Legal Disclaimer is on Chapter 1... this is the 2nd. Chapter of Cosplay Angels, and it looks at the group teaching Dale what it takes to be a cosplayer and developing her interest in Japanese Anime.

Dale's First Costume
By Dale Speer

Before she got into the shower, Dale spent a few moments looking through the closet in the room she was presented with. She hoped that Brandie didn't have just what she wore to school on that day.

What she did find in there surprised her- and she had to call Brandie up to ask what she had in the room. Looking in the closet, Brandie realized that she put Dale in the room where her mother's clothes- the ones she didn't use and gave to her to make her look elegant, including a selection of evening gowns- were stored. "Maybe I had a feeling that you never looked as beautiful as you are now," Brandie said, "and so I placed you here. Go ahead and take your shower- I'll look through here for something that we can use to doll you up and make you look elegant."

Finally Brandie noticed a pair of pants and a blouse in black that would look good on her new friend and she got them out, lying them on the bed. Finding a matching bra and setting it with the outfit, she got some pantyhose just as Dale entered- and Brandie whistled at her before leaving.

She then dressed in the clothes provided and then put her black pumps back on. Admiring herself in the mirror there, Dale thought, "And here I thought Brandie had no sense of style when it came to clothes- she really did a great job in picking these out. I may have to ask her if I could call these my own."

She then walked downstairs to where the others were- and whistles were heard when she stepped into the room. "Dale," Marie said, "you look gorgeous in those clothes. I wish I could dress like that."

Brandie's face was all flush when Dale walked in. "No wonder I didn't notice what my mother gave me," she thought, "She knew I had the potential to be as lovely as Dale-chan- and this proves the point she made."

Excusing herself, she made her way to the same bedroom Dale was in and looked in the closet there. She found a black pleated dress skirt and a white blouse done in the same style as Dale's... so she got herself a shower and changed. But instead of wearing pumps, she got out a pair of stylish leather boots that came up to her lower calves.

Once back with the others, the same whistles were there- and Dale said, "Your mother knew your potential to be beautiful, Brandie- but you didn't even realize it until now."

Finally, all 5 of them departed for a local shopping center where the first place they went was to the local Sprint Store. Pulling up Marie's account, they helped Dale get a PCS PhotoPhone and a PCS Vision account. "Now you can call us when you need some help, Dale," Marie said.

After that, Dale wrote her measurements out and gave them to Brandie. "I know I can't be in all of the stores at one time," she said, "so I want you to take one other person and go to some of the shops... find some clothes that you think will look stylish on me."

"I suggest that we first visit a lingerie shop and get you some nice stuff," Brandie replied, "there's no sense in not looking beautiful if you don't feel that way." So the first stop was to Victoria's Secret. After spending an hour and $600 in making Dale look and feel elegant- which included a pair of high-heel shoes and a pair of mid-heel boots that stretched to below her knees, they then split up and went to several stores to buy her clothes that would give her a casual yet stylish look.

But one of the things Dale saw in a store literally made her turn her head... it was a white evening gown that came to her chest and was sleeveless. She took one look at it... and said to Marie and Louise, "I want that." Just then, Brandie & Chris walked up to them and heard Dale say what she did. "Dale," Brandie said, "I advise you don't get that evening gown." When asked why by Marie, she added, "I have a surprise in store for her in the next few weeks that will stun her when she sees it."

Finally, 4 hours and close to $3,500 later, the 5 girls left the shopping center with their arms full of bags. The 4 gave Dale an excursion into many of the sides she never considered... from the chic look of a pantsuit, to a sexy set of lingerie for sleeping. But for Dale, the best was to come later.

"I want you to consider that room I placed you in yours, Dale-chan," Brandie said, "I never saw much need for feeling elegant- but you deserve to feel how you want."

Hearing that from one of her new friends made Dale warm inside- and she said, "Thank you, Brandie, for doing that for me."

Over the course of the week, the football players knew that Dale was one who came to get on the basketball team- and when they rejected her, she was feeling scorned on that day. The next day at lunch, they arrived at her table and said that they were sorry for doing what they did. "We had no excuse saying that the table was ours," the offensive captain said, "and if you need someone to talk to, find one of us and we'll sit with you."

"Thank you for your apology," Dale replied, "It's nice to see that you're not all mean."

Marie and Louise arrived and, when they sat down, heard from Dale what the ones who harrassed her yesterday had said- and both of them were surprised at it. "But I'm glad that in the end, they actually understood what you was mad about," Marie said afterwards.

Brandie just arrived from shop in her coveralls and got some soup and salad from the kitchen. "You wouldn't believe what just happened," Louise told her.

"What happened?" Chris asked. She had just arrived from home economics and had gotten the same thing as Brandie.

"Some of the football team that harrassed Dale yesterday came over and apologized," Marie said, "and the offensive captain said that if Dale needed someone to just listen to her thoughts, all she had to do was look for him."

"Now that's a change for the better," Brandie replied, "It's nice to see that not all members of that squad are sourpusses."

"I agree," Chris said, "It's nice to have more friends when you need them, Dale."

"So what are we going to do after school?" Marie asked. She wanted to help Dale buy some more clothes for herself. "I'm thinking we could use the A / V room for practicing some cosplay," Brandie said, "This way we could get some work started on what we're doing next year."

"Well one thing's for certain," Chris said, "We've got to get a jump on building the costumes for what we're doing, besides working on the cosplay." "And that depends on how we're setting it," Marie said, "Are we going to use the anime-style for the costumes, or do we go for SeraMyu?" "I think you should try the Anime costuming method," Brandie suggested, "as it's a simpler looking costume to design."

But while the others talked Cosplay, Dale was sitting silently. She was trying to digest all that the other girls were talking about... and it was then that Louise noticed and asked, "Is something wrong, Dale?"

Marie was in the middle of a statement when she heard Louise's question- and she noticed that Dale was sitting silently there. "I think it's because she's rather new in the worlds of Anime and Cosplay," she replied, "that she's got no idea what we're talking about."

All of them sat around and wondered how they could get Dale to understand them... and finally, Brandie was the one who came up with the best idea.

"I finished the Jupiter Costume last night," she said, "and I think that she should be able to experience cosplay for herself." To Dale she said, "Would you like to dress up as Sailor Saturn while I became Sailor Jupiter? I think it would be the best way to break you into Cosplay."

"But you heard the others yesterday," Dale said, "I look so much like Usagi, it's not funny. But I don't know how to cosplay a character... I only know about Serena."

"I think I know how to solve that problem," Marie said, "Dale, why don't you go to a park and get started on your homework while the 4 of us talk."

Once she was gone Marie said, "Dale's so much a newbie in our world that she doesn't comprehend what we're talking about."

"Well then, Leader Gal," Chris said, "what do we do to change that?"

"I think that Dale should spend time with me," Brandie suggested, "and we watch some Sailor Moon together. The rest of you go out and get lycra and lame material for building the other costumes according to your character preferences. I'll surprise her by dressing up as Saturn after she's fully engrossed in the DVD."

"But how do we pay for it all?" Chris said, "That stuff's expensive."

"I know," Marie said, "but I'll cover it with my credit card. We'll also buy Dale's materials- it's only fair that we do that."

"Then what are we doing sitting around here for?" Louise asked them, "Let's get out the door and get going."

Dale didn't get far when Brandie pulled up alongside in her Mustang convertable and waved her inside. "We're going to get our homework done," she said, "and then we're going to watch some Sailor Moon together. You only know the Americanized version of the series- but we're going to introduce you to the Japanese Anime. By the time you're finished, you'll wish you got to see it that way from the very beginning."

"I only hope you're right, Brandie," Dale replied, "I only hope you're right."

All the way through 4 volumes, Dale realized that Brandie was right- and it was after the 4th. volume that Brandie surprised Dale by cosplaying Sailor Saturn, complete with wig and the Silence Glaive. "Now you see why we prefer the Japanese Anime over the Americanized version?" Brandie asked.

"Yes," Dale replied, "and it seems I've taken a liking to Usagi in this."

"Then I would like you to be my friend," Brandie replied, "and I'll tell you something... in Japan, when girls call a fellow girl their friend, they add the ending '-chan' to the name."

"I would like that," Dale replied, "Brandie-chan." It was then that the 2 embraced in a warm hug.

The others came back with bolts of cloth in their bags as well as other costuming materials when they saw Brandie and Dale hugging each other. "It seems you convinced her, Brandie," Marie said, "that Anime is the only way to watch what you love."

"Not just the only way to watch," she replied, "but it's also the best way to talk... Marie-chan."

"We decided to be beyond friends in this house," Dale replied, "Brandie-chan's treated me so much like a sister instead of a friend that I'm thinking of her in that way."

When Brandie asked if she had a sister, Dale replied, "No, Brandie-chan. I'm the only girl of 5 children to the family I just lost- and all of the others wanted me to go into the family 'business'."

"By the way you said 'business'," Louise said, "your family must have been a Crime Family, Dale-chan."

Nodding her head, Dale said, "My family was merciless in running a lot of the rackets here in Anaheim- but I didn't want anything to do with it. They even tried corrupting Anime Expo, from what I heard... but they couldn't because they didn't have connections in the organization that holds it."

"That's good to know," Brandie said with a sigh of relief, "I would never go to a convention held by an organization with ties to the mob."

"But let's not talk about that now," Marie said, "Dale-chan needs some new memories... and you gave her a beginning with your dressing as Sailor Saturn. We brought back the materials we need to do the other costumes, including Dale's... so why don't we start on these now?"

"I've got a better idea," Chris said, "Dale doesn't have anything that she will treasure due to the fire. Why don't we help her create some memories by buying her some items that she can treasure above anything except our friendship?"

"I know of a jeweler downtown that makes lovely earrings," Louise said, "Why don't we have him make Dale some earrings modeled after the ones Usagi wears as EternalSailor Moon?"

"I know what will make Dale really happy," Brandie said before disappearing. A couple of minutes later, she brought out a surprise for their Moon Princess that would make any girl happy. "When we went shopping a week ago," Brandie added, "I said never to buy that evening gown you saw because I was going to do something for you. Well, Dale-chan- this is that something."

It was Princess Selenity's royal gown, made of white materials and decorated with fake pearls and a row of gold circles at the chest. In her left hand Brandie had a pair of white low heel pumps that went with it.

They had Dale get out of her clothes, except for her lingerie and pantyhose, and dressed her in that gown. Once they did her hair up in Selenity's odangoes and put pearl-decorated clips in her hair, they stood her in front of a mirror... and Dale, in all of her years, had never felt this beautiful in her entire life. She had truly become Princess Selenity- and her soft smile held wonder for the 4 surrounding her.

"Thank you, my friends," she said, "for letting me into your circle- and for doing this for me."

That week, the group of five girls got situated in the mansion and were working on the costumes that would transform them into the Sailor Senshi. Deciding that the pattern for Brandie's Jupiter- the SuperSailors- was the best one, they were working on them well into each night.

The girls also did some changes with themselves in the group. Tracy & Brandie stayed as Rei and Makoto respectively, while Louise changed into Minako- she was a flirty one, much like her Anime Counterpart. But it was Marie who transformed into someone else altogether...

As much as Dale spent time with Brandie developing a sisterly relationship, a growing friendship was continuing between Marie and her new leader... so much, each considered the other their best friend. Then, Marie told Dale a secret that she wouldn't have expected.

"The others will find out soon, Dale-chan," Marie said, "but I wanted to let you know right away." "What is it, Marie-chan," Dale replied.

Marie then said that she was going to have her hair cut and colored to be like Ami Mizuno... and it was then that Dale gave her an emotional hug. "Arigatou, Ami-chan," she said, "for doing this for me."

Once the girls saw Marie's transformation, all were pleased with what she did for Dale. "I can tell you this, Marie-chan," Brandie said, "You will make a wonderful SuperSailor Mercury."

As she got hugs from everyone (Dale had to give her 2 hugs), Marie said that she was glad to do this for her new best friend because, the way she put it, "I figured she needed someone to be the genius in the Senshi, and who better to do that than me."

Later in that year, an invitation would arrive at their home.

It would be an invitation to something for the entire group to remember...