100 Disney Things [016]: 4+1 better movies Wish could have been
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chacusha100 Disney Things [016]
As I mentioned in my Wish review, the plot of this movie is kind of a hot mess. It very much feels like a movie that went through at least three or four major versions of the plot, and many of those elements are still hanging in the film like vestigial limbs, leading to a very disjointed and nonsensical viewing experience. Meanwhile, there are like 5-second sequences slapped on like pieces of duct tape in order to hastily close up glaring plot holes, which makes me think there was a strong need for this movie to release on a schedule and it was shoved out the door half-dressed.
Anyway, since this Franken-movie has the suggestion of three or four other coherent movies in it, I thought I would make some suggestions about how it could have been fixed by deciding on just one version of the plot and changing the elements to fully cohere with that central plot. So here we go: 4+1 better movies Wish could have been.
( 4+1 better movies Wish could have been )
Welp, that's done. About 4 hours of my life diagnosing this movie that I'll never get back. You can suggest topics for future posts for this meme over here.
Sense8 s2 ep 6 and ep 7
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 01:30 pmimpala_chickEpisde 6: This one was so sexy! The pride parade! The pool sex! ( Elaboration under here )
Episode 7: AKA not my fav. ( Elaboration under here )
P.S. If anyone knows a place to get Sense8 screencaps, please share :) I'd love to make icons.
Episode 7: AKA not my fav. ( Elaboration under here )
P.S. If anyone knows a place to get Sense8 screencaps, please share :) I'd love to make icons.
WoT Ficlet: Appleading
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 10:13 pmkat_lair***
Title: Appleading
Author:kat_lair
Fandom: Wheel of Time (technically just the books but it's not really contradicting anything re the show either)
Pairing: Liandrin Guirale & Moghedien, Liandrin Guirale/Moghedien
Tags: Ficlet, Control, Power Dynamics, Choking, Torture
Rating: M
Word count: 632
Summary: In an old townhouse in Amador, Liandrin begs with eloquence she didn’t even know she possessed. It’s a wonder what fear can do, to loosen tongues and inhibitions.
Author notes: Response tomerryfortune's prompt of You're appealing to emotions that I simply do not have (from 'It’s Hard to Say ”I Do”, When I Don’t') over at likealighthouse's Fall Out Boy Femslash Febrary Ficathon. Takes place during Book Five when Moghedien catches the Black Ajah in Amador. This is unbetaed so if you spot a typo/mistake, please do let me know. Except for the title which is me mangling the English language on purpose. For my amusement.
Appleading on AO3
( Appleading )
***
Title: Appleading
Author:
kat_lair Fandom: Wheel of Time (technically just the books but it's not really contradicting anything re the show either)
Pairing: Liandrin Guirale & Moghedien, Liandrin Guirale/Moghedien
Tags: Ficlet, Control, Power Dynamics, Choking, Torture
Rating: M
Word count: 632
Summary: In an old townhouse in Amador, Liandrin begs with eloquence she didn’t even know she possessed. It’s a wonder what fear can do, to loosen tongues and inhibitions.
Author notes: Response to
merryfortune's prompt of You're appealing to emotions that I simply do not have (from 'It’s Hard to Say ”I Do”, When I Don’t') over at likealighthouse's Fall Out Boy Femslash Febrary Ficathon. Takes place during Book Five when Moghedien catches the Black Ajah in Amador. This is unbetaed so if you spot a typo/mistake, please do let me know. Except for the title which is me mangling the English language on purpose. For my amusement.Appleading on AO3
( Appleading )
***
The Birds Are on Their Way Back
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 05:06 pmseleneheartEarlier in the week, a flock of robins and a flock of starlings descended on the small ornamental cherry (?) (I'm not so good with ornamental trees) and devoured all the remaining fruit.
For the last two days, I've heard the geese overhead and today I saw a pair scrambling at speed for the pond in the woods behind my house. I love living here so much.
I put a suet block out for the winter - the birds in Texas usually devoured it, but it looks almost completely untouched. Maybe all the birds leave? I'm still adjusting to life in the northern forest, and I don't remember enough about how it worked when I was growing up in the mountains. Surely cardinals stay all winter?
I'm planning to clean out the seed feeder and get it out tomorrow. Maybe that will be more tempting.
For the last two days, I've heard the geese overhead and today I saw a pair scrambling at speed for the pond in the woods behind my house. I love living here so much.
I put a suet block out for the winter - the birds in Texas usually devoured it, but it looks almost completely untouched. Maybe all the birds leave? I'm still adjusting to life in the northern forest, and I don't remember enough about how it worked when I was growing up in the mountains. Surely cardinals stay all winter?
I'm planning to clean out the seed feeder and get it out tomorrow. Maybe that will be more tempting.
Celebrity20in20 - Round 19 - Hong Pichetpong
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 10:14 amreeby1020 Hong Pichetpong icons for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
celebrity20in20
Preview:
*Icons are free for use.
*Credit and comments are nice.
( Read more... )
celebrity20in20
Preview:
*Icons are free for use.
*Credit and comments are nice.
( Read more... )
Updates May Be Delayed - Meds Withdrawal
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 10:22 amintothisshadowWe're trying to stop me from using headache meds because I have to take them everyday, to see if helps with the chronic headache/migraine. Yesterday failed, as I had a migraine attack and today didn't start much better. So pain is bad, will get worse if I can go through with it for the next 2 weeks at the very least. I'm not sure I also have medication overuse headache, in addition to chronic migriane - I may, so this is needed to try now the situation is better, I guess. I'm scared though. Very scared.
So all, or some as the AKOTSK screencaps, update may be delayed or stopped for the duration. Depends on how I bad I'm feeling.
An Appreciation Meme
Friday, February 20th, 2026 10:50 pmbethctg
Because it's nice to let people know that we appreciate them. 🩵
In the spirit of love memes, this meme is a place to thank someone who's created something you love, or done something kind that you still remember after all this time, or who has made your fandom life (or your life in general!) better in some way.
One username per comment, but leave as many comments as you'd like! (Nominating yourself is fine!)
Feel free to nominate or leave appreciation anonymously, but the default is set to show who you are when you reply.
PROMOTE THE MEME & YOUR THREAD(S)
(no subject)
Friday, February 20th, 2026 03:42 pmribirdnerdFriday 2/20/26
The never ending winter... this snow pile is still left from the January storm. The birds and critters have been very hungry with all the snow cover.
Here's a hungry squirrel in my work parking lot
The never ending winter... this snow pile is still left from the January storm. The birds and critters have been very hungry with all the snow cover.
Here's a hungry squirrel in my work parking lot
Book Bingo: B1 | Nonfiction | Entangled Life
Friday, February 20th, 2026 11:51 amseleneheartEntangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
Blurb:
This is the February read forbookclub_dw so I'm going to reserve most of my review for the discussion post over there. But I will say that this is one of the more wild and entertaining journeys I've been on in a long time! Well worth the read!!!
Blurb:
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake's vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as the "Wood Wide Web," to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision.
Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life's processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms--and our relationships with them--are changing our understanding of how life works.
This is the February read for
bookclub_dw so I'm going to reserve most of my review for the discussion post over there. But I will say that this is one of the more wild and entertaining journeys I've been on in a long time! Well worth the read!!!
Kat Consumes Media
Friday, February 20th, 2026 11:54 amkat_lair***
Kat Reads Books
The Judge, the Jailer, and the Thief by Gemma Walker: Alex is freshly out of prison and has a heist of a lifetime to pull, if she can just repair the relationships with her family and also her ex girlfriend who she needs on the team. Rebecca is an ambitious judge waiting on a promotion that needs some encouragement to happen, all the while supporting her girlfriend of 20 years prepare for the celebration of the fancy tower building she's the architect of. Jimmy, a disgraced detective, wishes to regain his glory days or at least not lose them, except there's a documentary crew poking about an old case of a thief he and Rebecca put away a long time ago... Okay. Here are the things I enjoyed about the book: everyone was believably imperfect. The plot was complex and pulled it off pretty well, like I saw one of the main twists coming, but not the other. No big deal made out of the queer rep. The writing was pretty engaging. Here are the things I struggled with: I didn't really like any of the characters. The final decision Alex made endeared her to me more, but up to that point everyone was just... willing to do and say unpleasant things for reasons they justified to themselves. The omniscient pov was also something I haven't read in ages so it took a while to get used to it and the 'head hopping' was frequent and happened in. every. scene. It also made all the scenes really long because 'x said this, feelings/thoughts description' followed by 'y said, another feelings/thoughts description' etc ad infinitum. Most of the scenes were people talking instead doing, and everyone's emotions went from one end to the other like ten times in each scene. And on one hand, that's realistic as our emotions obviously fluctuate but on the other, we are rarely that fucking conscious of it so to have it described every time that she was delighted and then scared and then excited and then apprehensive and then and then in every. single. conversation. was exhausting. The core plot was good and I liked the found family theme, but then not to even show the central heist in detail from Alex's pov felt like such a cop-out. I gather there is a sequel coming, I am ambivalent about picking it up but I also want to know what happened to some of the characters, e.g. entirely unclear if Rebecca ever got any comeuppance or not. Argh. In summary, the book could've used a tighter edit.
Kat Watches Things
Our Flag Means Death season 1: Has anyone not seen this yet? Just me then. One of those things that I knew I would enjoy but just hadn't gotten around to. Two men in their middle years find a way to break out of their society imposed boxes, deal with their trauma and freedom to be themselves. And also find each other. Oh and they're pirates (yes both, how dare you) with a delightful ragtag found family crew. Also everyone is queer. An extremely satisfying watch as a queer middle-aged person especially. The two leads did a spectacular job. I will get to the second (and final) season eventually, just not sure I'm emotionally ready.
Kadonnut: Joulupukki (Missing: Santa Claus): A cute children's movie from 2015 where four kids are invited to visit Christmas land and have to find the missing Santa Claus who has been kidnapped. Or has he? It was pretty fun with the different elves, some stilted acting but okay, like exactly what one might expect. Bonus points for the rap battle that was genuinely funny.
Pastori ja Ruma Kuusi (The Pastor and the Ugly Christmas Tree): A short film about a new pastor/vicar who wants to bring people together to decorate a Christmas tree outside a shopping centre. Predictable but I really enjoyed the guy who played the vicar, he was fun.
Despicable Me 3: A rewatch but still good. I love Minions and I cannot lie. Gru unites with his twin brother, loses and regains his job, shenanigans. The Minions!
Hotel Transylvania 1-3: First was a rewatch and involves Count Dracula working through his human related trauma because his daughter falls in love with one. Second was also a rewatch and centres on Mavis and Jonathan's monster-human family and whether or not their kid is a vampire and if that matters and to whom. Adorable. The third movie in the series I hadn't seen and focuses on a family vacation on a monster cruise where the captain has an ulterior motive which may or may not involve Drac's heart... It was fun but the romance aspect felt a little forced. I did enjoy all the details about the cruise and how everyone was spending it. Out of the three, the second movie with its family/identity focus is my favourite.
Code 46: This was in BBC iPlayer's Valentine collection, said 'dystopian romance' and so J and I clicked on it randomly for background watching and then ended up going WHY THE FUCK IS SHE DOING THAT and YOU COULD DRIVE AN UBOAT THROUGH THE PLOT HOLES. I mean... We enjoyed that part. The movie itself... Okay, in 2077, for reasons, a lot of the population is in vitro fertilised/grown in identical clone batches (yes, I know, it does not make logical sense, ignore the actual science). So if you want to procreate the old fashioned way you have to do a genetic screening first to check that you're not genetically related and in violation of Code 46... Anyway. The story goes that a fraud investigator enforced with an empathy virus, arrives in Shanghai to figure out who is smuggling out insurance papers that are the only way to travel between highly protected population hubs. He falls in love and sleeps with the perpetrator instead. All within like 24h. Already unbelievable. And then... Everyone makes absolutely batshit decisions, the Code 46 sure is violated, the woman bears the ultimate consequences, there's a super uncomfortable consensual non-consent scene that both of us made 'ewww' faces at and... Idk. This sure was a film I've watched. Is all I can say.
Mulan: Rewatch, still one of my favourite Disney movies.
Mulan, the live action remake: Possibly a part rewatch? At times I felt like I'd seen it before and at other times not so no idea. I... Didn't mind it. The cinematography was gorgeous and the changes to the story (the dragon was a phoenix, the love interest was not the captain but just another soldier, there was a hot witch) were understandable and worked decently. I liked that the love story didn't get anything beyond a flash of abs and some hand touching really. I did come out of this eyeing the Mulan/Xianniang (the hot witch) interactions with interest.
Zootropolis: Probably a fifth rewatch. No regrets. Still love it.
***
Kat Reads Books
The Judge, the Jailer, and the Thief by Gemma Walker: Alex is freshly out of prison and has a heist of a lifetime to pull, if she can just repair the relationships with her family and also her ex girlfriend who she needs on the team. Rebecca is an ambitious judge waiting on a promotion that needs some encouragement to happen, all the while supporting her girlfriend of 20 years prepare for the celebration of the fancy tower building she's the architect of. Jimmy, a disgraced detective, wishes to regain his glory days or at least not lose them, except there's a documentary crew poking about an old case of a thief he and Rebecca put away a long time ago... Okay. Here are the things I enjoyed about the book: everyone was believably imperfect. The plot was complex and pulled it off pretty well, like I saw one of the main twists coming, but not the other. No big deal made out of the queer rep. The writing was pretty engaging. Here are the things I struggled with: I didn't really like any of the characters. The final decision Alex made endeared her to me more, but up to that point everyone was just... willing to do and say unpleasant things for reasons they justified to themselves. The omniscient pov was also something I haven't read in ages so it took a while to get used to it and the 'head hopping' was frequent and happened in. every. scene. It also made all the scenes really long because 'x said this, feelings/thoughts description' followed by 'y said, another feelings/thoughts description' etc ad infinitum. Most of the scenes were people talking instead doing, and everyone's emotions went from one end to the other like ten times in each scene. And on one hand, that's realistic as our emotions obviously fluctuate but on the other, we are rarely that fucking conscious of it so to have it described every time that she was delighted and then scared and then excited and then apprehensive and then and then in every. single. conversation. was exhausting. The core plot was good and I liked the found family theme, but then not to even show the central heist in detail from Alex's pov felt like such a cop-out. I gather there is a sequel coming, I am ambivalent about picking it up but I also want to know what happened to some of the characters, e.g. entirely unclear if Rebecca ever got any comeuppance or not. Argh. In summary, the book could've used a tighter edit.
Kat Watches Things
Our Flag Means Death season 1: Has anyone not seen this yet? Just me then. One of those things that I knew I would enjoy but just hadn't gotten around to. Two men in their middle years find a way to break out of their society imposed boxes, deal with their trauma and freedom to be themselves. And also find each other. Oh and they're pirates (yes both, how dare you) with a delightful ragtag found family crew. Also everyone is queer. An extremely satisfying watch as a queer middle-aged person especially. The two leads did a spectacular job. I will get to the second (and final) season eventually, just not sure I'm emotionally ready.
Kadonnut: Joulupukki (Missing: Santa Claus): A cute children's movie from 2015 where four kids are invited to visit Christmas land and have to find the missing Santa Claus who has been kidnapped. Or has he? It was pretty fun with the different elves, some stilted acting but okay, like exactly what one might expect. Bonus points for the rap battle that was genuinely funny.
Pastori ja Ruma Kuusi (The Pastor and the Ugly Christmas Tree): A short film about a new pastor/vicar who wants to bring people together to decorate a Christmas tree outside a shopping centre. Predictable but I really enjoyed the guy who played the vicar, he was fun.
Despicable Me 3: A rewatch but still good. I love Minions and I cannot lie. Gru unites with his twin brother, loses and regains his job, shenanigans. The Minions!
Hotel Transylvania 1-3: First was a rewatch and involves Count Dracula working through his human related trauma because his daughter falls in love with one. Second was also a rewatch and centres on Mavis and Jonathan's monster-human family and whether or not their kid is a vampire and if that matters and to whom. Adorable. The third movie in the series I hadn't seen and focuses on a family vacation on a monster cruise where the captain has an ulterior motive which may or may not involve Drac's heart... It was fun but the romance aspect felt a little forced. I did enjoy all the details about the cruise and how everyone was spending it. Out of the three, the second movie with its family/identity focus is my favourite.
Code 46: This was in BBC iPlayer's Valentine collection, said 'dystopian romance' and so J and I clicked on it randomly for background watching and then ended up going WHY THE FUCK IS SHE DOING THAT and YOU COULD DRIVE AN UBOAT THROUGH THE PLOT HOLES. I mean... We enjoyed that part. The movie itself... Okay, in 2077, for reasons, a lot of the population is in vitro fertilised/grown in identical clone batches (yes, I know, it does not make logical sense, ignore the actual science). So if you want to procreate the old fashioned way you have to do a genetic screening first to check that you're not genetically related and in violation of Code 46... Anyway. The story goes that a fraud investigator enforced with an empathy virus, arrives in Shanghai to figure out who is smuggling out insurance papers that are the only way to travel between highly protected population hubs. He falls in love and sleeps with the perpetrator instead. All within like 24h. Already unbelievable. And then... Everyone makes absolutely batshit decisions, the Code 46 sure is violated, the woman bears the ultimate consequences, there's a super uncomfortable consensual non-consent scene that both of us made 'ewww' faces at and... Idk. This sure was a film I've watched. Is all I can say.
Mulan: Rewatch, still one of my favourite Disney movies.
Mulan, the live action remake: Possibly a part rewatch? At times I felt like I'd seen it before and at other times not so no idea. I... Didn't mind it. The cinematography was gorgeous and the changes to the story (the dragon was a phoenix, the love interest was not the captain but just another soldier, there was a hot witch) were understandable and worked decently. I liked that the love story didn't get anything beyond a flash of abs and some hand touching really. I did come out of this eyeing the Mulan/Xianniang (the hot witch) interactions with interest.
Zootropolis: Probably a fifth rewatch. No regrets. Still love it.
***
Wednesday What I'm...
Thursday, February 19th, 2026 10:26 amreeby10Reading
- I read some more of The Artist's Way. I've long given up on actually following it, but I am interested to see if I can get anything from it anyway.
- I finished reading (after accidentally hiding and just recently finding) Chupacabra by Roland Smith (Marty & Grace #3). I love this series! It's very fun, and also, who wouldn't want to read about cryptids?
- Ficwise, I've mostly been reading VegasPete and PondPhuwin. I'm working my way through my read later.
- The roommate and I finished 2gether. Certainly not one of my favorites, mostly due to the MC being so painfully oblivious it was mostly just frustrating. But still a pretty fun show. Though I do think it's funny that neither of the main actors has done any other BL afterward lol
- The roommate and I started watching Lover Merman. The production quality is pretty garbage, but I'm enjoying it. I saw people freaking out about the incest side ship, so I was very intrigued, but it a) turned out to be pseudo incest at best and b) was not really important or even shown much. Ahh well. I hear the last episode gets extremely bonkers, so that's exciting...
- The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Cat for Cash. Still cute. Satang is showing up in the next episode, so I'm very excited for that!
- The roommate, best friend, and I watched the last episode of Melody of Secrets. Mostly just sweet and domestic for the last episode, which was a bit surprising. But not unwelcome, there was enough drama lol It was indeed a weird show and I didn't love it, but ForceBook and JuniorMark were worth it.
- The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Dare You to Death. We're now two episodes from the end, and I do not think they are solving this case lmao I mean, they will, but not in a police way, more an accident way, I think. My pet theory on the killers doesn't look completely right, but I am intrigued that the prevailing theory since the beginning looks like it might be.
- The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of My Romance Scammer. The messiness continues, and I love it! It's so funny to see the scammers digging themselves into more problems when they could just... stop scamming and have loving husbands??
- The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Duang With You. Continues to be sweet and silly. I love Por's ice prince character so much.
- The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Yesterday. This show is bonkers lol I wasn't sure about the back and forth timeline, but I think it's working so far, and it's definitely keeping me engaged wondering what the fuck happened in between.
- We haven't watched as many series this week, because we've been watching the Olympics! I've been recording my favorite events (figure skating and speed skating primarily), so we're a bit behind, but it's been fun. We watched the wild men's figure skating singles, most of speed skating, and we're working our way through ice dance rn.
- Catching up on a very back episode of Ouija Broads that I skipped for a long time since it was one of the hosts and her husband instead of the regular hosts. It's been not bad though.
- The company that produces most of the Thai dramas we watch, their music production arm had a big three day concert this weekend with all their groups as well as some solo artists. So we've been watching a million clips of all the performances and shenanigans.
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
Highlights from Katsucon
Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 05:14 pmsetsuntamewI only went to one day of Katsucon, but omg it was fantastic this year!!!!! Alex was house/catsitting for her sister for the weekend, and since her sister lives near DC, it was closer than our place. Sooooo Liz and I headed there Friday night, grabbed a very late dinner at McDonald's with Alex, and then watched a bunch of enstars videos on youtube so Alex was ready to be excited for Absolute uwu
Also, she gifted me an adorable new friend, who goes absolutely perfectly with my CNstars cat nuis ;w; I also made them ice cream cones to match Madara's global exclusive card, and I think they came out really good ♥
if anything happens to my tutulong I'll just fucking die lmao
.....and then I stayed up waaaaaay too late because I'm fucking nocturnal D: Even though we had to wake up at 7 am to drive down early enough to get parking....I'm not smart :T
Liz and I didn't cosplay this year, cuz I didn't feel up to it, so I wore...a wig, a corset, and a floor length skirt XD wig is my Mayoi wig that I haven't styled yet - I pulled it out of the bag on Friday night and was delighted to discover that it's a lacefront - and the skirt is one I made for the Vampire Ball Liz and I went to in 2017. This did end up biting me in the ass because the corset ended up not sitting super well by the end of the night D: But we'll get to that later~
First thoughts on this year's katsu: holy shit I didn't realize how bad lobbyconning had gotten. I could actually move through the halls without be crushed by crowds????? Like, I was there on Saturday and I didn't feel cramped every second of the day. They did move registration to its own building, which freed up space to give Artist Alley a larger location, but still. It was really nice to be able to breathe during the con.
After getting our badges, we ran into some friends of Alex and Liz that they hadn't seen in over a decade, so everyone had a good time catching up. Which is, tbh, a classic Katsucon experience, since so damn many people go.
The first programming we went to was an absolutely delightful performance by Special for Princess!- or should I say Nice? XD Nice Arneb Thunder was MCing and they did a fucking incredible job. like. not to spoil it or anything, but this was such a highlight of my day, idk if anything topped it :0
Also, the esupuri group was just really sweet!!! They seemed so excited and a little surprised that so many people had come out to see them ;w; But seriously, they were quite good and did a good combination of songs and games. The trivia was great for me and Liz, since we actually keep current with the JP stories~ Liz won a tiara for answering some 4piece trivia correctly!
We hit up the Artist Alley for a bit after that, got lost in conversation with a Nagisa cosplayer who usually cosplays Double Face Kohaku, and I was blown away by their gorgeous ita bag. They had so many can badges from the DF TRIP album *w*
....and then we remembered we woke up balls early and Liz & I hadn't eaten :T So after debating a few options, we made our way to our tried and true katsu food: Mezeh. They opened sometime between katsu 2017 and 2018, and we've gone basically every year since. It's affordable and actually filling, especially since they have fresh veggies. Sometimes you gotta get some greens in you- especially at a con!!!
not me sounding like an ad read for my favorite fast casual restaurant lmao
The dealers room is a bit of a blur to me because it's soooooo big and there's so much to see, but I remember it being.....fun? Busy? It was probably one of the more cramped places at the con, but that was partially because some people are just rude. Many people shoving their way through...I didn't come with much money cuz it was a last minute decision to even go, so I wasn't sure about buying anything besides maybe something small from the idol goods booth. But since the idol goods booth wasn't there this year (?????), I ended up getting a new ita bag~
I'd seen it around on insta and lusted over it, so now it is mine!! I'm planning something around Double Face's TRIP album for it OwO
And then we had to hustle to finish artist alley before it closed, cuz we weren't coming back on Sunday D: Liz and I weren't planning on spending any more money, but 1) Alex wanted to buy more stuff and 2) we still wanted to see all of it. And in the end we did buy more XD We got a few more Trigun charms from![[instagram.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/instagram.png)
magpiesoddities, because we've been collecting their super chibi ones since Stampede came out~ They also gave us a free plantcest sticker for being men of culture (perverts).
uhhhhhh what did we do after that..............
OH RIGHT!!! Liz and I chilled on a bench sorta new the dealers room/artist alley area while Alex went to the MXTX photoshoot, and basically just took in the sights. I love people watching at cons :D We also got to help some youths (late teens/early 20s maybe?) learn the ways of Caramelldansen. They knew the dance and song, and it sounded like they'd heard people used to dance to it at cons? So they were trying to figure out how to bring it back. So while it was a conversation that made me feel very old, it was quite wholesome.
After debating back and forth a bunch, we ended up eating dinner at the grab and go place in the Gaylord. It wasn't necessarily "cheap" but like...nothing in National Harbor is, you know? And we didn't have to leave the building, which was a big plus. I'd never grabbed anything from there before, so now I know that it's not half bad.
We wanted to go to the video game room next, but my corset was fucking killing me and I needed to find a family bathroom so Liz could help me loosen it (since all the handicapped stalls in the Gaylord are barely wider than regular ones). So that was quite the fucking adventure. BUT WE EVENTUALLY DID IT. And I've learned I'm never wearing a floor length anything to Katsucon again.....idk how I forgot this lesson from 2017 lmao.
Next up: video game room! And..............it kinda fucking sucked??????? Lie, the games were brought from the same people who supply them for a video game bar I go to here in Baltimore, and usually it's a much better selection?? Like how did Anime USA, a significantly smaller con than Katsucon, have such a better video game room? idk man like......it was kinda disappointing. They didn't even have Chunithm ;w; And it closed at midnight, which is baffling. Katsu used to run sooooo late into the night, I swear it was originally a 24 hour con. Maybe I'm wrong? But I've been going for 17 years now, so I'm pretty sure I'm right :T
Whatever! Alex is gonna come down so we can go to the much better video game bar here~
After we watch cookie monster and godzilla have a cage match in the hall, we were all wiped and ready to head home. So lemme share all the pics I didn't include throughout the entry, cuz it would have ended up even longer :T
( welcome to the party (many katsu pics inside) )
Happy Valentines and goodnight from the boys!!!! I carried many nuis around all day but tbh it was such a rush that I barely took the time to sit, let alone take pics of them D: I will say that the cat kigu nuis with their ice cream cones were a hit with the many Double Face fans and cosplayers I ran into~
All in all, a successful day at the con!!!!! Hopefully finances will be better and I can go for the full weekend next year, but I can now say I've been going to katsu for 17 fucking years.....which is wild. Here's hoping the next 17 are even better!!!!!!
Also, she gifted me an adorable new friend, who goes absolutely perfectly with my CNstars cat nuis ;w; I also made them ice cream cones to match Madara's global exclusive card, and I think they came out really good ♥
if anything happens to my tutulong I'll just fucking die lmao
.....and then I stayed up waaaaaay too late because I'm fucking nocturnal D: Even though we had to wake up at 7 am to drive down early enough to get parking....I'm not smart :T
Liz and I didn't cosplay this year, cuz I didn't feel up to it, so I wore...a wig, a corset, and a floor length skirt XD wig is my Mayoi wig that I haven't styled yet - I pulled it out of the bag on Friday night and was delighted to discover that it's a lacefront - and the skirt is one I made for the Vampire Ball Liz and I went to in 2017. This did end up biting me in the ass because the corset ended up not sitting super well by the end of the night D: But we'll get to that later~
First thoughts on this year's katsu: holy shit I didn't realize how bad lobbyconning had gotten. I could actually move through the halls without be crushed by crowds????? Like, I was there on Saturday and I didn't feel cramped every second of the day. They did move registration to its own building, which freed up space to give Artist Alley a larger location, but still. It was really nice to be able to breathe during the con.
After getting our badges, we ran into some friends of Alex and Liz that they hadn't seen in over a decade, so everyone had a good time catching up. Which is, tbh, a classic Katsucon experience, since so damn many people go.
The first programming we went to was an absolutely delightful performance by Special for Princess!- or should I say Nice? XD Nice Arneb Thunder was MCing and they did a fucking incredible job. like. not to spoil it or anything, but this was such a highlight of my day, idk if anything topped it :0
Also, the esupuri group was just really sweet!!! They seemed so excited and a little surprised that so many people had come out to see them ;w; But seriously, they were quite good and did a good combination of songs and games. The trivia was great for me and Liz, since we actually keep current with the JP stories~ Liz won a tiara for answering some 4piece trivia correctly!
We hit up the Artist Alley for a bit after that, got lost in conversation with a Nagisa cosplayer who usually cosplays Double Face Kohaku, and I was blown away by their gorgeous ita bag. They had so many can badges from the DF TRIP album *w*
....and then we remembered we woke up balls early and Liz & I hadn't eaten :T So after debating a few options, we made our way to our tried and true katsu food: Mezeh. They opened sometime between katsu 2017 and 2018, and we've gone basically every year since. It's affordable and actually filling, especially since they have fresh veggies. Sometimes you gotta get some greens in you- especially at a con!!!
The dealers room is a bit of a blur to me because it's soooooo big and there's so much to see, but I remember it being.....fun? Busy? It was probably one of the more cramped places at the con, but that was partially because some people are just rude. Many people shoving their way through...I didn't come with much money cuz it was a last minute decision to even go, so I wasn't sure about buying anything besides maybe something small from the idol goods booth. But since the idol goods booth wasn't there this year (?????), I ended up getting a new ita bag~
I'd seen it around on insta and lusted over it, so now it is mine!! I'm planning something around Double Face's TRIP album for it OwO
And then we had to hustle to finish artist alley before it closed, cuz we weren't coming back on Sunday D: Liz and I weren't planning on spending any more money, but 1) Alex wanted to buy more stuff and 2) we still wanted to see all of it. And in the end we did buy more XD We got a few more Trigun charms from
magpiesoddities, because we've been collecting their super chibi ones since Stampede came out~ They also gave us a free plantcest sticker for being men of culture (perverts).uhhhhhh what did we do after that..............
OH RIGHT!!! Liz and I chilled on a bench sorta new the dealers room/artist alley area while Alex went to the MXTX photoshoot, and basically just took in the sights. I love people watching at cons :D We also got to help some youths (late teens/early 20s maybe?) learn the ways of Caramelldansen. They knew the dance and song, and it sounded like they'd heard people used to dance to it at cons? So they were trying to figure out how to bring it back. So while it was a conversation that made me feel very old, it was quite wholesome.
After debating back and forth a bunch, we ended up eating dinner at the grab and go place in the Gaylord. It wasn't necessarily "cheap" but like...nothing in National Harbor is, you know? And we didn't have to leave the building, which was a big plus. I'd never grabbed anything from there before, so now I know that it's not half bad.
We wanted to go to the video game room next, but my corset was fucking killing me and I needed to find a family bathroom so Liz could help me loosen it (since all the handicapped stalls in the Gaylord are barely wider than regular ones). So that was quite the fucking adventure. BUT WE EVENTUALLY DID IT. And I've learned I'm never wearing a floor length anything to Katsucon again.....idk how I forgot this lesson from 2017 lmao.
Next up: video game room! And..............it kinda fucking sucked??????? Lie, the games were brought from the same people who supply them for a video game bar I go to here in Baltimore, and usually it's a much better selection?? Like how did Anime USA, a significantly smaller con than Katsucon, have such a better video game room? idk man like......it was kinda disappointing. They didn't even have Chunithm ;w; And it closed at midnight, which is baffling. Katsu used to run sooooo late into the night, I swear it was originally a 24 hour con. Maybe I'm wrong? But I've been going for 17 years now, so I'm pretty sure I'm right :T
Whatever! Alex is gonna come down so we can go to the much better video game bar here~
After we watch cookie monster and godzilla have a cage match in the hall, we were all wiped and ready to head home. So lemme share all the pics I didn't include throughout the entry, cuz it would have ended up even longer :T
Happy Valentines and goodnight from the boys!!!! I carried many nuis around all day but tbh it was such a rush that I barely took the time to sit, let alone take pics of them D: I will say that the cat kigu nuis with their ice cream cones were a hit with the many Double Face fans and cosplayers I ran into~
All in all, a successful day at the con!!!!! Hopefully finances will be better and I can go for the full weekend next year, but I can now say I've been going to katsu for 17 fucking years.....which is wild. Here's hoping the next 17 are even better!!!!!!
An actual up to date little post of nice things
Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 07:15 pmthisbluespiritI thought it might make a change to write something here and post it straight away, instead of in two weeks or three or four months, idk, shocking but still. (I continue as before, getting a little more useful with every few days.) In the meantime, here are some fannish things that made me happy in this last week:
1. Another Enigma fic! \o/ 0_o
All Tapped Out (665 words) by misura
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tom Jericho/Hester Wallace
Characters: Tom Jericho, Hester Wallace, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Vignette, Missions Gone Wrong
Summary: “What the bloody hell was that?”
2. Sesskasays, whose Classic Who reactions I have enjoyed so much... is going to be doing Blake's 7! I did not dare really hope, but yay. I cannot wait for her to meet Servalan.
3. Small Prophets, on the iPlayer, a 6-part comedy from Mackenzie Crook, who did The Detectorists. It has all the mix of slow build, appreciation of small things & being v down to earth of the former, with actual supernatural ingredient in shape of six humunculi that Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) grows in his garden shed, for reasons. I haven't watched most of ep6 yet, but cannot imagine it producing any reason in the last 27 minutes for me not to rec it warmly here.
4. Another magnitude of miraculous on from Enigma-fic - a Rufus/Adam vidlet for A Fatal Inversion (Jeremy Northam & Douglas Hodge in 1991/2) from someone on YT:
Like. This is why I wrote Rufus/Adam fic that nobody wanted! And this doesn't even have the shots with the dinner party and the make up, but, lol, I feel like it is a much more compelling argument for watching it than me saying it's very good. XD
Anyway, creative people continue to be a Good Thing is all. <3
1. Another Enigma fic! \o/ 0_o
All Tapped Out (665 words) by misura
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tom Jericho/Hester Wallace
Characters: Tom Jericho, Hester Wallace, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Vignette, Missions Gone Wrong
Summary: “What the bloody hell was that?”
2. Sesskasays, whose Classic Who reactions I have enjoyed so much... is going to be doing Blake's 7! I did not dare really hope, but yay. I cannot wait for her to meet Servalan.
3. Small Prophets, on the iPlayer, a 6-part comedy from Mackenzie Crook, who did The Detectorists. It has all the mix of slow build, appreciation of small things & being v down to earth of the former, with actual supernatural ingredient in shape of six humunculi that Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) grows in his garden shed, for reasons. I haven't watched most of ep6 yet, but cannot imagine it producing any reason in the last 27 minutes for me not to rec it warmly here.
4. Another magnitude of miraculous on from Enigma-fic - a Rufus/Adam vidlet for A Fatal Inversion (Jeremy Northam & Douglas Hodge in 1991/2) from someone on YT:
Like. This is why I wrote Rufus/Adam fic that nobody wanted! And this doesn't even have the shots with the dinner party and the make up, but, lol, I feel like it is a much more compelling argument for watching it than me saying it's very good. XD
Anyway, creative people continue to be a Good Thing is all. <3
Dept. of Remembrance
Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 08:37 pmkaffy_rWell Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84. We were driving north on Ashland Avenue when the word came over the radio. I gasped, and did that "Nooo!" thing that's so cliche, but proof that cliches have their roots in truth.
I knew he was old; I knew he had progressive supranuclear palsy; I knew he could no longer walk or speak, this man whose oratory raised the hopes, dreams and resistance of so many black, brown, and marginalized people. I knew he was going to die. But I didn't want it to happen.
I knew he was a complex man. I knew he was vain. I knew he was a little apt to enlarge himself in many instances. I knew he'd made antisemitic comments years ago; I knew he felt sidelined by Barack Obama's presidential campaign, after doing the hard work of paving the way for a black president with his own two surprisingly successful campaigns in 1984 and 1988. I knew he'd had a child out of wedlock.
But he didn't let his vanity outpace his love for others. He relearned humility and other lessons after each misstep. I knew he acknowledged and supported his natural daughter. I knew he was a gifted organizer as well as an orator, I knew he visited Cook County jail every Christmas when others might have - indeed had - forgotten those men. I knew he walked the walk as well as talked the talk. And there's another cliche that has its root in truth.
I met him three times. Once, on the street, heading for Grant Park, the night Obama won the presidency in 2008. He took my questions, brief as they were, and answered me in as thoughtful a way as one can in about 30 seconds. I met him a second time when he spoke to students at Niles West High School in Skokie, a significantly Jewish community. I met him a final time, at a Wilmette synagogue, where he spoke, his voice already being conquered by his illness. He would never have remembered me, but I remembered him.
I'm not black. I'm not really poor. I have privilege that he never had. But I remember his "I am Somebody." I remember. And I cry.
I'm not a Christian believer, not really, not for years. But I can hope that if the God he tried so hard to honor is there somewhere, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson reaches the seat of the Lord, that Lord will look to him and say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
Here is what an excellent Chicago writer, Neil Steinberg has to say about Rev. Jackson, who was, and is, quintessentially Chicago. And here is a link to a local CBS News special on him.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84. We were driving north on Ashland Avenue when the word came over the radio. I gasped, and did that "Nooo!" thing that's so cliche, but proof that cliches have their roots in truth.
I knew he was old; I knew he had progressive supranuclear palsy; I knew he could no longer walk or speak, this man whose oratory raised the hopes, dreams and resistance of so many black, brown, and marginalized people. I knew he was going to die. But I didn't want it to happen.
I knew he was a complex man. I knew he was vain. I knew he was a little apt to enlarge himself in many instances. I knew he'd made antisemitic comments years ago; I knew he felt sidelined by Barack Obama's presidential campaign, after doing the hard work of paving the way for a black president with his own two surprisingly successful campaigns in 1984 and 1988. I knew he'd had a child out of wedlock.
But he didn't let his vanity outpace his love for others. He relearned humility and other lessons after each misstep. I knew he acknowledged and supported his natural daughter. I knew he was a gifted organizer as well as an orator, I knew he visited Cook County jail every Christmas when others might have - indeed had - forgotten those men. I knew he walked the walk as well as talked the talk. And there's another cliche that has its root in truth.
I met him three times. Once, on the street, heading for Grant Park, the night Obama won the presidency in 2008. He took my questions, brief as they were, and answered me in as thoughtful a way as one can in about 30 seconds. I met him a second time when he spoke to students at Niles West High School in Skokie, a significantly Jewish community. I met him a final time, at a Wilmette synagogue, where he spoke, his voice already being conquered by his illness. He would never have remembered me, but I remembered him.
I'm not black. I'm not really poor. I have privilege that he never had. But I remember his "I am Somebody." I remember. And I cry.
I'm not a Christian believer, not really, not for years. But I can hope that if the God he tried so hard to honor is there somewhere, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson reaches the seat of the Lord, that Lord will look to him and say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
Here is what an excellent Chicago writer, Neil Steinberg has to say about Rev. Jackson, who was, and is, quintessentially Chicago. And here is a link to a local CBS News special on him.
