Today, we made another pilgrimage to our Joanns ;w; I'm very attached to this particular Joanns, because it's the one I went to in college (the first time, so the late 00s) and then I lived basically across the street from it when I first moved back to Baltimore in 2016. It is THE Joanns for both times I've lived in this city, so it's the one that's hitting me hardest.

....to be fair, I haven't been up to Pittsburgh to visit the Monroeville Joanns, aka where I got my start with sewing & cosplay, because I'm just not ready yet. I'm gonna see if we can make a short trip up to say goodbye to it before it closes...but it's so hard to think about ;w;

ANYWAY. In an attempt to fight my depression over the bankruptcy, I had Liz take a couple fun pics of me in the fabric section of the Joanns. I wanna remember all the joy it brought me over the years ♥


also featuring my incredibly good Pusheen cape~
We'd gone with purpose, tho- Liz and I wanna make Kohaku and Madara's first feature scout outfits to wear to DC's Sakura Matsuri this year, and what better time to pick up fabric than during....the closing........sobs ;w;

I'M TRYING TO HOLD IT TOGETHER I'm still very sick so it's hitting me so hard ;w; I want to enjoy working on cosplay and shit, I just...sobs.


the boys with the fabric we got today!!!
We managed to get navy fabric for Madara's pants, the green for his top, the gold for....all his bullshit gold bits, and the light pink for Kohaku's top. We're gonna have to wrangle the embroidery machine for Madara, but I'm honestly pretty excited to figure it out :D

And then we had a time getting Taco Bell for dinner...the one right near the Joanns was randomly closed for the weekend???? And then the next closest one wouldn't let us place an online order...because???????? So we had to loop around and go to yet a different one, which I will always remember for the time they forgot to include the crunch part of my crunchwrap in 2011 XD

I got crunchwrap sliders today and they did include the crunch~ Literally it only happened that one time, but I can't get it out of my mind XD WHATEVER it was tasty!!!!

I've been curled up on the couch since we got home, because I do not feel good. Even with taking more DayQuil, I am not...doing well.....which is frustrating, because I have shit to do! I'm waaaaaay behind on the Switch event- not so much that I can't catch up, but I was hoping to be further than this already.

Also, I barely slept last night, because I was so exhausted and sick that I couldn't fall asleep. I ended up doing quick editing on some selfies from katsu~~~

( click click so I don't destroy everyone's friend pages~ )

Okay....still not feeling great, but I'm gonna make an attempt at playing the JP event some... If it goes badly, y'all can find me...idk, working on sewing my nuis clothes instead? Maybe if I use a tiny, incredibly hot tool (smol iron), I'll feel better XD

The play was so good!!! I love the theater!!!!!! I WISH WE COULD GO MORE OFTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sobs plays are good and I love them in general ;w;

But!!! The Importance of Being Earnest was gonna be queer no matter what, but this was a delightfully homosexual production :D All the costuming was spot on and just!!! I don't have enough smart words to describe it, but it was fun *w*

Also, we took the boys (because of course we did), so Double Face also got to have a nice date night!


and the theater is just soooooo pretty!!!!
HOLD ON FUCK WHATEVER ELSE I WAS GONNA SAY IN THIS ENTRY: SWITCH EVENT PREVIEW IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'm gonna take a hard stance and start complaining immediately, because excuse me wtf Tsumugi got a fucking hair cut?????


LIKE WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, SIR


AND it appears to be Natsume's fault- I don't care if Tsumugi asked him to do it, I'll fistfight him no matter what!!!!
sobs I was so excited...I mean I still am!!!!!! I'm just sad about Tsumugi and his hair and his promise to Natsume and.......and I thought maybe it would finally be longer AND INSTEAD THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm okay I'm okay lying

uhhhhhhhh okay. cool. lemme not end this by whining XD I've got a couple more pics from date night :D

( just click on through for more adorable bear nui content )

LOOK AT HIM I GOT HIM I GOT KOHAKUUUUUUUUU ♥
I spent a chunk of today getting perfect combos to grind out more dia in jp and it was all worth it because he came home ;w;

also his skill name is ママはぐタイム aka 'Mama hug time' plz don't play with my heart like this I will die if Madara is on the other side of the cross scout I'LL DIE I'll fucking die if their first dedicated story together post-DF disbandment is also with watching kids like????? WHAT'S THE MEANING THERE????

it means they're married and in love and gonna raise a family together I guess idk I'm delusional about them and I don't care

I love how it's not even guaranteed that Madara is in the cross scout/story and I'm already being insane...I'm just built different I guess XD But since February is such a short month, the scout preview is today, so we'll find out sooooooon~~~~


anyway of course I put them on my home screen together...I had to!!! they're in their most recent rate up 5* outfits ♥
Anyway, Liz and I have a date tonight!!! I got us tickets to a live recording of The Importance of Being Earnest, as performed by the National Theatre. I saw someone talking about it on instagram and Liz loves theater (I mean, I do too, but I didn't major in it in college), and then one of the few Baltimore showtimes happened to be at one of our fave local theaters :D LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT IN A COUPLE HOURS!!!!!! ♥♥♥

THE NEWEST CROSS SCOUT GACHA CARDS WERE ANNOUNCED TONIGHT AND KOHAKU IS THE FIVE STAR AND I'M LOSING MY MIND HE'S SO FUCKING CUTE I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! ♥
omg omg omg I just knew he'd have one soon, he's been sooooooooooo overdue for a 5* and he only has 3 in the gacha right now...but still!!!! He's gonna be the rate up for the Switch event *w*

Last time Tsumugi had a center event, Madara was the rate up...that's how you know kohamada real and Double Face is definitely getting back together soon

(I'm delulu don't mind me)

Also just...his slutty little cropped shirt that's barely more than a strip of fabric??? Maybe it's just the art, but like...HELLO I LOVE IT ♥♥♥ sobs I'm so happy and excited...love my murderous pink thing uwu

I'm still whining about pain, though I've tried to do light stretching the past couple of days...it's sorta helping, I guess? Also I spent most of yesterday curled up in the lovesac with my nuis, which probably helped too. It was very cozy and warm *w*


my ~work station~ aka the best spot in the house (it's on top of a heating vent)
And then todaaaaaay I went to Costco with Liz. It was a brief trip, but it got me out of the house! I'd been holed up since getting back from the con late late Saturday night. It's just been so cooooooold.

uhhh. what else.

Oh! I'm still picking away at my new tumblr layout, but I'm almost done now!!! I made some really good progress yesterday :D

Also, I got a perfect combo on Ruby Love in engstars...


honestly I'm just sad because saved auto-plays don't carry over after the event ends...so I'll miss you, saved perfect combo......
Other than that, I don't have much to say. I'm still achy and very cold, and I don't see that changing super quickly ;w; I'm gonna try to power through by working on shit in Photoshop - I took some nice pics of Liz + other cosplay friends at katsu!! - and trying to stay optimistic~

( and also sharing more pics from the past couple days~ )

FRIDAAAAAAAAY!!!! The day started with us booking it to registration so I could grab my badge before heading to the room for our panel- Anime Before Anime: Animation in Pre-WW2 Japan. Even though we got there 10 minutes early, there was already a huge line waiting to get in OwO This is the second time we've run it at katsu, and both times now it's gotten a really good reception :D

This year, I recorded Liz and Pat presenting it, so we now have a solid recording- or at least I hope so XD I haven't had a chance to review the footage yet, because you know, con weekend~

OH RIGHT. I didn't end up styling Ibara's wig on Thursday night, so I went in casual clothes + a fun wig so it'd be easier to get around and shop and such. Which was nice! It's always very cramped, especially artist's alley, so being more mobile made it slightly easier.

...only slightly, though, because it's still fucking Katsucon XD

We managed to hit artist alley before the infamous(?) "sewage" explosion!!! A pipe burst on Friday afternoon/evening and dumped gross dish water from the kitchens into artist alley, right on top of someone's booth D: I feel so bad for who it affected ;w; I really hope they're able to get some sort of compensation or something, since that fucking sucks!

Anyway...I usually try to do a full round of artist alley + dealers room before buying anything, but I couldn't resist the allure of Yu-Gi-Oh!


also the artist very kindly gave me badge ribbons for buying so much stuff XD I was just so fucking excited to see anyone selling ygo fanmerch *w*
And then the hell gauntlet: Dealers Room. It's soooooo big and katsu is so hit or miss for dealers, so it ends up being a lot of walking around to find a few gems. But that's cons babeeyyyyyy!!!! Honestly, one of the best parts wasn't even shopping: it was catching up with Tasty Peach! I've been buying their adorable plushies for so long, I've gotten to watch them go from a tiny booth in artist alley to a large presence in dealers room to seeing their stuff for sale in Hot Topic and other physical stores, which is so awesome. Apparently, they have stuff in fucking Epcot now!!!!!! I got to see pictures and it was just so wholesome to see how far they've come ;w;

BUUUUUUUT we only got about halfway through dealers room before we had to bitch out because we were exhausted. I ended up sitting in the lobby for awhile, watching the world go by, while Liz and Pat got our stuff out of our locker. Right before they got back, I saw a Kohaku cosplayer in the Spring Night outfit and let me tell you, the way I practically flew out of my seat to go say hi...

Since we had cosplay to finish - me and my wig styling adventures lmao - we went back to our hotel to get to work!!! If I never touch glue again.....

Also, we had snacks in our room, so we didn't have to pay out the ass for a meal in National Harbor XD

However!!! Some local-ish friends that Liz and I first met at Otakon were also staying in Alexandria, just in a different hotel, so we went over to hang out with them :D Liz was still in Nagisa at that point + they cosplay Hiyori and Jun, which meant that after gossiping for like two hours, I took a bunch of pictures of them. I'm looking forward to going through all the raws of those shots once I feel a little better~

By the time we got back to our hotel room, Pat was getting ready to get a Lyft back to the con for the raaaaaave~~~ Because I was still having a rough time with pain + wig styling to work on, Liz and I stayed behind and just kinda chilled while making glue wefts for Madara. It was sooooooooooo time consuming ;w; They look damn good, but I thought my fingers would be covered in UHU + PVA glue forever D:

After all the wefts for his braids were glued on, I realized two very important things:

1. the glue was gonna take awhile to dry before I could safely tug on the hair enough to braid it
2. we hadn't eaten any "real" food since the continental breakfast at around 9 am, and it was now after midnight

So, it was off to the 24 hour diner!!! There was one across the street from our hotel, which was very convenient after a long day. It's a local chain and we actually went to one of them after Anime USA back in October, and I remembered it being pretty damn good- and I was right! idk, maybe it's just me, but diner food always tastes best at 3 in the morning.


the boys went everywhere with me all weekend, including the high risk situation of taking pictures of them with food ♥
I somehow thought I'd be able to get back to the wig after eating, but it was like...4:30 am at that point???? So we passed the hell out, thus ending ~day 1~ of the con!

( but I doooooo have more pictures to share from it! )

aaaaaand that's a wrap on that! I'll get to the next day soon, hopefully, since I'm technically halfway done already!!!! I wanna complete the con reports~~~~~

Katsucon is upon us, so it's con crunch!!!!!! I'm of course having a rough pain week, so I'm moving extra slowly :T I managed to set up a wig styling station at the couch, though!


yes, I'm styling a whole new wig for Madara.....spoiled!!!
I'm using a lot of new methods on this wig, because I wasn't happy with how his first wig came out. Luckily, I snagged some cheap wigs from my favorite beauty store, sewed them together, and harvested a bunch of wefts to use for the bangs/hairline.

.........I did run out and have to buy another for the braids, but at least I found one in the same color on clearance for $10! So, in total his new wig has only cost me $22, which I'd say is damn good :D

My fingers are covered in glue right now, which is less good. Also, the whole couch is covered in wig fibers...and I am not enjoying that part. I'm pleased with how it's coming along...just glue and hair everywhere ;w;

Right now I'm actually taking a break from gluing loose hair into wefts because my back hurts so badly. I'm just frustrated!!! It's slowing me down and we leave for the con tomorrow.

...maybe I'll have more caffeine................

Oh!!!!!!!!!! THE ADORABLE KOHAKU AND MADARA BEAR NUIS ARRIVED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


sobs they're so cute I wanna die they're precious- also featuring Lumos patiently letting me put crap on her for pictures XD
The package also included a rainbow ALKALOID/Crazy:B light stick, some light up Kohaku and Aira stars, and a few doujins :D I'm so glad they made it here before katsu!!!!!!!!! I was afraid they wouldn't, since it was cutting pretty close ;w; BUT HERE THEY ARE!!!

mmkay I'm gonna get back to wig + watching Blazing Saddles, lemme just share some more pictures from today and Liz's birthday :D

( no I'm not procrastinating I'm achy, I have an excuse~ )

Things purchased for cosplay in the lead up to katsu:

• handheld steamer for wig styling
• tripod wig stand to make wig styling more convenient
• wig for Ibara ($16 on clearance at one of my fave local wig stores!)
• two (2) new wigs for Madara ($6 a piece on clearance at the same store)
• casual fit for Nagisa
• new pants for Kohaku

....and I feel like there was something else, but this is all I can remember XD I've got a lot of wig things in the works - clearly! - so hopefully I can get everything done. I still need to figure out what I'm doing for what to wear as Ibara...all his casual outfits are harder to thrift so it's just like uggghhhhhhh :T

oh I also need new concealer D: I ran out of both of my faves, and now that the Morphe store is gone (+ other reasons), I can't as easily get one of them. I'm probably gonna grab a fresh tarte shape tape and then I guess order the jeffree star concealer later...idk I have a method and now I'm gonna have to modify it.

I'm excited for katsu!!! We got the time for our panel and of-fucking-course it's first thing on Friday again. They did this too us last year, too ;w; So Pat called our hotel and extended our stay to be Thursday night instead of starting on Friday, so we don't have to try to drive all the way down from Baltimore in time for our 11 am panel. Looking forward to that~

bluhhhhhhh

I'm nervous/anxious/ahhhhhhhhhhh bad brain feels about trying to style wigs for this con. I feel like I'm sooooo out of practice and there are all these new methods that I'm not familiar with. It doesn't help that I'm like...weirdly uncomfortable watching videos when other people are around, so I have limited time to try to watch tutorial videos. I wish I could just get out of my fuckin' head about it, but here we are!!!

After this, I'm gonna finish bulking out my wig head and maybe tackle sewing the Madara wigs together?? idk. Life is hard XD

edit: finished wig head and realized I completely forgot to share this pic I took earlier, cuz I thought it came out cute uwu


two very good Madara ships, also featuring my MILLIONS KNIVES glasses cleaning cloth ;D

Instead of making any icons, I spent today filling out a "get to know my enstars taste" template/meme I saw on bsky...because I am really bad at staying focused, okay XD Original template from HibikiMango


okay soooooooooooooooooooo let's not start with how much Double Face is on there...I'm a man who knows what he wants~ And sometimes what I want is murder boyfriends, as if that's so wrong ♥

My dream shuffle unit is one Liz and I came up with, affectionately known as "autism hours: the shuffle" because...well......look at them. It's every flavor of autism in one unit :D And Wataru & Nagisa would finally get to perform together, instead of their eternal "ships passing in the night" duo experience.

Kaname and Jun are moirails for lyfe, I don't make the rules, they're just the palest of pale and I blame Obbligato for how insane it made me about Kaname fucking Tojou. GODDAMN.

Everything else is pretty self-explanatory I think???? KEEP OUT best enstars song; I had it on repeat for so much of last year and it still brings a smile to my face every time I hear it ;w;

OH AND THAT 3* OF MIKA IS THE ONE LIZ AND I CALL "PREGNANCY TEST MIKA" BECAUSE UMMMMM LOOK AT HIM XD

we're so mature I swear

Other than that, I finally started working on the descriptions for my icons. Now that I have 300+ of them, it's pretty daunting, but I'm trying to tell myself I can just pick away at them, bit by bit, and eventually they'll be done. Like, they definitely won't ever be done if I don't start, sooooo.....

I did something new today! I debated back and forth whether it belonged here or in my graphics journal, but I eventually settled on killiansicons because it's a run down of my year as a creator. So!! Here it is~


my icon progression for 2024!
I had some gaps in making things, but overall, I'm quite happy with how this past year went for graphics :D Let's celebrate that instead of how little writing I did...

Yesterday, Liz and I went out for the afternoon!!! I hadn't left the house in a week, due to the weather and general bad brain feels, so I needed to get out. We went to McDonald's for the Pokemon happy meals and then had a nice, lengthy stay at a bubble tea place. I'm slowly working on new icons and sorta poking at plans for a couple new layouts, and I'd like to say I spent the time working on those, but...I'd be lying XD I spent a decent amount of time waxing poetic about GreatestJournal and its similarities with DW ♥

also shit-talking the horrible color scheme at insanejournal shhhhh it's so bad I could never be there full time and that opinion hasn't changed since like 2007 lmao

But yeah!!! It was a nice time! And then today we went to PetSmart to get yet another claw trimmer, because we keep losing them :T Lumos's claws had gotten so fuckin long; she kept accidentally hurting us. Now that she's had her manipedi, she's much less dangerous to snuggle.


double face boba tea date!
aaaand that's all for now~ I have graphics to stare at XD