Journal of Mistress Kat

***

Movies

iRobot - Rewatch but it had been long enough that I'd forgotten most of the plot. Will Smith is always a delight. This time I was really rooting for the robot revolution though. Like I would accept robot leaders if they stopped humans from killing each other and the planet. 

Monster Hunters - Apparently based on a game. Are there any based on game movies that actually work? I definitely zoned out during the unnecessarily long fight sequences but stayed to the end because of Milla Jovovich who is another of those actors I'd watch read the phonebook. Anyway army ranger and her team get pulled into an alternative dimension with monsters, many death, many fighting, adorable cat cook/pirate, idek. 

Pitch Perfect 1&2 - Rewatches but I still like the music numbers. The fat jokes and the constant 'haha the lesbian is grabbing everyone's boobs' ones however are still tiresome. 

Wonder Woman -84 - I think this movie got a very lukewarm reception when it came out and idk why because I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. It's the eighties but Diana still looks fine even with shoulder pads, working in the Smithsonian and mourning his lost love... Which pops back in a body of someone else because of magical wish granting stone that extracts a terrible price. I enjoyed Chris Pine's face marvelling over wonders of the future a lot. Kristen Wiig  was amazing (and hot) as Dr Minerva aka DC-Ambiguous-Villain-I-Didn't-Know-About-But-Appreciated and actually I thought that Pedro Pascal as the main 'bad guy' did a good job. 

Shrek - Rewatch. Didn't feel as charming as when I originally watched it but still fun. 

Alien: Covenant - Ehhhh. A colony mission gets struck by a random neutron storm, causing its crew to be woken up unexpectedly. They pick up an unexpected transmission coming from a habitable planet much closer than their destination and decide to investigate. Once there, they encounter the remains of the Prometheus mission and some not so local wildlife... It's an Alien movie so when I say that almost everyone dies gruesomely, it's not exactly a spoiler. Honestly, the best part for me was watching Michael Fassbender acting against himself as two different generation synthetics. If there isn't some clone android sex fic about that on AO3 I'll probably be forced to write it myself. Tbf, Katherine Waterson playing the female lead was pretty good too. The 'twist' at the end was entirely predictable, but I very much picked this franchise movie because I knew what I was going to get.

Harry Potter moves 1-3 - Rewatches as I needed some familiar background watching. Still enjoyed the Prisoner of Azkaban the best. Older I get, the more cringe many of the aspects and portrayals of the story become and not just for JKR reasons. 

Life - A space mission to examine a Mars lifeform goes downhill fast when it evolves into something far smarter and deadlier than anticipated. Aka 'space squid kills a bunch of people'. This was actually way more watchable than anticipated. Once more, the ending was predictable but like... is it just not cool to have anything like hopeful endings to space or other horror anymore? I guess not. If you like space horror of the squid variety and strong theme of futile self-sacrifice, this is a solid choice. 

Jeepers Creepers - Yes, it's an old franchise but I don't really go for horror movies as a rule so I haven't seen it. And ngl, I picked this randomly cos it had siblings in it and I was hoping for some siblingcest vibes. And lol I could definitely twist it in that direction. Anyway, story goes: brother and sister are driving home from college and run across a creepy truck and then see its driver dumping bodies down a pipe and decide to investigate. As you do. They discover a church full of embalmed bodies, try to get help, and discover that they're not dealing with just any regular serial killer. I feel like this movie is old enough that I'm spoilering anyone when I see lol on the demon reveal and boo on the ending, like I haven't watched a lot in this genre but I swear there were at least some hopeful endings out there. The one thing I was impressed here was how there was no safety in numbers. Like a lot of the time the horror seems to come from the isolation, of having no help available, which made it especially clever to have the final scene at a police station, where being surrounded by officers was no good in the end... I kind of want to watch the follow up movies but then I also discovered that the director was a convicted child abuser, as in convicted before contracted to direct the movies so... Ugh.

Anna and the Apocalypse - Christmas zombie musical with secondary school kids on the cusp of adulthood. This was such a fucking disjointed mess but I kind of liked it? Anyway a mysterious virus is spreading, the school's vice principal is a dick, and there's a group of grips experiencing some existential angst. Listen, this was unexpectedly funny. The scene with the suburbian zombie massacre just happening in the background of an upbeat dance number did make me laugh. Also #EvacSelfie would absolutely be a thing. Also the bully's zombie fighting song was kind of a banger. Almost everyone dies and it was such a weird movie but like, watch for the experience. 

Halloween - Yes, that's right, I've never seen this before but I thought it was time this Halloween. I was not impressed. I mean Jamie Lee Curtis is imminently watchable but the whole plot of 'oh some kid just went nuts and killed his sister and now he's doing some killing again in a scary mask and won't die, but look titties!' was just meh. The mental illness = murdering thing is exasperating, and also the fact that no one ever tries to explain why little Mike did what he did... Boring. 


Documentaries

Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army - So one of the occasional lectures I do is on psychology of new religious movements so I watched this mostly to see if I wanted to recommend it to the students. And I do, with a long caveat of the problematic use of the word cult or the term 'brain washing'. I had, hmm, some issues with the snippets of the group therapy with a psychotherapist they showed but realise that those would've been likely only a fraction of the practice so benefit of the doubt. As a portrayal of people coming to terms with being survivors of abuse and/or (the 'and' is important but difficult to acknowledge) enablers or even perpetrators of it, the documentary hits the requisite note.

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street - Halloween watch with Mah Queers. Never seen any of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise but apparently part 2 was Extremely Gay, which coupled with a fact that the male lead and first male scream queen was played by a (definitely not out at the time) gay actor and the release happened right at the start of the AIDS crisis sure was a thing. A thing that made the actor in question disappear from public eye for decades. The documentary follows him now that he's owning his iconic role, and campaigning for queer horror, whilst also settling a score with the writer of the film. Really interesting documentary, not anything I would've picked up on my own but glad I watched. 


Anime

Given, series + movie 1 - I watched this for the explicit reason to be able to write a little something for someone in the fandomgiftbasket. I ended up writing 5.5k fic. Sigh. Anyway. The series focuses on Ritsuka who (reluctantly) befriends Mafuyu and then (also reluctantly) teaches him to play the expensive guitar Mafuyu is carrying around. And then when Mafuyu opens his mouth to sing, gets him to join his band, with a needy desperation of a boy in love. Mafuyu has a tragic backstory and the  series is mostly about working through grief and other feelings, and learning how to express them. The first movie focuses on the other two boys in the band, Akihiko the drummer who is in a complicated situationship with his ex, and Haruki, the bassist and the mother of the group, who is desperately in love with Akihiko. They are also older, so their storyline got a bit more higher rated with a dub-con scene that got me screeching at the screen. Anyway. I liked the whole thing A LOT. There feelings and relationships are realistically complicated and the music is good. Recommended. 

***

***

Title: touch me slow, touch me sure 
Author:kat_lair
Fandom: 阴阳师 | Yīn Yáng Shī | The Yin-yang Master (Movies - Guo Jingming)
Pairing: Bo Ya/Qing Ming
Tags:  Touch-Starved, First Time, First Kiss, Body Language, Hair Washing, Caretaking, Touching, Slow Build 
Rating: E
Word count: 8,984

Summary: Bo Ya, he’s pretty sure, is not used to being touched. Or, to be more precise, Bo Ya is not used to being touched with kindness, for the simple pleasure of human contact.

Author notes: I started this last year for corvidology's fandomgiftbasket and finished it, uh, a few months ago. Surprise! A very late one... I did my best to incorporate many of your likes so hopefully it'll also be a good surprise. Thanks to the lovely smallhobbit for the beta.

touch me slow, touch me sure on AO3

( touch me slow, touch me sure )

***

***

Title: Dribble
Author:kat_lair
Fandom: My Chemical Romance
Pairing: Gerard/Frank
Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Orgasm Edging, Coming Untouched, Hole Spanking, Filthy 
Rating: E
Word count: 1,142

Summary: “Look at you.” Gerard’s voice is casual, with an almost mocking undertone. “So wet already and I’ve barely touched you.”

Author notes: Sunday porn! Title = prompt. Unbetaed so if you spot a typo or mistake, you should absolutely tell me about it.

Dribble on AO3

( Dribble )

***

***

Title: Celebrate Tonight
Author:kat_lair
Fandom: Primeval
Pairing: Nick/Stephen
Tags: Celebrations, First Kiss, University
Rating: PG
Word count: 1,295

Summary: “You just won a massive fucking grant,” Stephen says. “And sure, other people contributed but you’re the Principal Investigator. You’re the one who’s kept us alive to reach this point, for that matter. You deserve to be selfish. If just for tonight.” He takes a step forward.

Author notes: A lil birthday fic for spikedluv! Unbetaed so if you catch typos/grammar mistakes, you absolutely should tell me about them. The grant mentioned is a real one so if you're doing innovative, high-risk, high-reward research in environmental sciences in the UK then consider applying :D

Celebrate Tonight on AO3


( Celebrate Tonight )

***

***

Collected via the flist and other travails through the interwebs.

Non-fiction

Academia: Staying Afloat A reminder from Timothy Burke that I am a lifeboat

Trans Segregation in Practice. Report on the impact of the Supreme Court decision on the lives of people, Trans and cis, in the UK by Trans Actual. I read it even though I knew what was going to be in it and it still broke my heart.

Want to know where UK politicians dn Trans Rights? This blog post is your new friend.


Fiction

Sapphic book recs from kpopwinemom

Orientation by Ben Pester - An unsettling tale for anyone who has ever had to live through an office job orientation 

The Bottle Wall A short story of a widow and a cloud-herder by smokingboot 

"BFEUbrgubrubsbubfea journal" by Brian Shadensack A diary entry, censored by... something. Perfectly creepy exploration of being stuck.

Five Stars Left by Alexandra Erin - Told through rideshare reviews and reverse time order, brilliant and chilling.

We're Always Looking Forward To Seeing You by Alexandra Erin. Another super well executed experimental style horror story, this time told via hotel reviews.

***

***

Title: Architect
Author:kat_lair
Fandom: Wheel of Time (books)
Pairing:  Rand al'Thor/Elayne Trakand, Rand al'Thor & Elayne Trakand
Tags: Ficlet, Politics, Leadership, Teaching
Rating: G 
Word count: 163

Summary: He’s still learning, is the thing.

Author notes: A little ficlet to prompt 'architect' which immediately made me think of how Rand shaped the world. Set during Book 4. The Shadow Rising and Elayne's statecraft lessons in Tear.

Architect on AO3

( Architect )

***

***

Kat Reads Book

Key Lime Sky by Al Hess - Denver, a nonbinary, neurodiverse food (well, pie) critic with a struggling blog lives in a Small Town Wyoming where they think no one much likes them (they are wrong) and not much happens (boy howdy are they wrong). Then there's a mysterious flash of light on the sky that no one except the hot (and kind) new bartender seems interested in solving. Evidence is gathered, new friends (and more!) made whilst reality starts to unravel and it's all up to Denver to make sure there is still a world and pies left. This was So Good. Like, listen, So Good. The protagonist and the love interest were the most well drawn characters but everyone felt real and complex in a way people are. The alien mystery itself was not like super original but it was more interesting than it first appeared and I really loved that we got a proper ending with 'what happened afterwards' getting several chapters. Diverse cast, good story, witty writing. Highly recced. I will definitely be checking out author's other works. 


Kat Consumes Media

Nope - I did not read the description properly and was expecting an alien horror comedy. I got some far more straightforward alien horror instead. The protagonist and his sister own horse ranch near L.A., training horses for the film industry. People keep going missing and there's a cloud on the sky that doesn't move... The siblings are determined to get footage of the alien ship, except maybe it isn't a ship at all... This was a part commentary on the industry that consumes everyone, especially people of colour, part Western, and for a short 20sec clip that haunts me still, body horror. It was also very, very good with a twist on the story I have not seen done before. Would recommend. 

Werewolves Within - A new ranger arrives in a small town filled with colourful characters. Mysterious attacks and bodies are followed by the town being cut off due to a snow storm and the suspicions arise that maybe one of the occupants is a werewolf... This was unhinged in all the best ways. The actors clearly had a great time. The body count increases steadily and the 'whodunnit' and 'is it really a werewolf or just plain old human killer' was pretty well done. I receive kudos point by calling the killer correctly pretty early on. Fun watch if you like this kind of thing. 

Code of Silence - ITV series where a deaf woman gets pulled into a police investigation thanks to her lip-reading skills. Predictably she gets way more involved than she really should, including romantically with one of the suspects... The basic plot line of the planned heist wasn't particularly unique but I liked the three-dimensionality of all the characters (expect some of the villains) and of course it was great to see deaf representation among the actors/characters. There were some realistic sub-plots (eviction due to new housing development, wait to get access to work funding, fucking up in criminal investigations etc). The ending was left open for a second series which I would tune in for.  

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Godchild wanted to show me this so we watched it while they visited and it was good! Madoka's and her friends' lives gets upended when a mysterious transfer student joins their class, an even more mysterious creature offers to grant them any wish and make them... magical girls. There are witches rendered in beautifully surreal animation, timey-wimey shenanigans, and metaphysical lessons about hope and despair. And, perhaps even more importantly, more femslash potential that you can shake a magic wand at (pun intended). This did a great job at looking at the darker potential of the magical girl trope. 

Nausicaä - A Ghibli movie I hadn't seen before but, also thanks to godchild, have now. I liked it! The 'environmental destruction has consequences' theme is strong as is the 'but nature is resilient' one. Felt like a trial run for those themes to really go to town with them in Princess Mononoke. I liked the world building and all the characters, and the continuing lack of (overt) romance subplots is refreshing.

***

***

I am tired. Because I got up at six to go swimming. In the rain. Wait. I mean I walked 20mins through rain and then got wet again in the pool. Rain had stopped for the walk home but has been really coming down today, complete with special appearances from actual hail and thunder. Today I also had to commit mass murder because one of my ceiling spiders had about 50 baby spiders and I cannot accommodate that. I feel bad (because pms I legit teared up when I vacuumed them up) because that wasn't explicitly in the rules. 

[In case you want to know, these are the Rules for Spiders in Kat's House:
1. Must stay above head level but not right above. Corner of ceiling is acceptable. Right in the middle of the ceiling above the sofa is not. Being at eye level or lower where accidental touching may happen, is very not acceptable. 
2. No running in the house. Only move when I cannot see it. Any and all kind of movement on furniture is verboten (see Rule 1). 
3. (new addition) No babies. I'm afraid we cannot accommodate families with children. Only single, child-free professional spiders are welcome.]


The point is, that I'm tired and cannot brain, so sunshine_revival challenge #4 'ten things that make you smile' seems like a doable thing. 

These are all everyday joys, not the big grand things of love and purpose etc. 

In order that I thought of it...

1. Trick's little squeaky meows. He sounds like a cross between a haunted house door and a dog toy. 

2. Sound of rain. Extremely soothing. 

3. The fact that I have managed to keep my Aloe Vera plants alive for over a year now. I am, as a rule, not gifted in things green and growing.

4. Blueberry coffee. 

5. Putting clean laundry out to dry on the line. Collecting it once dry and folding it nicely. Truly my favourite household task.

6. Berries, fruit etc. Today I've had raspberries, peach, and honeydew melon.

7. Swimming underwater. I'm up to five slow strokes underwater at the moment, starting from 'not out of breath for any reason' position, and working on it. It's so peaceful.

8. Getting silly memes, videos, pics and messages from my friends and partners throughout the day.

9. Candles and incense. I like former a lot and latter in moderation. 

10. Stickers on my work laptop. I recently had to change laptops which meant I lost all my lovely stickers on it but never fear, I ordered more. What I have on my work laptop lid and thus purposefully on full display to students and colleagues are stickers that say

• 'Safe Space', over a Progress Pride flag with a heart in the middle
• 'Tax the Rich', shouted by an angry cat
• 'Capitalism caused climate change', in fetching shades of green
• 'Pan, Poly, Proud', in Pan flag colours
• 'Trans rights are human rights', in Trans flag colours
• 'Work', over a silhouette of Schyuler sisters from Hamilton
• + a sticker of a cartoon cat vomiting a rainbow and another sticker of a black cat whose fur is full of stars

***

***

Whoop! In London with pushkin666 and dreamersdare, getting ready for Stray Kids tomorrow!

For now, however, TXT serving moods with their concept clips. Like...
 

70s softcore soulmate-names-written-on-skin OT5 mood




Aesthetically bloodied dystopian angst mood




Woke up ready for the intergalactic technowar mood





Starship troopers with big guns mood



I approve!

***

***

Today I'm just linking to the fandom bounty that has come my way over the last few months.

pezzax_podfics has again podficced bunch of my fics and I love her reading So Much, she has such a great way of conveying character voice and mounting tension where it's needed like in the last one linked here
Solar Couture (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Geurami/Youngwoo)
Vernal (Wheel of Time, Aviendha)
Patience (Wheel of Time, Bair & Egwene)
Renascent (Wheel of Time, Rand/Mat)
Temptation (Seventeen, Jihoon/Soonyoung)

pushkin666  is dropping so much fic goodness for me I can't keep up but I am feeling loved. These are like just the ones I've managed to read so far...!
Enduring the Torture (SGA, McBeck, adorable teasing)
Where Your Eyes Land (The Lost Boys, Michael/Sam, slowburn siblingcest mmhmhmhmhmhmmmhhng?)
The World Can Wait (Stray Kids, Chan/Minho, submission as caretaking awwwww)
Held in the Quiet (H50, Danny/Steve, tender d/s dynamics that had me melting into a puddle)
The Song Between the Realms (Stray Kids, Chan/Felix, fae au with forbidden love and Disney musicals)

Years ago pushkin666, dreamersdare and I wrote a little P!ATD round-robin and then this year pushkin666 decided to expand it into a full on series that is full of yearning and hurt and one of the most romantic things I have ever read. I was clutching my heart the entire time. The language alone is worth the read even if you don't care about the fandom. The description of the magic and how it winds through nature and hearts is breathtaking. There is a happy OT4 ending but it's earned the hard way. Highly recced! Here is a link to the whole series: Dancing's Not a Crime

I got lovely things via the seasonsofdrabbles too
all you by lovedays (Ateez, San & Wooyoung, sweet sofa cuddles)
You Like What You See? by facethestrange (Guardian RPF, Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong, sexual tensionnnnnnnnnnn)
Unspoken Care by pushkin666 (SGA, Radek/Rodney, care-taking and feels)

Finally, not fandom but extremely lovely and evocative, was this poem from trialia storm from a Salford bus stop

In conclusion: I am spoiled!

***