Fandoms aren't the only nerdy thing on the rise. There's another phenomenon that is gaining popularity. The art of "cosplaying". Cosplaying is defined as a contraction of "costume" and "playing". In this phenomenon, people dress up as their favorite characters, using their costumes, accessories, and personalities, to essentially try and become the characters. This is very similar to performing in a musical or a stage show, except with cosplay you don't have to keep the facade the entire time if you don't want. This differs from Halloween, however, as afore mentioned, more often than not, the players don't just enjoy dressing up as characters, they are the characters.

This cosplay is ridiculously impressive. I'm a huge fan of the movie series, "How To Train Your Dragon." Let's talk about his costume...

The most important aspect of the art of cosplay is the costume. Some players prefer to dress simply, while others attempt to create intricate and detailed costumes. Costumes are for sale, but they are often extremely expensive if you are putting together a complicated cosplay. Therefore, many people create their own costumes themselves. A common purchase for cosplay costumes are also wigs, hair dyes and colored contacts.

For some characters, usually video game and anime characters, they usually have weapons with them. However, I must give a warning regarding using weapons. As you can see below, the first time I went to a fan convention (Awesome Con in Washington D.C., specifically), police had to be weary of those carrying fake weapons. Don't antagonize them, or you may end up face down on the street with two Deadpools and a crying Harley Quinn.

It's often important for cosplayers to be as accurate as possible in terms of costume and personality, due to the fact many conventions have competitions with awards for accuracy. It's great if you can afford to participate in these contests (note: the costumes that are entered into the contest usually have to be self-made, not bought), as it's often reassuring to know that you are succeeding in "being" your favorite character.

Some people encounter the problem of having their favorite character be the opposite of their gender. Many people find no issue with this, and still dress as their favorite character. Others put a twist on the character, changing the gender but still keeping their personality and many important parts of the costume.

Cosplay has been on the rise since around 1990, beginning as a hobby, but becoming insanely popular, especially in Japan. If you see anyone dressed up, be sure to give them kudos, as cosplaying takes up a large amount of time, money and effort, and (speaking from experience) having their efforts acknowledged makes it all worthwhile.