Nekocon 2024 cosplans – took so long to decide!

 Hello hello!

I'm heading to Nekocon in Kuopio this upcoming weekend and I'm so excited! Last year I went to my first Nekocon and I had such a blast that it was almost immediately decided that a revisit was in order. It's such a comfy summer con and Kuopio feels weirdly cozy and inviting to me.

It took me ages to decide on what to cosplay, hence why this post is very late I dunno if anyone will even see it in time lol but I had difficulties okay? :'D I did consider at first rewearing my Kisuke Urahara cosplay from last year but I don't know, it feels a bit awkward to wear the same cosplay to the same con twice in a row (whiplash to my early weeb cosplay years hits hard xD) and so I had to brainstorm for another heatwave-friendly costume that was in wearable condition or wearable with some small tweaks that I could recycle. And yes, this is the kind of bizarre moments when you realize you've done 50+ cosplays and still somehow have nothing to wear?!

Eventually I came to realize I had one candidate that stood out from the rest...
*drumroll*

Character: Hotaru (Keikoku)

Series: Samurai Deeper Kyo

It's legit been 12 years since I read the manga. I honestly don't remember much at all of the plot at this point but I do remember really enjoying the series (because of its unpredictable twists and turns) and I also remember liking some of the characters like Hotaru and Akira particularly much of the lot. I still plan to cosplay Akira too at some point but currently I only have Hotaru completed. I plan to wear Hotaru on Saturday.

I made this cosplay way back in 2016 and I've only worn it once, which I'm very much not fine with lol. I honestly don't want cosplay to be like fast fashion for myself and thus I'm very positive to reusing my older costumes and fixing them up if needed. Hotaru did need a quick update because, originally, I had missed to consider the way how loosely in front he wears his outermost kimono (a simple oversight on my part) and I made it according to normal kimono width when I should have made it narrower to avoid excessive fabric bunching at the sides. This is something I've done a temporary fix on for now and will re-estimate the need for further, permanent, corrections after the con.

Oh and yes, I'm bringing his suicide shoes tengu geta although I'll only use them for photos – I will walk around the con in replacement shoes that are more convenient and safe to walk in. As badass as the tengu geta look they're not suitable for normal walking, at least not on my feet because I have slowly come to accept that I have chronic knee issues. This is also why you will likely see me having at least one of my knees wrapped in bandages (Hotaru has shorts so I can't hide it) although it's not a part of the cosplay; it's a stabilization precaution I do to prevent issues from walking up and down stairs (and Kuopio Music Centre has a lot of stairs ffuu ffuu) which, without any kind of knee support, is the worst pain trigger for me.

I did dabble on-and-off with the idea of a Sunday cosplay but I'm almost certain at this point that I will just go in alt fashion. This means that Hotaru is the only cosplay I will bring. I'm still kind of trying to ease myself back into active congoing ngl and wearing costumes in public, trying not to go too fast and overwhelm myself because I still have a lot of mental health difficulties I'm dealing with.

That's all for now nerds, stay safe and see you soon at Nekocon~!