NERDSociety recently interviewed Linda Le, aka Vampy, she’s an avid gamer, a passionate cosplayer, and a full-fledged NERD. If you want to get to know her, read on!!!

NS (NERDSociety): Hey Linda! Nice costumes, do you make it yourself?

Linda: Hi there! I hand-make the majority of my costumes myself. Sometimes, I pick and choose some pre-made parts ^__^  But, all my wigs are cut and styled by my lonesome self ^.^

NS: Are you a nerd? If not, this interview is over! 🙂

Linda: Well, if that means that I spend grotesque amounts of time alone watching old school Animes like Evangelion, Ranma 1/2, Cowboy Bebop, Project A-Ko etc.; dancing to gamer tunes like Chrono Trigger, collect japanese figures, and nail bite to box sets by Junko Mizuno, and take down numerous men and women on my ps3 on MW2, then yes, I’m a nerd! I’m also a huge fan of Faust comics 😀

NS: You mentioned you dance to Chrono Trigger music, do you play a lot of role-playing games?

Linda: I actually tend to only play Role-Playing Games (turn based style) since I love uncovering new story lines. I really like building up my characters, and also powering-up to defeat certain bosses excites me very much. So, I do a lot of prepping for characters. But, more than anything, I’m in it for the stories and the ride ^__^

NS: How serious are you with cosplaying?

Linda: I actually know my characters’ personalities very well. But each time, I also choose to show a bit of myself. I study my characters intensively, like their poses, and how they would stare at someone. It’s almost creepy how far I would go to make my characters come to life. But, it’s a lot of fun, and i love it.

NS: You mentioned you watch a lot of Animes, which one is your favorite?

Linda: I have a few favorites, I really get drawn into good stories and art. Berserk is by far one of them. I love intense Animes’ and the majority of my favorites are mecha-influenced, I also like lots of gore and fighting. And, I have a soft spot for RANMA 1/2 and Cowboy Bebop, they are just fun, and i enjoy their soundtracks as well.

Berserk

Cowboy Bebop

NS: How do you get your ideas for your costume designs?

Linda: To be honest, I typically just cosplay anything that i watch and are obsessed with at the moment, or anything i grew up watching or gaming. I don’t cosplay as anything I don’t watch/game/or know. Im a fan girl, I just want to pay homage to the games that makes us feel insanely crazy inside. So, I definitely know my characters ^_^!

NS: What inspires you to be creative in life?

Linda: Aside from generic quotes, I’m going to say, I like to make my ideas come to life. Like literally right away, if I’m thinking about it, I’m doing it. Everything I see pretty much inspires me.

NS: From all the costumes you’ve done, which one is your favorite and why?

Linda: My favorite by far has to be Morrigan. Besides being obsessed with vampires/succubus’, she is Capcom’s only “Queen of the Night”. Not
only is she just damn amazing, her moves with the bats on Marvel VS Capcom is just totally badass. Its like an A.D.D. players dream 🙂

NS: Can you tell us a brief summary of how a costume comes into reality?

Linda: Typically, I dont like to buy my outfits. First, I would study how the characters move and act in the games or Animes. Then, I have to decide what materials to use; should it be shiny, matte, glossy wet looking, leathery? Then I go about looking for the right fabrics, I’m very detail-oriented so those things are important to me. Lots of times, I see people Cosplaying, and the costumes are made of shiny fabrics, which is fine, but it looks cheap. I try to avoid that, and gear everything towards making everything believable, like the characters would actually wear it in real life.

NS: Speaking of kick ass characters, who is your favorite Super Hero?

Linda: There are quite a few, but my favorite is Psylocke because she can do things I’ve always wanted to do; telepathy, and have Telekinesis powers. But, she lost her telekinesis powers, but I would still give my right leg for either of those powers. ;D

NS: Favorite Film?

Linda: At the moment I have to say I do love how well they did the indie Sci-Fi flick , “Moon” which stars Sam Rockwell. It’s so realisitic, I guess I’d be doing the same things if I saw clones of myself. Its awkward-funny as well, which I totally enjoyed 🙂

NS: Favorite Artist? Why?

Linda: Junko Mizuno and the illos of H.R. Giger. Growing up and understanding the twisted and carefully placed story lines of the
characters they created made me more in tune of what I wanted to do in the future.

NS: I noticed on your blog that you’ve recently visited Japan, what was your favorite part about the trip?

Linda: Akihabara “electric town” was my favorite part of Japan, for one HUGE reason, FIGURES!!! my eyes were literally bulging out of my eye sockets! O.O

NS: Should we expect to see you at the L.A. Anime Expo in July?

Linda: Yes, most definitely! I’ll be cosplaying in different characters, and also as my own, Vampy ^_~

NS: How can our readers keep up to date with you and your costumes?

Linda: You can find me on Facebook with random pictures and Otaku news. Also, you can check my website for updates on Toy News and Cosplay photoshoots. I’m having a special offer for all my Otaku friends, get some Vampy stickers! Go to my site, and check it out!

NS: Anything you want to say to the cool nerds out there?

Linda: PWN! <3 vampy ^.^

—–End of Interview——

As mentioned above, Vampy will be at the Anime Expo in LA, July 1 – 4, if you recognize her, go say Hi!!!!

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