Just like Jim Hansen's Eighties cult film Labyrinth, passages in Rozanne and Paul de Wild's house lead to the bizarre.
Out of place in their living room is gigantic beast Ludo, the gentle giant in Labyrinth, who'd probably look more at home in the WETA workshop.
"There's a backpack in there," Rozanne explains of what lies inside 7ft Ludo's 18kg body, so that the costume she handmade, in 2017, can sit on her shoulders and strap around her waist.
A battery inside powers fans to extract hot air, and a camera set into his left eye gives her a 180-degree view on an inside screen.
Rozanne and Paul are known to their 2.2k social media followers as deWildCosplay, where they share their love of cosplay (short for "costume play").
Cosplay originated in Japan in the 1980s and fans dress up in costumes (mostly handmade) and role play as a character.
Following that passion, the de Wilds have founded a two-day hotel-based convention called Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball, in Rotorua.
The first multi-event was held last year, and next weekend
more than 800 Kiwis, and a few Australians, will attend the second, which this year includes a cocktail party, craft market, costume exhibition, two tea parties and the fantasy ball.
The convention at Millennium Hotel Rotorua is based on the couple attending Labyrinth of Jareth (LOJ) Masquerade Balls in Los Angeles, Dragon Con in Atlanta, and Australian cosplay conventions.
Their own - the first of its kind in New Zealand - encapsulates not just cosplay but steampunk, LOJ enthusiasts, costumiers, World of WearableArt (WOW) designers, Live Action Role Play (LARPers) and all manner of fantasy creations.
The Facebook attendees group for their convention is a constant stream of posts from attendees as they glue, mould, dye, cut, embroider and sew, in preparation for attending one or all offerings.
Some have skills comparable to entrants at WOW, while others are beginners.
Last year Rotorua's Dean Fleming created a character outfit for the first time.
With no sewing experience, a close friend got him started and from there he created something to wear to the ball.
It was so enjoyable that he immediately bought a sewing machine afterwards, and booked for both evening events this year, keeping in touch with various ballgoers.
"We Zoom every Wednesday for 'sip n sew' - swapping ideas, having a glass or two and cracking jokes. We give each other a nudge to just keep going. That whole year culminates in this one weekend, where we show off our talents and creations. It's one fabulous weekend of sparkle, glitter, sequins and imagination," he says.
Rozanne says experiencing its pageantry is something else.
"Imagine you're at WOW, but rather than sitting in the cold seats 50m back you're sitting centre stage and everything is happening around you."
She is a former functions co-ordinator and self-taught seamstress, while her husband Paul is a construction project manager who builds luxury catamarans, such as the Prada supporters' boat.
A prop and accessories maestro, Paul built a 6m by 3m replica of dragon Drogon from Game of Thrones; and for the ball - Labyrinth walls; a goblin throne; dancing bird cages; plinths; Greek columns and pillars.
For this year's event, he's made a full-size working Western saloon bar, as well as a replica of the 1890s three-wheel Steampunk auto-carriage in HBO TV show The Nevers.
The car, a year in the making, is made from carbon fibre, fibreglass and even an old copper water cylinder. It has a tuk-tuk motor and runs on a standard e-bike battery. While not road legal, it can be used at closed events.
The couple and their children, Stephen and Kale, have featured on TV with their realistic Game of Thrones costumes and won both national cosplay and Sevens Tournament titles for best costumes - unsurprising, given Paul's uncanny likeness to David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King.
Paul doesn't see his own similarities to Bowie, but it's obvious to others.
"Squealing women running up to hug him, or shaking with excitement are nothing new," Rozanne says, with Paul adding: "It's flattering and a good buzz to have people compliment me in a way you don't tend to get in everyday life."
It's that step into a different world that appeals to all costume fiends.
Aucklander Aden Scott is returning to the ball next weekend, having attended last year.
"It's a feeling of 'this is my tribe'. The event is exclusive to those of us in costume, which makes this a much stronger feeling than you would get at other cosplay events."
Auckland's Stacey Cook has been cosplaying for 10 years and says the de Wild convention allows you to "stretch your costuming muscles without having to hit a character".
It's a freedom to go "wild" with creativity, agrees Christchurch's Erin O'Connor.
"It's Just an all-round awesome, and bloody tiring, time."
Rozanne's mum Patricia Maindonald works as "staff in uniform" and loves that it's a weekend for all ages.
"When the almost 80-year-old mother of the organisers can't wait to be there, that must say something," she says.
Ceramic artist Lizzette Britton will be travelling from Whanganui with a life-sized statue of Queen Victoria in her passenger seat, which is being used as a prop.
A Steampunk fanatic who's travelled to the Gaslamp Festival in San Diego, her husband bought her a new nine-seater van three years ago just so she could transport her costumes and friends to events.
"The (masquerade ball) is spectacular and the attention to detail is actually mind-blowing. It's the best event I've attended in New Zealand by far."
And for those who have experienced large, lavish overseas events, it's a welcome addition to New Zealand.
Lindsey and Dave Share moved to Tauranga from Southern California last year, where they'd been annual attendees at the LOJ ball for five years.
"Events like this are unique even among cosplayers or LARPers, because people usually create their own designs and costumes, as opposed to replicating something from TV or a specific era. Each costume is truly a work of art," says Lindsey.
Demand for the event has quickly seen it morph from a lower-key "Ford" to a "Ferrari" production, says Rozanne.
This year the Millennium Hotel is nearly booked out, with the neighbouring Sudima Hotel accommodating overflow.
The de Wild house is full of props including a piano, and a leather lounge suite with button tufting and high-rolled arms for the Victorian parlour they'll create.
They have more props stored offsite and are hiring two trucks to transport it all to Rotorua.
They don't make a profit from the ball - it's a labour of love.
"It's like a sport or hobby. If you stop and quantify how much you spend on it, it takes the joy out of it," says Rozanne.
"The last two years have seen us investing in a massive prop build for the event weekend's theming - this year Paul and I have run out of time to focus on new costumes for ourselves so we will most likely be recycling previous ones we've made."
Rozanne sews all of their costumes, scouring fabric stores, emporiums and online for fabrics, embellishments, trims and treasures.
"I like to use upholstery or furnishing fabrics as they have great texture, weight and designs."
Using sewing patterns to get basic bodice shapes, she sometimes pieces together several to get the right style.
For skirts, she mostly patterns her own designs.
"I'm also just learning as I go," she says, explaining last year was her first time airbrushing a gown.
"The great thing about original designs is that no one knows what you intended to do anyway, so anything goes."
Next weekend's masquerade ball is run by the de Wilds and a small group of volunteers.
The Friday night cocktail party Creatures of Atlantis is held around the hotel's indoor heated pool, with the likes of merfolk, sea creatures, gods, pirates and sirens.
On Saturday, a stallholder's craft market and costume exhibit is being held across the road at Sudima Hotel and is open free to the public.
There are also two tea parties being held at Level 13, which has five themed rooms.
The main event, however, is the Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball on Saturday night, where Rozanne says a surreal fantasy world will emerge across two ballrooms where "goblin meets girl, princess meets beast, creature meets couture".
The electric Labyrinth ballroom and the pre-function "promenade" area take their inspiration from the movie; and the Time Travelers ballroom will have traditional and historical dancing, led by a dance instructor and live band.
There will also be an 1890s Lost in Time parlour, Dee's Wild West Saloon, and live dancers and entertainers.
Rozanne and Paul have been going to conventions for the past nine years, initially lured into cosplaying by their children who would attend Armageddon expos and eventually challenged their parents to make costumes and attend one with them.
While to outsiders the idea of dressing up as characters might seem "nuts" there's much to be gained, Rozanne says, explaining that some people not only look different but feel different.
Tauranga's Karen Jenkins says the metamorphosis into the "supernatural" allows "a moment to come out of your shell".
"To prance around in fantastic boots, and spend the whole night fussing with a big, fluffy skirt - excited doesn't even begin to express the joy of dress-up."
"It's escapism," adds Rozanne. "We've seen many people who may struggle with social anxieties, and we've watched them put on a costume and simply transform in front of our eyes".
"You can let go of everyday social pressures around you and just escape. You don't have to be who the world expects you to be, and for some that opportunity to be someone else, if just for one weekend, is huge."
# There is still a small selection of tickets available. Visit cnzwildadventures.com Costumes are compulsory - either handmade or hired.
