Thousands of fans from across the United States gathered in Arlington, in the U.S. state of Virginia, for the highly anticipated 2025 edition of Blerdcon. This year’s event, themed “Thrilla," paid homage to the horror genre, drawing inspiration from Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller music video. VOA’s Jackson Mvunganyi attended this year’s event and got to meet some of the cosplayers and hear about the stories behind their costumes and uniforms.