Learning my lesson from the first Peggy Carter disaster in 2022, I was again smart and scheduled my hair appointment a good month in advance, even though all I needed this year was straight hair. So you can imagine my panic when I got a call in early October telling me that my hair salon would be CLOSING within a few days--before my set appointment! Thankfully my two favorite stylists were able to work temporarily out of another beauty salon not far away, so I was able to keep my appointment--I *have* learned how to straighten my own hair, but it never looks nearly as nice. (And, they have since opened their own salon around the corner from my house! So all in all a net win.) So Crissy got to start Friday looking good and feeling relaxed.

I was able to leave the house around 11:30, and with the trains still being on a regular weekday schedule (if a bit slower because it wasn't rush hour), I got to the Javits Center around 12:30.

The DC Photoshoot wasn't until 1:30 so I had a good hour to kill, so I went on my first cosplay hunt of the weekend. NYCC is slowly filling up to its pre-pandemic levels, so while it's still not so crowded you can't move around, there are a good number of really great costumes to respectfully ogle.

During my photo walkabout, I met up with CHristie, who I hadn't seen since...NYCC 2021? Is that really possible? She had been going through Some Stuff since then (as had I) so we had a lot to catch up on, despite checking on each other through Facebook periodically. It's so crazy how she and I have known each other so long and been through so much, both together and separately. But she looked freaking phenomenal and while I'm not shallow enough to say that looks are all that matter, I personally know how much it can affect your mood, so freaking kudos to her. I have amazing friends. She had made plans to meet up with people so we couldn't hang out for long, but it was, again, great to catch up.

Even though we always shoot on the stairs, the DC Cosplayer group generally meets at the South Pavilion first, so that's where I ended my first cosplay hunt. I knew I'd be early, but I also knew that OTHER people would be early, and that if I was going to find any Supermen (Supermans?) willing to pose with me, that's where I'd find them. Now, I wasn't sure they'd really want to pose with me--Lois is not exactly a recognizable character--but generally speaking cosplayers are pretty nice, so I thought they would indulge me even if they didn't know who I was cosplaying, or even that I *was* cosplaying.

I underestimated the fandom. Almost *every* single Superman recognized who I was dressed as, and wanted to take a pic with me! I guess we're all roughly the same age, and watched Superman: The Animated Series on Kids' WB (even if we were mid-to-late teenagers...well, I was, anyway.) And maybe it's just that the nicest of guys are the ones inspired to cosplay the most Boy Scout of all heroes, but every single one of them was as polite and respectful as can be. I'm not usually drawn to the "damsel in distress type" (and to be fair, Lois can often hold her own), but I have to say, I had WAY more fun cosplaying her than I would have dreamed.

Besides all of the superheroes from Smallville, the main person I was looking for was my friend Robert Frank, who was running the photoshoot. I knew he'd be busy, as finagling a giant group photoshoot consisting of at *least* 100 people is a Herculean task, and while he always has "lieutenants", I wanted to offer to help any way I could. I didn't have a trident to serve as a pointer for people the way I did in 2018, but if there was anything I could do, I wanted to be on hand.

Right by Rob was his friend Mike, who I had met before but hadn't really hung out with much. Right away he told me he loved my costume which, given what an amazing Superman he is, kind of felt like getting the Cosplay Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mike was also helping wrangle the cosplayers, so as it got closer to 1:30, Rob designated Mike as the head of the procession, and with that we all started moving towards the stairs that lead to the Special Events Hall.

Let me just say, the photoshoot was epic. The shoot directors called out as many subgroups as they could think of, to make sure everyone had a chance to be in multiple picture: Gotham residents, Justice League members, Teen Titans, villains, you name it. And, of course, we finished off with a big group shoot that included everyone. There are so many creative people in DC Cosplayers East, and more join after every event, it's really such a positive group to be a part of.

Once the main group was done, Mike and I moved off to the side (hey, we try not to block traffic) and he grabbed one of his photographer friends and asked if he would mind taking a few more photos of us. It turns out, Mike really IS super strong, and was able to do the "lift"! I can't remember the last time I was picked up--I KNOW it was many pounds ago, but Mike made it look effortless. And throughout it all he was so incredibly respectful--asking before we would get into a pose, making sure I wasn't flashing anybody, the whole nine yards. I know a lot of fanboys have a bad rep and I've unfortunately met a few creepers myself, but Mike (and Rob, and most of my male cosplaying friends) are such great rolemodels of what positive masculinity should be. I am really blessed.

There were a few other Supermen that I wanted to take pics with if I could, so I went up to the last few cosplayers who were milling around post shoot. Some of them had REALLY great ideas for pics and I can't tell you how good it made me feel about this barely-a-costume costume that I decided on at almost the last minute. I think it was around here that I decided I needed to be Lois Lane again next year. Best laid plans of mice and men and all that, so who knows if I'll be able to pull it off--watch this space to find out! (I know you're waiting with bated breath. All two of you. Who I talk to on a regular basis and will probably know what I decide well before I get around to putting it on the website.)

At any rate, it was well into the afternoon by now, and Pete had texted me that he had arrived. He was on his way to say hi to Jay, so it made sense for me to go upstairs to meet him at the Unstoppable Comics booth--kill two birds with one stone, and all that. I went to the booth, said hi to Jay and the other people he had helping him man the booth, and then Pete and I continued our tour of the Exhibitor Hall.

One booth in particular caught our attention--Dreamscape Lore's Narration Station. Dreamscape is a publishing company that makes audiobooks, and Dreamscape Lore is their new division that specializes in Science Fiction and literary role-playing games. And their booth at NYCC was not only to give away swag (and ribbons, including a ribbon that said "This con does ribbons now?" which I found terribly clever), but they also had a little sound booth, where you could test your voice over skills by reading a sample of an audiobook!

Now, maybe Pete and I are just vain, but we were both interested in trying it. My normal speaking voice isn't particularly pleasing, but my boyfriend loves when I read books to him, and I've gotten compliments on my reading aloud before. And Pete of course has been honing his "professional performer" voice ever since he started Pete's Basement in 2008. I don't think these were auditions or anything more than a novelty, but they did e-mail our samples to us, and it made for a fun little break in our day.

While Pete was recording his sample, I was exchanging texts with some of the girls from my northeast cosplay group, Senshi in the City. It turned out they were visiting the Wicked Booth which was only about one aisle over from us, so as soon as Pete was done, I ran over so I could meet up with them. And, naturally, they looked AMAZING. Hawkfire made such an amazing Auron from Final Fantasy X that I tried to get a Lulu costume in two weeks just to match him at Senshicon (I failed), Clem was so sexy as Cloud that she would seriously make *anyone* question their sexuality no matter what their alignment, Elena and Jackalope made me CRACK. UP. and I don't know how they pull off being hilarious old men when I have SEEN them be beautiful young women with my own two eyes.

 

For the life of me I couldn't tell you who Kube was cosplaying, because they are so, SO much more knowledgeable than I am when it comes to anime, but I was just so happy to see them, as they're kind of how I got into this group in the first place because we were seated at the same table at the Sailor Moon Masquerade Ball way back in 2017. And Mimi Siren was the first to spot me, only I didn't recognize her at first because apparently in my brain she falls under "She's got a different hair color? DIFFERENT PERSON PLEASE UPDATE THE DATABASE" thing that I have going sometimes (that I HATE do you know how often cosplayers change their hair color?)

We didn't have much time to hang out, but for once it didn't bother me, because I knew I'd be seeing that at the end of the month for our annual get-together, Senshicon. Which doesn't merit its own con report because it's really more of a private weekend away at an AirBnB, but I will be posting the pictures from the photoshoot we always do, which has yet to be anything less than spectacular. (That's not me bragging; we have really, REALLY excellent photographers.)

I had to leave because I had to see the next person I had been texting with, LunarChandalure. LunarChandalure had been my closest friend at the job we had worked at together, and I had had the honor being her bridesmaid in her wedding to her awesome spouse Kit earlier in the year, and they had even come to my first barbecue since the pandemic, but none of that made up for the chance to hang out every day, even if it was in the office, so I really wanted to see them and catch up. And LunarChandalure looked SO amazing as Jasminka that I added "Cosplay WITH LunarChandalure" to my list of goals, because while we have cosplayed at the same time, we haven't cosplayed anything matchy-match. LunarChandalure's the one who got me to watch Little Witch Academia in the first place (although I haven't finished it yet, I should get back on that), so that would be my first choice, but honestly I'd be willing to branch out just so we can match. Kit also looked awesome, but I didn't recognize their character at all--I'm told they were cosplaying from Delicious in Dungeon, which I haven't seen yet but all of my friends adore so I should probably give it a watch sooner rather than later.

 

We took a quick detour to Artists Alley because Pete's friend Keyla was scheduled to be there, and he had a little present for her. I'll let him tell the story in his own words:

"Keyla was one of my really good friends at work. It helped that she lived in the neighborhood.

Myself, her, and this other girl Jess Malot love dogs and we share memes constantly of just heartwarming furry friends.

Keyla has always wanted a corgi but everywhere she lived didn't allow pets. I promised her drunk one night that some way somehow I'd get her a corgi.

When I saw that - for lack of a better word - figure on Big Bad Toy Store, I knew that's what I'd meant all those whiskeys ago."

So there you have it. If you are Pete's friend, there is a non-zero chance he will drunkenly promise you something, and even if it is YEARS later, he will find some way to keep that promise. It's honestly stupid little stuff like this that makes us forgive his massive character flaws. I'm mostly joking, but I'm here to tell you that Keyla absolutely adored her little toy corgi. I can confidently say it made her day, because honestly even just watching her joy kind of made mine. Pete's good people. Especially if you tune him out at least 25% of the time.

Now, while Pete and I had been roaming the con floor, we had seen a booth that trumpted "MEET CAL DODD" across the top of it, who Pete instantly recognized as the voice of Wolverine from both the original X-Men: Animated Series, and the new X-Men '97. He was on break when we first spotted the booth, so we spoke the handler who told us to return in about an hour when he would return. Only a half hour had gone by, but we saw a line was starting to form, so we jumped on it. We ended up standing behing this nice young kid and his sister that Pete struck up a conversation with--funnily enough, the kid was about the same age Pete was when he first started going to cons, which was both heartwarming and kind of instantly turned us to dust (how did we get so OLD? And you mean we gotta get older STILL?)

 

So with good conversation the time passed quickly, and before we had a chance to get impatient, we were at the front of the line. We hadn't known he was going to be there (or I would have planned my Saturday costume around him!) so we didn't have anything to sign, so Pete bought a book for him to autograph, and also paid for a photo op (besides the quick-and-dirty one you see here.) I didn't have any extra cash on me, but Mr. Dodd was SUUUPER nice and not only talked to both of us, but gave us both hugs, and even gave me a kiss on the cheek. I won't say I swore never to wash my face again as long as I lived, but I'll admit the thought crossed my mind. He was well worth the wait, and I hope I'll get the chance to see him again, preferably dressed as an X-Man.

We wandered the Exhibition Hall a bit longer, both of us on Cloud 9--they say never meet your heroes, but honestly most of the ones I've met have been pretty great. I was in this state when I ran into my friend Sean, although to be fair even if I hadn't been, just seeing Sean would have put me there--he's one of those guys who has a smile that just brightens your day. I especially adore his Thor costumes, but his wrestling stuff is pretty awesome, too, although I have fallen out of following wrestling. (My brothers would probably know who he was dressed as. My knowledge ends around the time The Rock began.) It was getting late so we didn't get to talk much, but we promised to find each other again later that weekend.

As Pete and I headed for the exit, I spotted my friends Mike and Julia, so of course I had to run over to say hi. They're both teachers so their schedules are absolutely crazy during the school year, so I look forward to getting to see them whenever I can (and their may be a mutual Disney vacation in our future, who knows.) We were all pretty exhausted so we didn't talk for long, but it was nice to get a chance to catch up. One of these days I am going to get together with all of my Staten Island boys at once, I've set my heart on it.

As I mentioned we were just about done-in by this point: even though my high heels were relatively comfortable, I had been smart enough (after the fiasco of the Ghostbuster boots the day before) to bring slippers, and even though I had switched to slippers, my feet were killing me, so it was time to call it a day. There were only two more days to go, but experience had taught us that they would be much more hectic days than the first two.

They actually did the walk, it was so cool

The photographers there were so nice

They were willing to take quite a lot of pictures

Which is good because I rarely notice things like good lighting and shadows

Oh I can smile all right

But sometimes I don't even notice wardrobe malfunctions like buttons being open

The tiniest little body adjustments can make a photo better, too

And of course a real camera makes a difference

But I'm content with the ones on my phone for the most part

Another Superman

And another

Seriously they were all SO nice

Mike is of course my favorite though

The Superboy was cool too!

Being at the D.C. shoot was a blast

Another awesome Superman

Honestly this costume was such a surprise sleeper hit

"Okay let's make sure I'm not flashing the Internet"

Getting into position

I swear I didn't hit him in the eye, no matter what it looks like

This had to be the first time I had been picked up in YEARS

And I was so afraid I was going to give him a hernia or something

But this dude is STRONG

And I love that he wanted to do the flying pose

And he's 100% a gentleman, too

Makes me want to cosplay Lois again :)

Though I have to admit these pictures also came out amazing

So many incredible Supermen!

I love my group

And I'd get to be seeing them in just a few weeks time!

If this doesn't make you question your sexuality, I don't know what will.

What could it be...?

It's a corgi!

Sometimes, Pete can be really awesome. And he's never going to read this, so he's going to have no idea I said something nice about him on the internet.

Sean is pretty awesome too.

What a great way to end Friday.

CHristie and me

YAS ANOTHER TERRY BOGARD

I probably should have put my heels on but oh well.

This is when I handed my phone to Pete because I wanted a nice picture of myself.

"Ki...ki...ki...ma...ma...ma..."

And another one!

There are worse obsessions to have.