Undertale: Temmie (wheelchair design)

Character: Temmie (wheelchair variant)
Series: Undertale
Worn at: PAX East 2016
Estimated build duration: 9 days

Undertale is a wonderful RPG with the stereotypical setup of a human among monsters, with the added cue to learn to love these monsters, and support them, whether it’s helping one of them go through trauma, fundraise for their bake sale, or even support them through college.

This character sets up a shop to fund raise for college, charming you with her goofy misspellings, mispronunciations, eagerness and L33tspeak. This build forced me to be both fast and novel, as it was the first build after major surgery that limited my movement.

Media/Materials used

Wheelchair (rented, so no permanent modifications could be done)
Thick cardboard (for the core box base, the detachable sign, a thick brick of cardboard to act as supports)
industrial strength velcro
Paints for the sign
Printed paper & designs for the menu

Construction Notes/WIP

Sketch of how to have a portable shop, in the form of a cardboard box.

As soon as I could stand up, I visited various thrift stores to get close-enough clothing and fabrics. I also ordered and styled the wig quickly, along with sourcing boxes that are rigid enough for the build.

I had to make this box portable, as I only rented the wheelchair. It should be detacheable so it can be moveable in cars too.

I concluded to have a collapsible box with reinforced material in the corners. Rope tied the box so that the top sat on top of my handrails. Velcro held the reinforced material and signs all to the box.

Results

Since my character was also a shopkeeper, I felt I needed to hand out gold. Gold coins would have gone fine, but I felt golden nugget candies went better. That way, I could interact with other Undertale cosplayers just like a shopkeep. I handed out chocolate gold nugget candies to people to “pay” for items. Other cosplayers got into the exchange and I actually got tem flakes!

I also received a truly wonderful and humbling note about my costume

Say hello to my favorite cosplay from PAX East.
What I REALLY like about this TEM cosplay and their TEM SHOP is that she really embodies everything I love about the hobby.
What really impressed me about this was no matter how many time she was stopped for photos ( a bunch from what I saw), she NEVER broke character and generally looked excited that people were happy to she her.
This TEM/TEM SHOP is a perfect combination of craft, presentation and DETERMINATION that really makes me proud of what the community can bring out in people.
Thanks for taking the time for a photo Tem, and being a shining example how awesome this hobby could be.
Anarchris from Tumblr

Even years later, this note is just such a boost for my day. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

I wrote even more about this costume in an article! For more details on that, plus construction, motivations and design, check out the resulting article.