Collective Creation of Intimacy: Exploring the Cosplay Commission Practice within the Otome Game Community in China

TL;DR

This study explores how cos-commission within China's Otome game community fosters meaningful connections and personal growth, while also highlighting risks like emotional entanglements and safety concerns.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the hybrid nature of cos-commission as an intimate relationship form and its implications for mental well-being and safety.

Findings

Cos-commission enables meaningful connections and personal exploration.

Vague boundaries can lead to attachment issues and withdrawal symptoms.

Digital platforms lack sufficient safeguards for participants.

Abstract

Cosplay commission (cos-commission) is a new form of commodified intimate relationship within the Otome game community in China. To explore the motivations, practices, experiences, and challenges, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 participants in different roles. Our findings reveal that cos-commission, as a hybrid activity, provides participants with a chance to collaboratively build meaningful connections. It also offers a pathway for personal exploration and emotional recovery. However, the vague boundary between performative roles and intimate interactions can give rise to unexpected negative outcomes, such as attachment-driven entanglements and post-commission ``withdrawal symptoms.'' While digital platforms facilitate communication in cos-commissions, they often lack sufficient safeguards. This preliminary work provides insights into the formation process of hybrid intimate relationship and its potential to foster personalized, long-term support for mental well-being, and reveals potential privacy and safety challenges.