Through the lens of a Level 1 Autistic Individual

To Invisibility and Beyond An autistic cosplayer builds an outfit that ticks all the boxes, only to have a few highlights among the loneliness and exclusion I made my Buzz Lightyear cosplay in an attempt for inclusion while also being recognizable and with a bit of uniqueness with the inflatable plastic bubble helmet. The "decals" were made with Needlepoint, and the entire outfit is sewn cloth without sculpted armor or electronics, besides the air system which drew air in through the open mesh "planet" and inflated the bubble around my head with fresh air. A lot of time went into this, with the addition of the "isolator support pack" and a port in the chest to connect the "hose". The premise of that was to evoke the vibe of the Boy in the Bubble with a suit themed after a favorite character rather than a clinical, generic look. The pack was an option with the possibility of making a full "wing pack" or adding a twisted balloon construct...

Is it Really Worth the Effort Anymore? A video compilation of cosplay photos submitted to a forum, and while the forum responded to the still with an emoji, the still didn't make the cut. Apparently, it seems that one must be an award winner, be screen-accurate, have a professional photographer shoot & edit your cosplay, or just not be invisible. I have plans for two more events in "full" cosplays: Buzz Lightyear will be retired after the Sacramento Santa Parade, and Captain Olimar will go on "reserve status" after the Weekend Blender con in Clovis. I made this decision after both of these turned out to remain invisible even after having reached out to people (difficult for me as an Autistic person). No invites into groups, even though they were at tables directly adjacent to mine at the Theme Party, and I was able to piece together about fifteen seconds of video. One of those clips had my Olimar giving one last look back in case anyone was looking for me be...