Welcome to the second issue of LEM-ZINE, a digital zine of indie game reviews, articles, & a short story, all written by me! This month's theme, LOVELY LAVENDER, involves a series of games with pink/purple palettes, as well as articles that focus on platonic love and self love. Included in the zine is also the 5k-word short story Nina Mendoza -- the tale of a melancholic bus driver and her sister.

IN THIS ISSUE:

The down-to-earth short story Nina Mendoza!

CW: Death/grief; suicidal thoughts/ideation

"Nina Mendoza, as she did every Thursday, woke up at 2am to prepare for her early shift as a bus driver. She opened the curtains of her bedroom, taking a few seconds to admire the serenity of her little Chicago suburb at night. She took a shower, ate a simple breakfast, and -- just before leaving on this particular day -- she remembered to go back to her nightstand and close her diary, in which she had written last night: "If I just disappeared one day ... no one would even notice.""

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NEW! 2 articles on loving yourself and trying new things!

"That Special Someone -- You!" details the importance of taking yourself out on a date (even if you are already in a relationship) and steps to make your self-date night fantastic.

"Size Doesn't Matter ... Make Tiny Art!" espouses the wonders of making really small works of art.
Included is a Creativity Calendar of 28 different 10-minute activities you can do to practice your creative muscles!

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Showcases of 7 unique free indie games that you can play on Itch!

In the LOVELY LAVENDER issue, I cover free Itch games in a variety of genres that all have primarily pink or purple color schemes. I discuss the games and my thoughts on them and provide links so you can find them on Itch and play them too!

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Additional Information:

• Reading modes: Includes a light mode/dark mode toggle!
• Transcript included: Because the zine does not work with screen readers, I've included a transcript for those who may wish to use one
• Community copies: There is a limited number of community copies of this zine available to those who cannot afford it (see below). For those purchasing the zine, any tips above the minimum recommended price will go towards providing extra community copies!

Wish to send correspondence about the zine? You can email zine@lemonpoppyseed.games (if you want your message to be included in a future zine, please include that in your message)

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This zine is NOT made with any generative AI

10% of the proceeds from this sale go directly back to Itch

LEM-ZINE 2 © LEMONPOPPYSEEDGAMES 2025