Most cosplay articles don’t start with an anecdote about fried chicken. This one does.
After roaming around the main exhibit hall of RTX, Audrey (the wonderful photographer who brought you these pictures) and I decided to grab a quick lunch at Gus’s Fried Chicken right before catching the cosplay contest. Gus’s is a staple of mine whenever I need a warm pick-me-up at work, but I always make the same mistake. You see, I can’t really handle spice, and every time I forget that the chicken at Gus’s has a decent kick to them. The chicken is always amazing, but you would think that after eating Gus’s for three years, I should expect the spice — almost like a expected surprise. Expected Surprise: that pretty much sums up the theme for the RTX Cosplay Contest.
Article by Stephen Ramirtha, Photos by Audrey Browning
The event started with Nat cosplaying as Yang hyping the crowd up with a group dab (that Insta story of us will disappear after 24 hours, right?) Once the 50 cosplayers were ready to go, they walked out one at a time.
The first featured Mariachi Noctis from Final Fantasy XV. I do apologize to the person next to me for screaming so loud, but FFXV is an amazing game, and he really nailed down Noctis’s look.
The next was Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, but the tiny baby Toothless stole the hearts of everyone in the audience. Just take a look at this shot we got after the show — he even has a tail!
Trust me, it only went up from here. There was a Steampunk Yang with actual steam coming from her right arm! It was actually quite inventive how the steam effect was created — there was a vape pen inside that was attached to a key fob. With one click, steam! Of course, many other Rooster Teeth cosplayers made it on the scene. There was Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Salem from RWBY, David from Camp Camp, Carolina and Washington from Red vs. Blue, and an impressive Grimm that prowled the scene on all fours.
Other franchises outside of Rooster Teeth also had their fair share of representation. Ursula, Colonel Radec, Eternal Sailor Moon, Jon Snow, Jack Sparrow, male D.Va — chances are, if you could think of a character, they were cosplayed.
Of course, the costume aspect was truly amazing, but what really made all the contestants shine was how they became their characters. I’ve never watched Camp Camp, but Sydney’s portrayal of David made it quite obvious that he’s a happy-go-lucky guy with quite a bit of pep in him. And props to memorizing the entire theme song! I don’t think I would get close to remembering all the activities Camp Campbell has to offer. Terrence enamored the audience as Eternal Sailor Moon when he proclaimed his oath to defend the Moon Kingdom. Jack Sparrow stumbled his way on the stage in such a convincing manner, I thought he was Johnny Depp himself! And chills ran down my spine as Salem tried to allure the audience with a promise for great power. Every cosplayer was their character, but like the fried chicken was an expected surprise. Cosplay is all about combining both stellar costume design and acting to truly make a character your own, and every single contestant did just that.
A few were recognized by the judges with honorable mentions (and a rad tumbler). A special Big Dick Energy award was made, and as an expected surprise, was given to male D.Va. Second prize and the $50 Rooster Teeth merchandise gift card went to Steampunk Yang. First prize and the HP laptop went to Grimm. All of these cosplayers did an impressive job — check them out in the pics below!
Featured image credit: Audrey Browning/Geek Gals
Geek Gals 
Hello! ^^ i was the mariachi noctis in the contest and im glad that you love the costume it really means alot ^^
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hey! my boyfriend and i are the wash and carolina! thanks so much for including us in your article!! 😍😍😍
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