As we grow up, we give in to the whims of our imagination less and less. Make-believe gets marginalised as geeky, creepy, and often just kinky. Needless to say opportunities to live out fiction in real time are few and far between, but for thousands of New Zealanders over the weekend, fantasy became reality. Roughly 65,000 of your favourite heroes and villains attended the 20th Armageddon Expo at Auckland's ASB Showgrounds.
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For many the expo is about getting together and nerding out over a mutual appreciation for cosplay, while for others Armageddon Expo is the rare chance to go full "method." The level of character commitment ranging from a simple wig to full body paint, props and prosthetics. We saw ghosts moving through the crowd so deeply in character it was as if only they existed in this parallel universe. It was a serious business, and we sent VICE sent photographer Cam McLaren to capture it.
