Road.... where did everyone else go? Why didn't they tell me...?

Why are we .... alone?

photos by @adragonstale <3

Travel Blog - HanaCon / Saturday / 12.04.25

Here we go with another Travel Blog, this time for a smaller Convention the HanaCon in Hanover. I attended the HanaCon last year too but they moved locations and are now WAY bigger than last year so I wanted to see what they changed. Their overall set up is spring & cute, they pour a lot of love into the convention and you can just feel that.

I went as Okarun from DandaDan this time, I was a bit nervous as D.Gray-man is my comfort fandom and it has been... I think too many since I cosplayed a true 'hype' series and if I did never the main character as oh no the attention. But I made the mask I wanted to wear it.

If you are interested in how my day went please read further.

My day started at home and after a bit over an hour I arrived in Hanover, I found a nice parking spot and as I arrived at the location I got rid of my shoes as ... well I wanted to fully commit to the role.

The new location is a hotel this time, the last one was a small youth centre. The opening was a bit confusing as you didn't really get where to queue up but they solved it after a few minutes.

I watched a few minutes of the opening ceremony as I missed the start of the only one workshop I wanted to attend due the queue but it's fine I can attend workshops at another con whenever I like.

I took a stroll through the artist alley which was way bigger than last time, iirc it was maybe 10 artist last time (if even) this time it was 50! So waaay more.

And the vendor room was huge. Like. Really huge. They had about 4 vendors last time and this time I have no idea how many but it was a lot more than last time. And very different ones from the usual merchandise vendors to artist, to tattoo artists, to radio stations, they even had the voice actor signing area incooperated and you were able to buy some drinks there.

One of the vendors was Kreaturium who usually makes Fursuits but also had this amazing Fizzarolli puppet, we had a very nice conversation please check out their work.

And while we are at drinks.... i had to get myself a bubble tea. A bit sad it had jelly and not tapioca pearls.

Also I got thumbs up, called 'sick cosplay', "wow Okaruuun" and plenty more compliments, even got asked for photos and about how i made parts of my costume which made me very proud.

One person even talked a bit about DandaDan with me but sadly stopped the conversation as they said they are at Ep 8 of the Anime and I replied I am at the newest chapter of the Manga... so eh... sorry I do read stuff?

Of course I had to check out the food, I went for Ramen this time, they were super delicious and filling! I had some food packed but only nibbled on one of my oat cookes and then was so full I wasn't able to eat until later on.

But I took this as little time for a break and doodled a small Allen.

Then I met kawaiikupocosplay whom I know from her YouTube Channel and I was like "wait I do know you" and I am so glad I decided to ask if it's truly her, she is so incredible nice I hope we can talk and meet again, thank you for the conversations we had you really made my day!

And then I met Minz.Prinz again we know each other since 2022 but this time we had finally time to talk to each other. We had a very deep talk about D.Gray-man lore and I truly enjoyed our time together!

We then went to the Bring & Buy but aside from waiting forever to get in there was nothing exciting about it. (so yeah the wait was the most exciting thing <.< ).

I then went and took another stroll through the artist alley and the vendor room, in the end I got myself two new pins, a pokemon blind box (I got the one I wanted the most yaaay) and finally a stash of new pretty chopsticks.

And then I met these amazing Witch Hat Atelier Cosplay group and we had a nice chat. And in the end .... the Qifrey loves D.Gray-man and we maybe can do something together in the near future which would be indrecible!

I even took photos with a Momo but the photo is on her phone as she was clearly underage I didn't want to have a photo on my phone. Oh and in case you wondered ... i took the mask off for longer conversations as I heard everything dulled down but myself super loud while I spoke really quiet, it was hard to talk to someone like that. And I need to adjust the wig later on as I had to make it smaller as it was huge and now it's a tad too small and causes a headache with the time.

As I was almost about to leave I discovered there was another little vendor room with fashion items, it was about the size the vendor room had last year. Small but very lovely items!

I didn't visit the maid cafe even when it tempted me as I wasn't feeling like waiting long to get some cake.

So around 4 I decided to leave the con, the day was quite long already and I had the ride back home before me. I think it was a good time to leave.

It was truly a very nice day, I enjoyed it. The convention has so much potential and it shows that the north has the motivation to have conventions as well and not only the west of the country.

I ended the day with some ice cream as it was super warm and ... I have a very sweet tooth after all. I got the last compliment of the day as I picked it up :'D

Next Convention will be the Dokomi in almost 2 months!

Weekly Photo 16/2025

Sometimes a sunny beach is closer than you think...

dreaming away yourself to a better space.

".... I won't disappear ... Allen will be the sign..."

Their last moments.

A rather sad MonthlyNea this time, but their story is just too tragic.

I'm an Exorcist, my name is Allen Walker.

-

'Pocket' Allen is a Gem of Doll Abner, Full doll custom by me

WiP - A Brushbug for Qifrey

I wanted to start on this a while ago but I had to wait for the socket-tool to arrive to assemble the inner skeleton so it took me a bit longer but it's finally time.

So first up was building the skeleton. Then I cut parts and started to sew. I did make a pattern but didn't use it as the skeleton was longer in the end.

So here is the first silly fabric adventures.

After that I stuffed the little one for a full poofed up friendly brushbug look (tbh he's massive but very cuddly I loved him in this stage already).

Seams closed by hand and limbs also added by hand, (just to mention this was also the day I worked on Allen's unform and I have literally no idea how long I sewed by hand that day it was hours).

And of course the little guy needs feet!

As said he turned out quite massive but the posability is amazing. I love him. I decided to name him 'Edgar' dunno why.

It took me a while until I was sure how to make the eyes, after a good walk in nature I decided for Cosclay, downside: it would need to dry at least overnight so the little (ehem) Edgar had to wait.

The weird stage of glueing eyes.... nightmarefuel OTL

But here he is <3

He's guarding my costumes now.

Finished by 23/02/25

WiP - Pocket-Allen - Sewing the Uniform, Pt 2

Okay I was on a roll for the coat as I needed something to work on by hand and this was a lot to do by hand. I have another cosplay I wanted to start on before I continue with smoll Allen but ... comfort was more needed.

What came next was sewing a lot of stripes, somehow I found this relaxing. Ironic when you consider the fact this was what I hated the most about the red uniforms. But somehow the size smaller was more fun overall???

As you can see this went on and on, after the first issue with the tape and the hood everything went super well, the pattern fit and I almost made no mistakes.

I needed several attempts for the button piece to attach it evenly but even the button holes were super satisfying to make and I was done with everything that needed the machine to be sewn.

Sewing in the sleeves on the other hand... took almost longer than the whole coat OTL 20 minutes to pin down one sleeve, somehow it just slipped around.

But eventually I won.

But then came attaching all the tiny prepared parts, the buttons and then making some more little things to make it complete...

I know this looks very silly but the painted on parts were drying like this, the coat is very roughly painted on but from afar it looks more detailed than it is.

So here we are.... sadly it was super dark already as I was done. Blame the winter sun.

New doodle batch, took me some time, real life truly ate me.

It was late but we decided we didn't do enough silly face photos, so ... here we are.

I'm still impressed how well the make up was after 10+ hours of Con.

Photos by @adragonstale <3

WiP - 2nd Uniform for Allen - Pt 4

So second part of the weekend here, but I aimed to do less on the costume this time as I had plans to paint a doll and wanted to do that in the afternoon. My main goal was to attach the sleeves and add the stripes to the outer part.

First thing I did was ... failing hard. I sewed in the first sleeve nicely BUT the flap was ... in wrong. So open up all again.

But at the third try it finally worked out. I am so happy with the working zipper here. THere is a small spot I might fix later on but for now I am quite happy how it turned out!

Next was the other sleeve, I sewed in the cross a bit by the first try but that was an easy fix.

I then went and added the shoulder pads by hand, well, at one side. For the other side it will be in seam one I attach the collar.

Then... tons of stripes to add. They are uneven, it's super hard to get everything even with the black fabric being slippery. But I like the end result here.

Next up was actually drawing and cutting a lot of parts for the lining and the attachment for the zipper. I still have to draw/cut the parts for the belts but I will do that once I have everything else done.

I'm very happy how this part turned out, I will paint the added apoxy part silver later on when I work on the one button and the cross, then I have all the material out anyways.

Last thing I did that day was pinning down the collar and the zipper attachment to see how the overall fit looks like.

And pinned the lining for sewing later. The uniform itself is just a visual fit I have to take the pinning apart when I add the lining, I just was super curious.

Next up I will put together the lining and then sew both pieces together. I have yet to decide if I want to close the thing with hidden buttons or with hooks, I have both here, buttons could be usual buttons or snap buttons.

So what is left?

And maybe an additional Innocence to put under it, I tried it with the 2nd Innocence arm but the fingers are too big to fit into the glove (I ripped one finger while trying so that's a nope).

Boxopening - Pumpkin heads by @snow-and-resin

They came in faster than expected so let's open a little box.

Aaaand number one is Winona, the Bunny.

Second is Bela, the Bear.

And Helena the kitty.

And here are the neckholder and a rough test with the head on the body. I noticed I need to remove a part of the neck as it makes the necks way too long.

Here is a quick test with Helena and the adjusted neck. I need to adjust them all (the extended neck just looks like a stick), then shorten the strings a bit and of course work on the heads.

Weekly Photo 15/2025

"Where are you, Yuu~?"

-

Alma.

He is a fandom favorite and that for a reason. I didn't plan to have him as doll one day but as I saw the Stevie head I really liked it and ... then I came to the conclusion this will be Alma. Perfect fit.

Alma Karma is a Luxi Studio Stevie on Huajing Doll Body

Full Custom by me / Character by Katsura Hoshino

WiP - Pocket-Allen - Sewing the Uniform, Pt 1

Now that both Qifrey and Alma are finished I yearned for a comfort project and ... it had to be Allen. I had planned to start with the next cosplay first but somehow doll Allen was tempting me more.

The pattern were made up within 10 minutes, I only used the sleeve pattern from a former outfit (I had to make up the other parts as I somehow didn't find the other pattern).

Later that day I pre-cut the parts. And the day after I started the first sewing bits. I went for the lining first, this was leftover fabrics from Qifrey so if there was an ill fit recutting them wouldn't be an issue.

Here are the first two fitting tests, as you can see... only small adjustments around the neck but nothing more.

So I went and made the base for the Uniform too. There are a lot of details to prepare it will take a while until that's finished.

Then I made the lining for the hood, for testing purposes again.

As you can see the fit is very nice, even with the wig an all. I stopped here to continue on another day.

I continued with the hood, I didn't take photos of my first attempt to attach the stripes on the hood as I was just frustrated by it, I tried using the machine but due the curve it came out very crooked... I attached them by hand.

Other than that I prepared the sleeves and pinned down more stripes to work on the coat whenever I liked to continue.

My concept for Helena, Winona and Bela, three little dolls I am currently working on.

Or let's say, the dear @snow-and-resin sculpted lovely pumpkin heads and I fell for them. Snow offered to print them for me and even adjusted them to the size of the bodies I have chosen for them.

The heads are currently in transit to me and should arrive the coming week, I'm very looking forward to have them here. So it was about time to get some designs done, they all have references to either the actors/their movies or fall themes without being too halloween-y.

I hope to translate their designs well onto the actual dolls.

New Incoming Dolls!

I didn't order one but two new dolls, for now I will keep the characters for those to myself.

It's a Conariumdoll Suyu and Xagadoll Mini Macula. And I noticed I could sew for Suyu in advance as I have the body & measurements here.

So that's the full incoming list by now.

I didn't include the heads by Snow here as they are almost here already.

This is most likely the last post regarding my character/doll portrait series, we have reached the 2024 arrivals and among them are still characters/dolls that aren't finished or even still on the incoming list.

WiP - Convention Aftermath

Heh. I did a full progress last year when I repaired damage and I thought it would be interesting to know how I deal with a 4 day convention and the aftermath.

So first thing was unloading the car as I got back home, I roughly sorted my belongings by areas, some pieces I directly put away like my cosplay boots. But the costumes I just piled up to check for damage later on.

One of the things I did early in the morning the next day was arranging my haul from the Bookfair as I forgot some items to put in the day prior and I tagged all the artist in my instagram story to promote them a bit.

I then went on to check the damage for the costumes and secured the glasses for Qifrey.

Overall I had very little damage to repair this time. Apocryphos and Qifrey each lost a button, Qifrey had ONE loose seam from the tons of hand seams.

Lavi has no damage but Allen has plenty, all around the claw. Some claws are losing paint but as they are weathered you don't notice but one seam popped open at the glove, the cross is quite damaged and one of the golden decorations popped open too.

Fixing Apo and Qifrey went quite fast.

For the 4 wigs the short haired ones didn't suffer any damage and I was able to put them away. Allen's wig got quite deformed due the hood but it was an easy fix as well with some hairspray.

Lavi has a bit of tangling in the back but other than that looked good still. I am yet now sure if I redo the braids later on.

So here we have the after con state for the wig and on the right is the wig after carefully brushing it slowly for like not even 10 minutes.

After brushing it I crimped the tangled back a bit more to avoid more tangling and steamed some streaks, then I was able to put it back to it's spot. Yes I do keep it like this as the hair is so long and heavy I fear the wig head would fall down from the cabinets.

What was left was putting the costumes back onto their hangers and deciding if I want to fix Allen's glove or not, I am not yet sure if I want to remake it as there is that one stupid mistake. I will sit on that decision for a while.

Oh and ofc washing pieces is due but other than that everything is ready to go again.

Then I went on to finish my travel blog sketches, I had sketched them down the days after each, I had started Qifrey on sunday during the con.

What is left now is sorting out 1.3k worth of cosplay photos. For example this is the folder with Qifrey after already narrowing it down once. I will go through it after finishing all the blog entries. Because then I will start on my photobook for the con and put the cosplay entried into the drafts to post them later on.

I poured a lot of time into coloring the pieces this time, some already had some base color but cooling down after such intense days is very much needed. Writing the travel blogs is mostly for myself to have another way to remember the cons, as I do photobooks but writing about the cons is just different, you have other emotions and it keeps the spirit of the con alive for me.

Here is one of the photobook pages in progress. I always aim to sort in the phone pics first and then the cosplay photoshoots, as those take longer to put in.

Oh and what I also do the 2 days after a con, aside tidying and editing stuff, I do give myself a free pass to eat whenever I like as I walked 80k steps the last 4 days my body needs to refuel. I used to hate that but it's just so much stress and my body needs the energy to keep up. I do prefer this over the fact most people get sick, I get ... very hungry.

Dunno if this progress is interesting for someone but I wanted to share it anyways.