"But it's not FOR them!!!" The biggest military power in the world belongs to a christofascist nation overseen by a felon found guilty of 34 federal crimes and has greenlit a gestapo with more direct funding than the entire military of Canada for the purpose of ethnic cleansing. Let Hetero Jessica throw some biodegradable glitter at a municipal parade
At this point if anyone is trying to exclude anyone benignly pro-queer from a pro-queer space I'm just going to assume you're a fed or something idk like something something destabilize the movement from within or whatever
🌈 Interact-IF 2026 Pride Month: LGBTQ+ Authors & Games 🌈
This June, Interact-IF is bringing back the Pride Month spotlight event—celebrating the incredible LGBTQ+ creators, stories, and communities that make games richer, more diverse, and more meaningful. We're putting together an updated community masterlist of games that are:
✨ Created by LGBTQ+ authors and designers OR
✨ Contain meaningful representation of LGBTQ+ characters, storylines and experiences (exploring themes of gender, sexuality, community, self-discovery, and belonging).
📋 Submission Form: HERE
Creators are welcome to submit:
Released games
Demos/works in progress
A short write-up of how the game contains LGBTQ+ representation or explores relevant themes
After the success of last year's event, we hope this year's masterlist will be even bigger and better! The aim is to help spotlight LGBTQ+ creators and showcase the breadth of LGBTQ+ experiences being explored through games.
We might also reach out to 2-3 authors to do a short written interview as well as post never-before-published interviews from last year's event.
So if you're a creator who's keen on being interviewed for this year's pride month spotlight, do check the box in the google form. Share this post and help us spread the word.
Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈
Finally, do check out some of last year's interviews!
btw it's so fucking stupid you can be anxious physically in your body even after you've decided mentally you don't care. I'm supposed to be in charge here
Had a back x-ray and the position I had to hold to take the x-ray fucked my shoulder. Sat on plastic chairs for my kid's talent show, and my back is still dying 3 days later. I don't remember a day without pain anymore. Making salad and tidying my kitchen had me almost in tears. If I take too many otc painkillers, I get heartburn. I get bitter and bitchy when my family complains about normal aches and pains to me. I'm so tired all the time.
i thought my laptop was on its last leg because it was running at six billion degrees and using 100% disk space at all times and then i turned off shadows and some other windows effects and it was immediately cured. i just did the same to my roommate's computer and its performance issues were also immediately cured. okay. i guess.
so i guess if you have creaky freezy windows 10/11 try searching "advanced system settings", go to performance settings, and uncheck "show shadows under windows" and anything else you don't want. hope that helps someone else.
hey this is apparently helping a lot of people! adding that on top of this you can also go to settings > personalization > colors and turn off transparency to also boost performance. this wasn't the Big Fix for me but might as well do that too if you're trying to optimize.
Ok I know we joke about this but I just went to the settings and first clicked "adjust for best performance" and then re-checked only 1 box:
"Smooth edges of screen fonts"
My computer was running hot before I turned everything off; the office I'm in is very warm, I could feel the heat of my CPU through the keyboard. The fans were going, not as loud as they usually get, but they were still blasting.
Y'all.
I can barely feel the warmth through the keyboard now. It's been like 2 minutes. The fan is nearly silent.
Click the Windows key and start typing "System settings", and "View Advanced system settings" will pop up. Then click "Settings" under Performance:
Then you'll see this:
TURN IT ALL OFF.
I turned "Show window contents while dragging" and then turned that off again. It's up to you.
The second best thing you can do for a Win10 computer is turn off whatever unnecessary services it's decided it needs to run in the background always. Some services it does need, but others are useless. Here's an article that goes into step by steps.
10AppsManager lets you uninstall bloatware. Winaero Tweaker lets you disable crap like Cortana/Copilot, ads, telemetry, internet search results when you search from the taskbar, and all kinds of other stuff, plus it gives you lots of other little options that are just nice to have (like, it can restore the old MS Paint program in place of Paint 3D). Both are totally free.
Oh, and check your startup programs in the Task Manager tab to make sure your computer isn't automatically starting eight million programs every time it boots. But I think people mostly know about that. (Unless this is me going "they only know one or two feldspars... and quartz of course.")
The first best thing you can do for a Windows computer is install Linux Mint. But some of us do need a few pesky Windows-specific programs. Bleh. Still, if you're up for a project, you can have both (and it's awesome). Here's an article about setting up a dual boot Windows/Mint system.
Spoke to a gen z person the other night and apparently the young folks don't know about the very legal sites from which you can access public domain media (including Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and other Victorian gothic horror stories)?
Like this young person didn't even know about goddamn Gutenberg which is a SHAME. I linked to it and they went "aw yiss time to do a theft" and I was like "I mean yo ho ho and all that, sure, but. you know gutenberg is entirely legal, right?"
Anyway I'm gonna put this in a few Choice Tags (sorry dracula fans I DID mention it though so it's fair game) and then put some Cool Links in a reblog so this post will still show UP in said tags lmao.
Spreading the news to my followers - if you weren’t aware of this before, here’s the link to Project Gutenberg - https://www.gutenberg.org/
Project Gutenberg is a gigantic collection of books that are in the public domain. You can read the books through the site or you can download them in various formats so you can get the format you prefer for your eReader of choice.
It is free.
It is legal.
I was reviewing the list of the top 100 books downloaded yesterday and I saw a fair few that I had to read for college classes - so if you’re a college student and your professor assigns you to read Plato or any number of older works, check here before you buy a copy.
I reread the Anne series several years back - they were free through this. I need to reread Pride and Prejudice at least once a year, and my e-book version is from this. Someone recommended Jekyll and Hyde to me a few weeks back and I got a free copy from this. When I went to Haworth on my last holiday before the plague times, I brought books by the Bronte sisters with me to read or reread that I downloaded from here. It’s a great resource.
Yes yes yes! I was honestly so flabbergasted that this young person hadn't heard of the gutenberg project! It's been around for AGES, maybe longer than the kindle has? And it's such a huge project and wonderful resource! It used to be a household name (or maybe that's just my family, thanks to my dad being a cheapskate nerd [affectionate]). I was so glad to be able to share this resource and others with them though, and I wanted to make sure no one else was missing out!
If you look at the first reblog from me I also recommended a few other resources, most of which were from www.archive.org, home of the Wayback Machine! They run openlibrary.org, where you can check out ebooks of some public domain titles! They even have the Bone series by Jeff Smith!
And archive.org itself has all kinds of public domain media including music and movies! For Dracula fans, here's a radio show adaptation of the book, starring Orson Welles! And here's a 1920 movie adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," starring John Barrymore, the grandfather of Drew Barrymore!
I'm so excited to see people falling in love with classic media through Dracula Daily! Let's keep that fire blazing!
Also, if you can't handle reading things, check out libirvox.org! it's a free audio book project taking public domain works and people doing free audiobooks! there's a lot of great stuff on there, but it takes things in the public domain and makes audio books out of them!
it's a super nice project, and you can find some really nice readers there!
Also don't think a book is old because it's in the public domain
lots of writers and publishers are prepared to waive future profits for entirely petty reasons
because of this the entire works of Philip K Dick [petty writer who found himself with lots of hangers on during his life] and HP Lovecraft [his publisher - who was his wife and hated him] became public domain on their death
Sherlock Holmes entered public domain this year, it's always worth checking because you can save a fortune
and the more popular the classic - the more likely someone has uploaded it
Anything published (in the US) from 1927 or earlier (this number goes up every year for quite a while), and
Anything published between 1928 and 1963 that wasn't renewed, and
Anything published before 1989 without a proper copyright notice.
(Don't go looking for things in that third category unless you've studied a LOT about copyright law. Mostly that covers things like "weird little newsletters" and "self-published booklets" and sometimes fanzines. But most publications have a copyright notice in them.)
There's also some oddball exemptions here and there; copyright law is a tentacled mess. But those are the basic guidelines. (Except for audio. Audio has its own set of rules. It's weird.) (I mentioned tentacles, did I not? Double the amount of them you were thinking of.)
There are a lot of works from the 50s and early 60s that were not renewed, especially short stories published in magazines.
Project Gutenberg began in 1971; the first text was the US Declaration of Independence, shared through the university computer system. That was the start of "hey computers + public domain text = FREE BOOKS FOR EVERYONE."
Adding on that Project Gutenberg is not just Eng language texts either! I know specifically about the French texts because I did independent study French lit in high school and all my sources were Project Gutenberg acquired (Candide my beloathed) but there's many open source texts available in a number of languages.
Oh man, yeah, young people definitely need to learn this. I read so many public domain things when I was fresh out of college and penniless but still needed entertainment. Just going straight to Wikisource works too:
And yes, Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain. But I got bored with Sherlock Holmes after a few months, and became much more pumped when I discovered his mirror opposite, Arsene Lupin. Because when you're not only young and penniless but living through the Great Recession, what you really want to read about isn't the world's greatest detective solving crimes. It's the world's greatest thief robbing fat cats blind while pantsing the police along the way.
And you can Ctrl-F find words in electronic texts.
This is so powerful that in the old times they made a whole-ass index of every word in the Bible, called a concordance. It is now possible for every electronic book
Now I'm curious about what other ifs you play. I know you've played love island and thth but I mean more the small creator community. Any recs?
Ooooh, buckle up because this is gonna be a long trip. I've got so many, though you probably know most, if not all. (I really should start reblogging other authors if they have a Tumblr).
Let's stick to text-based stories. I haven't had as much time to play lately so I may be missing newer, cool stories. I'm going to have to leave some out; otherwise this post will be never-ending and it's already half a bible.
Might do another with more stories. How lucky are we that people write so many marvellous stories? And for free!
Number one is my first love and the main reason I started reading text based IF when I used to focus on visual novels:
• Scout: An Apocalypse Story by @anya-dev. Five years later I still think about the Orange Plains. We miss you, Anya. Hoping you're okay and thank you so much for this story. Your legacy carries through time like the cough of the Rover through your desert world. E, you were destined to be my soulmate but Sabine doesn't give a f*ck about destiny. The image of a guy using his very limited electricity supply to iron his clothes in the apocalypse still lives in my mind rent-free.
• Since I already mentioned it College Tennis: Origin Story by @allieebobo. Very slice of life, great dynamics among characters that go beyond their interactions with MC. You'll come to this story for the romance and you'll stay for the community feel and the engaging tennis descriptions. I love playing the matches so much I don't even unleash the kraken anymore. There are lots of customization for you to enjoy and countless little things that get acknowledged by the story (including race and gender). Y'all know I'm a sucker for that kind of flavour text. Same author of Merry Crisis which is being adapted as a visual novel (you go, author!) and is also a very enjoyable read. Coming-of-age vibes.
• The Golden Rose by @anathemafiction. Can't wait for the second book. Welcome to a new version of Tarragona! Explore the city; fight with your horse; get your face Halloween-ed; feel like a rich bastard after meeting a street rat and remember how dirt poor you actually are after meeting actual rich folks; enjoy the flavour text you'll get (including differences depending on your MC's sex). Alessa, I will make a simp out of you. Or not. I'll love you anyway because I'm a soft-hearted fool. Never had I ever raced an old woman who pushed her steed to its limit. She also pushed my buttons. In a darker playthrough the memory of this hag might just be the last straw for a corrupt and likely insane Romanus.
• Love After Death by @loveafterdeath-if. The kind of story I enjoy immensely and that I know I will never be able to write because I'm no good at writing confrontation. Won't leave you indifferent, will make you feel. May be rage, may be hope, may be hurt but it will definitely make you feel. You'll get your heart broken, though it can be mended by a grumpy cat with a liberal idea of what a litter box looks like. Then again, your heart is the least of your concerns if you let your sanity suffer blow after blow. Be damned, Juliet. Heaps of customization, flavour text and reactions to choose from. Solid 10.
• The Wayhaven Chronicles, by @seraphinitegames. Need I say more? Insane branching across books, good and varied romances great plot and dynamics. You can have mommy issues! Honestly, what else could you possibly ask for? In Book Two a little girl may be told that all she has to do to achieve her goal is to work hard and she may answer 'oh, I don't want to do that'. If you can't relate... Have bought all three books. Will defo buy the fourth when it's out.
• The Cruel Palace by @tispyyyyy. Every single character the author introduced feels real. Gorgeous writing, flows like a calm river going downhill; it's solemn and poetic but also fun and witty when the story allows for it, and the writer sure knows when the story allows for it because the tone is always on point. The missives are top notch. MC's mother and older sister are severe but still managed to worm their way into my poor little heart. The fact that they are so similar and yet don't get along didn't escape my notice.
• Blood Moon by @barbwritesstuff. A lot of branching and different paths for such a "short" story. Very straightforward and not the tiniest bit less interesting for it. It's refreshing to read something that doesn't need to be incredibly convoluted to earn the 'good plot' badge. I might be biased because it's very rare that I don't lose interest in complicated games, even worse if they rely heavily on stats. I'm so incredibly envious of writers that can tell a story without losing sight of the big picture. This is it. I adore werewolves, I adore this story and I sure adore the fact that whoever wrote it also knew about ducks' corkscrew dicks.
• When Life Gives You Lemons by @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if. This one is strange for me because I remember playing the demo when it first came out and I didn't like it that much. Maybe because I'm not a messy player and I wasn't interested in any of the ROs. BUT. It has a very distinct style, there's humour galore, a soft comfy vibe all throughout and it updated recently. Boy, I was hooked. It's like those open-world games that let you explore and before you know it you've got 100 hours played and you never did a single main mission. You can skip romance (or devote yourself to Fiffer and Fiffer only, like moi) and it's still such a wholesome game. Slice of life is rare in the IF community. I saw a post the author made and I was shocked to learn she only gets 25% of the revenue. It may be fair for shorter games since HG gives you the program to actually make the game but man, for a story that has almost a million words? It seems a bit unjust. Still will buy it. 25 is more than 0.
• A Taste of Heat (formerly Spices of the Heart) by @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if. Again, very distinct style. If you read a story by this author you know it's hers. Slice of life, lots of smut but you're good to play without it and still feels like a very special game. Fun and funny, the MC feels like an actual person with their flaws and their virtues. We'll save your pizzeria, Alexis! Screw the Michelin Restaurant! Descriptions are great and the writing really makes you feel like the food is important. Lots of content and many ROs to choose from, all of them quite different from the other. I also like that stats are present but not the be-all and end-all of the story.
• Cantata by @fir-fireweed. Unique story, great worldbuilding, marvellous cast even outside of the ROs, lots of flavour text (I can only take a guess at how draining it must be keeping track of all those variables in Twine so my utter respect). It's very wholesome but bittersweet in certain parts. Super original premise and very imaginative. Calliope's gadgets are incredibly interesting and I've played several times and changed my MC's attunement just to see what her daddy came up with. The kind of writing that tells a lot without being convoluted and still manages to tell it beautifully. The kind of story I read and think, 'man, I wish I could write like this'.
• Season of Shadows by Krisis. Sooooooo goddamn gooooooood. Funny as hell, awesome dialogue, perfect and mocking depiction of sensationalist press, sensible understanding of what being a social pariah looks like (applicable but not limited to MC's situation). Very different characters that all manage to be interesting, not a single page is boring to read. Quantity and quality because who said you can't have it all? I adore this story. Every word and punctuation mark. Jane Austen would be proud (and probably also very low in Lady Blackwood's list. She ended up a spinster, anyway). One of the few stories in which I genuinely don't know who I'm going to romance first. So probably whoever has the earliest lock-in.
• Such Happy Campers by @girlfromthecrypt. What a shame the author had to deal with certain comments that made them put the game on hold. If you read this, author, I love this game to bits. DashingDon is gone and so is the demo as far as I know but I still remember it and do so very fondly. Flo saying that people are drawn to him because he comes across as mysterious only to leave him behind once they realise that "under all that 'me' there's just more 'me'" still haunts me in a beautiful way.
• Mantle: Mask On by @jjdove. I am so hyped for this story. I love the banter and dialogue choices; they really make MC feel like their own person and it allows for a lot of freedom as a player. Tilly is already growing on me (and I'm befuddling her with Xtreme kindness) but I'm mostly dying to know more about my darling Bee and whatever happened to her. Ain't no bathtub high enough that she can't conquer it but I'll be nearby in case she ever wants help. Or two buff, strong arms to cradle her Not letting us hug her right there is a crime, by the by.
• Soulmates Inc by @soulmatesinc-if. Love the concept. Super original, lots of options on how to carry out a mission. MCs company is shady as fuck but Romero and I don't see eye to eye so here's to hoping I'm mistaken. Sam, dearest, I don't need a machine to tell me about you, I'll simply court you the traditional way. I like to think this is how Tinder actually operates, then the amount of weirdos that use the app would make sense. Those profiles belong to infiltrated soul-links, people. "Anne Nonimmus, 25. 'I have 3 kids and 4 baby daddies (we're still sorting out who fathered the youngest one). If you're less than 201cm and will make a fuss about paying for my and my kids' meals on a date don't even bother'."
• Apartment 502 by @apt502-if. Sitcom vibes? Immaculate. Option to ignore and/or be spiteful to the person who made you move to another city/country? You betcha. Calli, I'll wait for you (or get charmed by Lani) while your relationship crashes and burns. Either way, I'll support you, girl. I would tell Rainn to go eat glass but we're not on speaking terms and I blocked her number. Which is funny because I choose to act all high and mighty when we happen to meet face to face. Good news is, if you're not happy with this ex you can have another one! Yay!
• Étreinte by @etreinte-if. Criminally underrated. Criminally, I'm telling you. Even if it is fairly popular. The contrast between playing the innocent, proper girl like mommy dearest taught us while she narrows her eyes, 100% aware of the duping and yet her being completely unable to smell the bull if you go the humble way because she's completely unacquainted with the notion of humility will never not be funny. Lots of flavour text depending on your choices, nice plot, solid characters and a very clearly horrible person so that everyone can agree on whom to hate. Nothing creates communion like a common foe does! Also, the drastic way my poor Lena changed from a vibrant little girl to a subdued young woman kills me every time.
• This one may be a little of a hear me out but I f*cking stand by it. What Makes a Shinobi by heeheehaw. I must confess I didn't expect much of it. I thought it would be just another Naruto fanfic but in a different format and I guess in a certain way it is, but the writing sucked me into the author's world. There's a lot of insight in the way we're told about MC's progress. I still remember the instructor explaining the lower rank missions and saying something along the lines of 'most of you won't ever go beyond these. This is not failure, this is the job'. I will keep that sentence in my heart for as long as I live. It's hard to surprise a fan of the original when you're borrowing a very well-loved and popular manga. This one did it for me!
• The Abyssal by @theabyssal. No words for this one. Sooooo immersive. An unbelievable freedom to craft the way you feel about a proper betrayal. From indescribable sadness to insurmountable rage. From clinging to a past in which you were happy while struggling with the reality of what was done to you to cutting ties with everything and everyone and wanting nothing else but to make them pay back in full for what they put you through. Masterpiece!
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