#vicious ask

[vicious-cosplay]

1:What was your first cosplay?

I usually take this question as a multi-answer one, because I have a FIRST time trying cosplay, first OFFICIAL cosplay, and first HAND MADE,

First Time - I only have ONE picture but at at MangaNext… 2006? I did Shindara the Undying from Samurai Deeper Kyo. I had the cape and the shawl, but my wig was trash so I used my own hair.

First Official Cosplay - Otakon 2007 I did Xigbar from Kingdom Hearts II. No wig, of course, lol. This picture actually makes me kinda sad D:

First Hand Made Cosplay  - A Blood Elf design from a World of Warcraft Wallpaper!  

From Cosplay Questions <3

[vicious-cosplay]

AAAAAA! You're such a cutie.

*blush*

[vicious-cosplay]

I can vouch for the anon regarding AkiCon and a DJ raping an underage cosplay guest. They made a public statement acknowledging that it happend and saying that they weren't responsible for a minor choosing to drink. It was awful.

I have a vague memory of this happening as well since I had people who went to AkiCon who were shocked about it.

I decided to play google and see what I could find, and it seemed that a tumblr user called goddammitakicon looked for content, news articles, as well as stalking forums/fb page for the way the convention handled the event

[vicious-cosplay]

Hey Vicious! I'm a newbie cosplayer who is having a hard time not getting groped/hit on/grabbed at cons. Most recently, a complete stranger had grabbed me from behind and wouldn't let go until he had a photo of us together. It ended with a photo being taken and then me getting called a few slurs. Con staff wouldn't help and I wish this was the worst case of con grabby hands I've been through. I love cons but even when I stay with friends I get "handled". What can I do?

If you require being more subtle (because I have friends with this issue that does not like raising a stir), be bold, but make it know.

"Get your hand off of me, this is not a petting zoo. I am not a cat. Do not touch me."

But for me? Public humiliation is my absolute favorite way of getting rid someone who is being a douchebag-, especially when they ignore a kinder request 

"NO SIR I DO NOT WANT A PICTURE OF YOU NOW KINDLY TAKE YOUR HAND OFF MY ASS OR I WILL BE FORCED TO SCREAM EVEN MORE LOUDLY AT HOW MUCH I DO NOT WANT YOU TO TOUCH ME”

You’re more than likely to get enough attention from standbys to get that person to shrink back like the shriveled dick he is.

Also I like to post this whenever I hear stories of staffers not being able to help: Convention staff are very limited as what they can do with douchebag people. The only people on staff who are actually equipped to handle harassment are the actual security staff, and even then their power is still, in fact, limited. They are legally not a policing force, and their job is to ensure that when issues arise that they are settled quickly and directed to the proper authorities. However, they do have the power to ban someone from the convention center by revoking their badge at the decision by higher heads of staff. So in this case: Find a staffer, tell them that someone assaulted you and ignored your requests for them to not touch you, and ask them to get security immediately. If that person is still within seeing distance or someone snapped his face, point him out. An eye witness to this is always a strong helper to these cases. Once a security member comes by inform them how uncomfortable the entire scenario made you feel and ask them ‘is there anything that can be done.’ Do not demand anything be done. People who work security staff might work security elsewhere, but they also could just be people who are taught to handle crowd control. If it gets higher up on the food chain, you may have a case against that person, especially if he’s the kind of guy to make a scene.

I hope that this helps :(

[vicious-cosplay]

Okay! so for the past 5 cons ive gone to, this guy has been following me and my friends around in the creepy stalker way! I tried to tell staff about it, but they brushed me off saying that Im exaggerating! It got so bad that he even tried to lie to the hotel staff about "Being [my] roommate and that [he] has lost his card key"! I've tried calling the cops and reporting him for harassment, both sexual and not, but they brushed me off! do you have any advice about this?

Holy fuck. Ok I have my own stalkers but never ones this bad. You have every right to feel uncomfortable as hell and I am sorry to hear about your staff issues, but staff have a huge limitation on how much can be done either way.

Alright so here is a quick list for you to hopefully protect yourself better:

When you check into the hotel, tell hotel staff to put on a note on the room that says only YOU with YOUR ID is able to get copies of the room key. Yes, it might be an issue with anyone you room with, but if this guy has a habit of doing so then it’s better to play it safe. If hotel staff asks why, inform them that you have a stalker and he has tried to play this before and you’d rather just enjoy your stay without having to worry about that. 

Keep your friends with you. Don’t be alone. I hate having to resort to pack mentality but you’re always much safer in pairs than alone at a con in those cases.

Don’t rely on con staff to help with this issue. Sadly con security has their own limits and their key job is to keep chaos to a minimum and keep organization. If the guy is stalking you around within viewing distance and you are disturbed, you can approach a Security Member (be sure to see if their badge says Security) and inform them that the guy within seeing distance has been following you for a while and he is disturbing the hell out of you both. Security will most likely attempt to talk to him and if he runs it’ll put a bad connection to his face and his badge. If enough strikes happen, they could revoke his badge- but they cannot kick him out unless they make an actual scene. Again- this cannot be premeditated it has to be live where they can see him.

Also, unless this guy actually touches you or attempts to take you somewhere, the police cannot actually do anything. ‘Stalking laws’ are very finicky in certain states, if they exist at all. But the MOMENT he touches you against your will, that is assault. And when that happens? Scream. Get attention about you. More likely than not, he wont hang around.

Hopefully when you’ve pointed out enough you do not want to be bothered with, he’ll move on. Sadly, it’ll probably be to another target, but there is only so much legally a person can do against a stalker :(

Wish you the best of luck honey. I hope this person doesn’t ruin your con experience.

[vicious-cosplay]

So some of my friends want to go to Akicon and Akicon is notorious for being very unorganized, scammers, extremely rude to guests, even getting one of their attendees raped by a dj! I have this sinking feeling that something is gonna go terribly wrong! How do i convince them NOT to go???

Alright I will say from an outside view that I have never been to this con, and I have heard nothing but horror stories about it. 

What’s hard though it can be troublesome to convince people to not go to bad cons simply because it’s a con nearby to go to or friends are going and you just want to hang out. So I feel your pain.

See if you can find actual media proof other than word of mouth online about this con being bad

Find the word of mouth anyway and see how much you can find

Take the evidence to your friends

Beg and plead on your knees that you’re worried about their safety with said evidence

Offer a convention slumber-party at your place with ice cream and cosplay and video games and black jack and hookers

Pray it works

This is a hard thing to tackle because sometimes people just REALLY WANT TO GO TO A CON that happens to be that one and its nearby and its cheap and that’s a problem. You might not be able to convince them otherwise, but give them an opportunity to go else where and see what happens.

I wish you luck!

[vicious-cosplay]

So my friend Kimchicutie cosplayed Tooth from rotg at Kunmori-Con but she did a BEAUTIFUL human version of her with her costume all hand embroidered and hand beaded. I saw how she was literally replaced with a doll! A Bjd covered in paper feathers and the horrible things that were said to her actually made her cry and want to retire and throw away that costume! How can I convince her that her work is too gorgeous to trash just because someone said something mean about it?

Nothing is more depressing than hearing a cosplayer who worked hard on a costume and getting beaten down by assholes in the community. Ug. I feel so hard for her, please send her love and kisses my way <3 I even went to google her costume and I think that’s an amazing take on Tooth!

So a few things to tell the adorable Kimchicutie: Anyone you have just met who decides to dismantle your work at first sight is not worthy of your memory because their intent was to bring you down. Unless an honest opinion was asked, these people care not for her costume or for anyone else’s costumes, they just want to hurt someone, and sadly that someone became her. It’s hard to ignore those comments, but sometimes you have to have people you trust remind a person over and over again that trolls are nothing but blood suckers waiting in the darkness for you to open your heart.

Second thing to do? Tell her you love her work. Remind her the LITTLE THINGS she did that you liked. Like I love the trim at the bottom of the skirt. It’s shiny, yet doesn’t pull away too much from the final product! It’s just a little border that is oh so perfect. Tell her those little things that other asshats will overlook.

Last but not least, remind her to seek the opinions of people she trusts before sinking beneath the oppression of strangers. As I’ve told other people: For every 1 asshole that says you suck, you have 30 acquaintances that will tell you they love your work, there are 15 friends who will offer shoulders and help, and there are at least 2 people who would be willing to kill on your behalf. Keep these people much closer.

Send her many hugs and kisses my way please <3<3 And not to let asshats break a smile that adorable

[vicious-cosplay]

Hot damn those horns look so good

Dude you have no idea how proud I feel about these horns :D