profiterole_reads

Netflix's XO, Kitty Season 2 was so much fun! \o/

The scenes including Kitty are in English, but the other ones are in Korean, and damn, these kids speak way too fast! I barely understand a word. lol

It's basically Heartstopper in Korea, but instead of a confirmed central pairing, you get a bisexual love triangle. Well, I wouldn't mind a poly ending (S3 has already been approved), but a BI love triangle is already awesome. There's also side f/f and side m/m.

Captain America 4 was awesome!

Sam Wilson is my favourite MCU character, so I'm super happy that he got his own movie. And Joaquin Torres is cool as the new Falcon (that's from the TV show, you don't need to know anything else).

Are we wondering why an action movie led by a Black man is getting bad reviews? I am not. Enjoy diversity in blockbusters while you can, because I have a feeling that we're going to see a big decrease in the next few years. *sighs*

There's 1 post-credits scene (relatively skippable).

The French/German movie Langue étrangère (Tandem – In welcher Sprache träumst Du? in German) was great. Fanny from Strasbourg goes to spend a month at her pen pal's, Lena from Leipzig. And then, vice versa.

This movie seemed interesting, but its release didn't reach my local cinema in the middle of the countryside, so I bought the DVD. It even has real bonuses, including a 20-minute interview with Claire Burger, the writer/director, and with the lead actresses.

I would say that the two big themes of the film are mental health and activism. Unfortunately, the latter wasn't as present as I expected from the trailer, but there were some strong scenes, like Lena talking to Fanny's classmates about the rise of the far-right in both our countries.

There's major f/f.

Netflix's k-drama Squid Game Season 2 was excellent. It went a lot further in its denunciation of late-stage capitalism.

I had barely started learning Korean when I watched S1, so I understood a lot more this time, but I still need to practise my listening skills for when people speak fast.

There was a fun candidate nicknamed Thanos, with purple-dyed hair, and multi-colour nail polish to represent the Infinity Stones. The irony is that Squid Game has a much higher death rate than Thanos.

This season introduces a semi-major trans female character.

The movie Star Trek: Section 31 was a lot of fun! It's basically Star Trek's version of Guardians of the Galaxy/Suicide Squad.

I've only watched the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, but that was enough background to watch a story focused on Michelle Yeoh's character. There were many other POC, as well as a Starfleet officer played by Kacey Rohl (Marina in The Magicians).

I'm definitely in for sequel movies or a TV show.

The manga memoir At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender: Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery by Arai Shou was a lot of fun. This mangaka discovered he was intersex through chromosomal testing and had top surgery. He identifies as agender (he/him pronouns) and bisexual. His partner is a gay trans man.

This manga doesn't seem to be available in France, so I ordered the US edition. It's a 4-koma. The author talks about how his body is aging with a focus on male/female differences other than genitals. Still, note that a few of the comic strips include explicit sex advice.

Thanks for the rec to duckprintspress! For more LGBT Quick Reads, check out my rec list.

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I will spare you the political talk here, feel free to look at it on my Bluesky.

Welcome to Dorley Hall by Alyson Greaves was quite an experience! Stef Riley thinks that Dorley Hall is a place that secretly helps closeted trans girls (like Stef) start new lives. It turns out that they're kidnapping men who hurt women and force-feminise them in order to rid them of their toxic masculinity.

Somehow, most of these people end up identifying as women, with a few gender non-conforming ones and a few enbies. The author is a trans woman, and based on the summaries of her other books, weird gender concepts are her brand. Still, these stories clearly won't be for everybody.

Most of Dorley residents are still into women, so there's a number of f/f couples – including one where the love interest is an actual trans woman and not a Dorley graduate – and only one m/f couple.

The first episode of the BL Thai drama The Boy Next World was super adorable! <3 Cir comes from a parallel world where he and Phu are a couple. But the Phu from this world doesn't know him.

The premise is a little similar to Two Worlds, but can only make more sense. lol It stars Boss/Noeul (Phayu/Rain in Love in the Air, with a cameo in Wedding Plan). They are always so much fun together!

It's available legally and for free on iQiyi.

The donghua Link Click is back with a prequel arc. Well, it's part sequel too because of timey wimey stuff! And the BL vibes are off the charts. ^^

It's available on Crunchyroll. Thanks for the info to shadaras!

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If anyone else was watching the GL anime Whisper Me a Love Song during the Spring Season (remember, there were some production delays), the last 2 episodes have finally aired.

They're about the secondary pairing and they're really great! <3

In no particular order. This is content I've read and watched in 2024, not necessarily content released in 2024.

Books

1. So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole: f/f heroic fantasy + another female protagonist on the aroace spectrum with a male love interest (YA). One sister can channel the power of the Gods. The other dreams of becoming a drake pilot to protect their country from dragons.

2. Hunters of Ironport by Lou Wilham: m/m urban fantasy with a trans male protagonist. This series has Buffy/Faith vibes, except m/m. It crosses over with the Witches of Moondale series (f/f), but can be read independently.

3. The Mage's Secret by Ami Spencer: f/nb urban fantasy. This witch story is mostly cosy, with a few action scenes. It's about a coven elder and an Academy head in an established relationship.

4. [Spanish] Prodigioso principio de amor de Silvia Aliaga: m/m urban fantasy. This novel takes place at the University of Magic and Eloquence, in Florence, Italy, and the two leads are from Spain and the UK.

5. Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács: collection of speculative short stories with many non-binary characters and a couple of intersex ones. This is my favourite read of the year. These brilliant stories explore gender identity, neurodivergence, religion, immigration and the human condition in general.

6. Earthflown by Frances Wren: m/m science fantasy. The characters have superpowers, but it's not superhero fiction. This novel takes place in post-flood London and has complex worldbuilding. Note that the e-book version doesn't include the 60 illustrations.

7. Redsight by Meredith Mooring: f/f science fantasy. This is mythological fantasy in space. The protagonist is a blind witch who's going to serve as a spaceship navigator. Her love interest is an ancient witch who's become a pirate and can turn into a giant snake.

8. Welcome to Boy.net by Lyda Morehouse: f/f science fiction with a trans female protagonist. This novel is about two bounty hunters in an established relationship. The protagonist used to be part of the ENForcers, which supposedly had only male members, so she had to desert in order to transition.

9. Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi: speculative activism fiction written in the form of non-fiction, with many non-binary characters and two trans women. 12 interviews cover the crises of the mid-21st century, then the insurrections that led to establishing communes all over the world, with a focus on NYC.

10. [French] Un Amour pas si aveugle by Lena Clarke: f/f romance. A blind piano teacher and her guide dog move in next to a former firewoman, now an ambulance driver, and her dog.


TV shows

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