London Comic Con 2013 - Day 3

We went forth to the third and final day of Comic Con yesterday. The day was much the same, with many fantastic (and horrible) costumes, browsing the cute merchandise, and getting annoyed at the many fools who couldn't seem to get out of people's way. It was a very plushie-themed day, with me buying myself a pastel green-and-purple Gloomy Bear (I've wanted one for years) and Caz buying herself a hilariously squishy ghost plush, a Domo-kun dressed like a rabbit and a small Domo-kun dressed as a panda for me. She also treated me to a cute steampunk octopus necklace that I adore!

After Caz and I had met the loveliest Lara Croft cosplayer (who was incredibly tall), I was loitering by the Batman figurines and spotted Drew and Shane! This was lovely as I haven't seen them in over a year and I've missed them quite a lot. Lots of hugs and catching up ensued, and the three of us were smiling way more than normal for us sad goths. It was great to see them and they seemed to enjoy my Gloomy Bear - "Does it have pink blood coming out of his mouth?" Shane asked with some disgust.

We took advantage of our last chance to get hold of some Japanese snacks minus excessive shipping costs, said hello to Jack and Dean again, and sat outside in the shade watching lots of amazing cosplayers going by. I asked a Squall Leonhart how he wasn't boiling to death in his leather jacket and trousers, to which he replied, "I am boiling to death." He looked absolutely awesome though, so his suffering paid off. A lot of the time outside was spent just looking around at everyone because there were so many different costumes - a personal highlight was when the entire Fellowship from Lord of the Rings trooped past us.

It was another lovely day with absolutely glorious weather, and the reason I'm writing this blog now is because yesterday involved getting back home from Judith's. Lugging many heavy bags, and my heavy heart at saying goodbye to Comic Con and Caz, I had to get the Tube to King's Cross and then barrel onto the nearest train that would take me to Hatfield.

By the time I got to Hatfield, I had missed a bus by two minutes and had to sit there for half an hour waiting for the next one. I didn't mind much because it was wonderfully cool and fresh outside and I could rest my aching feet for a while. When I got home, I was so exhausted that I just dumped my things in my room, ate some dinner, then went to bed. So here I am! I will be reviewing the videos tomorrow to see if there's enough decent footage to make a vlog out of - if not, I'll post a few separate clips.

My verdict on Comic Con? It's absolutely packed and hectic, but so much fun. Definitely worth going, and I'd like to thank Caz for getting me a weekend ticket as my 21st birthday present! I had a great time, but now I have to face reality and look for a summer job to make rent money - boooooo.

London Comic Con 2013 - Day 2

The weather was much nicer today, so I got a chance to debut my new (very awesome) sunglasses, and we didn't have to scuttle quickly to places in the rain. I am ridiculously glad Caz and I went to the previews yesterday because today it was absolutely packed. We could barely move most of the time because there were so many people and we didn't get as much of a chance to look around, so it's good we got to do that yesterday and not miss out on anything. 

I hugged three Slendermen in total (there is a video of one of these instances, which will be on the vlog!) and have renamed him 'Frienderman'. I bought Caz the One Ring as a birthday present, and got myself a Rilakkuma skin for my Oyster card and a pink Super Mario mushroom plush (I guess you could say it's a... PLUSHroom - YEAAAAAAAAAAAH), which is now hanging on my handbag. We also did プリクラ ('purikura', look it up!) and this is the result:

When the con got too warm and too annoying for us to deal with any more, we skedaddled over to Camden because no trip to the city is complete without going there. We spent ages looking at all the wonderful, beautiful things in Cyberdog - I got a Guardian Angel t-shirt in black and silver, which means that my entire ensemble tomorrow (except for my shoes) will be Cyberdog! 

We also had a KFC that tasted 1000% better due to how starving we were - it had been a while since my breakfast of frosted Shreddies and my stomach was disgruntled. I posed in KFC with Caz's new Minecraft pickaxe:

We stopped at a shisha bar for a while (opting for the cherry flavour) and took a seat next to a man who looked like he could have been Christian Bale's nomadic brother. He turned out to be an American named John who was something of an art buff - he taught us the concept of 'sword placement', in which artists always make sculptures of people holding their swords near their hip, which - when viewed at the right angle - looks like a dick. Caz and I found this deliciously funny and dubbed John 'the penis guy of Camden', a title that he took without question or protest. He also had a gigantic cup of tea and asked if he could squeeze the pink mushroom on my bag - I spluttered because he said, "Can I squeeze your mushroom?" and I thought it was some kind of horrifying euphemism. I'm not sure I can sum up how chill and hilarious he was, so I won't try. We felt like we'd met some kind of cryptid.

At the station near Judith's place, we saw a discarded cap on the floor. Caz flipped it over with her foot to get a proper look. It said BAYWATCH on it; we promptly collapsed laughing because of all the things in the whole world, I wouldn't have guessed that in a million tries. I'm not even sure why we laughed until we were choking, but have a photo of Caz wearing the best hat in the world:

We stopped at Tops Pizza, which is literally next door to Judith's flat, then went back to Judith's and got into pyjamas before eating pizza and watching Markiplier's new videos! The pizza was delicious and so was Markiplier. It was a beautiful end to another hilarious and bizarre day. Now it's 3:20am and I really need to go to bed if I'm going to get up anywhere near a reasonable time tomorrow for the third and final day of London Comic Con 2013!

London Comic Con 2013 - Day 1

After only two hours of sleep, Caz and I braved the journey to London Town. We arrived at Judith's on time and with no trouble, only to find a host of post-it notes scattered around her flat, telling us where we were sleeping and other essential details. We found this on the sofa:

Which was incredibly helpful and informative. There was also a note on a pack of cookies, inviting us to help ourselves. Judith, it seems, is the perfect hostess. We got over the horror of travelling and walking to her place in the pouring rain and then set off to ExCel!

It was fun to see lots of cosplayers milling around and chatter excitedly about what was to come. After a gigantic queue in what appeared to be an SCP containment hangar (complete with people cosplaying SCP employees), we were given our wristbands and let loose upon the many stalls and attractions waiting for us. It was magical - we really didn't know where to look first! Here is a photo of us looking rather overwhelmed and shell-shocked:

We mostly spent the day getting to grips with the new environment and browsing the many wonderful stalls set up in the area. Obviously, money was spent straight off, mostly on edibles from Cybercandy and Tofu Cute; I finally found some Panda Pocky, so I was happy! I also got a t-shirt with Daryl Dixon on, saying 'Sorry Brother' (the bit just before he shoots Dale in season 2) and it's fab. Caz got an OMFGItsJackAndDean shirt that says 'It's pronounced Fac-e-book' on it - this was amusing as she bought it from Jack and Dean themselves, after much coaxing from me to go over and say hello (she loves their videos and was excited/nervous about approaching). They were really sweet guys and laughed when Caz told me to "OH, FUCK OFF." after I looked at her standing silent and scared and said "You are shitting yourself, aren't you?" We got a big hug each from both of them too, which was a nice thing and also they are shorter in real life.

A terrifying but fulfilling moment in my life came after Caz and I had eaten a delicious burger called 'The Guv'nor' and witnessed Master Chief from Halo hugging The Mask. We saw a Slenderman standing eerily to one side and I said, "Slendy! Hey Caz!" Caz tried to get away, but I nudged her towards him saying "Say hello to Slenderman, you love him!" At this point, Slenderman began to follow Caz without her realising, gliding along in a terrifying manner. We both screamed Markiplier-style when we noticed him, and then I asked him for a hug. That was the terrifying but fulfilling thing. I hugged a Slenderman. I fear the nightmares will never end.

There was so much to look at in the con that I couldn't possibly list it all, but I've spied several interesting objects that may or may not become mine within the next two days. I want to take some photos of the amazing costumes I see, and there may be a vlog in the pipeline for after the weekend, including as many fun clips as I can get on my camera. It was a really, really fun day, we didn't stop until we got back to Jude's this evening, where she presented us with dinner she'd prepared - a sausage and apple plait with potato wedges. Delicious!

I'm in such a good mood - it's great to see Caz again, and today was so much fun. Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we will have a small outing to Camden at some point - if not, there is still the wonderful con to spend the day at again.



P.S. Also, we tried some shaved ice in mango and strawberry and it was so tasty!

Calamity Jayne Designs

Today, I received my third purchase from the wonderful Jayne! She's a London girl who makes jewellery and sells it on her Etsy store - she mostly specialises in cameo necklaces, but also makes rings, earrings, phone cases, bracelets and other, non-cameo necklaces. I first bought from her when I found a beautiful Edgar Allan Poe cameo on her store; after checking the feedback and finding a 99% positive rate, I decided to buy from her. I received the necklace mere days later:

It's absolutely beautiful, no? To make this successful gamble even better, her cameo necklaces are only £4.99 each! For such a low price, the items are such wonderful quality and look fantastic with my admittedly dark style. I ordered again from her in March, this time after spying a Vincent Price necklace in her store. Once again, Jayne herself was friendly and approachable, and was incredibly quick with delivering the item, which again turned up within days:

Now, when this beauty came through the post, I decided that I was going to be loyal to this store! Again the quality was great, and this time I had a different coloured chain from Edgar's antique one.

This time, I decided to put Jayne's custom designs to the test; she mentions on her store that she is willing to make custom jewellery for people who tell her what they'd like. I messaged her asking if she could make me a necklace featuring Bela Lugosi as Dracula. She responded very quickly and was enthusiastic about the idea (turns out she's a Dracula fan too!); the necklace itself was made within two days. I was impressed! She also sent me a photo of the finished product to make sure I liked it, and hell yes I did! The listing was put up and I bought it straight away. Today, it arrived:

It's absolutely top notch. I was so excited when I came downstairs to find the little package waiting for me, and it was definitely worth it! So, not only are her pre-made designs cute as hell, she really comes through with her customs as well.

The best part is that she doesn't just make necklaces featuring batshit insane writers and horror icons, no. The designs range from all kinds of interests, featuring things like Disney and Adventure Time, not to mention 'classic' style cameo designs, quotes and classic artwork. So you have a massive choice, even without the custom design option!

I'm making this blog post because I think Jayne and her lovely shop deserves to have a blog entry dedicated to them! The store is now my go to place for cameo necklaces; the items are pretty and reasonably-priced, and the owner is helpful, friendly and grateful!

Click here to visit her store! I highly recommend it!