What time is it?!
CON TIME!
Con season kicked off a few weeks ago, and here at 2 Shots, most of us are preparing for one within the next few weeks (thus my absence of posts…). Pikaxcore and Blaze have Kawaii Kon coming up, then they’ll meet up with me and Khaos for MTAC (Floodcon), and I believe Redneckpoet has Wondercon coming up for him. So it’s pretty busy for us around here with setting things up in preparation. That aside, let’s discuss something very important regarding cons : Con Etiquette.
You’re probably saying to yourself or the screen “Yeah yeah, I know this stuff,” but it doesn’t hurt to brush up on it. It’s like me walking into an AP test without review, I might remember it, but once I encounter something, I’ll forget what I learned because it wasn’t rammed into my brain enough.
One thing I cannot stress is to ASK. Doesn’t matter what it is, just be polite and ask (As long as it isn’t profound and doesn’t cause a scene). Doesn’t matter who it is or where you are, just do it. Cosplay is big at cons, but remember, cosplayers are people too, they aren’t fictional CGIs or holograms, they’re human beings. Fan boys and girls, I’m looking at you~ For the sake of your reputation and a cosplayer’s cosplay, don’t glomp, hug, or even touch a cosplayer without permission (obviously a glomp can’t really be given permission to without ruining the point of glomping, so do’t even try!) You can break something that someone put a lot of effort and/or money into; since I pretty much make all of my cosplays, I can guarantee if something breaks due to being glomped, I will rage until I get dragged away and possibly kicked out. So just don’t do it. Besides, would you just randomly hug someone you don’t know when they aren’t looking when you’re outside of a con?
So tracking back to cosplay in cons…You’re walking around, then suddenly, BOOM! A wild Madoka cosplayer appears! What do you do?!
- Take her picture.
- Glomp her.
- Ask for a photo.
- Think “Oh how cute” and walk away, to despair for you’ll never get a photo of her.
If you picked “3. Ask for a photo”, treat yourself to a poffin.
You should definitely always ask for a photo if you want one! Don’t be afraid to ask, most cosplayers will say yes, the others might be in a hurry or caught in something important or may be just some elitist who feels photos can’t display their epicness. There are many reasons why you should do this: the cosplayer might be late for something/ be in a hurry; they’re eating/ reapplying makeup/ chatting with friends/ just busy; some emotional problem has occurred; etc, etc.
One simple reason to ask would be to let them pose! Would you rather have a keyblade wielder staring blankly while playing with the keychain on his/her prop, or would you rather them appear ready for battle? Exactly. Now if the cosplayer says no, don’t harass them. There’s a reason they don’t want a photo, so respect that; don’t follow them around whining about it until they respond, as it might not be pretty. Also, don’t block hallways! Most cons have a place dedicated for photo ops, so don’t crowd the halls and clog them up for a photo; many people will be angry if they miss a panel because of that.
You should always remember this one: Be nice. I don’t care if you think your cosplay is better, or if that person’s wig is spiked 3cm too far right, just be kind to others! Once again, we’re in a public event and you probably don’t know ten percent of the people there. If you make a person feel bad about their cosplay, chances are they might give up and never try again to make it look better. So what if that person is cosplaying a series you don’t like? Respect that, don’t start beating up their confidence! As chances are, you overheard them talking about it, and you aren’t a part of the conversation, so don’t start bashing the crap out of them. Now, if someone asks for criticism, that’s okay, but don’t be harsh and rip them apart.
- Yes-> “Oh you did a good job! I would just suggest making it a tad bit neater, and maybe practice a little more on the wig, but I don’t blame you, it isn’t easy!”
- No -> “You look like s**t. You did this wrong, you did that wrong, I don’t even know what that is supposed to be. You used terrible cheap materials….”
That’s just rude, so be kind and only offer it if they ask, or you’ll discourage them and you can earn a bad rep along the way. And if you aren’t a cosplayer or are not in cosplay, don’t even try. You’ll give yourself the image of a person who thinks they know what they’re doing, but they really don’t and they are just making an arse of themself; it’s like that kid who’s new to video games, and thinks they’re a know it all and points out every flaw if you lose and they’re just watching. It’s stupid and you just make a fool out of yourself by angering others instead of “helping”.
A final note: DON’T CRAM YOUR FANDOM DOWN OTHER PEOPLE’S THROATS. I’m looking at you mainstream anime fans (just see it more there than other places!). Just because someone doesn’t like a series/comic/cartoon/game, doesn’t mean you should make a big deal of it. We all like different things, I can bet that person who hates your favorite series likes a series you hate. Just let it go and move along until you find someone who likes it too. And please, for the love of all things geek, don’t make a fool out of yourself in the name of a fandom. I don’t mean to insult anyone if you’re in these fanbases, but Hetalia and Homestuck are pretty infamous for bad behavior when it comes to physical injuries or just causing general annoyances. It might not be a lot of people, but a few bad apple can ruin a bunch (that’s the cliché saying, right?). I’ve had my share of bad run ins with some fan bases, and even searching the internet, you can find stuff on how bad they can be. If you’re a part of these fandoms with a bad rep, go ahead and stick with it, just try to keep a clean rep and maybe you can redeem the fanbase. Just remember that you like what you like, so if you don’t want someone to force something on you, don’t force something you like on them.
So that’s my two shots at con etiquette, so have fun, but stay safe and don’t piss people off. Excuse me now, as I’m going to hop off and finish my destruction for the MTAC cosplay contest~
I’ll try to keep to updating more often because I’m almost done so don’t hurt me!
