SAN DIEGO — At his office’s Halloween party, Travis Pameno was quick to recognize a coworker in a meticulously crafted Overwatch costume, and just as quick to ignore it.
“Of course I knew that Valerie was dressed up as D.Va. I used to play Overwatch back when it was still good. But that was like, eight years ago,” said Pameno. “I don’t want my manager to know about my past mistakes, so I just put my head down as Valerie walked in wearing that expensive looking custom mech. Besides, this isn’t some cosplay con, it’s a Halloween party for a freaking accounting firm. Everyone else is just wearing animal ears or a silly hat.”
Valerie Plauts, who made sure to clarify that she’s dressed up specifically as the LE SSERAFIM D.Va skin, admits she was disappointed by the snub.
“Travis literally told me he used to play Overwatch when he saw my Sombra enamel pin last week. He even said he was a Winston main. I thought that meant he had some integrity!” said Plauts, who had just finished explaining to a 64-year-old finance director that her costume is not from Dragon Ball Z. “But no, the moment I walked in, it was like he got hit by one of Ana’s sleep darts. Maybe if I walk up and scream “NERF THIS!” directly into his ear he’ll at least say hello.”
Valierie’s boss admits she has no idea who D.Va is, but commended the costume nonetheless.
“That purple-pink robot getup looks like it took weeks to make, so I made sure to let Val know that her efforts were admirable,” said Mary-Anne Lopez, wearing a dollar store witch hat. “I think it’s some obscure Mario thing. Even Travis didn’t seem to recognize it, and he’s the only other person here besides Val who’s under 45.”
At press time, Valerie was seen emoting with joy after the office’s seldom-seen IT guy arrived in a suped up Wrecking Ball costume.
