Room 801

Last weekend, I went to Room 801, a yaoi and yuri convention, and it went by in a wonderful blur. Lots of great panels, from 'Comparing Homoerotica, Slash and Yaoi/Yuri' to 'Legal Issues and Censorship' to 'Self-Publishing Mature Comics'. Other highlights included a live kinbaku demonstration from the Sydney Rope Dojo, and a playthrough by the Gaming Crew podcasters of Hatoful Boyfriend, a pigeon dating sim. (Which ended suddenly when our heroine got assassinated by the hawks...)

It was a really cool convergence of interests: anime and manga, western media fandoms, gaming, and professional art and writing. I got to talk to some awesome people about shared fannish loves, picked up some new recommendations (must watch Free!), and came home with a lovely haul of new stuff to read, including Ruby Coral Carnelian by Mary Borsellino (a fairytale novella about an apprentice mage), a reflection of you by amei (a gorgeous compilation of Attack on Titan stories about Eren and Jean), All the D by Maxxx, Crafty, Kittyhawk, Icarus and BattyBytes (a sexy comics anthology), Double Life by Beatriz Bravo (a comic about a gay superhero and his superhero family), and Foodventure Comics: Steamed Coconut Buns and Chicken by Beatriz Bravo (an illustrated recipe for a very tasty dish).

Thanks so much to Pirotess and LadyLuckDoubt for organising such a fantastic event!