COLUMN: 'The Aberrant Gamer': Flower Girl
November 16, 2007 12:02 AM | Leigh Alexander
[The Aberrant Gamer is a weekly, somewhat NSFW column by Leigh Alexander, dedicated to the kinks and quirks we gamers tend to keep under our hats – those predilections and peccadilloes less commonly discussed in conventional media.]
Where there are games, there are conventions, and where there are conventions, there are people in character costumes – doing cosplay. The images of these devout fans in costume are part of gamer culture, especially online, where pictures of elaborate, pitch-perfect character clothing frequently make the rounds of blogs, forums and news sites. The people behind the pictures can be objects of wonderment, when the costume is good, or the butt of jokes, when it’s not so much. In either case, seeing a photograph of a person who has spent weeks or months preparing, through meticulous craftsmanship and hours of styling, to look – sometimes eerily – like a video game character can provoke plenty of curious reactions. Some wonder at the cosplayer’s efforts – despite spending hours and hours on gaming and game fandom ourselves, the level of detail on display makes some people wonder if the person’s quite well mentally. Have they begun to cross that line, beyond which fantasy and reality are becoming difficult to distinguish? Are they flagrantly attention-whoring, hoping to cash in on the attention and affection popular game characters receive? Are they high-strung detail-obsessives?
According to Adella, one cosplayer who’s earned a reputation in the close-knit hobbyists’ community, “there are plenty of psycho cosplayers.” But when she decided to do a series of Aeris costumes, it changed her life. And it wasn’t because of psycho cosplayers, but because of psycho gamers.
Expressing Fandom
Adella’s been doing cosplay for several years now, and creating outfits based on interesting-looking anime, game and comic book characters has become a favorite hobby for the conscientious 26-year-old design student, who hopes to work as a historical costumer one day. She adds, "The majority of cosplayers are just normal people having fun for a weekend... the crazy ones are definitely not the majority."
What appeals to her about cosplay? “I'm a really imaginative person, meaning I like things like role playing, reading books, drawing stories, et cetera,” she explains. “When I first heard about cosplay I viewed it as another creative outlet for me. A way to express fandom in a more involved way.” Since then, her image has become somewhat iconic among followers of the scene, and in associated internet communities. She’s been called "amazing," "the embodiment of Aeris," and an "inspiration," and she's also been accused of being an “insatiable attention whore,” a snob, a bitch, and much worse, in a tide of that particular brand of internet attention that makes it necessary for her to avoid reading about herself or making available her email address.
Most of all, she’s known for the craftsmanship of her costumes, and for the detail in her self-styling – beyond the costume work itself, she’s also got a knack for getting the hairstyle just right, applying full-body paint to achieve the appropriate skin tone, using lenses to change the color of her eyes, even just a touch, for the full effect. Her photographs in Aeris cosplay are arresting in their likeness. But looking at her portfolio, it’s clear the costume design that earns her the majority of her online “fame” is not her best, most complex or even her most interesting one.
More Than A Passing Resemblance
Even Adella confesses, though, that one of the reasons behind her decision to cosplay as Aeris was the insistence of friends, who said she “resembled her a bit.” At the time, Aeris’ relatively simple pink dress and red jacket were accessible to Adella, who was still developing her sewing skills. So she did it, thinking it would be “funny,” even though back then she “hated Aeris.” When she first debuted her look, she says, “I made a bunch of friends with FF7 cosplayers and had a lot of fun. It was enjoyable seeing how many people liked my costume, and how many people I made smile, who in turn, made me smile.”
Still, she noticed something a touch off about the way some people reacted to her as “Aeris.” “A lot of the fans were really creepy,” she admits. “One guy, when I was walking back from the convention center in Long Beach to the Renaissance Hotel, tried to grab my arm and drag me over to the steps to ‘hang out’ with him. I hit him with my flower basket and ran! People kept running up, trying to jump on me, or grope me... like, because I was in costume, they had the right to just invade my personal space, or scream weird sh*t at me like ‘AERIS, BE MY LOVER!’ or whatever.”
Adella concedes that fans and other attendees often respond to people in costume by assuming they’re not quite ‘real’ people, or that because the costumed individual appears to be seeking attention, others assume that they can treat them however they please without consequences. But immediately Adella noticed that people reacted more strongly to Aeris – the beloved tragic heroine of Final Fantasy VII, whose death many define as a seminal moment in their gaming lives – than to any other costume she had done or would ever do. “[People’s reactions have] a lot to do with what costume I’m in,” she admits.
You Sucked, And You Died
For others, the character of Aeris represents a personification of what they feel is a distinct downturn in the focus of gaming as an era. She can be seen as the mascot of marathon cutscenes, of the story-versus-gameplay debate, the quintessential representative of the emo RPG aesthetic from which many, now that they’ve grown out of their stormy teens, are attempting to distance themselves. And when in costume, Adella began finding herself the object of that hostility. “I get a lot of rude comments from people,” she admits. “I've been pushed around a few times, and told stupid stuff like ‘you sucked and you died, bitch…’ stuff like that.”
It gets worse. “When I was at Anime Central, I think in 2004, maybe earlier... I was standing in the lobby of the hotel and talking to someone I had just met,” she remembers. “And some girl ran up behind me and grabbed my braid and just yanked, as hard as she could. My head was jerked back and my neck had this awful pain wrench through it. I whirled around and screamed, ‘don’t touch me!’ And she just goes ‘I... I just hate Aeris...’ and ran off. Like because she hates some fictitious character.. it's okay to physically assault someone dressed up like that character?”
Muses Adella, “I think people obsessively hate her, or love her. I mean, you can really say that about any anime or game character – but Aeris instills a particular breed of passion in people. I've met a lot of fans in all the costumes I've made and in all the circles I've hung out in, but Aeris fans seem to be particularly... particular.
Adella began to expect the occasional odd reaction from her Aeris cosplay, but when pictures of her began circulating online, the attention she received from people who had the veil of anonymity to hide behind became far more extreme. Though her online costume portfolio has expanded to include a number of other characters and costumes that evolve in their complexity – DOA 2’s Helena, Castlevania’s Maria, Zelda’s Malon – it all began with the Aeris look. She’s received marriage proposals from men in foreign countries, and some “have just... walked up to me and hugged me because they ‘needed to hold Aeris,’” she says. “I usually just smile and let them do it because everyone needs hugs, I guess. If it makes him feel better to believe I am Aeris and hug me... that makes me happy. But it's still kind of creepy, because... well, I’m not Aeris!”
Not That Kind Of Person
With all the attention she was receiving – so much she couldn’t possibly reply in-depth to every piece of fan mail, field every cosplay question, or meet everyone who hoarded her photos on their hard drive – many people began to assume things about her personality. Says Adella – whose real name is actually Sarah – “I've gone through phases where I don't want anybody to contact me because I get fed up with all the fan mail and crazy sh*t that people send me… and then after a while, I'll be like, ‘okay ,maybe it won't be so bad now…’ and put my contact info up... then deal with it for a while, and then take it down again.”
She gets accusations of “[thinking she’s] cooler than sh*t”, being an “extreme suck-up” who “obsesses about stuff to the point of being creepy,” or “[looking] like a bitch in her pictures.” Adella explains that, when people don’t receive the reaction from her they wanted, they can become enraged. “Years ago, when I first started cosplay, I probably would have started talking up a storm about anything, but I'm so over people forcing themselves upon me that I just get nervous, I guess. And they post about how I ‘blew them off,’ or something. I'll say right here and now... I have never once blown someone off. Never. I am not that kind of person.”
She quickly became a polarizing figure on online cosplay forums and related communities, even those she had never herself visited. Her friends would send her links to sites where she was being viciously lambasted by strangers. “When it first started happening, I was pissed,” she said. “I couldn't understand what I had done to people to deserve such asinine treatment. I would cry, and get sick, and be furious. After it just kept happening over and over I was like, ‘whatever.’ …I mean, I didn't do anything to people. I just went online and made a website so I could have fun and maybe share what I've done with others.”
It's Just A Hobby, People
For Adella, the pinnacle of her frustration happened when a former male friend, apparently upset that she’d chosen another boyfriend, tossed a nude picture of her modified in Photoshop (“the head, hand and belly button are me,” she admits, but says the rest of it is not her) into a firestorm of forum discussion surrounding her. People spammed that image across Adella’s own site. “It finally got to me,” she says, recalling how she spent a Thanksgiving holiday crying upstairs to her mother and aunt.
All of this not because of Adella, but because of Aeris Gainsborough, and the wave of fan sentiment the character still commands, a decade after the release of Final Fantasy VII. Adella says that people who meet her in real life after hearing about her online are surprised at her temperate personality. “[People say], ‘you’re so much cooler than everyone says!’ That’s because everyone has no idea what they’re talking about!”
“My enthusiasm for cosplay is deeply dampened,” she admits, although, with her seamstress skills greatly improved since the Aeris days, she continues working on convention costumes of other game characters. “I really have become jaded by convention people and con-goers, though. I get nervous and freaked out by anybody who approaches me for more than just a picture. It's just… after so long of so much, you get kind of jittery.”
So what would she say, to those inappropriate fans and cruel detractors? “Don't get your panties into a twist if someone online doesn't respond to you with all the vigor you had hoped. I'm not perfect, but I have never gone out of my way to hurt anybody or purposely defame someone's character, yet people are constantly driven to do it to me. Do unto others, is what I say. IT'S JUST. A. HOBBY. PEOPLE.”
She adds, “I'm not some majestic being. I'm just a dork named Sarah who wanted to play dress-up one day.”
And finally, flatly: “I am not doing Crisis Core Aeris.”
[Leigh Alexander is the editor of Worlds in Motion and writes for Destructoid, Paste, Gamasutra and her blog, Sexy Videogameland. She can be reached at leigh_alexander1 AT yahoo DOT com.]
Categories: Column: The Aberrant Gamer
42 Comments
I don't even know who Aeris is, all I know is she died. I think I'm glad I missed it.
The FF cult following has always seemed creepy to me.
nectarine | November 16, 2007 6:16 AM
just to point out in that article, the people that will try to "lambaste" her on those sites are usually Anon posters, she was defended pretty quickly on cosfu when an anon posted dirt with no basis
Rick | November 16, 2007 11:09 AM
Wow, idiots like harassing people that do cosplay need to be shot on the spot. Let these people have fun and enjoy the fun with friends. No need for assholes to fuck with people just because they act different or like to cosplay.
Tyler | November 16, 2007 6:16 PM
good article leigh, more of what we expect of your style. thanks.
Nick | November 16, 2007 6:26 PM
I wonder if she's ever met up with a cosplaying Sephiroth?
MoJo | November 16, 2007 9:19 PM
Ah, the Aeris girl. I check her site out every few months I think, she is an excellent Aeris (my favorite of the FF7 girls) and makes excellent costumes. Why would you even are about bothering a cosplayer because of their character? That's.... unbelievably silly.
MNPundit | November 16, 2007 10:58 PM
All the crap she's had to suffer from a bunch of cowardly trolls and losers is evidence in favor of my own misanthropic attitude towards life. These people don't deserve to be shot on sight: they deserve to go on a backpacking trip to Czech Republic and be kidnapped and auctioned to rich deviants by a torture ring.
As for Adella herself, just one thing: judging only from the photos in this article, she kicks ass.
Pequeño perdedor | November 17, 2007 3:44 AM
As usual, good article, Leigh.
I think this is where people being to blur the lines between fantasy (no pun immediately intended) and reality, when they can't come to grips that it is JUST A HOBBY.
I think that Adella does FANTASTIC work. Most of the hate probably comes from people who wish they could look as well as she does when she cosplays.
I hope that Adella comes and reads the comments made by people who actually like and respect her art, (and yes, it IS art) and know that we do appreciate seeing someone with a talent such as hers share it with everyone else.
She Hate Me | November 17, 2007 7:37 AM
It's funny that it's mentioned she's been called a bitch because from my personal experience...she IS.
dogs | November 17, 2007 4:24 PM
Y'know.. for a casual hobby that was shared by a solemn few just over a decade ago, Cosplay and Anime cons have turned into a drama fest where even talented people can't show their faces because being in public apparently turns otherwise quiet and meek individuals into raving lunatics. I feel sorry for Adella and most female cosplayers in general since they are the quickest to get a bad rep for simply not being able to deal with abnormal assailants.
I kind of have a newfound humbleness from this article. I can only hope none of my cosplay ever turns into something where people feel the need to personally attack me.. Because I'll probably attack back.
ChrowX | November 17, 2007 11:32 PM
This article is all well and good, but it's inaccurate and incomplete
a. She is frighteningly obsessive about this. She actually got plastic surgery to try and look more like Aeris.
b. She has little to no grasp on reality. She wants to get loud over when people take her cosplay seriously, you should see the hissy fits she throws over World of Warcraft.
c. The naked picture is actually her.
d. She is an attention whore without peer. She doesn't put her contact info up sometimes because "maybe it won't be so bad" she does it because she has nothing else going on in her useless, miserable life and craves the attention both good and bad.
Go to www.encyclopediadramatica.com and look her up. I hate very few people in this world, but I truly hate Adella and wish she would just go away. Don't feed this bitch any more attention.
Alex | November 18, 2007 11:03 AM
Geez....I totally sympathize with the whole "being accosted by people at cons." I too am an Aeris fan and have cosplayed as two versions of her...Something creepy always happens to me at a con, but it seems to be worse when I cosplay as her...I love my costumes of her, and I love the character..But because of the attention she receives, I am discouraged to pull it out of my closet to wear sometimes. It's hardly ever a happy medium..The attention is always either one extreme or the other.
And frankly, if you have enough time to bash a cosplayer and obsess over "how evil they are" on forums REGARDLESS of whether or not it is true...I think that makes said bashers really sad individuals.
I haven't met Adella, so I have no right to assume things about her. I would love to meet her one day though, just because of her work.
Regardless of what she has done or hasn't done, the fact still stands that she makes wonderful costumes.
Cosplay is supposed to be FUN and harmless....not an outlet for anger and hostility.
Lexchan | November 18, 2007 6:07 PM
OF course the sensible option would be to assume that at a convention, or in any public context where you will be drawing attention to yourself, you organise some form of security.
I'm sure we'd all like to live in a world where everyone is nice and polite and appreciative, but there will always be people who are obnoxious, rude, false or otherwise nasty. To assume otherwise is naive in the extreme.
If you want your cosplay work to be appreciated for it's artistic merit and to be generally left alone by people, then turning up in an environment where the general public, moreover a section of the general public that has a specific interest in the character you are portraying and possibly some issues with dissociative reality, is foolhardy.
It's a shame that some people are nasty to Adella, but then it wouldn't make a great story if it said "the vast majority of people ignored or took cursory note of her before moving on - anyone who attempted to touch or otherwise molest her was politely moved on by a good friend who had good-humouredly agreed to dress as Barrett" would it?
Andrew | November 19, 2007 5:03 AM
Wow. To Alex, the schmuck above who went more aggro than Stormpike Bowman with his "that pic was real" and "there are few people in this work I hate," dude--wtf?
I'm not a cosplayer, and I'm not even much of a gamer, but I DO know Adella in real life, and she's one of the nicest, sweetest, smartest, and most sensitive people I've met. And, in order of your rants, she's also never had plastic surgery, she has a very clear distinction between reality and fun (part of what can occasionally make this scary is that some folks don't--and she hasn't played WoW in forever), no--the naked pic is NOT her, and if she's an "attention whore," she sure spends a lot of time sewing for, encouraging, and promoting other cosplayers.
You are one angry little man, aren't you? What could possibly have pissed you off this much? I'm sorry your little brother is robbing you of teat-time on mommy, but please don't take it out on every pretty girl you see. Seriously.
Cormac | November 19, 2007 9:33 AM
I don't know if she's actually a 'bitch' or a nice person, but man, people are really creepy-weird about cosplay, I think. I mean, relax, she's just some cosplayer with an especially great cosplay. I'm so confused by people taking the time to freak out about her or any cosplayer online.
less /cgl/ please, kthx!
vikki | November 20, 2007 11:58 PM
u are the best aeris is the and dont' listen to wat people say to u they are just loser who want's to be like u but can
Michael | November 21, 2007 1:03 AM
So... Did the person who posted the encyclopedia dramatica url actually believe that it is a realistic site?
Even if someone is really a "female dog", as I like to politely say, I don't want to go all out and say that about her.
I don't know Adella, or Sarah as her name is stated as actually being, I can't say what she is. All I know is that she is a freaking cosplayer, who has a passion for what she is doing, and that's that.
She's not Aeries, and she is surely not any of the other characters that she cosplayed.
There is most definitely a thousand reasons for people caring less at the fact that she is an actual human being (like you and me), it is just sad that they can't understand how much of an ass they show themselves to be.
Van. Go | November 21, 2007 4:57 PM
It really isn't nice to hear about the lengths people are willing to go to discredit someone. The article on Encylopedia dramtica is most likely inaccurate. From a brief browsing of the site, it generally seems to be dedicated to insulting females. This becomes apparent as it focuses on tiny details and blows them out of proportion, I mean, Sarah (Adella) does cosplay because she enjoys it, surely not a problem? But they seem to view it as a personality flaw, where is the sence in this? The site is most likely run by boys who are angry in ways along the lines of what Cormac said. That said, I suppose a person being entitled to their own opinion is important, but the site claims anyone who says such things is emo, so they really don't seem to know what they're talking about.
Nick | November 22, 2007 11:13 AM
(French girl, don't mind the language please)
I remember falling on an Adella's Aeris pic' a long time ago, I was deeply moved and awed by her hard work and talent in making a physical picture of a game character.
Especially That game character.
It's already been said but Aeris marked deeply every games fans.
Despite of that, I'm still extremely astonished by the reactions she had to endure.
It saddens me that such pure intentions had to be crashed by assholes like "She Hate Me" and "ChrowX".
It amazes me how people can take hobby like Cosplay and GAME Character (for Heaven's sake !) so seriously.
Fools let aside...
I'ld just like to thank you Adella because your work gave me a lot of happiness, and seeing the physical form of Belle's dress was definitely a child dream come true.
Lilou | November 22, 2007 3:53 PM
Excellent article, way to shed some light on the entire thing. I think some people forget that cosplayers, even talented ones, are still human.
Azereki | November 26, 2007 5:13 AM
It's definately fucked up how people treat this girl. Just because people don't like Aeris they immediately harass her? FUCKED UP! I say don't judge someone before you get to know them and don't judge someone just because they cosplay as a certain character.
People need to grow up and leave Adella alone. She doesn't deserve all this fucking drama.
Venus | December 2, 2007 6:36 AM
She Hate Me and ChrowX do you actually know Adella in real life to make these accusations true? I mean seriously, ChrowX do you really think she got plastic surgery to look more like Aeris? LOL! She has natural beauty and doesn’t need plastic surgery to look like anyone. You are so pathetic for making up something so stupid. She Hate Me, how is Adella a bitch? Maybe if you actually sit there and think (I know it’s hard but just try) what she has to go through on a day to day basis because of idiots like yourself, anyone would be a bitch. I myself would be a bitch to someone that just randomly decides to say I’m one thing without getting to know me for who I am. Get off your high horse and come back to reality, if anything you’re the bitch for being jealous of Adella and her wonderful talent. Oh yeah and ChrowX, Adella seems to have a great life with going to school, a boyfriend, loving family, and great friends. She has no time to be miserable or try to come up with ways to get attention. People need to grow up and get their own lives.
Adella makes wonderful clothes and she is a great designer. I also have to say she is very courageous for dealing with all this bull crap. Kudos to Adella and keep doing what you do best! Being happy and having fun!!!
Mandy | December 6, 2007 8:52 AM
"For Adella, the pinnacle of her frustration happened when a former male friend, apparently upset that sheâd chosen another boyfriend"
OOOH, what a SLANTED perspective on how you treated Ramian, Adella! Actually, this entire article is nothing but slanted perspective. Just remember: A lot of people who actually know you hate you!
<3 Siobhan
Siobhan | December 13, 2007 3:38 PM
I don't remember her being a bitch; that takes a pair; but I do remember her being a childish attention whore and flirting (or more?) for tons of bought gold on WoW.
Either the attention had to be on her or no one. This really makes me wish chat logging worked on WoW when I gamed with her.
Kova | December 13, 2007 3:41 PM
Oh, and her constantly infecting Karushez Vent with her nasal, whiny voice... if I never hear her harpy voice again in this life I will die a happy girl.
Look up what Grandis turned into sometime and remember, Adella: You're the only time Grandis has ever been right about anything.
So sad!
Siobhan | December 13, 2007 3:43 PM
My cat looks more like Aeris than Adella, sorry to say.
kay | December 15, 2007 9:29 PM
Wooooow. You know, whether or not she's an attention whore, or a bitch, or whatever.. why does it matter? Does it actually involve you people? It's not like you are forced to deal with her in any situation. People are who they are, and most the time, the general population is a bit off with their remarks.
If you hate her, and think she's such an attention whore, then stop giving her attention, and wasting your time.
Eileen | December 16, 2007 10:23 PM
Man...People are so ridiculous. Why would you do that to somebody that you don't even know.I love her cosplays heck man when i was a bit younger i looked up to them. And i was hoping for her to do the crisis core aeris...man.Those people are stupid and should go to hell.If you hate her so much stop makin stupid remarks and leave her alone!!Adella(sarah) is awesome. She is a human people she is a girl named sarah who has talent and feelings!
Maaya | December 28, 2007 4:51 PM
A-FRIGGEN-MAN. Im am finally happy to see somone post and actually feed people the CORRECT information. =]
Tiffany Angel | December 30, 2007 4:44 PM
OK, let's start with something new.
How about READING?
Firsthand, had you read the comments IN ORDER, you would've seen that me and ChrowX actually SUPPORTED Adella, not bashed her.
Second, and this is the most important thing, STOP blindly running into things head first before knowing the situation. Had you took the time out to see that the comment comes first, then the line, then the name of the poster of the comment, you would have realized that we didn't say those things, it was actually dogs and Alex, not me and ChrowX.
And yet, you wonder why Adella hides her information. I swear, people on the internet are innernuts.
She Hate Me | January 6, 2008 11:12 AM
I know for a fact that she has had plastic surgery done. She claimed that it was for a deviated septum, but anyone who knows anything about the nose knows that hers was vanity related.
I can also confirm that she's not only an attention whore online but in person also. At cons if the attention isn't on her, she'll take over any conversation or even cry, pretend to be hurt to get attention.
ED is the arsehole of the internet, but it's about 95% correct when it comes to her.
Signed,
A former friend
Anon | January 10, 2008 6:27 PM
I always admired Adella's work since Aeris costume. I love this character, so I was really stunned by Adella's cosplay. And a bit jealous, of course ;)
From what I've seen from her since, I have to agree with some of the negative things about her, like her being a bit like a spoiled child who wants attention. But considering that she does get too much attention from people, because of her gorgeous costumes and beauty, it's normal that a human being gets spoiled by all the attention. So I don't blame Adella for it, I blame the fans or whatever.
Imagine getting messages from hundreds of people everyday, positive and negative. Would you be polite and eager to chat with every single one of them? I don't think so... Adella is not some goddess with the ability to respond everyone like they hope she does. She's almost like a star, and stars usually have people dealing with all the feedback and hate mail. For one person alone, it's just too much to deal with.
Adella have her own life, and she has the right to choose to talk only with the people that interest her.
Apart from that, I think Adella matured a lot since 2002 (the first time I've ever heard of her). She's finally driving her life in the right direction, so
I wish her nothing but happiness and good luck!
An admirer | January 18, 2008 12:25 PM
And you might have a point, "An admirer", if she didn't make a point of showing up everywhere she does and shouting from the rooftops about how she's internet famous.
Or, if you don't want to take crap from other people in WoW... try not naming your WoW character with the SAME NAME you use for your cosplay site.
Duh.
Siobhan | January 23, 2008 4:00 PM
seriously, im not familiar with the drama, but she's a stunning pretty girl!
Pink Flower Girl Dress | January 30, 2008 7:17 PM
This girl is maaad talented; her attention to detail in costume design is ridiculously good, and her original designs and character and fashion concepts she posted on deviantART (which is how I discovered her) are awesome.
I can believe that people dislike her; there are some full-time haters out there. Trolls abound on the interwebs, as explained in John Gabriel's Greater Internet F[[kwad Theory (google it).
FF VII is my favorite game, but I honestly don't care about Aeris enought to make a fuss over her, and had a hard time understanding just why people fussed over her so much until quite recently. I like that she just laid out they bidness (ref: "don't get your panties in [a bunch]")! coddamn man, kick-ASS. Power to you, girl.
I'm not gonna change anyone's mind by saying anything else, but I hope people'll be a bit more reasonable and a lot less tactless (the latter of which I am guilty of) in dealing with people in general, and cosplayers in particular.
dorobou | March 13, 2008 3:28 AM
I came across Sarah [Adella] on Deviantart, and her cosplaying took my breath away. She has this stunning natural beauty, and a penchant for sewing and fashion design that is almost second to none.
I'm a rabid Final Fantasy fan, but I cannot understand how people take it so seriously. I mean, I respect how much players of the franchise love the characters, but is it honestly worth crying over or insulting someone with the same passion?
Now, I don't know Sarah at all really; I've spoken to her a few times over the net, but with me being in a different country, it's difficult to get to know her very well. From what I have seen though, Sarah is an extremely kind, intelligent and optimistic young woman, who is definitely an inspiration for myself and other young girls [& boys] to find something we're passionate about.
I don't know, maybe some of these things are true - I wouldn't know - but who are we, and who are you, to say such foul things about her? It is perfectly understandable for someone so popular to not have enough time to reply to every single email, or letter, and the least you can do it ease off on the praise, however much you may love her or her work. I'm sure that she's endlessly grateful for all of the positive comments and feedback.
I'll probably get swarmed with hate mail for saying all of this, but what some of you are saying is just plain disgusting - accusing her of being a bitch, an "attention-seeking whore" and a "spoilt brat" - and nooone has any right to say such things to anyone, especially if they haven't done anything to you. In fact, even if she HAD done something to you that wasn't agreeable, that doesn't entitle you to bitch and moan and be generally slack.
Sarah is a pleasant, beautiful and kind-hearted person who doesn't deserve to be called names or accused of doing sexually explicit photo shoots (I mean, come ON. If you honestly believe that she DID take that picture, you must be challenged). Think of how you would feel in her situation, and think before you type. "Arguing over the internet is like running in the Special Olympics; even if you win, you're still retarded."
You rock, Sarah <3
Jessika [sleepingTragedy] | March 20, 2008 11:16 PM
I'm just curious... Is it really anybody's business if she had a nasty break up with her ex? A lot of real people have nasty break ups and a lot of normal people sometimes treat others badly especially when they get emotionally hurt(as can be said about her ex for posting the nude, he sure is no angel himself!). This is only human afterall. I don't understand why everybody saying bad things about a cosplayer is acting like they were any more holier. It's like you who call cosplayers bitches never bitch or fight with other people yourself. My ass you don't! Grow up and face reality you hypocrites judging others while not looking yourself on the mirror. What you're doing is exactly what you're accusing these cosplayers of. Makes you so much LESS holier. If she was a bitch to you at a con... so what? Really, get over it. You will not get along with everyone and everybody. Stop spreading the retardedness over the internet.
It's not really your life, it's none of your business what she does or how she treats people. Get over it! She does not owe you anything, not even nice behaviour. And if you don't know her then assuming what is said on the internet to be true is just not very realistic. You have no basis and most likely you are just feeding to a massive troll while being completely ignorant about the reality.
I do not know her but I do infact appreciate her talent. Not nessecarily the Aeris costumes but some others she has made.
And EVERYBODY knows con people are sometimes young, crazy and abusive because they get so into their hobby that they don't really care wether it's right or wrong to assault a cosplayer for their own selfish reasons because it's just a JOKE to them to suddenly glomp or attack a 'character' they feel strongly for. Ofcourse this is in many ways very childish and sad behaviour and people will get hurt. At least grow out of it when you're over your malicious teen years.
As for the internet, it is truly a scary place because everyone can say whatever they want to and hide behind a veil of anonymity and most likely said people would never say these things to another person face-to-face. They don't seem to care if some more sensitive people commit suicides or mass slaughter because of what some anonymous people over the internet have said to them. The future generations are indeed facing an ordeal of how to grow up normally with such a media surrounding them everyday. There was no internet in my childhood but for everyone born later it is a fact of life.
Boo | April 9, 2008 8:19 AM
wow first off id like to say god bless amercas sweethearts. even though im canadian, eh? second off sarah what a fantastic woman you are putting up with all this crap from everyone just admirable.finally you look very pretty in ALL of your outfits just the resemblance in any 1 of them to the sample pic is uncanny, so kudos to you you made my day
some internet wanderer | June 1, 2008 11:36 PM
no. I am affraid I must disagree with you all. have you seen what she actualy dose. this girl is one of the bigest attention whores I have ever encountered, and I have encountered many. in short Adella and all of her fans are completely fucktarded.
Annon | October 21, 2008 6:26 PM
One of the most talented attention whores on the planet.
However, talented or not, she is still an attention whore.
Yuka Okura | April 30, 2010 5:30 AM
The fact that a 29-year-old woman is STILL a cosplayer really makes me wonder what exactly is wrong with the world. I mean, it's okay to create costumes (after all, she went to a fashion university, so it's only fair that she'd focus on creating costumes), but to actually pose for photoshoots, attend anime/game conventions and all that stuff... It's just too lifeless. What's even more lifeless is the fact that there are people who worship her and/or stalk her because of it. Seriously people, the woman is almost 30, she shows her age, she's not a girl anymore, and SHE'S STILL COSPLAYING? I myself am 18 and I'd be embarassed if I were to attend one of these conventions dressed normally, let alone dressed as some anime character.
She really needs to snap out of it before she turns 40 and ends up attending conventions dressed as Aerith's mother.
John | October 15, 2010 4:29 PM
Cosplaying in general - with all the cheap cottons, lycras and nylon mixes 'standing in' for real materials is becoming a real bone in the throat for the design community.
We are only going to see a rise in the attention-whoring, self entitled, mediocrities such as Adella (and that God-awful Aimee Major Steinberger).
The future is terrifying. The future is Nylon...... and fat.
Yuka Okura | March 9, 2011 1:14 PM