They are so far the game’s first official canon and gay couple.
They are so far the game’s first official canon and gay couple.
The official social media accounts of Riot Game’s first-person online shooter game VALORANT posted an image on Sunday featuring the technicians Raze and Killjoy kissing, officially confirming that they are a couple.
In this special interview, Pandesaii captured the hearts of many due to her beautiful art featuring girls crushing and falling in love with each other.
Pandesaii captured the hearts of many due to her beautiful art featuring girls crushing and falling in love with each other.
Based in the Philippines, Sai or known as Pandesaii, captured the hearts of many Yuri and GL fans due to her beautiful art featuring innocent girls crushing or falling in love with each other in a Filipino setting.
I discovered her works sometime during the height of the pandemic, and every single time I saw her art pass my feed, or on my timeline, I couldn’t help but spend a minute or two just admiring the warmness each art gives. I am so honored to be given this opportunity to ask her a few questions about her inspiring works of art.
The Lily Cat: Before I start with the questions, I want to let you know that I feel so ecstatic that I am doing this interview with you. I admit that I have been such a huge fan of your work for so long. Can you tell me how you started making art?
Pandesaii: Thank you so much for having me! It feels nice to be interviewed by someone really passionate about GL. I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been that weird artist child, I never really excelled in academics and I have dyslexia which made writing and etc. hard for me.
Illustration was the only way I could express myself truly so I started taking it seriously very early. I’ve been painting since I was in grade school and started traditionally training from 6th grade until 4th year and went to art school after that.
The Lily Cat: Most of the art you share on your lovely FB page is mainly centered on Filipino girls’ love. I admit that it always gives me kilig vibes every time I see it on my feed. Has this been your main focus since?
Pandesaii: I didn’t really start drawing GL until college, I was originally aiming to be a concept artist for a big western company, it was my goal since childhood but as I grew older and learned more about myself and the industry, I started shifting my goals and art to what feels genuine to me. The lack of local Sapphic representation too made me sad and I’ve made illustrating more GL my goal since.
The Lily Cat: Every artist has an inspiration in doing what they love doing. I’m curious who or what inspired you to do these lovely creations?
Pandesaii: My main inspiration is mostly my gf/partner Ten, this might be shocking to some people but I’m not really the romantic type, I never took non-fiction love seriously until I met Ten. They gave me flowers, took me to dates, took care of me and they made me feel like I was genuinely in love for the first time in my life. The emotions that I show in my art are mostly from what I feel when I remember our good times.
Another inspiration was the things that I didn’t get to experience due to self-hatred and denial. I draw for my inner teen who never really had representation that could’ve helped me accept myself earlier, I also draw hoping that it can help a young Sapphic that’s currently struggling with their identity.
The Lily Cat: Has the pandemic affected you in a way in creating your art? Knowing that your GL works were made/published during a very tough time.
Pandesaii: The pandemic had a huge effect on me and my art. It arrived after I graduated college; when I was hoping that I can finally be free to explore the world and meet other people like me but the pandemic shackled me back to my childhood home, the place that I was trying to leave.
I used art as an escape. Harana, the piece that started it all was made through yearning. The huge time gaps between the works that I put out were also because of the pandemic. It’s been hard but I’m just currently hoping for the best.
The Lily Cat: I’m curious. What GL media (anime, manga, webtoon, and so on) are your faves at the moment?
Pandesaii: Ohh I’m not sure if I have new faves at the moment but I just recently caught up to Relationship Guidelines! I am absolutely in love with the art style and excited for the side stories. I’m also currently waiting for new updates of Whispering You A Love Song! While Opium, Getting to Know Grace, and Soul Mates are on my to-read list.
The Lily Cat: Anything you want to say to your growing followers? Also, where can they find you?
Pandesaii: Omg aaaa hello! Please give me some recommendations, I would love to explore more gl media and I hope ya’ll are doing well, you can also reach out to me mostly on Twitter and Instagram (@pandesaii) thank you so much for having me! Also please continue supporting local GL artist!
If you love her art, you may also consider supporting her here. Look forward to more interviews and features only here on The Lily Cat!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.
Support The Lily Cat in providing news, reviews, and features by leaving a cup of coffee.
I do admit though that it is also passion that made me do the wrong choices, say the wrong words, and ended with a lot of regrets.
I do admit though that it is also passion that made me do the wrong choices, say the wrong words, and ended with a lot of regrets.
Let’s talk about passion. When you hit up its definition, it is defined as a strong and barely controllable emotion.
Who would’ve thought that my passion for a certain genre and the desire to write about it has led me to make this blog has been running and part of my life for years?
When I announced my departure from the FB platform a while back, there were some comments left by people who I have been online friends over the years or might have known due to the FB groups that I used to be active in years back. As much as that was how The Lily Cat got so much attention from fans, I admit I have slowly grown sick of the platform. Part of it is due to bad experiences from some people who are on this platform and it is just that I have reached that point in my life that the platform has been too much for me.
I totally forgot when was the last time I was so active interacting with FB groups lately. I think the last one was like 2019 when I did a semi-hiatus in community stuff. I will be honest that I wanted to put that part of my life left in the past. It was fun while it lasted, but I think it’s about time that I would focus on the things that make me happy at my own pace and in my own time. I would still be with the communities I cherish, but I need to prioritize my passions from now on.
I do admit though that it is also passion that made me do the wrong choices, say the wrong words, and ended with a lot of regrets. Sometimes I think that I should have done better or I should have said things better. I wasn’t the best person ever. I try to be. I go no longer mend that permanent emotional scar when I ended up being used, abused, and worse being left out for someone better.
Life is crazy sometimes. I seriously wanted to let go of being that Serena who is so vocal and passionate about the things she loves, as well as be that echo chamber for people who cannot express it. But, after so much thinking, maybe I am not that person anymore. I wasn’t aware that this energy and effort that put me in the first place has slowly pulled me back into a darkness that I never wanted to be in anymore. I am tired of being in this endless cycle of self-hatred when almost I have no love to give for myself.
So, what am I trying to say here?
It is okay to do things you love and share them with others. However, do not give so much love and trust to these people immediately. Just because they jive with you, just because they are friendly with you, you never know what their full intentions are. These kinds of people are one of the primary reasons why I had to step back for a while. I lost a huge part of myself that I am slowly patching up things and make-up for what I missed.
So here we are. It is passion that brought this little blog back and pretty much all of my thoughts on Yuri and my other fandoms will probably just be here. There are a lot of things to catch up on—and I can’t wait to share them all with you.
Take care of yourself. Make that passion of something you cherish the most be that flame that would keep you going. It doesn’t matter if that light is weak, it will grow. As each day goes by, you would realize how far you’ve become and you might inspire and light up people’s lamps along the way too.
Thank you for still dropping by. I may not be the best content creator, reviewer, or critic, but I am just happy to share all these things—news, reviews, updates, and thoughts with you.
Keep that flame burning. Keep that passion growing. You matter.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.
Support The Lily Cat in providing news, reviews, and features by leaving a cup of coffee.
After a few months of absolutely nothing but cobwebs, I am back! Just barely. I am just fixing some stuff here and there to make sure the relaunch for this site is a great one.
I don’t want to get this into a long wall of text, but a lot of things have been happening with my personal life which has drained me emotionally, mentally, and financially. I have promised that the site will have regular updates sometime a few months ago, but due to some family-related problems, those pushed back.
I am still struggling from the recent hardship but hey, we come back stronger. I am not sure if I don’t have the funds to keep the site afloat until the end of the month so any amount of support is greatly appreciated. I only need around 18 USD this month. It’s the hosting that I pay monthly.
What Happens Next?
Well, as promised there’s some content going up in a couple of weeks. I have to rewrite a lot of them to edit the timeframes and update some info. But a few yuri reviews will be in here as well some feature articles that I have in mind of quite a while. Officially, the non-yuri stuff will be transferred over to Zenbu. The site is just an extension of this one so if you’re looking for my non-yuri anime, manga, and video game reviews, Zenbu would be the place to go.
So I guess that is all I can share for now. The site might go offline soon to make way for the major changes but I do appreciate yuri fans visiting the site from time to time. With the relaunch, I will do the best I can to provide the yuri and latest fandom news and reviews to you. Thank you so much. It means a lot. See you soon.
Just within 24 hours, two of my Facebook accounts were compromised by hackers. The first one is my fandom account (primarily used for The Lily Cat page) in which the hacker attempted to log in and change my password. I was able to catch it first and changed my password immediately.
Then just this morning, my other account (personal and work) was infiltrated by someone who logged in from Brazil. He added random people to my account and that was it. I logged out of the questionable device and changed the password immediately. I went through my profile to see if they have done anything else. Nothing so far, even in my messenger. I have blocked the two recently added people by the hacker just in case.
I honestly don’t know why they were able to successfully get through my accounts. Both of my FB accounts have 2FA enabled and my phone or email address should notify me ASAP if someone attempts to log in. I am not sure if this is crappy security from Facebook’s end or some wise engineering in the works. But if that’s the case, then there’s a chance I might have to slowly leave the platform if these cases persist. This is the first time this has happened to me before on the platform.
Even by just writing this, I’m actually not confident if my accounts are fully secured yet. The paranoia and anxiety are just too high right now and I just don’t feel like doing anything else. I tend to check my security and activity every now and then and so far nothing suspicious has happened. So changing passwords were the best thing after all…for now.
So in relation to this experience, I want to share with you some basic tips on how to keep your account safe from intruders. Remember that we are in a pandemic and having these online accounts are more important than ever so here’s how you can keep them safe:
As basic and obvious as it is, you should have anti-virus running on your PC whenever you are logged in. This was one of my big mistakes. I just remembered that I uninstalled my anti-virus software way back so I was unaware that there are some questionable files running or could be watching my movements. After installing an anti-virus again, my anti-virus warned me of two trojan files that are running in my system. This could be the possible culprit. I am not really much of tech expert so I can’t be for sure. But for the hacker of my personal FB account to be able to bypass by 2FA… this is possible.
One of the basic entries for hackers to get into your accounts is your email. Once they have access to it, they are able to get into your other accounts.
One way for you to check if your email is included in a data breach is by typing in your email address here. If it notifies you that your email was part of a breach, change passwords immediately. If you have extra time, you must also change the passwords of all the accounts that you registered using this email.
If you check on the security settings of your Gmail account, you would see a list of devices on which your account is signed into. If you see a PC or device that is logged in from a different location, logout that device first and change your password immediately.
Social media and popular platforms these days now include 2-Factor Authentication for additional protection. If there is an email that you mostly use, enable 2FA with it. It can be annoying at times but at least it gives you peace of mind every time you log in. It’s recommended that you use authenticator apps like Authy as a way to get authentication codes.
For social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and IG, it’s important to regularly change your passwords. Online bank accounts as well. You must make it a habit to change everything when you hear that there is a recent data breach.
I wish I can list down more things related to this one but I have tackled the major ones already. I may not know what the intentions of the hacks are, but it gave me a good lesson to be more mindful and put effort into keeping my online accounts safe and secured. I honestly wished this wasn’t the “comeback” post that was waiting for here on the site, but at least I want to put this out here for you guys. Stay safe out there.
2021 and things are still not the same as before. Like last year, many events are pushed back. Some canceled. Some are still hanging on the balance if they will push through or not. Although virtual events are possible, it is not enough to fill that empty void that we longed so much.
Meeting friends in a convention, hugging them when we meet, screaming and cheering at the top of our lungs, meeting people who share the same passions as you…
Goddamn, I miss them so much.
These days are tough, but here we are still doing our best to make ends meet in the comfort of our own homes, finding new ways to enjoy ourselves while the world is still uncertain for now. I admit it is really hard to be hopeful when things are still not 100% okay.
Every time when I feel like giving up, every time I wanted to just stop being hopeful for the best. I always remember this one simple word, Puhon.
Puhon is Bisaya for hopefully, someday, or in God’s perfect time. It’s a simple word but it has a beautiful way of expressing something related to hope.
Puhon, We Will Meet Again.
The past couple of years is without a doubt, life-changing. I learned a lot from the many travels I had. I got to be part of a community where I met the best people in my life. They have become my friends, my sisters, my “fam.” I wouldn’t be doing these things, continue to be passionate about this genre if it weren’t for them. It’s not for certain to when I will be able to see them again, but Puhon. I will, once all of this is over.
They say when you travel, you meet the most interesting people in your life that would turn things around, change your plans, and make your destination a place called home.
You will laugh, you will cry. You will face challenges and meet them with victory. At the end of the day, lessons are learned. Memories are kept.
I will look forward to the day when I can finally step on that platform again, heading to my assigned seat beside that small window, my ticket in my left jacket pocket, my passport on my right.
The distance doesn’t matter, the expenses don’t matter. When you meet people who make you feel at home, nothing else matters.
See you soon. Puhon.
Long-time Yuri blogger Erica Friedman announced on her Twitter account on Friday that she will be releasing a book titled By Your Side: Conversations on the Yuri Genre. Journey Press will publish the said book.
It is my very real pleasure to announce that Big Book o’Yuri, now formally titled “By Your Side: Conversations on the Yuri Genre” will be published by @PressJourney!
Here’s to our journey through past, present and future, together. ^_^
— Erica Friedman, Yuri Master (@OkazuYuri) February 12, 2021
She also mentioned that the book is scheduled to be released just in time for the 20th anniversary of her yuri blog, Okazu, and Pride Month. This has been one of her long-time projects, which she mentions as the “Big Book o’Yuri”.
Erica Friedman is the Founder of Yuricon, ALC Publishing, and Yurikon LLC, Social Media Without Delusion. An LGBTQ and Geek Marketing Consultant. Her blog Okazu is dedicated to providing reviews and news centered on Yuri, GL, and WLW media.
The Lily Cat would like to congratulate Erica-sensei on her project and looking forward to reading this book very soon.
Source: OkazuYuri (Twitter)
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.
Support The Lily Cat in providing news, reviews, and features by leaving a cup of coffee or be part of the Kitty Squad. You may also visit my literary notebook, Fragments.
Aside from the constant releases of yuri anime for 2021, Noodletub Games has a treat for those looking for a new game to get into. Their latest 18+ yuri visual novel game, LOVE BAKUDAN is now available on Steam and Itch.io!
LOVE BAKUDAN is an 18+ erotic yuri dramedy, focusing on the life of Haruka Mishima. When she returns to her coastal hometown of Akiyama after a long time away, she finds that there’s much more waiting for her than just inheriting her family’s erotic bookstore, Bakudan Books. But between romancing girls and selling erotica to the locals, Haruka finds that she’s in for an even wilder ride than she expected…
The game gives you the option of dating the beautiful lovelorn bartender, your cheerful best friend, a dangerous mobster, a drop-dead gorgeous firefighter, a mysterious Korean idol or a shy mangaka in the making. Finding the girl you like is all entirely up to you!
The project was launched in February 2020 and funded via its Kickstarter backers.
Get the game on Steam and in Itch.io today! They are currently doing a giveaway for those who want to get the game FOR FREE.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.
Support The Lily Cat in providing news, reviews, and features by leaving a cup of coffee or be part of the Kitty Squad. You may also visit my literary notebook, Fragments.
Fans of GMA’s 2015 lesbian TV drama series The Rich Man’s Daughter cheered and went on throwback when actress Rhian Ramos posted a birthday greeting to her co-star Glaiza de Castro on Thursday, January 21 on her official Facebook page. Ramos and De Castro played the lead roles of Jade and Althea respectively.
Happy birthday, Glaiza De Castro
Posted by Rhian Ramos on Thursday, January 21, 2021
As of press time, the said post has reached more than 21,000 reactions with almost 700 shares. The majority of the comments were birthday greetings to Glaiza with some saying that they missed The Rich Man’s Daughter. Their chemistry is well-loved by fans that their fandom ships are named RaStro (a combination of the girls’ last names) and JaThea (a combination of their TRMD character’s first names.) Posts (e.g. fanfiction, fanart, fan videos) related to this pair are still very much around the net even if the series has ended years ago.
Glaiza made a response for everyone who greeted her on her birthday on Twitter.
Nagising sa mga pagbati ng pagmamahal! Maraming salamat sa inyo! Gusto ko kayo yakapin isa isa!
— Glaiza de Castro (@glaizaredux) January 21, 2021
Unfortunately, the ship will not be sailing as Glaiza is happily engaged to her Irish boyfriend. A September 2020 report revealed that Rhian is single again after dealing with a bad breakup with her boyfriend.
Missed the series? You can watch the entire episodes of The Rich Man’s Daughter here.
Glaiza De Castro is a Filipino actress and singer notable for playing the role of Althea from GMA Network’s 2015 top-rating lesbian TV drama series The Rich Man’s Daughter. The show also starred Rhian Ramos as Jade. De Castro also stars in the 2016 remake of Encantadia as Pirena and the titular character of the network’s 2010 TV fantasy series Grazilda.
Source: Rhian Ramos (Facebook), GMA Network, Manila Bulletin
Join our growing Yuri and Girl’s Love Community, Yuri/GL Philippines
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.
Support The Lily Cat in providing news, reviews, and features by leaving a cup of coffee or be part of the Kitty Squad. You may also visit my literary notebook, Fragments.
Author’s Notes:
It was sunny in Tomoeda. Sakura and Tomoyo were, as usual, went home together after a very tiring day. Tomoyo prepared for a big choral competition, while Sakura had to recover after days of continuous cheerleading practices. They usually tag along with their other friends going out the campus—but today was slightly different.
“Competition is tomorrow, right?” Sakura asked as both she and Tomoyo walked going to Penguin Park.
“Yeah,” Tomoyo smiled, “I’m honestly nervous since the song was something that we never used in the previous competitions.”
“Wait, it’s a new song?” Sakura paused,
“Umm… yes,” Tomoyo blushed, “It’s… actually an original song.” She then shook her head and continued, “It… it took me a while to get it right. I hope I don’t mess it up.”
“Why would you mess it up?” Sakura wondered, looking at Tomoyo with a confused face. It was the first time she has heard something like this from her. It honestly wasn’t like her. “I mean, you always sing perfectly, Tomoyo-chan.”
Tomoyo couldn’t give a reply to Sakura’s question anymore as they both arrived at the park. It was perfect. No one was around yet, and the Cherry Blossoms were slowly blooming.
However, Sakura was honestly worried for Tomoyo. It puzzled her as to why, of all people—why would Tomoyo be nervous over something she’s good at? She has witnessed her best friend nailed every song she performs. Not once she heard anything from her that she felt pressured and anxious over singing before. These thoughts clouded her mind that she almost forgot about why they were at Penguin Park.
Spring is here. That afternoon was perfect. They wanted to unwind before the park is filled with people who would drop by to witness the blooming Cherry Blossom trees in the area.
Sakura immediately zapped back to reality when Tomoyo held her hand and pulled her onwards to one of their favorite grassy spots in the park area.
They both rested there enjoying the calm afternoon. Both of them never spoke a word. However, Sakura felt that she had to open up something to Tomoyo.
“Tomoyo-chan.” She began, looking at the sky as she laid down on the grass, “I received a letter from Syaoran-kun yesterday.”
As she was about to lay down on the grass beside her, Tomoyo paused with a bit of concern. It has been a couple of months since Li left for Hong Kong, and she noticed that he hasn’t been sending letters to Sakura like usual.
“There’s no definite date of when Syaoran-kun will come back,” Sakura continued, “…and honestly, I don’t know if waiting this long is worth it anymore.”
Hearing that broke Tomoyo a bit. If there is one thing that she doesn’t want to hear or witness, it’s seeing her best friend sad and giving up on what she has been hanging on to.
In the first few weeks since Li left, there was never a day that Sakura would miss opening a conversation related to him. But as days go by, the anticipation for his next letter to Sakura became less frequent. According to Sakura, the reason was because of the many family obligations he had to deal with.
There was a bit of relief in Tomoyo that Sakura no longer opened up about him anymore. To her, it was for the best. She is willing to do anything to keep Sakura’s smile—even if it has to do with keeping her hidden feelings to herself.
Tomoyo then knelt on the grass, her purple eyes still focused on Sakura. She then dropped it: “But, you still love him…right?”
Before she could utter a reply, Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was true—she seemed to have lost hope of seeing Li again. She was confused if she felt stupid in holding on to these feelings for him or if she is just selfish that she had to let go. The past few months were emotionally stressful for her.
Her thoughts went running about.
Should I hang on? Should I just give up? Should I let go? What happens if it doesn’t work? What would happen to me? What would happen to Syaoran-kun? What would happen if I—
She then opened her eyes. Instead of the sky, she saw something that was even more breathtaking.
Innocent lavender eyes locked to hers. It was the first time seeing Tomoyo’s face up close in this view. The long pause for an answer might have worried her, so she had to lean closer to check if Sakura was alright.
Sakura froze. She felt her heart beating loudly. Her hands were rested on the grass, but it felt like they were getting warmer. She held her breath as she looked at Tomoyo’s face. She was beautiful. Those eyes were warm, peaceful, and lovely. She wanted this moment to stay longer. All her worries, the stress, the disordered thoughts of unsure feelings were all forgotten for a while. Those eyes. It was like Sakura was staring at Tomoyo’s soul.
Sakura knew. She knew what Tomoyo yearned for. It was more than just friendship. She knew that her best friend has been keeping such feelings for so long.
Her thoughts then went running again.
Why is she still hanging on after all these years? Why is she still here with me? Why is she not willing to let go of those feelings? What happens if she doesn’t feel the same way anymore? What would happen to our friendship? What would happen if I—
“Sakura?” Tomoyo called, trying her best not to blush a lot in front of her.
When she heard her name, Sakura went back to her senses. Today wasn’t the day to think about these things. This isn’t the right time to know what these feelings are.
I just wanted to be with her today. That’s why. She thought.
Sakura finally let out a warm smile. “I’m sorry. It’s not the right time to talk about these things.”
“I…I see..” Tomoyo stuttered.
“Today, I just want to hear you and only you, Tomoyo-chan.”
“Sakura-chan…” Tomoyo’s eyes grew wide. She then laid down beside Sakura, still looking at her. She then held Sakura’s warm hand as they enjoyed the calm breeze on that beautiful afternoon.
The world was too overwhelming for them at the moment. Figuring out those feelings can be left for another day to tackle. Right now, they have each other. The warmth of each other’s hand was enough to forget about the world for a while, and Sakura only wished to hear only one person’s voice alone.
“So… can you sing that new song for me now?” Sakura requested as she smiled at Tomoyo,
Tomoyo then replied, still looking at the face of her most precious person in the world. “Of course. You know that I will only sing for you, and only for you, Sakura-chan.”
END.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts here and on Facebook. I’m also on Twitter just in case you’re interested.
Support The Lily Cat in providing news, reviews, and features by leaving a cup of coffee or be part of the Kitty Squad. You may also visit my literary notebook, Fragments.
![[SakuTomo] Look at the Sky / You, and Only For You](https://thelilycat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/sakura-and-tomoyo-by-teru-450x450.jpg)