I first encountered the works of Brandon Sanderson back in December 2013 as I devoured his Mistborn series over the holiday season. Part fantasy, part heist these books were unlike any I had encountered before. Little did I know what was in store for me after that. Those three initial Mistborn books are part of his larger Cosmere universe, an interwoven multiverse of stories set across multiple planets and eras – building towards a larger narrative. In addition to Mistborn, there are numerous other books, the most famous being The Stormlight Archives, but also stand-alone novels and a second era of Mistborn books. The scope of the Cosmere is too large to try to explain here, but I will say that Sanderson is a master storyteller and these books are a gift to those of us who love stories.
And every year Sanderson holds a con, Dragonsteel Nexus, that is focused on the stories of the Cosmere. It is massive, exploring all aspects of the Cosmere, highlighting various other authors and stories, and providing the community with a space to gather around their cherished tales. When I first found out it existed, I knew I had to make it one day – an entire book focused convention sounded delightful to me. So, after considering going for a few years, my (then) partner and I got tickets to attend in 2024 (over my birthday weekend!) and I excitedly started planning our couples’ cosplays. But shortly before the event was when he walked out on me and took his side chick to Dragonsteel instead of me. That was a sucky birthday weekend. So, I made it my goal to make it to Dragonsteel Nexus in 2025, finish making those costumes of the women I admired in the stories, and make the pilgrimage there as an act of healing. I managed to get a ticket (they are scarce), poured hours into making my cosplays, and made plans to travel by myself in my wheelchair to Salt Lake City for the con. When my father passed away a week before the event, I was unsure at first if I should still attend but decided that all the meditative hours I put into preparing myself and my cosplays needed to come to fulfillment by attending. And in retrospect that was the right decision for me and it truly was a healing and blessed time surrounded by the kindness and support of others.
I could write multiple posts about Dragonsteel itself, but this is a disability focused blog and I want to focus on the cosplays I created because they were truly the first ones I made where I accepted that my mobility aid was part of who I am and therefore needed to be part of my costume.
I had decided to cosplay as two of my favorite characters in the Cosmere – Steris and Navani – both women who don’t exactly fit the norms of society, but who possess deep strength and are able to come into the fullness of their power by accepting themselves for who they truly are. I’ll post later about the Navini cosplay and focus on Steris here.
Steris is a bit of an odd character. Her story is told in the Mistborn Era 2 books, and we first meet her as the (arranged marriage) fiancée of the hero Waxillium Ladrian when she presents him with a 20+ page marriage contract that outlined her expectations for the relationship. Most readers (including myself) find her a bit off-putting at first, but, as she and the story develop, grow to love her. In fact, I’ve never seen myself realized so fully in a character as I do in Steris.
Steris is written as autistic. She doesn’t fit in well with others, so to help her mask in society she creates extensive planning lists for any contingency (like a 27-page list of things to pack for a spontaneous trip.) She memorizes social norms and facts and has witty remarks and conversation topics ready to go in one of her many notebooks. As she comments about herself, “I’ve learned to fake being normal, but lists of prepared comments and jokes can only take me so far. People can sense that I’m not being authentic – that I don’t like the things they like or think the way they do.”
The adventurous spirit of Wax makes her more alive, and her ultra-organization and preparedness not only saves him on numerous occasions, but in a time of societal crisis gets her appointed as the Disaster Preparations Officer by the governor where her notebooks of contingencies calmly help her save the day. She is a hero by being fully herself. I love that and of course wanted to cosplay her.
The novels are set in an Old West/Victorian/Steampunk era and Steris has learned to inhabit the role of a very proper lady of society. The art of her character usually depicts her in blue Edwardian style clothing, so I put together an ensemble of a white and blue striped skirt, high-necked blouse, blue jacket, blue lady’s hat, and a blue cameo brooch. While that was a fun cosplay that in the context of the Dragonsteel convention was easily recognizable as Steris, I wanted to not just look like Steris, but get into who she was at her core. And this is how my wheelchair became part of the cosplay.
I decided that since Steris is always prepared for any contingency, that if she were at a con, she would play the role of “Con Mom.” If you aren’t familiar with the role, at many Comic Cons, or festivals, or concerts there is usually someone there dressed at the “Con/Concert Mom” wearing some sort of sign saying that if you forgot or need anything she’s got you covered. Since I pictured Steris as the old-fashioned version of the minivan mom with the backseat organizer with everything one might need while on the road, I leaned into that when making her as “Con Mom.” I constructed a “carriage backseat organizer” for my wheelchair to keep with the Old West theme and then stocked it as I imagined Steris would.
To start, I, of course, created multiple notebooks of plans. I found some old-fashioned looking notebooks at the Japanese dollar store near me and glued some old-timey looking labels on them – with the script written in precise cursive as I assume Steris would write. I had one for all my actual travel plans for the con, one for witty remarks, and (because I am cheeky) one with contingency plans for if the Lord Ruler returns (a villain from the books) or if a Fascist Dictator get elected. I found a couple of amber apothecary bottles that I labeled, “Ipecac Syrup” (that Steris always carries with her) and “Cod Liver Oil” (that she forces on Wax instead of his go-to whiskey). Then for the preparedness supplies, I found black tins that I sanded and then glazed with a gold shimmer and mod podge mixture and labeled “Useful Things,” “First Aid Supplies,” and “Feminine Supply.” 
These tins held everything from hair ties and safety pins, to band-aids and cough drops, to pads and tampons, to Advil and earplugs. I posted in the Facebook chat for the convention that if anyone had need of such items to find me in my wheelchair at the con with the organizer attached to its back. For the front table of my wheelchair I sewed a pen case full of old-fashioned fountain pens and had even more notebooks. Being able to add the props to my wheelchair made the cosplay complete. I wasn’t just carrying things around in a bag, I was trying to enter into the spirit of the world in my allomantic powered carriage. The wheelchair was absolutely necessary for me to attend Dragonsteel, so I wanted to make it as immersive as I could and was able to expand my cosplay because of it.
As usual the sign of a good cosplay is how many people recognize it and comment on it – which happened in abundance. But it was extra special that during the book signing line Brandon Sanderson himself said he liked my cosplay. Becoming Steris was a project I needed to take on. It was a meditative act of creativity that honored a character who learned that being herself can not only be heroic but is sometimes the different approach that is necessary in the world.
