Fan the Fame
Fan the Fame
ShadowWillow
A guy in line is dressed as a dragonlord, and it’s one of the most impressive cosplays I’ve ever seen.
His wings spread out behind him, black piping strong enough to support an expanse of sheet and fabric glimmering with gold, and yet somehow kinked and engineered to fold in on itself at the press of a button in his vest. It’s not just the engineering that’s impressive, though. He’s put so much attention into every detail. His skin is painted gold, with scales sketched meticulously into the paint. And the armor is spot on, from the black shadowdragon that stretches around his chestplate-head breathing fire down the front of one arm, tail curving down the back of the other-to the gold edging, made to look worn from years of battling in the rift.
I’m about as awkward as a baby skunk in a box of kittens when I talk to strangers, but I’m desperate for a picture, and taking pictures at a con without asking first is a huge no-no. So I take a deep breath, pull out my phone, and approach him. “That dragon is stunning,” I say when I reach him. “I mean, absolute perfection. Just really, really incredible. Like out-of-this-world incredible. Could I –could I get a selfie with you?”
I’m pretty sure he blushes beneath his gold paint as he stammers out his agreement. Why hello, fellow baby skunk.
It ends up being impossible to fit the wings or any of the best parts of the cosplay in the picture when I hold the camera out for a selfie, but the sweetheart of a girl just ahead of the dragonlord in line offers to take a picture for us. Her hair is shaved on one side and streaked with blue on the other, which looks epic but also chilly out here in the windy line that’s stretched along the side of the convention center. The dragonlord has her take one on his camera too, which is cute. He must be doing that thing where he takes pictures with everyone who asks to take pictures with him.
When the girl hands my phone back, I check the picture. The wings are cut off a bit and the lighting’s kind of dark, but it’ll have to do. “Thanks,” I say to her. “That’s perfect.”
I turn back to the dragonlord. “And thank you!”
He gives a slow shallow bow, then says, “And, uh, could I get your, uh, autograph?”
“My…autograph?”
He nods. “You’re Willow, right?”
Fan the Fame is narrated from three unique teenaged perspectives: Lainey, Willow and Sam. Lainey is the sister of uber famous online gamer and YouTube streamer Cody (the Codemeister), and she is traveling as his paid assistant to the Legends of the Stone Con (LotSCON), a cosplay convention in Toronto. Willow (ShadowWillow) is a semi-famous streamer who was once portrayed as Cody’s love interest and is now rooming with Lainey at LotSCON while also trying to increase her influence with streamers. Sam (SamTheBrave), a big fan of ShadowWillow, is a novice streamer with confidence issues and a skin picking disorder. Sam is attending LotSCON as a paying guest. While Cody is the most famous celebrity in the group, he is appearing at LotSCON with Team Meister, his posse of players. LumberLegs, Lainey’s crush, Cody’s friend and a fellow celebrity streamer, is also appearing at the con with the group.
While ShadowWillow wants to use her flirty relationship and association with Cody to raise her online profile, his own sister wants to expose Cody as the sexist misogynist he is behind the veil of fame. Under the pretense of filming Cody for his fans, Lainey captures the dark side of his personality on camera and plots to bring down his career. She struggles internally with bringing down others at the same time as collateral damage and ultimately releases the video months later when she will be away at school and not home with Cody and her mother.
The characters in Fan the Fame are well-developed, and the storyline dips into timely social topics, including rape culture, sexism, misogyny, feminism, mental health, belonging, and bullying. ShadowWillow’s and Lainey’s struggles to be treated equally in a male dominated arena are important talking points for youth as is LumberLegs’ depression. Unfortunately, the various points of view, online personas and characters with multiple names sometimes proves distracting, and the messages can sometimes come across as heavy-handed. In addition, those not familiar with the cosplay convention setting will face a steep learning curve as the language, terminology and cosplay and gaming culture references in Fan the Fame may prove challenging for those readers. But those in the know will appreciate a YA novel that focuses on contemporary issues and is immersed in cosplay culture.
Cate Carlyle is a librarian, author and former elementary teacher currently residing in Halifax, Nova Scotia. If she cosplayed, she’d be Velma.