On Saturday, we decided that Lady Terentia should sleep in, as her wake/sleep schedule is much different from mine and she had been getting up early and being on the go all day for two whole days now, and she knew I would want to get to the con early as I was doing a dual costume with Pete that I had been planning forever. So while she slept I tried to keep the noise of my preparations to a dull roar as I got dressed and wigged and makeuped and left. Once again, it was cold, but I didn't really have any Natasha-esque outer wear, so I threw on my Stark Industries jacket--from the movies it looks like Nat appropriates the other Avengers hoodies and whatnot so I figured it was still somewhat in character. Not that it mattered, as I shoved it in my bookbag as soon as I got to the Javits Center anyway.

Pete was talking to one of his friends who had a booth there, JD of Unstoppable Comics, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a familiar quiver of arrows. It was a Hawkeye! It was a movie Hawkeye, no less! I ran over to beg to take a picture with him, and right as we were posing one of his friends made a really goofy joke and we both burst out laughing. His other friend who was holding the camera kept snapping, and we ended up with this really great picture that made us look like the best of friends, which of course is perfect for Clint and Nat! I desperately wanted a copy of it, so Hawkeye and I traded Instagram handles (which I had rather recently--and reluctantly--signed up for) and so my very first picture on Instagram was of Nat and Clint being buddies. I think it's rather fitting.

Most of the morning was just Pete and me and whichever of our friends were free at the time--sometimes it was Cheezburger, sometimes it was Age, and I was super happy I got to see Greg AKA my CuddleBug again--wandering around the convention. There were so many fantastic costumes to photograph, and of course we stopped every single Avenger we saw. I'd really like to have a full group organized someday. (Either that, or I'm seriously considering throwing an Avengers themed party for my 40th birthday in 2020.)

I was also texting some of my friends, like Robert, who of course was busy with his DC obligations but managed to spare a quick second so we could at least snap a selfie, and Drew who braved the madness surrounding the Funko booth (I really do not understand the appeal of Pops, I mean they're sorta cute but not "let's dedicate an entire room of our house to collecting them" cute but of course to each their own) so he could show me his Deadpooh costume, which is...terrifying and inspired at the same time.

I also texted the photographer friend I had made at Otakon that year, Harvard Lim, to see if he wouldn't mind taking a few pictures of Pete and I together. They came out *phenomenally*--I really love that he was able to catch the "lens flare" of my gauntlet's laser! And he has probably the only picture of me wearing the shoes I bought for "Birthday Nat"; they were so high that not only could I not wear them in any pictures with Pete (or I would have towered over him) but they were REALLY uncomfortable to walk around in, so I borrowed a pair of flats from Lady Terentia (I have a few pairs of comfortable flats, but none in black) which stayed on my feet most of the day.

By this point Lady Terentia had woken up and gotten dressed (she wasn't full-on cosplaying, but she wore her super cute Captain America swing dress that she had bought for my birthday a few years ago, and her Cap wig) and texted me that she was outside and that there were a TON of great Marvel cosplayers out there, so Pete and I and the gang went out to meet her. We ended up running into Pete's buddy Rocco again, this time dressed as Deadshot, and got a few pictures with him, and I met a bunch of other Natashas who were all stunning. I also ran into a few of my Senshi in the City girls! They were in the middle of a photoshoot, though, so I could only grab Nicole for a quick selfie. It was still pretty cold out, so we didn't stay outside long.

Pete was also feeling the drain of being on the go for the third day straight, so once we were inside he made a beeline for Starbucks on the assumption that caffeine would jump-start him. The line for Starbucks was, however, and unsurprisingly, massively long, so after waiting on it for a while and inching forward, Pete was diverted by kiosk selling beer and snacks...and decided that beer would help wake him up just as much as a coffee would.

See this is why Mr. Stark needs an assistant. He is not great at making smart life choices on his own. Of course, having an assistant is useless if you don't listen to her. Pete got his stupid beer and we went back to the Dealer's Room.

There was a Winter Soldier outside of the Dealer's Room that I stopped to take a picture of, and as I did, I couldn't help thinking that he looked awfully familiar. "Excuse me," I said, "but did you pose for a picture at Big Apple Comic Con last year picking up a Black Widow?" He nodded. "That was me!"

So yeah. I can't seem to recognize some of my *friends* if they're wearing a wig I've never seen them in before, but for some reason I recognized a guy I had met once who had most of his face covered. I don't know what the hell is wrong with my brain, I swear to God.

Walking through the Dealer's Room of Comic Con on Saturday is a great way to run into people, too--all of my Staten Island boys, Gio and Artiga and Mike and Jailbait were wandering around together with their significant others, so I was able to see all of my boys at once. Gio I had seen at Otakon of course, and I'm friends with all of them on Facebook so it's not like I don't know (and monitor, heh) what they're up to, but it's really nice to get some face-time in, you know? I love hearing from them about what they're up to. We also got to visit with Brytt and Kayla, and meet their other friend Aliya, as well.

We had one last trip to make to Artist's Alley so Lady Terentia could pick up and get signed Volume 1 of Lady Mechanika for her uncle, and she waved at Katie Cook as she passed. It really is so much fun to get to personally interact with the artists and writers you admire! I didn't have anybody there this year that I was looking for (James O'Barr seems to have stopped coming to New York Comic Con and I hope it's not because I creeped him out) but looking at all of the art is always fun.

It was getting late and we were getting tired so we called it quits for another day.

I actually really love this picture.

Deadpooh and "Natalie"

"Natalie", Captain America, Tony Stark, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, and Thor

The Avengers

Why do I never run into Gambits when I'm dressed as Rogue?

So proud of these kids.

Stark's got the money to fund our tech, normies have to punch with their bare fists.

Me and Cheezburger

Mah friendies!

Honestly this would be the most fun Cub Scout den ever.

Natasha versus Deadshot versus Tony

All the Natashas versus Deadshot

Brytt and Lady Terentia and Aliya and Kayla and me

Mr. Stark with the ladies

I love our faces here.

More posing at Stranger Comics

And more

Clearly someone made us laugh

Possibly Mr. Stark

A nice group shot