Detour Interpreter Wanted
Apr. 2nd, 2012 10:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseI went to Anime Detour on Saturday only. I have to admit that I felt very much out of my comfort zone. I have never been so surrounded by a fandom I knew so little about. I had an awesome time, and I plan to go again, but I think, next time, I'd benefit from having a kind of seeing-eye-fan. You know, like a nice young, costumed helper who could take this little, old lady by the crook of the arm and explain ALL THE THINGS.
Or, I need to enlist the energy of fandom and have some enterprising souls print me up a few useful guidebooks, not unlike a Japanese Phrasebook or the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Ah! Now I know what was missing from my Detour experience! A towel! I would have felt so much safer if I'd only had a towel!)
I was ready for all the cosplay. Actually, seeing people in costume was one of the things I was most looking forward to. I had been warned that the local Bleach fandom wasn't very organized this year, so I was extremely surprised and pleased to see LOTS of characters I recognized from Bleach. Like in my first five minutes there I saw a woman cross-cosplaying Renji... so I thought, "hooray, my people are here."
I even VERY LIGHTLY cosplayed myself. I wore my "Red Pineapple" tee-shirt, and, I was ready should anyone have actually attempted to ask my why I otherwise looked nothing like the character I was playing. There is actually a good "canon" explaination, but, see, here's the thing, I had no clue what the rules of engagement are in the *play* part of cosplay.
I am a huge, huge fan of playing pretend. When I see people in costume, I like to assume that's who they want to BE. Like, when I saw the woman in her shinigami uniform, I shouted out, "Oi, Renji!" (because that's what you'd say to him) and even, eventually, I got up the courage to ask for her picture.
But I never know (even outside of Detour, to be fair,) whether or not it's cool to walk up to a stranger dressed, for instance, as the guy in my profile picture, Mr. Urahura (a sort of supernatural shopkeeper), and complain to him about the crappy "gigai" he sold me. I suspect I would get a very baffled look if I attempted that ("Renji" did not seem to want to answer to that name despite her outfit, for instance), so I never knew what to say to people in costume... which at Detour is nearly everyone... which made figuring out how to talk to ANYONE really kind of difficult for this introverted extrovert.
See, the thing is, I will talk to anyone anywhere provided I have a sense of what's appropriate. I may choose to go outside the usual social norms (ie engage in conversation with a stranger in an elevator in the Midwest), but I do that knowingly. I know what rules I'm breaking. My problem at Detour was that I felt that I had no sense of the norms, the rules, or even general expected behavior.
It wasn't even clear to me, in fact, whether, if I had come in FULL costume, it would be cool to *play* with other people dressed in my same fandom. It seemed to be... in certain situations. Kind of. Maybe.
For example, I was supposed to be on a panel about FMA (FullMetal Alchemist). I say I was "supposed to be" because, even though I showed up, it became clear that I should slink off to a corner and offer my seat up to a cosplayer, because the people running panel all came in costume, all knew each other (very well), and all wanted to be their characters while answering audience questions. The audience seemed to understand this innately, and asked their questions appropriately, ie, "Edward, how did you feel about [plot turn]?"
I kind of wish that I'd had the presence of mind (or perhaps chutzpah is the better word) to just go into my own cosplay universe and demand to be called "Renji Abarai" and sit on the panel as a very confused shinigami clearly caught in a crossover universe timeshift. THAT might have been hilarious and potentially awesome.
Or they would have hated me.
It's really not clear.
And because the FMA panel was my first full-immersion experience at Detour, I felt thrown off balance for much of the rest of the con. I felt like I was crashing someone else's clique. I never quite shook that feeling, either, despite my best efforts.
Next year, when I go, I'm totally going to pay someone to stand next to me and act as an interpreter. I'm currently taking applications. Write to me and tell me your qualifications and perhaps I'll employ you as my Detour Interpreter. (I am half-serious.)
My above commentary, however is not meant to imply, in any way shape or form, that I was not well taken care of. Anton is Awesome, and I'm extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity to experience this con as his #1 Guest. (Holy COW does that get you cache, by the way. Damn, boy, you one serious SMOF.)
Or, I need to enlist the energy of fandom and have some enterprising souls print me up a few useful guidebooks, not unlike a Japanese Phrasebook or the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Ah! Now I know what was missing from my Detour experience! A towel! I would have felt so much safer if I'd only had a towel!)
I was ready for all the cosplay. Actually, seeing people in costume was one of the things I was most looking forward to. I had been warned that the local Bleach fandom wasn't very organized this year, so I was extremely surprised and pleased to see LOTS of characters I recognized from Bleach. Like in my first five minutes there I saw a woman cross-cosplaying Renji... so I thought, "hooray, my people are here."
I even VERY LIGHTLY cosplayed myself. I wore my "Red Pineapple" tee-shirt, and, I was ready should anyone have actually attempted to ask my why I otherwise looked nothing like the character I was playing. There is actually a good "canon" explaination, but, see, here's the thing, I had no clue what the rules of engagement are in the *play* part of cosplay.
I am a huge, huge fan of playing pretend. When I see people in costume, I like to assume that's who they want to BE. Like, when I saw the woman in her shinigami uniform, I shouted out, "Oi, Renji!" (because that's what you'd say to him) and even, eventually, I got up the courage to ask for her picture.
But I never know (even outside of Detour, to be fair,) whether or not it's cool to walk up to a stranger dressed, for instance, as the guy in my profile picture, Mr. Urahura (a sort of supernatural shopkeeper), and complain to him about the crappy "gigai" he sold me. I suspect I would get a very baffled look if I attempted that ("Renji" did not seem to want to answer to that name despite her outfit, for instance), so I never knew what to say to people in costume... which at Detour is nearly everyone... which made figuring out how to talk to ANYONE really kind of difficult for this introverted extrovert.
See, the thing is, I will talk to anyone anywhere provided I have a sense of what's appropriate. I may choose to go outside the usual social norms (ie engage in conversation with a stranger in an elevator in the Midwest), but I do that knowingly. I know what rules I'm breaking. My problem at Detour was that I felt that I had no sense of the norms, the rules, or even general expected behavior.
It wasn't even clear to me, in fact, whether, if I had come in FULL costume, it would be cool to *play* with other people dressed in my same fandom. It seemed to be... in certain situations. Kind of. Maybe.
For example, I was supposed to be on a panel about FMA (FullMetal Alchemist). I say I was "supposed to be" because, even though I showed up, it became clear that I should slink off to a corner and offer my seat up to a cosplayer, because the people running panel all came in costume, all knew each other (very well), and all wanted to be their characters while answering audience questions. The audience seemed to understand this innately, and asked their questions appropriately, ie, "Edward, how did you feel about [plot turn]?"
I kind of wish that I'd had the presence of mind (or perhaps chutzpah is the better word) to just go into my own cosplay universe and demand to be called "Renji Abarai" and sit on the panel as a very confused shinigami clearly caught in a crossover universe timeshift. THAT might have been hilarious and potentially awesome.
Or they would have hated me.
It's really not clear.
And because the FMA panel was my first full-immersion experience at Detour, I felt thrown off balance for much of the rest of the con. I felt like I was crashing someone else's clique. I never quite shook that feeling, either, despite my best efforts.
Next year, when I go, I'm totally going to pay someone to stand next to me and act as an interpreter. I'm currently taking applications. Write to me and tell me your qualifications and perhaps I'll employ you as my Detour Interpreter. (I am half-serious.)
My above commentary, however is not meant to imply, in any way shape or form, that I was not well taken care of. Anton is Awesome, and I'm extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity to experience this con as his #1 Guest. (Holy COW does that get you cache, by the way. Damn, boy, you one serious SMOF.)