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The Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete--all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA...

I Sexually Identify As An Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall

“I Sexually Identify As An Attack Helicopter” takes the premise in its title seriously to produce a really cool story which raises, answers, and then raises more questions about gender and identity in a way that feels exploratory, respectful, and bold.

I love how this story takes itself so seriously within the text, in a way that can only be produced by understanding just how ridiculous the premise is, and leaning into it.

For anyone lucky enough to be unaware of the reference, one of the troll responses to meaningful and complex discussions of gender identity is that someone people will say something about identifying as an "attack helicopter", as if that would invalidate someone being trans, or whatever identity is being discussed.

This story uses that mockery to dive deep and explore the implications in a really amazing and moving way, I found myself thinking about the way I understand gender, how it is performative and also intrinsic... Seriously, read this story, I've included the link below.

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