Heroes of Cosplay (2013) s01e12 Episode Script

1 Male narrator: Previously on Heroes of Cosplay That's pretty intense.
Her name is Enira.
She is called The Banshee Queen.
In my entire 15 years of cosplaying, I have never ever built a costume around stilts.
What if I fall? I have no idea what I'm doing.
[Bleep.]
.
You love Guillermo Del Toro, right? - I do.
- I do.
So why don't we do Peter Pan in the style of Guillermo Del Toro? Like Peter Pan's labyrinth.
Like - Oh, my God.
- That'd be awesome.
You know there's a skit required, right? Required? I don't know how serious she's taking this.
I think, like, the idea of a skit is, like, props and background.
We don't have time for that.
Narrator: And tonight I'm shaking.
I'm just shaking.
I feel like I'm in a war with this costume.
If I don't finish my costume, you guys will compete without me.
I'm not gonna let Katie drop out of the group.
There's this phenomenon called Katie time.
Yaya Han! [Cheers and applause.]
No, no.
Hello? I'm not ready.
This is a fricking nightmare.
Oh, my God.
[Cheers and applause.]
Behold Odin the Allfather! The competition's seriously stiff.
Here we go.
Here we go.
I got the shakes.
I got the shakes.
Shake, shake, shake.
[Upbeat electronic music.]
Narrator: Our Heroes of Cosplay are in New Orleans for Wizard World comic con, one of the biggest pop culture events on the convention tour.
More than 50,000 fans have arrived, and nearly 3,000 turned out for the individual contest on opening day.
The cosplayers of New Orleans have really brought their "A" game.
Narrator: Jesse and Miguel took home top prizes I was able to show I know what I'm doing, and I'm the boss right now.
Here's Haunt.
Narrator: While Carl was left empty-handed.
I did amazing.
They did amazing, and I can't wait to compete with them again.
From here just onward to bigger and better things.
Narrator: It's day two at Wizard World comic con and the morning of the big group skit competition.
Hi.
Narrator: Team Atlanta is just arriving, and they are far from finished with their costumes from the Soulcalibur video game.
First things first.
I've brought the one thing I hate bringing to conventions, a sewing machine.
Oh, my gosh.
You brought your sewing machine? Oh, yeah.
Don't have a costume yet, so Sophitia is a kind of bad-ass gladiator woman.
The convention is only hours away, and I still have no dress, no sandals, pretty much no costume.
I'm doing Tira from Soulcalibur IV.
Tira has this, like, giant I call it the hula-hoop of death ring blade.
I just have to finish my blade.
I know Indra has a little bit left, but we really need to make sure Katie gets her costume done, because I don't want to go onstage without her.
At least my stuff didn't get crushed.
Yeah, it held up well.
Hilde is so strong and beautiful, and I have all these elements that I have to do.
I have to do all these armor pieces.
I have to weather them.
I have to make them look like they're all, like, Battle Maiden.
It's a lot.
So how much do you have left, Indra? I just need to paint this thing, and I need to cut my wig.
How about you, Katie? Well, I'm working on the belt, and after I get the belt done, I'll be in a much better place.
I'm gonna sew up until the last minute, but please don't hate me forever if I don't get it done.
Too late.
Already do.
Oh.
I love competing as a group, but I hate being that one member who lets everybody down.
I'm just worried I'm going to ruin you guys' chance to win, like, a nice award, 'cause your costumes are so awesome.
We are working on the costumes, and Katie is really feeling the pressure from trying to have this done in time.
I'm putting my foot down.
If I don't finish my costume, it is it is not acceptable.
You guys will compete without me.
I don't know.
It just it bothers me a little to enter and you're not entering with us.
Yeah.
And we've all worked really hard on these costumes.
I agree with that.
I'm gonna do my best, guys, but if you have to go onstage without me Shh.
[Laughs.]
Narrator: It's 9:00 A.
M.
And just nine hours until the competition.
Yaya, still exhausted from barely finishing her judging costume on time, has braved through an all-nighter to try to finish the second one she'll be wearing when hosting the group contest: Enira, The Banshee Queen.
- Damn it.
- What you working on, boo? Oh, my God, honey.
I'm so tired.
I am incredibly stressed and anxious about finishing this costume.
There are so many pieces that are so incredibly appealing and attractive to me but at the same time terrifying to create.
You can't do the show like this.
You cannot walk around in stilts with no rest at all.
Well, no, I I'm just I mean, this is ridiculous.
I have never rushed to finish a costume this much before.
I have never been down to the wire so much.
God, this is just such a [Bleep.]
ridiculous costume.
I'm like, "why the hell did I decide to do it?" I feel like I'm in a war with this Enira costume, and right now, I'm losing the battle.
- I'm shaking.
- I'm sorry.
I'm, like I can't even handle the scissors right.
I'm just shaking.
Narrator: By 10:00 A.
M.
, Chloe, Holly, and Jessica are feeling pretty good about progress on their costumes for the skit.
It's a unique concept they call Peter Pan's labyrinth.
We're going to do Peter Pan's labyrinth, which is a mash-up between Peter Pan and Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's labyrinth.
Guillermo Del Toro has a really dark, twisted style of art.
Wendy, who I will be playing, is a very innocent, ethereal sort of being.
Peter is going to be the scrappy little ghost boy who has basically been abandoned.
Hook is this very sort of Rococo Punk Evil gorgeously designed, elaborate costume.
Narrator: But the major concern is the props they are planning and their performance onstage for the skit.
It's the morning of the competition, and we're still not done.
We have snaps to sew on.
The headboard's not put together.
The owls aren't glued on, and we still have to get in our costumes and do makeup.
Oh, look at that.
Turn it turn it the other way.
Aw, it's perfect.
Narrator: Upstairs, Yaya has taken on the most challenging costume of her career, and she still has to master walking on stilts for the elaborate opening performance.
I think this is the way it goes, right? Yeah, I think that is correct.
Thank you.
Enira is a queen.
She is tall.
So why not tell the story? Why not give the audience a little taste of who these characters are? Narrator: But she is far behind on progress.
I've never ever in my entire life been this down to the wire.
The competition is tonight, and I'm in a hotel room with an unfinished costume.
It is humiliating.
I don't know how I'm gonna survive today.
Okay.
Whoa.
Oh, my God.
Right now I just want to get the costume on.
I don't really have the brain capacity to think about what I'm gonna do onstage.
This is the most complicated costume I've ever attempted, so I'm going to try to unveil it in a unique way.
It's gonna be awesome.
You're gonna be awesome.
- Okay.
- It's all gonna be good.
Narrator: Meanwhile, team Atlanta is working hard on their Soulcalibur costumes, but they've hardly had a moment to discuss their stage presentation.
So do you guys think in a few hours we'll just look at, like, some videos of what our characters do? Then we can, like, basically replicate that onstage.
- Yeah.
- I think that's a great idea.
I'm kind of freaking out a little bit about not having a skit.
Maybe it'll be something like you know, you do a victory pose.
You do your defeat pose.
- Riki and I decide we're going to do a walk -on instead of a skit because skits require a lot of time, and we just don't have that.
Narrator: Katie's main focus is finding a way to complete her costume.
Because I tried to do the challenging parts first, I actually ended up hurting myself.
I still don't even have a dress to put on my body.
I've still got so much left to do.
[Laughs.]
Like, a lot.
If I were to enter in a costume that was this incomplete, I would really bring the girls down in judging.
How long would it take you to make the belt? There's maybe three hours left in that belt.
So if we do the rest of the stuff and you can just focus on the belt, you would need three hours.
Oh, [Bleep.]
.
We basically have to change the whole fricking thing anyway.
We're going onstage whether or not we're ready.
I know she will try to be ready on time, but there's this phenomenon called Katie time.
[Cheers and applause.]
The beautiful Yaya Han! I feel amazing.
Let's rock this.
Narrator: It's just five hours until the start of the group skit competition.
Riki, Indra, and Katie strategize on a plan for their Soulcalibur group as time is running out.
How long would it take you to make the belt? There's maybe three hours left in that belt.
So if we do the rest of the stuff and you can just focus on the belt, you would need three hours.
Oh, [Bleep.]
.
Katie's really far behind.
It's just a ton of little tedious things that need to be done.
I just have to believe that she's going to get it done.
You never know how long something's going to take until you're doing it.
We'll try our very hardest, and if push comes to shove, then we'll figure it out.
I realize the reality is, I might not get done in time.
You got to trust that your teammates are gonna get their stuff done.
We're a team.
It's about coming together.
I want to help her.
I want to do anything I can to help her get her costume done.
If I get this costume done, it'll be a cosplay miracle.
Narrator: While the groups hunker down to prepare to compete, Miguel and Carl enjoy a much-needed break from the stress of last night's individual competition.
- To the end of a competition - I know, I'm glad it's over.
And the beginning of a new one.
I brought my "A" game to this con, and I really think that this was some of my best work.
Your Haunt,though the prosthetic work on that was disgusting.
- Oh.
- It was so good.
It was so clean.
It's weird competing against friends in a competition because you don't want to hurt their feelings.
Carl should have been up there onstage.
His costume was even better than mine.
What actually made you want to cosplay? I grew up a really geeky kid.
I wasn't anything.
So were you like the ugly duckling Oh, God.
That became a underwear model overnight? [Laughs.]
No,I I did get bullied quite a bit back in high school, but I got over it, and I joined a swim team.
I started doing muay thai and jujitsu.
I'm a man who pretends to be confident.
I put on a confident air about me.
There's no other way to do it.
How exactly and why did you get into cosplay? I'm a big ham.
Like, I like to show off, showboat.
Me too, but I do like it when friends that are closet nerds, they They come out? They come out of the closet.
[Laughs.]
They come out of the nerd closet, yeah.
They're like, "you like Naruto too?" - "Me too.
" - "Me too.
" When you lump me up to a bunch of cosplayers, I do stand out.
I'm about the fun.
You can't have fun, why do it? I think they bring good fabrication to the table.
I just want to see what they do with skit and acting.
Would you ever consider teaming up for another competition? - Yes, I would.
- Ah.
We can have the sewing aspect of Shazam, your prosthetic making.
Pretty much we could hit every base.
We would be quite the force.
Bro, let's do it.
Give me five.
Narrator: For team L.
A.
, with the competition just a few hours away, it isn't their Peter Pan's labyrinth costumes that have them concerned, it's their skit.
So they head out to quickly practice, but the weather isn't cooperating.
Jessica really wants to practice the skit in a park when it's raining.
Jessica, it's fricking raining.
- Do we have to do this right now? - [Laughs.]
Okay, let's just go under this tree.
- It'll be fine.
- All right.
So we're outside, and it's raining, and we're all getting wet.
And Jessica decides to climb a tree.
I'm a method actor, and I feel like this is exactly what Peter Pan would do.
Do not take me off my tree.
Yes, you climb the tree.
It is cold and wet.
It's raining.
Can we please I think we should play it to the music cues.
Okay.
The music cues are the most important things.
[Soft dramatic music playing.]
Okay, so this is, like, when I walk on.
I'm looking for my shadow at this point.
I walk from away I'll start out from back behind the headboard.
I'm gonna get the paddle.
When you hear that, that's when you wake up.
Okay.
We have a rough idea of what we're doing for the skit, and we have some music, but we don't even really know what the stage is gonna look like, so we kind of just have to wing it.
I start, like, going at you and, like, sword-ing you.
Where am I? Am I next to you? You're maybe behind me looking kind of, like, ooh, interested but scared.
The way that skits always work is that we think we know what we're doing, and then we get there, and then we basically have to change the whole fricking thing anyway.
So let's just I just want to make sure that we're not showing up with, you know, just an air mattress.
Yeah.
So we really have to nail those music cues.
I know Jessica is a bit of a perfectionist, and you know, a lot of times that leads to good things like competition wins, but we're going onstage whether or not we're ready.
We should get in costumes anyway.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Narrator: Back at the hotel, Yaya is finally ready to get into the Enira costume.
As a host, she must arrive early to the competition.
I can see you put a lot of work into this.
Hm, thank you.
I really did.
The Enira costume was the biggest goal I've ever set for myself, and I think I accomplished it.
What's next? Spiderweb skirt.
[Grunts.]
You're not gonna be able to fit through the door.
I will.
I have never put it on before, so I really need to put it on here, 'cause if anything goes wrong, I can fix it here.
Can you hold this for a second? Tassels let me get these out of the way.
- Yeah.
- Are you keeping these? I don't know.
I don't know if I like them.
It's looks like they're knotted here.
I don't know what the hell happened.
[Laughs.]
You know what? I'm just gonna cut it off.
Yeah, I don't have time to deal with this.
I'm gonna cut these off.
So much is going wrong.
I'm having to emergency cut some tassels off because they're tangled.
Bring it over.
This is the back.
Okay.
This is not a normal costume.
I'm used to making complicated costumes, but Enira has the most pieces out of any costume I've ever made.
I'm taking a lot of shortcuts with this costume.
It's like the Twilight zone.
Enira might be the most ambitious costume I have ever attempted.
[Cheers and applause.]
- It's starting.
- Hey, guys.
It sounds like it's starting.
- Oh, oh, my God.
- Shoot, all right.
We're doing it live.
Okay.
Who needs practice? We don't need practice.
Narrator: With the debut of her Enira performance looming, Yaya makes last-minute modifications to her costume.
I don't have time to deal with this.
I'm gonna cut these off.
I'm having to emergency cut some tassels off because they're tangled.
Bring it over.
- This is the back.
- That's fine.
Here, I'm gonna tie it.
I think Enira, The Banshee Queen, might be the most ambitious costume I have ever attempted in my entire cosplay career.
I feel amazing.
Let's rock this.
[Dramatic music.]
[Camera shutter clicking.]
Narrator: Back at the hotel, time is ticking down for team L.
A.
, and Holly, Jessica, and Chloe are fine-tuning last-minute touches to their Peter Pan's labyrinth costumes.
But Holly's custom contact lenses for her creepy Captain Hook might be more trouble than she can take.
The contact lenses feel like I'm putting bees in my eyes.
[Gasps.]
You got 'em in.
[Sniffles.]
Remember, you just got to stick it out.
And they get better.
They get better.
Yeah, if you don't like them, you don't have to wear them.
- There's no - No, they get better.
And Chloe said they get better.
They get better, so I need to have crazy contact lenses for this costume, because if you don't have crazy-scary eyes, you don't look crazy-scary.
Don't worry.
We'll take care of you.
We'll make everything easy, okay? Why do they have those if they hurt people? They don't sell the expensive ones anymore to the U.
S.
I tried.
I couldn't get any.
So these are they're just whatever.
- Are we gonna be worried - No, no, no.
About you wearing cheap contacts all day? No, no.
We already did contacts.
Are we literally gonna do that again, rush me to the emergency room? I just think that it'd be cool for you not to wear them.
It's up to you.
I feel like whatever you feel comfortable with, Holly.
I'm not entirely sure if they're safe, but she's determined to wear them.
I'm sewing snaps as fast as I can, but we've only got, like, 15 minutes.
15 minutes? - Yeah.
- Oh, wow.
- Are you serious? - Yeah, yeah.
- [Bleep.]
.
- All right, close your eyes.
Let me figure this out.
We have a legally blind Captain Hook.
We don't know the shape of the stage at all.
We haven't worked out the music cues.
What's the worst that could happen? Let's go, ladies.
[Dramatic music.]
[Camera shutter clicking.]
Narrator: Still at the hotel, Katie is rushing through her work, hoping to finish her costume in the very little time she has left.
I cut a lot of the details on this costume.
I'm taking a lot of shortcuts with this costume, and it really bums me out.
- Yeah.
- It's just not ready.
It's like the twilight zone.
At this point, we have worked so hard on these costumes that it will be such a shame for us not to compete.
So no one needs to use the bathroom? 'Cause I need to start getting ready.
With Tira, I wish I had more experience with makeup so I could do really, like, crazy eyes.
Having it on for the first time, I got really excited.
[Laughs.]
Heh.
This particular design of Hilde, it pushes me to try to portray more confidence and stronger, better character, you know.
I love her.
I know she will try to be ready on time, but there's this phenomenon called Katie time.
No, no, go the other way.
As I'm rushing around the hotel room, I drop my makeup bag.
I don't have time for this kind of stuff.
How you doing, Katie? I'm trying to see if I can just sew one gauntlet in the time it takes Riki to lace up my corset.
Riki and I are ready to go, and Katie is still not done with her costume.
Coming along? Yeah, coming along.
Can you lace me sitting down? [Sighs.]
Sure.
If you can't, let me know.
I'll stand.
Oh, wait.
[Bleep.]
.
I've got to go take off my shirt and change my bra.
Katie's very, like, all over the place.
She's, like, doing a little bit of this, doing a little bit of that.
Guess I'll meet you guys down there.
It feels wrong to leave our hotel room without one of our teammates, but we really need to go sign up for the contest.
Hopefully, Katie can finish, and we can still enter the competition.
Narrator: As Katie is left behind to finish getting ready, the convention center is filling up with talented cosplayers and eager fans.
The Wizard World group competition is just moments away.
Okay, everything else we can do out there.
Narrator: Backstage at the con, Yaya looks ready to wow the crowd, but her full costume is still untested as she's minutes away from stepping onstage.
I'm putting on my stilts for the first time with the weight of the full costume.
I'm basically wearing 50 pounds on me.
Look how bunched up the black skirt is.
Yeah.
The black skirt has to go down first, and then everything else can fit over that.
As I'm finally standing and trying to rehearse a little bit I am proud to bring onstage our cohost for the upcoming costume contest.
Hey, hello? I'm not ready.
Let's get loud and proud for Yaya Han.
No, no, no.
[Dramatic music playing.]
All of a sudden, they start playing my music.
Please cut the music.
This is a fricking nightmare.
Like, I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience, and I cannot stop myself.
Please cut my music.
I swear I'm about oh, my God.
Please cut the music.
Oh, [Bleep.]
.
Narrator: The Wizard World group competition is about to begin.
Cut the music.
Narrator: Yaya is backstage preparing to make her entrance when a false cue catches her off guard.
Please cut my music.
Oh, my God.
They're playing my music before I'm ready, and there's timed dialogue that give away the character.
Please cut the music.
This is my worst nightmare.
You want me to cut 'em off, and they'll try it again? - [Stammering.]
- Excuse me.
Excuse me.
I'm sorry.
I can't go up the stage unless I have one person on either side helping me.
Of course, now there are stairs leading up to the stage.
One of you will have to lift up the skirt.
Two of you will have to help me up.
- We'll make this happen.
- Okay, I'm ready.
It ends up taking four people to get me on these stairs.
Like, this is kind of embarrassing.
I've never made a costume before where I could not get up on the stage.
[Cheers and applause.]
I am your host, Eric "The Smoke" Moran.
I want to introduce to you my lovely cohost, the beautiful, talented - Step.
- Wait, wait.
I'm waiting for my music.
Yaya Han! It's okay.
It's all right.
I don't think I've ever been this scared in my life as I'm going up onstage.
[Cheers and applause.]
- [Bleep.]
.
- It's fine.
You got it.
You got it.
You got it.
It scared the [Bleep.]
out of me when I tripped going onstage.
You're doing good.
All right, let me fix the skirt.
I'm just terrified that I would have hurt myself physically, I would break the costume, and I would be laughingstock of the cosplay world.
[Cheers and applause.]
[Dramatic music.]
You mortals, such fleeting souls, waiting like cattle to go to the slaughter.
What a fool's errand to tread in this chamber, the belly of the beast.
I am Enira, The Banshee Queen.
My voice is your doom.
[Cheers and applause.]
Yaya's pretty bad-ass.
Proof right there that she packs the big guns.
The huge stilts amazing stuff as always.
I don't quite remember what I did when I was actually onstage, but I remember people screaming and clapping, so I think that I nailed it? [Cheers and applause.]
I just wanted to surprise you guys with a little performance because I don't get to host very often.
I hope you guys liked it.
[Cheers and applause.]
Why don't we bring out our lovely judges for tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the beautiful Ivy Doomkitty! [Cheers and applause.]
Let's welcome our second judge, Ryan frye.
Come on up.
[Cheers and applause.]
All right, let's get this show started.
Narrator: Backstage, Riki and Indra line up, concerned that their partner, Katie, won't arrive in time for them to take the stage.
We're wondering, "is Katie gonna be a no-show? "Are we gonna have to not are we gonna have to pull out of the competition?" Let's bring out our first group, which is Tryndamere and Garen from League of Legends.
[Cheers and applause.]
Let's welcome onstage Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
[Cheers and applause.]
The line's not that long.
There's not that many people in here, so hopefully she is close.
I don't know.
This is it.
Narrator: Back at the hotel, Katie is still making last-minute fixes to her costume and has yet to leave the room.
You never want to pull out of a cosplay contest at the last minute, but I really don't want to go onstage if I'm gonna cost the girls an award.
It's just not fair to them.
The Powerpuff Girls.
[Cheers and applause.]
Do you just want to do it as if she wasn't there? Yeah.
So we'll still do our beats, and then we'll just do the triangle, but without her.
Yes.
I feel so awful doing that though.
I'm backstage, and I can hear all the cheering, and it just makes me, like, more anxious.
I don't want to go onstage without her.
Yeah, me neither.
It seems like the wrong thing to do.
This part where's the front and where's the back? This is the this is the back of it.
Narrator: Meanwhile, Holly, Jessica, and Chloe are still making last-minute changes to their skit.
So I'll be in bed with this stuffed in, right? You'll sit okay, you it'll be squished.
Like, so I'll be down here.
Here, sit in front of me, and then when we start paddling, you paddle on the left side, I paddle on the right side, and the second we paddle, we pull this out.
Okay, so pull do it.
The skit is what makes the costumes, because without the skit, I'm worried that no one's really gonna know who we are.
[Cheers and applause.]
Yeah, I hear it.
I hear it.
It's starting.
Hey, guys, it sounds like it's starting.
- Oh, oh, my God.
- Shoot, all right.
[Bleep.]
, whatever.
We're doing it live.
Okay.
Who needs practice? We don't need practice.
I know I don't need practice.
- We're practicing right now.
- We know our cues.
I can see Chloe's getting kind of nervous about the skit.
I mean, I know it came together at the last minute, but I really think it's gonna be great.
[Cheers and applause.]
Oh, my God.
We're in line.
We are waiting.
We are steps away from the stage, and still no Katie.
It is what it is.
[Cheers and applause.]
What inspired you guys to do this as a group? [Yelps.]
Oh, my God.
Careful of the props.
Oh, my God, this is so I'm like "there goes" "there goes" oh, my God.
[Cheers and applause.]
Everyone looks awesome onstage.
Behold Odin the Allfather! The competition is seriously stiff.
The Tenth Doctor and the Tardis.
[Cheers and applause.]
- Katie! - Oh, my God.
- Thank God.
Oh.
- Oh, my God, you showed up.
- Hi.
- [Laughs.]
We were just talking about you.
Katie makes it.
Superhero hour.
Soulcalibur is a true group now.
I'm so glad you made it.
We were getting really, really worried.
Now I'm here, so let's do this, girls.
[Dramatic music.]
Great job, guys.
Thank you.
[Cheers and applause.]
When I'm backstage, I tend to get a little bit nervous because if I fail, then it's not just me.
I'm letting these other girls down.
Next up, let's hear it for Soulcalibur.
[Cheers and applause.]
Narrator: The group competition is underway at Wizard World comic con, and Katie, Riki, and Indra are finally ready to step onto the stage.
We are about to go onstage, and I'm kind of freaking out a little bit about not having a skit.
Next up, let's hear it for Soulcalibur.
[Cheers and applause.]
When it's my turn, I'm just kind of freaking out like, "oh, my God, this is my turn.
" I have to look good, and you know, this is a moment where I'm supposed to look strong and confident.
[Cheers and applause.]
The Soulcalibur girls were awesome.
They looked great, 'cause they looked spot-on with the Soulcalibur characters.
Question for you guys.
Why Soulcalibur? - [Laughs.]
- 'Cause it's [Bleep.]
awesome.
Good answer.
[Cheers and applause.]
Great job, guys.
Thank you so much.
Great job.
Great job.
If the judges decide not to give us an award because we don't have a skit, it is what it is.
I'm just happy that we got our costumes done in time.
Narrator: Backstage with moments left before they're called, anxiety overcomes Chloe, who is nervous about blocking their skit.
- Where's the bed gonna go? - So, wait.
- Here's what we should - We should put the bed here.
On the right side.
And Holly should enter from over there.
Come off here and then go down the catwalk.
Perfect.
Holly, you enter - Come on there - Okay, okay, slow down.
- Okay, I'll do it.
- All right.
You think we're gonna remember all this? I'm gonna help you get up from the back side, okay? I'm confused.
I just can't think straight, because we're going onstage in five minutes, and there's tons of people back here, and I'm just really nervous.
[Cheers and applause.]
The Batman Gotham villains.
[Cheers and applause.]
Is this preplanned? It was actually spur of the moment.
Met him, and he was like, "let's find as many Batman villains as we can and get 'em all together.
" [Cheers and applause.]
Here we go.
Here we go.
I got the shakes.
I got the shakes.
Shake, shake, shake.
Shake it out.
- Excuse me.
- Oh, uh-oh.
[Bleep.]
.
What jerk brought a bed to this thing? Being the last group is good but also bad, because ultimately, we're gonna be the last thing the judges see, which is a lot of pressure.
Peter Pan's labyrinth.
Peter Pan's and now we are at our last performance of the night.
Big round of applause for Peter Pan's labyrinth.
[Cheers and applause.]
This is it.
This is the big moment.
As I'm walking onstage, I just keep thinking of all the little things that could possibly go wrong.
[Cheers and applause.]
[Soft dramatic music playing.]
[Cheers and applause.]
[Menacing dramatic music.]
[Cheers and applause.]
Holly, Jessica, and Chloe's costumes and skit were stupendous on a magnificent scale.
[Cheers and applause.]
Give it up, you guys.
Come on, what do you think? The crowd is actually going crazy, and they really seem to like it.
It's awesome.
[Cheers and applause.]
Seeing these girls do this beautiful skit is it was so inspiring, and I'm hoping that the next time that I do a group I could something so elaborate as they did.
Good job.
[Cheers and applause.]
I would totally go watch an entire play based on this right here.
Great job, guys.
Seriously, great job.
Aw, thank you.
Give it up, you guys.
Round of applause.
Peter Pan's labyrinth.
[Cheers and applause.]
Oh, my God, it's done.
We did it, and nobody screwed up.
It is the biggest relief, and I'm just so happy.
I'm just so happy.
Okay, we are ready to deliberate.
Judges, would you come over? All I'm hoping is that the judges thought that we know what we were doing with our weapons and that we brandished them in a way that really captured the spirit of Soulcalibur.
So how many awards do we have for this contest? Right now we have two.
We have a best skit.
We have a best in show.
Okay, well, let's talk about Soulcalibur's group.
Their costumes were awesome.
They were really good.
Yes, they seemed to have a plan ahead of time.
As much as I do like the Soulcalibur group, Snow White did give it that extra edge.
Appreciate the fact that they had - they had Seven Dwarves.
- Yes.
Yes, they had the Seven Dwarves.
It wasn't clear to me whether or not Snow White and the Dwarves had a plan or they were just, "hey, let's be our characters and go fumble around.
" Now let's talk about Peter Pan's labyrinth.
What do you guys think of them? They really had it well-rehearsed.
I was definitely not expecting something as intricate as what they did.
Right? They did dark version of Peter Pan, you know.
- Yes, absolutely.
- Mm-hmm.
And you don't often see reinterpretations of characters that are successful.
Both: Yeah.
And it was extremely successful, I thought.
- It's tough though.
- Yep.
I wish we had more than one award.
- But we're good? - We're good.
- We got it? - Awesome.
- Okay, let's do it.
- Let's do it.
[Cheers and applause.]
Judges, are you ready to announce the winners? We're ready.
This is it.
This is the moment of truth.
I have no idea what the judges are gonna decide.
All right.
This was a very, very difficult decision to make.
Everybody who came up here did a great job.
Give it up.
That's right.
[Cheers and applause.]
Originally, there was only supposed to be two awards, but we had such a difficult time deciding on who should win, we created an honorable mention category.
[Cheers and applause.]
We felt like there were a group of ladies that really deserve to be up here And I would like to call Soulcalibur up for the honorable mention award.
When I hear Soulcalibur announced for an honorable mention, I am so pleased.
I can't believe a costume that I made in one week was actually good enough to win an award.
One thing that really impressed us was your costuming construction in less than a week.
[Laughs.]
You guys look magnificent, just like the characters in the game, and you guys did an excellent job.
Congratulations.
[Cheers and applause.]
Getting an award really made everything worth it, all of those long nights, all of that hard work.
I was just so proud that they liked us enough to even do an extra award just for us.
[Cheers and applause.]
Coming up next, we are going to award the best skit, and we're gonna give that to Narrator: With the Wizard World New Orleans costume contest concluded, the award ceremony is underway.
Team Atlanta landed an honorable mention while team L.
A.
anxiously waits to see if they have a chance for a top prize.
Coming up next, we are going to award the best skit, and we're gonna give that to Snow white and the Seven Dwarves.
[Cheers and applause.]
Great job, guys.
Give it up for 'em again.
[Cheers and applause.]
And now who's ready for best in show? [Cheers and applause.]
Yeah! All right, for best in show, we'd like to award the prize to Peter Pan's labyrinth.
[Cheers and applause.]
Congratulations.
When they announced that we win best in show, it's just it's just disbelief.
I've never won a best in show before.
You're best in show, guys.
Holly, Jessica, and Chloe did such an amazing job.
They really deserve their award.
You could tell that they put so much effort and passion behind that skit.
We were so impressed with this group.
Just the entire thing was well-thought out, well-planned, and congratulations.
Congratulations.
[Cheers and applause.]
I know that this cosplay group was Jessica's brainchild, and so I'm so happy for her, 'cause I know this means so much to her.
I just didn't I completely didn't expect that at all.
I guess I feel like we found the thing we're good at.
- Yeah.
- Me too.
- Yeah, we're good at [Bleep.]
- Up [Bleep.]
.
[Laughter.]
- Peter Pan's labyrinth skit was very well - Thought out.
You really had a story, and I think that is what made the difference.
All right, I'm ready to celebrate.
Let's go celebrate.
[All cheer.]
Narrator: With the competition finished and prizes awarded, it's time for celebration, and New Orleans is just the place for that.
I can't believe we're in New Orleans.
- This is amazing.
- And we're in a parade.
It was really, really cool to walk through the streets in all of our costumes after all that stress of the contest to go and have a little bit of a party atmosphere.
Whoo! And where better to party than bourbon street? [All cheering.]
Drop the beads! Whoo! I am so proud of all of you guys.
Both: - Aw.
- [Laughs.]
You all did so well here.
I feel like all of you have come such a long way.
I'm just happy I got to be on this journey and got to know everybody through cosplay.
We have to give credit to these guys.
- I mean brought it.
- Oh, my God.
- They were awesome.
- They were amazing.
- Absolutely.
- Best in show.
Now that we've competed in New Orleans and won best in show, I feel like I've grown as an artist, and I'm actually proud of myself, and I'm proud of my friends.
We knew you were going to win something.
Okay, you guys are gonna make me cry again, and I cry, like, once every five years.
I just think it's so awesome that Chloe found Holly and Jessica.
They've sort of become this really amazing dream team.
This has been so overwhelming.
I know.
This has been such an experience.
You know, cosplay got me to actually connect with my dad over something, and that was really cool.
And you're making me cry.
I can't do this.
I can't cry.
We've all gotten to know each other, and I love these people.
What started off as kind of a working relationship with Holly and Jessica has blossomed into this.
I feel like it could be a lifelong friendship.
Give me a hug.
Oh, my God.
I'm so grateful to have you as my friend.
- Thank you.
- I really, really am.
Thank you.
You're such a great friend.
[Sniffles.]
Yaya has been a wonderful mentor.
She's just shown me, really, how to grow professionally within cosplay.
- And this man.
- And this man! This wonderful man.
You really have come so far, Jesse.
The journey you've been through it's been absolutely awe-inspiring.
It's amazing to hear that from my friends.
Aw, thank you.
Getting that validation is it's awesome.
I would like to point out how proud I am of this guy.
His costume was amazing.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Even though I'm still new at this, I was able to show that I can do things.
I have a future in it, and I can't wait to see where this future takes me.
Riki, you and Katie have been friends for so long.
Was it crazy cosplaying together I've wanted to do this forever.
When you're in a group, you're a team, and you can't, like, let your team down, so I actually can't imagine what my life would be without cosplay.
I've gotten to travel.
I've met some of the most important people of my life.
It's been incredible and so much fun.
My costume wouldn't have it would not have happened if Riki hadn't been like, "I'm here.
" Riki has definitely made me a better cosplayer.
Cosplay is really hard work, but it's also a lot of fun.
It would never have happened if it hadn't been for you guys being so awesome and believing in me.
- All: Aw.
- [Laughs.]
Cosplay is a constant learning experience.
You have to keep pushing yourself.
I'm just happy that I got across the stage and got to show what I could do.
I got to meet some amazing people on this journey.
I put my heart and soul into my costumes.
I know that I did my best work.
I've always said that cosplay is limitless creativity.
Yes.
We are all creative people, and we love cosplay, because in the end, it gives us so much fulfillment and happiness in life.
Guys, I think it's time for a toast.
All: To cosplay! [All cheering.]