This could have been superb even with just the clothes and the makeup, but cosplayers Malindachan and Ex-Shadow didn't stop there once they learned there's an abandoned church near their home. It became the famous Sector 5 church of Midgar from Final Fantasy VII, the perfect location for their cosplay shoot.
They're dressed as Aeris in her Advent Children costume, and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII protagonist Zack. Here's why they picked these characters (and not Cloud for example) and a bit more of the backstory:
FFVII has always had an extra-special place in my heart because it was the first RPG I ever played, and to this day it's still my favorite game of all time. About a year and a half ago I learned about this abandoned church in Gary Indiana through my friends, and it's located just roughly an hour from where I live.
It became a dream location for a cosplay shoot, and Crisis Core Aerith became a higher priority on my to-do list.
Once I had finished Crisis Core Aerith last year we did a shoot, but the image files were lost. Luckily I kept the flowers and was determined to try again with a better idea on what to expect in terms of flower bed placement and whatnot, but when the best opportunity arose to do the shoot again....the church's roof collapsed.
I was pretty devastated, but determined to make it work! Friends joked that the roof falling made it Advent Children appropriate, so I got to work immediately on Advent Children Aerith.
Zack and Aerith: Sector 5 Church by Malindachan and Ex-Soldier. Photo by Joseph Chi Lin [DeviantART, via TheOmegaNerd]
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