Did you ever experience the sensation that something you are currently experiencing has already been experienced in the past? I took French in high school so I feel like there's a tidy little phrase that could...high school, that's it! Thursday morning I got up, put on my regulation white button down collared uniform shirt, and then put on my regulation gray pleated school skirt. But something felt...off. Wrong, somehow. I looked fine--damn near screen accurate, if I do say so myself. But it *felt* wrong. I had missed a step somewhere.

So I rolled my skirt at the waistband twice. MUCH better.

(If you didn't go to Catholic school, you will have no idea what I'm talking about. Je suis désolé.)

Right away in the Dealer's Room I saw some great costumes! I try to focus more on comic-related costumes at comic-related cons, but if you cosplay from some of my favorite series, I'm not going to be able to help myself. But really all the costumes ran the gamut of pop culture, from brand new versions of old characters, to the classic versions of timeless characters, from Disney family movies, to relatively obscure cult movies. If you're a fan of "it", whatever "it" is, you have a good chance of seeing somebody cosplay it at New York Comic Con.

It actually seemed a little less crowded than it did the year before, although I didn't exactly crunch the numbers to be able to tell for sure. I'm going mainly by how easy it was to get around the halls (although I was about to help impede that in a minute, but I didn't know that at the time.) As I mentioned above, I am always early for everything, so by about 12:30 I started inching my way to our designated meeting place, the entrance to the north pavilion hallway (where Artist's Alley was.)

I knew I was heading in the right direction when I started to see other Hogwarts students milling about by the West 37th Street entrance, including Ziggo's (the guy who had originally set up both the group and the photoshoot) girlfriend, Lori. We milled around there for a while, with people stopping to take our photographs, and me stopping a few passing cosplayers so I could take photographs of them.

We walked over to the meeting place as a group--right underneath a giant poster for...Teen Wolf? Is that series still on? I'm so out of touch--and there were SO MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN I HAD ANTICIPATED. Oh my God. Zig had created a Facebook group for this last year, right after Alan Rickman died, and there were only about 40 members --and out of those, the most active were Zig, Nicholas, and me! Where had all these people come from? (Okay granted in retrospect that's probably exactly how many people were there, but still--it LOOKED like a lot!)

And in fact the first person I saw there was Nicholas, dressed as Harry Potter, and his girlfriend Frances, dressed as Pansy Parkinson. He's Gryffindor and she's Slytherin, and he's Robin and she's Harley Quinn, and yet somehow they are just about one of the cutest couples I've ever met.

Standing out from the Hogwarts crowd was my friend Christine, who I had met, funnily enough, through an old college friend of mine Tom, when he invited us both to come talk to one of his classes (he taught there for a time) about, what else, cosplay. Even when I was hanging out with her in the faculty lounge I had noticed how much she looked like Carrie Fisher, and it turns out she's a (really incredible!) Princess Leia cosplayer! We talked about how she was going to try her best to finally get to meet Carrie, and she was aiming for a photo op on Saturday. We had joked in the lounge about how Carrie may secretly be Christine's grandmother, so I was kind of hoping she'd ask...

(Spoiler alert, Christine DID get to meet Carrie, and instead of making a joke got to tell her exactly how much Ms. Fisher had meant to her in her life, which is just...1000 times better. Her lifelong dream came true.)

I also got to see CHris in passing when he stopped, looking to say hello to Ziggo, because of course he knows Zig because CHris knows literally everyone in the New York City cosplay community, and I'm not really exaggerating. CHris was actually not cosplaying for once (or if he was, I have no idea as who), but one of these days I will get to be Black Widow at the same time he is Hawkeye. Anyway, I grabbed his butt (as is the traditional greeting of our people) and made some jokes before had to run off to save the day elsewhere.

At any rate, the Hogwarts people found Zig, and exchanged hellos. He seemed utterly and completely jazzed--I mean I could feel him shaking when I hugged him. I thought that was a little strange--like, I knew he had put this group together, and there were a lot of people, and I knew he wanted to do a good job, but it was just a photoshoot, right? I didn't remember being that edgy when I put together the Utena group back in 2005. And Ziggo doesn't exactly strike me as the shy and retiring type, you know? Well, who knows--everyone reacts differently in different situations. And I'm not the best at reading people, anyway. I certainly wasn't going to call attention to it, so I put it out of my mind.

Not only were there a lot of cosplayers, but there were a *lot* of photographers--two "official" photographers that directed the groups (the usual, first the staff/grownups, then by houses, then the battle shot, etc.), and of course once people saw cameras being pointed at a group, they all stopped to take their own pictures--and being that we were right next to the entrance, we ended up causing a bit of a bottleneck. I felt bad about it, but as we ourselves weren't blocking anything, there wasn't much we could do about it. And right smack dab in the middle of the photographers, a...videographer? Really? Zig had really pulled out all the stops!

I would like to take this opportunity to say that at this point, the lightbulb had STILL not gone off in my head. If you've figured out what happened next, you are officially smarter than I am. Not that you'd want to put that on a bumper sticker or anything.

The very last pose the photographers had us do, was to all kneel, and raise our wands in tribute to Alan Rickman. (I pushed the button on my wand so that it lit up, because I'm a giant cornball like that.)

Well, almost the last pose.

As the shutters click, Zig pulled his girlfriend Lori in front of the group, and basically took all the credit for arranging this meetup. Well, it was. Then he told us to all point our wands at her like we were trying to kill her, and I was like, dude, WTF? because Ravenclaws are all about house unity. (The Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry is really getting pretty old.) He then teased her for taking so long to agree to go out with him...and then pulled out a stack of Hogwarts letters. In the shape of a box.

That's about when I cottoned on to what was going on. I didn't even know the fellow Ravenclaw I was kneeling next to, but I gripped onto his shoulder for support.

Zig babbled on for a little longer, to the point where *MY* nerves couldn't take it anymore, and I screamed "WOULD YOU PLEASE!" At which point Zig took Lori's left hand, opened the box, and asked her to marry him.

And I'm getting tears in my eyes again just from writing this.

OF COURSE she said yes, and OF COURSE we all screamed our fool heads off. We stood up and did the wands-up pose again as Zig took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. Everyone was crying and hugging--congratulating Lori, congratulating Zig. I kind of teased Zig, saying that at least *now* I understood why he had seemed so nervous! He seemed confused--hadn't I known he was going to propose? Nope! I had been in the group chat on Facebook, but due to me being even worse at reading and responding to messages than I am to comments and posts, I had somehow completely missed it. Ah well, that makes two of us who had no idea what was going on! But all of their friends were there, and even most of their immediate family. Now that the Hogwarts shoot was over, we had fun taking more traditional "engagement-type photos".

All in all, considering that the last thing I wrote in my NYCC 2015 con report was that I had decided that I was never going to do a four day con again, but that Ziggo was putting together a Harry Potter group and did I want in...to think I came *this close* to missing the most beautiful, sweetest things I've ever seen in my *life*--I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Cosplay is just adults running around and playing dress-up. Well, yes and no. Anything is what you make of it, and for whatever reason, it has been my incredible good luck that through this hobby I have met some of the most amazing people, and in this case, got to see the start of an exciting new chapter in two of their lives. I wouldn't have missed that for the world.

I really didn't know WHAT to do after that--what could possibly follow THAT? I left Lori and Zig to celebrate with their families, and went back to the Exhibition Floor to try to come back down from Cloud 9. I wandered the aisles for a bit, and ended up running into Queen Helene, who was dressed as Ursula's human disguise Vanessa, and a friend of hers who was dressed as Ariel in her "sail" outfit, from The Little Mermaid. Helene, of course, looked as amazing as usual. I really kind of want to cosplay with her some day, but I'm also a little bit afraid to because my GOD, have you seen her? The woman is intimidatingly beautiful.

I also got to see Tristen Citrine again, who was working the Viz booth as she has the past few years. Tristen and I are pretty big Sailor Moon fans (and just fans of older "magical girl" shows in general) and it's always great getting to chat with her, even if I do feel REALLY REALLY guilty taking up her time when she's technically on the clock. I try never to bother her when she's surrounded by customers, of course, but I always try to at least say hi. One of these days we'll actually get to hang out outside of the convention floor!

After a turn through the Exhibition Hall I decided to peruse Artist's Alley. James O'Barr had been scheduled to be there, and in fact his booth was set up, but there was a sign saying he'd be unable to make it this weekend. Bollucks. Ah, well, it's just as well: I had already shamelessly begged him for a photo at Big Apple Comic Con, and had managed actual sentences--if I had seen him twice in one year I *may* have worked my way up to actual coherence. One of these days I will get original art from him--I'm still trying to figure out what to ask for.

On the plus side, I did get to run into my new friend, Jeff! I had met Jeff when I went as Linwood's "plus one" to our friend Andrea's wedding over the summer. Jeff was the "plus one" of a mutual cosplay friend of ours, Lady Ava, and we bonded instantly; in part because I was in awe of his (and Lady Ava's!) spectacular dancing skills, but also because Jeff and I are total golden retrievers in human form: I just met you, and I love you. We're both from the Overly Friendly, Overly Affectionate tribe. Jeff was in his Jedi wear, which made me really, really want to finally make a Jedi outfit (well, I finally got my Ravenclaw uniform done this year, maybe Jedi will be next?) He didn't have too long to hang out because he had a million people he had promised to meet and do things with, but at least we got some pictures together! (And will hang out in a totally non-con, non-cosplay setting, one of these days!)

It was getting to be mid-afternoon now, which meant that Michael was finally on his way to the con! This is the same Mike who was our Walt Disney at Otakon that August. He's also a huge Harry Potter fan, and a fellow Ravenclaw. He's a teacher, so he hadn't been able to take the day off of work (some people are much better at Adulting than I am, apparently), so he missed the large photoshoot (and engagement!) of the morning, but had decided to wear his costume anyway so we could get photos together.

I also found myself a Doc, who is always, always a much valued companion (not only at conventions, but everywhere), both for his ability to keep me happy and sane when everything around me is going up in flames, but also because of his "insider's view" on how certaing things are run. But I was also shamelessly interested in his skills behind a camera, even though he didn't have his usual rig, and would have to resort to using mine. I wasn't going to subject him to a full photoshoot, but I did want a few photos of Michael and me.

The three of us decided to head outside, because natural light is always a good idea when you're doing a photoshoot, especially if you're only using a point-and-click camera. Luckily there's a little outdoor space outside of the Artist Alley that is generally not too crowded, so we headed over there, and in a city of 8.4 million (at least half of which decided to go to Comic Con), Doc managed to make us look like we were on a private campus. (He would absolutely eclipse himself the following day, but I'll leave that story for Saturday.)

After the photoshoot, I said goodbye to Doc and Mike, because I had promised to meet my friend David for a very special event at 5:15 PM. As I was waiting, I heard my name called, and turned around to see Artiga, another one of my Staten Island boys! He was actually looking for Mike, so I was able to point him in the right direction, but at I was glad I got to see him, if only for a moment.

While I was waiting, my friend Skye came to keep me company--we had planned to spend more time together, but with me running around from one thing to the next, and her wanting to get some signatures of her own, we hadn't really had much time to spend together (though we would rectify that the following day.) And before too long, David showed up.

Now time for the back story--about a month before Comic Con, David had sent me a message through Facebook to see if I was going to attend on Thursday. I really feel the need to bring up *again* that I originally *hadn't* intended on doing all four days ago, but thanks to Ziggo, had changed my mind. David had bought a photo op for Thursday at 5:15 PM for him and a friend, but the friend wasn't sure he was going to make it, and David's other con buddy (his cousin) only had a three day pass, so did I want to take his place?

David showed up not too long afterwards, and just as Skye was starting to say goodbye to us, he stopped her. "You want to come along? The cost of the photo op is the same per group, so, I mean, why not come with?" Skye did that huge doe-eye thing she does when she's feeling a lot of good emotion but doesn't have words for it, so I grabbed her in a hug and said yes for her, and we headed downstairs to get in line.

My fellow Ravenclaw

Not quite prefects

Mike's wand is 13 and 3/4 inches, vine wood, with a core of dragon heartstring

MY WAND LIGHTS UP.

Not sure those shoes are regulation

Playing with light and shadow

My little point-and-click is nowhere near as good as Doc's real rig

The Dueling Club!

I've got years of experience on him, though.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

"For the last time, there is no entry for heliopaths."

"I knew Lovegood was out of her mind."

"Okay falling asleep after reading is not the most Ravenclaw-like behavior."

That is seriously the most long-suffering face I have ever seen in my life. Poor Mike.

"Point Me"

"Lumos!"

"Now I can go anywhere I want to!"

I mean a sign like that is practically a challenge.

"Prooobably should've checked for muggles *before* I cast my spells..."

"It's fine. This is fine."

Oh, who was the photo op with? STAN. FUCKING. LEE.

I just--okay, nothing will ever surpass meeting James O'Barr for him. The emotional connection I have to The Crow really can't be surpassed by anything, unless I somehow get a chance to meet Naoko Takeuchi. (After which I will blow my brains out, because really everything in life thereafter would automatically be a letdown.) But Stan Lee is a *legend*, and I don't use that word lightly. Spider-Man. The Avengers. X-Men. He created modern day mythological heroes, and he took them off of alien planets and fictional cities, and made them relatable teenagers in Queens, New York City. I don't want to say he did it single-handedly, but there is no question that Stan Lee had a tremendous influence in bringing about the Silver Age of comic books. And it had recently been announced that this was going to be his last East Coast comic con--if I didn't meet him now, I never would.

There really isn't much more to say. David, Skye, and I waited on line *long* past the 5:15 time his ticket called for, but we didn't mind. David told us stories of his work, and of his friend who gets him into the most unusual and fun scenarios; Skye and I told him how we met and became friends (pity. It was pity. You have no idea how pathetic I was in 8th grade), and I entertained them both with stories about my father--my "That's My Dad" tag on Live Journal predates "Shit My Dad Says" by at least seven years. And then we got to the front of the line--we were warned do not touch Stan Lee, and you get two photos and that's it. And we walked in, and there was Stan The Man in his tall chair, and he smiled at us and you could see the corners of his eyes crinkling up behind his colored glasses, and he thanked us for coming to see him. Thank us? Thank you, Stan. For everything.

Utena

Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Mars

The "grown ups" of Harry Potter