Have lunch together, make handmade rings, visit the vintage market, take photos by the West Lake...... On her 25th birthday, Koharu and Li Zeyan (game character), who had been "in love" for five years, completed her wish list.
Even on the streets of Longxiangqiao, where hipsters are densely populated, this date is accompanied by a super high return rate. Koharu's "boyfriend" is recognized by some passers-by as a character from the otome game (a kind of love simulation game) "Love and Producer", a paper man who exists in the second dimension, and this time comes to her in the form of live-action cosplay.
On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, "cos commission" is on the rise and has become a new type of social mode, where ACG enthusiasts find cosers to play their favorite anime or game characters and have a romantic date in the real world.
Have a romantic date with a "cross-dimensional boyfriend".
The next day, I paid thousands of dollars in bills
Koharu started playing "Love and the Producer" during college, and in the past two years, he has been in a state of "light pit" because of his work, occasionally opening the game to unlock new plots.
"I know he's a virtual character, but he really healed me in certain moments. Xiaochun recalled that at the beginning of this year, she felt very anxious because of the change of work, like a heart-to-heart between lovers, she opened the game and received a call from Li Zeyan, he said, "If you are sad or unhappy, you can tell me as soon as possible."
She decided to try cos commissioning and chose a coser from the same city of Hangzhou to play Li Zeyan. The other party is a post-00s girl, and in the half month before meeting, she would take the initiative to chat with Xiaochun every day to understand Xiaochun's preferences and demands.
In the game, Li Zeyan's character is set as an unsmiling workaholic president, who gives the heroine limited gentleness and patience. Before meeting, "Li Zeyan" waited for her at the exit of the subway station with flowers early. At the first glance of her, he naturally asked, "Have you changed your hairstyle?" to instantly dispel the embarrassment of meeting for the first time.
In dating, the other party often shows "boyfriend power", which makes Koharu quickly fall into a love situation. For example, she stopped her shoulder in crowded places, took the spray gun to do welding while doing handicrafts, and took the initiative to pay in restaurants and stores......
Ending the date after dinner in Haidilao is a custom commissioned by COS. Before Koharu could feel sad, a group of waiters came forward with cakes and light signs and sang happy birthday songs for her. "Li Zeyan" said the classic line that made her heart move countless times, "No matter what world we are in, we will meet, and I am destined to be attracted to you." ”
After the commission, Koharu went home and looked at the photos and videos repeatedly, "He really came to my world to celebrate my birthday, and it felt like a dream." ”
Photo courtesy of Coser Zhishu
I woke up the next day, and the other party sent a bill for the date, according to the prior agreement, all the expenses for eating, drinking and having fun on the date were paid by Xiaochun, plus the commission fee was a total of more than 1,000 yuan.
Xiaochun found that the little cake that surprised her to tears, the other party did not list it in the bill, "Cos commission is to spend money to buy happiness, and there are some feelings in this ritual that are real." ”
Otome game brings fire to "paid dating"
It was two girls who went both ways
In the beginning, cosplay fans made an appointment to participate in comic exhibitions and party photo shoots. It was able to evolve into a "paid dating" due in large part to the popularity of otome games.
Since the launch of "Love and the Producer" in 2017, the domestic B game market has been expanding. According to Qimai data, the turnover of "Love of Light and Night" reached 33 million yuan on the first day of this year's anniversary.
"Cos commission is to pull that person out of the screen, and although it's only for a while, it makes you feel like you're not far away. Fang Yi, who is a coser, said that usually both parties entrusted by COS are girls, and they are charged by the hourly salary or by the day.
Her most recent cos commission role is Lu Jinghe in "Undetermined Events", and the single protagonist is a friend she met at the Comic Con, "Because I am also playing this game, I know this male protagonist better." On a date, he's a confident and flamboyant younger brother, so I'm trying to be cheerful and take the initiative to find a topic. I also enjoy the process of commissioning, and I like that another person is happy because of me. ”
Chang Eun has been playing cosplay since the second year of junior high school, and it has been nearly 10 years now. This year, she has received more than 30 cos commissions, and they are basically characters in otome games. As a well-known coser in the circle, Changen's commission offer is 500 yuan a day, and the duration is about 8 hours.
A successful commission begins to surprise a few days before the meeting. Chang En Xi chatted with the single owner first to understand the other party's taboos and thunder points, "I will confirm what she is allergic to, because I will prepare a bouquet of flowers and small gifts for the single owner every time we meet, which is worth about 100 yuan." ”
Makeup is a crucial and time-consuming part of cosplay, especially when a woman dresses up as a man. In order to be more in line with the image of the male protagonist, Chang En wants to put a thick heightened insole in Martin boots, widen his shoulders, and then put on a signature wig and contact lenses, and draw the makeup of a comic boy...... In order to restore the silhouette of the character, some cosers will also use duct tape to stretch their faces.
"Towards the end of the date, the single owner shed tears on the road because he was reluctant to part, and my eyes were red. Chang En said that in the process of commissioning, the emotional value obtained by both parties is mutual.
Deals aside, the COS commission is a dream made by two girls who project their understanding of the perfect love on a date, infusing the virtual character with real emotion.
The end of the commission is the lakeside?
"There is a saying in the COS circle in Hangzhou, the end point of the commission is in77. Xiaochun said that she referred to the strategies of netizens before commissioning, and set the date location on the lakeside, petting cats, secret rooms, doing handicrafts, and taking big head stickers...... All the popular itineraries can be concentrated here.
As a trendy landmark with the highest concentration of young people in Hangzhou, Longxiangqiao Street is the first stop for new brands and new business formats. With the rise of the two-dimensional "millet culture", Hubin Yintai in77 has intensively opened 6 millet stores, including March Beast, Trendy Play Planet, and HANGVAN.
"Millet" is a homonym for goods (goods) in English, and refers to peripheral products derived from two-dimensional works such as comics, animations, and games. According to the White Paper on China's ACG Content Industry released by CIC Consulting, the number of pan-ACG users in China continues to grow, reaching nearly 460 million in 2021, and this group has high consumption power for ACG content and peripherals, with 56.2% of users having the consumption behavior of purchasing peripherals.
Lakeside 88, which was reopened this year, defines the third floor of the mall as a "dimensional engine", introducing a trendy market, a flagship store of Dumai talk show, and the first store of DIY clothing 2C2D in Hangzhou to provide an emotional and social space for young people.
Recently, millet shops such as "Woo", "KORIKORI" and "Wangu" have opened one after another, making Hubin 88 a place with the highest concentration of two elements in Hangzhou.
Image source: Hangzhou Huihe Lakeside 88
The clerk of a millet shop revealed that since its opening, cosers have often come to the group building, and they will bring their own "millet" to set up stalls in the atrium of the mall, and many people have come to "stamp collect" to take pictures, or exchange millet, which is very lively every weekend.
Image source: Hangzhou Huihe Lakeside 88
There is another important reason for Koharu to choose Lakeside, he is worried that the dating experience entrusted by COS will be looked at strangely by passers-by, so he chose a two-dimensional place to appear in the safest place. Xiaochun said, "The two-dimensional atmosphere in Hangzhou is already very good, but the most tolerant life scene for passers-by is still the lakeside." ”
Fang Yi also felt the same way. In Hangzhou, cosplay is no longer an eye-catching 'bizarre' behavior. What impressed her the most was that once she commissioned cos Lu Jinghe, an aunt in the subway said to her single owner, "Your boyfriend is so handsome".
At that moment, the barrier between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional disappeared.