Happy spoopy Friday the 13^th! I am officially back from my small hiatus, which means Jason did not get me! My dad has returned to excellent health and humour once again. Thank you so much for all of your words of kindness, positivity, and support. You’re really the best community. ♥

To kick-off my official return to fun blogging theatrics, I wanted to share a handful of fantastic posts from various content creators around July’s blogsphere. In the midst of all the stress and anxiety from the past week, reading your posts kept me feeling excited, inspired, and motivated to return quickly and work harder than ever. You all are so brilliant and creative, and I hope that I can share a bit of your wondrous contributions as a way to show my appreciation of all you do.

Everything will be broken up into relative categories. Please, check these out and discover some amazing people to add to your readers!

Books & Comics:

• Jamie @ The Comic Vault: Revealing the Dark Heart of Gotham City & How it Makes Batman a Better Superhero – This was a fantastic examination on the craftsmanship and world-building that makes our flawed Caped Crusader so beloved.
• Bina @ WOC Reads: 10 WOC Reads in July (2018) – Bina offers up a list of lovely book recommendations by women of colour for the month of July.
• Carrie @ Cat on the Bookshelf: Sausun the Niqabi Ninja – The lovely Carrie chats about the phenomenal character, Sausun, from S.K. Ali’s Saints & Misfits, and how Sausun definitely needs her own short story!
• Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads – A YA Book Blog: Things That are Iffy to Me in the Book Community – Vicky offers an insightful discussion into how adults can be more respectful and aware of young adult readers in the community, as well as elements of the community that most younger readers just can’t relate to. It’s a very wise and important post! Please, check it out.

Anime & Manga:

• The Luminous Mongoose @ Anime/Manga Essays: Platonic Friendships, Anyone? – I loved this post because it focuses on the importance and beauty of platonic relationships in anime, something that I absolutely adore, and I feel that many people can relate to.
• Ayano @ Kawaii Paper Pandas: Why You Need to be More Aware of Sleeper Anime in the Otaku Community – Ayano’s post really puts into context the importance of sleeper anime serials, while listing some remarkable ones to check out!
• Phi @ Anime Athena: Top 7 Must-Watch Summer Anime – Phi has created the ultimate watchlist for the summer’s anime line-up!
• Scott @ Mechanical Anime Reviews: Possibly Unknown Free Streaming Services – Scott has done a superb job of compiling a list of streaming sites where you can watch for free and legally. I love that a lot of effort and consideration went into this post. If you’re on the lookout for free streaming sites for your otaku content, then you’ll definitely want to visit this post!
• Jenn @ AniRambles: Quiet Intensity: A Look at the Powerful Yet Subtle Sound Design of Hanebado – Jenn has written one of the best posts that I have read in a long damn time. They shine light onto a part of anime production that is rarely discussed about so deeply and explores the way that it makes Hanebad the definitive hit series for the Summer season.

Films & Gaming:

• Michel @ Raistlin0903: The Villainess – Korean Movie (2017) – Michel’s review for this Korean film is amazing and covers why it’s awesome as well as where it falls short in some ways. A must-read for film buffs and fans of Korean cinema.
• Arthifis @ Arthifis’s Place: Dragon Age Inquisition Review Part 2 | Stunning Characters – These review posts on Dragon Age: Inquisition are absolutely splendid and must be read by all gamers. It’s the best set of reviews for the game that I’ve come across thus far.
• Xenodude @ Xenodude’s Scribbles: Persona 4 Turns 10 – A celebratory post that goes into delightful detail into what makes Persona 4 such a masterful game to play. As someone who adores JRPGs and views Persona 4 as one of their favourite games ever, I cannot recommend this post to you enough.

Mental Health & Blogging:

• Irina @ Drunken Anime Blog: That Creative Time of the Month – Irina talks a bit about her struggles with creativity and the different methods that people have with their approach to blogging. It’s intelligent and contemplative.
• Savannah @ The Book Prophet: 18 Things I’ve Learned During My 18 Years… – The words of wisdom offered in this post are quite inspiring and very astute, and I recommend y’all check it out ASAP!
• Mara @ Geeks Travel in Japan: Modern Friendships Are Leaving Us Dead Inside – Probably my favourite post for the month so far, Mara judiciously discusses the differences between friendships and networking, and how developing meaningful friendships in a world of social anxiety veiled via social media is excruciatingly difficult. I found that there were so many things to relate to in this post, and it really put things into perspective versus what we tell ourselves is friendship and what actual friendship entails.
• Wendy @ What the Log Had to Say: Don’t Worry We’re Fine Until We’re Not – Wendy hosts a guest post via Katie O’Leary, who chats about what true support systems regarding mental health entails, and how subtle ostracization exists when people want those struggling with mental health to get better, but to do so in silence or behind closed doors.

If you get a moment, please do visit these remarkable people and their marvellous creative corners. Once more, thank you for your continued support and understanding. I appreciate you! ♥

Thank you for visiting me today. Until next time, happy reading, happy otakuing, and happy blogging! 🧡