Sometimes she's Catwoman, Supergirl or a Sith Lord - but most of the time, she's Bronte Donovan.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The cosplayer from Warners Bay has amassed more than 10,000 Instagram followers by breathing life into some fan-favourite characters from comic books, movies and video games.
Cosplay (think 'costume play') has been around since the 1980s, but has really gathered momentum in Australia in the past decade or so.
The popularity of conventions like Comic-Con, where cosplayers and fans gather to celebrate the stories and characters they love, has grown too.
Bronte is gearing up for this year's Oz Comic-Con in Sydney at the end of this month.
She first got into cosplay about seven years ago when a friend took her to a convention.
The 27-year-old told Topics she has been to more than 20 conventions all over the world in the past couple of years.
"I always loved dressing up as a kid, I always loved movies," she said.
"Cosplay to me is an art form. I can't dance, I can't sing, I can't draw, but I can create things in my head and bring them to life."
She's been heroes, villains and everything in between - mostly making her own costumes.
Her favourite cosplays have been Marvel hero Elektra and Lara Croft - from the Tomb Raider video game series.
One of her more elaborate costumes was Darth Maul, the villain from the 1999 Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace - red and black body paint all over her arms and face meant it took her more than three hours to get into character.
But she said the beauty of cosplay was it could be as inexpensive and easy as a person wanted it to be.
Bronte reckons the rise of cosplay's popularity has been partly due to the fact that fantasy stories and movies like Game of Thrones have entered the mainstream
She said people's love of stories and characters also helped "create this powerful force that is the pop culture community".
"They build these amazing communities and people just feel connected," she said.
Next weekend, she will reprise her Elektra cosplay and a 'dark side' version of Star Wars character Leia Organa.
Bronte told Topics conventions like Comic-Con were great fun and worth a look, even for people who didn't want to transform into a fictional character for the occasion.
"It's worth going at least once," she said.
"There's so many elements to a convention that even someone who doesn't consider themselves geeky or nerdy, they will be able to find something they will enjoy."
Oz Comic-Con's Sydney convention is on September 28 and 29 at Sydney Showground.
Long service at the fire front
We're quickly heading into warmer weather and as the Newcastle Herald has reported in recent weeks, the dry winter we've had means we could be staring down the barrel of a worse-than-usual fire season.
So it's worth taking the time to give a nod to the 55 volunteer firefighters from across the state that NSW Rural Fire Service honoured on Friday night.
Among them was Ronald Kellner who was recognised for an astonishing 67 years of service with the brigade at Wallarobba, up near Dungog. Warren Marquet, Kevin Bristow and David Thomas have each notched up 50 years with RFS in the Lower Hunter.
"When Ronald first joined the brigade in 1951, a 44 gallon drum was used to fight the fires by dragging the drum around on a slide behind a horse," Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
While you're with us, did you know Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here.
IN NEWS TODAY:
- Police operation at Mayfield: A man has been taken into custody
- Vicki Mendyk, who lost her husband, Peter, and daughter, Chelsey, to suicide, hopes RU OK? Day will prompt people to check in on loved ones
- Professor Alex Zelinsky tells staff: 'Our university stands in full support of climate action"
- Homeless Newcastle couple tell of depression, illness and isolation as social housing waiting list grows
- Water Pressure: Lower Hunter Water Plan review forum participants say new dams should be considered