MCM London Comic-Con, October 2016

Celebrated another great Saturday at MCM by cosplaying as Roxas again and managing to meet up with 8/12 friends during the day. I also managed to discover an important fact to remember to help myself remain calm and enthusiastic instead of stressed and worried (a few days before). But more on that later on. Anyway, here's what shenanigans me and my friends got up to at October 2016's Comic-Con.
This October's MCM was a bit stressful to cram a lot of short time to find peeps across the Saturday only. But despite it all, I enjoyed their encounter as they did mine. And I made a few new special friends and things just got better as I kept smiling through it all. I may have gone up again in the same Roxas cosplay again, but I do aim to make a new cosplay for May next year as well as try to go and stay up near the centre with any of my friends for a more fun, stress-free, time consumed Expo like I used to. Things have changed a lot since my early years here and to last years one too.
Before I get round to what I got up to on Saturday and Sunday, I need to share with you all especially to my Con friends reading this, just a little something that I've had on my mind and how important it is to disclose these feelings in order to be a better and more positive person than I feel I've not been coming across during Facebook chats and posts.

On the 27th October, I was thinking of how to make this Comic-Con post stand out from the past posts of just uploading pictures of me, other cosplayers or ones I had pictures/ hugs with.
So I wanted to explain an "epiphany" that I discovered on that day. You see, I do love going there and the concept of dressing up and meeting friends again and making new ones. It's just that, this year I've been stressed out and been looking at things the wrong way that it makes my anxiety increase and think up the stupidest ideas that people don't actually don't want to meet up or something.

I'm actually quite jealous of everyone for being so chill and "going with the flow" on the weekend and don't get so wound up as much as I do before the weekend even begins (even though I'm totally cool with it all there and then). Also with the fact that I can barely sleep properly and the fact that everyone has someone to call their own and love, I'm still waiting impatiently and jealously for my turn as well. And with everything else on my mind, I guess I just turn out this way and have to get some reassuring answers since my own head is not helping me most times.

But I think the lesson here is that:

"Even if you don't feel as close as you want to be with people that you've met up with a couple times, remember how far you've come and how much communication you've shared with them on Facebook. How many times you've interacted with them in their lives (even if you haven't been there with them). They like and keep up with your life just like you do with theirs. If people didn't want you to see/ speak to them, they would've told you by now instead of just being nice and pretending to care. You need to get it through your head Josh, (even if you're too nice for your own good). You even care too much about the attention you give compared to the actual attention you get back, not everyone is always the same unfortunately. You must also be more patient with people's responses since sometimes people just forget to, their not always ignoring you. But understand that you can't be close friends with many people that you ever meet but it doesn't stop you from being friends with them at all. You'll meet up at Con and maybe outside whenever and if they are bothered to make the effort as much as you try to. Even Facebook is good enough to keep in touch and have a laugh/ banter with them till you get to laugh with them in person again. They'll always know your that nice guy living an hour south of London in a small town... And how they can always rely on you!"

And I know myself, that these words will eventually carve into my mind and I'll understand how lucky I am to have friends like these across England and outside! And I know who my true friends are and are local because everyone has close friends who know them best. So it's best I stick with them (they know who they are). To set the record straight, I really will focus on my Africa video that I'm currently making and then afterwards I can get back into Coding and Animation because it's the work that I am good at and need to pour my attention into that instead of chasing people. It'll turn my life around and will make me see things better and be a more positive person which will make others feel more comfortable around me, maybe.
It's hard to accept things as the way they are and I fear for my struggle to let go of people as they will do with me someday like in 5 Centimetres Per Second. But if they choose to "unfriend" me, then that's the way it should be (and I'll see it that way in time).
Now that that's out of my head and on the webpage, let's get down to business and take a look at a long day surrounded by fellow nerds and cosplayers at the annual Excel Centre's Comic-Con:

2 days before Con, unfortunately my hairdresser fell ill and wasn't able to help me re-style my Roxas Wig (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days) because I rinsed it out and brushed it at the beginning of the week and was hoping to style it better than last year's attempt with her.

My Picture for them to follow

So I was almost royally f***ed but Dad encouraged me to go down the road to Horsham Blades Barbers and at least ask them to help me out with the hairspray. I was reluctant and scared at first but after having a laugh and some banter in the barber shop, the head guy gave it a go. I explained everything whilst he did his magic with my Got2b Glued Hairspray (he mentioned that his sister was into all this comic-con stuff and Anime too) so it helped that I wasn't a total wacko to him.
He did a great job and made the spikes stand up tall and stiff *giggidy*. Only £10 and he asked to have my picture taken to promote the business as I also said I would mention their assistance and work in the post! Thanks guys!


So my early Saturday morning began at 5:45am and I was ready by 7am where Kathy and her friends Jack, Balázs, Jimmy and Vanessa arrived at mine and then Matt turned up shortly after.
We made our way to Horsham Station and got the train for London Bridge as usual, right after Kathy's friend Sarah arrived to jump on the train with us. All that was left was for Kathy's last new recruit, Olivia to jump on at Horley.

So our Cosplay group consisted of:
Me - Roxas (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days)
Matt - Blood Elf (Skyrim)
Kathy - Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Jack - Spider-Man
Jimmy - Rick Sanchez (Rick & Morty)
Vanessa - Unity (Rick & Morty)
Balázs - Killer Clown Morphsuit
Sarah - Hermoine Granger (Harry Potter)
Olivia - Star Fleet Red Uniform (Star Trek)

And my route for everyone to follow me to Con was to change at London Bridge, get Underground Jubilee Line to Canning Town, swap for the DLR and then get off at Custom House For Excel.
But back at North Greenwich, we had to get off because the train was terminating. So whilst waiting on the platform for a few minutes with several other groups of Cosplayers, Matt, Sarah and Olivia saw that the train switched back on and said it was going again. I misread the location since it was only one more stop eastbound till Canning Town... turns out it was going backwards. Whoops!
Kathy, Balázs, Jack, Jimmy and Vanessa were laughing and asking me why I did it, but I wasn't sure which way it was going and I was still half-asleep. But they came back to our stop after the 3rd train and we hopped on and continued our journey. Told Matt "Yeah, I'm a D*ck!" which isn't as bad as the time when he was asleep on a stag do with our friends and they woke him up on the last minute at Three Bridges which gave him bad headrush whilst they were pissing themselves laughing. Which one sounds worse?

The Excel's organisation was smart but it was so annoying having to walk the same long route round the side of the Centre in order to get in during the day and out by the main entrance (only the weekend lot were allowed to come in and out of the main entrance).
But the newbies were glad to see Stormtroopers already before even entering the Convention already.
So after 15 mins of passing through the sea of people trying to get in, we headed up near S8 where we heard that music that you hear at Funfairs... Turns out their was one inside the area O.O
Matt did have a go at the Archery stall and explained that without the feather ends, the arrows don't fly straight.
It wasn't even packed yet since we were only 40mins into the opening time but the others got some food before I headed off by 10am to search for my friends to find during the day.
I had a quick look in one of the N1-8 or S1-8 areas to see if I could spot someone but I did find an incredible Armoured Mewtwo (Pokémon) and a Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Mary Poppins before heading outside the main entrance.

I went out and I did meet a Ram and Rem (Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu) one of the new popular Animes. So I had gone outside to see if I could recognise any of my friend's cosplays. And by luck, I found Katie who was Batgirl getting her picture taken by photographers. I thought all along that I would have to look of her near 3:30 for the DC vs Marvel Photoshoot outside the centre. It was a brief Hello like last year but I managed to get a picture of and with her before more photographers came over.
Unexpectedly, I ended up getting my picture taken by a few guys as well who had big cameras and asking for posing and who my character was. They never uploaded the pictures to their websites X'(
But I did managed to spot a Lola and Bugs Bunny (Space Jam) before recognising like 10 mins later that it was Kyle and Tara friends of Ash, Summer and that lot. I got a picture of them too together (it's been a big hit on Facebook since adding then tagging them).

As I was heading back up the steps, I spotted the back of Summer's cosplay of Seilah (Fairy Tail) and I rushed up to check if it was her and it was. I finally met her and Alex who I failed to find back in May. They both welcomed me with a hug and I got a picture with Summer just before Tara and Kyle came to join them.
They said they were heading inside and I asked to join them whilst I was searching for other people. Unfortunately, the security guard stopped me from going in as I didn't have a weekend band like the others (thanks a lot man...) So Summer mentioned where they were going but because I had to take the long route back in and my 3G signal was shite all day. I didn't see any of them again, Oh Well. I'm glad to have seen them this time and it's nice that Summer and the others were nice to me. I aim to get to know them all better next time or whenever.

So I went inside and realised I had to give up on chasing them since the 3G that day was awful and I even bought an Anker PowerCore 20100 Power Bank a week earlier to be ready for a long day of Pokémon Go and messaging people (both to no avail really). But I did find my hometown lot again and ended up wandering round the stalls for a while. We had a picture with the Vault Boy Giant Figure from the Fallout games. We even saw a big set full of Alien props and looked like an epic memorial to celebrate the franchises 30th Anniversary. It looked like the best moments from Aliens all put together.
I said I'd find them later as I was still determined to find more people so I went back outside to get out of the tight atmosphere and waddling through the sea of people. I was a bit disheartened by the claustrophobic atmosphere and seeing couples together with more luck than I've had his year or ever so far.

I was still searching for Ash and the others but ended up spotting Tomas (a VFX and Camera Operator friend of Ash and Ben's). He made a great Comic-Con video back in May by recording cosplayers who acted rather well. I like it all and am slightly jealous of the skill and choreography plus this year, his Camera looked incredible and was on a cool Ronin-M (a lightweight, handheld 3-Axis Camera Gimbal). Quite the amazing equipment like the professionals use!
So I helped him with swapping lenses and holding the Gimbal a few times in exchange for some company since we recognised each other briefly from May last year after saying Hi when I was with Ash and the others. I helped him for like 20 mins and he even helped me take a picture of me with an Arah Light armor Necromancer (I mistook it for a hot Angel of Death) but turns out it's from Guild Wars 2 and the cosplayer was the talented Shiaya Costumes (thanks for the picture).
So I said bye as he went off for a photoshoot but I appreciated the company.

Ash is the Super Sonico on the left from his MCM Comic-Con, May 2016 video.

I went back inside again to see if I could find the Pokémon Photoshoot to go and meet Estelle and Jessica after liking their cosplay and life posts throughout the year and never saying Hi. Sadly the route to the far back of the centre was closed off and now involved having to go back outside and walk opposite the docks to head inside near one of the fire exits. I got through to Estelle but knew I wouldn't make it in time.

But I did spot another Fox Gijinka cosplay and asked for her photo. Turns out it was Kamilla who was another Ninetails Gijinka and her fiancé was an Aggron Gijinka (both from Pokémon). She explained that it was happening at so and so and how to get to it, but thanks to the super slow mph of navigating through the crowd, I had to give up.
I also didn't have enough time to go and find Nicole, Ellice or the other Nicole. But I see now from their photos that they had an amazing time, so I'm sure I'll see them next time.



I went out for the 3rd time now but ended up successfully meeting a load of my friends this time. Right before I met my friends again, I did get a picture with a nice looking Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Then I got a response from Chris (the dude I went London Day Out doing Pokémon Go) and Claire (who I got to meet at last since he mentioned their engagement during our catch up). Chris was Zabusa from Naruto (he was surprisingly not shirtless) ha, but he did bring the giant sword along.
So I after our reunion and introduction, we walked along from Starbucks back to the steps to see if we could spot Ben and his giant wings. I did spot Alexandra again who rocked some epic Warcraft armour again.
With my good eye-sight, I spotted Ben's giant Angel mecha wings all the way at the far end of the cosplay area so we popped down the stairs to meet them.
I said Hi to Ash again since May's MCM. I said Hi briefly and got a picture of her Genji Female Fan-Design (Overwatch) because they all had to go in to get their tickets done after a late arrival due to cosplay issues in the morning. But I found them again later, but more on that later on.

I tagged along with Chris and Claire for a while checking out all the stalls for a while. Think I lost count at 15 when Chris got stopped to have his picture taken solo or with a girl lol. We found the Square Enix Play Arts area where all the Final Fantasy and a few Kingdom Hearts figurines too (I bought my Sora one from there a year ago).
Chris eventually found what he was looking for - the Warcraft stall for in-game content and POP Vinyls. So I got a picture with a Black Cat and Spider-Man right before I found my crew again and Kathy took a picture of me, Chris and Claire before I said goodbye to them two. We plan to go out again for another Pokémon Go day and hopefully Claire would be able to make it too.







I found a Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny (Pokémon) whilst the others were wondering about before they were all deciding to call it a day. I joined them en route to the exit but I decided to stay behind like I did last year to find my friends because it was my main goal of the day after all.


As I said bye to my local friends, I made my way to the Photoshoot area by the docks after spotting Ben's wings luckily(thank god those were the eye candy to spot him out through the crowds and photoshoots)..
But I did manage to get a photo of Amy as Boa Hancock (One Piece) and unexpectedly meet Leanne who was Zero Suit Samus (Metroid).

Right before seeing Ash and Ben again, I did manage to spot Ricky and Vicky who were both cosplaying Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII) and in the middle of a video shoot. But I saw them and had a picture whilst talking for 5 minutes since I met them back in May for the afternoon of Con.
It was a terrible shame that Vicky's Noctis sword (from the upcoming Final Fantasy XV game) was confiscated at the airport after she worked so hard on it), but I'm pleased she still wore the cosplay on Sunday. I'll see them again when they next visit London hopefully before next May's Con.

So I found my friends again and managed to say Hi and catch up for real whilst pro photographers were taking their shots (it felt like I'd walked onto a set or something). I was being a helpful "whipped" friend (I joke) by holding onto some of their stuff whilst their pictures were getting taken since I'm like that and like to help. It felt good to see Ben, Ash and Charlie again since briefly back in May and then going to Ash and Ben's for New Years.

I had been feeling weird most of the year due to not really getting to see them again due to all of us being busy and stuff. But I was pleased that they were all cool with me and proved all my negative thoughts about getting the chance to see them at all to blow away like sand. The feeling was for everyone that I tried to meet today (the quote from the top). But I'm glad that they reassured me especially Ash who was the first one I met a year ago and was introduced to everyone by her.

Ben's Mercy Cosplay - Overwatch (Besaid Cosplay)

Whilst they're pictures were being taken, I did managed to spot Marc (you may recognise him for being the closest resemblance to Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) and he came over to meet me and Ash for the first time. I'd spoken to him the day I was trying to style the wig and he suggested Got2b to me. I got some nice pictures of him to say thanks for the help along with a selfie and he even let me hold his Fusion Sword "the big letter opener". It was heavy but cool to see such a replica for real and get to hold it safely too!
I had to head off soon after as I was late to catch up with my squad who were getting the fast train home at London Bridge (but I was seeing them later anyway). So overall, it was worth it to have pursued and found my friends again and got that reassurance from them to know that even if we don't see each other, we still keep in touch on Facebook and I'm still a friend to them despite the distance.

My solo return home journey was long and luckily I sorta wasn't the only cosplayer on the southern trains home from London Bridge. A few others were spotted too which took away the anxiety pressure of being stared at when I'm surprised that some people aren't smart enough to even assume that it might just be Halloween costume or Comic-Con related instead of judging me for looking different to the usual crowd.

So I was on the train home sorting out my Mii's I'd collected today through Nintendo 3DS StreetPass, it was so stupid that the new queue update can't even hold all the 50 people I met today when I only managed to access 10 or 20 of them overall due to maybe misreading the instructions or actual limit of queueing... Oh well.
So I had a long journey home with my cosplay still on to try and encourage/ teach me to ignore judgemental idiots and the people who can't understand how some people choose to enjoy themselves. So I got home by 7pm.

The plan for after Con celebrations was to head to The Anchor to meet a few remaining buds from today. I managed to head out after 9:30 due to late Pizza. I saw Matt, Sarah, Jimmy, Vanessa and even saw Jack from college years (my new friends from today all looked different without Cosplay on, they even said the same about me lol). Kathy, Jack and Olivia had already gone home by the time I got there fashionably late.

Sarah even worked out after 20mins of talking that I was the same "blonde spikey haired Josh" from today lol. That was a laugh and memorable thing that a woman's ever said about me.
So Matt, Jack, Sarah and I all went to Mungo's Bar to dance. I was driver but still had fun anyway. We found Amy there and us three Comic-Con nerds got a picture together whilst raving.
Whilst queuing with everyone outside B 52's at 11:30, Matt suggested we all go back to his, so we did (shame it was too late to get more alcohol though).

So we all chilled at Matt's whilst he put on Rick and Morty - this messed up but hilarious new show on Netflix that Rebecca showed a few episodes to me last week. By 2am, it was just Matt and I talking to Sarah about our Africa adventure and the videos we are planning to make in November.

Matt started to fall asleep by 3am which was time for me to take Sarah home. However we ended up saying goodnight by 5am after endless talking about Harry Potter, Doctor Who, the future, our pasts and Anxiety moments. She also explained a surprising fact that on Monday, she's moving to Bristol to do a flight course for EasyJet and to also move up their to move in with her bf in a new house.
But we planned to meet up again on Sunday afternoon which eventually turned into Sunday night as we both woke up late and had stuff to do during the day.

Sunday was actually delayed till the evening because she had last minute packing and some things to fetch in town after we'd both woken up at our houses after 1pm. I invited her to mine for Chinese Takeaway and for some company on her last night in Horsham. So Mum, Becca, Sarah and I decided to watch What We Did On Our Holiday together since Mum said it's hilarious especially the children actors plus it has Billy Connolly and David Tennant in it, enough said.
The film was hilarious and quite sad/ emotional most of the time but I still recommend it to everyone!
So I gave her a lift back to hers before saying goodbye until the next time. Which might be next Saturday when I go to see Bring Me The Horizon with Kathy in the evening. Sarah might be returning for a friend's hen do and said she might be free in the day to hang out till we both have to go and do our things.

SO this has been quite the weekend for me. I managed to accomplish a lot of things in a day and was up for almost 22 hours but it was all worth it and I got to make friends with someone special too.
I really hope that in May, I could manage to book a hotel near the centre so that me and any of my friends can enjoy 2 or 3 days at Con to take the pressure off of us. Plus I intend to make that Mewtwo Gijinka Cosplay for next year and I don't want to be wearing my tail on the travel up or carry it in a bag where it could get damaged. Who knows what's in store?

Roll on next Saturday where things will get mad, intense and rough as I go and see the famous boys from Sheffield. I might even try and Facebook Live Record the opening song since I have a feeling it'll be like this live performance. And I'll do my best to record a lot of the songs and I hope they play all my favourites including House Of Wolves, Shadow Moses and Activist. But I am sure they'll start the show like this (since they seem to have been doing Live shows like this):

Then close the show with this crowd pleaser and the song that I've mentioned a few times this year thanks to how it's lyrics are relatable for me and my social anxiety situations.

Stay tuned!