Nekocon 2024 – I heard you like boba tea

Hello all colorful geeks!

I'm back home from last weekend's trip to the delightful Kuopio where I attended my second Nekocon, woop! This year's Nekocon was held on 13-14th July in Kuopio's Music Centre, just like the year before. I went there together with Firith and I think it's high time I get this con report on the road!

Nekocon side view of main entrance.

Our journey towards Kuopio started already on Friday morning. Me and Firith had decided to drive down but due to me being a derp and misremembering the timer of my dishwasher we ended up getting a bit delayed – it wasn't too bad though, like an hour or so behind schedule. Anyways, before we could start driving we had an urgent problem called no gasoline. And by that I mean the car tank was so empty that it was a game of chance if we even had enough to get to the nearest gas station – needless to say we were clenching our butts in nervosity for every successful kilometer rolled forward! We made it, somehow, and could officially start our journey down to Kuopio.

We drove down one of the smaller roads and aside from some tractor-induced road rage the trip went well. Our dining stop was at the lovely rustic Matin ja Liisan Asema at Lapinlahti, easily recognized by the preserved 1938's Tv1 steam locomotive outside. Honestly recommend this place, really pleasant!

Once we arrived at Kuopio it was evening, I think the clock was about 18 local time? I can't really remember, but what I do remember is that we had enough time to speed over to the con location to go claim our con tickets (and Sallukka's tickets as well since they would have arrived too late otherwise) in advance before it closed! This saves us from having to stand in line on Saturday morning to exchange tickets so it's definitely a quality of life thing to grab them the day before!

As soon as we got the tickets we continued to our chosen place to stay the weekend, namely the trusty and familiar Rauhalahti Spa Hotel, just like last year. I swear it's half the reason we went to Nekocon lmao.
This time we didn't get the Donald Duck room number but we got a room on the top floor, aka the fourth floor. What came as a surprise was that unlike last time we had a balcony!

Cosplayer hotel room means it's immediate chaos.

This was sooo nice to have! You could air out your costumes after the day.

 

The hotel room was really comfy and pleasant and, unlike last year, this time our mini bar actually kept our drinks cold, yay! :'D Yes we brought with us a bunch of energy drinks, a couple ciders and a 6-pack of beer lol. Raikasta ja ravitsevaa olutta~
Thanks to it being the weekend the spa was still open with a couple hours left and so we jumped into the pool to relax after the long drive. Honestly the super warm pool is like the best thing ever, you could literally just melt away there for hours.

Saturday morning came. We had decided the night before to not take overly much stress from being at the con early because we both were really tired and wanted to have a chance at a decent night's sleep. I think we woke up around 8:30 or something like that and after lagging around in bed for a while we walked over to have some breakfast. Fun thing is that we stumbled upon some familiar faces from Kummacon at the breakfast buffet! I had my obligatory Karelian pastries and after we were done it was time to head back to the room and put our costumes on. Or at least try to, as soon as morning brain lag had dissipated enough.

My cosplay for the day was Hotaru from Samurai Deeper Kyo, a costume I've only worn once before many years ago and lacked any proper photo proof of. I don't remember exactly how long it took for me to change into cosplay but it was an episode and a half to get everything on smoothly! Hotaru looks like a simple costume to wear but holy moly the amount of fabric I have to stuff under the shorts and secure in place to keep all the layers from shifting to kingdom come! I'm so thankful Firith was there to help me dress, it would have been so difficult to do the kimono tucking in the back etc without any assistance. ;_; Firith cosplayed the titular character from the Ghibli movie Kiki's Delivery Service, by the way.
It took us somewhere between 2-3 hours to get ready but it would have taken even longer if I hadn't caught my creeping panic attack in time onneksi olin ottanut rauhoittavia mukaan... 

The clock was around 12:30 when we started driving towards the con and it was a beautiful sunny summer day. One of the first things we did was to take a quick tour with the camera and snap the general con photos and after that we headed straight to photoshoot our costumes because the bushes near Kuopio's Music Centre are very nice for cosplay photos! 

I'm happy I did check some character references this time around because last time when I cosplayed Hotaru I completely missed to do the kanji he has on his neck, oops!

Hotaru! You can also see the Nekocon ticket~
(photo by Firith)

 

Hotaru was a decently heat-friendly cosplay, only the midsection was a bit toast with all the layers piling up. I had all the props and parts of this cosplay with me but I wore replacement shoes around the con (stupid Pikachu flipflops gave me an awful toe blister and I don't even know how xD) and left the sword in the car after the photoshoot because it would have been cumbersome to carry around while shopping. I'm not even sure if anyone recognized my cosplay because I had zero interactions with other congoers but, then again, Samurai Deeper Kyo isn't exactly a well-known manga and was never published in Finland, so it went exactly as I assumed it would haha. Anyways, we got some really awesome photos afhsdadsgh that I will post separately! [edit: link here]

When we were done snapping photos we left the camera back in the car and then we hurried over to the Lumit building where Firith's friend had a table at the Artist's Alley. The Lumit building was part of Nekocon and also hosted at least the video game room as well.

Walking next to Lumit.

Lumit was very easy to recognize because there were always cosplayers and colorful people sitting just outside it. There even was someone dressed in a huge red inflatable Among Us costume. xD

Entrance view of Lumit.

The video game room was popular!

I would have initially wanted to watch the "Valitut Lapset: Superlataus" Digimon stage play but decided in the end not to because I knew I wouldn't be able to sit almost 3 hours alone without having difficulties (Firith wasn't interested enough, mainly due to the length, and Sallukka and Don had their own activities). Besides, it started already 12:15 and you needed to get seat tickets starting at 10:30 and we weren't even at the con at that time so it wouldn't have worked out anyway.

Artist's Alley.

More Artist's Alley~

It was quite crowded at the Artist's Alley on Saturday and we both quickly agreed on that it was a bit too much. The air quality wasn't the best with so many people crowded in a small area and it was quite anxiety-inducing. Not to mention sweaty. So yeah, we hurried outside after a quick glance through all the tables.

A nice collaboration Nekocon had this year was that there was this one boba tea (aka bubble tea) stand near the town square that had a deal so that if you bought a drink from them in costume you got a 20% discount. One needs to know at this point that I haven't had proper boba tea in about 9 long years. I had forgotten how delicious it could be. And because we were hot and thirsty no not like that you perv we decided to go and make use of this opportunity!

Taro milk tea with matcha swirl, heavenly!

It was soooo good! Like oh my goodness it was so refreshing and perfectly sweet and I just wanted it to last forever. ;_; I miiiight have reignited an old addiction send help. No but really, it was totally money worth, 5/5 stars no drama.

After the trip to the town square (and being subjected to puzzled normies along the way lol) we returned back to the main building of Nekocon and plowed through the Dealer's Hall and just took in the con atmosphere. Nekocon overall has this pleasant feeling, it's welcoming and the general location is inviting and very central with both greenery and the town square just outside so yeah, you're close to almost everything. Except our hotel is a few minutes car ride away. :'D

Nekocon entrance/cloakroom view.

We didn't stay the full duration at the con during Saturday, mainly because it was a very warm day and we were both still a bit tired. As much as I enjoy cosplaying I can't help but notice that I'm getting old lol, I don't have the same tenacity to withstand discomfort that I used to have. Remember when everyone used to say "cosplay ilman tuskaa on teeskentelyä" and how we'd just power through all the pain to prolong that magic con feeling? Ei helevetti, those days are long gone. If I feel discomfort nowadays then I go back to the hotel early, I'm absolutely listening to my body's needs nowadays. #millenialinsights

Besides, we wanted to take some more photos of my cosplay outside the hotel before my makeup was all messed up from the heat so yeah, that was another reason why we left a bit early. And it was the right decision because we found a really good photoshoot spot that we had completely overlooked last year!
After the second photoshoot was wrapped up we both really just wanted to jump into the spa and then have some beer and chips in the room after. I mean if you book a spa hotel you kinda maybe want to set aside some time to actually use the spa, right? :D It was really fun to just hang out and chill and play on the PS5 I had brought along for the trip (and a TV to play on) for the rest of the night. It was a great day~

Oh and I ate a delicious veggie pizza at the hotel's restaurant!

Then came Sunday. I had trouble falling asleep and so my eyebags had eyebags when I got up. It wasn't beautiful I tell you. I considered skipping doing any makeup for my alt fashion plans at first but luckily my face kinda recovered after breakfast and idling around long enough to properly wake up. Chugging an energy drink might have sped up the process. We packed all our belongings but still somehow ended up stressing to get done on time since we also had to return the room keys. I swear time blindness and estimation of time is one of my biggest weaknesses! It felt very wistful to check out from the hotel because we had so much fun and it was over way too quickly. Next year's Nekocon can't come any sooner!

Anyway, we drove to Nekocon and today we had reserved more time to actually check out the con more properly; it's just a lot easier to explore when you don't have to worry about messing up your costume. We took our time to check out the Dealer's Hall on the main floor and the artisan's tables upstairs while just vibing and soaking up the good feels. Firith also ran into some old acquaintances while I just awkward potatoed around because I don't know how to enter the chat naturally with people I don't know who are already in a conversation.

Dealer's Hall view...

... and more Dealer's Hall.

Staple sellers Manga Cafe provided the snacks.

Sunday was definitely a calmer day than Saturday, it was easier to move around and there weren't as big clusters of people around. I wanted to go watch the "Digimonien avara luonto" program but I honestly ended up forgetting what time it was because I didn't carry the con's info booklet on me with all the schedules and stuff. Oh well, no can do but I got to say it seemed like an unique concept that I haven't seen done before and that's why it piqued my interest in the first place.

Nekocon info desk next to the stairs.

One thing I did notice was that the overall layout of what was located where seemed very similar to last year's Nekocon and honestly, why change something that works? The only clearly different or improved change I noticed was that the video games area in Lumit had been expanded from being in the corner to having that big room (was it a gymnastic hall?) for themselves, which was great.

Artisan's area upstairs.

Promotional booths of other conventions, also upstairs.

A few merchandise sellers were upstairs as well.

At some point me and Firith just looked at each other and I swear our brain jellies did some sick telepathy moves because we both just went like "should we go for more boba?". Yes, we should. We should fuel this addiction while we still can.
While walking there was some older middle-aged man, clearly not a Nekocon visitor, who walked slightly in front of us and he kept staring at me and doing double-takes to the point it was like fucking penta-takes lol. It was really rude and uncomfortable tbh, I mean one shouldn't stare that obnoxiously at others regardless of how differently from the norm they're dressed – have at least some semblance of manners at your age, please... -.-

Taro milk tea with tapioca bubbles, yum~

I think after the boba tea (yes, I really like taro flavor) we did a final shopping round and then we agreed in unison that it was high time to leave because we had a long and exhausting road trip back home ahead of us.

It's legit hard to describe how fun and rewarding Nekocon was for us both, it might not sound like a lot happened but we honestly had a blast and this will probably go down as one of my favorite cons this year. We've both been in some tough and dark places lately so this trip was a much needed break from everything stressful that's been going on in life. Honestly I'm looking forward to next year's iteration already, Nekocon and Rauhalahti spa combo gives me life. <3

Oh and before I forget, here's my loot haul!

Thanks for reading, my next con will be Mericon's return in Rauma! See you there~
Shiro Samurai out.

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~!

Lens review: EOS Ice Gray

 Hello everyone!

Dang, it's been a while since I last did a colored contact lens post. But fret not, I'm back with a circle lens review and today's we're going through the EOS Ice Gray colored contact lenses! These have existed on the market for a considerable amount of time and thus becoming one of the faithful servants which, in turn, makes it kinda weird that I have not reviewed a single lens from this series before, despite drooling over them for literal years. Crazy, innit? :'D

Anyways, let's roll out the review!

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.0 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

I bought these in a pinch last summer to use for my Kisuke Urahara cosplay debut from Bleach. It's perhaps not the most color intense lens series on the market but they are undeniably pretty with the crystal-like ice design and fit my needs at the time. Of course I might have had an advantage because my eyes are naturally a grayish blue color and so a lot of color opacity wasn't required from the lenses to make my eyes appear gray enough for the cosplayed character.

One lens in.

It should be noted that the EOS Ice series is one of the extremely few circle lenses that exist in different size variations so yeah, you might want to pay extra attention to the stated diameter and base curve on the site you're shopping from. The ones I'm reviewing here are the smallest version available, aka the 14.0 mm diameter with the 8.6 mm base curve. I know there exists a bigger variant with a 14.8 mm diameter and a 8.8 or 8.9 mm base curve so be sure to pay attention!

 

These lenses are not really big but there is still a very slight size enlargement. I don't feel like I suddenly got like super dolly eyes or anything, it's hardly noticeable and that's what I needed at the moment moe moe uguu Urahara would have been weird af. These lenses have a natural-ish design, it fits their namesake of ice and although it's simple it's far from dull and well, the simplicity actually makes these versatile for a lot of different needs and purposes – I mean I used them for cosplay yeah but these could just as well be used for alt fashion or even as a daily enhancement type of lens, especially if your real eye color is close to your chosen lens color. :)

Lens photos below!

All photos are taken by yours truly during an afternoon. All close-ups are free from color filters etc and that's so that the colors would appear as true to life as possible.

 

Natural room light indoors.

Yellow room light indoors.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Facing a window. (not sun side)

Unlit corridor, poor natural light in the distance only.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun while under a shadow.

Outdoors, facing the sun directly.

I found these lenses overall to be decently comfortable. It should be noted that I have naturally really dry and sensitive eyes so I usually can't wear lenses for prolonged periods of time without eyedrops etc – but I did manage to wear these for half a con day (roughly 4-5 hours) at Nekocon in the middle of summer so yeah, that's already a win for me. I do recall them being thin and generally comfortable to wear (insertion was also easy!) and most of the time I didn't really feel that I had lenses on, which is always a good thing. At some point they would feel a bit dryish but nothing out of the norm for me so I don't feel like the comfort or moisture levels were somehow poorer than on your average circle lens, even though the water content is listed as a lowish 38%. I guess I can say that these are fine and I wouldn't err from buying another set in the future, especially because I do like the design and I honestly feel like my photos don't do these lenses justice (they look a bit dull), they're nicer-looking in real life I promise, especially because when the sun's reflection hits it makes your eyes look sparkly and revitalized and my camera just isn't catching any of that lol.

These lenses are a worthwhile pair to check out, especially if you need smaller diameter lenses that still have some color to them without being overpowering. The EOS Ice Grays are one of those lenses that are clearly more natural than extraordinary but they are still distinguishable with their delicate patterning and it's noticeable that you're wearing lenses (at least to lens-savvy folks lol). I wouldn't recommend them as a top-pick cosplay lens (mainly because the color might not show up from a distance) but depending on the character and your needs they are still a viable choice, especially for more mature/senior anime characters or for western movie characters and such where you want correctly colored eyes without it looking too unnatural or jarring due to excessive vibrancy, patterning or color intensity.

Have a distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 7/10 

A soft, lightish medium gray tone that's natural and not blocky at all. It's very easy on the eyes.

Design: 8/10 

Simple yet beautiful crystalline ice-styled burst design. It transitions smoothly into your real color.

Opacity: 5/10

They change my light eye color enough to become clearly gray so I'd say there's more color opacity on these than on those tinter/enhancement type of lenses.

Enlargement: 4/10 

It comes across as a meager size boost but it's still slightly bigger than my normal iris.

Comfort: 7/10 

I wore these for roughly 4-5 hours with minimal issues, despite having naturally really dry eyes. They are thin and mostly unnoticeable in terms of comfort, save perhaps for some slight dryness over time, which is to be expected.

Naturalness: 7/10 

These are surprisingly natural, despite their delicate design, but I think it's safe to say that part of that impression is boosted by how well the gray color merges with my real eye color; I don't think that for example the Ice Violets would look as natural on me. :')

Thank you so much for reading, have you tried an EOS Ice series lens yet?

Shiro Samurai out ~

Kummacon 2024 – I got mad gamer respects from the organizer

 Hello geeks of all flavors!

I'm sorry about the radio silence on this here blog, my life has regrettably been really exhausting lately and I didn't mean to just disappear. The truth is that I'm still struggling with mental health and blogging just hasn't been a priority, not to mention that I haven't had any new content to post as I haven't done anything cosplay-related for several months. I do have tons of ideas of what I want to do but finding the motivation and energy to do the thing is on an entirely different plane of existence lol.

I've had a lot of time blindness and whatnot and I had been living in that bubble of "Kummacon is months away" until Firith woke me up one day (figuratively, not literally) by stating that Kummacon is next weekend. Honest to god, I had completely forgotten! Luckily my original plan hadn't involved cosplaying anyway so I didn't have to rush to finish anything and could just rewire my brain directly into preparation mode. And preparation mode meant packing all the stuff for the con weekend and that included my PS5 and the smallest TV I owned. Yes, we took the train and yes, I sat the whole train trip with a straight face and a fucking TV on my lap and yes, other passengers stared at me weirdly. :'D *sighs and shakes head* What won't a gamer endure to secure the completion of their dailies?~

Oh well, so Kummacon is an annual free-entrance anime and literature focused convention that's held in Oulu, Finland. This year it was held during 18-19 May 2024 and that also means Kummacon got the honors to start my con year, woop woop! And just like the previous years I volunteered to be part of the work force.

Kummacon entrance.

Kummacon was held once again in Oulu's International School and that means it's very much in the heart of Oulu's centrum and thus it's very easy to find and close to everything (train station, bus station, food markets etc) so it's a very convenient location. I do like the building itself, it's decently roomy and well-lit for an event of modest size. Kummacon is extremely visibly pro-LGBTQ+ (I'd say it's the gayest convention in all of Finland ngl) with various queer flags plastered everywhere. The organizers are working very hard to make sure that the event is safe and welcoming for all attendants and that means there's a zero tolerance policy towards any kind of discrimination or otherwise bigoted behavior like racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, bodyshaming etc. I think this is very important because events like this are one of the few public spaces where gender-diverse and questioning teens, youths and adults are free to explore and express themselves as their most authentic selves with minimal risk of harm being done to them. So thank you Kummacon for providing a safe space to those who need it the most in this increasingly hostile world.

Anygays, back on track. So me and Firith headed for Oulu on Friday night by train and our accommodation was the same trusty Sokos Hotels that we stayed at during last year's Matsucon. This time we got the salmon-themed room instead of the tar-themed one. Honestly I preferred the tar theme but that might be a me thing with my general love of anything with tar in it, be it sweets or boats. xD

Comfy hotel corridors provided a vacation feeling!

Before the con I asked to change my volunteer work station from the cafeteria to something more relaxed like the green room. Some might remember that I was a cafeteria worker last year but because my mental health and general tolerance of stressors has taken a nosedive lately I decided to play it safe. I ended up being relocated as a green room worker for the whole weekend and I don't regret swapping stations because this was the right choice for me.

Towards the end of Friday me and Firith were really hungry and so we went to eat at pizzeria Cantina because we were lazy and it was literally on the opposite side of the road seen from our hotel. It was one of these kinda expensive fancy-schmancy pizza places where my economically distressed ass had to settle for a margharita pizza (which I normally never take) because everything else was outside my budget lmao. But honestly I don't regret that choice and this one at least came with mozzarella – I mean look at this circular disc of deliciousness!

 

Ei ollut mikään kusinen klähmäkiekko tämä. #ökypitsa

 

I'm sorry but I have a massive brainfog and don't really remember much of this weekend, just bits and pieces here and there but no coherent memory of what I did during any given time or day, it's all just floating together into this mushy blob of "I know I was at a con and it was fun but I have no idea what I've been doing all weekend". :'D In my defense I had the worst con hungover I've had in years so that probably explains the partial amnesia lol – I was sooo spent when I got home it took me several days to even somewhat recover. What I do know is that I was working for a majority of the con's duration and that means I spent most of my time in, you guessed it, the green room.

On my way through the corrido o' depressio...

... to find the light at the end of the tunnel green room.

 

The green room was located on the basement floor and it was quite hard to find and very... small. You had to enter a door downstairs that was barely held open by a few stones (there were no signs the green was there) and then walk along an unlit corridor until you reached the coffee break room, aka the green room. It's far away from all the happening and con vibes, very isolated and although the work tasks were simple and easy to complete (refilling coffee and tea, running to and fro' between green and the cafeteria upstairs to bring food items over etc) I often felt like I was missing out on the con because sitting there for roughly 6 out of the con's 8 hours a day honestly felt very unbalanced in terms of work versus free time. I know Kummacon was understaffed (just like almost all cons nowadays it feels, it's a struggle to get enough volunteers) and so the organizers were in a pinch to have all the necessary stations running and I know it was hard to make it work because some volunteers ghosted and never showed up. I was the only official green room worker for the whole weekend and that does explain why my work hours weren't optimal and, although my personal con experience suffered due to the isolation and lack of time to explore, I still feel proud that I managed to row my tasks and responsibilities to shore despite my difficulties while also providing all the other workers with a place to relax, refuel, chat and bond with others of the Kummacon work force – olette kaikki ihania!

The highlight of working at the green room was of course hearing the best gossip of the con along with constant access to snacks and refreshments lol. Oh and green room was the coolest place in the con so there was also the perk of not overheating nor suffering from the, at times, dip in air quality upstairs because of how crowded it could get.

I might have been left unsupervised at one point and I might have decided to do something about the fact that most green room users didn't know where the fridge was. This is my level of humor, I have no regrets!

During my free time on Saturday I went to listen to a panel about time-travelling and after that I scurried along to quickly snap some general con photos for posterity. I did have time (when combining Saturday and Sunday free hours) to do my number one important con thing and that's checking out the Artist's Alley and the Artisan's Alley for loot to bring home. There were a lot of familiar faces but also a couple new ones I didn't recognize from before, which is always nice. I ended up buying a few pins from different sellers for my ita bag I finally have one and a Neuvillette Genshin Impact charm because he's my new obsession and I can't help it.

View near the entrance, info desk to the left.

Of course there was the obligatory snacks and sweets shop.

Artist's Alley was located in the room behind the info desk.

The Artist's Alley seemed a bit quiet during the times I visited and especially when compared to the Artisan's Alley upstairs that had constant traffic due to the cafeteria, secondhand shop, anime karaoke etc being on the second floor and thus most congoers spent a lot of time walking past those tables upstairs so yeah, those who were upstairs most surely got a lot more repeated exposure due to the placement. I'm not sure though if the few tables just next to the info desk were artists or artisans but that was, in my eyes, the most optimal location to have a table at because you were literally just next to the entrance and thus highly visible; I even overheard one of those two sellers saying during the middle half of Saturday that they had already sold more than they did last year on both days combined when they were upstairs. :O

View of the main floor while standing on the staircase.

View just next to the staircase upstairs (blocked by the pillar). :D

View of the Artisan's Alley upstairs.

 

Sunday was mostly the same as Saturday except for the sadness that meant checking out of the hotel room and bringing our mountain of luggage to the con for safekeeping. Yes, carrying a TV and a console around got heavy really fast. We ended up storing our belongings in the green room and this is also where one of the main organizers gave me stonks gamer respects because you have to be some level of hardcore to carry your gaming setup 100 km away from home just so you can do your daily streaks in a few live-service games. :') 

Sunday also was slightly different because Firith upgraded to be an unofficial Kummacon green room worker to help me out and so that I didn't have to be so lonely down there all day lol. Otherwise he would probably have been barred from entering the green room as both his panel and his work task as a cosplay competition judge were both slotted on Saturday. 

Once the con was over we made use of our con worker perks (free leftovers including matcha waffles!) and helped clean up the green room before it was time for us to leave. Sadly our train was very delayed due to "personal injury" which, as far as I know, usually is a nicer way to say that someone attempted suicide by jumping in front of the tracks. Of course it could have been something else too but if it was like a stroke or something I think another Finnish word would have been used. :/ It makes one very sad nonetheless, especially because I've heard that spring and autumn is the most common seasons for this to happen and that each train conductor witnesses on average about 4 attempts during their service and yeah, I can't even begin to think how traumatizing that must be for the train crew because often the only thing you can do is to hit the emergency brake and wait for the train to stop a mile later; even though it's not their fault I can imagine the haunting guilt must be incredibly difficult to bear...
In the end our train ended up being roughly two hours late but we got home safe and sound. Firith drove me back home from Kemi and that was the end of our Kummacon journey.

I know this summary is messy, all over the place and kinda brief on details and whatnot but I just want to get it out of the way and I don't think there's a lot of interesting tidbits to bring up because let's be real – a majority of my con time was spent sitting in the green room and waddling up and down the stairs to refill the warm food of the day, it's not a particularly exhilarating read. And no misfortunes happened either like me somersaulting in the stairs with a heavy-ass rice cooker in my arms lolol. Of course a lot of shenanigans, fun and educational conversations happened in the green room etc but what happens in the green room stays in the green room heheh..~

All in all I'm happy I attended Kummacon once again, it's such a chill and safe event and I hope it stays that way too. Sure I can't claim that everything went perfectly this time but overall I felt appreciated and the camaraderie among the workers was great. I also really liked what one of the main organizers told me about the reason why she created Kummacon in the first place and keeps organizing it each year – I don't remember it word for word but she said something along the lines of that she's creating the event for her inner child who didn't have anywhere to go and feel a sense of belonging and safety. Her wish is that today's outlier youth and children won't have to experience that same sadness of feeling excluded and not acceptable enough because of being "too weird", aka simply being yourself. That's such a noble and wholesome cause, to make sure that those after us don't suffer as much as we did.

And yes, the word 'kumma' actually means weird/odd in Finnish and it's something I think the Kummacon crew is intentionally reclaiming to be a positive trait. Embrace the weirdness!

Thanks for reading and see you at the next con,

~ Shiro Samurai out.

Dota 2 Invoker cosplay WIP part.2

Hello hello!

I was checking through my unpublished drafts and found this progress post buried between the rest of the lot of forget-me-nots and well, last time I touched this draft was in... wait for it... January 2017. Jesus Christ, who ate up all that time? It feels like it wasn't that long ago I swear. ;_;

Nobody probably remembers but in the first part I said I had no deadline for this cosplay but was aiming for a summer 2017 debut? Well, as everyone now can see that totally happened. /sarcasm

Well, I still intend to finish this costume at some point although I have no idea if that group cosplay idea which spurred this creation in the first place still stands, lol. Anyways, I figured I might as well publish what I have made since the last progress post from... umm.. *counts*... almost 8 years ago. Yikes. Honestly I barely remember what I was doing the last time I worked on this project but I'll just publish this post as-it-was and then do a "current sitation" note at the end.

___________

I had previously finished serging the jacket's top and the skirt part (to prevent edges from fraying), which I had planned to later sew together to make things easier for me. The "skirt" consists of three fabric widths and I started out pleating it in big, wide pleats, of which every single one was to be 10 cm. It was quite a task to pleat all that fabric evenly...

Skirt pleating done.

It's sewn together and held up here just to show length.

I then sewed the skirt onto the main body of the jacket, aka the top half. I ended up with a miscalculation, because I got the numbers mixed up, but it was nothing that wasn't easily fixed by taking out the seam ripper and deepening one of the skirt pleats before reattaching it to the body. I also hemmed the edges.

Before sewing together the bottom half of the jacket (the "tails") or attaching the sleeves I wanted to make and sew on all those golden swirly details on them. For this I remembered that mom has this whole roll of some nifty golden fabric that doesn't fray and thus should be perfect for this kind of work.

Soon after I had done the progress I mentioned above I quit the sewing class in the school I was at back then, mainly because the only good teacher quit her job and she was the only one I came to terms with. The other two were not proper teachers and, honestly, most of the time it felt like I knew more about sewing than them, which is a kinda awkward spot to be in as a student. Not to mention but they didn't treat me all that well either so I ended up jumping off the class for more than one reason. So yeah, once the only talented and friendly teacher was gone my progress on Invoker was put on hold. Another problem was that the apartment I had back when I worked on this cosplay was ridiculously small and crammed; I had no space to lay out and cut the golden fabric roll into the shapes I needed. Not having a sewing machine easily available made it really hard to get motivated to continue on the project and yeah, it's been literal years since I last touched Invoker. Don't read that in a dirty way thanks ololol.

The current situation is that I have since then moved to a better apartment (space is still an issue though but for wholly different reasons rip) but some of my belongings and especially my cosplay stuff are still scattered in all kinds of different bags and places and, truth be told, I have no idea where my bits and pieces of Invoker currently lay hidden! I remember having them in a saggy white plastic bag at some point but I can't recall where I've last seen it. Yes, I'm not a terribly organized person. But I know I haven't disposed of any of the cosplay parts and once I find them I'm going to go through them and pick this project up again. I still won't put a deadline but I hope it won't take another 8 years before we see any news on Invoker again, that would be epic fail.

Yeah I know, it's not much for an update but now you all at least know that this costume isn't dead and buried. Not yet at least. It's kinda buried though, among unknown stuff. Now, wish me luck in finding the remains of my forgotten wizard...
~ Shiro Samurai says bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!

Preliminary convention plans 2024

 Hello everyone!

It's a new year and that means new plans are being forged about what anime cons I plan to attend. I haven't done this kind of list in ages this is totally not a filler episode but as I've regained interest in going to cons and cosplaying I thought it would be fun and motivating to do this kind of post again. :)

 

I plan to attend the following:

FIN • Kummacon 

FIN • Matsucon

SWE • Nordsken

FIN • Mericon

FIN • Nekocon

The list above isn't in any particular order, I don't even think all cons have officially revealed their dates yet. Out of these Nordsken is the only one that isn't basically guaranteed attendance and is more of a "maybe" case; I wasn't impressed with last year's delivery but I kinda want to see if it will be better or even worse this year, it's that kind of dangerous curiosity you know? xD But yeah, Kummacon and Matsucon are basically set because I've already applied to be a volunteer worker to both. And well, when it comes to Mericon I'm one of the people involved in its existence so you can be sure I'll be there lol.

Of course the list isn't definite and changes might happen if life gets particularly shitty or something unforeseen happens. It is possible that I might spontaneously end up in more events than just those mentioned but yeah, that's the expected list at the time of writing. :) 

What cons are you going to? Feel free to share your plans in the comments!

~ Bye bye

Year of Cosplay 2023

 Hello everyone!

This year has gone by really fast I swear they go faster and faster every year help but unlike the last few years there's been a marked improvement in my con attendance. Yes, I'm slowly rising back from the dead and even got some kind of inspiration back! It feels so good to return to this hobby and get some enjoyment from it that isn't too tarnished by anxiety and other issues. I'm very thankful to all my friends who made this year so wonderful and I'm actually feeling motivated to make new costumes again and get my shit together. I've been to a record amount of conventions this year (and a lot of firsts!) and I'm hoping to keep up the steam into next year because this has honestly felt refreshing. 

Cons attended in 2023:

Kummacon - Oulu, Finland
Sastamalan cosplay-päivä - Sastamala, Finland

Nekocon - Kuopio, Finland

Mericon - Rauma, Finland

Nippori - Pori, Finland
Matsucon - Oulu, Finland

Nordsken - Skellefteå, Sweden 

 

It's hard to pick what was my favorite event this year as there's several strong candidates but I'd maybe put Nekocon at the throne, although tightly followed by both Mericon and Matsucon. Nekocon had a really nice vibe going on, enjoyed great summer weather and the stay at Rauhalahti spa hotel really elevated that experience as a whole to the next level. I might have a slight Mericon bias since I was one of the organizers but it was a roaring success for a small first-time con and it had a distinct atmosphere and heart that I felt was really pleasant and genuine. Matsucon was also a great experience; working the video game room was fun and overall Pohjankartano is such a nice con building and yeah, I might have become addicted to Itsudemo's sushi buffet help.

 
...

...

Guess what? I actually cosplayed at conventions for the first time in ages! It feels wild to realize it but the last time I wore a costume at a con before 2023 was in Kummacon 2019 where I was a random nameless jedi from Star Wars. After that I hadn't wore a single costume out until Nekocon this year, crazy isn't it? It feels weird to think there's been such a long gap but I can't be mad at myself for that either, I've struggled so much with my mental health and I need to be kind and remind myself that it's okay to fall out of hobbies for a while and focus on just surviving. But yeah, I'm slowly healing and this just might be the start of a new cosplay chapter and a return to the glory days... or something.

Here's a little list of what I wore at the cons I attended this year:

Kummacon: I was in alternative fashion gear so no cosplay.
Sastamalan cosplay-päivä: Because it was a spontaneous trip I had no costumes with me.

Nekocon: I made and debuted Kisuke Urahara from Bleach for Nekocon, which was a good idea as it was decently breezy and I didn't die a summer heat death lol.

Mericon: I was dressed in a pirate-inspired fashion outfit to fit the con's nautical theme. I don't count it as a cosplay.

Nippori: Rewore my old kimono version of Gakupo Kamui the Vocaloid.
Matsucon: Saturday I went casual but on Sunday I debuted a remade version of Yuuto, one of my oldest OC's that I created specifically for cosplay when I first started out.

Nordsken: I had loose cosplay plans before the con but ended up going casual and tbh I have no regrets about that choice.

~~~

I don't have so much more to say. This year feels like the start of a good run and I'm hoping to keep the momentum up and make new costumes next year and maybe even up my game and compete! We'll see what happens but I'm entering 2024 with a sliver of good faith and we'll see where it carries me.

And in regards to this here blog it will continue to stay active and I'll post content whenever I have something to share. ^_^ Someone might have noticed too that I've silently deleted my Facebook cosplay page recently but that's no precursor that the blog will face the same fate so don't worry! I just felt like the cosplay page had become excessive because I hardly ever used it and it had absolute crap reach (Facebook's algorithms are depressing). It felt pointless to keep the page because it feels like no one uses Facebook anymore anyway and yeah, I don't like the changes Meta has done recently either so I felt it was high time to nuke it and focus all my content and efforts to my trusty old cosplay blog. So now you know that the blog is where it's at. ;)

Thank you to all readers & Happy New Year 2024!