Sylveon Suiting
A Short Story for Shadow

The commute home slowed to a crawl as evening traffic settled into a virtual standstill.  Rush hour's congestion always took its toll around this time of day, a fact Shadow knew all too well.  With the road ahead packed full of cars making minimal headway, he could only idle patiently while listening to tunes on the radio.

In his late twenties, Shadow was a man of average build.  Though not overly muscular, he still possessed a decent stature at just under six-feet tall.  He kept his face clean shaven but left the sideburns of his sleek brown locks grow a bit long.  Requisite attire at his place of business, Shadow wore a pleated tan shirt with a pair of blue jeans.  Lastly his steely jade-green eyes leered anxiously ahead as he waited for the blockage of cars to move.

Once traffic started rolling, he released the break to start inching forward, knowing his exit would be coming up shortly.  The moment he reached his turnoff, Shadow gunned it before he got boxed in again.  Thankfully, it was only a few blocks to home from here.

His frustration quickly subsided as he reached the surface roads to the sight of only a few other vehicles.  As soon as the light turned green, he made an immediate right turn and headed straight down the thoroughfare leading to the suburbs.  Only hitting two red lights along the way, he managed to reach his neighborhood in a matter of minutes.

Pulling into the driveway of a modest one-level townhome, he parked his Ford Taurus a mere two feet from his garage door, turned off the ignition, and exited the car.  Looking over his home, the dwelling looked well maintained.  Green vinyl siding covered the exterior of the abode, while the yard had recently been mowed with barely a twig to be seen from the three large maple trees lining the curb.  Despite the lack of outdoor decorations, Shadow kept a simple bird feeder off to the side of the concrete steps on his porch and a few shrubs planted outside his living room window as well as several more lining the border with the neighbors’ property.

Walking the short path to his front door, Shadow noticed some kids riding their bikes down the street.  He gave them a friendly wave as they passed, recognizing them as children from a few blocks over.  They returned the gesture before riding off.

Upon reaching the stoop outside his dwelling, he checked quickly to make sure no packages arrived for him while he was at work before whipping out his house key and unlocking the door.  He went inside with a slight huff.  After quietly closing the door behind him, Shadow flipped on a nearby switch.

With the lights on, he was immediately greeted with the furnishings of home.  The entry hall had ebony hardwood and eggshell-white walls decorated with miscellaneous wildlife portraits and manga-styled artwork.  While the corridor itself led straight to the dining room, a large archway on the right opened into Shadow's rec room and another on the left went into his den.  Kicking off his shoes at the door, he proceeded right to the kitchen adjoining the dining room.

His kitchen was separated from the dining room by a simple bar.  He had fairly high-end appliances, which he'd purchased over the course of the past few years living on his own-a stainless steel refrigerator, a Maytag dishwasher, a ceramic cooktop built into his counter space, and a sleek jet-black microwave overhead.  He didn't require much but he wasn't afraid to forego expenses when he wanted something nice.

Digging some leftover Chinese takeout out of the fridge, Shadow pulled a plate from the cabinet and a fork from the silverware drawer.  Scooping the beef lo mein onto the dish, he set it in the microwave for a few minutes, threw out the box, and then went sit down at the dining room table.

His table was a relative square with four chairs set out in case company arrived.   Due to long days at work now, it'd become more of a desk littered with papers, receipts, and occasional bills.  He’d also been spending more time in the kitchen than in his den or rec room, so he kept the remote for the kitchen TV close by.  Taking clicker in hand, he turned on the small HD television across the room and proceeded to flip through channels until he came upon the local news.  Right before six o’clock, he knew it'd be on momentarily.

The buzz of the station's opening sequence soon filled the dining room with bold resonance as the announcer's voice echoed, "From JXQW 25, it's Live-Action News 25 at Six with your own Sharon Whipstaff and Erik Donovan!"

"Good evening and welcome to News 25 at Six!" the anchorwoman spoke.  "I'm Sharon Whipstaff."

"And I'm Erik Donovan!" her male co-anchor added.  "In our top story tonight..."  Shadow toned out their voices as background noise as he shuffled through mail he forgot to open the past two or three days.

With a loud ding, he lifted his head and went over to the mic to see if his meal was done.  Popping open the door, Shadow pulled out the leftovers he'd just warmed up but set the plate aside on the counter a moment to leave it cool a bit.  The TV kept riveting the chatter of the channel's news crew a few good minutes before Shadow took the plate, picked up his fork, and headed back to the table while eating some of his meal.

"Thank you, Janice!" Sharon rattled off as she gestured to the camera to shift back to Erik.

"Downtown this weekend is sure to be a hotspot for our local anime fans as Kaze Con 5 starts tonight and runs through Monday.  While it started as a small get-together with some friends a few short years ago, the convention has since become a major event sanctioned by the city and funded by several local businesses.  Here's Kevin Leering with more details!" Erik finished as the screen changed.

"Thank you, Erik!" a tall man in black suit replied outside of the crowded convention center near the heart of downtown.  "Things have gotten crazy here at the Julian Expo Center as anime fans have turned out in droves for Kaze Con 5.  The annual event caters to a good slew of artists, writers, and general fans of Japanese animation and comics.  Since 2012, the convention has grown from a small gathering of a few groups of friends to a large-scale event that attracts people from all across the tri-state area and beyond."

'Kaze Con's still going on?’ Shadow thought as he shoved another forkful of noodles into his mouth.  He hadn't been to the convention in at least three years.  Back in 2014, some friends invited him to the con and he took one of his Pokemon fursuits out to win first prize for best cosplay performance during a skit contest.  Since then, he didn't have the time to actually visit it on his own.

As the clip about the convention ended, Shadow turned down the volume so he could finish eating dinner.  It had been a while since he'd actually been out to anything special, except for the occasional extended lunch-break with some coworkers.  Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to break out one of his fursuits and head down the con.  He wasn't on-schedule for tomorrow anyways, and otherwise it'd just be another weekend of him shut-in playing video games.

Clearing his plate, the man headed over to his sink to quickly rinse off the dish and his fork.  Placing them in the dishwasher for later, Shadow decided he'd better freshen-up a bit before heading out.  He immediately went to get a change of clothes from his bedroom down the adjacent hall from the kitchen.  After pulling out a clean shirt, a pair of shorts, and some unmentionables from his dresser, he ducked into the nearby washroom for a quick shower.

Twenty minutes later, he came out mostly dressed in his clean clothes, while carrying his bundled-up work set underarm like a football.  He quickly took them across the hall to his laundry room and dunked them in the overflowing hamper, hastily adding more to the pile of things to be done over the weekend.  The pungent stench of body odor started to permeate the room, so the chore was necessary.  But right now he wanted to get ready for his night out.  Shutting the door firmly behind him, Shadow headed back into his quarters, where he hunkered down on his full-size bed at the far corner of the room.

Staring over the various anime posters and occasional action figures strewn across his bedroom, he took a moment to think about just what costume he wanted to don.  It wasn't like he had a limited selection, quite the opposite actually.  The big question, however, was which Pokemon to choose.

Shadow hopped off his bed and went over to a door at the far side of his chambers.  Opening it and flipping on the switch, the walk-in closet was roughly the same size as his actual bedroom.  This sanctum had decidedly been reserved long ago for Shadow's hobbyist attire rather than the normal clothes-a literal furry closet.

All around were half-a-dozen mascot styled Pokemon costumes, custom tailored to Shadow's specifications.  Each had its own shelving for the headpieces, with the main outfits hung precariously on specialized hangers to support the underlying structure of the suits and all fitted with fabricated plastic sheaths to prevent exposure to the elements after they had all been carefully dry-cleaned.

Nearest the door were a pair of nearly identical suits.  The first was a deep violet, while the other an offset magenta.  They bore the rough semblance of rodent-like creatures with numerous quills down their backs and rather muscular builds.  One suit actually appeared to have a pair of feminine breasts, while the other seemed flat chested.  The masks set on the shelves above had different sized horns, one with larger quills for the male and smaller ones for the female version, as well as large oval-shaped ears each.

Just past the Nido-set, his next suit was a beautiful nine-tailed fox with bluish-white fur.  It had gently feminine accents-a elegant mane of hair flowing from the headpiece on the overhead shelf, similarly silken fur comprising the tails, and fluffed-out breasts to insinuate a generally anthropomorphized frame.  Likewise the foot-paws were modified into a digitigrade stance for tiptoe appearance, while hands retained a fairly animalian look save for modified side-toes for easier use of the wearer's thumbs.

Opposite the Alolan Ninetales, Shadow had a bulkier reptilian outfit with a roughly draconic form.  The creature was mostly a light orange but had a creme-colored underbelly that extended the length of its body from the base of the neck well down to the underside of its lagging tail.  Additionally, the suit had a large pair of wings with royal-blue undersides set at approximately the shoulder area, while the headpiece had goofy antennae and a small conical horn set atop it.

Adjacent to his Dragonite suit was a bright pink ensemble with genuinely girlish accents adoring its darling physique.  This suit actually bared the relative appearance of a humanoid female, save for the fact that the mitts and feet were given the look of canine toes as well as a cute notched tail was positioned just above the buttocks.  Furthermore, the mask itself looked like that of a bunny except with the pair of ears notched similarly to the tail and decorating bows-and-ribbons were attached to both the forehead and the chin.

Lastly, the pride of Shadow's collection had been hung up on the far corner away from the others.  It was a large silvery avian with a large neck and lengthy tail.  The beast possessed an unusually oval-shaped head and fish-like fins near its tail's tip.  More dark-blue fins decorated its back and the underbelly was a bright sky-blue.  Its huge wings were fitted like human hands, while a pair of triangular-pointed fins seemingly curled back from behind its eyes.

While he enjoyed showing off his collection before, he felt like Lugia specifically would be too showy this time around.  That's not to mention how cumbersome it was trying to put it on by himself to begin with.  Likewise both of the Nidos and Dragonite had the same issue.  Ninetales was his personal favorite for its ease of use, so too Sylveon offered a quick slip-on/slip-off appeal.  When push came to shove, the fox's tails could prove hard to maneuver in a crowded building and he wanted something that would be easy to move around in without much hassle.

Without barely a second thought, he unhooked his Sylveon outfit from its hanging spot and carried it along with the mask into the other room.  Carefully removing the plastic sheath, he placed the suit gently on his bed along with the headpiece.  Unzipping the lavender zipper on the front, Shadow took care to keep the breasts of the femsuit away from it as he opened it down to the crotch area.  Checking his boxer pockets, Shadow made sure to take his wallet and put it in a concealed pocket on the pants part of his Sylveon suit before proceeding to get into the costume.

Pulling the legs on first, he made sure to get them so that his feet fit right into the paws of the outfit, adjusting his toes so they went comfortably into those of the suit.  He hefted the rest of the costume almost upright as he continued to put his arms into the forelegs, wriggling his fingers so they fit into the mitts correctly before zippering up the front.  Then he closed the skinsuit up to right above the collar, where the outfit's neck ended almost in line with his own.  Making final adjustments to the costume's bosoms and buttocks to make sure it fit right, Shadow stepped in front of the body-length mirror off to the side of his closet to get a good look as his Sylveon self before masking.

The transformation into a petit Sylvy-girl was wonderful.  Gentle curves graced his formerly manly physique.  Only his human face broke the otherwise feminine facade.  Grabbing the mask, he gently slipped it on to preview his final form before heading out to the convention.  Immediately any trace of Shadow disappeared.  Now Ariel the Sylveon had come out to play.

Ariel loved a night out on the town.  Sadly  she couldn't enjoy that until she actually got to the convention downtown.  Her visage would need to be set aside for Shadow so he could drive to the expo center safely.  With a gentle lift, Ariel became Shadow once again for just a little while longer.

Heading back out to the hallway, Shadow decided it'd be best to go to the restroom one last time before setting out.  He put his mask down outside the bathroom and went inside quickly.  Coming back out, he readjusted his suit one last time before grabbing Ariel’s head and moving into the foyer.  Slipping his shoes back on, the man headed right outside and got back in his car to go.

Before pulling out of the driveway, Shadow double-checked to make sure he had his wallet in the hidden pocket and that the mask for his costume was set securely on the seat next to him.  Then he checked the road to make sure there wasn't any oncoming traffic before taking off for the convention.

The drive downtown took about twenty minutes due to light traffic now that rush hour passed.  Pulling into the parking lot of the Julian Expo Center, Shadow got somewhat of a shock seeing how packed the place was.  There were almost no available parking spots near the main building, so he needed to settle for one at the far end of the property.  Grabbing the mask to his suit, he got out of his vehicle and quickly made his way to the front entrance of the three-story complex.

Weaving between other cars, he eventually reached the sidewalk leading up to the main doors.  A line had already formed of some thirty-ott people, all dressed in lavished cosplay outfits ranging from kemono-animal characters to cyber-samurais and even Gundum or other robo-mechas.  He huffed quietly as he took his place at the back of the line.

As the crowd slowly started to filter into the expo center, Shadow thought a few moments about just what he wanted to do.  It wasn't exactly like he knew anyone here this time around.  The few friends he had who were into this stuff probably didn't participate in it anymore for the same reason he hadn't in a couple years now-life happened.

Once he got to the front doors, he stopped near a folding desk set out for ticket vendors and a few security guards.  Stepping aside to the part bearing a sign that said "Unbanded Attendees, please check-in here!," he got the attention of a middle-aged gentleman dressed up as Kakashi Hatake from Naruto.  The ninja-garbed man nodded to Shadow and gave a polite grin.

"How may I help you, sir?  Need a ticket?" he asked with a friendly report.

"Yes, please!" Shadow responded.

"Alright, that will be $17.99 then."

Shadow fished out his wallet from the pocket of his costume and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill.  The ticket vendor, after taking his money, quickly counted out some change.  He then handed Shadow a costume-sized armband with the Kaze Con logo of a lightning bolt printed on it.  Likewise, Shadow grabbed his change and put it away with his billfold, and then slipped the admission bracelet onto his suit’s right arm.

"Have a good evening and enjoy the convention, sir!" the official told him, to which Shadow simply nodded.

Heading for the door, Shadow decidedly slipped on Ariel's head and finally got into character.  As he entered, the doorman greeted him in the way the ticket vendor had, though now Shadow giggled at the notion of being called 'sir' and politely corrected the man by telling him that he was now a 'miss.'  Despite the confusion, Ariel quickly eased the greeter's embarrassment with a playful pat on the shoulder followed by a friendly hug.  She then headed into the building.

Inside, the expo center had a massive foyer supported by lavish pillars in old-style rustic decor.  The edifices were further decorated with tapestry-like banners in multilingual prints ranging from English to Spanish to German, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and even Korean.  In each dialect, the verse was scawled closest to the translation for "Welcome to Kaze Con 5!"

Ariel glanced around the entrance curiously as she tried to figure out what to do.  Ahead of her was a standee of two ninjas guarding the building's map.  She went up to it and saw that the main auditorium was reserved for artists' galleries and the dealers' den, while the adjoining conference rooms were set aside for cosplayers to hold skits for themed contests they had signed up for in advance.  The offbranching corridors led to the food court where various local restaurants set up booths for the event, while miscellaneous other rooms were sanctioned for private parties or gatherings.

She decidedly went down the leftward hall towards the artists’ galleria to see who was there and what they were offering this year.  Within the main auditorium, she was immediately greeted with a packed house of costumed attendees and kiosk hosts all chatting amongst themselves-some trying to get the best price on artwork, some yakking it up with their friends, and others simply chatting with artists over miscellaneous things going on.  The Sylveon quietly made her way through the crowd, going from stand-to-stand to see if there were any more things she wanted to add to her ever-growing collection of merch back home.  With the occasional compliment on her suit, she gave quick waves, pats, and hugs along with joyous squeals or 'thank yous' to everyone who noticed her.

After purchasing several Pokemon and Dragon Ball prints along with a reusable tote to carry them, Ariel made her way into one of the large conference rooms to watch a few skit contests.  The first was strictly action themed, featuring people playing out fighting scenes from obscure karate-based anime aside from one group acting out the rematch between Goku and Frieza from Dragon Ball Super.  Another dealt in pure aesthetics based on shows such as Death Note and Bleach, with costumes meant strictly for show.  Lastly was the fantasy category for skits from Attack on Titan and Tales from Earthsea.

Once she finished watching skits, Ariel decided to head to the cafeteria for a light snack before poking around other parts of the convention.  Scuttling around the outside of the sitting area, she made her way across to the kiosk of a local Subway so she could order a six-inch turkey sub and a large Dr. Pepper.  Then she took her meal across the way and sat alone at the far end of the commons.

Taking his headpiece off, Shadow set Ariel's mask off to his side and started to eat.  For the little bit of looking around he'd done, he suddenly worked up an appetite.  Carefully unwrapping his sandwich so as to not get his costume’s mitts dirty, the man took a huge bite and started eating.

Partway through his sub, Shadow heard the voice of a man call out from the other side of the room.  At first he ignored it, dismissing it as him simply mishearing someone over everyone else's yammering.  But then, he got an immediate shock when a heavy-set fellow in a Snorlax costume sat down across the table from him.

"Shadow!" he hollered as he took off his own costume's head to reveal the face of a mustachioed gentleman with bright auburn hair and deep-blue eyes smiling at him.

"Derek?" Shadow responded, immediately recognizing him as one of his old suiting friends.

"Yeah!  How the hell ya been, man?  It's been forever since I've seen ya!" the man in his early thirties asked, a thick midwestern drawl permeating his cackle.

"Oh, I've been fine.  Just busy at work and with life, you know?"

"Yeah, me too.  This is my first time back at Kaze Con since 2014.  Haven't had time to do other conventions either."

"Same!" Shadow laughed along with Derek.

"I thought that Sylveon suit I glimpsed at the entrance a bit ago looked familiar.  I just wasn't sure it was Ariel until you took her head off."

"Yep, first time I've had her out in a while actually..." Shadow blushed as he tried to find something more to say.  "So, how's Cheryl?"

"Oh, she's doing fine.  We finally got married last March!"

"Ha, congratulations!"

"She's actually here at the convention.  We're at a private party down the east wing.  Nothing nasty, mind you!  Just a friendly get-together of our old cosplay group-some beers and wine coolers, but mostly just socializing and catching up.  Want to join us?"

"I’ll pass on the alcohol, but otherwise sure!"

"That's fine.  There's pop too!"

"Mmm, sure!  Let me finish my Subway here and we can go."

"Alright!"  On that note, Shadow went back to eating his turkey melt.

Once he finished, Shadow and Derek put their costume heads back on.  Ariel took her drink in hand and then went to throw away her sandwich wrapper before following her friend down the hall at the far end of the cafeteria.  The Snorlax soon led her down a long adjoining corridor, which had miscellaneous conference rooms.  Some doors had decorative 'Do Not Disturb!' or 'Invitation Only!' signs hanging from the knobs, while others were simply locked up due to nobody reserving them.

After passing a half-dozen rooms on each side, Derek stopped in front of a certain door with an elegant picture of miscellaneous Fairy-type Pokemon on it.  The sign underneath read 'Pokemon Kaze Cosplay Reunion.  Please knock before entering.'  Ariel giggled a moment as the Snorlax gestured for her to do just, and she gently tapped on the door a couple times.  With a slight creak, the portal cracked open with a curious eye peering out.

"Yo, Jake!  You'll never guess who I found at the food court!" Derek muttered, his voice partially muffed by his suit's mask.

"Yeah, I was going to ask who's the chick in the Sylvy suit, but come on in!" the man behind the door said with a gruff tone, but immediately stood aside as he opened the way for them.

Ariel and her Snorlax escort immediately entered the room, while the doorman relocked it.  Once inside, the Sylveon was greeted by the sights of a wide-open chamber with pink fluorescent lighting that made the room a lovely rosy hue.  There were miscellaneous cosplayers all in Pokemon costumes-some partial outfits, others full suits.  A couple guys were gathered along the buffet table at the far right side, yakking it up as they drank their beers, while a few individuals had set up desks on the opposite side to play the Pokemon TCG or games on their 3DSs.  A couch along the back of the room had been taken up by a few people who passed out from drinking too much, but there seemed to be a pile of bright pink pillows setup on a makeshift futon adjacent to the sofa.

"So, who's the Sylvy suiter, Derek?" the tawny-eyed doorman asked.  He wore an Arcanine partial-suit consisting of a tail, paws, and hat designed like the Pokemon's head in addition to his glasses and a shirt with an Arcanine on it.

"Oh, silly!  Don't you recognize me?" Ariel replied as she plainly remembered Jake Gibson.

"Eh, you sound familiar, but house rules-you can't stay if you don't show your real face!" Jake clarified as he took a swig from the can of Miller Lite in his hand.

"Seriously?" Shadow's voice suddenly barked before popping off his headpiece.

"Whoa!  Shadow?  Wasn't expecting you here!" the man gawked.  "Yo, guys!  It's Shadow!"

"Shadow!" a few people from around the room called out, raising their beer and liquor bottles in unison.

"Didn't think you were doing cons anymore, man!" Jake said as he put his hand on Shadow's shoulder and led him to the buffet.  "How you been?"

"Eh, so-so.  Busy at work mostly, and I don't have much time for these things anymore.  But I figured on a whim I'd pop into the con and see what's changed."

"Right!  Well, what can I get ya?  Bud, Miller, Heinie?" the Arcanine suiter asked as they reached the beer cooler.

"Naw, no alcohol!  I have to drive home."

"Pepsi, Coke then?"

"Dr. Pepper if you got it!" Shadow said as he jiggled his part-empty Subway cup.  Jake proceeded to pull out a can of Dr. Pepper from the mixed assortment in the nearby pop cooler and handed it to the Sylveon.  Afterwards, he left Shadow alone for a moment and waddled over to the other guys near the buffet.

"Hey, guys!  Guys!" Jake stammered, pointing at Shadow.  "That...that's Shadow!  That's Shadow!  He's like a legend in our group.  His suits...his suits are like...amazing!"  The man then hiccuped a bit before heading off elsewhere in the room.

Derek came up to Shadow carrying the headpiece to his Sylveon suit and said, "Yeah, pay him no mind.  He's been binging for the past hour or so.  I'm the one who's got to get him home tonight, so no worries."

"You...haven't been..." Shadow said, taking his mask back.

"No, no, no!  I'm the designated driver for him and a few others.  I was just being polite when I said there was beer, in case you wanted one.  We actually have a block of rooms reserved in the hotel across the street.  It's just a matter of getting them into my van and back over there."

"If you say so..." Shadow huffed.  He was suddenly feeling a bit tired.

"You okay, man?" Derek asked as Shadow poured his new Dr. Pepper into the cup he already had.

"Yeah, just beat already.  It's not that I didn't want to meet up with everyone again, but I've been running long hours at work and even doing some overtime."

"No worries, man!  The couch is taken, but feel free to use the bed of pillows in back if you need a nap or something."

"I...think that's just what I'm going to do, actually."  Taking his mask, Shadow slipped it back on and headed towards the back of the room as Ariel.  For whatever reason, he often slept better in full suit and it helped having his suits masks specially made to allow for proper breathing.

Ariel laid down on the bed of numerous pillows piled up in the far corner of the party.  The sounds of people talking in the background slowly became muffled as she settled quietly into a very relaxed seat.  These pillows were unusually soft, softer than they first looked from across the way.  Their soft-pink accents further helped ease her Sylveon mind and made her feel that much safer...safer than she'd felt in a very long time.  She was amongst friends now, and that's all she needed as she sunk slowly into a nice peaceful sleep.

End Sylveon Suiting