I had intended to cosplay Rinoa from the first time I played Final Fantasy VIII, because I fell in love with her white dance dress. But when Mamoru-san mentioned that he was thinking of cosplaying Squall, we made a promise to each other that when he did Squall, I'd do Rinoa, both in their usual outfits. I just didn't know he meant to do it within a year! So when he said he was thinking of wearing them to Otakon, my mind immediately turned to Athena-chan, since she had done such a crisp, clean job on my Meryl costume a year earlier.

The costume came out absolutely beautifully--I think it's second only to Emma in being my most comfortable costume (combat boots are infinitely better then heels, but they're still not as comfortable as sneakers!) Having no sleeves in Baltimore's humid summer weather was like a God-send. Unfortunately, I don't think I look much like Rinoa--I felt like I was Tifa cosplaying as Rinoa all day! But it was a lot of fun to match Lou's Zell, so if the opportunity comes up, I'd love to wear this costume again.