Phantom Thief Cosplay Party (Part 1: Animania)

I’ve never been so stressed out while dressing up as an anime character, and I went to FeatherCon with Futaba as a Featherman I didn’t even recognise.

Currently, I was contemplating never leaving Ann’s room at all. I could see them all over there down the hallway, laughing and playing some fighting game on her TV in the main living room, while I skulked about, alone. I needed to stay in the apartment, for Ann, but should I just go into the bathroom for the next few hours? No, they’re just going to ask if I’m alright or if I’m coming out soon or any other reality bending question that I’ll have to say yes to...

“Ren! Would you hurry up and get in here already?!”

Yeah. Like that kind of question…

While her room had been very girly, with a ton of clothes rails and shoe racks and artsy posters on the wall, the main area was more neutral. It was in the upper market of apartments I'd been in, a converted studio apartment with a lot of brick work and modern architecture inside. There were only four doors in the whole place (two bedrooms, bathroom, and front door) with most of the rest of the rooms all open to each other in the main area. The kitchen lay only behind a single counter top that was covered in various snacks and drinks, leading on to a bespoke lounge with two red couches facing a huge television with a coffee table in the center. I always forget that Ann's parents are kinda loaded with the travelling, she just doesn't like talking about it from what I remember.

"REN!"

It’s such a strange feeling, because dread was coating my every step as I approached them half-willingly, but... the narcissist in me kind of likes being wanted. To be a guy at the party that people smile at and are happy he attended, my friends all clapped and cheered while I stood there, showing off my anime costume. Clicking my fingers at them a couple times like Roy did on the show.

“How wonderful!” Haru beamed, “You look so dashing in blue, Ren! The quality truly is professional.”

Ann was also very happy with the praise, “Of course! Can you believe my job was just getting rid of a whole box of great cosplay stuff!?" Though I didn't vocalise it, I felt like that was emanantly believable. "I grabbed it 'cause I thought it would at least make Halloween easier, but it's so fun to share~”

“Um, I’m not familiar enough with… Attack of the Titans. Who is the character?” Asked Makoto with a tilted head.

“Geez! Way to be wrong on all levels, Makoto!” gawped the resident super nerd, getting right in the grill of the student council president, “First, it’s 'Attack on Titan'. Second, he’s clearly Roy Mustang from Full Metal Alchemist! Do you even know who you’re dressed as?!”

The short purple wig and skin tight navy leotard under a biker jacket could be identified as Motoko Kusagani from Ghost in the Shell by most even those only vaguely familiar with anime, which is why Makoto looked so nervous at the question, “S-sure… I’m from, uh, 'Cowboy Bopper'?”

“Gah! Critical damage! Too Wrong! I have to show you SO MUCH anime!”

While they fought over what was ‘must watch’, I took the seat next to Ryuji on the couch, “Hey Roy, you good?” I felt both better and guilty by Naruto’s question as he nodded at me, making his headband come down just over his eyes, “Shit man, I can never tie these right…”

I took it upon myself to give him a hand, while Ann handed him another drink, her chest hanging low in her bikini top as she leaned down behind us. “At least you’re trying to wear your costume right, Yusuke’s still not getting into the spirit of it.” She pouted over to the man kneeling on the floor from what I believe is a shinigami uniform from Bleach.

“I told you, I am perfectly dressed!”

“Wear the hat! Urahaha wears the hat!”

“I don’t know who you are talking about! I am the famous painter, Katsushika Hokusai! You see it, right Joker?” He asked, making my head twinge with a slight discomfort. A sudden knowledge being thrust into my brain that hadn’t been there before. Katsushika Hokusai, painter of the great wave, born before photography, so honestly he looked roughly like the guy in terms of clothing from the painting that had been thrust into my brain.

“Y-yeah. You are… though shouldn’t you be bald?”

His eyes were already sparkling that I’d recognised him, but now he leapt from his seat with far too much determination, “Of course! The final piece of the puzzle to be seen as the true historical artist! I will return momentarily.”

“No! Quit encouraging him, Ren!” Ryuji barked while he and Ann blocked Yusuke from the bathroom.

“I am impressed you knew so much about painters though, Ren. I-it makes me almost feel underdressed now…” Mumbled the nervously blushing Haru as she pulled on her tiny yellow t-shirt. It was clear that this Misty from Pokémon had grown quite a lot in chest area, as her slightly pudgy midriff and thick milky cleavage looked so very inviting poking out from the undersized top. Not to mention the tiny booty shorts with red suspenders that only continued to accentuate the heiress’ sexy as fuck body. She noticed my staring and gave a slight pose she only barely had the nerve for, “U-um, do you like it?”

I could only give a nod to the blushing beauty as my throat grew dry again. Where’d my Pepsi go?

“Oh yeah? What about mine, do you like mine, Ren?” interrogated Futaba quickly. It was certainly a different choice to the sexy outfits the other girls had picked, but I did like it reality change or not. She quickly got into a hunch, biting her nail while staring at me, just like L did in **** Note. Even if it was just a baggy white long sleeve top. Going far enough down her body to cover the fact she had no pants and no socks on her feet, “Before you say anything, the cosplays were all for people with +1 sexier bodies than mine. This was the best I can do to upgrade it.” She admitted, giving a side eye glance to Misty’s pokeball strained shirt.

She said that, but Futaba had grown a lot since she'd magically become 18. Her front and back shelves definitely noticeable through the fabric of her cosplay, mixed with her delicate porcelain features made for quite the stunning adult. Especially one that was lewdly wearing only panties below the belt.

"U-uh... I don't remember the episode where L was wearing no pants?"

“L’s tight-ass skinny jeans were using constrict on me! But his shirt is baggy enough that it’s fine. No lewder than Ann's bikini she's equipped in.” The ginger pointed out, Ann not having much of a comeback for that one. “B-besides, it’s summer! Men can walk around the street with no shirts when it’s hot! Girls are allowed to go around in just their panties in public if they really want to, right?”

…oh no. She's already changing things, looking more confident in her decision, I have to negate this somehow, right?

“Y-yup! That sounds legit!” I laughed far too hard and fast to make anyone laugh with me, “But, like, that’s a pretty small amount of women! One in every sixteen million who want to walk the streets like that! Right? Anyone?”

“More like one in every sixteen.” Futaba corrected me.

“Woah, is that for real?” Ryuji asked both of us.

Dammit, got caught by a stray for real. I'm sorry women! I tried!

“I-I can attest to that number…” a timid Haru admitted, “I often do not have the luxury to do so in the upper class company my father kept, but often, when I was gardening, the feel of nature so close to me felt amazing…” Sorry Haru! I… well, I’ll be visiting your garden more for reasons, but still, sorry!

“See? I’m right, so everyone can lower their stress bars already~”

“I-It’s still a nice cosplay, and you look g-good in it regardless. The quality of them is better than anything I could ever even hope to make.” I admitted, pinching my blue fabric cosplay between my fingers.

With a smug smile, the happy ginger L resumed her low eyelid impression to point at me, “‘You know, Light... sometimes the questions are complicated, but the answers are simple.’" I can… relate to that, Mr. L.

“At least you guys can wear the costumes…” Morgana moaned from his pink hat, stretching his little cat body before curling back up inside. The horned hat, I think, was from the little tanuki thing from One Piece. I really wasn’t familiar with that one, it was always far too long for me to bother with.

“I offered to make you look like Chopper properly, but you said no~” Ann teased, reaching her hand into the hat to scratch the unhappy kitty's noggin.

“Lady Ann, please! I’m a man! Stop trying to make me wear kid’s costumes! In fact, no adult should be wearing this crap!”

After insulting everyone in the room, Ryuji’s hand quickly entered the hat too, “Geez, way to be a buzzkill, Mona.” More meowing complaints from deep inside the pink as Mona called out from the two blondes' petting attack.

“I think it’s fun as well!” said Haru, clapping her hands together, “And I think you’d make a lovely Chopper, Mona-kun~”

Trying her best to keep her jacket tightly over her chest, Makoto was currently frowning from her seat on the floor, “I think you said that ‘Chopper’ was from ‘One Peace’, but I haven’t seen that one…”

“Yeah, no shit.” Futaba teased.

Looking annoyed at the gremlin, Makoto decided to turn the conversation away from herself, “Hmm… Ren? Are you a fan of One Piece?”

Uh oh.

A few episodes suddenly streamed into my head, making me wince at the slight uncomfortable feeling of new neurons being added to my brain, “J-just a bit.”

“Huh?! You said you’d never watched it before, last time I asked!” Ryuji suddenly called out in an accusatory way.

"Ryuji, i-it's not-"

He gasped, “Don’t tell me… you caught up to date so we could talk about it, for real?”

...

Ever had 1000 episodes of something suddenly blast into your head at once?

Because… fuck. It hurts.

Infinite knowledge of a gazillion minutes of my life dedicated to piracy and adventures poured into me, somehow fitting in to the last month of my life around everything else that happened. Good show though. “Yeah, I was k-keeping it a secret… s-surprise~” I panted, having to keep my clear discomfort under wraps while the headache tried to subside.

"Niiicee! I thought you'd like it! Must have been one hell of a binge read!" Yeah, no kidding.

“What else have you been hiding?” Jabbed Futaba, raising her eyebrow at me accusatorily, “Are you also into Fate? Do you actually know every Pokemon? Gasp! Are you going to watch Jujutsu Kaisen with me?!”

“Yes! Yes! Stop asking me things!” I whined, grasping my head in pain as a fuck ton of information flooded into me. For better or worse, I knew who Gasparde, Gilgamesh, and Gastrodon were, and now have to go watch at least some anime with Futaba. Which, you know, is fine, but the pain in my head sucked a lot of the immediate fun though.

Makoto frowed, “I suppose I’m further back than I thought… I had no idea how into anime you were, Ren.”

“Yeah seriously," Ryuji agreed before reaching over to the coffee table to munch on some Doritos, “Oh! I gotta show you all the best One Piece Hentai now!”

Multiple chats were forming now between us, and people were weaving in and out of conversations fairly naturally, with Haru chiming in to ask Skull, “Oh, please may I see some of it too? I haven’t gotten as far as Ren, but I feel as though there are some doujins of Nico Robin that could pique my interests.” I saw a flash of sadism in her eyes that made me worry.

“I too feel like I am behind in my pornographic reading. Though, perhaps it is because there are so few who read the same stories as I." Yusuke explained as he returned from the bathroom (thankfully) not bald, "It feels like most do not respect the works of Katsushika Hokusai’s tentacle masterpieces.”

Futaba grilled Yusuke quickly and powerfully, “No one’s ever heard of that guy, Inari! He’s probably some old painter from the 80s, right?”

“Just because he is from 1816 does not mean his work-”

“The eighteen hundreds?! Dude, we need to get you on a hentai website, stat.”

Ann was quick to hand over a manga book to the boy, apparently just having a stack of hentai ready to go near the other activities she had prepared for us, “Or just read some of mine. It’s more for girls, but sex is sex, right?”

I sat back in my chair to detox my brain for a few seconds, only to find... a smile on my face.

Honestly, even ignoring the pain in my head, and the torrid topic of making Yusuke read hentai from after the year of our lord 2010, all this chatting felt, you know, nice.

I had been squeezed through the emotional wringer the last few days, but just getting to hang out with everyone... this was the closest I’d felt to having a normal life again.

I guess I could actually find myself smiling as we watched Yusuke’s eyes focus on the hentai manga, complimenting its ink work on the girl’s cock-full vagina and weirding Makoto out. Or when Mona cockily started rattling off 'superior hentai' that he assumed Ann had read before. Or just watching Futaba try to subtly poke Haru in the chest to check if her massive tits were real.

It was surreal, but also like I was in a environment with friends again. One where I wasn’t the biggest piece of shit ever with a list of chores to fondle women on my phone… gah, there's the guilt again.

“Alright! I think it’s time we get the party properly started!” Said the host as she stood up abruptly. That thin tiger print material barely supporting her body, a jiggle I think the other three men noticed too.

“Hey! We were mid-match in Tekken!” protested Futaba.

“It was just you and Ryuji beating everyone. We should play a game everyone can enjoy!”