Author Archives: celsius (The Cosplayer)

Creepy People [NSFW]

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“…if your fat hangs out and blocks the bottom of your bikini, then you shouldn’t be wearing one!” (pg 39, How To Avoid Hara-Kiri)

Creepy people. They will be there, and you can’t avoid it. Sometimes you’ll be able to catch it. They may follow you, try to get your attention, snap your photos without permission, touch you, TRY TO GET YOU TO SWIM IN THE FOUNTAIN THAT HAS A ‘NO SWIMMING’ SIGN ABOVE IT. Just be careful when you’re in an unfamiliar area. And unless you know where you’re going, and it’s the safest route, DO NOT TRAVEL ALONE. Please, it’s for your own safety. Travel with a group, at least. The last thing you need to do is walk two blocks in the wrong direction and find yourself in a situation you cannot get out of.

Going Out-of-Town

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TokyoGhibli05.JPG
morgonmae/flickr

“…be sure to bring enough to cover all the tolls…” (pg 26, How To Avoid Hara-Kiri)

Out of town? The best thing you can do is prepare, and prepare. TRIPLE CHECK your list! (You have a list, right? No?! Check out the book, we’ve got you covered.)

Because if you go out-of-town for a con, it’s not like you can just hop on a plane or drive five hours back in the other direction to pick up what you forgot. And most times, you’re not gonna be familiar with the area, so you can’t just go to a store nearby and pick up what you need (toothbrush, fabric, glowsticks, etc) on the fly.

Even if you check everything, there WILL still be times you forget something. We’ve all done it before; I’m certainly guilty. One time, of all the things to not pack, cosplays and all, on the road down to Otakon, 1.5 hours into the trip I realized I’d forgotten to pack underwear. YEP. Thankfully I had a friend who lived in the DC-area that I could just call and ask her to pick me up a pack.

But you may not be so lucky friends, so try and check every time you pack your things.

Pre-reg

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Inside the BCC
ronaldhennessy/flickr

“Pre-registration rates are generally cheaper than regular registration rates” (pg 17, How To Avoid Hara-Kiri)

It’s always a good idea to pre-reg for a con. It means you can usually get your pass early (like the day before the event) and you don’t have to wait in a long line to get your pass the day of the con. Plus it’s cheaper to pre-reg for a con if you’re getting a weekend pass, as opposed to the higher price you’ll pay at the door. While I think most cons are still working out the kinks in their pre-reg systems, I think Otakon is the only con I’ve gone to (so far) that seems pretty successful with their efficiency of getting people their passes in a quick and easy manner. I try to pick up my pass so I don’t have to stay out in the weather (in cosplay, of course) and complain about how I should have picked up my pass earlier.

Re: Men’s Fitness Bends Fans Outta Shape [OPT-ED]

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*Madi’s reaction to this month’s Men’s Fitness article | Flickr/Mr Snork

It’s funny (read, sarcasm) that this article mentioned “It’s a bully-free zone in which underwear is in no danger of violently wedgie-ing its wearer and freak flags are free to fly. Nowhere is this more evident than in the practice of costume play, or cosplay.” and that’s exactly what they did, bully them. The article is down right rude and I even sense some insecurities from it. It seems like the man/men behind this article/magazine are too “proud” to let go and have some fun with dressing up, so they hide behind this ‘veil’ of it’s okay to make fun of others (oh masculinity).

I’ve always always been an advocate of no matter what your race, size, religion, anything that defines you and who you are, you have every right to cosplay and let no one stop you or tell you you can’t. I dislike it when people say they can’t ‘cosplay’ because of those reasons, because anyone can. And of course, this article goes against what I believe, but not only that, but probably has discouraged more people. The most complaint I hear about someone as far as “not being able to cosplay” outside of skin color is body type. “Oh I’m not skinny enough to cosplay this character” or “since I’m overweight, I can only cosplay ‘big’ characters.” We’re not all models, we cosplay for FUN. It’s because of things like this there’s drama ALREADY in the cosplay world. And the media already sheds enough negative light on us, Just let us have our fun. I consider us to be adults with big hearts and still have the imagination to dream.

A random older male said to me as a drive by comment when I was in cosplay in NY on my way to NYAF “Aren’t you a little too old to be doing that?” And I wanted to retort, “I guess you’re too old to have fun.” Cosplay doesn’t have an age and it never will.

Hygiene

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“I think it’s just as important, if not more so, than everyday living” (pg 32, How To Avoid Hara-Kiri)

Hygiene (especially at a convention) is very, very important. We’ll take it at my standpoint, considering I have a degree in Communication Studies.

When you meet someone for the first time, you want to make a good impression, especially if it’s someone you wish to speak to again in the future. First dates, parties, someone in line… these all apply. A convention is no different from these situations. People say actions speak louder than words, and it’s true. Nonverbal actions are something that people pay attention to more than the words that are just said. Words can lie, but nonverbal actions do not.

Yes, hygiene is a nonverbal action. And if you smell (to put in bluntly), not only is the other person going to want to try and get away from you as fast as they can, the potential to build any type of relationship has now disappeared. You may be the best looking person in the world, but if your hygiene isn’t in check (both odor and presentation), no one is going to want to do anything with you. This counts so much for first time meetings because people don’t know much about you, so you start with a blank slate. If the first impression is a bad one, even if you change, that’s the image others will have of you from then on out.

How you can fix this problem? For one, if you have the “Con Funk”, DO NOT put it off for when you get the chance to address this menace. There’s no way you’re not smelling it, and you’re probably down right ignoring it. Go take a shower. Take a quick shower. Use soap! Do not just let the water run on you. Keep in mind most conventions are during the summer time and you’re moving around a lot, which makes you’re prone to sweating a lot more than you think you are.

In 2009, for the first time ever, I experienced the “Con Funk” while cosplaying. My costume was hot, Otakon (Baltimore, MD) was hot, humidity factor was in full effect, I was running all over the place, doing photo shoots, meeting with people; you get the idea. When I realized my situation, the first thing I did was excuse myself from my friends, leave the con, and went back to my hotel room to take a shower. I changed into another cosplay and then went back to the con. If you don’t have a cosplay to change into, DO NOT wear the same cosplay you just took off. That’s defeating the purpose. Although if you do wish to wear the outfit again, Febreeze the hell out of that outfit and don’t wear it until the next day. Really spray vital areas (back, under the arms/sleeves, collar) of the outfit and let it air dry over night. If you just put the outfit back on without Febreezing it, you’re more than likely going to smell ten times worse.

So be mindful of yourself and the impression you may be making on people.

 

*photo by @Free/Roam/Soul