#convention log

I'll start this by saying that I think this was my favourite Otakuthon in the past couple of years. The con has been struggling post-pandemic with record high attendances, record low amounts of space, and middling organization. At this point I was attending out of tradition, but it was a fun experience in spite of the event. To that end, almost everything was vastly improved.

Crowds were handled much more efficiently; whereas last year the main hall was sardines-packed throughout all of Saturday, this time around the crowd crunch only occurred for an hour or so. Thanks to the con organization spreading certain activities like the concerts to their own locations off-site, a lot of traffic was reduced and you could finally stand around and enjoy the costumes. Despite another record heat wave this weekend (the planet's dyin', Cloud) the AC actually held up this time around, making for an actually enjoyable experience. That is to say, we still sweatin', but we're not dying anymore.

On the personal side, I've been focusing a lot on myself for my con experience. Most of my costumes were repeat wears for once. I'd been cycling between two to three new costumes per year, but all I could really focus on this year is how much I love my Sonic costume and how much I wanna keep wearing it... And probably remake it when it falls apart! Breaking away from the "always aim higher, always strive for perfect" loop has been freeing; now I want to be the niche weirdo costumer that you keep recognizing year after year with periodical upgrades.

I brought one new costume! I wore the Shadow Gijinka I've made on Friday. I'm happy to have finally given the project its due diligence after the last Shadow attempt. It's good for crowds, and I got to chat with other Sonic fans without being (lovingly) hounded like when I wear Sonic! I got to immortalize the occasion with a photoshoot I booked last-minute; can't wait to share photos of that. Unfortunately, I'm learning I just can't do wigs or make-up comfortably anymore; make-up makes me feel like trash and compounds my exhaustion, while the wig would just give me intense pressure headaches the minute I'd put it back on. Not to mention wearing full-body denim and a wig was an uncomfortable type of heat... Another preference to add to the list of requirements when I choose a costume to make. I was given a cute little Shadow ribbon to put on my badge for my efforts, which makes it my first ever badge ribbon! Participating in this tradition at long last was so fun; I kinda wanna make my own to give away and trade with next year.

I did most of my shopping on Friday! The alleys on the artist side are narrow as hell and the crowds are awful and, to be transparent, I'm not really a fan of how manufacturer acrylic-heavy the artist side has become in the last few years. I'm trying to be mindful in how I buy fandom items now, so I noted a couple booths I specifically wanted to visit, bee-lined to each of them to grab a couple things, and headed to the next one immediately while quickly looking at the other booths in the same row. Sorry other artists! I got some stickers, prints, a calendar and a little pencil case to store some essentials in. Also got to chat with the fursuit maker who got me started when I bought materials for my first suit, so that was very fun! (Items from golbiey, thecalendork and artfrommars)

I wore Sonic on Saturday again and had a blast! I spent a lot more time loitering around the main hall for photos and to chat with other cosplayers. I still think the con heat is way more manageable with a mascot suit; you don't feel sticky with underarmour, and taking costume breaks feel downright heavenly! I distributed many high-fives and posed for lots of photos, talked costume construction with other awesome people, participated in my first convention-specific furry group photoshoot and attended some fun panels between suiting sessions to rest and have fun. Sonic survived another convention effortlessly, though I now know for a fact the head fan system just isn't functional the way I made it; maybe on a future new Sonic mascot I'll find another system to circulate air better (maybe the ears?), but it's honestly quite bearable with breaks.

I "wore" Wurmple again on Sunday! I put quotation marks because I just put the tail on and carried the head around, really. It's cute but the vision and bug butt getting in the way isn't super convenient and I had lots of panel I wanted to attend. I think I'll retire Wurmple for conventions, but it wasn't frustrating by any means. I just figured I'd have more fun storing it in the bag and just walking around instead. I'll just wear one of my non-fandom partial suits instead in the future if I want a "chill" Sunday costume.

I leave the con feeling physically exhausted, but mentally energized! I'm discovering new interests within the hobby (I kind of really want to host a panel next year, or a group photoshoot, or a small event outside of cons! I wanna get involved in my fandoms) and finding the kind of people I want to connect with, stay away from all the elitism you can find in the cosplay community. I still wanna keep the Sonic Mascot in rotation for cons, but I kind of wanna add a simpler costume in the lineup that hits all my requirements for the more casual days; something without wigs or makeup and a lightweight outfit that doesn't require a lot of prep to get ready. (I saw a fun Mario with a N64 polygonal head; I think he's living the dream and I wanna find something like that to bring over.) I love the idea one good day of going all out and then two days of just hanging out with just a silly mascot head! Maybe make another partial fursuit of one of my OCs, but that's kind of its own project.

So, let's set the stage real quick. This is at Otakuthon, and it's a 35k+ people convention that keeps happening in the middle of a heat wave almost Every. Damn. Year. Also, 35k+ people is very much over the limit the convention area can comfortably take. Also it was humid as all hell. And so, so hot.

On a personal level, I've been dealing with general hobby exhaustion from things like wig burns, The Sensory Bullshit That Is Stage Makeup, and spending too much time stressing over keeping a costume intact for photos. So this year, the goal was "Silly, Casual, and No Bullshit." No wigs, no makeup, and everything has to be carry-able in a bag or two on public transit. Having begun this philosophy shift after last year's Otakuthon, I made three costumes during the year, leading to debut them during the 2024 edition.

Friday!

Friday was Robed Man from hit video game Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth. I made Cloud many years ago, but the exhausting perfectionism bullshit I was carrying within me was keeping me from feeling like making another named character from the series. Figured this would be a silly idea that could be re-worn for future Final Fantasy events. Friday was the perfect day for it since there was a Distant Worlds concert in the evening.

The Good:

Super quick to set up in the morning. Just a little bit of eye shadow to accentuate the dead fish look, throw the whole costume in a bag and it's good to go. More sleep, yay!

My purse fit under the whole thing for a seamless, accurate look, which was unintended but neat.

It was super easy to pull off and put back on within seconds whenever it got too hot.

The Bad:

It's supposed to be lightweight and breathable, but even with a tank top and shorts underneath I was sweating up a storm. The cloak is so big that it became too heavy to catch any air flow.

Despite pre-washing the fabric, the fabric's dye rubbed off on a couple things, notably the silicone on my water bottle and the rubber backing of some pins. Not on skin or clothes, thankfully.

Verdict: Worked as intended. a snap button's stitching broke on one of the scarves but the button stayed in place, so I quickly fixed it when I noticed it. As for the fun factor, it was great. It made for hilarious candid photos, and there was only a smidge of eye shadow to watch out for instead of the whole face being covered in makeup. It's absolutely unrecognizable IRL from the front though in a large convention setting full of costumed people, so not even FFVII cosplayers said anything 😭 It was fun to bring out for the concert, but I'm mostly looking forward to pulling it out for other small events now instead of cons.

Saturday!

Sonic was the costume for the big day. He was one of my dream cosplays when I first got into the hobby as a teen, so finally having it as a mascot cosplay was, well, SUPER HYPE. I was apprehensive bringing in a full-body mascot after sweating my ass off with just a cloak, but then decided I wasn't going to skip my chance to be Sonic and just go for it. I needed to do it at least once... The Good:

EVERYTHING (ish). SO HYPE

It was reasonable to carry in public transport with large enough bags. Not the most optimal, but more than acceptable. Two bags just so the shoes aren't rubbing on everything else.

I could put it on and remove it quickly without help, and wear it partially when I needed to cool off (arms tied at the waist and head in hand)

Surprisingly easy to navigate with. I didn't need a handler at all times, and spent most of my time fullsuiting by myself. Performing was comfortable, vision was very good straight ahead, and range of motion was excellent outside of the head spikes.

Against all odds, this was super comfortable despite the heat wave! The underlayer carried this entire experience. I could wear the full thing and perform in short hour bursts, then remove the head and pull the suit halfway down for a break with a neck fan, often while going to a panel or something like that. I was still sweating (drenched, even), but the underlayer just made it feel hot instead of sticky and disgusting and cooled down very quickly during breaks.

Sidenote, but I think I look really fuckin' cool with the head off and my badass disheveled hair. Like I felt REALLY COOL instead of worrying about ruining my makeup or whatever stressors I'd have with other costumes.

The donut-shaped support inside the head was great at redistributing the weight comfortably. Didn't have have neck or head pain the whole time.

Batteries for integrated head fans and neck fan did not run out with a whole day of wear.

The Bad:

The integrated head fans didn't seem help much. They didn't cool things to any noticeable degree, and the lack of mouthhole makes this a very sweaty head (especially compared to Wurmple; more below). They might've kept the head from being absolutely dogshit to wear, but it's hard to tell if it actually moved air around. Not a massive issue with the regular breaks, however.

Minor gripe, but the fan system I bought didn't have a on-off switch, so I had to dig in the battery pocket to unplug the fans every time I took a longer break.

The shoes, while easy to walk in, force longer strides that gave me quite the calf workout by the end of the day.

No major breaks during the day, but the shoes' rubber soles slightly peeled off in a few spots by the end of the day. Nothing a little contact cement can't fix., and technically "good" since it means I can safely remove and replace it if it gets too worn out.

I need someone to hold the head if I want to go to the bathroom, otherwise I'm having a really bad time.

Sonic looks kinda booby unfortunately but that's the perfectionist talking and I've vowed to destroy that mindset

Verdict: Holy shit this was worth braving the heat wave, worth all the hours trying to get the build looking just right, worth EVERYTHING! The reception from the people was awesome; I haven't talked to this many people in years, and everybody loved the mascot so much. I got to nerd out about Sonic, nerd out about the build, fist bump people and make them smile. It's my first fullsuit and it turns out I also love the performance aspect of it. The build lasted throughout the whole day with no damage (outside of the rubber soles, but I was expecting more than the small amount that began peeling) The perfectionism mindset I've been fighting with for years wasn't an issue because all the things I spent time getting just right are actionable design decisions like scale and material choices, not just "welp, I don't look like what I had in mind wearing this because I'm a real human and not a stylized 2d character."

Sonic re-ignited my love for cosplay and gave me a whole new style of costume I want to keep exploring and working on. Obviously planning to take Sonic out to other conventions if I can troubleshoot how to fit him into a suitcase.

Sunday!

Wurmple was my official first foray into fursuit making proper. I wanted to make a suit for years and finally committed, but I wasn't super interested in making an OC/fursona at the time so I picked a Pokémon I liked that looked interesting to make (I really wanted to sew the grub butt). I made him all the way back last August; he's the first costume from the "fuck wigs and makeup" era. I wanted to go for a bug-catcher summer look, complete with a little bug "cage" and a net. (I was genuinely worried someone might get full size nets a bad rap at the con with the gnome meme currently going on, so I just went with a tiny shrimp net instead.)

The Good:

The head is actually really breathable. Partialing plays a major part in the overall comfort, but the breathing hole is positioned in such a way a neck fan blows straight into it. The only sweaty area is the contact spot between my back and the tail.

It's easy to bring to the con, like the other costumes. Just stuff the parts in a small bag and go.

The dang thing is basically indestructible, so there's no worries navigating crowds or squishing the tail to sit down or whatever.

The Bad:

The vision is terrible. I absolutely need to hang onto a handler or remove the head if I'm doing anything more than standing around and talking. It's so narrow it messes up with my depth perception. The curse of trying to engineer vision out of a weird character design...

I can't really sit down on a chair with this tail unless I shove it to the side or remove it entirely, which is cumbersome since I thread the tail belt to my shorts for extra stability.

The tail is kind of dumptrucky enough that it got caught in the crowd more often than Sonic's whole costume did overall. Probably because Sonic is so massive he commands respect of personal space and Wurmple's bugass is very subtle in some angles, but it's enough of a concern to point out.

Verdict:

People got a good laugh out of Wurmple and more attention than I've gotten for costumes on average in the last couple years, so that was fun. No breakage either, but I expected these results since I've worn it outside a few times now. It was also by far the least sweaty costume of the weekend, being "regularly" comfortable despite the heat wave (in part thanks to the smaller Sunday crowd.) But the vision really dampens the experience enough that I'd rather keep it for furmeets or other less active events than a full-on convention. Enough workarounds to still be worth bringing around, but I'd love making another Pokésuit that doesn't have this glaring vision issue to rep the series!

Closing