My favorite thing is people’s reactions when they realize that I have hot glue. It’s a mixture of disbelief and amazement, and I love it. Another awesome thing is hearing someone yell “MEDIC!” from across the convention center and come running over to get repairs.
I’ve had some strange requests, like painting the insides of someone’s ears, sewed up a bunch of split pants seams, and I repaired someone inside a McDonald’s near the convention hall once.
That first con I went to I spent half an hour watching AMV’s while sewing up the seam of a cloak that got stuck in a car door and ripped. Before Cosplay Chess at Animazement I was pulled aside by a staff member and brought back to where the cosplayers were to fix a Penny cosplay from RWBY that had broken right before they were supposed to go on. Every convention I’ve gone to, I have someone ask me if I fix broken hearts, which is one of the more creative pick-up lines I’ve heard.
Animazement is my favorite convention. 2020 will be my fourth year going. It’s been a welcoming environment in my experience. While most of the panels and events are anime based, all cosplays and fandoms are welcome. There’s a good mix of beginner panels for those just getting into anime and more in-depth panels for those wanting to go full nerd.
My favorite parts are the Manga Library and Cosplay Chess. Durham County Library brings an assortment of donated manga to Animazement and provides a space where con goers can have a place to sit down, relax, and read some manga. It’s been my place to go if I ever need a break, but don’t want to leave the con. Cosplay Chess is like combining the costume runway with a chess game. Cosplayers are the pieces in a chess game and follow the moves played in an actual chess game and act out fights when a chess piece is killed. It’s one of my favorite events to go to.
I had seen other people do cosplay medic before, mainly @sgtswiftstitch. The Thursday night before Animazement 2017 I decided to give it a try since I don’t enjoy cosplaying myself, but I still wanted to be a part of the community. It’s also a decently lightweight costume and leaves my hands and face unobstructed, which pretty important to me.
I originally had a shield made from a refrigerator box and some string, a bandoleer of thread, and my dad’s hiking fanny pack with some tape and glue inside. I have since updated a few things. I added backpack straps to the shield and attached the thread bandoleer to the straps. I also got a new fanny pack with some additional pockets to hold everything I carry.
The pack currently averages about 8 pounds of supplies, and every convention I go to, I get recommendations for more things to bring with me. I usually just wear jeans and a t-shirt. I have a shirt that says “It’s okay. I’m here now.” which has kind of become my slogan, so I’ll probably be getting a few more to last all three days of the convention. I’ve also recently acquired my granddad’s old fatigues, so I’ll be wearing fatigue pants when I go out as Medic now.