First name and last initial: Haley L. of Moth Child Cosplay.

Where are you from originally, or where do you currently reside? Originally from Charleston, South Carolina. Currently living in Saratoga Springs, New York!

How long have you been cosplaying? I have been cosplaying for almost three years now.

Which characters have you cosplayed? Huntress Widowmaker from Overwatch, the Knight’s Garb from Bloodborne, various Monster Hunter outfits, and a couple of World of Warcraft armor sets, too.

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What inspired you to start cosplaying? A few years into playing World of Warcraft, a work friend of my dad had the opportunity to attend Blizzcon! He came back and showed us both photos of the craftsmanship contest and, right then, I said to myself, “Wow, I need to do this!” I didn’t start actually making and wearing cosplays until about five years later, but I eventually quit WoW to make free time for costuming! It’s funny how we jump from one addiction to the next.

What do you do when you’re not cosplaying? When I’m not wearing or making a cosplay (and sometimes even when I am working on one…), I listen to truecrime podcasts! I also cuddle the heck out of my cats, watch conspiracy documentaries, and play guitar. A few months ago, my answer to this question would have been playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, but I’ve gotten super frustrated with where I’m at in the story so I’ve been taking a break from it.

Which costumes have provided the biggest challenge and rewards so far, and why? OHHH BOY. Definitely my Night Elf huntress from World of Warcraft! The Tier 10 set was my first full-armor outfit and making the pauldrons was a true challenge. I had to adopt so many new skills and techniques and then quickly become proficient enough to apply them to the pieces I was making, it was CRAZY!! I absolutely love the end result, though; the armor holds a special place in my heart and bringing it to life was absolutely incredible.

What is the best advice you would give someone new to cosplaying? When picking an outfit, make sure you’ll be comfortable wearing it! If you don’t like wearing booty shorts or exposing your tummy/arms/thighs/whatever, don’t wear a cosplay that has those elements. I recently spent two weeks making a bikini armor style cosplay, only to realize that I was 100% not okay wearing it in public!! I wore it for literally one hour at a con before having to change. Learn from my mistake!

What is one thing the cosplaying community can do better when it comes to dealing with each other? If you have a problem with someone, go talk to that person. Seriously. Almost all of the drama I’ve seen in the community is from people not being open about their issues and not resolving them through communication.