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F/F Romance Visual Novel Rec: Love Curse

Thu, 29 May 2025 14:06:55 GMT

Love Curse is probably my favourite purely f/f romance novel I've played to date. It's not quite on par with my favourite otome (since that's a much larger genre with more to pick from), but still better than the average.

It's a well made Chinese game about a 20 year old lesbian college student who suddenly gets cursed to find her soulmate or die, and ends up falling for one of four different women in her life while she navigates uni, work, relationships, and the supernatural. The love interests and romances are enjoyably varied, and are a fun mix of sweet and a little messed up, with a choice of both fluffy happy endings and darkly romantic bad ends with tragedy/controlling yanderes/implicit hatesex etc.
( Read more... )

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Books That Rotate Inside My Mind Constantly

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 03:21:47 GMT

I made one of those book lists everyone is doing, though I got overwhelmed by choice until I came up with a Specific Rule on what to include (books and comics I think about/am influenced by and feel positively towards, only one book per author) that ended up with a different vibe than what most other people seem to be going for.

Some notable ones I did not include: Watership down (forgot); Anything by Neil Gaiman (nope); old childhood faves like Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, C. S. Lewis and Paul Jennings where I couldn't muster up a specific example I still have frequent and largely positive thoughts about; manga like Mob Psycho and Full Metal Alchemist where I ADORE the anime and would absolutely have devoured the manga if the anime didn't exist, but as it is never got around to it. And of course all the books I will think of after making this post ;)

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Farming/Gathering/Crafting Games: Palia and Sun Haven

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 15:10:40 GMT

Sun Haven is like if Stardew Valley was made by furries who shop at Hot Topic. It's not a MMO but does have optional multiplayer, which I have not tried.

Palia is a free MMO where the world is shared with strangers and has a similar cosy post-apocalyptic fantasy vibe to My Time At Sandrock.
( Read more... )

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Two f/f narrative games

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 03:43:08 GMT

Normally I wouldn't link to games I haven't played but I know I'll forget otherwise.

Eclipse: Special Forces is butch/butch military scifi, just a demo so far but worth checking out for the trailer alone if that premise appeals.

Velvet Bite: Softly, with Teeth m/m and m/f contemporary romance with vampires, was much anticipated and just came out. But tragically the reviews look pretty bad. OH WELL at least it looks pretty and we can imagine the game it could have been.

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The Air Fryer hype got to us and we love it

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 03:51:00 GMT

It really is just a small, efficient convection oven, it's less that you can cook new things and more that a bunch of recipes become faster and easier. But that has made a pretty big difference, to us as people who spent a lot of time thinking "I WOULD cook that in the oven but ehhh... too much effort".
( Read more... )

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JackJeanne: Initial review/info

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 14:03:04 GMT

Masterlist

So after my brain insisting I watch Vampire Dormitory but not write reaction posts, it has now insisted I not keep playing this game until I write up my feelings so far?? I guess I have thoughts I want to work through??

SO HERE WE GO.

First, some non-spoilery information/initial review.

JackJeanne is a thus far quite enjoyable and VERY GENDER otome game about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to attend an all-boys acting school with a tradition of dividing roles into 'Jacks' (male roles) and 'Jeannes' (female roles) She then gets to know and in some cases romance various male classmates, who are a mix of Jack and Jeanne (and in some cases both). Afaict the English version is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.

CW: Transphobia (it's better than the average otome/shoujo, but the bar is low) Also I don't go into it in the review but there's a minor character who's just a walking fat joke :/

( No major spoilers )

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Fun with tesselations at Tiled.art

Sat, 11 May 2024 08:22:31 GMT

I was feeling inspired to play around with tessellations and stumbled across Tiled.art, a fun site that illustrates how tessellations work and lets you make your own.

I didn't end up making anything very exciting artistically but did have fun, and I think it could be pretty fun for other people, with or without an artistic or mathematical background. Just play and see what happens!

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I am counting this as a success

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 02:27:12 GMT

So, after much discussion with Cam, I eventually realised I had vastly misunderstood his base issue with most anime. Asides from things like tropes and genre etc, the main problem is certain specific kinds of sharp vocal sounds, which affect him on an almost physical level, and just happen to be especially common in anime, especially the sort with lots of over the top shenanigans and exaggerated expressions. Since I am not sensitive to that sort of sound I am not likely to notice if it happens, and even dubs might do it too, so we decided he really is better off just avoiding anime unless something seems so appealing he's willing to risk some discomfort.

But! Discussing what he likes tropewise that I've seen in East Asian live action (since he hasn't explored it much) got me to rec my favourite romance kdrama, Coffee Prince, and while Cam thought that sounded a bit too mundane for his tastes looking up the show and actors led him to watch the trailer for Goblin, a kdrama I had never heard of. And based on the first episode he LOVES IT.

Me: It sounds like it might have a tragic ending, that's pretty common in kdramas and one reason I don't watch many.
Cam: Oh I am SURE it's going to be tragic in the BEST WAY, it's about an angsty immortal who wants to die :D :D
Me: Ha ok we really do like different things. Have fun :)

So! Have a (qualified) rec from Cam.

(Note: This is NOT the gay Chinese Guardian, it's a het kdrama)

He also really loved the scifi kdrama Moving, which apparently has some really sweet romance along with badass superhero action.

So while my attempt to find him anime he liked didn't succeed at that, it did help him find a show, and hopefully someone else reading found an anime they might like.

And yes I have now recced him Hotel Del Luna, since I know that's another highly regarded kdrama about an immortal, and he said the gender dynamics with a female immortal/male mortal look fun. I poked skygiants kdrama tag and she DID review Goblin I just forgot about it, oops. But I also found Tale of the Nine Tailed which looked promising, in terms of modern day fantasy about angsty immortals.

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Avatar the Last Airbender (2024) Season 1

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 03:04:30 GMT

Just finished the first season of the live action Avatar the Last Airbender show. I went in with low expectations, prepared for things to be changed, and with that mindset quite liked it! Not a perfect adaptation, nor a super faithful one, but made by people who liked and mostly understood the original and did a pretty good job at crafting their own take on it.

I'm a big fan of the original show but haven't watched it in a few years, Cam has watched it more recently, and we both agreed that while there were some parts that didn't work very well and some changes we didn't like, it captured most of the important things pretty well, and some of the changes were good, even an improvement. But I got into ATLA as an adult, and am pretty open minded about adaptations taking liberties. This is an ok-but-not-brilliant and not always faithful remake of a beloved children's classic, so I suspect a lot of people are going to be disappointed.

It's hard to say how it would work for people who haven't watched the original tv show, but I think it would be pretty entertaining, if you are interested in an action heavy fantasy-drama about a bunch of teenagers trying to save the world, in an Asian inspired fantasy setting with an all-Asian/Indigenous cast and occasional gestures towards "sexism is bad and women are awesome".

The overall tone is darker than the original children's cartoon, with fewer jokes and more overt on-screen death, but still moderately light and sometimes cheesy. There's no swearing or sexual references, and no significant gore except for one burned dead body early on. It's more shallow and less understated, less interested in philosophical questions but not totally uninterested.

The action scenes were fun. The actors were all fine to good, and the visuals/special effects were mostly pretty good but occasionally distractingly cheesy or CGI sludgey.

Like the original, there's zero onscreen queerness, and only really one disabled character, whose writing is just ok.

Content warnings for both versions: genocide, death, war, child abuse, trauma

Under the cut, I'm going to go into some of the specific things the show changed that I would have liked to know going in. I'll avoid spoiling any new plot since it can be fun to see how things play out for yourself. But if you haven't seen the original this will be very confusing and spoilery!
( Read more... )

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Viki!

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 06:08:13 GMT

This isn't even the next review post I was planning on lol, but got_quiet asked and it seemed like something other people might be interested in.

Viki is a streaming platform which mostly hosts East Asian live action TV dramas and movies. Some things are entirely free, while others are paywalled past a certain number of episodes. There's a fair amount of BL.
( Read more... )

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Reviews: Past and Current Anime Seasons

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 03:32:53 GMT

DID YOU THINK I WAS DONE?? I STILL HAVE AT LEAST ANOTHER POST LEFT AFTER THIS.

(I know I could just NOT review everything but I do always like having done it)

Past (just finished):

I finished it:
My New Boss is Goofy
Tearmoon Empire
I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness
Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me
Heaven Official's Blessing

I dropped it:
Frieren
Migi & Dali
100 girlfriends Who Really Really Really Love You

Current (just starting):

Delicious in Dungeon
Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp
Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord
Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!
7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!
A Sign of Affection
The Demon Prince of Momochi House
Cherry Magic

( Read more... )

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Fiction which is not m/m romance

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 01:10:26 GMT

These ended up dividing neatly into some specific subgenres. I really have been mostly into m/m romance lately, huh...

Non-romance Anime:
Bocci the Rock
Play it cool guys

m/f romance manga and webtoon:
Sweat and Soap
Busu ni Hanataba wo
Everyone wants to get married
Another Typical Fantasy Romance

m/m but not romance manga:
The Summer Hikaru Died

f/f romantic fantasy novel:
Earthcast
( Read more... )

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M/M Romance Reviews

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:29:25 GMT

I am MASSIVELY behind on reviews so some of these are based on vague memories but lets go! I realised trying to remember which things I'd reviewed before was getting in the way of reviewing anything, so some may be doubles.

Live action TV: Our Flag Means Death S2

Live action movie: Semantic Error

Animated TV:
Cherry Magic
Heaven Official's Blessing S2

Manga:
Tsurumaki-sensei no Sakka Seikatsu
Haru Kakete, Uguisu (Warbler, Sing of Spring)

Books:
Evil as Humans
Married Thrice to A Salted Fish
After I married the disabled war god as my concubine
Paper Lover
A Simple Way To Give Money
( Read more... )

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Drawfee

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 15:32:54 GMT

I've been really enjoying the Youtube channel Drawfee lately, after spending a couple of years seeing it around and being confused about what it actually is or where to start watching.

So! Drawfee is a group of four artists (plus occasional guests) who draw pictures based on prompts. Sometimes they draw the art live and discuss it as it happens, and sometimes they draw the art in advance and then talk over the sped up recording (a "speed draw"). In either case, they're very cheerful, creative, and funny, and encouraging of each other's art. The vibe is cheerfully bisexual, as is most of the team. There are also extra channels and spinoffs, but I haven't watched much of those.

You can theoretically start anywhere, but some of the videos have a lot of in-jokes and references to previous videos which can be confusing, or are more about the artists as people which can be kinda boring if you don't know them enough to care. I tried starting from the beginning, but while the initial videos aren't bad they aren't as good as the later ones. And there are over a THOUSAND videos.

So in the end I just watched whatever was popular or showed up in my feed and figured out the in-jokes over time.

But if you want somewhere specific to start that's fun and low on in-jokes:

4 Artists Design Characters from the Same Description: Everyone designs a character from the same character prompt. The results show everyone's style and personality pretty well. One of the characters ends up being non-binary and everyone rolls with that.

( Just some extra info )

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Trans and other queer Youtubers

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 01:05:44 GMT

Over on transmediaclub, olivermoss posted a link to this collection of queer youtube essays and asked if anyone had any recs for other trans youtube creators before reccing caelanconrad.

Here's the comment I left:

Two creators I've enjoyed who are linked there are KatBlaque and verilybitchie.

Dropout is a big ensemble channel but has a few trans creators. Here's a cute moment involving the non-binary Ally.

I've watched an enjoyed a few videos by LauraKBuzz, who also talks about accessibility.

I think Vihart doesn't identify as trans but she posted a video about her agender-adjacent gender feelings, and otherwise posts very entertaining videos about maths, music, and other things.

moju_music is an amazing Indigenous Australian musician

CriticalProf is a pair of lit professors, one of whom is non-binary, who have had some interesting discussions of works inspired by the 18th and 19th century.

EDIT: Also since making this post I got around to watching the hbomberguy video about plagiarism that inspired him to make that list, and it was long but good! The fact that he's bi isn't always super relevant to his videos but it sure came up in this one, and he's donating all ad profits to the (largely queer) creators who were plagiarised.

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Games Lily Might Like

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 04:26:03 GMT

My friend lilysea just got a Windows machine and I was going to write her an email with some game recs before deciding it would be much more readable as a blog post, which I might as well make public for anyone else who'd be interested.

So! A collection of games for Windows, leaning towards farming sims ands gentle puzzles. Almost all are Windows exclusive or I'd have told her about them already!
( Read more... )

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Review: Bodies (Netflix show)

Sun, 26 Nov 2023 04:24:01 GMT

A twisty scifi drama miniseries about diverse London police detectives from different time periods trying to solve the mystery of identical dead naked men who appear in the same alleyway in each era.

I overall liked this, it does a pretty good job of making you care about the different characters, and the central mystery holds together moderately well as Scifi Mystery Stories go. Themes of Society and Choice etc are vaguely gestured at but ultimately it just cares about it's characters solving mysteries, struggling against scary situations, and finding some measure of happiness. And on that level it's pretty enjoyable! My most significant problem with the show is that some parts/characters feel underwritten.

Trailer, though I'd skip it if you'd rather go in totally unspoiled:

No significant spoilers under the cut just more information, including content notes.
( Read more... )

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Anime I am watching right now or recently dropped

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 05:48:09 GMT

Watching: Tearmoon Empire, Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me, I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness, Heaven Official's Blessing Season 2, My New Boss is Goofy

Dropped/paused: A Girl and Her Guard Dog, I'm in Love With The Villainess, Chainsaw Man

( Read more... )

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TV and Movie reviews

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 12:31:10 GMT

These are pretty old so I am probably forgetting things.

Nimona, Andor, Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse, Glass Onion, Kinnporsche, Moonlight Chicken
( Read more... )

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Baldur's Gate 3 masterpost

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 02:26:50 GMT

Since I seem to be talking about it!
( Read more... )

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Initial Basic Thoughts on Baldur's Gate 3

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 22:21:07 GMT

Masterpost

I only just started but thus far I am having a great time, the non binary inclusion is reasonably good for this sort of AAA roleplaying game and I'm enjoying the weird, darkly humourous dark-fantasy-horror and old school D&D inspired RPG vibe, it reminds me of playing Dragon: Age Origins, Planescape: Torment, and Neverwinter Nights mods back in the day, but as a modern game (albeit with all the graphics settings at lowest quality so my computer doesn't fall over). I continue to not be very good at this sort of combat, but that's what story mode is for! (It's presumably even more like other Larian games like Baldur's Gate 2 or Divinity Original Sin but I never really played those EDIT: ha, Baldur's Gate 2 was made by Bioware, guess that explains the Bioware Vibe!)

( No spoilers. Brief genital mention )

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Deadloch

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 02:29:49 GMT

Have you ever watched a gritty murder mystery set in a small town and thought "this is great, but I wish it had more jokes and lesbians"? Then Deadloch is the show for you!

An uptight workaholic lesbian cop is teamed up with a slap-dash chaotic female detective from the big city (of Darwin, lol) to figure out a murder in a little Tasmanian country town.

It does a great job of combining classic tropes (like the odd couple detective team) with subversions of the usual heterosexist murder mystery cliches, eg the show opens on a full frontal nude male corpse, and the town has a queer friendly arts festival happening instead of being all conservatives (though it definitely has those too).

If you have seen it and want to leave a spoilery comment here is my spoilery post.

(I am in a truly EXCESSIVE amount of pain today so hopefully this all makes sense)
( Doing my best to express further thoughts and content notes without spoilers )

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Manga and Webtoon reviews

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 05:37:00 GMT

And now the manga and webtoon reviews! My memories for some of these are very vague, but I bolded the ones I remember I especially liked.

M/F
I'm Only A Stepmother, But My Daughter Is Just So Cute!
See you in my 19th life

M/M
Mitsuya Sensei no Keikakuteki na Edzuke
Stigmata
Ryouomoi Nante Joudan Janai!!
Double Section
Koori no Mamono no Monogatari
Tonari Ni

F/F
The Guy She Liked Wasn't A Guy At All
The Fed Up Office Lady Wants to Serve the Villainess

( Read more... )

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Some anime reviews

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 09:24:13 GMT

Some anime reviews

There's been some fun reviews at anime_manga and I said I'd try and post some myself so...here we go!

*pokes 'to review' list* ...oh god it's been so long I have forgotten half of these... But anything I remember especially enjoying is in bold.

No romance in the bit I watched but probably eventually m/f:
Kono Oto Tomare
Trigun Stampede

M/F:
Skip to Loafer
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Level 999
Why Raeliana ended up at the Duke's Mansion
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss
My Senpai Is Annoying, The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague, My Tiny Sempai, Saint Cecelia and Pastor Lawrence

F/F:
Yuri is my Job

m/m will have to wait for my manga/webtoons review post because there hasn't been any new m/m anime in a while :(

( Read more... )

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Data related book recs

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 09:11:38 GMT

Since there are plausibly multiple people who follow me and might be interested who don't already follow sanguinity.

Recent Reading: Data Feminism, Indigenous Statistics, and Du Bois's Data Portraits has some recs for books about data from a feminist, Indigenous, or black perspective.

I'm not sure my brain is up to reading any of them but maybe yours is!

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