Things go Horribly Wrong

[MkVII]

Let’s say, hypothetically, you’ve been looking forward to an event for weeks or even months. You arrive and realize you’ve forgotten a critical part of your costume. The event starts in ten minutes, and your house is thirty minutes away or even two hours away. Either way, there’s no chance of making it back in time for the event to proceed with your costume intact.

How do you see yourself handling that situation? I’ve personally experienced this at one of the highest-profile events I’ve ever done. How would you handle it both mentally and publicly? Describe your actions and what’s going through your mind in that moment.

I have seen both candidates do this, I mentioned I’ve done it myself. Many of us have been in this position, including a large number of members in the garrison. I think this question is important because it demonstrates honesty, not only with yourself, but with the members who may be voting for you.

[J.Pastros-11251]

So for me I have had this happen more then once in 11 years and I am not afraid to admit it. One time my wife drove 3 hours both ways to get back less then 10 mins before the event started because I was missing a part on my Vader rig. I can say that it had me a bit worried. But we cannot control everything and mistakes happen. I can say that it depends on the event and what character I am and what part is missing. I have sat out a event and become a handler because of forgetting a part of my costume and realizing it to late to get the part. But I have also had parts break while at a event like my one of my knee plates broke in my RC at a baseball game. I called it battle damage and trooped on until I got a break and fixed it. I believe that staying calm and realizing that you can’t fix it make a decision on what to do and what support you have at that moment is key. Am I going to troop or be a handler make up your mind and follow through. Thank you for your question and your time.

SL/TC/AR/RC/CC/TI/ST/TR/IC/TS/TX/TA/MW/ID-11251
Carolina Garrison XO 2019-2020 2025- present
Carolina Garrison CO 2020-2025
TC Spark (CRL)
TC Shiv (CRL)

[DarthRevan627]

Hi Robert,

First off, thank you for bringing this up—it is a great topic and one that many people prefer to avoid. I’m no different, and my answer is quite embarrassing. While I know that in a perfect world one should react in a calm and collected manner, my reality is often a mix of that, and sometimes it’s not the case at all.

To provide some context, I’ve realized that the behaviors witnessed during childhood and adolescence can leave a heavy imprint. Having grown up watching volatile reactions to unfavorable situations—and being unknowingly autistic at the time—those behaviors were passively engraved into me. Additionally, I was pushed to strive for perfection, which added another layer of pressure.

To answer your question, I had several catastrophic costume failures with my Vader kit in 2025. One of the worst was realizing, two hours into a three-hour drive, that I had forgotten the entire helmet. My nervous system felt like it was struck by lightning. While in my vehicle, I certainly had a few choice words before making the crushing decision to drive all the way back home and message the Point of Contact to say I wouldn’t make the first day of that event.

The second day wasn’t much better. I had two separate failures—stitching on my thumb coming undone and a shin guard straps failing—within five minutes of each other while surrounded by the public. I felt frustrated and angry, but I kept my mouth shut, signaled my handler, unplugged my sound system amd microphone, and headed backstage to de-kit and process what happened.

The most embarrassing moment, however, was at a very popular troop where I discovered my chest box strap system had fallen apart. Because I was running late due to traffic and was away from the main group at my vehicle, I was verbally expressing my frustration quite loudly. Once I regained my wits, I realized at least 20 members were just around the corner. I believe you remember this, Robert, as I was in a “calm-ish panic” when I informed you of the failure. Fortunately, someone found zip ties for a temporary fix, but the situation left me feeling very embarrassed. It is a constant internal battle to remain calm when overstimulated and trying to keep those imprinted behaviors from triggering.

So, that is the “ugly” side of how I handle things when they go horribly wrong. I feel I do a good job of remaining calm most of the time, but I do have my moments—I just make sure they never happen in front of the public.

Best regards,

Trevor

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