Mangafest Sevilla 2025 lineup!

Hola!

I'm going on my first convention abroad agdfsjdhgs! I've dreamt about expanding my views and experiencing a con outside my home turfs in Sweden and Finland since I started cosplaying. I come from a family who travelled quite much in my formative years I've been to more countries than I have memories from lol so it's not like I'm a stranger to visiting other countries and cultures – I've just never combined travel and cosplay before! But that's changing now since I'm going to Mangafest Sevilla in Seville, Spain, on 6-8 December and I'm so excited for this opportunity! I'm also fleeing the approaching cold lol.
A long-time friend of mine, erikavonmars, has lived in Spain for several years after settling down from a digital nomad lifestyle and she quite recently got a new apartment – I've been wanting to visit her in return after she visited me a couple years ago. :'D She happens to live relatively close to Seville and also wanted to cosplay again, after a long break, so we thought why not go together? It's been well over 10 years since our last shared con experience omg!

So what am I cosplaying then? Well, it took way too long to decide but here's my lineup:

Friday Saturday: Urahara Kisuke from Bleach
Saturday Sunday: Takatora's brother from Asaki, Yumemishi
Sunday Monday: --

Yeah I know, the template has the days wrong because the norm is that 3-day cons are from Friday to Sunday but Spain has national holidays on 6th and 8th December so that's why the days are shifted. I can't be arsed to change it on the template though. :::D

For the first day I'm doing Urahara, mainly for convenience reasons because we only get access to our hotel room at 14:00 on Saturday (we'll drive to Seville on the morning) so yeah, I want to spend as little time as possible to get ready for the con and Urahara is quick and easy to put on and, more importantly, very comfy to walk around and explore in!
For Sunday I'm debuting a new cosplay and yeah, this has to be up there among the most obscure cosplays one could possibly do lmao. Bro's so unknown he doesn't even have an official name and there's only this one reference photo that exists so yeah, nobody will ever know what the lower half of his design even looks like and his eye color and so my only option is to guess – at least no one can tell me I'm wrong. xD Oh well, I wanted to cosplay him because the design and color scheme is pleasant and, thanks to my vintage kimono hobby, I happen to have suitable garments – I just needed to buy a wig. A simple yet stylish cosplay for the presumed-to-be main day. Not to mention that this is the guy whom the antagonist, Ichito, killed to have a body to inhabit. And Ichito I actually have cosplayed many years ago (the cosplay is in need of repairs/updating though) so I guess I wanted to cosplay this guy too because, in a twisted way, they are the same character and yeah, I like dark stories.
On Monday I'll just be in casual clothes. We'll have to leave our hotel room early and I kinda don't want to deal with the hassle of having to change out of cosplay before the car trip back. We'll probably go for some sightseeing as well before leaving Seville so yeah, being in normal clothes made the most sense!

Of course it would have been super awesome with three cosplays (especially with all con days being full days) but we will leave earlier on Monday because it takes a couple or so hours to drive back to erikavonmars's hometown. Besides, I already cut it quite close with the check-in baggage weight limit since my suitcase was 19 kg and the limit was 23 kg. :'D I already left at home several things I would normally have with me to cons, like my SLR camera, just to make travel easier and save weight. This means that all upcoming photos will be taken with my phone camera!

As per usual a con summary will follow after the event, so stay tuned!
Bye bye~

Tracon 2025 cosplay plans!

Hi hi!

Yes, I'm actually attending Tracon again! It's only been like.. uhh.. 11 years since the last time? xD I've heard that Tracon has changed quite a lot and I really want to see how it is nowadays. I didn't think I'd get a chance to revisit "this soon" LOL but things worked out and here I am, packing and panicking for the trip!

The reason I'm so late with my costume plans is because they kept changing so much. One of the original plans even changed last minute because the wig self-destructed don't ask omg and so I had to find something else. Luckily it wasn't hard to come up with a replacement and the choice was made even easier when I learned that Sallukka was planning a cosplay from the same series!

As of how things look right now I will do a new OC cosplay on Friday. His name is Shou and he's from the same story/universe as Yuuto is. I haven't had time to make any art of this character yet so please bear with the lack of visualization for now. ^^" I know I've been rather short-worded about my OCs in general but I do plan to write stories for some of them that I might publish somewhere – ideally in a physical novel compilation because I like physical media. It's good to have ambitions.. or something.

For Saturday I will rewear an old classic who already saw the light of day earlier this year...

Character: Jushiro Ukitake

Series: Bleach

Yes, Ukitake it is! He's such a comfy cosplay to wear and with Bleach being on the rise once more it feels like it's a great time to bring out my old costumes again. Not like popularity has ever dictated my cosplay choices anyway but, I mean, when something I still enjoy happens to get a revival years down the line it's a golden opportunity to relive those nostalgia years!

I briefly thought about bringing a cosplay for Sunday too but figured it's not really worth it because I won't be at the con that long on the last day (if at all) and yeah, the reason for this is obvious – when you live as far north as I do the traveling back home takes a looooong time. I'm also a sucker for comfort nowadays and the idea of sitting in a train with cosplay on for 5+ hours doesn't sound as exciting now as it did for my younger and weebier self lol. And well, changing out of cosplay before leaving the con is such a hassle for just a couple hours of wear time at most so nahh, no Sunday costume for me.

That's it for my lineup! Anyone else rocking Soul Reaper robes? :D

Matsucon 2025 cosplay plans!

 Hi there!

I've barely had time to recover from the long trip to Mericon and soon I'll be in Oulu at another convention! It's been a really tight con schedule this year but at least after this it'll calm down for a little bit lol. :'D So yeah, Matsucon is coming up now this upcoming weekend on 9-10 August and of course, as a north-dweller, I am attending. 

Just like the past few years I applied to be a volunteer worker again. Honestly I'm quite exhausted mentally but I got one of the relaxed jobs so yeah, it should be fine.

I thought for a while if I had the energy to cosplay but decided that I'll at least bring one of my easiest cosplays to put on – which happens to be among my breeziest ones too, in case it's hot. Which it might be considering the record heats this year. Of course my chosen cosplay has to fit the requirement of being easy to work in too and yeah, not hindering mobility because I will be watching over the green room.

Cosplay revelation ba ba boom~

Character: Kisuke Urahara

Series: Bleach

The sus hat guy returns for a second round after his debut in Nekocon 2023! This is one of my easier cosplays to move around in except perhaps for the geta clogs which can be spicy when going down stairs lol and thus perfect for the Saturday. I might just walk around in normal shoes for convenience though, will bring geta in case there's a nice photo location somewhere nearby. 

But if the weather on Saturday ends up as all over the place as it's been here the last couple days (aka constantly fluctuating between sun, rain and thunder) then I will not cosplay.

On Sunday I will be incognito in casual clothes lol. So yeah, only one cosplay for this year's Matsucon, believe it! 

That's all, see you at Matsucon!

Mericon 2025 lineup!

 Hello everyone!

It's just about time for Mericon it's literally tomorrow and of course I will be there! This is the third Mericon coming up and I will once again be a part of the workforce to some extent, to be more precise I'm one of the cosplay competition judges and you might also find me at the photo booth. But I'm also doing something new at Mericon that I've never done at events before – I'm holding my first ever panel (or activity, program, lecture... whatever they call it nowadays)! I'm super nervous but I've wanted to talk about my tall ship sailing experiences since the very first Mericon but I kept chickening out because Mericon is thematically a perfect place to hold a talk about marine topics! It's slotted into the later half of the event so come listen if you want to hear some fun and chaotic sailor stories~

But anyways, I will of course cosplay at Mericon too. Sadly I don't have an outfit that fits the nautical theme this year but there's a reason for that and the reason is that I haven't been back home since Nekocon and that means that I have exactly two costumes to choose from – which made the choice rather easy because yeah, I have to factor in ease of movement cuz I'm part of the crew.

So with that said...

Character: America (Revolutionary War)
Series: Hetalia

Yeah, who would have guessed? xD No but really, it's a fairly easy cosplay to move around in and put on and that's priority number one. I want to improve Gaogamon a bit before its next outing so my options were either rewearing America or going casual and, err, I'd rather not be casual when I have a functioning costume with me.  Of course, ideally, I would have preferred to wear something that would fit better with my panel (and the con's theme) but I ran out of time for my original plans to work and I was dumb and didn't think of taking with me any gear so I could pull together a pirate-inspired outfit before I left hindsight saves no one when you're 500+ km away from home. :') 

With that said, see you hopefully at Mericon this Saturday! It's free entrance so come on over~

Nekocon 2025 cosplay lineup!

 Hello frens!

Nekocon is right around the corner this weekend aaaaa and yeah, I know, this cosplans post is a dumb amount of late. I would have liked to publish it sooner but I swear my plans were changing every second day, no joke. I just could not settle on what to cosplay for the longest time because I wanted something new but also something I wouldn't boil to death in. We've been having crazy warm weather lately and apparently the Nekocon weekend will be warm too and well, I don't want to be miserable during one of the highlights of the year lmao. :'D I really need to make more summer-friendly cosplays... 

After a lot of back-and-forthing I think I've finally come to a point where my plans won't change anymore. *crosses fingers* It's not the first time I'm very last minute with cosplay plan reveals but better now than not at all!

Let's goooo~~

Saturday

Image source: Digimon wiki

Character: Gaogamon
Series: Digimon

I've always been a Digimon fan, I just haven't cosplayed from it yet – which actually is kinda weird when I think about it. As a kid I never really understood the "you have to choose one" rivalry between Pokémon and Digimon, I genuinely enjoyed both? Over time Pokémon won the mass appeal and Digimon got stuck in an underdog kinda position but honestly, the original Digimon anime went hard because it had a more dark and mature story that hit some really deep themes (especially when you consider it was a kids show) compared to Pokémons episodic and light-hearted animation. 
But yeah, it's about time I showed this long-running franchise some love and ever since I saw Gaogamon in the Digimon World: Next Order video game I was like hell yeah! 

I'm reusing bits and pieces from previous cosplays for this one (happened to have stuff with fitting colors..) combined with some newly made props to make it recognizable. :3 Obviously I'm making a gijinka, not a fursuit. xD A fursuit would be cool though but I have no experience how to make one so it ain't happening in two days lol.

Sunday

Character: America (Revolutionary War)
Series: Hetalia

I've had this cosplay lying around since early 2021 so maybe it's time I finally debut it lololol. I figured it was technically one of my lighter cosplays lighter than 3+ layers of lined kimonos at least and, although I don't have the shoulder/cross belts, the costume is still complete enough to be wearable. I don't have any kind of props for now but that's fine since America will be my chill Sunday cosplay. 

That's it. These plans should be final unless something unforeseen happens. It's a bit amusing that both of my costumes have the same color palette with blue, red and white – that wasn't intentional at all. xD

Oh, and I should maybe mention as a sidenote that it's been like 10 years since I watched Hetalia and it's just a silly gag show to me that I originally watched because one of my big interests has always been history and world history happened to be the basis of the show (regardless of how accurately it portrays things). I don't think of myself as part of the fandom, the show was amusing at times and a bit questionable at others but left no big overall impact on me; I'm mainly cosplaying from it because some outfits are cool-looking – just like with any other anime I casually consumed lol.

See you at Nekocon, meow!

Kummacon 2025 cosplans!

 Hello geeks!

 

Kummacon is inching closer and I'm not gonna lie, I've had tons of trouble coming up with who to cosplay. It's almost funny because I've had this "preliminary cosplay plans" list on my phone since the end of last year and I've already lost count of how many times I've changed it. :'D

But anyways, I've been running through my possible options for a while now and I think I've decided. You see, during these past couple years I've had this scratch to slowly repair and rewear some of my older costumes – nostalgy is quite a formidable force and, to motivate me further, I actually lack proper photos of most of my old cosplays. Now I haven't kept up with this particular series in years (shame on me, I know!) but I harbor massive nostalgy towards it and especially to this one character who ended up becoming my signature cosplay back in the days.

Character: Jushiro Ukitake
Series: Bleach

Yes, of course I'm talking about namusetä Ukitake from Bleach! I'll admit to being quite excited to bring Ukitake back, it's been roughly 12 years since I last wore him! Sure doesn't feel like it. I'll be repairing the damage done to the captain's haori soon but I won't be fixing the twin swords for this outing; they would just be in the way because I will be volunteer working at the con and thus can't have my hands occupied. Sallukka was the greatest cosplay savior friend and helped me revive the old wig (which had been neglected for years due to my non-existant wig handling skills back then), thank yooou! ;o;
I haven't fully decided yet if I will do the standard version or the Turn back the Pendulum version in which his outfit is the same, except for that he wears his hair in a low ponytail. I'm leaning towards the latter to keep the wig easier to manage as I will in all likelihood be moving around a lot. 

I have so many fond memories of cosplaying Ukitake and although the convention culture has changed drastically since 2011 I still try to hold on to that sense of community and fandom joy. I really need to get back into Bleach and catch up so yeah, please no spoilers lmao because I'm very far behind in the story. xD

I think that's all I have to say for now, stay nerdy out there~

Konekocon 2025 cosplans!

 Hello everyone!

My con year will be started with Konekocon, the miniature version of Nekocon. January is almost done already (where did it go fr) and that means that Konekocon is just around the corner. Yes, it's literally held on the 1st February so it's about time that I settle on what to cosplay! I'm not sure if I'm mentally ready just yet but time is asking no one and everything has been booked already so it's yolo and let's go. I've had some absolutely awful insomnia episodes lately and I'm constantly out of energy so yeah, I'm not feeling it right now but I hope it will be a bit better by the time I start packing for Kuopio.

It took me a moment to decide on what to cosplay, mainly because I quite literally kept forgetting when Konekocon actually was and so I was in a constant loop of fooling myself and thinking that there's plenty of time to come up with something lol. Oh well, I wouldn't have had time to create anything new anyway (and recycling is pop!) and so I looked at what I could possibly rewear that wouldn't be too cold since yeah, it's still winter. I didn't want to wear something that I've recently worn out either and a bunch of my older costumes are still in need of repairs so yeah, that narrowed the list down quite conveniently. :')

Character: Yamato no Kami Yasusada
Series: Touken Ranbu

I'm going with Yasusada and, more specifically, his uchiban outfit or at least that's what I think the alternate outfits are called. This costume was last seen in Närcon 2017 so it's about time to bring it back out again I'd say. I should have all the pieces safely lying around, the only question mark is the scarf – I have no clue where it might be lol. I should have enough time to find it though so it'll be fine...

Because Konekocon is only a one-day event, unlike Nekocon, it also means that I'm only bringing one cosplay with me. Yasusada should be quite guaranteed unless some unforeseen disaster hits; although I will in all likelihood bring an extra pair of shoes with me for swapping whenever I go outdoors – I just don't want to fall and dislodge my arm if it's slippery outside it has happened more than once and I'm quite paranoid of it happening any more times.

That's it for the starter post of the year, Konekocon report coming next so stay tuned!
~ Shiro Samurai out.

Northern Lights Anime Party 2024 cosplans!

 Hello fellow geeks!

I gotta admit, I honestly thought that Gingacon would have been my last con for this year but alas – that wasn't the case. A little bird whispered to me that there's a small-scale anime event in Rovaniemi coming up soon and of course that got me interested! I've never heard of it before but it's called Northern Lights Anime Party and apparently it debuted last year so yeah, it's still very new!
In my opinion the name seems to be a bit misleading though because, based on the information I can find, it seems to not be a party at all in the typical sense of the word but rather another anime convention, especially if we use the confirmed activites as measuring tools (cosplay competition, Artist's Alley etc). Not saying that I'm disappointed – I totally get why they'd go with a funky, unconventional name because obviously that brings attention and makes you stand out from the others.

The event is held on 14th December, which is next weekend. It wasn't too difficult to figure out what to wear at NLAP (yeah, I'll just shorten it koska nimihirviö) because I don't have a lot that I can currently choose from – even less when we factor in what costumes are even moderately winter-suitable. So yeah, it didn't take long before I had made up my mind. After all, I really don't have time to repair nor make anything new with such short notice so yes, I'm shamelessly reusing a costume that's ready-to-wear in its current state!

(art and © by me, KaamosWolf, aka Shiro Samurai)

Character: Yuuto
Series: Original Character

I finally bothered to draw a character art reference of Yuuto's current design. He's one of my many OCs although not related to my bigger project. I originally made the first version of him already in 2011 but remade his design in 2023. I'll avoid info-dumping for now and will just say that Yuuto is a benevolent youkai.
Yes, I omitted his shoes completely despite what I said at Matsucon, it felt more fitting tbh. This also means that I will just wear whatever weather-appropriate or style-appropriate shoes I have, depending on time of year.
I want to note here, to clear any confusion, that KaamosWolf is the handle I go by for all my other main hobbies (gaming, arts and crafts etc) that aren't cosplay. Shiro Samurai is exclusively my cosplayer identity. There might be moments when there's some overlap (OCs I end up cosplaying being one of the more obvious cases) but art stuff will always be signed under the KaamosWolf name. 

Oh and by the way, I do accept art commissions. I just don't have the information up yet but you're welcome to email me if interested! 

I think that's all I had to disclose for now, see you maybe at Rollo Rovaniemi? :D

Bye bye~

Gingacon 2024 cosplay plans!

 Hello woofers!

I've decided to cram in one more con trip into this year and that's going to be Gingacon in Tampere, Finland. This is an event especially aimed at fans of the 80s anime and manga series Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, also known as Silver Fang abroad and, for the Finnish public, Hopeanuoli (lit. 'silver arrow').
I've never been to Gingacon before myself but I'm always interested in checking out new experiences! While I might not be their primary target demographic as I only watched the original anime (uncut version) as an adult, and thus didn't grow up with it like most other fans my age, which means the series has no nostalgic value for me. I can nonetheless appreciate it for the phenomenon and pioneer status it has in Finland with shaping the anime culture and interest back in the days, not to mention the profound impact on the furry (aka 'turri') community. I'll admit I own a couple Ginga plushies hehe.

Gingacon will be held on 23rd November and I will be traveling with Firith. Our friend Gure will provide sleeping accommodation, which made the decision to attend a lot easier because traveling to Tampere from Kemi is not exactly cheap lol. *sadge*
I have also applied to volunteer a few hours to take care of the green room so yeah, I will be a part of the work force. This also means that I had to consider my cosplay choice carefully because I don't want to wear something that would be in the way – but still I'd want something that, at least somewhat, fits the canine theme.

(recolor by ExoticPoke)

Character: Mightyena (shiny)
Series: Pokémon

I started thinking and realized that I could rewear my old shiny Mightyena gijinka outfit from 2018 if I just reworked the ears because yeah, I've never been happy with them. It's basically a closet cosplay from things I already own but I plan to add a tail as a new addition! I've worn this costume once before at Okamicon ages ago, but basically no photos exist of it to this day. Rewearing Mightyena at Gingacon is a chance to bring the doggo back out again with some slight alterations to make it better. I don't know if there will be an opportunity for a photoshoot but at least I shouldn't be freezing my butt off since I will have layers to keep me warm; we're essentially in the winter months now so let's be smart this time with costume choices. Ennakoi, tiedät kyllä miksi~

That's it for this time, I will have a WIP post coming up before the con summary so if you're interested in the making of ears and a fluffy tail then stay tuned!
~ Shiro Samurai

Matsucon 2024 cosplans!

Hello everyone!

I'm still reeling from the wakes of Mericon, but already next weekend I go back into the cannons because it's time for Matsucon and this masochist applied to be part of the work force! It's such a busy month send help. No but really, I prefer volunteering my time at conventions because I get something meaningful to do and it feels good to help. :) This time I'm gonna be over at the green room, unlike last year when you could find me assisting over at the video games!

So, what am I cosplaying then? Well, I still haven't gotten around to going through my cosplays and making a condition check on them but I know that most aren't in wearable condition for one reason or another. But there are still a few that I can bring, thankfully. But hey, look below to find out who, woop woop!

Character: Hotaru (Keikoku)

Series: Samurai Deeper Kyo

Yep, I'm rewearing Hotaru. :'D I have already modified the costume since the last outing at Nekocon, to make it a tiny bit neater and more accurate. I undid the side seams of the white outermost kimono and sewed them back together after cutting off the excess fabric that I had only done a temporary narrowing fix on before Nekocon. I also left the side seams partly open at the hem to make the tucking in the back look more like on the references with the slit – this was a detail I had missed originally and only noticed at the hotel room while dressing for the con like "wait a second.." style. xD
I will wear Hotaru on Saturday, although for transporting difficulties I won't be bringing the sword nor the tengu geta this time because I will be arriving by bus and I need to pack as light as possible. I will wear ordinary geta as replacement shoes indoors.

Character: Leon S. Kennedy

Series: Resident Evil 4

I know, I know. I kinda said already last year that I would finally debut Leon but hey, better now than even more late, right? :') This will be like an early try-out, as in I don't have all the props and stuff done that I want to have for this cosplay – and I'm not entirely sure if I'm missing any minor parts still but anyways, it should be near complete. I will hopefully wear Leon on Sunday but, umm, just a heads up that most of my work hours are slotted into Sunday so I might not be seen much as I will be watching over the green room! There is a slight risk that I might still go casual on Sunday (if my face explodes or something) but I will try to cosplay if at all feasible!

There ya have it folks, see you over at Matsucon!
Shiro Samurai out.

Mericon 2024 cosplans!

Hello nerds and bookworms!

I've barely had time to settle since the blast that was Nekocon but soon I'll be on the road again towards Rauma and the return of Mericon! The first ever Mericon was a success against all odds last year so of course I'll be there to help keep it afloat this year too! Yes, I'll be part of the work force just like last time and, to be more exact, I might have been asked to fill in as one of the cosplay competition judges. I'm quite nervous about this role but hopefully it'll go well since Mericon's cosplay competition is a relaxed entry-level event aimed at first-timers. 

Last year some might remember that I wore a pirate-themed outfit to match the naval vibes of the con, but this time I plan to wear an actual cosplay. Seeing how I'm one of the cosplay judges I want to be in a character costume idk it feels more proper lol. My issue is that I don't have a lot of costumes currently that are in wearable condition so my pool to draw from is very limited. But then I thought that why not, I could rewear that one old costume... or could I? It's far from perfect (I'm ashamed of some parts but fuck it, it's 10 years old so I can cut myself some slack lol) but it's easy to wear, quick to put on the con morning will be stressful and comfortable.

Character: Team Aqua Grunt

Series: Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire 

Not one of my best cosplays by a long shot but whatevs, it fits the con's theme close enough (I mean the design looks kinda pirate-y) and well, it's Team Aqua. Hopefully I can get a photoshoot of this costume before or after the con because this is also one of my many costumes that I quite literally have no photos of. :'D Oh and yeah, because the grunts are just, well, grunts, I will wear a random wig and lenses with it to make it 20% cooler. Besides, in the anime they have varying hairstyles and such so yeah, it's fine lol. 

That's it for this public announcement, see you at Mericon soon!

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~!

Nekocon 2023 cosplans!

Hello everyone!

I will be attending my first Nekocon this year. The decision to go started rather spontaneously but after Kummacon I've had that convention spark reignited and yeah, I'm trying to catch up with this old passion and get back in the weeb crafting groove!

Nekocon is a two-day con in Kuopio, Finland. I had quite the struggle bus experience trying to come up with what to cosplay at first because few of my older cosplays are currently wearable without repairs and I'm not in the mood to fix anything up right now. Besides, after all these years I kinda wanted to make a new costume. So yeah, after a lot of flip-flopping between cosplay candidates I ran out of gas and turned to my friends for some hivemind activation! I was then reminded by Nekocon's cosplay theme, 'nostalgy'. That's such a good theme, would be a shame not to use it!

So what is my cosplay then? 

– It's the sus hat guy. 

Character: Kisuke Urahara

Series: Bleach

This started as a half-assed suggestion, kinda. Yet it hit the right requirement buttons and thus it stuck. I mean, I'm far from updated on Bleach (I've read up to maybe the middle of the Arrancar arc, don't judge) but a lot of my first cosplays when I started were Bleach characters and yeah, the series is nostalgic to me and probably for many others too. :) And Urahara is a pretty cool guy so why not? Especially because I remembered that aeons ago I bought his hat from I think Närcon, just for fun, and now I could use it for an actual cosplay! I also wanted to make something easy (to ease back into sewing after a long break) and, most importantly, something heatwave friendly. And on top of all that I needed a costume that I could complete in a week, at most, because that's the time I had available.

Spoiler alert — the cosplay is finished but I'm going to be away from home until the Nekocon weekend so yeah, the WIP post will be posted after the con summary! 

I thought about a second cosplay too but due to my long traveling and other reasons I felt like nahh, not worth the hassle as I likely won't be at the con for many hours on Sunday before the trip back up north starts. So yeah, only one cosplay for me this time boo but at least it's something new and something I won't be stir-fried alive in! Hopefully, hehe...

That's all folks! See you at Nekocon~

Matsucon 2019 plans – likely no cosplay

Hello guys!

So Matsucon is fast approaching (too fast, I panicked when I realized it's this coming weekend already!) and I have got the train tickets ready this past Saturday. Matsucon is held on 3-4 August in Oulu, Finland. Pohjankartano serves as the con building again, just as usual.

I decided to go as a con worker, just like last time. They seemed to have a shortage of volunteers so why not and besides, I'm not sure if I can live without access to the green room anymore. xD

I will be at the entrance selling tickets on Saturday at 11-13 and 15-17 local time, and on Sunday during 11-15 – unless last minute changes happen. Come say hi and entertain me as I will travel alone! I had a nightmare last night, the con anxiety is real lololol

Regarding costuming I am not sure yet what to wear, if anything. It will depend on the weather and my mood but my current plans are to most likely either go casual or wear some lesser effort alternative fashion lol. I did think about maybe going as a random Jedi from Star Wars again, just like at Kummacon. I have to wear something that I can still easily work in and that doesn't hinder movement in any way so, uh, that's why I'm so unsure about how suitable cosplaying is and honestly, if the weather is warm I don't want to get roasted alive. :D
On Sunday I will go casual as I don't want to stress with getting to the train station on time... and I'm past those weeb days when I could easily sit in a train, in full costume, and not care that people were hardcore staring at me for half the trip.

My main reason to go to Matsucon is actually to see the Valitut Lapset (lit. chosen children) play. Matsucon is the only con in northern Finland that it's coming to and thus my only chance to see this fan-made Digimon spectacle and as a big Digimon fan this is a must for me to experience! I am so excited and happy that the supervisor for the con workers gave me my break time from work to go see it, woop! But this play is also one of the reasons I'm highly considering not cosplaying and another reason is that Pokémon Go's long awaited Ralts Community Day falls on Matsucon's Saturday and this means that I'll be roaming the streets of Oulu and I'd rather be as comfortable as possible.

See you there, whoever is going!

Kummacon 2019 plans??

Hello guys!

It seems like Kummacon will be my first convention for 2019 and I am quite excited to be honest, it's been half a year since my last convention (Skecon) so any chance to get to geek it out is appreciated. Kummacon is held during 11-12 May in Oulu, Finland, but I will only be there on the first day on a day trip as my stepdad will drive me and Frozen Angel there and check out some stores meanwhile we are at the con. I am quite curious about the new location Kastellin Monitoimitalo though, my aunt said that it's about 3-4 km away from centrum. 

I must admit that when the con revealed that the theme this year is "seikkailu" (adventure in Finnish) I started thinking that maybe I should cosplay and not just be lazy and go casual again. But then I remembered that almost all my cosplays are currently unwearable for one reason or another and so I started brainstorming if I could throw something fitting together in time. Sadly I realized way too late that what I feel the most like cosplaying from right now is Sea of Thieves, my latest video game addiction – and the problem is that I have nothing in my closet that I could use to even do the most basic, starter pirate outfit with; I feel so disappointed in meself, lol. No I'm not doing just the underwear, even though that would be even easier. xD And I want a gunpowder barrel as a prop but that ain't happening in less than a week either. *sniff* So I have to postpone my pirate dreams for a later convention (Närcon maybe, idk?) but I feel like I'm missing such a fun opportunity as it would fit the con's adventure theme so well.

No pirate's life for me this time. I don't really have sewing equipment
at home and don't want to stress either as results would 100% be ugly af.

Oh well, I stared at my cosplay list for a while and thought that I know for a fact that I want to do a movie or a video game character. I haven't felt any hype for anime/manga in a while to be honest (except that I still want photos of my costumes, Hotaru from SDK in particular right now) and I have thought about writing a blog post about this dilemma but I'll save that for a later date.
But whatever the case I feel like just doing a random Jedi would be comfy and easy enough – and with May the 4th recently passed and a new movie in the makings it feels very relevant... and fits the theme! Now to hope that me and my anxious ass keeps to it and doesn't bail out at the last moment.

Kummacon cosplay plan for Saturday:

tl;dr - I want to be a Sea of Thieves pirate but as I'm Matti Myöhäinen again I'll just be a random Jedi knight (without lightsaber cuz I'm a poorfag) on Saturday, to fit in with Kummacon's adventure theme. 

Anyone else going to Kummacon this upcoming weekend? See ya there!

~ Shiro Samurai

Närcon 2018 (potential) cosplay plans!

Hello folks!

I haven't mentioned it in here yet (I think) but I am going to Närcon this year too! I've bought a ticket second-hand a while ago and I'll be camping again, höhöhöööh~

I'm pretty sure everyone who is going is aware of one little detail and that is that even Närcon itself has officially gone out with a warning about the massive heat wave that is likely to be during the con, some sites even claiming it to be the warmest week of the year. Needless to say I'm pretty sure that this information made a lot of people change their cosplay plans last minute, me included.

Super-mega-viktigt att göra:
- Ta med en vattenflaska. Fyll på den varje gång du går från en aktivitet till en ny. Drick ca 2 liter vatten per dag.
- Ta med solskyddsfaktor, vätskeersättning och annat som hjälper dig tackla värmen. Ha gärna keps eller annan hatt som skyddar mot solen.
- Lämna din varma cosplay hemma. Det kan vara riktigt trist att inte få visa upp sin fina cosplay, men det är ännu mer trist att svimma i solen.
- Det är direkt farligt att ha varm cosplay i år. Lämna den hemma. Ta inte med den. Ja, det gäller även din fursuit, din plåtrustning eller din John Snow-rock.

The text above was posted by Närcon at their event page and it states, in Swedish, that it is directly dangerous to have a warm cosplay this year and they urge you to leave it at home and not take it with you. I'm heeding the advice. I'm not a person who copes with heat very well and I'd rather be comfy than faint so yeah, my original planned cosplay went into the bin and I had to think of what I ~could~ actually bring with me...

...

...

Which proved to be incredibly tough as I realized that 99% of my wearable cosplays consists of multiple layers. Fuck my life. :))

Buuuuuuuuuuuut I think I came up with something. At least ~potential~ cosplay plans! This means that I'll most likely bring these cosplays with me but when and if I wear them remains a mystery and will depend on the weather and my mood. I'm more likely to wear these out after the worst heat has passed, aka during the evening. Better safe than sorry!

~~~~~~~

Main cosplay

Series: Samurai Deeper Kyo

Character: Hotaru

I am not giving up on Hotaru again as I've been postponing his debut way too long already! I really want to wear him out and I feel like Närcon is the best place to do so as SDK was published in Sweden for a while and thus I have a chance of stumbling upon other fans who'd recognize me. :'D Ironically enough Hotaru is one of my "cooler cosplays" and yet wearing him means three layers of clothing on the upper body... when will I do something actually cool?? At least he has shorts to balance it out somewhat. *shrugs* I will hopefully wear him on either Friday or Saturday evening, perhaps both.

Secondary cosplay??

I might or might not bring a second cosplay but if I do (I'll know when I get home later today and can check what cosplays have all their parts where I can find them lol) it's probably gonna be either a random character from Hetalia in casual gear, Souji Okita from Hakuouki in his yukata, a generic Jedi or perhaps even a Team Aqua Grunt from Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire. I'm really unsure where the gloves and shoes for the Grunt are but if I can find them I am leaning towards bringing him right now and yes, his debut is also very long due, just like with Hotaru. xD I'm in a Pokémon mood right now!

~~~~~~~

Närcon has always been infamous for being either really warm or rainy as it's always at the exact same time of year (last full weekend of July) and often on heat waves but yeah, this year is gonna be worse than usual. Weather forecasts promise pretty much 30 degrees for the whole duration of the con so we're all gonna die. Period. 
If anyone's curious my original plans included to take part in the Touken Ranbu cosplay group as uchiban Kashuu Kiyomitsu but yeah, with this heat I'm leaving him home without a second thought as that cosplay is WAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY TOO HOT.

I think that's about it. Tomorrow early-as-shit I'm leaving for Linköping so wish me luck and see ya there!

Shiro Samurai out.

Okamicon 2018 cosplay plans!

Hello people!

My first con for the year is closing in and it will be something refreshing! I will go to the new Okamicon in Sundsvall, Sweden, which will be held for the first time on 9-11 March. 

I'm pretty excited as I've never been to a convention in Sundsvall before! Also, it has a LGBT focus and I'm pretty happy about that too, hence why I want to support this con. Speaking of supporting – I'll go there as a con worker and, more specifically, I'll work at the entrance! Come and say hi to me~

When it comes to cosplay plans I decided on only taking one costume with me and that's simply because I feel like I will not have time for two. While I am technicaĺly allowed to cosplay during working hours I have to wear my work shirt, which won't look good on top of a costume that isn't very casual to begin with. xD So yeah, one costume it is and this time it's gonna be a new one!

Character: Mightyena (shiny)
Series: Pokémon

More pocket monsters! I'm in a Pokémon mood right now, thanks to Pokémon Go, hehe. I want to do a lot more gijinkas in the future and I realized that I had stuff in my closet that I could use for a cool shiny Mightyena outfit, so why the hell not? I'll just have to make the ears to make it extra recognizable. Hello con crush my old friend...

My con company will consist of Therese and Sabine, just like at Skecon last year. We'll be staying at a hotel and that's gonna feel like such luxury since I haven't had a con hotel for years! ;^;

I don't know yet when I'll be in costume but most likely it's gonna be on Saturday. Truth is that I still don't know my working times and that feels pretty ehh, considering that the con is only two days away...

Here's to hoping that Okamicon will be worth the long car trip down. See you there!

~ Shiro Samurai out.

Skecon 2017 preliminary plans!

Hello!

So it seems like Skecon will be my last convention for 2017 and I will go there as a worker this year too. For those not in the know, Skecon will be held on 3-5 November in Skellefteå's Campus, just like last year. I honestly liked Folkparken better but oh well. I still don't know who exactly I will be traveling with (like what?!) because there's been some complications with the "car or bus" issue. Oh well, I hope that it will get sorted out tomorrow because yeah, the con starts on Friday for heaven's sake! It's stressing me out that we still don't know if we'll have a driver or not but yeah, I know for sure that Sabine and Therese are going with me. I'll be the con senpai again! x)

A problem though is that I really don't know if I will cosplay or not. ^^" I kind of want to but I'm dealing with so many insecurities right now and the weather will be too cold for the cosplays that I would otherwise consider taking with me so yeah, I'm at a loss. Another issue is that I only have like green, red and blue circle lenses opened right now (that are wearable for a full con day) and well, not really any cosplays with those eye colors that I'd want to do or can do right now. Uggggh.

But after some thinking my brain came up with at least one candidate that I haven't worn for years and that would be quite fun to do again! Truth is, I haven't worn him since 2014 and, while this particular cosplay is in need of some updating to be photoshoot-worthy, it's still wearable unlike most of my other costumes that need some serious repairs and/or updates before I can even look at them, lol. 

*drumroll*

Saturday

Series: Bleach

Character: Gin Ichimaru

Right now Gin feels like my best and most comfortable cosplay choice and I feel nostalgic. I went to check the condition of my old character wig for him and yeah, I put it on my head and my immediate thought was "oh hell to the no!" – it looked horrible after having been years in a plastic bag, no joke and I don't have time to fix it. I asked Frozen Angel if he had any suitable wigs but after digging through all my own wigs I found one that will have to do for this emergency. I do plan to get another proper wig for him but that will have to wait until next time since I'm not gonna shoot him at the con anyway. His sword also needs some fixing (and a sheath) but I'm not even sure where it is right now so I don't know if I will have it with me.

I will bring Gin with me but it will depend on my mood etc for how long I'll wear him on Friday since I have free time from 07:00-16:00 and then I work 16:00-21:00, assuming that the schedule doesn't change, that is.

I won't bring a second cosplay because it's pointless since, as a con worker, I'm not allowed to cosplay during my working hours anyway – I have to wear a specific work t-shirt, just like last year. I know that on Friday I can't cosplay because of how my working hours are placed and on Sunday I just can't be bothered since it's such a short day... and I have work on Sunday anyway (during the possible hours).

I guess that's all I had to say. See you guys at Skecon!

~ Shiro Samurai

Närcon 2017 preliminary cosplay plans!

Hello guys!

Närcon is closing in like a storm (27-30 July) and I've decided to go there this year too! I've been rather quiet about it on social media and such but it's just simply because there's been a lot of planning involved to make it possible. ^^" I'll be carpooling with a good friend from the north and staying the night at my big sister's place, for the last time. She's moving away from Linköping very soon.
I've got myself a ticket for not so long ago (bought it second-hand and thus got it a bit cheaper, fuck yeah!) and everything seems set now... except that I'm still fretting over my cosplay plans. xD You see, I'm still not 100% sure of what I will bring but I'll still go ahead and post my preliminary plans!

Thursday

Series: ???

Character: ???

I swear my Thursday cosplay is still a great mystery to me and yes, even with the con less than a week away. -_- I've been going through a lot of potential candidates but I just can't decide on what to bring – a lot of my costume options are also restricted because of being either in need of upgrading or repairing, not suitable for high heat and/or rain or I just don't want to (re)wear it yet for whatever reason. In other words: almost everything gets ruled out by one reason or another (even though I have 50+ costumes, lol) and I just don't fucking know. :)) I'm not even sure if I'll cosplay on Thursday because I mostly spend that day checking out what the con has to offer and thus I don't want to wear a cumbersome cosplay. We'll see.

Friday

Series: Touken Ranbu

Character: Yamato no Kami Yasusada

Finally I can rewear Yasusada now that I have better hakama for him! I'm hoping for a photoshoot (I have like no proper photos of this cosplay!) and it would be nice to find other sword boys too, hehe. I'm just crossing my thumbs that it won't be too hot because yeah, the blue kimono that I use for Yasusada is actually made of wool... xD Then again, Närcon is pretty much infamous for either heat waves or a shitlot of rain.

Saturday

Series: Touken Ranbu

Character: Kashuu Kiyomitsu

Aaaand Kashuu for the next day! I want to photoshoot him as well so I'm hoping that Firith will give me a helping hand with this one too. Kashuu might also be a borderline too hot cosplay for Närcon's weather –just like Yasusada– but as they say in Finnish "cosplay without pain is pretending". :DD But, then again, pretty much all my cosplays are too hot for summer anyway, lmao.

 _______

On Sunday I won't be cosplaying – heck, I might not even be at the con at all. It's such a short day anyway and I have a long way home so I might just go by a quickie on the morning and grab food or something and then leave, I don't know. 

Also, regarding Kashuu's and Yasusada's days – they are not set and I might very well swap the boys around, depending on my mood and the weather. If it's raining on one of the days I'll wear Yasusada on the rainy day because yeah, that costume likely won't take damage from rain the same way as Kashuu's silk outfit might. ^^; Yes, both cosplays consist of vintage kimono and hakama.

That's my preliminary cosplay line-up for Närcon! See ya there!

Shiro Samurai says byebye ~

Euran mangapäivä 2017 – Plans!

Hello peeps!

So I got asked by my friend Firith –on short notice– if I could come and help him out with arranging the second Eura's manga day (Euran mangapäivä, in Finnish) or, more accurately, come as part of the work force. The first one was held way back in 2013 and, sadly, kind of fell into oblivion until Firith managed to bring it back into the light again. I figured why not help out a friend, and a budding Japanese culture event, in need? ♥

Event schedule & information.
Made by Firith.

So yeah, just like Kemi's manga day (Kemin mangapäivä) this is a small one-day event with free entrance. It's held on Saturday, 22nd April 2017, in Eura's main library. I got asked to come work as the con/event photographer, although I might have some other jobs to do as well, I don't know yet. :'D I'll know better once I get there! There was some talk that, if we get enough participants, I'll maybe join Firith as a second cosplay judge...

Oh and yeah, regarding what I'll cosplay it seems like I'll bring out my latest costume again – Itachi Uchiha from Naruto, kimono version. ^_^ Yes, the same one I wore at Matsucon where I, coincidentally, also worked as a con photographer.
I'm really hoping that lots of people will show up to this little 4-hour event! Come come ~

This is gonna be fun and yet another work experience under my belt. Early tomorrow morning I'll leave for the south so now it's high time that I start to pack my stuff! Good thing that the municipality will compensate my traveling expenses because otherwise it wouldn't be possible for me to go and help them with the event, seeing how far away I live. ^^" I'm really thankful for this opportunity ~

For more information about the event, check out Firith's blog post (in Finnish): http://shinigamiuchiha.blogspot.com/2017/03/euran-mangapaiva-ensimmaista-kertaa.html

Let's roll! inb4 sitting countless hours in a bus, lol.

~ Shiro Samurai out.