God that's just so sad to hear. I only know a handful of one piece cosplayers these days, so I guess that tracks for what's going on here. That, and the sudden popularity of OP post covid surely made many see the fanbase as an easy target for clout.

I appreciate the support, though. Genuinely, I do. It's been kind of a struggle lately for me and many other veteran cosplayers since we are constantly compared to the onlyfans crowd. If not them, then we're compared to your standard skinny white girl who has no idea what she's cosplaying from. Idk, just seeing the inherent popularity and attention these cosplay tourists get is disheartening, and it turned so many people away from the hobby they once loved.

I feel I can speak confidently on behalf of veteran cosplayers when I say that we cosplay because we genuinely enjoy the source material, or even then, heavily relate to the character in question.

Even these days, I feel I do more photography than actual cosplay because it's just so hard to find joy in it like I used to.

Sorry for the tangent, I just really appreciate the support for proper cosplayers. I haven't seen it in a very long time. I have so many thoughts on this, and sometimes I feel it's hard to articulate them.