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Afterward, we walk around a little bit more and check out some of the Marvel collectibles. Then we head to lunch, where I need to take off the chest armor in order to sit at least somewhat comfortably. As I slide the armor off, my tank top slides up. Two girls dressed as Raven and Starfire, from Teen Titans, are passing by the food area and look over.
“Damn, Iron Man’s got abs.” Raven smirks.
“Yeah, he does,” I answer back with a smile, as they keep walking.
“Gross, dude.” Isaac looks over at me, taking a bite of his corndog.
“You won’t be saying that for much longer.” Isaac shoots me a look like he has no idea what I’m talking about, which makes me laugh. “Anyways, what do you want to do next? We still got a couple hours before the contest.”
“I don’t know. Oh, let’s go check out The Flash stuff.”
“All right.”
The CW channel has a booth set up for all their TV shows, and Isaac loves The Flash. I throw the armor back on, and we start walking around, checking out the CW booth, Marvel booth, and venture down artist alley and get some sketches from comic book artists. Finally, the time rolls around for the cosplay contest, and we make our way down to the exhibit hall where it’s taking place.
* * *
IZZY
* * *
The second day is just as great as the first. Cindy and I walk around, taking pictures of everything and everyone. I film some more stuff that I’ll be able to put on my channel. And Saturday is even more packed than Friday. Thankfully, we’re able to get in early again and get to check out a lot of stuff before the crowd’s form.
“It’s almost time for the contest,” I say to Cindy. She looks at me sideways, biting her bottom lip. I’ve seen that face before. “What is it?”
“Okay, would you totally hate me if I attended a panel instead?”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, come on, Izzy, don’t be mad. It’s Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki.” She puts her hands on my shoulders, going completely serious. “Jared. Padalecki.”
I stifle a laugh. “Okay, I can’t argue with that. What hall is it in?”
“Hall H.”
“Okay, I’ll be over here. I’ll text you when I’m done.”
“Thanks, love.” She gives me a hug and heads in the opposite way.
Making my way to Hall F, I start seeing more and more cosplayers. It’s so cool, and there are so many different costumes. From Steven Universe, Rick and Morty, Power Rangers, DC Comics, pretty much everything you can think of.
Walking into the hall, the contestants are lining up and giving their information to the attendants. I walk over to the table where the other judges are going to be. As I approach, I meet Ryan Chancellor, who runs a comic book podcast, and Megan and Misty, twins who are huge stars in the cosplay community. Megan is actually the one who recommended me as a judge. They are A-Listers of the cosplay world. I might have over thirty thousand subscribers, but compared to them, it’s nothing.
Megan immediately recognizes me and comes over to introduce herself and her sister. For a brief moment, I’m scared I’m not popular enough or don’t have enough fans to be a judge here, compared to the girls or Ryan. But we’re all smiling and laughing, and then I remember; we’re all just nerds having fun.
I wait with the rest of the judges as the contestants continue getting signed in. I watch what looks like two friends, dressed as Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, mess around with each other. Ken looks okay, and Ryu seems a little disheveled, but they’re having fun. And that’s what this is all about. A few places behind them stands an Iron Man and a little kid dressed as a Ninja Turtle. It looks like it’s his son or maybe a brother. I can’t tell because Iron Man has his mask on, but the costume looks amazing. It actually shines as if it’s real metal.
Finally, it’s time to start, and the MC gets on the microphone.
“All right, everyone. It’s time for this year’s Big Apple PopCon cosplay contest!” he announces, and the crowd goes wild. “Let’s introduce our judges. First, she’s quickly becoming one of the biggest west coast YouTubers for pop culture. It’s So Cal Nerd Girl, Isabel Jacobs!”
As soon as he says my name the crowd sends a cheer into the air. I certainly don’t think I’m becoming one of the biggest YouTube channels on the west coast, but it’s a nice intro. And they actually cheer. They actually know me. I give a little wave to the audience with a wide smile.
“Next up, he runs Pops-A-Lot podcast, one of the biggest podcasts on pop culture. It’s Ryan Chancellor!” The crowd roars a little louder. “And finally, two ladies that really need no introduction. They are the queens of the cosplay world. Megan and Misty Masquerade!!”
To no one’s surprise, they receive the biggest cheer from the crowd, and the MC starts the contest.
