“Game of Thrones was a big deal for our Youtube channel [The Normies],” Chris Johnson (Grey Worm) told me, “so this year was kind of like the year where we were like, ‘We’ve got to go to Con of Thrones’.” The YouTube channel, which started as a group of friends posting reaction videos — originally to Game of Thrones episodes, now a wide range of TV shows, trailers, and more — now also includes skits, podcasts, and other content. In addition to attending the convention, the eight Normies who came figured they ought to dress up as well. “If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly,” Navi Kaur (Nymeria Sand) added.
All first-time cosplayers, their costumes were all an eclectic mix of homemade and storebought. Navi bought a dress and then sewed the leather on the bodice; Chris had his three-headed dragon pin 3D printed and secured it to his leather armor with magnets. Markéta Růžičková (Daenerys) had her dress custom-made — “I’m not that skilled,” she said — but crafted a proper replica of the dragon queen’s complex braids. As she didn’t have a mannequin head, she had to enlist others to the cause. “I was just like, ‘Hey, can I borrow your head for an hour?’ I asked like six of my friends. It took a long time.”
As more than one cosplayer commented in good but sweaty humor, the compatibility between Game of Thrones cosplaying and Nashville in July is somewhat questionable. However, Heather and David beat the heat, ironically enough, by going as White Walkers, complete with undead ice-blue color contacts that were quite genuinely unsettling to look at. For Heather, it was her third time cosplaying, and for David, who completed his look with white walking shoes for admirably intentional pun reasons, it was a new experience.
Heather was the one in charge of their impressive full-face makeup. “We did a couple of test runs, just to get the timing down,” she said. “I’ve dabbled in art, so I just played around a lot.”
Brooke (@starlinecosplay) and Lexi (@westbergcosplay) have been cosplaying for about six years now. They started with The Avengers and have since jumped around across several fandoms. “But the past year it’s been Game of Thrones,” Lexi added.
Brooke made both of their costumes. “I grew up making quilts, so I knew how to sew. But a lot of it I learned for cosplay,” she said. She also made Arya’s weapons. “The catspaw dagger is a super cast resin handle that I hand-carved, and the blade is thermoplastic — Worbla. The same with Needle.” In the end, Lexi’s Arya costume took about three months total to make, three times longer than it took her to make her own Daenerys outfit.
Marco has been cosplaying across a wide range of fandoms for over 35 years and runs MZ Cosplay and Workshop. He also teaches cosplay at a local school. “People go, ‘You’re teaching cosplay?!’ and the classes are packed! I mean, it makes me laugh.” He made the entirety of his Oberyn Martell costume himself, including his props.
Related Topics: Con of Thrones, Cosplay, Fandom, Game of Thrones
