Seeing cosplayers up close

I mentioned this before in an RPG discussion, but I felt like I should make this topic.

I was at a Pokemon fan gathering, standing in line as people got freebies (not like games, but rather stuff like Animal Crossing bookmarks and little cards that discuss the Pokemon) and that's when I saw someone walking into the building.

It was a woman dressed up as Serena from the new Pokemon X and Y games. When I saw her for the first time, it felt closely related to what you see in those films where one guy meets his love for the first time and time freezes. Except here, time sort of slowed down and there was some mystical music going on in my head. She was followed by a Hilda and Lyra cosplayer.

I just liked that mystical feeling I got... It almost felt like those characters just leaped out of the DS and into real life. Seeing a cosplayer up close is much different than seeing one on a computer screen. So yeah, I think this qualifies for "it just awes me".

So what are your awed moments involving seeing cosplayers up close and personal?

That's awesome :) Most cosplayers I have seen are doing it just for fun, though, and don't really make their costumes awe-worthy. But once I took my little cousin with me to a con (he was around 8 I think) and there was a guy dressed as the red Power Ranger. I tend to be more focused on the concession stands and the vendors than the cosplayers when at cons, so I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise, but my cousin shouted "POWER RANGER!" and started tugging my arm. So we went over and the cosplayer was so nice, he did all the poses and said the catch phrases and my cousin asked him questions about the other rangers and the bad guys and d'aw it was so cute. He let my cousin take a picture with him, too.

Thank you cosplayer dude! You made my cousins day :)

I was part of a Sci-Fi writing class a few summer's back and we were at Seattle Center (the actual class was at the EMP), but I turn around and see none other than a gender-flipped Vash the Stampede walking along-I started cracking up, and she looked at me like I was an ass, but I wasn't laughing AT her, I was laughing because it was so awesome that anyone would do that for gits and shiggles. I flashed Vash's "Love and Peace" symbol and we got into a good half-hour conversation about the anime and manga and it was awesome. She mentioned that she did the coat herself and that's what awes me in retrospect-I now know how long it takes to do stuff like that so when people do that sort of thing I go all slack-jawed....