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mance,” she explained. “In the contest earlier, they did skits and voices. That’s performance.” The contests at Flame Con did have a more theatrical feel to them when compared to mainstream cons. When a “Steven Universe” cosplayer whipped out their ukulele and started singing the show’s theme song during the costume contest, half the audience joined in and knew the entire song by heart. When a cosplayer dressed as the sea witch Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” quoted the famous “Now, sing!” line from the movie, the audience once again burst into song. Cosplayer Jay Justice was a special guest at Flame Con, and spoke on several cosplay panels. She told Gay City News, “Cosplay at Flame Con feels more diverse than at other conventions, possibly because there is an overall sense of acceptance and a shared culture, an increased familiarity with the same concepts and ideals. Flame Con feels like coming home to so many of us.” Justice said she also noticed “a lot of original concept cosplay among the queer community. We like to do our own thing, make up a fantasy elven persona, or a futuristic sci-fi hero, or our own gay superhero.” Media, in general, has increasingly focused attention on LGBTQ characters, and there is no shortage of canonically gay characters in geek media, too. This year’s Flame Con saw many costumes based on recent franchises like the video game “Dream Daddy,” and the anime “Yuri On Ice,” both of which were released within the past year. Flame Con’s ideas of inclusion extend beyond the
Photo by Charles Battersby
Rachel Greeman moderated panels on cosplay and was also on hand at Cosplay Corner.
LGBTQ community. There’s a strong focus on keeping the con accessible to disabled attendees and on ethnic diversity. During one of her panels, Jay Justice recalled a time when she was called out by a child for cosplaying as a character traditionally portrayed as being from another race. “Many of the little black children were extremely excited to see a Batgirl who looked like them and they begged for photos and autographs, holding my hand and giving me hugs,” she said. “The white children were hesitant and one of them, a little boy, gave me a
look and a smirk and asked, ‘Doesn’t Batgirl have red hair?’ I could see the enthusiasm start to wilt out of the black children, and I calmly and brightly replied, ‘The cool thing about Batman is that he believes that it doesn’t matter what you look like, as long as you are a good person. Anyone can be a superhero.’ The child slowly sat back down and said, ‘That’s true.’ And then we all played and talked about video games. It was a great lesson for everyone.” It was one of many truths about cosplay that Flame Con had to teach.
Mystico’s Eerily Accurate Horoscopes Aquarius You will decode winning stock tips from a new track dropped by a diva whose work you’ve long dismissed. Pisces Fabric store felt and flea market glitter provide the backbone for a pride-on-the-line art project challenge. Get crafty! Aries Beware the cheap motel room, for it often opens the door to an expensive mistake. Taurus You will meet a compatible stranger in the third aisle of a supermarket rumored to have lowered their outrageous asking price for avocados. Gemini Uneasy dreams prompt you to rethink a fall fashion splurge inspired by a discount coupon that expires soon. Cancer The sight of students returning to class will fi ll you with an urge to dust off that old thermos. Skip the whisky this time, dear Cancer, and go with soup! Leo A bell, somebody’s clock,
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and a wedding band finger: These are things you can ring next Tuesday. Virgo You will question the ageappropriateness of a daring recreational activity planned for the long weekend. Do it anyway! Libra A fantastic new soft drink sold at your go-to convenience store promises lasting pleasure but delivers only fi zzy, fleeting jitters. Scorpio Cool your jets, tempestuous Scorpio, when a button-pushing friend presses you on an old debt, long since settled, that they just won’t let you forget. Sagittarius Next Wednesday afternoon is your cosmic prime time to show caution the wind and indulge an urge that killjoy chum keeps warning you about. Capricorn Stop screaming at the clueless people on that TV show where they tell you what old stuff is worth. It’s not nice — plus, they can’t hear you! NYC Community Media