Well I like to keep up on wank, especially since it seems to inspire discussions with my old friends back at the
smrff. So now I check on fandom_wank (over at journalfen.net-- I want an account, but I need a code! *wails*) every so often, but of course, some people manage to bring the wank to LJ-- like
blackjackrocket did for us starving folks over at
playthedamncard. Me loves the wank.
But cosplay wank is a touchy subject with me. I'm not a diehard cosplayer or anything, but I have my squicks.
(1) Man-Faye. He also did Man-Yuna. Frankly, as fun as crossplay can be, the guy just seems to love pushing the limits and other people's buttons. It almost seems insulting to the original character to do what he does. But if that's what he likes (squicking people, getting them uncomfortable), he's damn good at it.
(2) Pathetic cosplayers. These are the people that slap on (whatever color) hairspray and a headband and call themselves Naruto cosplayers. I don't expect everyone to spend $500+ on cosplay; I myself have felt the pain of doing on-the-budget, last-minute cosplay. I didn't win any awards or get loads of pictures of me taken, but that's not the point. You cosplay to express yourself, to have fun, to meet people. But you can do it just as well without a tacky costume on. I think effort is required in all things: either make do with what you have, or don't do it at all. It doesn't always come out the same, looking A+ gold star happy face perfect for everyone, but trust me: effort DOES show.
(3) Wrong size. This kind of fits in with the Man-Faye thing. It's not just a MAN crossplaying characters like Faye Valentine and Yuna, both ladies known for their rather skimpy clothes (at least Faye; Yuna didn't get her hot pants on until X-2) and sexy bodies. Man-Faye is hairy. But he's also BIG. Even costumes made for him don't seem to cover up near enough... and frankly, why cosplay something that makes you look worse? I had this same gripe with many Yu-Gi-Oh cosplayers. Go ahead and cosplay Otogi, Malik, Yuugi, whoever... but at least make sure the costume FITS you.
It's this last one that makes me wonder about the cosplay wank going on over at f_w. I don't care about the size of the cosplayers, or the fact that two seemingly-lesbian girls find yaoi hot (I come from San Francisco; this is not NEW to me). Matter of fact, both of their costumes (and their hair!! ZOMG!) are really, very good. And crossplay, as I said, doesn't bother me if it suits someone's body. These girls aren't exactly hairy or gangrenous or whatever. People are railing on them because they're a little overweight-- but it's not like you can see plumber butt or anything. *shrugs* Yeah, it's a bit weird to imagine Malik as a bigger than me, female, and white (rather than similar in stature to me, male, and Egyptian), but... that's cosplay for you.
Still, I think if people truly like anime enough to cosplay, they should discover options more suited to them. I like cosplaying people who have my hair style or color, so I don't have to go to excessive lengths to dye or cut my hair for cosplay. Yes, wigs are an option-- but they're damn expensive and hard to maintain. So are those REALLY nice costumes. And I can't sew worth shit.
Actually, a great example of a cosplay I admired was
zigx's one of that kid (whose name I cannot remember) from Guilty Gear XX. He used a yo-yo, and looked like a nun. Joe did a COLOR EDIT. How many people honestly think of that? And you know what? Costumes often change from season to season (*cough cough* Seto Kaiba!) or from anime to manga (see: Rena Lanford/Star Ocean 2). So the possibilities really ARE limitless. I wish more people would realize that, and not force people who cosplay into this stereotype that zOMG your outfit/hair/eyes/weapon/size are totally NOT like the character you think you're cosplaying as!!
Who the hell cares? Anyone that gets THAT damn dedicated into cosplay should make it their job, not their hobby. And even then, they can take their criticism to the playground and leave it out of the cons.
(by the way, there are some really homophobic and racist people on
cosplayfucks. I mean
geez. They scare me. --You probably know who I mean.)
I'd like to add that I don't see communities as
ygo_badfic,
fanficrants, or even
cosplayfucks as cowardly. People are allowed to criticize whatever they find on the web, and they're under no obligation to tell the original author they're doing so. Cosplayfucks I think is a BIT different though, because essentially they are making fun of real people for pretty stupid reasons (superficial reasons)-- and in the case of the Malik cosplayers in question, they provided their emails for feedback, but instead someone made a cosplayfucks post about them railing about how they were pretend-lesbians trying to act like teh-hawt-boy-seks when Malik is really a disassociative-personality-syndrome case profile... o_O Trust me, it could get MORE complex.
I'm not like some unfortunate girls who are so unhappy in their skin. I wish all people could be satisfied with themselves, but even I'm not one of those types. I think I've got a bit of pudge on my belly, and people never seem to hesitate to point out that I have a rather large caboose for a white girl. As the girls at work said, "You got some junk in your trunk!" o_O I don't care, I laugh it off, but part of me does hurt because of it. How long is this "nice" or "wicked" figure of mine (other people's words, not mine) going to last? That's why I try to take care of it.
It's wonderful to be happy in your skin, but not that far of a stretch to want more happiness and health for yourself by bettering your diet and exercise habits. Obesity is clearly a problem in the USA, and encouraging it doesn't help matters. I'd like to believe that people cosplay characters because they love them so much, but also because part of them wishes they DID look like that all the time. Maybe not necessarily the psychotic personality or the deeply-engraved tattoos, but maybe the cool hair, the lavender eyes, and so forth. Oh, and Malik's hot bawd. You gotta admit, he's got a nice figure. And even if he is male, the concept applies to everyone: all those girls that cosplay Yuna/Lulu/whoever-- don't you wish you had her eyes/hair/nails/boobs? I know I do. I don't starve myself to look like them, or blow my money to buy color contacts-- but I keep myself happy and healthy, and from there, everything else follows.
I gave P my 2 week notice today, even though I didn't plan to. But K was being such a condescending bitch (she even elbowed me -hard!- and didn't apologize or say excuse me!) I just can't take it anymore. I will try my damnedest to get that job at Red Robin; I only hope the GM Francis stays true to his word and remembers me. He said I had a great attitude and was very upbeat, and by mentioning the training schedule, he seemed to imply the interview went well and he would want to see me again when the store finally opened. *crosses fingers* Please god, let it work!
...I'm messing around with the eFiction drfa again. It's just being a bitch because on my local computer, I had the eFiction stuff in a folder WITHIN the drfa holder, but on the webserver, they're in two different folders. Blah. I need sleep.