Made this one somewhat last minute, but here goes- my reccomendations for this week are a yuri "mystery" VN that's near and dear to my heart (that goes into processing grief) though it's been a while since I last played it, and a cute and sloppy (not bad sloppy) manga about crossdressing (and if you ask me is honestly at least kinda genderfuckery).
I figured I'd also add BonnieBugsy's "Ranma Lazuli" fanfic series (available on Ao3) to make it a triple feature because why the hell not. The two fics I can recommend (not having completed the other large fic yet though I'm sure it would deserve equal recommendation) are pretty near and dear to me as well.
CONTENT WARNINGS
SeaBed: processing grief
Handsome Girl and Crossdressing Boy: some chapters, particularly the extras, can be particularly suggestive/R18+
Ranma Lazuli: for the two fanfics specifically I'm discussing, "Skies of Blue, Red Roses Too" covers dysphoria and abusive family circumstances, with the premise of the titular Ranma escaping these and finding a place where she can be and grow into herself. "I of the Storm," in contrast, deals with the abusive and unhealthy dynamics of that "place where nothing ever gets better" from the perspective of someone still living within it- Akane- who herself, also has to deal with her anger and the consequences of (being a victim, but also perpetrator of) abuse, apathy, and past mistakes, while moving past that environment herself.
Premise and things I liked about (SeaBed)
Sachiko and Takako were childhood friends and lovers, but unknown circumstances tore them apart. Now they have to piece together the puzzle, as Sachiko keeps hallucinating about Takako, and Takako deals with memory issues of her own.
Personally, Seabed can come across as a bit of a slog (but in a good way- and in a way appropriate to the themes of grief, of mental processing and memory issues, etc). And it can be very heavy. I played it during a time when I was dealing with grief among other things myself and I loved it- I intend to play it again someday (ideally soon), but needless to say it won't be for everyone.
Premise and things I liked about (Handsome Girl and Crossdressing Boy)
Admittedly, this is just comfy, queer (IMO), somewhat suggestive (YMMV, if it were just up to me I'd not even consider it NSFW but it's definitely toeing a line and considering cultural and even circumstantial differences of different online spaces- well yea) and sappy light-hearted romance. Iori is a crossdressing boy(? very eggy if you ask me), and Hazuki is a handsome girl. Needless to say gender is a fuck.
The extra chapters (generally noticeable as something like "chapter 23.5" instead of being an outright "chapter 23" for instance) can be even moreso questionably/maybe "NSFW/18+" (though if you ask me that's all "western puritanism and backwardness/regressiveness" which they then infected many other parts of the world with)
Premise and things I liked about (BonnieBugsy's 'Ranma Lazuli' fanfic series)
The two "Ranma Lazuli" fics I can recommend (the others I either haven't read yet or are very short) are both what I would describe as "coming of age/graduation(?)" plots, wherein Ranma moves from her abusive, overwhelming, demanding upbringing to the welcoming and progressive Beach City from Steven Universe (no knowledge of either series is necessary IMO to enjoy these fics, that said) and is finally able to develop within such a healthier environment, and Akane comes to terms with and breaks free of the fallout and that unhealthy environment in her own way, in her own separate life.
Both fics, I feel, correlate with my own defining experiences on many levels- whether it be Ranma's growth and the liberating feeling of finding a positive, comfy space and escaping the small, shitty, abusive world she was raised in prior, or in Akane's own growth and rejection of that same small world, as well as the permanence of one's actions having come from and having been a part of what made that world so small and unhealthy to begin with, and growing past that and coming to terms with it.
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sick animal, possibility of euthanasia
Family cat has got terminal kidney disease, she's pretty old just under 20. It's technically my brothers cat, he got it when he was a teenager so as you might imagine it actually became my mom's cat cause he did about the level of care expected of a teenager thar demands a pet but is quite bad at keeping up chores. Then she became my sisters cat when she was grown up - and then back to my mom when sister went abroad to study. Now I'm watching this cat.The cats feeling better after being pretty badly dehydrated. Ive just been giving some oral rehydration solution that's more or less the same as people get. But there will likely be no longer term recovery and we've got to talk tonight about options.
The vet (me too) think a short course of IV rehydration would be best along with a low protein diet and a special med that helps out kidneys in this kind of damage - but it's expensive, like >$1K which no one in the family has to drop on a cat this old. Another option is SQ hydration which will likely not be nearly as effective, but I'm comfortable doing, along with a little PO rehydration which I'm doing right now anyway - it's significantly cheaper, just $50 for the supplies. Third option is euthanasia soon - this is a terminal condition and it will be the thing that kills her one way or another, what we'd like is quality life until sis is back from abroad but none of us have a spare $1K around and it's hard to say if she'll live that long even with the "premium" IV rehydration. Fourth option isn't really a choice but I guess we could gamble on PO rehydration until she gets sicker and sicker and then someone decides it's enough and we euthanize or she passes on her own.
Shes also pretty constipated (due to the dehydration), vet thinks lactulose/bisacodyl/?PEG or whatever could help but the degree of firmness suggests she may need an enema and then removal for which she'd have to be put under anesthesia - which she may not survive given her state of health and age. I think we're good trying some lactulose at home and seeing what happens after a day or two.
I paid for the bloodwork, pretty expensive. $400 yeesh.
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We lost a cat last year very suddenly, and it sucks to go through. I’m sorry you’re going through that.We also had to do subQ for a bit in a last ditch effort to hep her out, but unfortunately it didn’t work. The good news is that in our case it was for a somewhat different set of circumstances (wicked bad cancer) so it may work better for your friend than it did for ours. We’d still be happily giving her fluid injections if it kept her alive and happy. I really hope your friend can pull through and have some more good times with people she loves.
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Thank you!She seems to be feeling considerably better after PO rehydration all night and day. I gave her some laxative and I think I can see her stool in the box, I'll keep it up for a couple more days and hopefully she can mobilize whatever is left. We're gonna start SQ fluids tonight.
She has got her hunger back which is nice! She's eating again and not just puking it back up like before.
I'm hoping the improvement continues and we can get her through for at least a couple months so little sis can say goodbye. The degree of kidney disease means this is terminal but she might luck out for quite a few months depending, I wish I knew so little sis doesn't feel as guilty. Her dog passed away (just sheer old age) while shes been studying abroad - we talked about it 2 years ago but saying you're prepared for that to happen and it actually happening are two different things. So I think this one she feels really bad about. Plus my brother is being a little shit head about it, he's never taken care of her really except for a bit when he moved out and promptly lost her for 3 months and was lucky she came back. But he's convinced we're killing the cat but she's just old, man... he's got his own interpersonal issues with my mom (don't wanna get into it) and part of that is, exaggerating is a tough word but like that catastrophizing? Anyway, things he perceives as problems between her and him get a weird twist and then blown WAY up. So you can imagine the cat passing after the dog passing has got him worked up
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Yay kitty! Way to rally! I’m very glad to hear that she’s eating again! I hope she can make it through to see your sister. Like you said, we knew our friend was going to die someday, likely before us, but that didn’t make either of us any more prepared for it to actually happen, and we were at least here when it did, and got to be there for her in her last moments. I can’t imagine being stuck abroad while it happened. Even more so for it happening twice! That would be so hard to deal with. I really, really hope it works out for your sister to see her again.That sucks about your brother. This would be a great time for him to swallow his issues and be kind about it or just fuck off quietly for a while at the very least. Our family also has a kinda self-centered person who ended up putting themselves in the middle of a (different) pet’s death through a total lack of care for others. It was shitty and rude, and I’m sorry y’all are dealing with a similar sounding interpersonal situation on top of things. ❤️