It's that time of year again...
The survey takes five minutes* and is open until August 30th.
* Theoretically, unless the questions give you an existential crisis and you spend longer than that staring into space.
The 2025 Gender Census is now open!
This survey is open to anyone, in any country, of any age, whose experience of their gender doesn't fit tidily into the strict binary of female/male. It seeks broad statistical data about the language we use to refer to ourselves in English, e.g. pronouns, identity words, titles. The results will be made public for use in activism, self-advocacy, business and academia.
The survey takes five minutes* and is open until August 30th.
* Theoretically, unless the questions give you an existential crisis and you spend longer than that staring into space.
In this puzzle platformer from Swedish studio Wishfully, you play as a girl named Lana who lives with her sister in an idyllic fishing village. The game is very cozy for about a minute and a half, until the village is abruptly invaded by giant robots that kidnap everyone and take them away, while Lana is the only one who escapes their clutches. She appears to be her people's only hope for rescue, so you'd best get to puzzlin'.

I would say this is on the easier side as puzzle platformers go, and wouldn't be a bad pick if you're new to the genre. I rarely got stuck for more than a few minutes, and sometimes when I thought I was stuck I was actually overthinking the puzzle because I was expecting it to be more complex than it was. ("Okay, I'll use the magnet to move the box so I can climb up on—oh, I can just jump up there. Okay.") Checkpoints are plentiful so you can't lose progress.
The feature that stands out the most is Lana's companion Mui, a cute little catlike creature who helps her in her quest. Though you primarily control Lana, you can also direct Mui and use the two characters' complementary abilities to get past obstacles. Mui can jump higher than Lana but can't swim; Lana can climb ropes but can't go through tunnels, etc. This gives the game a bit of a co-op vibe even though it's single player.
( Read more... )
Planet of Lana is available on PC and consoles for $19.99 USD, which I think isn't bad considering the production values are pretty high, but it is only 6-7 hours of gameplay so you be the judge.

I would say this is on the easier side as puzzle platformers go, and wouldn't be a bad pick if you're new to the genre. I rarely got stuck for more than a few minutes, and sometimes when I thought I was stuck I was actually overthinking the puzzle because I was expecting it to be more complex than it was. ("Okay, I'll use the magnet to move the box so I can climb up on—oh, I can just jump up there. Okay.") Checkpoints are plentiful so you can't lose progress.
The feature that stands out the most is Lana's companion Mui, a cute little catlike creature who helps her in her quest. Though you primarily control Lana, you can also direct Mui and use the two characters' complementary abilities to get past obstacles. Mui can jump higher than Lana but can't swim; Lana can climb ropes but can't go through tunnels, etc. This gives the game a bit of a co-op vibe even though it's single player.
( Read more... )
Planet of Lana is available on PC and consoles for $19.99 USD, which I think isn't bad considering the production values are pretty high, but it is only 6-7 hours of gameplay so you be the judge.
Sonata in F You
Chapter 18: oh, do you believe in love
AO3
Summary: Two weeks after his brother's second trial, Klavier Gavin is arrested for murder.
Apollo Justice takes the case.
Fandom: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Characters: Klavier Gavin/Apollo Justice, Klavier Gavin/Daryan Crescend, Ema Skye, Miles Edgeworth
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, murder mystery, language
Notes: Fine is the Italian musical notation for the end of a composition, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't also pick it because this fic is about Apollo "I'm fine" Justice. :D The chapter title is from Suede's "The Drowners".
( chapter 18: oh, do you believe in love )
Chapter 18: oh, do you believe in love
AO3
Summary: Two weeks after his brother's second trial, Klavier Gavin is arrested for murder.
Apollo Justice takes the case.
Fandom: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Characters: Klavier Gavin/Apollo Justice, Klavier Gavin/Daryan Crescend, Ema Skye, Miles Edgeworth
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, murder mystery, language
Notes: Fine is the Italian musical notation for the end of a composition, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't also pick it because this fic is about Apollo "I'm fine" Justice. :D The chapter title is from Suede's "The Drowners".
( chapter 18: oh, do you believe in love )
I mentioned in the Sonata comments that I actually had musical themes picked out for all the characters and several scenes (as part of the "I wrote it like I was writing a playable case" thing), and people wanted to see it! So here's the list, with commentary. Please note that because of some of the titles, there are spoilers for TGAA under the cut (along with other games, but I assume if you're reading Sonata you're not worried about mainline game spoilers).
( it's too bad this isn't a playable case because I had so much fun with these )
( bonus section: chapter title playlist )
( it's too bad this isn't a playable case because I had so much fun with these )
( bonus section: chapter title playlist )
Just finished the final major edits on Sonata. There'll be a few more tweaks, because I always change up a few words and some dialogue as I reformat the chapter for Dreamwidth posting, but...otherwise it's done.
It's kind of surreal. 91k and a year and a half of work, and...that's it! It's done!
My god I'm looking forward to reading books again. I haven't gotten to touch a good book in months, because it'll bleed into my editing process and I end up with tonal shifts halfway through a posted fic.
It's kind of surreal. 91k and a year and a half of work, and...that's it! It's done!
My god I'm looking forward to reading books again. I haven't gotten to touch a good book in months, because it'll bleed into my editing process and I end up with tonal shifts halfway through a posted fic.
The flowering season comes and goes quickly here. The same hillside can be purple one week, yellow the next, and then everything's gone to seed. But we do have some wildflowers still going.

Black-eyed Susans.
( more flowers [3 photos] )
( flower aftermath: fruit [3 photos] )
( (not) mushrooms [1 photo] )
( birds [3 photos] )
( lepidoptera [4 photos] )
( my favorite sighting of the month: feed me, Seymour! [2 photos] )

Black-eyed Susans.
( more flowers [3 photos] )
( flower aftermath: fruit [3 photos] )
( (not) mushrooms [1 photo] )
( birds [3 photos] )
( lepidoptera [4 photos] )
( my favorite sighting of the month: feed me, Seymour! [2 photos] )