#i have their whole plot written idk why i didn't share it yet-

[pixel-moss167]

timothy 🎶 and edgar 🥘💌

Epic

how does timothy sound like?

what's Edgar's favorite food?

How would Edgar react to a love letter?

[mythicamagic]

have you played Love and Deepspace and what is your review on it??

Hello! Yes I have. It's sitting in my homescreen right now on my phone.

I think my opinions on it might be quite mixed or controversial? So just bare that in mind before reading.

I've played a looot of otomes. I think I started playing them in 2009. I can very much say that LADS is a unique experience. It's not like anything I've ever played before in terms of graphics, cinematography and interaction with your fictional boyfriends.

The Great:

I think the interface and design is really nice in certain aspects (the combat is a bit iffy). This is a very pretty game imo. Also can I just say, having a customisable MC is really great! I like that you can change not just her skintone but her voice settings as well. I also just- LOVE the 4 and 5 star cards content. They hold some examples of lovely scenarios written with care, and some good ole fanservice to boot as a treat. Whoever does the lighting for the 5* cards does a marvellous job, as the animations really feel 'alive' sometimes. Great direction with using the MC as the POV so the 'camera' swings or moves closer according to how she's reacting. Love that.

The LIs:

I think having a varied cast is important in otomes but a common vibe or theme can often be shared between their contrasting personalities. For Piofiore its mafia/crime lords and domestic life, for Cafe Enchante cosy coffeeshop vibes. With Love and Deepspace I'd say its cosy vibes mixed with action, mixed with angst. The cast supports this, with all of them having serious or sweet sides. I am definitely not drawn to some of them, but that's okay! I think anyone going in new should know they won't like everyone and that's common for otome. What I find uninteresting might be wonderful to someone else and vice versa. I will say Sylus took the spot as my favourite and he has a very different vibe to the others even when he's doing cosy domestic stuff. I very much enjoy his scenes and how dynamic they feel (also its really nice the whole cast is in their twenties)

The Bad:

The worst casualty in Love and Deepspace is...the main story. I can't overstate how much of a confusing, poorly written and badly executed mess the main story is. In terms of setup, establishing lore, world building and stakes, it somewhat limps from one chapter to another. Scenes can begin and end abruptly with plot threads seemingly dropped. Secrets can often be intriguing, yes- but by continually withholding answers the game can get a bit frustrating. As a new player with no knowledge of the game, I didn't understand why Rafayel kept referring to himself as a fish during the crane game and kitty card mini games. It was like they were referencing something that hadn't happened yet in game, so I was like - okay, I'll wait. I'm sure it'll be explained (spoilers: it was not explained).

Essentially if you want backstory and context to the boys you NEED their cards to unlock their content, and I'm not a huge fan of that. I think the main story should still at least give you a bit more to work with about the boys. (This is especially bad when the lore is locked behind gacha luck). And I get that the whole story is space/time themed but sincerely I did not know the world of Love and Deepspace was capable of casual space travel until I read Sylus' anecdote story. This is not good worldbuilding. Sure it throws loads of terminology at you but you'll have to read the notes yourself to understand what they are. It's a lot of telling and not showing. For an example of how this could've been done: Cowboy Bebop is about bounty hunters in space. It has scenes of them...in space. You're telling me someone as rich as Sylus, who offers MC to go on his motorbike, yacht, and private jet, wouldn't offer her a circle around the planet in his spaceship? Idk it feels like a lot of worldbuilding details have been overlooked.

There is also the issue of voice acting. This can again come down to personal preference but in general I always give English Dubs a fair chance, and enjoy many of them. Voice acting has come a long way since the wooden performances of older animes and games. That said, many of the boys, especially in the earlier chapters and content sound extremely flat. This goes double for the NPCs (who can be laughably bad). It's not even a matter of 'oh this person is just reading lines with no emotion' no the inflections in their voice are off- the context of what they're supposed to be emoting to can feel a million miles off base. I barely felt like they were in the scene with me. That said - this was likely a voice direction issue, because more recent content allows the boys to sound more relaxed and involved in the scene. Sylus' English VA knocks it out of the park in his performance though and I really appreciate how much he embraced that role. A lot of people could get embarrassed having to voice ASMR type content but he got fully immersed so 10/10 for that. I haven't tried any other languages apart from Japanese but c'mon, we know the Japanese VAs are like celebrities over there and will crush any role so no notes there except they're all great.

TLDR:

With all that said I do not hate the game, I really enjoy it! (I wouldn't have ranted so much here if I didn't care) I just wish certain aspects were tightened up more for storytelling purposes. It feels a bit jarring when some aspects of the game are SUPER polished but then easy mistakes are made. So I'd say if you're interested in playing - to just embrace the fluff and spicy fanservice. Treat it as your main meal as I do. If you end up enjoying the main story and combat then that's a bonus! I really hope this game continues to be successful because their recent content and chapter has been super intriguing - and in general its just nice to have an otome reach the spot of 3rd highest grossing mobile game during some months (below the giants like Genshin and HSR)

[this-ag-doll-is-a-butch]

Clara Montoya: Autistic???

I've been getting back into AG for almost a year now. Josefina has always, always been my fave, since we were both nine years old.

I've been thinking about how I want her to have a counterpart in her time and location to actually interact with in period-appropriate ways. She never received a Best Friend doll, though :(

But really, her whole story is centered around her family anyway, and I've seen people talk about how 2005 GOTY Marisol Luna has been used to create Clara dolls. And yep, the resemblance is real.

So I have plans to get a Marisol and make her Clara. Although they may take a some months to come to fruition, considering all my other doll and fandom and plushie collection goals and IRL expenses 😔

But it's free to think about Clara's character and plan for what I want her collection to encompas.

The thing that strikes me most, looking at her now with the adult knowledge of being autistic myself- she REALLY seems like a character that one can headcanon as autistic with ease.

She's logical and practical and literal to a fault. She hates change and getting dirty and wants to keep everything organized. Sewing and embroidery are her special interests! She bonds with Tía Dolores through those interests! She clashes hard with Francisca, who just does not want to make the effort to understand her.

She has strong attachment to objects, to the extent that it becomes a huge part of the plot in "Josefina's Surprise." (The altar cloth, Niña.)

Niña is her comfort object, for fuck's sake!!!!! She manages to relinquish primary custody of Niña to Josefina, but ONLY after Tía Dolores managed to give her a new comfort object (Mamá's silver thimble.)

I mean, I think I need to closely reread all Josefina's series and acquire all short stories and the mysteries. What else is going on with dear Clara and her autism? Does she have sensory issues???

It goes without saying that Clara was never deliberately written as autistic, and of course in 1824 New Mexico, a word didn't exist for autism. But we autistics have always existed.

In terms of a potential collection- obviously Josefina's nightgown straight-up seems to be Clara's camisa and IDK how to feel about that. How can Josefina not have her nightgown??? 😭

One potential solution I've been thinking about is a similar nightgown for her but with a different neck ribbon. I can't sew, but it seems Etsy seller Magnoliawillows makes a similar nightgown with a blue ribbon which could be Josefina's new nightgown.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1325115163/josefina-montoya-style-night-shift

Also, I know her BeForever nightgown exists too. But I'm not as emotionally bonded to it, since it came after "my time" lmao. Maybe it would be nice if Clara and Josefina had summer and winter nightgowns 🤔

And I could get Josefina's BeForever bed for Clara! That's another reason why I want a Clara- to have a way to use more of Josefina's collection as I acquire it, especially the BeForever items.

And if AG could just get off their asses and GIVE JOSEFINA LITERALLY ANY COLLECTION AT ALL AGAIN, it would be great to buy whatever is (re-)released new and use it mostly for Clara, because that way I could have the beloved Pleasant Company versions of my memory yet also support Josefina's collection today.

Meet Accessories/Outfit ideas- Josefina's PC red-ribbon nightgown as camisa, different rebozo, moccasins, extra pair of Josefina bloomers, indigo skirt (although it would be interesting to try and see if someone sells/would make a skirt closer to book illustrations... however, 1820s New Mexican sisters, even in a well-to-do family like Josefina's, definitely shared clothes. So it would make sense from that perspective).

She'd need a doll-size pair of scissors, which Tía Dolores gave her, of course. And I'd want her to have some kind of necklace, because all AG historicals did/do. I'd need to know more about necklaces from then, though... perhaps some kind of mílagro, or Saint Clara symbol/medal? I'd want her to have a little sewing & embroidery kit to hang on her belt, too.

One thing that would take a lot more work, yet would make an amazing story, would be to somehow find another little doll's-doll like Niña. I have a whole story idea where some kind of secret room somehow gets found (maybe at Abuelito and Abuelita's house in Santa Fe) and a long-forgotten doll from Mamá and Tía Dolores' childhood gets given to Clara 🥺

Another idea would be to assemble stuff to create a little shrine for Clara and Josefina to pray at (yes I got the idea from the Mini World image). Especially because it would have Mamá's colcha-embroidered altar cloth! And just in general, part of why I connected with Josefina so much growing up was that her family is Catholic, just like mine.

These days, obviously, I'm a grown up monbinary gay ex-TradCath (similar to ExVangelical) with religious trauma, but maybe making a doll Catholic shrine would be a way to deal with that in a more healthy manner...

Anyway I would love to talk about Clara and Josefina!!!! Josefina-lovers please interact!!!!

[rv2xlga]

another rant: finished re:com and also started/finished 358days

my kingdom hearts fixation now that we "finished" final mix, actually got so much more serious than i expected it to be! cuz we obviously had started the game and i had played through some of it to even get to the ending, obviously but idk i guess playing it so consequently like that cuz its the summer and all and to finally say i finished or saw at least one game literally reawakened the fixation i have had waiting there for literal yearss hdjfbdj

i wont be talking abt re:com too much cuz i already did before, i still feel pretty much the same with ansem and riku and that whole thing going on there, even with the bits we saw of him in 358 and the blindfold thing although i have my issues with how they handled a bit of stuff there, esp with xion which is what ima mostly talking about today and this isnt more of a comparison analysis, just a more analysis overview typa thing ghfjsjsh

i do think that even with as ridiculous as it is, the nobody concept is interesting and i think it brings its fair share of heart (lol) to the story. i think it works as a pretty plain but also interesting metaphor to being human and why humans should appreciate that like why it's special and that it's difficult, etcetera just all the things that encompass being human and humanity and stuff. we see that with roxas and xion especially in that one scene with namine where she said smth about them trying hard to be there own people, just xion's whole arc and character and plot point/theme in general, even if i hated what they did to her i think that her story and character, surprisingly, was written well for a kingdom hearts character that is canonically supposed to be a girl/woman mind you, cuz god bless my girl kairi they pay her DIRTTT what they did to her in final mix.... criminal to say the least

but to go back to what i say was stating before, even with axel we see that same theme and whatnot and with him it focuses more on the difficulty of being human as he tries to push his humanity away and i dont know why as of yet cuz we are only at the beginning of kh2 but we can see he doesn't try to be human or if anything, he tries to not be because of the emotion and therefore, suffering that it could bring upon him even though with anything and everything he can't escape that and those connections and feelings and in general, human emotion which all works out for a good metaphor on humanity, as i stated but also a good metaphor for growing up especially in roxas and xion's cases, obviously. and even with axel too, it could work really well for not growing up in the best environment which could lea to pushing those emotions aside out of safety and almost a sense of compeition especially when you have nobody (lol) there to tell you that isn't ok or give you that support you deserve to not develop or grow comfortable into those habits (be able to break from them easier basically), as roxas and xion were fortunate to have from an older familial figure like axel. xion was able and even allowed to find out about more herself through axel not holding her back as the others in the organization did and even roxas a bit himself. even if his words towards axel about the situation never affected xion or her actions directly, not necessarily or just in a more realistic perspective, the reason he would say what he said and didn't want her to leave or whatever was because he didn't know the full situation, in other words he was basically brainwashed to be dumb and not really understand the situation hence him only acting on his feelings that were also manipulated by the organization to get the results they wanted just as we can see from a real abusive household. and lol ik these comparisons probably sound fucking insane but i genuinely believe kh and the franchise in general could truly have a lot of substance if the writing wasn't so fucking ridiculous dfdjnds it's like everytime a disney character shows up, its like. wait i take it all back lmaoo ToT but even with mickey and riku's relationship and the way they handle riku in general, more in re:com tho, i think they did really well.

one thing i will be honest i didn't like tho was that roxas didn't end up XP i think that both him and xion should've like. yes, it felt incredibly sexist to only kill off xion but also because it shows more perspectives of the lives of others and others' situations and ik the game isn't representing any of this at all but i feel like still, how could he have stayed alive? (and i did some research cuz im a spoiler lol but them even coming back later, doesnt make sense and i imagine it fucking doesnt ive heard the third game is a mess jkjfdk ToT) like i think him and xion should've both went together or died and i think a romeo and juliet twist would've been very beautiful and also made a lot of sense. especially with what riku told her, i didn't like that very much either. ik that in that situation, that was kinda what needed to be said cuz it was true, sora needed to wake up but wtf she was her own person too and ppl cared about her just as much! him telling her that comment was basically him just saying "hey even though i know the organization never cared about you or made any decisions with urs or anyones best interests in mind but now you have to make a decision with their best interests in mind so it can fit my best interests thanks" like. NO WHAT TOT also knowing what happened and what was STILL HAPPENING to riku, he would not say that! (or he shouldn't be, ima be more honest) like again i get what was trying to be said there and im not gonna be like "fix ur wording!?!?!?!!!!?@I~*(~@(#*(@#*" for a game that literally has MICKEY MOUSE IN AN EMO COAT in it but still, im sitting here writing this anyways so might as well!!!!

its like even with ansem and namine too, both her and riku never got to be free and they never got to be their own persons even with anything and everything, riku still was working under ansem and namine still had to be trapped as the "kairi" which is crazy cuz she deserved to be her own person! also rly cuz she looks nothing like her lmaoo ToT but all in all, i think so many metaphors could work so well for the game its one of those like "JUS T LE ME HAVE IT" moments like UGH i need to fix it so bad.

also ofc i had to mention it, roxas and xion would've been amazing but amazing amazing lesbians and transmasculine or just masc allegories. the boy face line with xion. ty kingdom hearts' horrible writers and writing team:praying hands:

ok i had more to say but i hate writing on computers with the gummy key thing on it and i honestly give up at this point. i yapped enough dskdsk lets see what kingdom hearts 2 will bring us shall we hear my thoughts after i finish it which we probably be. i dont know when<3

[dreadfutures]

For the yet another writer's asks: 1, 7 and 25 (now that you've done it both ways)? Please and thank.

Thanks for the [ask]!

1.Which of your fics would you keep the basic plot of but rewrite completely?

My Narnia fanfics, which someday I'll get to! In them, a OFC has been to narnia before, grown up, and served as a warrior handmaiden/knight to the Pevensies--and was tortured by werewolf agents of evil during some of that time. She returned to the "real" world as a teenage girl and is suffering being reduced and minimized for her very real trauma, and feels abandoned by the forces of good that she gave so much to. She goes to a summer camp that's supposed to help #troubled teens and meets a complete jackass OMC. And of course, they get sent back to Narnia together. It's many, many years after the Pevensies have left, and agents of evil have just killed the King & Queen...and the princess has run away! Of course OFC and OMC run into her, but she is a petulant brat who doesn't want responsibility. OFC has to teach both OMC and the Princess responsibility, bravery, and the merit of sacrifice as they flee the evil forces, but she's hiding her own needs and her own pain the whole time. It isn't until OFC makes a last stand to protect OMC and the Princess that the two brats realize how much they care for her and work together to go to her rescue. In the process they learn exactly how much she's suffered and how terribly they've treated her. They rescue her, make amends, and she's like "my reward is seeing you reach the potential i've always seen in you :')" and then they're dashing heroes who save the day and have healthy cries a lot.

7.Your favourite ao3 tag.

GOD I don't even know. "Everyone Needs A Hug"??? I just like it because it exists, I don't know. I don't actually use tags to sort or filter (*gets on my soap box*) I look at tags to see if an author has put chatty tags that give me more vibes than come across in the summary. So that does mean I don't look for specific tags, and idk what's specifically a canonical tag or not (and I don't care except when I'm posting fics because of all the hullabaloo made it clear that people think chatty tags suck, blah blah blah)

25. Is writing the whole thing beforehand better or worse than writing it as you go?

I fucking hate it lmao for fanfic. My joy in fanfic is solely in sharing it, hearing from my readers, and thinking about "what can I do next to entertain them?" I'm happy to sit on a chapter and rework it for a long time without publishing it--which is why I have material for WIP Wednesday and stuff--but to build up a backlog has just sucked all my joy out of it. Even the Elvhenan stuff, I only have stuff written-and-not-published because I do still share it with my friends and have the joy of hyping them up all the time, and MOST of what I write for that fic is in prompts, so they "are" published already. So even though I'm building a backlog, there's this improv-style thing with how it's planned around these prompts and making them work.

And it's my fanfic-specific thing. If I didn't want to share it, I'd make these my original stories. And I do! My Max Ride fanfic has become something entirely original because What I Want To Say And Get Right is more important than wanting to share it. An idea I had that was inspired by Spirited Away is more for me personally than anyone else, that story lives fully in my head, and getting it written down is for me and for me alone. So I don't post them.

[kpopfanfictrash]

Hi Shanna! I'm sorry I'm only droppin this ask now, but holly jolly crisis was mind blowingly good. I know you said that you were afraid that it wouldn't live up to the hype of the holi-date, but you really have nothing to worry about. HJC swept me off my feet. The characterization of hobi and mc and their years long relationship was so well written. Like they felt like the embodiment of childhood f2l, and I am so weak for that trope. I really appreciated the struggle between the two of them... They've been pushing down their feelings for each other for so long and I know exactly how that feels. I've been hobi, and I've been mc damn I need to stop falling for my friends 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ When hobi tells her it was just easier if they weren't friends anymore, I FELT that. I've LITERALLY told someone that before 😭 one of my favorite parts is the scene during the annual cookie bake off where she gets that phone call telling her she didn't get the job and hobi comes out to check on her. Just this whole characterization of hoseok was perfectly executed- suave, kind, gentle, and so sexy all rolled into one human being. And you included the undercut 🥵🥵 The way we can tell he cares for her even tho he's hurting... Is so heartbreakingly poetic. He insists on creating this distance between them, but he seems to gravitate to her despite that... Like he CAN'T stay away from her. And idk why I'm also so floored by your dialogue cus it's always top notch. But one of my fave lines is "There's been a lot of things I wanted to do but didn't. Figured an undercut shouldn't be one of them." I just get the feeling that hobi has been trying to tell her without TELLING HER that he's in love with her ya know? And the bit of dialogue in the kitchen during the holiday party at jungkook's... "what do you even care, anyways?" "If you don't know that by now, then I guess it doesn't matter." and the killer lines between mc and Yoongi "how did I look at him?" "Like you'd come home." Honestly it doesn't get any better than this. HJC should be a Netflix holiday movie I stg. It's got everything- romance, plot and character development, a ragtag group of funny af friends (re: every jin scene🤣🤣), concepts of what it's like to adult aka job stability and the concept of leaving your family/loved ones to chase your dreams that may not come to fruition, and of course sex. Speaking of which, the ENTIRE scene when hobi confronts her about her new manuscript was just so well done. I felt it in my bones, in my heart. Like everything he's been hoping for is suddenly unfolding and he NEEDS that reassurance after all these years that she really is the Raya to his Carlos. And the smut was 🥵👀😱 so hot the way he thought she wanted it slower, but she was just about to bust a nut and he goes "oh, already?" as if he doesn't know how good his stoke game is haha tl;dr someone take my money and make this into a Netflix or hallmark movie. Thank you for sharing your writing with us!! This is a story I've already come back to multiple times to reread and enjoy 💕💕💕

THIS MADE MY WHOLE DAY! Thank you so, so much for letting me know your thoughts 🥺 you pulled out some of my favorite lines in the fic 😭 I don't think anyone has mentions yet the whole "there's been a lot of things I wanted to do but I didn't" line yet 😭 you're 100% right about what he was thinking there!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, BABE! I'm very very glad you enjoyed this fic ☺️ wishing you all the best and hope you're staying happy + healthy!

[dachi-chan25]

I had books that I either loved or hated so idk maybe I need to do another unhaul to ensure I read books I'll actually enjoy.

1- OtherEarth (Otherworld #2) by Jason Segel

🌟🌟

So this was a big disappointment. It started out fine, but I had this bad feeling about what the twist of this book would be about 50% into it, and then the twist comes and it was just as bad as I feared. Honestly I don't even know if I wanna continue with the last book, I have it but honestly I can't say I am looking forward to it, it wasn't just the plot that fell down but the characters felt pretty inconsistent and yeah not a fan.

2.- Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1) by Rosaria Munda

🌟🌟

The only thing I knew going into this was that it was inspired by Plato's Republic and that it was similar to Game of Thrones, so maybe that is why I found it pretty underwhelming. Like yeah I could see why it was based off the Republic with this system of education (tbh I still found it pretty basic and very much alike to other social systems I've read in other YA books) and there was some intresting tid-bits but not enough to keep me intrested. Now the characters, I liked both individually (unpopular opinion but I liked Annie more, I thought she had real potential but it was wasted because the moment she and Lee have this romance her character completely lost herself on thinking about him and what he did all the time) but I do not think they worked together romantically. There is some potential drama for book 2 but I am not intrested in reading it.

3.- The Mistress (The Original Sinners #4) by Tiffany Reisz

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This book was so good. Yeah it was super predictable, but the drama tho. I really loved Layla, she gave us an outsider's insight on Søren and Nora's relationship, and she is just the sweetest that I instantly knew she and Weasley were gonna get together. I cried at that last confrontation scene with Nora and Marie Laure and I am so happy that Nora is back together with Søren because they are truly a good couple despide everything.

4.-Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno Garcia

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I LOVED it. Ever since I saw the cover I was sold. This book I feel like it was meant for me. Like our protagonist Casiopea Tún is a dark skinned mexican girl of mayan descent in the 1920s who meets one of the lords of Xibalba and goes on a quest to help him retake his throne???? And on the way he falls in love with her so much he is about to forfeit his divinity to have a chance to be with her. I just, it was so beautiful, I felt my culture was really represented here, and it's so wierd to see the 1920's represented in Mexico I don't believe I had read something like this before and I will read anything Silvia Moreno Garcia writes from now on. Hopefully we will have a second book for this because that ending makes me wonder what adventures Casiopea will have.

5.-Little Gods by Meng Jin

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book blew my mind. The structure is perfect for the themes . Su Lan was a truly fascinating character though I felt very sad about her, always wanting to escape her past and thinking she was so undeserving for anything good in her life and still fighting to go on. The ending was so good, and all the cast of characters made an excellent conection between the past and the future.

6.- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

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Yeah I am a pretentious ho. I was very intimidated by this book (and anything written by Faulkner really) and I was really having trouble understanding the book at first because the prose is so particular (there are sentences that read like Shakespeare, some are almost Biblical stuff and then most of the dialogue is this very coloquial english with very poor ortography) and as English is not my first lenguage I struggled. But then we get to Addie's death and all this odyssey the family goes through to bury her, and it was so beautiful and exciting. I especially loved everything about Addie's chapter, she was so much better than her husband and she deserved better than what she got. I really liked Dewey Dell and Darl. While I hated Anse Bundren with a passion so the end really made me angry like waaaaat this selfish asshole gets everything he wanted and then some??? But I got why it made sense for the book. So I definitely recommend this, but my advice is to let yourself glide through the book, do not try to understand or make sense of it as you start it because then you become frustrated like it happened to me at first but it's a really beautiful book so I am really considering reading more Faulkner.

7.-Chosen (Slayer #2) by Kiersten White

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I enjoyed this book so much. It's a very easy read and we get some growth on Nina and Artemis. I liked the idea of the Watcher's Castle being a refuge for inofenssive demons. And omgggg I fangirled SO hard when Oz, Harmony and Clem appeared (my fave characters, like literally I only need a Spike cameo in these books to be completely happy). I really wanna see Nina meet Buffy in real life and ahhh I am excited for whatever the next book will bring us.

8.-Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve

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This is perharps my favorite book I read this month. It felt so relevant to things that are happening in the world, but escapist enough to bear it. For starters I love a good urban fantasy setting, and this was it. Z was a great non-binary protagonist (the fact the author is also non-binary also helps) like it was pretty original to make them a zombie when necromancy is viewed as wrong in their society and they get discriminated for it even though they knew nothing about how it happened to them. And their friendship with Aysel (lesbian muslim werewolf girl!!!) and Tommy (shapeshifter boy) was amazing. Like the way this book translates real life bigotry and social injustice to this magical creatures was truly amazing I recommend it to everyone of any age. Especially middle graders as this book is meant for that age group and I feel this is an amazing diverse read for that age group.

9.-El murmullo de las abejas de Sofia Segovia

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Realmente este libro es precioso, soy una super fan del realismo mágico y este libro realmente me toco el corazón. Aunque he de admitir que entre a este libro sin saber nada, y bueno que este libro pega diferente en el 2020, yo no tenía ni idea que este libro nos presentaba la Pandemia de Influenza Española de 1918, y bueno es bastante triste leer todo lo que paso cuando nosotros estamos pasando épocas muy similares. Simonopio es un personaje divino, poseedor de una sensibilidad y una inocencia verdaderamente fuera de esta mundo, y la forma en que la familia Morales lo adopta y lo abraza tan profundamente dentro de la familia es realmente hermosa. Fue muy difícil leer acerca de Anselmo Espiricueta porque puedo ver de donde venía todo ese odio y esa ignorancia que terminaron en tragedia y no puedo dejar de sentir lastima por él a pesar de todo el mal que hace durante el libro. Recomiendo mucho esta lectura.

10.-Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

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A book so relevant in our current times. So powerful and impactful even if the book is pretty short. We get to see how the systematic racisim at work. We get to get a glimpse of this awful reality through Kev and Ella, two gifted siblings that have lived this experiences in different ways and they cope with this in vastly different ways.It was such an intimate read I cannot begin to describe how angry and sad it made me, but also very glad I got to read it because we need to keep being aware that this is the reality for black people all around the world and they don't get to shy away from it so we shouldn't either we should see, learn and fight as hard as we can to change things for the better.

11.-Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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I re-read this book to have it fresh in my mind before the new series airs on July. And I liked it better now than the 1st time. This world is so scary because I see so many realistic elements it shares with the present. I felt a lot for Lenina (for everyone who lives in this world really) because she wanted more than what the society had to offer yet was so deeply conditioned as to what was right that she could just supress her emotions with soma. This book is of course full of racist and sexist stuff (cuz woman and indigenous people can never win) but I feel it helps to get a feel about how fucked up society is as a whole. In the reservation woman are subjected to the usual slut shaming and gender roles we get in our society while in London we get a world in which woman are judged for not sleeping around and being happy and infantile. Like it seems controling woman and their relationship to intimacy and sex is always a bit theme is classic dystopic books which makes a lot of sense given it works like that in the real world too. Same thing with indigenous people being treated as savage to congratula te ourselves for being so much more "civilized" never stopping to think how deeply fractured and flawed this may be. We also get explotation and brain washing of working classes and all that fun stuff. Really and amazing book eerily accurate tho.

12.-Brick Lane by Monica Ali.

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This is the story of 2 very different Bangladeshi sisters with very different temperaments making their way through life. Nazneen is a very dutiful daughter that marries the man her father picked for her, moves to London, though her husband doesn't make her happy she tries very hard in this foreign country with so many desires of her own she wishes that she always supresses because of her upbringing. Then we have Hesina, she was always beautiful and runs away with a guy she was in love with, later he abandons her and she gets jobs and loses them because different man keep making her fall for them to abandon them later. Different as they are this 2 Sisters keep relying in each other through letters. I thought it was very moving, and I really liked the ending for Nazneen while Hasina left me feeling worried and unhappy.

13.- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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I was very hyped for this book and I am so sad I didn't like it. I just didn't feel the world building was cohesive (we have space travel but we don't have baths??? And rapiers as weapons??? Most of it felt like aesthetic decisions) the characters felt very one dimensional to me. And the plot was all over the place, just when I thought I knew what it was about it takes another turn and introduces so many generes but it did not feel natural at all so yeah I will not be reading the next one.

14.- Luces de Bohemia de Ramón Maria del Valle Inclan

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Me pareció una obra maravillosa. Definitivamente captura el espíritu creativo bohemio.

15 .- Don Juan Tenorio de José Zorrilla

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Yo adoro el Tenorio, sin embargo si que he de decir que prefiero la versión del Burlador de Sevilla de Tirso de Molina pues siento que el final es más adecuado. Me parece que aunque la prosa es hermosa Doña Ines pierde mucha agencia en esta versión, me recuerda mucho más a Angelina de la obra "El Honor del Brigadier" que la versión que hizo de ella Tirso de Molina, definitivamente se romántiza mucho más está figura de seductor canalla en esta versión, aun así es una historia arraigada en México, es una tradición para mi verla cada Noviembre, este año me temo que no será posible así que disfrute muchísimo leerla.

[lavender-lores]

june reading wrap-up

finally back from my trip so now i can make this post! i've also updated my read list accordingly :)

the love interest (cale dietrich) - 6/13, 4 stars

it was entertaining for sure! but some parts of the book were either badly written or with weird plot pacing 😭😭 and even though its supposed to be stereotypical, what can i say? it was stereotypical.. and then the late half of the book just comes at you out of nowhere it was weird... but i really liked it what can i say??

my mechanical romance (alexene farol follmuth) - 6/14, 5 stars

this book knocks it OUT OF THE PARK! its realistic and its witty, and i guess a large part of the reason i liked it so much was because i related so much. its ironic but i finished this book about being a girl in robotics while literally sitting in my robotics class where i'm the only girl 😭😭 i loved this book. i want to frame it. its lighthearted in the parts it needs to be and the pacing + writing is superb. you gotta read it!

these violent delights (chloe gong) - 6/21, 4 stars

this book has been in my possession since literally winter and i have been trying SO HARD to read it until now and it was just SO HARD to get into. but by chance when i picked up at the beginning of my vacation i found myself well into the book. i dont think i'll check out the sequel, though. it was good, but it just didn't hit all the way for me.

cafe con lychee (emery lee) - 6/21, 2.5 stars

idk why but emery lee's writing just doesnt stick well with me. the book had me feeling empty and it seemed like there was just no real reason behind the book, yknow? it was fine at best. but i didn't enjoy it

a crown of wishes (roshani chokshi) - 6/22, 4.5 stars

this book!!! was so fun!!! i am not an enemies to lovers type of person (i am an extinct species) but this was literally so fun. the RELATIONSHIP between the mcs, the ACTION, the FANTASY, and the ROMANCE!!!! i loved it so much! this book was just so me in a way i cant explain. this one is one thats going on the darlings shelf

the kite runner (khaled hosseini) - 6/23, 5 stars

not much i can say on it that nobody else has, but let's just say that i'm using this for my ap lit summer reading as a "book that demonstrates literary merit."

skyhunter (marie lu) - 6/24, 4 stars

another that took too much time to get into 😅 my friend recommended this to me in like november and kept asking me about it because they loved this one so much but i had to kept telling them i hadnt finished it yet and i felt really bad.. but once i read it it wasn't all that bad! but it wasn't a fave that's for sure.

the tiger at midnight (swati teerdhala) - 6/28, 5 stars

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. the dialogues were fun and the pacing was good, plus it had the long-lost-royal trope that i absolutely love! sometimes though the writing would be weird about the whole viper stuff cuz it would keep saying she was super scary and then most of the book is her acting very.. lackluster? as opposed to this in-universe reputation. either way, i simply had to get the next book asap. and...

the archer at dawn (swati teerdhala) - 6/29, 2 stars

....... what happened 😭 idk the story quality literally nosedived after the first one i was so shocked and i didnt even feel like getting the next book i have no idea what happened in this book..

solitaire (alice oseman) - 6/30, 1 star

there are some people that are going to be very mad at me for this. but unfortunately, i feel that there is something all those people share that allows them to like this book: relatability. and i do not have that. the mc is unlikable, and she is unlikable on purpose. the point of the book is to help you to understand life from the perspective of someone like tori. but all i can say is that i absolutely hated reading it. this book did nothing but.. annoy me. i hated how she acted to other characters. i hated how she complained all the time. i wish michael holden never came back. this whole book just made me mad. i'm really sorry but i just hated this book.

here's to reading more in july!