The lead-up to New York Comic Con 2021 was insane. If you read my Otakon 2021 report (or were, you know, alive and over the age of four during that same year), you already know the restrictions we were operating under due to the coronavirus. How that applied to NYCC specifically was at least twofold: one, you were going to have to show proof of vaccination in order to attend the convention (no problem there.) Two, despite bringing back the 4 Day pass in 2019, for reasons of their own, they decided to go back to individual day tickets in 2021. The presale went live in July and, despite clicking on the link at 10 AM sharp when they went live, and waiting for the virtual queue for over an hour and a half, by the time I got a chance to buy, Saturday was completely sold out. I suppose I could have gone Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, but the thought of not being able to go three days consecutively *and* missing the biggest day of the con, I decided I would rather skip. The end.

Of course, this left me with less than a month to get ready, and with the supply chain problems caused by Covid, that meant new costume choices were limited. I don't mind rewearing stuff, and I had one new costume I wanted to debut, but I wanted something fun to "bracket" my weekend (since people's attendance was also in flux, I ended up not nailing down my costume schedule until like the week before the con), so on a whim I decided to buy a cheap "costume in the bag" version of Carmen Sandiego to wear on Thursday.

I was not braced for the level of attention Carmen Sandiego attracts.

Seriously, pretty much as soon as I entered the con (which I did in *record* time, I think this was the first time there wasn't a long line to get in since at least 2017), I was stopped for photographs. And then stopped again. And then stopped again. And by professional photographers, too, not just people taking a quick shot with their phone. Before the weekend was over, I was told that I appeared in the newspaper (although I have yet to track that down), on a "Best Costumes of NYCC 2021" article on Gizmodo, and heard "Hey, I found you!" roughly sixty-seven thousand times. It was amazing.

It was a lot less crowded than usual, which I have to tell you, as a long time attendee, I appreciated. There was actually room to move and to breathe and to *see* people and booths. Granted Thursday is usually the least-attended day of the con, but even so, the difference was noticeable. But it wasn't a ghost town by any stretch of the imagination, and there were still plenty of people in costumes, including ones who either picked masks to match, or incorporated the mask as part of the costume itself. I do have to say NYCC was not as well regulated when it came to masks as Otakon had been, but since everyone who attended had had to provide proof of vaccination, it didn't bother me as much as it would have otherwise.

And of course, one of the first things I wanted to do was find friends! I knew my friend Nestor was going to be there, but he wasn't in his usual spot at the top of the stairs, which definitely made me feel like we were in an alternate timeline. Thankfully we were playing Text Tag trying to find each other, and we eventually met up in the middle of the Dealer's Room. Hugs were exchanged and catching up was done. Really after two years of living in chaos times everyone had anecdotes to share, but it was just so good to see each other again, doing something that felt halfway normal. (Note: if you would have told me, twenty years ago, that swapping stories while in crazy costumes was going to be the most normal I would feel all year...well, I think I would have been grateful, but just a tad disbelieving, yeah.)

The day before the con, my friend PopeCerebus has texted me that, while he was not planning on attending the con, he would be doing a photoshoot of a friend's costume not too far away near the Highline, and asked me if I'd want to meet up outside to grab a few photos together. Want to? I'd love to! The only thing better than doing a photoshoot, even a mini one, is doing one with a friend, especially one you (and you see the repeating theme here) you hadn't seen in a while. So a little after noon, I left the con floor to try to find him.

And promptly got lost. I don't know if it was con brain fatigue or *what*, but despite him telling me he was near the fountains in the Hudson Yards Highline entrance I just. Could Not. FIND. HIM. He sent me a picture, told me what avenue he was on, what cross street he was headed towards, and even sent me PICTURES, and I *still* couldn't find him! I'm not usually that geographically challenged. Finally we both headed towards the subway station and were able to find each other that way. I apologized a lot, because it was 100% my fault, and thankfully PopeCerebus is chill enough that he didn't mind.

Once we did find each other, though, what a thrill! Maybe I was just feeling an inflated sense of ego after being stopped by all those photographers first thing in the morning, but it felt so good to be in front of a lens again. And I always have such a nice time visiting with PopeCerebus. Someday, when I'm old(er) and gray(er), I hope I never forget just how much fun I had in this silly little dressup hobby, not so much because of the costumes I wore, but because of the creative people I was privileged to meet and work/play with. PopeCerebus got quite a few good shots that you can see on Carmen Sandiego's costume page, and then we said goodbye so he could head on to his next appointment, and I could head back to the con.

As I was heading back to the convention center, I got a text from Pete, who had promised to text me when he was on his way to the con so we could meet up. Pete is late for everything (no, really), so I wasn't surprised to hear that he was running late, but I was surprised to hear that he was actually on his way and in fact not too far off. My feet were hurting a bit from wearing heels most of the day, so I decided to sit on one of the benches that's in the little park-like area surrounding the 34th Street Hudson Yards subway entrance (honestly, the city planners or whoever designed that extension did an amazing job, even years later it's still pretty and mostly clean) to rest my feet and do my French lessons.

And then I heard it for the 67,001 time that day: "Hey, I found you!"

Only this time, when I looked up, it was a member of the New York Police Department. And despite the fact that he had a mask on, I could tell he was grinning widely.

"Oh," I said, "I *have* to take a picture with *you*."

So that is how I got the image below. I decided not to ask him to use the cuffs on me, both because I didn't want to take up any more of his time, and because I do not have a good track record of handcuffs at conventions (for details, please see Day Two of my AnimeNEXT 2007 report) but we both gave our cell phones to the officer's partner and got into position for pictures. I know a lot of people (myself included) have had some not-so-positive encounters with law enforcement, but to be able to interact with one as a fan and a person rather than someone whose position of authority differentiates us...I don't know. It was wholesome. I hope he got as much out of it as I did.

Excitement over, I returned to my bench to wait for Pete, who arrived not long afterwards. I got back into my hurtin' shoes and we walked back to the convention center.

As it was now well into the afternoon of Thursday, more people were starting to arrive, including more friends of ours, both mutual and separate. Pete of course has been more visible in the fandom than I have been, thanks to Pete's Basement, but he's also just one of those guys that people gravitate to, you know? So pretty much anywhere we go at a con he runs into people he knows--not that I'm complaining, I've met some pretty amazing folks that way.

To be fair, I've met some pretty amazing people on my own, too. Joining me at NYCC was my coworker and, as of this year, con buddy LunarChandalure. We had spent a lot of Otakon together and I was looking forward to bopping around Comic Con together. Besides, now that I had two actual in-person friends with me, it was time to see if they would play Angel/Devil on my shoulder, because there was a temptation I was seriously wrestling with...

You see, when I had gotten to the con, I had decided to do something a bit different, and start at the back of the Dealer's Room, and work my way forward. And there, at the very back, was a vendor I had never seen or at least notice before...

...Ultra Sabers.

I can't tell you how long I've wanted a lightsaber for--for at *least* as long as Skye has had hers, and possibly even longer. I had *not* bought a lightsaber because I'm not really active in the Star Wars fandom, and sabers aren't exactly cheap. Plus, for that amount of coin, I actually wanted to see it in person, see the colors and the designs in real life, check how the hilt fit in my hand. All of these reasons made it very easy to resist buying a lightsaber online. None of which applied to not buying a lightsaber in person.

Now to be fair I knew what Pete was going to say. Fully half of our text conversations are based around "Do I need this", although it's A) usually him asking me and B) the answer is usually no (Lego boxers? Really?) Whereas almost anything I want to buy, Pete is a fan of: he's not exactly the poster boy for impluse control. Plus he collects swords, and while a lightsaber can't actually cut anything in our reality, it *can* be used to hit things. That's always a bonus. So I was hoping that LunarChandalure would be the voice of reason.

I had forgotten she also collects swords.

Me and David

And I mean really, when was I going to get another opportunity like this? I talked to some of the other people who had joined our group (more on that in a moment) and they agreed that, if it was my imagination, then they were sharing in my delusions: the vendors were a *lot* different that year. We speculated that so many had had to turn to online only sales during the pandemic and were doing *so well* they didn't feel the need to return to Comic Con in person (for the record, I hope this means Comic Con will lower the price for their tables, I know they priced a lot of small businesses right out of the con), which made room for a new mix. Whatever the reason, Ultra Sabers was right in front of me, it wouldn't do any harm to pretend that, IF I were going to get a lightsaber, which one would I get?

I already knew I wanted a lightsaber that was just for me, and not a replica of Obi-Wan's or Luke's or anything. Years ago after careful discussion with Scott and several (totally scientific, I'm sure) online quizzes, we had determined that my lightsaber blade needed to be blue, because I am much more the type of person to use force than "The" Force. And I had been casually picturing what my fan character in the Star Wars universe would be like, off and on, for years: maybe I wouldn't even be a Force user, but someone who trained herself so diligently for so long that her reflexes would almost seem like Force control. I pictured a blue tunic with white designs over a white top, and I thought I might like a lightsaber hilt that looked similar to that. And Ultra Sabers had, more or less, what I was looking for.

So as an academic exercise, I put together what would be, more or less, my dream saber...and the tally was close to half a grand. Oops. No, not spending that much. And that's when I realized the matter had become a lot less academic and a lot more "I'm probably walking out of here with a lightsaber, so how affordable can I get it without being disappointed?" I knew I valued durability over the fanciest effects--getting the light to power up and down is really impressive, but what good is a saber if you can't bonk people on the head with it? I need to get one that can stand up to bonking people on the head. Sound effects, however, were a must. Before too long, I had put together a list of the features I could live with, without breaking the bank...and found myself on the purchase line.

Welp. Guess I was buying a lightsaber after all.

Since it was a custom order rather than a pre-built one, I was told to come back at the end of the day to pick it up--which suited me, I've struggled around con floors with large props before, it's not my favorite. As the salesperson gave me my receipt, he also handed me three raffle tickets, and told that if I came back to pick it up around 5, there would also be a drawing for a free lightsaber. Fair enough, I usually leave around five anyway, and while I'm generally not the type to win anything, why not, you know? As I was leaving, the family that had checked out in front of me turned and handed me two more raffle tickets, explaining that they would have to leave well before 5, and they didn't want their tickets to go waste, which I thought was jolly nice of them.

During this process, we had been joined by two more friends of ours, David and Andrew. David, the blessed person that he is, had brought me, as per tradition, another pair of socks, this pair being a SUPER comfy (sherpa lined? something lined, anyway) Catwoman pair with grippy treads on the bottom that are just divine. I really think it's hilarious that a tradition was started by my feet getting soaked on a convention day and I know they're "just" socks but it really does make me feel loved and cared for that here is a man who has made it his mission in life to make sure my tootsies are toasties. Davd's the best.

Andrew is also one of my favorite people to talk to, and that's because he can be very analytical about things people wouldn't ordinarily think to be analytical about, and picking unimportant things apart until I understand them better is one of my favorite things to do. He's the one that helped me put my finger on several things that felt different about this year's con versus the one in 2019, other than just the obvious. He also pointed out how differently people were interacting with each other: for every person who was obviously overjoyed at being among people (especially fellow nerds) again, there was at least one other who seemed to have forgotten that they had a physical body that took up physical space in real other people's physical universe. There was one guy in particular who just plopped himself and his five shopping bags down on the floor and took out his phone to browse; not up against the wall, you understand, but literally right in the middle of an intersection. Con staff, bless them, ran out to make sure the guy wasn't having some sort of medical emergency, but no; he just decided he needed to take a break literally right there and right then, and people could just step around him. I understand needing to be mindful of other people's needs so I don't want to sound too harsh, but really, it goes both ways. Le sigh. There's always gotta be that one guy (and I mean that in the general, not as an indicator of gender) that's gotta be the example of why we can't have nice things.

And the cosplayer I nicknamed "Smiley Eyed Thor" back in 2016 soon joined us as well; Sean had been one of the people making sure I survived the pandemic by sending me cute memes and dog videos while we were all sheltering in place. And Pete's friend Greg, who calls me "Lovebug" and I call "Cuddlebug" because he's seriously got one of the most loving hearts I've ever encountered, also came to join the party. We had a pretty fairy sized group of people by the time it approached five o'clock, and most of them decided to join me as I went back to Ultra Sabers to pick up my lightsaber, partially because we were all having a good time, but also because, who doesn't want to play with a lightsaber?

I picked up my lightsaber (it's gorgeous, by the way), and then settled in with the rest of the crowd who were waiting to hear the tickets called. They announced that there would be five winners, and five prizes. The first winner was called, and got their pick of the loot. Then the second. Then the third. Then the fourth...and no one answered. The guy announcing at the booth called the number a few more times, and no one answered. So they pulled another number, and despite my own mounting disbelief, the number matched one of the tickets the nice family had given to me.

My friends went wild. We pushed our way through the crowd to present the winning ticket. There were only two lightsabers left, and while I can't remember what the other one looked like, I decided to go with the red one, based on the fact that it is my favorite color, it matched the costume I was wearing, and would contrast nicely with the blue. Ultra Sabers had me pose behind the booth with my new lightsaber holding a sign saying "Raffle Winner", and then it was time to go nuts. Many lightsaber battles were had, including me dragging Pete to Funimation's "Sakura Park", which was almost like a minature movie set made up of (among other things) a bridge over a fake creek with fake cherry blossom trees in the background, which was just begging to to be the background of an epic lightsaber battle.

It was getting pretty late and most of us were ready to head out, so we started walking towards the 34th Street doors. Again, I know it was late and a Thursday, but I couldn't *believe* how empty the halls were. Greg, who was helping me carry my stuff, turned to Carlos, another friend of Pete's who had joined us, and said, "Come on let's go be big kids!" and they ran down the stairs and started a full on lightsaber battle of their own. And it just made me so happy to know that I've found this group of people and this overall environment where we can be moderately functional adults most of the year, but we haven't forgotten how to play. I've met too many adults who forgot how to play and I understand it but I can't, you know, empathize with it. There's something so pure about the joy of play.

It had been a really busy day so we all split up on our separate ways to go home; but before I got on the train, I made the decision to give Pete my newly won red lightsaber. I didn't need two lightsabers (hell, I didn't need *one* lightsaber), I knew I could always borrow it back if I did need it, and what's the point of having a lightsaber if you don't have somebody to duel with, and who, on this Earth, do I enjoy fighting with more than Pete? Plus he's given me so many awesome presents over the course of our (wow) 26 year friendship that I couldn't imagine gifting it to anybody else. So here's to you, buddy. We always knew we'd die at each other's hands. =D

Sailor Mars

Black Lady

Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Mercury

I bought a corset top from Victoria's Secret just because it looks like this

One of these days I'm going to make a collage of Nes and me

Queens, every single one of them

Just when I was about to steal the Javits Center, too.

The shocked face was harder to make a second time.

Seriously he was such a good sport

I just wish I had bothered to put my costume shoes back on.

Pete and some of his friends

I <3 Spock

Especially Leonard Nimoy Spock

But I try to be respectful

And then, a lightsaber battle broke out

The first of many that night

Greg looks way more dynamic even though I was really swinging!

He looks cooler doing that than I will ever look

Granted I believe he has had training

Official Jedi training? Or like whatever the 501st variant for Jedi are?

Seriously badass

Okay you can have it back now.

LunarChandalure with my two lightsabers

Pretty sure she's going to end up with a lightsaber of her own sometime soon

Seriously we just did a whole long almost photoshoot of fighting poses so I'm going to drop the captions for now.

"Snap into a Slim Jim!"

Nes and me