An Encounter with a Viking

Comic-Con Africa 2018 was a blast and brought a rather interesting guest here.

When I found out that Ragnar Lothbrok was coming to Comic-Con Africa, I nearly died. I had no idea what to do with myself. That is when the cogs in my head started to spin and I realised I need to treat him to a special glass. Something he will never find or ever be given.

As Vikings love to drink I decided to create him his very own beer mug and give this to him. Of course, it was not without its challenges. Celebrities are well protected and there are rules on giving them gifts, but that was not going to stop me.

I booked my photo session with Travis Fimmel in the hopes I could give him my glass. I made sure that the glass was well packed and prepped for the handover. The only thing I did not realise is that the photos were so fast and that he does not have time to chat or to even open a gift. This made me a little sad, to be honest. But I got a nice big hug and a thank you and a photo with my sister-in-law and good friend Stephen Spinas who also managed to give Travis Fimmel a drawing he had done.

It was such a fun experience but now all I had was a photo and no signature on the image at all. I did not realise that these were separate bookings.

Perhaps this was for the best. On Sunday I managed to sneak away from our stall and pop down to the signing and waited for Travis Fimmel to arrive.

Finally, he arrived and we were all over the moon, but sadly he had to run off to an interview. But the managers noticed me and so did he and they called me to the front. They remembered me even out of cosplay. He was so excited about the glass. He loved it and had already had some drinks out of it already. I was overjoyed with the fact that he loved the glass and he had already started to use it. I stole another big hug and a very sneaky selfie.

He was such a kind person and so today I am grateful that he appreciates gifts from his fans – it takes a humble soul to take the time to thank people for the effort they put into a gift.

-The Engrave Slave