Connecticon & Otakon 2026

Table of Contents

# Introduction

I'm a long-time attender of Connecticon and this year was probably my favorite yet! Honestly, it's because of how lucky I felt finding art and merch for my favorite niche video game franchise.

As for Otakon (my 2nd attendance btw), I expected more since my experience at the smaller convention was so great, but it had its pros and cons.

I can't compare the two exactly but I had a great time at both! I basically spent the end of June and early July "con-crunching" as they say, and both conventions were 2 weeks apart. So I feel like my entire brain this month was taken up by cosplay and travel plans.

# Important Notes

• PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGES FOR THE FULL VIEW

• PLEASE be advised there is an image below of fake blood and a fake knife weapon (Silent Hill 2 Bubble Head Nurse cosplay)

# Cosplays

The characters I cosplayed this year did not change at all from last year other than just getting major upgrades. I was very determined to find a lot of my stuff second-hand and I was able to re-use components from last year as well.

# The Plain Doll - Bloodborne

On Friday and Sunday of Connecticon I was the Plain Doll from Bloodborne and my husband was the hunter (i.e. John Bloodborne). We did this cosplay again Friday of Otakon.

I loved this cosplay last year but the cloak I made was very finicky and easy to get wrapped up in. This year I found a full cosplay of the doll on Mercari. I was amazed at the quality too! I expected to mix and match some of the handmade pieces with the store bought but I ended up using the new one entirely.

On Friday, I did wear a bit of a f*ckasswig from Aliexpress but I was able to fix it up by Otakon. On Sunday at CTCon, I opted out of the wig completely and I was sooo comfy. I'm definitely going to try more wig-free cosplay now that I'm getting a bit too fatigued.

# Zero - Drakengard 3

I was Zero again this year! Of course there aren't a lot of Zero cosplays available on the market, but I'm aware of a few discontinued ones. Last year, it was entirely handsewn, and I don't think I was very recognizable. This year, I was able to find a full Zero cosplay, again on Mercari, from the supplier "uwowocosplay".

I also decided to splurge on a commissioned wig from Etsy! Zeros hair is so complex and complicated so thank you NanooooStudio.

I was so surprised and excited about how many people recognized me! I even got a photo with an Emil cosplayer which was cool.

One of my favorite con artists (Catthy Trinh) was so excited to see me cosplaying Zero, as they are the only artist that consistently has Drakengard 3 merch I can find.

# Metrocop - Half-Life 2

My husband was a metrocop this year and I HAVE to talk about it because I spent my "concrunch" sewing his vest from scratch. I did sew a little rinky-dink version the literal night before Connecticon and then started a brand-new one during the week leading up to Otakon. It was actually so complex that the moment I finished it, I went right to bed. I broke TWO sewing needles because I definitely pushed my sewing machine to the limit.

In case anyone is interested, I created a pattern with ~vibes~ and I used upholstery foam. I wrapped it in a denim-like fabric using fabric glue, sewed the cube and triangle patterns using the machine, and sewed most of the connecting parts as well. Sometimes I had to hand sew in situations like the collar, when it was misbehaving.

The two images on the left show the final product while the last image is the first vest I previously mentioned.

# Etc

I didn't take that many photos of other cosplayers. I never do unless it's something really rare and interesting, but here are some photos!

From left to right: Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Neeko (League of Legends), Shinku (Rozen Maiden), Ranni (Elden Ring), Yuuri (Girls' Last Tour), and Charlotte (Madoka Magica).

The last two images are my best friend whom I attended CTCon with as: Hina Alucard (Otaku Vampire Love Bite) and Bubble Head Nurse (Silent Hill 2)

# Artwork & Merch

I didn't fully keep track of all the artists I bought from (╥﹏╥), but I will say I was a super lucky girl. At Connecticon, not only did I find a Zero (Drakengard 3) keychain but also a Caim (Drakengard 1) print by dracooties!! Personally, I think I manifested the Caim print because all throughout the con I kept saying "Where's Caim?" jokingly and made it a reality.

At Otakon, of course I had to pick up the Drakengard 3 Intoners print (and stickers, and keychain) from Catthy Trinh . I want to personally thank them for holding down the fort and continuously making Drakengard 3 art when the fandom is all but dead except us. ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ

# 3DS Streetpass

Technically I have a 2DS XL, but it still counts. I was so excited for all the streetpasses I got at both conventions! I did learn a valuable lesson though. That streetpass plaza only holds 10 guests at a time before you have to clear them out. So, I got 10 per day at both conventions, 40 total. If I had known to clean up my gate, I probably would have gotten way more! But that's okay, I hope the community is alive and well next year too.

# Photodumps

Some miscellaneous silly photos & merch I thought was cool but didn't buy.

# Connecticon

# Otakon

# Closing Thoughts

Otakon is definitely more exhausting and overwhelming compared to my cozy CTCon, but both have their strengths and weaknesses. I did enjoy meeting and talking with people about Drakengard 3. Even though I'm pretty reserved and anti-social, I was super excited to talk about my "special interest", of course.

I had a blast and I can't wait to do it all over again next year. Cosplans include: Devola and Popola from NieR Replicant with the bestie, and maybe Four from Drakengard 3.

Thank you for reading and please leave a comment! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚