The BB Brigade as Overwatch heroines!

Terri checked her costume in the hotel's mirror one last time. Spiky-haried wig? Check. Goggles? Check. Synthetic suede flight jacket? Check. Gauntlet holsters, complete with flip-out SMGs? Check. Form-fitting spandex? Oh, hella check.

But what made a cosplay fun wasn't the outfit. It was the attitude.

"Cheers, love!" Terri winked. "The cavalry's here!"

She clutched her hands to the LED harness and giggled, trying and failing to contain her enthusiasm. For the first time, she was going to go out there and bring something to life. She was Tracer, head to toe. She wasn't some boring old sprinter for the local university- she was Lena Oxton, fighter pilot and time-traveling champion of Overwatch. She was sleek. She was sexy. She was awesome.

Was this what her friends felt like whenever they put on their costumes? The rush of excitement, the sense of gratification and accomplishment for bringing a storybook character into the real world? The comfort and confidence that came with becoming someone else for a day? If so, then she knew exactly why they spent so many hours locked away making props and costumes. The payoff was incredible.

Terri had needed some help with her own costume. She'd had no idea how to sew the fake fur into the neck and lining of her jacket, or even how to properly spray her wig. Her friend Joy had graciously provided her weapons and harness, which was great, since Terri could hardly figure out which way to put batteries in her remote.

By far the hardest part of her costume was the leggings. She'd gotten an earful from Lynn about what to stitch and where. Terri had sewn the skintight material together from what felt like a dozen different pieces. The main material was a mix of dyed orange spandex and supplex that Lynn had helped to get the hexagonal pattern just right, stitched together with a thicker crotch piece and double-stitched along the rear seam. Lynn had gotten pushy towards the end, so Terri had rushed through it as quickly as she could. The end result looked great- why did that girl have to be such a perfectionist?

Terri could have worn a nude bodysuit underneath the leggings, but of course that was right out. It made her look like a marshmallow, no matter what Lynn said. Terri's long legs were all-natural, and she loved the way her butt looked without the unnecessary padding. Tracer showed off her assets in-game; why couldn't Terri do the same? She'd even gone the extra mile and done up her underthings in-character. It made her feel a little bit naughty- she'd never show it off, but she was Tracer all the way down.

Of course, no matter how well the spandex fit her tight figure, Terri still had to cheat a little. In order to keep her leggings from riding up or sliding down, she'd slipped on some suspenders underneath her jacket that hitched up the super-high tops of the spandex and made sure everything stayed just fine and cheeky. The bottoms of her leggings looped around her ankles so nothing slid too far up, either.

Terri glanced around the hotel lobby and tapped her foot impatiently. Where was everyone? The panels were about to start! Had she missed them? Were they late?

Honestly, she was about to consider just taking off on her own. Maybe there were some other fun people to cosplay with.