’ve only been cosplaying Alucard for a year now, and already I can feel the unmistakable pull of another fandom family. These are my people, no doubt about it. From the minute I stepped out in Alucard’s costume, I’ve received nothing but love from all the new friends I’ve made here. Castlevania came to me during a really hard time (not going into the story again, as you’ve all probably heard it by now), and I was honestly stunned when I had people who had only just met me say “hey, I’m here if you need someone.” I’m fortunate to have a huge circle of support from family and friends around me, and it makes me so happy to see that circle ever growing.

And that’s what fandom family means to me; we’re not just a collection of geeks who like the same nerdy thing. A fandom family are the ones who stand apart from the crowd trying to force their way through the artist alley. They’re the ones who cry with you when the escalator eats your costume, the people almost as excited about hosting your first gathering as you are, and whose arms you run into yelling “MOMMYYYYY!!” the minute you see them.

If you’ve never had a fandom family, you are missing out. It’s really hard to describe accurately the love I have for these people. It’s a bond that goes deeper than simply “hey, we like x thing!” It’s knowing that even if you’re dressed like dorks and crammed like sardines into a convention hall, these people care. They’re with you through the highs and lows, and they make your life and your fandom experience richer. It may be a different fandom for everybody, but once you find it, you’ll know. And if you’ve found a fandom family, hang on to them; I know I will.

Also just a note: this isn’t a comprehensive list of everyone in my fandom family! For some reason I don’t have pictures of everyone.

The post On Fandom Families appeared first on Jennifer Lidikay.

Hetalia sparked a love of history in me; two episodes featured the War of Austrian Succession, and Austria’s leader at the time, Maria Theresa. Now, I’m not going to go into a history rant (because believe me, I won’t stop), but if you feel like taking the time to read up on her, you won’t be disappointed; she’s one of my favorite historical figures, because she is BADASS. Anyway, I’m here to talk about cosplay, so let’s get right to it!

The Costume

I did a lot of sewing for my friends between making Hungary and Maria Theresa (you can see some of them in the video from the first Cosplay Highlights), but this was my first really ambitious costume. I designed it myself, taking inspiration from not only her appearance in Hetalia, but from actual paintings of her. My favorite is one by Andreas Møller around the time she was 11, although I looked at quite a few portraits and took pieces from here and there.

Everything about this costume was an adventure, because I had no experience actually making period costumes before this. Still in the height of my shiny fabric obsession, I bought a light blue satin at the fashion district and used a gold lamé fabric that I think someone had given me at some point. The cape is made from a thin crushed velvet also from the fashion district.

The real eyecatching part of Maria’s costume is all the trim; there’s five different kinds in total. The beaded netting on the bottom of the skirt’s outer layer is the same fabric as the center of the bodice. I didn’t get enough of the white beaded trim on the under layer, but no one has ever noticed the gap in the back! On the other hand, I STILL have a ton of the gold an white lace that adorns the very bottom of the hem and the edges of the sleeves; it came in a huge bulk bag that I underestimated the quantity of. Another white lace is along the neckline of the cape. I think my favorite, however, is the gold bead trim that runs up the length of the skirt on the front. All of the trim was sewn on by hand, and I swear I thought I would never be done… I’ve never had a lot of patience, especially when it comes to hand sewing.

This costume was my first foray into patterning anything myself. While the majority of it was cobbled together from about 3 different commercial patterns, I did the cape and the first version of the bodice. I say first version, because I actually changed some things after my first time using the costume. Initially, I had it lace up the front, and I made a triangular piece (affectionately nicknamed the Dorito) to cover up the laces. I later scrapped the Dorito, instead favoring a back zipper because the front just looked too bulky the way I originally made it.

Everything is attached by snaps; I was intimidated by the fact that this was my first heavy cosplay, so it’s all separate pieces. The skirt snaps onto the bodice at the waistband, and the cape snaps on at the shoulders. That’s actually one reason for the roses I put on the front: it’s not only a nod to the Møller painting, but they hide the point where the cape attaches to the dress.

Maria’s accessories came from all over, a lot I bought online. Above all else, I wanted to make sure I had a fan: with how hot it gets at Anime Expo, I knew I was going to die. It may only provide marginal relief from the heat, but I wanted whatever I could get. Plus, it makes a nice prop for photos! Her shoes came from David’s Bridal, after a looong search trying to find ones I liked. They may not be period accurate, but they were reasonably priced, and I could get them dyed to match my dress for free. The crown I used for her was one I bought at the Renaissance Faire in middle school, and first used as Queen Elizabeth I during my school’s “History Day”. Again not period accurate, but it matched the floral details that I wanted to highlight.

Now, Her wig gets its own paragraph. It’s a generic wig that I bought online, but this wig is a trooper. Of all the times I’ve worn it, for multiple cosplays, I have never had to replace it. I’ve styled it up, down, and all over, and 6 years later there’s hardly any frizz or shedding at all. I find that generic wigs can be very hit or miss, but this one has stood up better than some name brand wigs I’ve owned. Of course, being so long ago I can’t find it again, but I have never been more impressed with a generic wig.

The Experience

Debuting Maria Theresa was overwhelming. I’m lucky I had one of my best friends with me, cosplaying Frederick the Great. (Anyone notice our matching trim?) For some reason, we have a habit of picking characters who hate each other or have some sort of rivalry going on… But that’s beside the point. We weren’t entirely prepared by how much attention we would get with big costumes; it took us HALF AN HOUR just to cross the convention center lobby, and while I am flattered by such attention, the end of the day had us finding any route we could to avoid the lobby, just to be able to get anywhere on time.

It. Was. HOT. I knew what I was getting into, but I just about melted, especially with Anime Expo having moved all of their cosplay gathering sites outdoors. Despite my best efforts to use lightweight fabrics, to try and make the heat and the weight tolerable, it was still… So… HOT. However, it did provide a learning experience; I still carried a con bag, and found it very easy to stow things underneath my enormous skirt whenever we got stopped for photos. At one point, I considered sewing pockets into my hoop skirt to be able to store things, but then I realized I’d have to reach UP my skirt for anything throughout the day… Not very ladylike, right?

Another issue I quickly found was that people stepped on me SO MUCH. As Hungary, I never had a problem being stepped on unless I was sitting or laying down somewhere, and even then, it was nothing like the hell Maria went through. I tried to keep from taking up an obscene amount of space, I really did. My hem barely skimmed the floor, and I shortened her cape from the long coronation style from the anime. I knew it would be a problem, and I tried my best to stop it. But as I quickly found out, it did absolutely no good. By the end of the con, I had pieces of lace that needed replacing, and a whole section at the side of my skirt where it had been torn from the waistband. All because it had been stepped on by me, my friends, and everyone else in attendance.

Also a new experience was being mistaken for other characters… A LOT. I can’t tell you how many times I got called Cinderella, or had people assume I was just “a princess”. Even among the Hetalians, a disappointing number of people thought I was a female version of France (although I did use the wig for fem France eventually… Off topic). Even so, it made all the sweeter when someone DID recognize us. I distinctly remember finding a full group of Austrian Succession cosplayers once, and I swear I didn’t ever want to let them go. My babiiiiieeeeesssss!!! Sorry, my fangirl is starting to show, isn’t it?

Even despite the general populace not knowing who I was, it felt amazing to be Maria Theresa. I felt regal, I felt powerful, and I only hope I did justice to the great woman she was. I got so obsessed with Austrian history, especially the Habsburgs, I had to learn everything about her. My friend and I even went to Vienna in 2017, and I’m certain by the end of our week and a half trip she was tired of hearing me babbling like the rabid fangirl I am. And no, I didn’t take my costume to Europe with me… I didn’t want anyone to think I was trying to make fun, and I certainly did NOT want to wrestle a hoop skirt into my luggage.

The Future

I haven’t worn Maria Theresa in quite some time. As I said in my first Cosplay Highlights, it’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to do anything Hetalia related. That’s not to say I’ve left the fandom or given up on cosplaying her, it’s just that it’s a fandom on the back burner for now.

For a while, I’ve actually toyed with the idea of completely remaking this one. My skills have improved greatly since 2013, and it’s always been in the back of my mind that I could do it better, more period accurate. I know so much more now, and I feel like it would be interesting to just physically see the improvement. Like how artists take a piece they did years ago and redraw them.

The main obstacle to doing that, however, is time and money. It was an expensive enough project the first time, and if I expect to use higher quality materials, it would be a lot of resources committed that I just don’t have right now. On top of that, I would want to be able to wear it out; I don’t have any events on the horizon for her, and I don’t want to commit to doing it if she’s just going to sit in my closet. Maybe someday, but for now that’s just wishful thinking.

What do you guys think? Would you be interested in seeing a new and improved version of this one?

The post Cosplay Highlights: Maria Theresa appeared first on Jennifer Lidikay.

So yesterday, the school was doing CAHSEE testing (that stands for California High School Exit Exam). All the sophomores have to take it, and they can’t graduate if they don’t pass it by the end of their senior year.I, being a senior, didn’t have to take it. But when I got to school, my classroom was still being used for the test. So I had to spend an entire hour sitting in the vice principal’s office (which I don’t think she likes me very much). I was supposed to be doing said ten chapters of work, but I wasn’t. I was flipping through the index of my book, looking for stuff that was referenced in Hetalia (Prussia, Liechtenstein, etc.) And I nearly cried.

The book had NOTHING about Maria Theresa, The war of Austrian Succession, Liechtenstein, Sealand (although I didn’t really expect there to be anything on him), Nothing about Russia besides the Cold War, and what side he fought on for ww2. There was BARELY ANYTHING about Prussia at all, it certainly didn’t cover the fact that he was dissolved by the Allies. It had barely anything about the Austro-Hungarian empire, or its collapse, nothing about Germania other than referencing “Germanic invaders” as contributing to the fall of Rome.

For all you people that say “Hetalia doesn’t teach you anything accurate”, I say…

IT’S BETTER THAN RELYING ON THAT SORRY EXCUSE OF A HISTORY TEXTBOOK THAT HAS MORE HOLES THAN A BLOCK OF SWISS CHEESE

The post To the People who think Hetalia Isn’t Educational appeared first on Jennifer Lidikay.