MCM London Comic-Con, October 2014 + My Past Experiences

Every May and October for the last 4ish years, I have gone to the ExCel Centre in London for a special event where Nerds and Geeks who are Anime, Games, Cosplay, Comics, Movies, TV Series fans all gather there to enjoy being themselves and dress up "Cosplay" as characters from anything they like (if they wish to) and just meet new people, see sneak-peeks, buy merchandise and meet celebrities. Here's my massive post telling of my adventures full of overwhelming excitement and fear at MCM London Comic-Con.

I discovered this huge convention back in my first year of College where I met a group of friends who all had Anime, Gaming and Films in common and got a long very well. And by October 2009, they told me of a convention that they were all heading to and wasn't worth missing out on. Course, I couldn't make it in October 2009 due to personal problems, but in May 2010, that's when I got to head up with everyone and I even Cosplayed too. But I'll mention more about that later on.

As for this October's Expo (I say Expo cause that's what the event was originally called, now since May 2014, it's London Comic-Con), it was a fantastic one, because back in May's one this year, thousands of people were expecting a famous Cosplayer called Jessica Nigri to make her grand debut at a UK Convention for the first time. But sadly due to a f**k up with her luggage, she had to return home empty handed and everyone was sad to learn on the first day that she wouldn't be turning up. She apologised kindly all over the social medias and said she would return in October, which she did. And she was my highlight and objective for this year's comic-con.

News spread like wildfire that Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe was turning up for the first time and was promoting his new film Horns. This was a bonus to this October's adventure, however the excitement began to fade away as I learned gradually over time in September-October that it was going to be very limited and restrictive. Not only was Daniel turning up only on the Friday but the Expo was doing a raffle on which selected fans would receive an autograph or photograph, but the rules also stated that no other memorabilia or products would be signed... Well that's just unfair. The one time people may meet Mr Potter at all, and we can't even take a Harry Potter Poster/ DVD or anything at all. It certainly put a downer on my ideas but then again I can't really blame him for it, since I doubt he's that serious about turning away fans due to being only recognised as the boy who lived?! Maybe it was his manager or something or the people behind his new film and only wanted his appearance at Comic-Con to be focused on that? I dunno. I reckon he'll return someday! And with the news of J.K Rowling making more books and soon to be films, I reckon the gang will return again and someday I might even meet them in person.

Friday 24th October - For the first time in all my past visits, I decided to head up on a Friday because I figured it would be hell on Saturday because more people would turn up due it being a weekend. I used this opportunity to go up with some friends from Horsham's GAME Cassie and her husband Fraser and their friends Kirsten, Nick, Ewan and Craig cause we all had the same goal - to meet Jessica Nigri. Our original plan had to be rearranged because I had to make a quick detour to Crawley in the morning after remembering that Mum still had my debit card after sorting out financial issues a few days ago Wa-Wa-Waaah. Luckily got it all done perfectly and caught up with the others on the train to London. Soon we found ourselves at Custom House For Excel and to my surprise, the hotel that the others were staying at was actually a big boat. The inside was very fancy I even told them it was like being on The Titanic (which they found freaky seeing as we all know the sad story be

hind that boat, I meant it in no offence just a joke). The rooms were beautiful and lovely even the reception had a Chandelier. We all got ready, Cassie and Fraser cosplayed as the Ouran Highchool Host Club twins Hikaru & Kaoru, Kirsten did one of the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz, her bf Nick wore Saints Row IV clothing and Ewan was cosplaying Jayne from Firefly Sci-Fi series, (I sadly wasn't cosplaying like I had originally planned cause my mate Kurt's Iron Man Armour t shirt and trousers were missing in his house, so he spent the evening searching for it so I could wear it on Saturday). Anyway, we all headed out and into the Excel Centre. I'll explain more about what it's all like and procedure wise later but skip the long story short, my only event on the Friday from 4.30pm till 6.45pm was queueing up to meet Jessica (Fridays Expo time is 2pm till 7pm and on the Weekend it's 10am till 5pm).


In the queue, I made 2 new friends that day Jay and Luke. Great chaps who were all having fun here at Expo, it was Jay's first and Luke's 5th return. I also bumped into Elliot who I hadn't seen since my last year of Collyers, very pleased to have met him again and were gonna catch up real soon. Anyway, after 2 hours and 45 mins, it was my turn at last to meet her. She turned up cosplaying Mad Moxxi from Borderlands 2 and had many A4 posters with her for fans to purchase and was happy to have photos with everyone. She apologised to me about the long wait cause fans took their time talking to her and giving her things. I got her to sign a picture that I made into a poster thanks to my friends at JR Print and they made it into an A3 poster that I wanted her to sign. She kindly complied and I even got to have my picture taken with her! Unfortunately, because there was 15 mins left before the end of the day, I was being told by staff and fans to hurry up and I missed out on a hug from her haha.
Does that make me a gentleman... or an idiot?! Why not both! Hey, at least I got 2 out of 3 things with her and she was very nice and acts the way she does on her YouTube videos. I am very honoured to have met her and look forward to the next time she returns so I can share a lovely hug with her then haha seeing as everyone else got one with her and even the others after me did (even Cassie and all the others I came up with). Oh and let's not forget that Kelly Jean was there too (like she promised back in May and she's the famous cosplayer I met at LFCC), she was cosplaying Lilith from Borderlands 2 and I wanted to talk to her again and she agreed eagerly to sign my poster too and even share a hug and selfie with me. So once it was over and I said bye to Jay and Luke, I followed Cass and the others back to their rooms and soon headed for home. Very happy to have joined them all that day and aim to again next Expo!

Me with a Zero
Suit Samus Aran

Chloe as Ariel with an Ursula

Saturday 25th October - I was accompanying 3 lovely Disney Princesses to Expo (my dear friend Kathy as Snow White and her friends Chloe as Ariel and Charlie as Alice). It was Chloe and Charlie's first time and Kathy's second time to Expo as she joined me and many others back in May this year.
Luckily, I had popped over to Kurt's on Friday night on the way home and collected the clothing while in return he gave me some dosh to look for some Marvel FUNKO POP Figurines for him, so I was in cosplay too and I even wore my special Iron Man helmet replica I got off eBay for £30 that actually slides up (it's the one I used for London Film & Comic-Con back in July). I got a lot of attention and luckily if it was good or bad, I could just slide the slot and hide my face from everyone which was a reassuring feeling but I felt very pleased that I made a lot of little boys happy to see an Avenger walking around London and gave them a little wave to make their days even cooler (it was just like my first Expo in May 2009, where I dressed as Ash Ketchum from Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl series and a little dude asked for a photo with me outside the Excel, it was such a warm hearted feeling and made me feel proud to have made that kid's day and please his parents too).
Anyway, I spent the Saturday walking around with 3 fair ladies while trying to navigate through the endless ocean of people all day. The girls got lots of photos with people cause they looked great and I did a little too. We heard rumours near 1pm that a Marvel photo-shoot and a Disney photo-shoot were both taking place at 2pm on opposite sides of the centre.

The Iron Man

The girls went and joined the Disney one while I headed outside to see what the Marvel one was like. Honestly, it was quick and I came in near the end and must have been in a couple pictures but I actually didn't feel good about it. There were 2 incredible and amazingly detailed Iron Man costumes made out of PVC and actually got their helmets to slide up automatically and had LED lights for glowing Arc Reactors and Blasters. I admired and envied there work as everyone was more interested in them than me. That's rich of me since my costume is meager compared to the amount of effort those polite and cool guys actually put into theirs.

The Other Iron Man

But that's what it's like for me sometimes at Expo, I go there to be noticed and recognized since I sometimes don't feel it enough outside of this place, though the atmosphere, goodies and people are still a great thing, I think it would just be a lot more better if others asked for a photo with me instead of me always asking others, ya know? But I did have a nice chat with the guys and wished them a good day as they did to me.

Jody as Fenris

Jody and Me

While the girls were finishing their photo-shoot, I actually got round to meeting up with a friend and her BF that I had been chatting to over a year now on Facebook. I was very excited to meet Jody and Sean for the first time cause all we've been doing is Facebooking each other for a year now and never met each other in person yet. Jody was Crosplaying (it means dressing up as the opposite gender of a character, it's quite popular and acceptable, who am I to judge) Fenris from Dragon Age 2 and she looked amazing especially thanks to the fact she made all of the costume herself including the sword. Her and Sean were ecstatic and enjoying their first Expo and were even more happy that they got to see me at last. We even talked about meeting up sometime in November and I could even go and stay with them for a weekend in Essex (I know it seems rash and sudden but we've actually been talking about it for a few months and now that I know what they are really like, there's nothing to fear or worry about... besides the journey there).

Kathy - Snow White, Chloe - Ariel, Charlie - Alice

I met Nick Fury

So after seeing those two for a while, the girls caught up with me and we headed back inside for some last minute browsing the stalls before heading off at 5.30pm. In the end, I only bought myself an Agent Coulson FUNKO POP and bought Kurt one and an Odin one too (I was sad to have missed out again on getting us both a Deadpool one, grrr). The girls were very pleased to have come along today and said they would go again in May too. Kathy was please she got several photos with other little princesses and made their day too.
On the train home, Kathy showed me Instagram and helped me to create an account.

Cosplaying is really something, it's a good, bad and ugly thing at the same time to my eyes. Depending on what you Cosplay is entirely up to you (just be ready for the reactions you may receive) you shouldn't let anything and anyone stop you from enjoying yourself. At Expo, there are a huge range of Cosplays and everyone wants to know what the character is, what game/ anime/ comic/ film it's from and even get to know the Cosplayer seeing as we are all here for the same reason, to meet new people, enjoy ourselves and just buy a whole load of crap. I've done a few different cosplays from past comic-con's and some were made/ crafted and some others were bought online.

I've cosplayed Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl anime series, Yoh Asakura from Shaman King anime series, Roxas from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days game, Yuzuru Otonashi from Angel Beats! anime series (it was interesting being a ginger but I'm super grateful to my Mum's talented best friend Sally for designing and stitching on the school logo on my white blazer), 2D (Plastic Beach version) from Gorillaz music band and Iron Man. To me, Cosplaying is about stepping into the shoes/ body of the character itself like we are becoming someone we have always admired or wished we were in our heads. We see/ play and read about these characters and we form a connection to them maybe due to their back stories/ emotions/ personality or just our sheer admiration and love for them in general. When I choose to cosplay characters, I end up choosing ones who I feel deep down in my heart that I have a connection with (like I have mentioned in my Fictional Characters post) and only during specific moments of my life. Seeing others cosplay what they want is a reassuring feeling cause for one thing they probably don't over analyse it as badly as me but more the fact they are enjoying themselves at a special event and each have a special life and only do this to let them enjoy themselves that little bit more and without a care about what others judge or think about them.I only have that difficulty when travelling up to London in costume since most times, I'm the only cosplayer and have to deal with everyone staring at me. Sometimes I just wanted to shout "WHAT?" at them haha.

Isaac Clarke - Dead Space

Spidey and The Scarlet Spider

The Witch-King of Angmar
& The Dark Lord Sauron

Mistral - Metal Gear
Rising: Revengeance

Captain Jack Sparrow

Dr. Octopus - Spider-Man 2

Rapunzel and her beautiful hair

Creating Cosplays, now that's a challenging hobby. The amount of effort and detail that I see of other cosplays at Expo and online is amazing. Sometime I feel envious that others are more talented or have more time to do what they love and all the hard work pays off in the end. But some others in my life who see it another way, see that maybe those people have too much time on their hands or may be part-time or can just manage their free-time properly. I see it on both sides, like two sides of a coin. Some people are judgmental and rate cosplays on how much effort was put into it and that if you just purchase your costume online then it's not as amazing. I say "each to their own" and not everyone has time and stacks of money to either buy it at once or pay for props/ wigs/ materials and cloths and not to mention have limitless patience and confidence to begin making something that may only get worn a few times a year or something. Some people are even paid to create cosplays, that's brilliant and it doesn't even matter on how skilled you are, not everyone can be a fashion designer or be amazing with a sowing machine, just do your best.

Galadriel

The Mighty Morphin
Power Rangers Megazord

Eren Jaeger

Most of my friends upload pictures of "Future Cosplays" to do, although I can't get ahead of myself due to just not having the time or even confidence to plan far ahead. I'm sure I'll do future cosplays and who knows what they'll be. I wanna do Eren Jaeger from Attack On Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) someday for sure (I already have his uniform jacket that I got from LFCC) and make a real PVC Iron Man (if I can find some tutorials online someday).

Link

Oh and I also aim to someday hopefully do Link or even Dark Link from The Legend Of Zelda games. They will be challenging and expensive especially if I choose to purchase the Hylian Shield and Master Sword or if I'm lucky, build em myself.


But who knows how much longer my attention will last for this lifestyle. It only happens twice a year and there is so much that can happen in between those two times of the year.

Anyone can turn up to Expo, you just gotta smile and enjoy yourself. Expo has an unbelievable range of people walking the streets of London, and almost all of us are in costumes. Every time I go, I see countless people which has now reached into 100,000's. Most times it's not too crowded but I do get a little claustrophobic even though I'm not. The great thing about Expo is no one worries about things like weight, height, gender or detail, these people are fearless.

I got a hug from Misty back in May 2011

Me with Lady DeathStrike - X-Men 2

One thing that always gets me and makes me question my rights to do so is seeing people who offer "Free Hugs!" Many people walk around Expo carrying hand-made signs or wearing t-shirts that say "Free Hugs"  I can't help but wonder myself if people do this because they are super friendly, or have no boundaries when it comes to human contact... or maybe do they wish to be noticed/ accepted? When I see girls wearing little clothing or even cosplay with Free Hugs on them, I wonder if it's polite, right or am I worthy to hug them? Honestly I have shared hugs with many people over the years at Expo because to me, hugs are special and always make me feel special too like how I have broken one barrier of my Aspergers life and that I get to share a higher level of contact with another person. But at Expo, everyone is so nice, I've never seen arguments, fights, violence or drinking abuse there at all and for sure I haven't been rejected a hug from anyone.I even gave a few to guys who were nice and I even got chatting to them sometimes. Some people even offer without the signs, which is nice and I have made a lot of friends from Expo.If others are offering then why should I question their intentions, I like hugs and enjoy sharing them with anyone if they're cool with it.
I've taken so many motherf**king pictures I must have around 800+ in total, I've posted them all to my Facebook and even spend time editing and naming who/ what the Cosplay is and where it's from (incase anyone's ever interested...)

I've seen pictures from my friend's photos at Expo, and there is a masquerade parade in which people can enter to show off their cosplay on stage and talk to the guests like a show. That's something to do... someday when I have a cool cosplay and feel confident enough. I've seen videos too and see it's so welcoming and sweet and not too up-tight like the Emmy's or Oscars. I don't know if prizes are awarded or not but who knows, maybe someday I'll take to the stage myself.

I met the Knight Forms of Ventus and Terra
from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

I've already taken up a lot of your time so instead of writing as much detail as I have on this weekend, I'm gonna write up a sentence or three on past Expo's and the highlights (it's bad enough already that I'm avoiding the option to write up past posts like I did for my concert's cause my OCD is going crazy haha).

May 2010 - What can I say about a first time for something that soon turned into an annual thing? Unbelievable, and I felt right at home and went up with the right people. Met a Snorlax too (Dan) and enjoyed being Ash Ketchum for just a moment. One thing that I will admit, I only recognised it later after missing the opportunity, but there was a sudden Ash Ketchum or Pokemon photo-shoot going on near the crowds and I heard a girl shout out "Hey Ash!" and only later did I realise she meant me! Damn it! I missed a cool moment on my first time, but can't blame myself too badly seeing as I was overwhelmed by everything and in a good way.

I looked awful lol

I met a Tao Ren
from Shaman King too

My EPIC Buster Blade

October 2010 - My second time wasn't as good as I expected mostly on my behalf with focusing and stressing too much on my cosplay.I wanted to be recognised as a character that hardly anyone ever does, but thanks to the f**k up with the hair gel, no actual wooden or metal sword and hair not being accurate enough, my Yoh Asakura was a fail. I still tried to enjoy myself and went photo crazy like I do every year and did meet up with the original gang. I did buy myself Cloud Strife's Buster Blade from Final Fantasy VII, it's one big letter opener!

Lewis, Sam, Me and James (Ichigo) from Bleach

Look how happy Lewis is with
Sailors Jupiter and Moon
 from his favorite anime

Lewis with Misty <3

May 2011 - On the Saturday at Expo, Lewis, Me, James and Sam all went up and had fun being Lads and took photos, shared hugs with others and I was the one cosplaying Roxas. I was Lewis's wingman on that day at Expo, I asked a lovely Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter if my shy mate could have a photo with them... look how happy he is.
We even met Stormtroopers  who were fantastic and really happy to arrest us, especially Lewis.

Angel Beats! Group

The SSS Brigade (Angel Beats!)

Then on the Sunday, I did something different. In February, I joined a Facebook group and arranged with some others online to get together for a group cosplay on a new Anime that came out during spring, Angel Beats!. I went up as the main ginger dude and met several others who were all either lesbians or bisexuals (which isn't a problem) and I got to meet new interesting people and one was from Hereford (the girl with the blue wig). She invited me to Hereford for a weekend a couple of months after comic-con so I went up and met her. She sent me a lot of very polite and from what I read as "flirtatious" texts and while there, I had fun and met her family who were welcoming and very polite and her mate who was a cool guy. I did feel a little conscious that I was the third wheel there but what could I do. And when I left, I left a card for her on her bedroom floor saying thanks for having me and left her a £10 since it was her 18th the week before. Since returning home, she never responded to my messages and just blanked me out forever???

Anyway, that May was interesting and I got a taste of being part of something. Plus I cosplayed Roxas for the first time on Sunday, after purchasing my Keyblade back in May 2010. I was recognised more as this special character and was very honoured to have portrayed him.






October 2011 - Lewis, Me, James and Peace returned to cause more chaos (I joke), we took many pictures and I went as Roxas again and James as Ichigo from Bleach anime series. James and I had a duel with each other for laughs and faked the sword clashing, we didn't want our precious wooden swords damaged. All of us got many pictures with hotties and even met a Dalek and R2D2.

Peace looked awesome and dashing being the Knight in Shining Armour.
And Peace, James, Lewis and I met this beautiful pink haired lady dressed as some sort of Fairy and took turns having a picture with her. I was flattered that she asked me to have a picture with her first. Yes, I'm aware of where my hand is... I've learnt now where to position it properly *facepalms*.

Lads being Awesome

May 2012 - Went up with my College mates (the original gang were all now at Universities), had a blast dressing up as Ash again and also wearing Lewis's Alt:Mag t-shirt for the first time. Lewis, Peace and James were the perfect team.

Mexican Stand Off
Me, Katja, James (on the floor), Peace and Jan

George and Me (Heartless Hat buddies)

I met another Roxas and Xion
(Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days)

October 2012 - Went with the same guys and this time my good Aspergers bud, George came along and he was blown away by it all. He had many photos with others and I went dressed as Roxas again. I met the original gang again and got to meet James's girlfriend at last. Jan joined too and we all had maybe the best fun yet all taking mental pictures and getting in many seflies and hugs with others.

My 2D cosplay

Neirin, Kyle and Lewis

Portgas D. Ace - One Piece

I found a Noodle Cosplay from Gorillaz

I met Beki (Nanami Madobe (Windows 7 Tan)

May 2013 - 2D was my newest cosplay, had a minor f**k up with purchasing some £70 Sclera contacts that I couldn't even f**king get in my eyes, so I used my sisters black liquid eyeliner pen which did an efficient job but was a b**ch to try and wash off. This time, I had quite the group (excluding George, but this time had Neirin, Mark, Jan, Ash, Lewis and James's gf) and had to manage them all which was a little stressful and worrying but at least we all came home safely. I even got to meet at Expo, one of Lewis's flat mates Kyle who's amazingly talented at score writing and can make epic trailer music like Audiomachine.

Jan, Ash, James, Katja, Me, Neirin, Lewis and Mark

We all ended the great adventure by heading to Horsham's Sussex Barn in the evening (Lewis, Peace, George and James and I have shared many frequent visits there once a month during our college years, guess we made it our thing and still do when we can all get together).

Marco Bott and Jean Kirstein - Attack On Titan

Sasha, Armin and Mikasa - Attack On Titan

October 2013 - October was full of Attack On Titan cosplayers, I was so envious and admired each cosplay. It inspired me to do Attack On Titan too someday. My highlight was heading up to meet 

Me with Roger Craig Smith

Me with Troy Baker

Troy Baker and Roger Craig Smith (full story in Shadow Of Mordor game review) and made two new friends Sam and Alex while waiting in the queue. I went up with a handful of the original gang (Becky, Luna, Camilla, Lewis, Bradley, Craig, David, Cathy and Joe - most of the gang from College years and my 21st birthday) and very glad I did seeing as Lewis and the others were all at Uni. I wore Lewis's Alt:Mag shirt again and took many photos and there were many awesome cosplays that weekend.
I'm proud to have met them before actors started charging for pictures and autographs. I wish I'd remembered to bring Assassin's Creed II cover for Roger to sign.

Me and Mills

Bradley (Zoro from
One Piece) and Cathy

Lewis, Joe and Craig

May 2014 - The queueing was awful and took forever. This time had my close mate, Kurt and good friend Kathy come up with me along with the gang, Lewis, James, Jan, Mark and Neirin like the good old days. Like I said before that it's stressful looking after others but more happy that it was Kathy's first time and Kurt's first time coming up with me but his second time at MCM.
Kurt and I were originally expecting to meet Jessica Nigri but she didn't make it as I mentioned at the top. We all still had fun and managed to make the day great by buying FUNKO's and showing Kathy all the highlights to Expo.

Excuse me, but are you looking
for two droids?

I even convinced her to cosplay Supergirl. Plus me and Kurt had fun checking out the props from the Star Wars films, we both got in a Podracer and in Luke Skywalker's Land Speeder.

So that's my experiences at MCM so far...


Not meaning to put a downer on this, but MCM does make it stressful and too much for me sometimes. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or fear I always think up before it even takes place, but sometimes Expo is too much for me. Every year it's the same, going up to look at stuff that I know I shouldn't and can't buy because of the lack of space and improper use of money. Becoming crowded in endless oceans of people which does activate my autism. And it appears to be getting bigger every year, I don't know how MCM can take it. Soon we'll be tucked in so tight like overfilling a matchbox.

Plus the fact I don't feel satisfied enough when cosplaying cause I don't often get asked to have photos taken which is something dear to me, but at least those feelings get erased when I do find ways to enjoy it all despite being severely crowded. I don't know how much longer this will go on for, I reckon I don't see myself doing this in my 30s cause it may become boring or I might be a changed man or even have a lady in my life.

For now, it's best to enjoy it while it lasts. Look ahead to new cosplay ideas and try to make the props and someday look like a badass. I don't think my love for Anime, Video Games, Manga, Comics and Films will ever die cause it's my interests. Sometimes I feel like a social outcast due to my choice in interests but luckily not my friends because they support me and have no problems with who I am, I just feel different cause I have followed a different path compared to what many normal people might ever have considered. Thanks to the boys in The Big Bang Theory, I am always reassured, encouraged and relaxed to see that the others enjoy all this and Comic-Con too (they may be actors and may not even like this stuff in real life), but at least their characters give me strength and courage to continue being my "nerdy-self" no matter what!!! Everyone else is cool with being themselves so why should I suffer being at war with myself, course I know when to be myself since sometimes I'm a little too much haha.

This picture can paint a thousand words because it's like the clash between 2 different kinds of people in this world. It relates to my Pub and Club post, I try to be the best of both but feel that the drinking side is what I do less of. It's not nice when normal people who are confident, party a lot and club every weekend (like a Geordie Shore character) and they discriminate or laugh at my interests because I don't do the same as them or the rest of the world, I'd rather not waste money on liquor which would be gone much quicker than buying stuff at a convention where you don't get judged and succumb to peer pressure. But hey, many people probably do both and can manage both, they just don't see it from my eyes and see how I need to be part of two different realities while trying to enjoy myself.

It's not all bad, the merchandise is eye candy and sometimes I actually do get to buy something cool and then figure out how to fit it into my room once I get home. Being the good brother I am, I always manage to buy something for my sis and sometimes for others too. This year, I got Becca - A Jack Skellington and Sally FUNKO POP, A Totorro umbrella and a Stitch plushie. Someday she'll come too and see for herself just how amazing it is.

The lovely Lady Fairy that actually
wanted a picture with me

One thing I really need to mention is a frequent thing that I always see on Facebook. There's always a comment war on responses that Jessica Nigri receives to every picture she uploads. Many men praise her (mainly due to her boobs) but many others have other serious opinions like "she's ruining cosplay", "she's receiving more attention than other cosplayers", "she's only famous because of her boobs" or "she's fake!" These hurtful comments are awful and the way I see it, they do have points but they are missing the valid points. She's choosing to do explicit cosplays, because she enjoys it, likes to please her fans and gets paid to do it and turn up to other conventions (I think).
Now how can you judge someone who has no problem with the attention she gets (even if they're eyes are looking somewhere else) and is as real as any other gamer/ anime/ manga/ comic book lover? She's always referencing other cosplayers that she teams up with and always asks fans to come and see her at other cons and purchase a poster that she'll sign and share a photograph with people too. Sadly we can't end the dispute but at least we can get our points across and I've met her before and know she is a really lovely lady.

My good friend Beki cosplaying
Aries from Fairy Tail

Me with Purple Heart -
Hyperdimension
Neptunia Mk 2

Me with May (Pokemon)

I'll end the post here now, phew that's quite the load to read and has taken me all week to write out, find the pictures and edit some too. This side of my life is so great, sure I've mentioned negativity but that's what I'm like, I see the good and bad to everything plus I've been there and done that many times. I still wanna go and meet new people, look at what's on the stalls and maybe even meet some cool celebrities. A part of me deep inside is proud of my achievement of going every time and still conquering all these barriers and living my life. I've met beautiful people there and have wondered what I am through their eyes. I ask many, many people every time "May I please have a photo with you?" None have ever said no, so they are generous or just want to humour me. Some photos are cool and got me much attention like when I'm with a pretty lady. Sure me being a dude can smile at that. I admit this all won't get me through life but it's a damn good thing for me to participate in for as long as I can and feel like doing.

Roxas, Terra and my mate Robin
cosplaying Final Xemnas - Kingdom Hearts II

I encourage any of you who have these interests to go up to London on the last weekend of May/ October (even come tag along with me and my mates) or attend any other Comic-Con around the country. It's a real experience and you'll probably come home with intentions already to return and with more people... and money. Now with it just passing Halloween, what did you all get up to? I spent the evening after work watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Simpsons TreeHouse Of Horrors with Becca like we annually do every year. Happy Halloween everyone. Thanks for reading!