Hall Meeting: My Real Name

Let’s flash back to Anime Matsuri 2. I’m working the game room, making sure everyone is being nice and civil when beating each other to a pulp in SSBM. And I’m wearing Duo Lon from King of Fighters, because I needed another costume last minute and it had to fit both the gaming theme and my tastes in cosplay.

You are doing the game room thing. And you ask for my name. How nice. So I tell you: greyrondo. You have a creepy kind of look in your eye and you sound really sleazy when you ask for my real name.

I fork it over, wondering if possibly you’re new to this whole thing and you’re uncomfortable with the concept of a cosplay name. When in reality, no. You’re just a creeper.

Unless I have struck up a long conversation with you and I intend to speak with you after this convention, if you ask for my name in costume, I will tell you greyrondo. If you ask me outside of costume, I will likely tell you my birth name.

What’s the difference? Giving you my cosplay name will give you a way to find me on the forums and is much easier than printing ‘business’ cards. When I’m in costume, telling you my real name is ridiculous. No one recognizes me out of costume. Ever. I have stared people in the face. I have embarrassingly waved at people in packed restaurants and made a fool out of myself.

And they still didn’t recognize me.