Miranda Lawson is many things--a human Cerberus operative, a genetically engineered designer baby, the direct overseer of Commander Shepard's resurrection, and even a potential romantic interest in the second and third Mass Effect games. With a resume like that, it might be easy to see why so many fans of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition have decided to cosplay her.
Fans of Miranda often appreciate her detailed backstory, strong will, humanizing insecurities, and determination to help humanity as much as her slinky Cerberus uniform. The fact that she can easily die or break off a romantic relationship due to her insecurities does not appear to be a deal-breaker for some fans, including other Miranda Lawson cosplayers.
However, Redditor star_nacho introduces their stunning Miranda cosplay not as a tribute to the character, but as an apology for letting her die in their first playthrough. One Mass Effect 2 event features a bitter argument between Miranda and Jack, a human biotic abducted by Cerberus for cruel human experimentation. The furious Jack demands that Miranda--and Cerberus--admit that what happened to her was wrong, but Miranda insists on repeating the official Cerberus position that a splinter group was responsible for torturing Jack. There are several ways Shepard can defuse the tensions, some of which will lead to the two women grudgingly coming to an understanding and teaming up as in this Mass Effect group cosplay, but others will cost Miranda her loyalty and eventually her life.
i’m trying to do miranda justice cosplaying her to compensate for letting her die in my first playthrough 💀 i mean, Jack was RIGHT in that argument you can’t convince me otherwise
by u/star_nacho in masseffect
Star_nacho's take on Miranda depicts her in her Mass Effect 2 Cerberus uniform with a white honeycomb-print bodysuit, black sleeves, black patterns on her thighs, a black belt, and a thin black collar. She is also wearing a glamorous black wig and carrying a lovingly crafted weapon from the series. While her pose could have been taken from a classic film noir tale and her expression appears to be somewhere between dazed and sultry, the easy way she holds her gun shows her caution. This cosplay is every bit as atmospheric as JannetIncosplay's Kasumi Goto cosplay.
The reception for this cosplay photograph appears to be generally warm, but as of writing the conversation is largely dominated by discussions of Miranda as a character rather than star_nacho's hard work. This could be interpreted as a sign of how well Miranda was written. Some users did comment on star_nacho's cosplay and their words were quite complementary, with one poster even saying that they mistook her picture for a piece of fan art. When asked where they got the outfit, star_nacho stated that they made the gun and altered the suit from one purchased off AliExpress. Since Miranda Lawson is human, it's easier to buy cosplay parts for her than it would be for Mass Effect fans making a Garrus cosplay.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.