I think it’s weird when bloggers completely omit current events because it’s like, “Are you living in a different world that is completely untouched by the things that are affecting my life?” So let’s talk about it. As you might have guessed, I voted for Secretary Clinton and I’m definitely upset my preferred candidate didn’t win. I’m especially saddened that my exact demographic, white women, had such a major role in preventing us from electing the first female president.

A lot of my life plans are up in the air now that I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but one thing I’ll definitely be doing is donating to some pro-women, pro-immigrant, anti-bigotry causes—ideally in my Trump-voting relatives’ names, as their Christmas gifts. And if you’re equally upset, I suggest you make a plan to do something that helps you take control over the situation, even if that plan is to numb your feelings with an anime marathon all weekend.

In the meantime, here are some links to take your mind off of it all:

• I just got two panels accepted at Katsucon—37 Years of Gundam Anime and He Is A Char: A Tribute to Gundam’s Most Memorable Masked Man—and one waitlisted—Gunpla is Freedom. If you’ll be at Katsucon this year, you should come watch me being a total Gundam geek, and tell me if you’re doing any panels there, too!

• They sure talk up the pork cutlet bowl in Yuri!!! on Ice. Now Crunchyroll’s Emily Bushman shows you how to make katsudon at home in the latest installment of her anime cooking column.

• My reviews of DAYS were fairly lukewarm but one thing I always gave high marks to was Tsukushi Tsukamoto’s flawless characterization, which always made him likeable without being too goody-goody. In this old column I’ve been meaning to post, Peter Fobian delves into what makes Tsukamoto tick.

• Unfortunately, the Playing Grounded Kickstarter I shared last month didn’t make its goal, so I can’t get their forest altar jigsaw puzzle (though I can pre-order and hope that enough other people do, too). Still, I love how they spoke about their experience transparently and with a sense of humor. It’s easy to talk about a successful project and much harder to talk about what happens after you fail. I’ve been trying to follow this when my income reports don’t match my expectations.

• An articulate personal essay in The Atlantic on how Hayao Miyazaki’s complex heroines helped the author become more comfortable in her own skin. HT Zoe.

• The latest at Anime Feminist: So That I Could Be Myself: Gender performance in Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju and Yuri!!! on Ice — Dee’s thoughtful take on two shows that questioned gendered expectations in similar ways.

• This year, we’re trying something different with the Anime Boston blog and running it year-round. It’s pretty casual, for example, I just wrote about the bizarre phenomenon that is PPAP.

Illustration by Fuzichoco for Playing Grounded Puzzles.