Scar, needle and second place: who is the cosplayer actually? H.2

C: Not that taboo, but I would not make images in the style of “nude” or in underwear. I still have some complexes and discontent with my body. Of course, I have now improved it, but still I am not eager to embody such images, because I myself would not like it myself. Perhaps for a lot of money and could try. And so for me there is no special taboo. If I like the character, then I will do anyone. It doesn’t matter, a character of low stature or high stature, female characters are also without problems. Of course, I have no desire to make characters who do not like in nature, or outwardly. Moreover, they can be loved very much in the fandom, but I personally do not like them.

X: What does the scene mean for you now? Your emotions now, at the beginning of the path and, possibly, the further ones that you will experience?

C: The first time is a crazy excitement, your hands are shaking, you go crazy. At the moment there is a certain share of excitement, it is always present. And the more the event, the more you worry. But already much less, and this no longer affects the performance. At the first time, when you go on stage, because of your excitement, you can drop something, wander. I could forget what to do on stage at all. Now this is much easier with this, and in some situations it happens that it will happen that there will be, because I still can handle it. And in the future, I think that the excitement will completely leave, except for a small fraction that everyone has always, but in the format of the performance, everything will only become better and larger.

X: you have some kind of fear of the scene now?

S: As such. I believe that cosplay helped to get rid of it, because in childhood the fear of the scene was, and very strong. And now I can go on stage without problems. And if something happens suddenly, there will be a situation that I will need to perform in a different format, then there is no fear either. This is much easier than given earlier.

X: The next question is very interested in me. Is it strange to feel that on one day you are a star on stage in front of hundreds and thousands of people under the Sofites, and the next day you return to gray everyday life and pay for a communal apartment?

C: cancellation syndrome after the festival very often happens. Not only the scene, but in general, the whole atmosphere of the festival, when people of people are suitable for you to take a picture, your friends with the cosplay of the community with whom you communicate and discuss further plans or some collaborations, crazy many performances, and you yourself stand in the forefront, when everyone sees you and a huge amount of attention is directed at you ..

And the next day you return to work, and it becomes very dreary the first days. There is such an internal piece of cosplayers, everyone is preparing in front of the festival, the deadlines are burning, everyone is angry, they are literally swearing these cosplays that they thought up. At the festival itself, the atmosphere is gorgeous, but periodically you think how I was tortured with this suit and never go somewhere to the festival again, I will not make such an image. And now two days pass, and people write and say: “How I miss the festival! You need even a smallest image for the next one and that would be faster!”.

X: The performance did not go according to the plan, what will you do?

C: Complete improvisation is the advice that I give to everyone and which I myself have used more than once. There were times when, for example, a person throws a sword that must be caught, but he falls. Many are lost, take, pick up, but it still falls. Of course, a person begins to worry even more. And I always go to improvisations. That is, if I get a sword, I will pretend that it was necessary. I still have some props the capture that I have, and I will defeat it again. I play out that some nervous situation of my character happened, that he himself does not know what to do, he feels bad. And immediately in my head thought out how I will raise it all and redo the performance. On this improvisation and I leave. Very often this looks even cooler, because there are living emotions there. Improvisation takes a lot. In a word, if something went wrong, pretend that it is planned.

X: And what will you do in such a situation: the costume at the festival broke, your actions?

C: With this, everything is quite simple. If the costume did not break 2 minutes before the performance, then you should not worry, because now at each large festival there is special stands for helping cosplayers with crafts or seamstresses that help cosplayer, which has this situation, to quickly lastrate a craft, and so on and so on. If we take any smaller events where there is no such stand, then we must remember that the cosplay community is very open, and everyone helps each other. You can run to the scene in the dressing room, shout who has a needle-nickname, and someone will definitely have it and they will definitely give you. And they will even help to pick up. And if this happened 2 minutes before the performance, then there are different options – you can fix it with tape so that it lasts.

Or I remember a crazy case that struck everyone. The girl was even given a special nomination. She cosplay Tsunade from Naruto, and her forehead was not drawn, namely the glued crystalline. And literally a minute before her performance, he just falls off, she tries to correct the situation, looking for her adhesive for the eyelashes, which glued the crystal on, but does not find. And then she takes a glue gun from one guy with these hot glue, glues a crystal, screams with pain, but runs out onto the stage, performs and leaves.There was no burns left, but naturally it was very painful. She was given a special prize later.

X: And how did the judges learn about it?

C: Judges communicate with everyone, because judges in cosplay are the same cosplayers, and all cosplayers at least know each other in absentia. Naturally, when this happens at the festival, the rumors fly very quickly and everyone knows about it, including the judges.

X: Do you have your own personal first -aid kit for costumes? When something breaks down and you need to urgently fix it?

C: There are a couple of things that will always help if something happens to makeup. I always have a couple of pins, if something emergency breaks away, so that it could be safely fixed on a pin, whether it is craft or part of the costume. As a rule, if something breaks a few hours before the performance, then you will always get a needle with a thread from someone to ask.

X: You said that many judges on cosplay festes are former or acting cosplayers. Were you a judge for a cosplay competition? If so, what feelings, emotions on the other side of the barricades?

S: Just a couple of days ago, we had a small event where I was a judge and before that there was a few more. The experience is generally very interesting. I was just at small events, where mostly speaking-these are novice cosplayers, in fact, children. And this is very cool actually, watch this change of roles. When you look at evaluate.

Due to the fact that cosplayers are novice, you literally see yourself in them a few years ago, and it is very interesting to actually watch. You already understand at the expense of this, what level you have already achieved, what experience do you have. You see how they live by this, what their fire is in their eyes, how they are just completely laid out and how important it is for them. And to judge is actually very difficult, choosing winners, when all the guys work literally cool and give up to all this.

X: Immediately close the question with a girl who glued it with hot glue and received a burn. Are there such health problems or unpleasant physical sensations on fees, performances when you wear a suit?

C: Naturally, this often happens. Figs are a separate pain, because the grip is given a large load on the head and the wigs for wigs can very often give their heads. Therefore, I rarely, when from beginning to end the festival, I can fully attribute a wig. As a rule, somewhere in the end, an hour or two before the end of the festival, I take off the wig, because my head just split. There are often injuries on performances, since I don’t remember someone breaking something directly, but to turn his foot, somehow unsuccessfully fall, knock-this often happens.

And some and overdoing with performances. I remember recently, when I judged, there was a performance where the girls played a scene of jealousy, and one was supposed to give the other light slap, but she overdid it. And the ringing of this slap in the face to the whole hall was dispersed, she was so powerful. We even gave a special prize for this nominations. But it was really fun.

But I do not remember that they ever called an ambulance to the festival.

“Warks are a separate pain, because they give a large load on their heads and can often give their heads to the wigs.”.

X: That is, this is more an exception than the rule?

C: Yes. As a rule, everything is quite neat. https://slotsnogamstop.co.uk/review/golden-pharaoh-casino/ There are certain rules, for example, not fencing on swords in the walls of the festival and so on.

X: Continuing the topic of slap in the face – this also means getting too much in the image? How much you personally can give yourself to the image, on stage, in public?

S: When I am on stage, I try to completely turn off myself and turn on the character I pass, completely immerse myself in it and look at the world with his eyes. We talked about the Stanislavsky system, but this is not such, of course, professionalism, but approximately in this regard. I also said earlier that initially I wanted to directly play completely at the character festival, and then I realized that I could not. And there is no particular desire because it is at festivals outside the performance that we still just communicate. But still, the character affects a person, character, on the format of communication, and they change depending on which character I play.

X: That is, you can indirectly even adopt the line of behavior of the character which you cosplay?

C: Yes, just a little bit, but such cases were also.

X: The next question raises the theme of the characters. The costume is ready, you put it on, look in the mirror, but you don’t like it. You still go to the public on the stage?

S: Depending on the situation. If you gathered at the beginning of the day, and your performance is somewhere in the middle, that is, time to correct something, then I’m trying to shift a little wig, a little remodeling makeup. As a rule, this rarely happens so that the finished result does not like, and I think that I will not go out in this. If that if this happens for a short time before the performance, when there is no time to do something already, then I would go out anyway. After all, it was not for nothing that I was preparing to show myself. I understand that maybe I don’t like it to the end, but this is the work that I laid on myself and which I want to do. And I will make her.

X: Close the topic with negative emotions. When you most often experience stress, panic, anger, discontent, maybe hysteria?

C: At festivals, usually all this cost and everything was fine. With a photo shoot with more. But I often shoot the video in Tik Tok with various cosplay, and there are situations when I was going, prepared to shoot something and understand that something was wrong. Makeup floats, not lighting, I don’t like what I look like. There were times a couple of times when he was completely dressed, gathered, and in the end he made a couple of photos to the maximum, which he did not even post anywhere.

X: What emotions do you experience, knowing that you are standing among many cameras and people in the image that you have prepared for a long time and diligently?

C: Pride and joy. In the cosplay, the audience is very loyal, very good and cool, especially when you already have at least some famous name. Once I went on the stage at one festival, and I liked the image itself well, but I had a problem with the number. It consisted of two parts, and I thought out one part, but the second part was not given to me, and I understood that it might not be very. And so I go on stage, my nickname is announced, people literally chant my name, and it acts like a balm on my soul, pours a lot of effort into me. It became much easier for me, just crazy emotions appeared! I myself did not like the finished result, but I saw that people liked it, and I was very pleased.

X: Continuing the theme of the performance, there are some rituals, there may be a habit of what you are doing before creating a costume or going on stage? How morally you prepare for a stage performance?

C: Preparation of a suit and makeup-this has already passed into some more or less routine technical action. Standard actions: got dressed, gathered, made up, got a good result – excellent. If the result is not very, then something is redone. Before the exit is not a scene, I will not say that there are some rituals. As a rule, we stand in line with other cosplayers that perform in this block, and just communicate. This communication helps to discharge the remnants of excitement before going on stage.

X: Were there awkward or funny situations on conventions?

C: Yes, each convention is filled with them. There will always be some funny moment. There are many different thematic stands on our converts such as Unicon, where workers fully play the characters. And all sorts of quests, competitions are also held. That is, people themselves create different situations and cases. You come to the festival, take pictures with some girl, and she offers you to marry her. And after 5 minutes you drag in the company of characters from different fandoms some kind of coffin, because you were asked about it at the stand. And after some time, you communicate with Schrek on the topic of life in a swamp from the perspective of a citizen of the world. Therefore, when you go to the festival, you plunge into the atmosphere of non -standard, cheerful, awkward or very cool situations.

X: A little personal pain, because I often meet this. Is it possible to issue official claims to the organizers, if everything is poorly established, there are no certain conditions for the normal conduct of the festival, organization, cosplay events?

C: You can, of course, but the question arises of whether it is necessary? After all, the organization depends on a lot, even small parties are not easy to organize. As a rule, some minimum mistakes are at all festivals-this is a huge machine in which some small part can fly. One of the cosplayers can have problems with music, because the guys who were responsible for music for the performance were not turned on. But everyone understands this and they do not pay attention to them. But when the organizers of the festival make some gross mistakes, then, of course, they respond to this. It seems to me that in any case criticism is important, it helps to make the festivals better, and helps the organizer take into account mistakes and do something that will improve their stay at this festival and expand its audience.

X: We move on to more personal issues and contacts with society. I’ll start immediately with a provocation: is it difficult to look for a cosplayer? And in which environment it is easier for them to find a partner?

S: I can’t say that it’s difficult. If you directly approach this issue – regarding the search for relationships, I believe that relations do not need to be sought, that the best and cool relationships occur when fate is faced with people. If a person intends to seek a partner, picks up candidates, then something worthwhile will be released. The best relationships in my life were always a combination of circumstances, fate. But cosplay itself is a good bridgehead, because there is a large circle of communication, and it is very easy to find people with similar interests, similar characters. Due to the fact that cosplay is different characters and convey various aspects of character, it also becomes quite simple to get closer to someone. Good cosplayers have whole crowds of fans, so among them you can find a relationship. And let’s not forget that cosplay itself is such a job for artistry, on charisma, and the ability to give yourself. She pumps your self -esteem and your behavior in society very well, in communication with people.

X: I can argue that after these words about relationships, many fans can unsubscribe from you.

S: Who knows (laughs). In fact, there are a lot of community of the community of various relationships inside: people meet, part, converge, get married. There are even dramas, but in general – this is a platform that unites people and in terms of relations too.

X: Is it difficult to combine his hobby and personal life to cosplayer? I heard a lot of different stories.

S: For example, I had a relationship with a colleague from the community, and this is actually very convenient. You always have a person with whom you can do some joint work, there is always what to talk about, to work on something together. If your partner is not from the cosplay of the community, there are also a lot of advantages that affect your relationship. If your partner is interesting, then he is immersed through you into this world, he learns about him. It often happens that cosplayer, who is not from a person from a community, drags his partner into cosplay, becomes the activator that allows the new one to try himself in this case. Can only interfere if a practitioner cosplayer begins with a person who does not like the cosplay. But I personally do not remember such cases.

X: Raising the theme of friendship of cosplayers: a closed party of cosplayers is an exchange of experience and friendship or a hypocritical game for an elimination?

C: To get out – I would not say. No one tries to sit in cosplay, there is no tournament table there. But, as in any community there are a lot of different rumors, accusations, some unacceptures. This, of course, is enough. But, as a rule, it is very rare that some rumors or showdowns switched to ruin his cosplay career there or somehow harm him directly.

X: Close the theme of rumors immediately. What kind of rumor or false information has been going on for a long time or now?

S: Of these main rumors that told me that I am ChSV. Well, I perceive myself quite adequately. I understand that I have a beautiful appearance, I understand that I am very sociable, and that I have even a full -fledged fans. Based on this, some thought that I had a very high self -esteem in a negative way. But I don’t remember anymore. Small rumors about everyone go, but I try not to focus on them very much on them. The main thing for me is that people close to me think, and not someone there is a left-fifth Vitya-Stepa.

X: Is there a big competition in cosplay? General question, without orientation to some market, country or city.

C: Competition, of course, is growing. Because cosplayers are now becoming more and more, and cosplay itself is becoming more accessible and affordable. But I would not say that there is a very strong competition. One of the usual situations where you can say about competition is the same character. For example, two or three people came to the festival in costumes for the same character. Naturally, they have different wigs, different makeup, someone has an original suit, someone with AliExpress, someone has a custom-made costume. But in the community, people do not begin to find out which of them is better, which of them is worse. Rather, when they see several identical cosplayes, they can offer to take a photo to all three together. And these three communicate with each other, find out how they were preparing for cosplay. They can even become friends in the end.

“… cosplayers are now becoming more and more, and the cosplay itself is becoming more accessible and affordable”.

X: I heard about such a situation, and I wonder how you will answer it. The request of a stranger: “Oh you so cool! Let’s be friends!”

S: I used to try not to offend anyone, and if such a request was received, I could have contact and could communicate. But usually this communication did not come in. Now I already try not to do so. My circle of communication grows more and more, and I understand that with new people I will have too little time, I will not be able to devote time to my circle of communication or new guys. Therefore, now, if an absolutely unfamiliar person ran up to meet, I apologize and refuse.

X: Then a little provocative question. This problem, I heard, either hide, or pretend that it is not, but personally I learned about it about it. How many people are pestering festivals to cosplayers?

S: Moments with unpleasant people surrender periodically. But this is someone either not from the cosplay of the community, or very remotely close to it. Some guys who arrived at the festival randomly. Now there are fewer such cases, but it happens that they can accuse unprovenly, because something seemed to someone. Various precedents are, but not often.

X: I heard such information that if the pre -awareman occurs, then all cosplayers are conditionally united in one megatron and begin to poison this person naturally and almost expelled from the festival.

C: Yes, of course, of course. When the festival has such a cool friendly super atmosphere, and there is some kind of unpleasant case, then everyone has only one reaction-absolutely negative to those who created the pre-heart. But if something happens, then the instigator is quickly kicked out of the festival. And if this is a person from the cosplay of the community, then his reputation simply goes to zero.

X: What stereotypes do you constantly encounter in your cosplayer career?

C: The main stereotype is that cosplayers constantly use cosplay during sex. And also, that cosplayers guys are all gays. From the latter, that almost every cosplayer or cosplayer has a Patreon booster there with bare pictures. These are probably the most basic stereotypes with which I

X: There is a famous manga/anime “This porcelain doll is loved”. I am a little heit of this work, but there is a good scene there: the girl comes home to the guy and sees that he is engaged in cosplay. Put an ultimatum, either I, or your costumes. What would you do in the place of the protagonist?

S: I generally got used to the fact that if a person puts an ultimatum to me, then I will choose my hobby. For me, this question itself is very unpleasant and toxic. I can’t imagine that my hobby, my cosplay occupied my partner somehow negatively, so that he was ready to break off relations if I do not abandon the cosplay. In a good way, I would sit down and just talk. I would find out what specifically confuses in my lesson, why such a question arose. That is, I would get to the bottom of the root causes and work with them.

X: Raising the theme of relations and views. How do you feel about people who look at you a little like God? Is such a worship normal?

S: I am very embarrassed in such situations. I don’t perceive myself like that. That is, I perceive myself as an ordinary person. Yes, I can periodically have some cool works, cool moments, but I do not like the thoughtless praise of every sigh of my breath.

X: pit is painful when people find out on the street without an image?

C: This is actually very cool. Periodically autographs asked me, and it confused me very much. But it’s very nice. And recently, going into the city, at least once a week I meet someone who says: “About! This is you the guy from Tiktok! You are the guy who cosplay at the festival? Cool work!”. It always cheer up very much mood.

X: Were there a situation in the community when a person got you out of himself? Commentary, reproach to the character of the character, reincarnation?

C: I try to respond as easily as possible to such cases, but this happened. But, as a rule, if something with me with the way or I did something wrong, then the comments are in the format of adequate and positive criticism. For example, they can say that such and such makeup would be better that it would be better to lay a wig. And I calmly communicate, accept criticism, understand my problems and shortcomings, focus on such comments to improve the image. Of course, there were times when they spoke in a rude form about the quality of my work behind me. And sometimes there were cases when and directly negatively in the face or on the Internet in the comments spoke out. But usually some people are driven not by the desire to show that my image is something bad, but rather it is some kind of personal hostility, which sometimes may not even be connected with cosplay at all.

X: p than most often you come across in life? With subjective criticism or frank hatch for the most part? How you react to it all?

C: Most often I come across subjective criticism. This is pleasing, because very often I can observe cosplayers who have a very good quality, and in their comments in social, real persecution is going on. Or I often hear people unflattering about their work. I was lucky – I often hear adequate criticism. There are rarely toxic comments. And adequate criticism causes me only positive emotions. After all, I was indicated for mistakes that can be fixed, and make the image even cooler. And I ignore the negative comments, because there is either envy or some kind of personal hostility behind them. You won’t forcefully sweet, and it is impossible for everyone to like it. It is impossible to be an ideal for everyone, so I just ignore the negative and that’s it.

X: what has to be sacrificed in life for cosplay classes?

C: First of all, time. Cosplay takes a lot of time to prepare it, to work with it, to work with content. When I want to take off some kind of cosplay for that TIK TOK, I understand that my half of the day will be spent. Dressing, makeup, lay a wig, configure light, camera, write a video, process them, plus work with the rest of the content also takes a lot of time in the future. More with money. It often happens, as I said before, that cosplayer can make a costume “from shit and sticks”, but you will not go far on it. Everyone understands this and everyone over time switches to a more professional level, more expensive. And money is of great importance – cosplay requires a lot of money. But this is a contribution to emotions. All the money spent on the cosplay pays off a hundred -point when you go out in a completely finished suit, or demonstrate the image on the network, and get a lot of positive commentary and attention. This is very pleasing.

X: Raising the issue of life and life, is there a film, manga, anime, the series that is best shows the life of cosplayer? Clarification: We are not talking about a porcelain doll!

C: As far as I remember, the porcelain doll is the only thing that transfers cosplayer to the cosplayer from everything viewed and studied. There may be some jokes in the media about cosplayers, they can show something in films, but it will only be episodes. But I do not remember the works that would fully show the life of cosplayer. I did not look at the porcelain doll itself, I can’t really say how much the life of the cosplayer is exactly the same. But it is important to understand that rather it is transmitted from the point of view of the Japanese reality. But how the cosplayer’s life in the United States or in the post -Soviet space works – this, I think, is not shown anywhere and is not transmitted in the format of artistic works.

X: Why doesn’t everyone do this, if it is so cool, fun, interesting?

C: Depends on many factors. For example, from appearance. Many come to cosplay with low self -esteem in order to increase it just, and many underestimated self -esteem, on the contrary, keeps from cosplay. They believe that their appearance is not suitable for cosplay. Many people like to observe the characters, play them in some in role-playing special chats and so on. But they do not want to do this fully in the cosplay. Many generally are somehow far from all this, that is, far from creativity. They can see some Title, play some game, but they will not have thoughts about making cosplay there on someone from the characters. So the situations are different, but first of all, I believe that the attraction as a whole matters to creativity. But there are times when the financial situation does not allow, or some other internal torment.

X: is it normal to do cross -pancreas? When the guy dresses up in a girl, girls in guys and so on?

C: This is a standard practice. I will not say that in other countries, but in the CIS space, and specifically in Belarus, most cosplayers are girls, 90 percent girls. And they constantly make both male and female images without any problems. But when the guys make a female image, it is more difficult. And the question is in our society and its limitations. Personally, I had several experiments in female images, and I really like to do them periodically, because it is like some kind of challenge. Will I be able to reincarnate into a girl-chain or into some power lady. This is a very interesting experience. And if everything is done correctly and efficiently, then the result will come out chic, sometimes it can even be at the level of girls who make female cosplay.

X: But here you need to understand what should be lucky with the appearance or it can be somehow bypassed?

S: Some go around. If the figure is too male, then in some places dresses with ruffles can be smooth out the corners so that there are no men’s broad shoulders and so on. And the face will correct makeup, and you can also use the medical mask, and also looks very cool. In any case, you can find some tricks. Of course, this is quite complicated, because they are male external signs, and we must directly try very hard to hide them somehow. And make sure that the female image is obtained. And so that when people look, they see a girl, not a man in a dress. Although society does not encourage this very much. It’s easier for me in this plan in terms of, because I pumped my self -esteem and the ability to stand up first of all. I am not embarrassed to upload such photos and even in such an image in crowded places to hold photo shoots. At the expense of my own confidence, they do not even come up to me with any present. They can look displeased, but nothing more.

X: Question on the topic of society. Why do some people do not perceive this hobby seriously or laugh at it, even speak with disgust?

C: These are people of fairly narrow views, which in general do not perceive various creativity and its new types. Mostly people are either in age, from the post -Soviet space. They have a ossified way of life, and they do not perceive something new a priori, without even delving into his essence. Based on this, this is not only cosplay, but also a bunch of other things that appear in our life, in our society, they may not perceive. And younger people are also found, in this way.

“They have a ossested way of life, and they do not perceive something new a priori, without even delving into its essence”.

X: As you perceive yourself now – more under your real name or cosplay with a pseudonym?

C: Cosplay pseudonym. I took it somewhere around 8 years ago, and during this time my circle of communication was formed such that ninety percent know me exclusively, like Sebastian. Even my director at work calls me Sebastian. In this regard, a month ago I submitted an application to replace the name and surname that thereby securing this pseudonym, as in my real name.

X: cosplay is still a hobby for the soul or targeted work for money? Specifically in your case.

S: specifically in my case – this ..