Organizing the phone gallery from the convention venue, I found it packed to the brim with group photos with friends. This experience of taking photos with cosplayers at conventions at the Jinling Youth Culture Expo was even more fulfilling than expected. Since the original plan was to take as many photos with others as possible, my primary consideration for the outfit was having high recognizability and photogenic quality. The most core part of this look is this vibrant Blue hair style short wig with that playful cowlick in front, while the giant light blue fluffy ruffled collar ornament around my neck serves as the visual focus. To achieve this puffy volume shown in the photos, I specially used some hidden support material inside so it would present that soft yet sturdy texture on site without restricting neck movement. The outfit, dominated by blue, white, and navy, also features many golden detail accents, including wearing those bright blue gloves; flashing a V-sign when taking photos adds a strong punch of color. Moreover, the microphone held in my hand served as a natural prop; raising it to strike poses in tune with the convention's musical atmosphere didn't feel awkward at all, but instead fit the loud and bustling scene surprisingly well.
The best part of an anime convention is having good friends all around you. The partners I ran into this time all had highly distinct characteristics. Several friends put on various animal ears—whether pink cat ears, brown fox ears, or pink-and-white bunny ears—adding a touch of 2D playfulness to the originally rigid mechanical space of the venue. There were also buddies with all sorts of hair colors in the same frame, like silver-white, gold, magenta, black, and lavender; everyone was darting through the convention hall, searching for spots in every corner just to find a pleasing background or lighting. Behind every single group photo, there's always a minor process of everyone adjusting positions for each other and helping trim stray hairs or align collars. Most interestingly, our big group photo even mixed in a component of two guys wearing daily casual clothes—one in a blue plaid shirt, one in a white T-shirt and glasses—they were our logistics friends. Without the assistance of these non-cosplayer friends, leaving behind these beautiful group photos at a convention would be extremely difficult. They helped watch over large and small bags of luggage, passed water and phones, and even helped hold the stabilizer. It's truly a wonderful slice of Casual cosplay life.
Reflecting on the overall atmosphere of the Jinling Youth Culture Expo site, the participating players were highly orderly and immensely passionate. When you walk down the aisles in a striking outfit, passersby frequently take the initiative to ask for a photo, or friends nearby who are also into cosplay walk right over to ask if they can take photos together. This kind of community atmosphere where you don't need an explicit introduction and can close the distance purely through an outfit is the most precious thing about an Offline anime convention. Although walking around the venue in this costume, combined with the heat from indoor lighting and the crowd, makes it very easy to sweat—and some modifications were made to the inside of the blue wig for breathability—the moment you stand in front of the lens or see friends take satisfying photos, that bit of stuffy hardship instantly becomes nothing. Some might ask how to maintain this outfit afterward, but I feel that as long as I enjoyed the happiness it brought, it is a perfect experience. Every smiling face and every hand gesture in the photos is a true record of this event. Compared to the artificiality of posing just to get a good cut, this spontaneous and cheerful group photography carries far more vitality. The meaning of taking photos with cosplayers at conventions is perhaps exactly this: gathering people who love the same thing together and freezing friendship in place through the frame.