Return to Arts and Crafts

My partner introduced me to Fire Emblem in college, and I had a lot of fun getting into what was, at the time, a brand new genre of games to me! I'd gotten through Sacred Stones and Awakening and Fire Emblem Heroes had just come out when I convinced him to cosplay his favorite Fire Emblem character (Marth), and that I would happily cosplay Caeda so we could match. I was confident I could do both their outfits! The problem: there was only two months before the con.

Completing two costumes in the time it would take me to build a single one was quite the marathon. I think I spent practically all my free time on these two costumes, but it was so worth it! Outside of the time constraint, the main challenge for me was to learn to make patterns to fit someone other than myself. Marth and Caeda are both a mix of purchased and self-patterned parts. Both tunics were patterned using some of our existing clothes as base. Our pants and wigs were purchased, as well as our boots. (I got some generic white boots online, while he found Marth boots online.) Both armor sets were made the same way; a chestplate and two pauldrons made out of EVA Foam using straps and snap clips to attach to our bodies. Our gloves were patterned by tracing our hands as a base and sewn with sport tech mesh fabric so they would be breathable.

Marth's cape was split in two parts; the cape and the neck part are separated so that it wouldn't strange my poor partner. (the system wasn't great though and it still put pressure on his chest, unfortunately.) Marth's crown was EVA Foam glued on a headband, and his own belt was made with pleather. Caeda's armlets were EVA Foam and slipped on in place over the gloves. Marth's costume featured a bunch of gems made out of Fimo Clay, while Caeda's belts were purchased and layered with an added strap to attach a little purse. Both weapons were made out of wood dowels and EVA Foam, though slightly differently; Marth's Falchion has the dowel running through the entire length of the blade as a core, while Caeda's lance was a wood dowel, with the EVA Foam spear head instead having a PVC pipe core so it could be removeable for transport. (this was my first attempt at a prop that could be broken down into part and it was a godsend for travel.)

My partner and I wore these costumes for Otakuthon 2017 and we had so much fun! There was a lot of Fire Emblem presence that year, and we were ecstatic when people recognized Caeda and Fire Emblem fans would talk to us about the mobile game! We'd thought for sure people would have mostly paid attention to Marth due to his inclusion in Smash Brothers, but most of our interaction were Fire Emblem related, where people saw us as, well, a pair! It was super fun. Cosplaying with my partner was also a great experience. We haven't really done it since, and that's okay; it's not really his thing unless the character is important to him, and frankly at the time I was always excited to move on to the next project. I think, writing this in 2025, I'd like to try cosplaying together again someday, now that I've grown as a person and I've learned to manage my deadlines better.

After Caeda, I had planned to make a Robin cosplay, but the outfit was so complicated to me that it didn't really pan out. I still low-key dream of making the Tactician's coat someday...

Photo Gallery

Go to top