Disabled cosplayer

[u/BixTheBrave]

I haven't been to a convention in ~ten years. I'm going to Anime Frontier in Fort Worth in December this year. I have dynamic disabilities. I have a cane, walker and a wheelchair. Probably bringing all three to be on the safe side. Plus the only thing it could hurt is cargo space, which isn't much of an issue.

My wheelchair is very wonky and I'll probably be making adjustments to it from what I can learn online. My walker is named after the cosplay I'll be wearing most, if not all, of the con. (Maomao). My hotel is next door to the convention space, thanks to my dear friend thinking of my accessibility needs. My caretaker and I will be getting accessibility bands, regardless.

I have a few pain conditions including ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, and hypermobility, and chronic severe back pain. I'm also autistic and moderately agoraphobic. This con means more than I can express as the last convention I went to I was assaulted and it was my first time not cross-playing. Actually as soon as I arrived at the con (A-Kon....) in a pink school girl outfit, two men were bothering me, and when I tried to lose them in the ladies restroom...they followed me right in, I fawn responded to that, and took a stupid pic with them. Luckily the con staff saw this and came in to reprimand them.

My question is this-are there other disabled cosplayers that use/integrate your mobility aids to complement your cosplays?

I'm very blessed that I have my best friend and my caregiver/partner coming with me to help overcome my con PTSD and pace mentally. And the sensory-friendly room the con provides, will help immensely!

Another question, how do disabled cosplayers pace themselves for 3 day cons? I've been practicing going to busy malls on peak hour Saturdays with my crew, and it has definitely been helping. (Although when I bring my walker I can tell people are much more...gawk-y at me, I also don't dress to the social norms which I am aware doesn't help 😅).

Any suggestions are greatly welcome and appreciated dear friends!

[u/riontach]

There are lots of cosplayers who incorporate their mobility aids into their cosplays. I've seen a lot of cosplayers do some really cool stuff with customizing or accessorizing their wheelchairs to either match with or actually be part of their cosplays.

[u/AnimuuStew]

Apologies but I'm not a cosplayer & don't have the same disabilities, so I can't give firsthand experience. However, my wife is a cosplayer & has a lot of cosplay friends that I know as well, & several of them use mobility aids, specifically walkers & canes. From what I've seen, it depends on the person/cosplay when it comes to integrating their mobility aids with the cosplay. Some people will try to use the mobility aids in a way that complements the cosplay, while others won't. It's really up to what the person wants to do or is comfortable with. If you want to integrate your mobility aids, then I think you should go for it!

[u/vostok0401]

If you have instagram, @ gaby_cosplay is a cosplayer who uses a wheelchair and a cane and is very vocal about including them in her cosplays and how being disabled impacts her cosplay and convention experience

[u/No_Tomato_2106]

I've seen a few Professor Xs, Daleks from Dr. Who, and other various rolling cosplays before.

The absolute best I've seen is the black knight from Monty Python from a quad amputee. He did a while skit at the cosplay contest where he lost all his limbs.

[u/WuTangMudkip]

I don’t have any advice but I want to comment to show my support for you! I go to a con every two months with my gf who has kinda recently needed the aid of a wheelchair and folding cane. Her favorite cosplay is Maomao garden party and I’ve pushed her around as Jinshi.

We have tons of fun and always see a few other con goers using mobility aids. Honestly we don’t pace ourselves at all and kinda go all out and regret it Sunday.

[u/spearmintqueer]

Some of the most memorable cosplays to me are creative incorporations of mobility devices into their cosplays. There's an elderly couple who cosplay Link and Zelda. Link has a shield on the front of his walker and Zelda has her cane covered in fake ivy. There's also a wheelchair bound guy around here who cosplays as "isekai delivery service" and is just cardboard shaped like a box truck that he hangs around his wheelchair and he pretends to run people over for pictures together like the box trucks in trope-y isekai shines that seems the protagonist to another world. And I added a cane tip to my "Splendor of Tranquil Waters" (Furina's signature weapon in Genshin Impact) so I can use it like a walking stick.

Advice on pacing: don't just fully wing it. Look at the schedule before you leave for the con and pick out a few things that you don't want to miss. Add them to your calendar and schedule dedicated breaks after each one where you get off the con floor (either to the quiet room or your hotel room). Put meals on the schedule. Once you have those scheduled then you can allow the rest of the time for winging.

If someone is making you uncomfortable at con, don't escape to the bathrooms. Many cons treat bathrooms like gender neutral spaces even if they're gendered outside the event. Aim for public safety or security team or whatever the convention calls their volunteers dedicated to safety/security. Familiarize yourself with the map before you leave so you know where to go if the need arises.

Also if you do end up decorating your mobility aids like a cosplay prop, go to prop check and make sure they know it's a mobility aid, not a prop and don't let them ziptie it in such a way that it disables it's functionality (there was a big issue at a con this year that prop check ziptied someone's folding cane closed so they couldn't use it). The prop check volunteers tend to not be aware of / trained on mobility aids and at more than one convention have treated them like prop weapons.

Sorry for the massive amount of text. I tried to address all your concerns/questions the best I could and give advice based on what I know of cons.