Cosplay Me / Close Your Eyelids

Submission 1,596

Part of a series on Cosplay. [View Related Entries]

About

Cosplay Me or Don't Watch Me Do It Close Your Eyelids is a cosplay trend on TikTok where a character or person is shown with a caption challenging the user to cosplay them, followed by a cut to the user cosplaying them, often poorly. The trend, set to the Steve Lacy song "N Side," was popularized on TikTok in June 2022.

Origin

On June 4th, 2022, TikToker^[1] @iamkeilduh posted a video set to "N Side" by Steve Lacy captioned "I wish Zoro was real," referring to a character from One Piece. The video uses a POV blinking effect as the user prepares the cosplay, followed by the reveal. The video gained over 108,000 views in three weeks (shown below).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7105502947659828522

On June 6th, TikToker^[2] @freshbabyfetus posted a similar video using the same effect and sound showing an image of Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen captioned, "ain't no way you would actually cosplay me," followed by the user's poor Sukuna cosplay, gaining over 1.7 million views in two weeks (shown below).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7106155872895651115

Spread

TikToker^[3]^[4] @freshbabyfetus continued to post videos following this format over the following days, some garnering significant virality. For example, on June 7th, 2022, he posted a video cosplaying as an Angry Birds character, gaining over 3.6 million views in two weeks (shown below, left). On June 13th, he posted a video cosplaying as SpongeBob, gaining over 6 million views in a week (shown below, right).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7106656401220504878

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7108804937676672302

Other TikTokers began following the trend after the virality of @freshbabyfetus' videos. On June 16th, TikToker^[5] @akier_chiilee posted a video cosplaying as Fat Albert, gaining over 2.6 million views in a week (shown below, left). On June 17th, TikToker^[6] @pockystick72 posted a video cosplaying as Abby Mallard from Chicken Little, gaining over 2 million views in a week (shown below, right).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7109684442951716142

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7110031818996370730

On June 21st and 22nd, TIkToker^[7]^[8] @chocolate_rain03 posted videos cosplaying Zack Efron and Justin Bieber respectively, gaining over 3.1 million and 3.7 million views by the 24th (shown below, left and right).