The One Costume That Changed Dessyy's TikTok Forever - Exclusive

There has always been a decent amount of crossover between the cosplay and gaming communities. The two groups often idolize the same characters (and their respective franchises) and often interact at crossover events like comic cons and fan expos.

However, while gamers have long connected with one another and established communities, particularly thanks to the internet-enabled culture of online multiplayer experiences, staying connected to other cosplayers can be a challenging proposition. Conventions are a fantastic way for cosplayers to meet up and share their best creations, but those events can be few and far between, especially in light of the safety and organizational obstacles that have risen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social media is another excellent way for cosplayers and their fans to stay connected, but even popular platforms like Instagram can occasionally feel static. SVG spoke with cosplayer and "Overwatch" streamer Dessyy, who has built an enormous following on TikTok, to find out how that platform helped her grow her community and interact with fans. Dessyy explained that the quick content creation tools in the app helped, but there was one particular cosplay that showed her just how much reach the platform had.

Dessyy explained to SVG that she had a long history of cosplaying as the popular "Overwatch" mech pilot D.Va. Dessyy noted that she'd done a D.Va cosplay at her first Fan Expo in Toronto, so when she started experimenting with TikTok, sharing that costume was one of the first things that came to mind.

After joining TikTok as a user, Dessyy was excited to learn that the platform's recommendations were beginning to reflect her interests. She explained, "I was like, 'There's a lot of Cosplayers and gamers on here. This is really cool!'" The more cosplay fans she encountered, the more she became interested in posting her own content. Dessyy remembered, "And then, one day I was like, 'I see a lot of cosplay. I'm going to put on my D.Va costume and see how it does.'"

The results were both immediate and startling. Dessyy said, "That video got like 10,000 views. And I was like, "Oh my gosh." You know? And then, people were like, "We want more." And I'm like, "Okay." So, I just put on my D.Va again and again and again." The positive reception from that post inspired her to share more cosplays, such as Mercy from "Overwatch," all of which helped her hit her first 100,000 viewers in less than a year.

As of 2021, Dessyy's TikTok has grown to 3.5 million regular viewers — a journey that all started with a D.Va cosplay that Dessyy almost didn't share.