"I wanna see mountains again, mountains Gandalf!"
This might be almost three
weeks late, but considering how important my experiences in Iceland have been
to my creativity...I felt it was important to share with you what happened on
that beautiful island. Not only did it give me wonderful memories but it was
also a revival.
About a year ago, Midgard 2018
was announced. It was going to be Iceland’s first all-inclusive convention.
When I heard about it I couldn’t help but to be get interested, I have for a
long time wanted to see Iceland, and also it would be a once in a life time
experience to attend a the first convention in a country that has until now
only had smaller nerd-related events. I finally decided when a good friend of
mine also wanted to go AND I got a place to stay in Reykjavik: Midgard 2018
would be the first con in a long time I would go to as an attendee!
Leaving Scandinavia and
arriving in this colder, but so beautiful, country was amazing: Reykjavik was
beautiful, the country side was Skyrim and Middle Earth rolled into one, the
hot springs were wonderful….and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what
the country has to offer! Two days filled with sightseeing and photoshoots even
made me forget that there was a convention…ironically, since it was just for
that convention we decided to go!
 |
| Two dorks, climbing a mountain! |
The first day of Midgard, we
simply relaxed and looked around at the con: it was small, but organized! For a
first con they sure had several interesting guest and artists, amongst them was
Brian Muir: a sculptor that has worked with the Star Wars franschise, creating
Darth Vaders costume (from Ralph McQuarrie’s design). We walked around, looking
at what the artists had to offer and even attended one of the lectures. Then we
finished the day early, decided to take it easy and get ready for tomorrow:
then it was time to cosplay!
 |
| We even got goodie bags! |
The final-day of Midgard we went with our cosplays: Fabian went with his Pettsson and Findus cosplay, I went with Avatar Kyoshi. And here…I’m going to be honest: I was nervous, maybe even scared, when I started on my make-up. There are several reasons to that: it was long ago since I last wore this costume so I felt rusty putting on the make-up. Even if I like this costume I couldn’t help but to look at all the small details I wasn’t happy with. Nowadays I’m more used to working and not cosplaying at conventions but of course….I was joining the cosplay competition. Signing up for it was actually not my idea, one of the organizers just suggested it since it would be more fun if more cosplayers joined. I was hesitant as this cosplay wasn’t really competition material, but I gave in when they said “it’s just for fun”. Now the day had come. Putting it on first made me uneasy.
Walking around the con felt great, it felt so nice to take on the role of an
amazing character and be in the middle of geeky environment. Then came everyone
that wanted to take pictures and looked in awe….it had been too long since
someone complimented me for a costume at a con. Everytime I couldn’t help but
to crack a smile and compliment back in SOME way! Then came the competition.
Just going back-stage to see everyone’s amazing cosplays was fun, to talk and
to get excited and nervous together made it better…then I got out on the stage.
4 years had passed since I
competed with a cosplay, 2 of those years I had a cosplay depression and just
wasn’t happy with what I created. Sure, the depression ended when I learned to
appreciate cosplay as art, and also when I learned what killed my love for making cosplays: but now finally…I was on stage again. Walking out, people were
cheering and I struck two poses. I felt excitement and was so happy to be up
there, I’ve missed the stage so much and even if the stage was far from Sweden:
I felt at home. But it wasn’t enough for me, I decided to get closer to the
audience and started to wave my hands, telling them to cheer for me more.
“Louder” I thought, “louder, it’s been TOO long!”. And they cheered higher. I
struck two more poses, and then got off….feeling like a thousand splendid suns.
Afterwards more people came up
and gave me compliments, telling me I should win or that I was their favorite. I
was smiling like an idiot. After 15 minutes, they announced the winners: I
didn’t even place. People told me it was not right, but I didn’t care.
Since, I did actually win. I got to get up on stage and get people to smile. I was proven wrong: my costume was actually competition material, since I had fun.
Since, I did actually win. I got to get up on stage and get people to smile. I was proven wrong: my costume was actually competition material, since I had fun.
Afterwards we had to get back
to get some sleep, we had to take an early flight the next day. I had trouble
sleeping since I was so excited…it didn’t get easier when Fabian (who was a
judge for the competition) told me that Brian Muir sat next to him as a fellow
judge. Apparently he gave me a 9 out of 10. I was stunned…one of the creators
of Darth Vader’s costume liked my cosplay and stage presence? And I was so hard
on myself before the competition. It’s incredible how one can think so low on
oneself, when other look and just smile at you.
On an early bus back to the
airport, filled with people either half or completely asleep…while I was
looking out the window, I was thinking about what this unexpected journey has
given me. With a warm feeling in my heart, a tear going down my cheek…I smiled.
One day, I will return
