Tracon 2024 Summary!

 Hi everyone!

Tracon was held 6.-8.9 once again in Tampere Talo. We skipped last year since there were so many wrongs in Tracon 2022. I heard a lot of good things about last year though and decided to attend this year.

Main entrance  

Our trip to Tampere started on Thursday after Don finished his shift. The train trip went well and hotel wasn't far either. I was quite tired, but didn't skip skincare. I tried one of those Disney Villain face masks and felt my villain arc begin. The mask left me feeling sticky and gross. After night cream though my face felt ok. Still would not recommend, especially if you have sensory issues. I got if for free though, so can't complain too much. I don't know if the serum did anything useful.

Ehhhh

First day of convention! We woke up pretty late, but the con wouldn't open before 15.00, so we could take the day slow. My cosplay for the day was Venat from Final Fantasy XIV. The weather was nice, but also quite warm, we were prepared for Northern Fall weather, not Southern. Note to self, Summer cosplays for Tracon 2025!

Hotel mirror selfie. Also new wig! :3

Ticket, love the design!

Program booklet. The theme this year was "Light and Shadow". I did not know this and accidentally matched this with my cosplay lineup. Nice!

We took the first day pretty easy, the only panels we watched were "Cannibalism in western culture and entertainment" and "Objection! No, that's wrong! - comparing Ace Attorney and Danganronpa". Most of the day we spend outside near Tracon Live! -stage, jamming to music. There was some Final Fantasy-themed programs too, but either I was in other panel or music -related program or I just completely missed it. This years panels and other programs were so good it was a little difficult to keep up at times what was when and where.

Tracon Live! stage, I think this photo is taken on Saturday, oops!

Nomnomnom

The cannibalism -panel was very well constructed and even funny at times, plus it did not show any unsettling/gross imagery. The speech was definitely unsettling and gross enough, lol. The panel was of course 18+, but no one checked ID's when we went in, which I found a little weird. There was another 18+ panel right after in the same room where ID's was checked though, so maybe they noticed the mistake? Idk, I just hope no kids were around there. ^^''

The Ace Attorney - Dangranronpa comparison panel was also good and I could really feel the panelist's love towards both of the games, though it could've used more visuals or have the main points written somewhere towards the audience. The panelist had some allergies, which why it was a little difficult to understand what they're saying under the sniffling. Other than that, I enjoyed it overall and it made me want to pick up Ace Attorney! :3 I've already played Danganronpa before. 

Tracon's huge outside area was completely free and I'm glad there was so much to do and see for those who can't afford/couldn't get a ticket. The live stage had cool performances, I watched some idol groups and they were great! There was also Artist's Alley, "Taidepolku" with different artist's for each day, so you could get a large variety throughout the weekend. Maid Café was also outside on Friday, so you could visit that too. I'm sure we missed some things the park had to offer, but point being, there was a lot.

Prop checkup with maps and other info. Very cool.

Glass blowing and metal work :3

Artesans were placed outside in little cabins.

"Pelätyt ja Palvotut" Art exhibition

"Pelätyt ja Palvotut", "Feared and Adored" was dragon art exhibition, held by Heikala. The artworks were by many artist's with their own designs and stories. Loved this!

Some cool dragons!

This little guy was my favorite! ^^

Once again I asked Don to snap some photos of my cosplay so that I could get out of it! :'D It was so warm that day.

Little selfie with the flowers :3

We were walking outside and I heard someone call me "Venat, mother!", took me some time to notice, but when I did, I was asked to choose a color. This color would be part of the light show later in the evening. These people were so nice to me and I want to thank them again for not only complimenting my cosplay, but also letting me be part of something so cool!

 

Tracon in the dark.

Saturday morning came and hit us quite hard. This day I cosplayed Melina from Elden Ring. The cosplay is at it's "early access" -state I guess, I didn't have the right shoes for her and I just realized I could add more embroidery to the jacket, but more about her in another post. I didn't have a chance to practice makeup either, and she has this crows foot(?) tattoo on her eye. I very much yee-haw'd this.

Meli-Meli!

With my tarnished ❤

I did not expect the reactions I got while cosplaying Melina. Especially how vague her character is, but she apparently has more fans than I thought. Also met another Melina cosplayer. I totally forgot to ask for a selfie together (I never saw them again that day), but we did get a quick chat about how we made our cosplays. I learned a lot! Also We saw Malenia cosplayer in Artist's Alley, but there was so much crowd, there was no way I could've had a conversation with them. ;_;

Don snapped this photo. Melina giving levels and whatnot to tarnished.

The first thing I wanted to see on Saturday was Prismatic Monochrome: Volume UP! Vocaloid live, and they DELIVERED. I had so much fun watching them dance, I didn't think watching idol groups in general was my thing at all, but after this con I definitely saw the appeal.

AAAAAh

We also found this lovely little Among Us plushie. I think the little guy sat there the whole day, I hope the owner claimed it.

Little mongus, so sus

We did some shopping and enjoyed the music outside. Our main panel we wanted to see was Elden Ring - In the Shadow of The Erdtree, so we had a lot of time to kill. Sysirauta at Artisan's Alley held "Tarraralli" or "Sticker Rally" with other artist's and sellers. You got a card with a map and spots reserved for stickers by different artist's and sellers. You had to go up to that seller's or artist's booth and ask for a sticker. These seller's had clear signs for Tarraralli, so you don't have to question if they're part of it or not. When you've collected all stickers, you got a prize.

Quest complete!

The prize this year was stickers worth 24€! All dragon themed :3

All prize stickers (minus the axolotl) on the left, plus that girl with white hair on the right.

Genshin stickers I got from a wish bag by Cidate, I also got a Zhongli keychain from that bag! ^^

Plus Kari Grandi and Gaston by folionarttu.

Once our quest was complete and we got something to eat, it was time for the Elden Ring lore dump!

The panel was all about Elden Ring lore before DLC and after. Even as a shortened version it held a lot of information. Then again, it's very difficult to make this story short, since much is not confirmed. I've listened to Elden Ring lore videos for hours while I was working on Melina, but couldn't hold much information afterwards. This panel had clear points, funny memes and it was easy follow.

"In the Shadow of The Erdtree"

It's one big family! :3

:DDDDDD

Even though the Elden Ring panel was held quite late, it was not the last program for us! We still wanted to see the fire show by Flamma! A local circus/fire performer group. The theme was fantasy, which was shown with flaming swords and other weapons! It was so cool and the perfect way to end the con day!

 

There isn't much to say about Sunday. We packed most of our stuff the night before, so we packed what was left and walked to the con one last time. We didn't do much, got some coffee and something to eat. Caught up with some friends and went back home. 

We had so much fun at Tracon this year. A huge step forward from 2022 at least from my point of view. Will definitely go again next year! I don't know how to finish this post, so have Vuokko.

I guess she missed me too.