New York Comic Con 2016 was my fifth year attending in a row, but it went by really quickly. I got to enjoy exclusive panels and screenings with stars and fans alike and saw many epic cosplays all around. Each year just gets better and better overall. However, for the most part, despite being with friends providing a much better experience, I was able to enjoy it just as much as I enjoy being with friends when I was pretty much alone.

Friday

It was a semi-gray early day. Most of my close friends were going to the center in the afternoon because they had classes, so I knew I was going to be alone for the first half. I woke up at 8:15 a.m. to shower and get myself ready. I expected lines to be long, and that the "Stranger Things" panel was at 11 a.m., so I had to get up and leave early. By 9:30 a.m., I left, which was pretty late in all honesty. I found out that my friend, whom I met and befriended more than a month ago, also left at the same time, and she was actually on the same train (the 7) as me, but on a different car. It was convenient since the train goes all the way to the Javits Center. I got to the area at around 10:20 a.m., and the lines were already massive. Staff members were directing the crowd on where to stand and line up. Again, I was still alone. I took my time to set up my simple cosplay I had planned on that day, which was Mimikyu (you'll see parts of my cosplay later). My friend had to wait for someone (who is also my friend), so she went ahead first to save a place. I did not want to skip, so I followed the crowd and stayed in place. 20 minutes later, the line started moving slowly. By 10:50 a.m., the line started to split, so we were directed to the 35th Street entrance rather than the 39th Street entrance.

By 11 a.m., I was inside the building, all checked and tapped. I safely sprinted to an area called 1-D main stage to see the "Stranger Things" panel, but the guard told me the entrance was around the back. I was at the exit of 1-D. I didn't panic, so I followed what he told me. Another guard stopped me because my badge wasn't showing, so I pulled it out, and he let me in. The entrance area was near empty. I went under the barricades and I asked the guy if I could go in, and he nodded. At 11:02 a.m. (surprisingly, it all happened in just two minutes), I heard the voices of Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour, and my mind was filled with excitement and relief. I was able to squeeze myself in for a seat. It was the quickest and smoothest opening to my NYCC in all of the years I went. As for the "Stranger Things" panel, the duo's chemistry was completely comfortable and comedic. They had me and the whole crowd laughing and "aw"-ing because they are just wonderful. They mentioned about their experiences on-set, their fandom of other television shows, and even justice for Barb, about which they were also surprised. I cannot wait for season two!

The panel ended, and I went back to the entrance of the main stage. The DC Batman panel was also being shown at the same place, and I love Batman and DC Comics. I waited in line this time, and I was pretty much near the front. The line started moving, and to my surprise, we had to tap our badges. I saw the screen, and it said, "Invalid," but I still went in. I was confused, but because I went in, it did not occur to me at that moment. The godly writers of the the ongoing Batman comics came on stage, and it was amazing. Some parts made me sleepy, but overall, I can't wait for their progression of the new stories (because of DC Rebirth).

It had already been more than two hours into my NYCC experience, and it had been wonderful. However, it was a complete opposite for my two friends. THEY WERE STILL WAITING IN LINE. I have mentioned earlier that my friend (as the other friend took a different train) took the same train as me, and she even went ahead. Somehow, she and her friend were still outside. I also want to mention that this is their first-ever NYCC, so it was already a bad start for them. I deduced that they were on the line that did not split, and their line had to wrap around for the 39th Street entrance. The fact that I'd already seen two main event panels while she was still online baffled me, and I felt bad. Luckily, by around 1:15 p.m., they were in the building, all checked, and we met up. I was not alone this time.

No Longer Alone

We roamed around the Show Floor because that is where all the amazing merchandise and cosplays happen. We saw awesome sculptures, weird figures and cosplays. We talked and joked around. While roaming around, I saw this wonderful jelly bean mural of Wonder Woman being sculpted. It looked tedious, but it made me respect the artist's patience. (Note, the artist giving her expression was not out of annoyance, but she was explaining her process.)

It was almost 3 p.m., and I got a text from one of my close friends (Rina) that she had arrived. I told my two friends that I was going to hang out with her (and yes, I mentioned to them beforehand), so we all said our temporary farewells, and I departed. I spotted her at the Artist Alley, and she was cosplaying as Psylocke, and it was really really great. She got the details down completely. Here is a picture of her. I'm also giving her a shout-out because she's an awesome artist and graphic designer, too!

We roamed around the Show Floor until I told her that we need to secure our place in line for the Harley Quinn panel. We went down to 1A21, and the line was massive and filled up. Despite being told that our place in area might not get us in, we still stayed in hopes that we could squeeze in. Luckily for us, we did, but we had to sit in different seats. The panel was interesting, yet fun, talking about the origins of Harley Quinn (which Rina and I knew, not to brag, hehe), the present exploding popularity, and her future in comics, media and society. There was also a mini-cosplay contest at the end.

Another friend (Juliana) texted us saying she had arrived, so after the panel, we met up with her. I was in awe with her cosplay of Scarlet Witch. She could literally be THE Scarlet Witch. Here is a picture!

Here is a picture of both of them!

It was already 6:30 p.m., and my stomach started to ache badly. I figured I had already done what I wanted to do, so I decided to go home to rest and come back and hang out with them later outside of NYCC. I wish I stayed longer, but this stupid stomachache ended my Friday NYCC.

Saturday

I decided to take it easy. Not many of my close friends are attending this year's Comic Con because they did not get a three-day pass, or they got a Friday pass, so I was not in a hurry and such. The panel and screening I wanted to see were in the afternoon, so I decided to wake up late to catch up on sleep. I needed to fix up my Mimikyu cosplay, so I decided to leave it and take a mask to NYCC instead. It was a Mr. Robot fsociety mask. I wore simply a black hoodie with black pants and black shoes to go with the outfit. I got to the center at around 1:30 p.m., and I roamed around. I texted my friend asking if I could chill with her and her friends because I was bored, and she told me the location. We chatted and chilled for a bit until we walked around to go to the main stage. They were off to see the Netflix upcoming Marvel series "Iron Fist." Credits to Amy Tang for this picture.

Upon settling in line for the evening show, I asked about the tapping system, and someone explained that in the morning, people had to tap their badge at the entrance chutes of the main stage to secure and reserve their places on line. I was still confused, but somehow I slowly understood. I remembered that there was a line for the DC "Justice League Dark" sneak preview panel, which was on the other side, so my DC side kicked in, and I decided to hop on the other line. (Of course, I told them beforehand that I wanted to see a panel at 4:45 p.m.) Before arriving on the line, I recognized a friend, who was doing a photo shoot since she is an awesome professional cosplayer. And look who it is! My best friend's big sister. She was cosplaying as Boruto (son of Naruto, if you didn't know who he is). She was the first (and only) Boruto I saw at NYCC. She looked really pretty and epic in her cosplay, so I'm actually going to (obviously) show you the picture! Sorry for ruining the picture with my face. (Go follow her on Instagram.)

Alone Time

I departed to hop on the "Justice League" line, and I was nearly at the front. I knew that I never tapped and reserved my place, but I decided to take a chance and see if I could get in. For a while, I scrolled around Facebook on my phone to wait until the panel opened. I decided to text my friend who was working at Javits Center offices to come and chill with me, so he did. We talked and bashed Donald Trump for his recently leaked lewd comments towards women and how it would affect and play out with him in the next debate. However, he had to go back upstairs to the office because of his semi-broken phone, so we parted ways. After a while, the panel opened up, and the line started to move. I saw the staff tapping badges, so I asked them before they scanned if I needed to go to the red line because I didn't reserve. They pointed where to go, and so I did. However, I went on the wrong line because I thought that's where they pointed, and once I got in the front, they directed me to the actual red line. It did not bother me that I waited for a while or that there were some miscommunications. I stayed patient and calm. Finally, our red line started to move until they stopped the person in front of me. Luckily, the staff pointed the two of us, and we were let in. I was able to find a seat with a good view of the screens and the panel.

I was so happy to see (in order from left to right) Jason O'Mara (voice of Batman), Matt Ryan (live-action actor and voice of Constantine), James Tucker (executive producer), Jay Oliva (director), and Phil Bourassa (character design) up on stage to talk about the upcoming DC animated movie. The best part of seeing the panelists was Jay Oliva because despite being the director of some of the awesome DC animated movies, he was really down-to-earth here. He is practically just like us, a big fan of the DC world. He mentioned how he was inspired by Harry Potter, "Fullmetal Alchemist," and anime to direct the film, which made us cheer. At the same time, they showed four awesome, never-before-seen clips of "Justice League Dark." It made me so excited! I can't wait for 2017!

On the other hand, there was one asshole in the crowd that made so many people, including me, angry. During the Q&A session, when one fan came up to thank them and talk about how they helped him get through some personal struggles, one douchebag from the audience yelled out (not exact words), "Get on with the question!!" The whole room gasped and booed the asshole while the panelists looked shocked. Still, the man telling his personal struggle story did not waver as he continued to muster the courage to say everything he needed to say and went on to ask a question. After that, the room applauded heavily for his courage.

After the screening, I wandered around the convention for an hour until I settled down near the cafeteria. I saw that the rain was pouring, so I wanted to wait it out a bit. I was also waiting to see if anyone wanted to hang out, but nothing. It was almost 7 p.m., and I decided to go home because there was nothing to do for me. Overall, Saturday at NYCC was really chill. Oh, also I saw a dancing dinosaur.

Sunday

Again, I took it easy like on Saturday. I woke up late and got to the convention at around 1:30 p.m.. It was a much rainier day, but I got in with ease. This time, there was no one available to hang out and no panels I was interested in seeing. I focused on taking some pictures of cosplayers, merchandise and events, as well as buying posters. Instead of continuing the Mr. Robot mask, I put the Mimikyu cosplay back on because I updated and fixed some parts of the costume the night before. For four hours, I walked around the Show Floor and Artist Alley, looking for things to buy and watching people. I figured that since it was the last day, prices would be cut for posters and items. It usually does happen. However, everyone got the same idea, because the whole place was more packed than the other two days, in all honesty. With my newly updated costume, more people began to recognize who I was (since Mimikyu is a Pokémon from "Pokémon Sun and Moon," which is not out until November). I was able to have people take some photos of me, which made me feel happy, and a couple of people excitingly pointing at me saying, "Mimikyu!" I was also able to take more photos of epic cosplayers and costumes. Here's a few!

I went back to the Artist Alley because I saw a good deal on certain 11"x14" posters. I bought three DC-related posters for $20 by a cool artist named Edgar Salazar. (I wish I could show you all, but I put them away. The artist's cover photo is actually one of the posters I bought.)

Oh, remember the jelly bean mural of Wonder Woman? Well, it was already finished! Take a look!

When I went back and wandered around the Show Floor, I stumbled upon a wrestling booth. As a former big fan of WWE, I realized that "The Hardcore Legend" Mick Foley was in front of me! He was tall and friendly, and he shook many people's hands, signed autographs and took many photos with fans. I was hesitant, but I went up to him for a handshake. Rather than a handshake, he asked for a fist bump to which I happily agreed. I didn't mind because shaking hands with thousands of people is gross. Without realizing, Christian was also behind him. I went up to him and shook his hand as I said, "Thank you for everything." He replied with "Thanks, really appreciated, man." It all happened so fast and without planning, and I was able to meet two wrestling legends. (The sock in his hand is part of his iconic wrestling gimmick.)

After that, I continued walking around the Show Floor and stopped to watch the NYCC 2016 Live Twitch Stream in person. They were playing "Rocket League," a popular vehicular soccer game that I really enjoy watching. I joined the crowd as two teams battled against each other. So many close calls, tight saves, and epic goals were made while the audience reacted with anxiety, adrenaline and excitement. It almost made me tired from watching because of how intense it was.

After the intense battle, I walked a bit more until it was almost closing of NYCC. I then spotted my twin! Another Mimikyu! And a better one! She was excited to see that another person cosplayed as Mimikyu. We talked about how surprised we were to not see many Mimikyu cosplayers, but we concluded that it is because "Pokémon Sun and Moon" won't be out till November. We also proclaimed ourselves two of the first few original Mimikyu cosplayers of New York Comic Con. We predicted that next NYCC, there will be multiple Mimikyu cosplayers

This year's NYCC was fun and very positive. I was 4/4 for screenings and panels, I got to meet famous people, I got to take pictures of awesome cosplays, I was able to enjoy with and without my friends, and I was able to feel more confident in cosplaying something I made. I was also able to enjoy my experiences with people and being alone. Overall, this has been the smoothest NYCC experience out of my five years.

I will see you in 2017, NYCC!