Okada Manila: CosMeet and My Experience
What is Okada?
Okada is a 5-star rating hotel located in Manila. It contains not only large pools and nice clean rooms, but it also has a casino and a large cove inside, where different kinds of events may take place. I attended one of those events in their cove in Okada, which is CosMeet.
What is CosMeet?
CosMeet is a convention that is under CosplayPH where people may attend with tickets. All of their events are centered around cosplaying, meet & greets, stage performances/contests, and artist merchandise selling. These events also invite many famous influencers or cosplayers, which leads to why I decided to attend in the first place.
My experience in Okada Manila
A few weeks back before the event, I learned that my favorite cosplayer was invited to travel here in the Philippines to attend as an international guest and as one of the judges at CosMeet. He was going to have a meet & greet at the event and I had to go and meet him. I even bought the VIP ticket just because it had a priority line perk in all of the meet & greets that will be taking place in the event. During the days of waiting for the event, I've already planned what I would wear, how my hair should look, what kind of makeup look I should go for. I even learned how to crochet just to give him a gift for the meet & greet, I crocheted him a pink strawberry, just for him. On the day of the event, I was already waiting for my family because they wanted to go with me because they wanted to experience what it's like inside of Okada. As we went there by car, I was already daydreaming what it would be like to finally meet him in person. I've been following this cosplayer since 2024 through social media. He's already been popping up everywhere in my fyp since 2023, but I never minded him that much. And ever since I finally followed him, I got too hooked that he's the only one I talk and think about. When we finally arrived and got inside, there were so many people. People that are attending the event, cosplayers, artists, and people who just wanted to go there and see cosplayers and the other guests.
After going through the process of gaining access to go inside the cove, my family finally left me on my own so they can explore and so that I can attend the event and my favorite cosplayer's meet & greet. But as I got there, I found out that they already sold out of slots. I was then left disappointed and sad that I felt lost and clueless of what else to do in the event. So I just sat somewhere in front of his meet & greet area where other fans were waiting. While I was sitting there, still reeling about the fact that I lost all purpose of being there, I was met with three girls who arrived later than me who were looking forward to the meet & greet as well, only for them to find out that slots were already sold out. As they sat somewhere near me, I was thinking if I should talk to them since I had nothing else to do. So I greeted them with a hello, the four of us already gotten along right on the spot given our similar situation. We hung out and walked around in the event, looking at merchandise and taking pictures with other cosplayers who were attending. Then we decided to go back because my favorite cosplayer's meet & greet session was over and that he will be coming out to go to the judges area. As we waited, I was at the very front of the staircase to his room. Once he got out and I saw him, I was already excitedly waving my hand and he looked at me and waved back. Now looking back at that moment, I was so desperate that a simple glance from him made me so full of joy and happiness. When he finally came down the stairs, with so much excitement and energy I have just from seeing him in person, I was still waving at him, then something I didn't expect would happen. He held my hand.
At that very moment, I couldn't move an inch for a millisecond. It felt like I was struck with something, causing me to be in a daze, only for just a second. When he was already walking away, me and the girls who I made friends with were already freaking out. Not expecting me to be hand held by him. After that moment, my right hand has always and forever will hold something special to me. It was the hand he wrapped with his bigger hand, making mine appear smaller. We then calmed down and spent the rest of the convention watching him be a judge for the cosplay contest, and then the day ended. I still couldn't help but keep thinking about him when I got home. He held my hand when I just wanted to keep waving at him hello. Now I'm left here, thinking when will he come back to the Philippines again, to attend a convention, to have another meet & greet. And to this day, I'm still planning, waiting, anticipating his next visit. So that I can finally reserve a slot for him. There's zero announcement on both the event's social and any of his socials, but I already have an outfit planned, what my next gift would be, and how I should talk to him upfront. All of that just for him.
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