Some detail shots of my Clara Oswald 101 Places to See book (version 2).

The next time you’re at a con, I want you to go up to a cosplayer and say something nice to them. But not just any cosplayer. I want you to go up to a cosplayer that maybe doesn’t have the best outfit at the con (especially someone that looks like maybe this was the first costume they’ve ever made, or maybe someone that doesn’t have the “exact” body for that character), and I want you to pay that cosplayer a compliment. Say something nice to them. Tell them they make a fantastic *Insert Character Here*. Tell them their costume looks fantastic. Don’t lie to them, and don’t make the comment sound creepy or like you’re making fun of them, but step out of your shell for a moment to say something genuine and truthful, even if it’s something as simple as “Hey, I love your ______ cosplay”. Maybe you’ll make a new friend. Or even if you never talk to them again, maybe, just maybe you’ll make someone’s day. Maybe you’ll make someone feel a little more confident about themselves and their costumes. For all you know, you might inspire a new cosplayer to become better, to learn and to grow and to keep going to cons.

Stop the Hate, Spread the Love

Definitely one of the Less Flattering things I’ve ever made, but I’ve decided that instead of doing full out Maria Hill at the Iron Man 3 showing on Thursday that I’ll go a more comfortable (and heel and spandex-less) route and pull out my fashion-ish iron man again, with pants instead of the shorts i used at D*C. a few touch ups will probably need to be done, but at least I’ll have something iron-man related to wear with my friend’s Casual Loki and Casual Sif.

New Sansa wig!! So gorgeous I love it. Just got home from driving so I didn’t do my makeup or anything to match it, just wanted to throw it on to see it.

Got my glasses for School of Thrones sansa! Cannot wait for this dcon group. Drinking shenanigans

Working on lady Sif!

Something I’ve noticed lately is an influx of creepers in fandom. Many more female costumers right now are dealing with creepers, guys that, whether meaning to or not, make women feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

I’ve heard accusations from men in the past that the reasons girls think they are creepers is because they aren’t attractive. So many times I’ve had guys tell me that if they were good looking girls would find it flattering and love the attention.

Stop right there.

There are attractive creepers. THERE ARE SO MANY ATTRACTIVE CREEPERS. But saying that women are that shallow shows exactly how little you actually respect them. Women are more than just breasts on a stick that sleep with any attractive guy that looks their way. And, if you’re telling me that every unattractive guy out there is just assumed a creeper because he’s unattractive, then you are basically saying that no one that isn’t a model is going to ever get laid.

There is a fine line between fanboy and creeper, and it’s very easy to accidentally cross that line with just a word or the tone or body language. It’s okay to be a fan of someone’s costumes. It’s okay to find someone attractive. You like that female costumer’s costume? It’s okay to tell her that! You think she looks pretty? That’s okay to tell her that too. She’s not going to freak out and mace you or call security on you. Saying “I really love your outfit, you did an amazing job” is a really great compliment! Saying “wow you look so pretty!” is, in most cases, going to be taken as a compliment (but that is going to come down to tone, which I’ll go into later). If you mean it innocently, we are going to take it as an innocent compliment. Most women like compliments. It makes us feel good, especially if it’s about a costume we worked super hard on.

Guess what, women aren’t stupid. We can tell if you mean something genuinely because you are a fan or nice or really mean it. But I can tell you right now, we can also tell if you have lewd thoughts or a less than genuine motive.

Take this for example:

Comment that’s okay- “Oh wow, I love your costume! You look fantastic!”. This comment is enthusiastic! It shows that yes, they really do like your costume. There’s no creepy undertone that makes you question if they have an ulterior motive.

But if you change the tone even a little? That comment can be turned into something super creepy. If it’s over text/comments, adding a winky face to someone you don’t know can make it creepy. If it’s in person, saying “wow you look… so hot” to someone you don’t know is hard to do without a creepy tone. And maybe you don’t mean to be creepy. I get that. You’re not actively trying to come across that way. But what you mean and what you’re actually doing are two totally different things.

Because it’s more than just what you say… it’s how you say it. Don’t stand too close, don’t assume that if they are talking to you and being nice that they want to sleep with you, don’t assume that because you paid them any attention they want to sleep with you. Don’t touch them in pictures unless they invite you to. Don’t stare at their chest or anything, even if they are wearing nothing but electrical tape and a lamp shade. Don’t stare at them at all. Don’t follow them around if they want to leave. Read their body language, understand that they don’t have an obligation to talk to you just because you complimented them.

Same rules go for online. Don’t ask them personal questions about where they live/work/etc. Don’t constantly message them. Don’t make sexual comments. Don’t request them on fb and send them messages there (sometimes people will accept the request if you have mutual friends or cons and stuff, it doesn’t mean they automatically want to be your girlfriend or even your friend at all. They are just being polite.) If they delete you at any time don’t keep messaging them asking why they deleted you. Don’t track down their personal email and send them graphic emails about things you’d like to do to them sexually or request sexual favors (and if you think that doesn’t happen, I’m telling you right now that I had someone do that to me for a month). Saying “oh I wish you lived closer, I would love a girlfriend like you” is creepy because that’s assuming that they are automatically going to date you. NO ONE HAS ANY OBLIGATION TO TALK TO YOU OR SLEEP WITH YOU OR DATE YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU PAID ATTENTION TO THEM.

And I’m not saying that you can’t be attracted to the costumer you’re a fan of. Fanboy crushes happen! They are totally okay. And maybe they can turn into something, I’m not saying they won’t! I just found out this weekend that my boyfriend had a fanboy crush on me before we ever met. Guess what- I had absolutely no idea. At all. He’d told me the first time we met that he loved my costumes, but it came across as a genuine costumer to costumer comment BECAUSE HE MEANT IT. There was no creepy undertone, there was no creepy winky faces or calling me sweetie or coming across in any way that would make me concerned. If he hadn’t told me he had a crush I would never have known.

So if girls are telling you you’re a creeper or if you realize that maybe female costumers are actively trying to get away from you, maybe you need to stop and think about what you’re doing and saying because you’re probably creeping them out.

tl;dr-Girls have no obligation to sleep with you. Girls have no obligation to talk to you. Stop blaming it on them and actually realize that if you stopped being a creepy dickbag that stares at their boobs or ass or touches them inappropriately or follows them around or makes creepy comments then maybe they would actually consider dating you. Or not, because they have no obligation to, but maybe they will actually be your friend. Girls are people too.

nightmareloki:

makararousal:

So I’m going to tell you guys a story about the person I really like.

Her name is Kida. And this is her cosplaying Jack Frost at Ohayocon.

So, every night at Ohayocon, me and Kida were cosplaying Jack Frost. She was Jack, and I was his genderbend who I’ve been calling Joyce. So, we were in the hotel lobby where they give a free dinner to their guests and we walk past, and there’s this little boy who goes “Mom! It’s Jack Frost!”

And his mother invited us both to sit with them and eat dinner. Now, he didn’t quite get that I was a girl Jack until a little later, but that’s not the point. The point is that Kida basically leaned towards this kid and was like “You can see me?”

The two of us sat with this little boy for a good hour or so, and he kept talking to Kida, convinced he was seeing Jack Frost. He was so amazed and excited that he told Jack that he had to protect himself from Pitch because he was a bad man and he meant business. He wanted to make sure Jack would protect himself and everyone else. At one point he got really quiet and said “You fell in the lake and died.” or something to that extent, to which Kida QUICKLY replied with “But the man in the moon saved me!” And that little boy just got so thrilled.

I swear, this kid was completely awestruck to meet Jack Frost, and it only got better.

The following night, on Sunday, we were still at the con, and once again, Kida and I were Jack and Joyce Frost. And we met him again. So I happened to have my camera and I snapped some pictures of them. This little boy kept telling Kida about all these other guardians that existed, and had all these great stories to tell who he believed was Jack Frost. And he and Kida wound up playing together, and I’ve never seen a little kid have so much fun before. It turned out that we all ended up going to the pool together, and it just didn’t stop.

Long story short: My friend Kida cosplayed Jack Frost and made a little boy happier than you could ever imagine. And as far as I’m concerned, this little boy is Kida’s Jamie Bennett.

Oh my god I want to cry this is so cute.

i haven’t even seen the fucking movie and i’m crying omg.

(via thewinkingelephant)

myheadhurtsproduction:

reginaldvonhoobiedoobie:

ATTENTION COSPLAYERS

See this shit? This shit is about to change your life.

This packet of stuff is called Instamorph Moldable Plastic. You literally buy a packet of this shit, and you can make any-fucking-thing.

You open it up, and you get little plastic pellets that look like this.

Doesn’t look like much, right?

WRONG.

When put in hot water (140°F, 60°C.), these pellets melt into a kind of putty-like stuff, that you can mold into whatever shape you want.

They make the coolest cosplay accessories EVER because they’re plastic - they’re moderately lightweight, they’ll survive being dropped and banged around, and they’re waterproof. I made Nepeta horns and Meenah bracelets for my homestuck cosplays, but it can do a ton of other stuff too.

Also, the whole project takes maybe a half hour - 10 minutes to boil the water, 2 for the pellets to melt in the bowl (it leaves no residue, so you can use a regular mixing bowl and a spoon to pull it out of the water), a few minutes to sculpt and then a few minutes for it to dry into a completely solid, plastic whatever-you’re-making.

AND THE BEST PART OF THIS IS THAT THIS SHIT IS SO CHEAP

YOU’D EXPECT IT TO BE REALLY EXPENSIVE BUT IT’S NOT

I got a container on Amazon.com for $10, but here’s the actual site so you can check it out some more. http://www.instamorph.com/

SERIOUSLY THOUGH DON’T GO TO ALL THE TROUBLE OF FINDING CREATIVE AND EFFECTIVE WAYS TO MIX MATERIALS, THIS IS REALLY GREAT.

Perfect for Con season.

I used a different brand of this, called Friendly Plastic, but this is basically the same stuff i made my Snow White belt buckle out of!

(via trickypepsi)