GLaDOS Cosplay Is A Triumph, Somebody Get This Lady Some Cake
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As a non-cosplayer, I’m always flabbergasted at how much work, creativity, and detail those who are passionate about the hobby put into their creations. And honestly, I’m probably not equipped to objectively rank the best and brightest of the field. I mean, my grand plans for Halloween costumes each year usually peter off into me grabbing the bathrobe and towel and going as Arthur Dent yet again. But, much like the Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s infamous definition of pornography, I feel like I’ll know good cosplay when I see it. And cosplayer Enayla’s GLaDOS costume up there? The one that actually has her suspended from a harness, the better to mimic everybody’s favorite murderous, passive-aggressive A.I. helper? That’s good fucking cosplay. Somebody get this lady a slice of non-hypothetical cake already.
Honestly, the picture isn’t enough. Just glancing at that image doesn’t really give you an idea of what’s going on here, the architecture of how she’s inhabiting this thing. Thankfully there’s some video interview with Enayla, courtesy of Invader Boom. It gives some really good looks at how she’s contorted herself to evoke the look of GLaDOS from the Portal games. Clearly, this lady is committed to her art. I hope she used the bathroom before they strapped her into that thing.
Enayla posted tons of pictures showing the construction of the costume over on her Facebook page, as well as explaining her process and answering questions from followers. She even did a Reddit AMA earlier in the month, which you can still read right here.
For those uninitiated into the wonders of Portal, the smash-hit 2007 video game from Valve cast players as Chell, a silent protagonist who awakens inside the mysterious Aperture Science testing facility. Chell is given the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device — or portal gun, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing — and then forced to complete a series of physics-based challenges using the gun as she attempts both to survive and to find a way to escape. Chell is guided along the way by the A.I. called GLaDOS, who at first seems friendly and helpful, but soon reveals a more homicidal side once Chell stops playing by the rules. The significantly more ambitious Portal 2 released in 2011 and improved on the original in every way, not least by bringing in Stephen Merchant to voice a new A.I. named Wheatley. Here’s a look at GLaDOS from the game, for comparison’s sake.
They’re awesome and you should play them. And if you right into Enayla somewhere, give her a high five from me. Assuming, you know, she isn’t in the harness at the time.
