Year after year, I look forward to a handful of events; Christmas, Halloween, New Year, my birthday and, last but not least, Comic Con.
As anyone who follows me on social media will know; I was lucky enough to attend two conventions this year.
Back in March, Ryan and I had a blast at Comic Con North East at P&J Live in Aberdeen.
And a couple weekends ago we jumped on a train to Edinburgh for Comic Con Scotland (held in the Royal Highland Centre), which boasts more celebrities, trader stalls, props and sets.
I decided to step up my cosplaying game this time around, while Ryan chose to sit it out – dodging the hassle of travelling back and forth with props and costumes.
Continuing my usual Comic Con antics, I decided to change my cosplay plans at the last minute. This prompted me to frantically sew and craft a makeshift cosplay like some sort of nerdy headless chicken.
For the cosplay in question, I took a look at clothing already in my closet. I used a pink sundress (which needed altering), a pair of black boots and a faux suede biker jacket that I cropped (all of which are pre-loved). For accessories, I added some mixed metal bracelets, a pink hair bow and a black shoelace choker.
I woke up extra early to hairspray my fringe into gravity-defying 90s-esque curtains. With that, I was transformed into Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII.
I’m proud of myself for adapting my own clothes and not giving in to the temptation of cheap Amazon costumes.
After arriving at the venue, we started by wandering around the countless stalls and vendors, located in the highland hall.
Action figures, prop replicas, comic books, anime statues, video games – anything a nerd could ever want was on sale here.
I tried (and failed) to keep my shopping to a minimum since we had to haul everything back to Aberdeen.
My first purchase was a Satoru Gojo statue (from Jujutsu Kaisen) which is now standing proudly on my bookcase. Ryan bought an Aang statue from Avatar: The Last Airbender which has found a home on the same shelf.
I’m a sucker for jewellery. So, I gave in to temptation and bought a bracelet and ring set inspired by the Infinity Gauntlet. I have no idea when I’ll wear it, but it caught my eye and is super pretty.
Maybe one day I’ll build up the courage to do a Thanos cosplay.
After a nosey at the stalls, we made our way to the props and sets in the lowland hall for some photos.
We met up with our friends who were also cosplaying and had a coffee with them. There was a stand selling the biggest doughnuts I’ve ever seen, so I got a Captain America themed one to eat over a cuppa.
Q&A panels with the guests at Comic Con Scotland
Thankfully, the Q&A panels we wanted to attend were one after the other on Saturday afternoon so we found some seats and settled down, giving us a breather from all the walking we’d been doing.
Firstly, we had a panel of some of the stars from the TV show Arrow. Stephen Amell, Paul Blackthorn and Colton Haynes were interesting to listen to and had some great audience interactions.
When asked a question about which fictional character they would like to be, they all replied with Winnie the Pooh characters, which I found particularly funny.
John Barrowman strutted onto the stage next, with a glittering TARDIS cape on, which he flung off to reveal a matching jersey and skirt underneath. His Q&A was certainly memorable and included a lot of twirling, singing and even a phone call to an audience member’s mum.
Then – the panel I was looking forward to most – Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis. I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so this was a pretty big deal for me. It was amazing to hear them talk about their roles and their acting careers. I kind of regret not meeting one of them, I’ll have my fingers crossed for next time!
Day two of Comic Con Scotland
Unlike my Aerith cosplay, I had prepared my day two outfit with time to spare.
I had bought a set of celestial keys at Aberdeen Comic Con (which inspired the cosplay), ordered a pre-loved outfit from Vinted and bought a pair of earrings from New Look to paint myself. I bought a blonde wig from Amazon a couple weeks before the convention and flung on my trusty black boots.
This was all to transform myself into Lucy Heartfilia from the anime Fairytail!
Sunday was cut short by train cancellations due to flooding so I only had to spend a few hours in this outfit. We ended up leaving early to ensure we could get a bus home.
To save some time, we tried to stay in the highland hall. The queues from one hall to the others were pretty hectic and time-consuming. So, no Q&A panels for us.
We had another look around the stalls and I kept my purchases even smaller, opting for a mystery set of dice for Dungeons & Dragons (Ryan also got a set), a mystery bag of patches and pins from Pink Bird Originals, a pancake print envelope keyring from Evannave and some enamel pins for my everyday/work bag.
If we had more time, I would have loved to meet Neil Fanning, who’s most known for playing Scooby Doo in the live-action movies. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time. I hope we’ll get to meet him at a future event.
Following a quick costume change into my regular clothes in a public bathroom, Ryan and I made it home in time for dinner on a last-minute Flixbus.
We had a great time but it was a pretty expensive trip. As any nerd or Con-goer will know, it’s not a cheap hobby by any means. I cut costs by buying pre-loved cosplays and avoiding the autograph tables.
Comic Con is the perfect place to engage in the media you’re passionate about – from Dungeons & Dragons to Doctor Who. You can meet like-minded people, find unique small businesses and dress up as your favourite characters.
What’s not to love?
Photography: Ryan Duff
Thrifty Mango 