Books: Recent Fall Reads and Sue Lynn Tan

Gorgeous art of the characters from ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan. Copyright goes to artist Arz28. Posted by Sue Lynn Tan.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Sorry for the recent schedule blips. It’s really busy for us right now! It’s been way too long since I’ve done a post about books and recently I started working at a library. Books are probably going to become my career. So I feel like I need to have far more posts about books on this blog than I already do. And despite the fact that I’ve been reading like crazy recently, I’ve reviewed very few of the books that I’ve been reading despite the fact that I’ve been loving so many of them recently! A lot of the ones I’ve read recently were perfect for end of summer and beginning of Fall vibes. So this is going to be an amalgamation of suggestions of books that I’ve read that really fit into the vibes of the changing seasons. Not all of the books that I mention in this post are great, so while most of these are going to be suggestions I’ll also go into why I may have not connected so much with related or sequel books. But I hope all of these transport you somewhere for a little while if you need an escape! SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan:

I’m not usually one to really like recommended books from BookTok. While I do really like romance; I especially like wholesome romance and I don’t seem to be a fan of a lot of the tropes that are usually liked on TikTok. But these books were calling my name. I mean, people were saying the two books in this series were like a C-Drama in book form, so I had to try it out. And this has to be some of the best world building I’ve seen in a fantasy series for a while. One of the things that I loved about these books were her descriptions of everything down to leaf colors and the different Kingdoms as well as the different seasons. The characters travel on clouds and spend their time in these gorgeous pavilions. Some of the Kingdoms are actually within the sea. As in underneath the sea and covered in shells and aqua colors. Some of the Kingdoms are more greenery based with waterfalls. Others are deserts based in fire. Every place they go in these books feels distinct and rich. Her flowery language in describing these places only transports you as the reader further. Xingyin is such a strong female lead and so fun to read about. The surprising part of this for me was that I liked it despite the fact that there was a true love triangle. Most K-Dramas and C-Dramas don’t have true love triangles where the main female character is equally interested in both guys. Usually they both like her, but she pretty much only likes one of them. In this she goes back and forth on them pretty consistently throughout the series. I liked both of the love interests in the first book! Liwei is the more lighthearted Prince character while Whenzi is the tougher general character. Both are really likable and you become attached to both.

The problem for me here was the second book; ‘Heart of the Sun Warrior’. ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ ends with pretty much every loose thread resolved. It ends in a tidy bow. So I think I was confused when I heard that the author had planned this as a duology the entire time she was writing. The love triangle is just as strong in this book, which I wasn’t a huge fan of. I personally liked both love interests enough that I didn’t have a huge preference on who she should have ended up with, but I just wanted her to pick someone. Both of the love interests in the second book are basically interchangeable and don’t have much character development. You could probably switch all of their dialogue and it wouldn’t matter. Which is a pretty significant issue for character development. They constantly argue over her the entire time, particularly about who knows her better and which of them hurt her worse. Which are both really pointless topics. She also spends most of the book pretty in love and dedicated to one of them and doesn’t end up with him at the end for some pretty superficial reasons. I really wanted to love this book! I once again loved her descriptions of all of the places that the main characters ended up at and some of the family dynamics were beautiful! But the villain also didn’t make much sense to the plot, especially considering the last book. I didn’t hate this book, but I think I’d like to just stick to the story in the first one, personally. I felt like it was cleaner in the first one, but returning to the world was nice in the second book. I would absolutely read anything else this author puts out! I’m just not a fan of love triangles.

‘The Comeback’ by Lily Chu:

I’ve written about ‘The Stand In’ by Lily Chu on this blog before. This one is similar in that it follows a kind of K-Drama plot line. But I liked this one even better! This follows a very stressed and over-worked woman who one day comes home to find a stranger in her apartment. The stranger turns out to be a pretty famous K-Pop idol and their relationship builds before she really knows who he is. One of my favorite parts of this one was the main male love interest. I don’t feel like many romances write the male love interests to be very emotionally intelligent or openly affectionate. What I liked about this was that he was very much both! There’s not a whole lot of miscommunication between the two main characters. Though there were complaints from some readers because, while they never break up because of miscommunication, the main characters do break up not once, but twice. Fortunately, these breakups make sense. One is the fault of the female character while the other is the fault of the male character and they are both moments of character flaws that the characters have to work on to better themselves because of. By the end of the book their relationship is really healthy because both characters have worked on making themselves better and their relationship better by extension. And I just loved how adorably affectionate he was with her. There are so many cozy and cute moments of just the two of them in an apartment together, which is what gave me cool weather and Fall vibes. It’s a great romance to curl up with for the season!

‘Love and Gelato’ by Jenna Evans Welch:

This book takes place during the summer and I can absolutely see why this book is so well loved. It simultaneously fulfilled my want for a good travel book and a good romance. I know that the author spent years of her life in Italy and it really shows. There was a lot of care and love put into her descriptions of every place in Italy that the main character goes to. And the romance build up is SO good! I’m a really big fan of friends to lovers tropes, but I feel like most authors want to go for a trope that feels more exciting. The two main characters becoming best friends and then slowly realizing they love each other while exploring gorgeous places in Italy is all I’ve ever wanted. If you’re wondering where the Fall vibes come in here; I mostly thought of this book because she spends her time in Italy living in a cemetery. I’m not kidding. I can usually go either way when it comes to creepy vibes like this, but it was great! The cemetery felt just as beautiful as the other parts of Italy she described and I really want to go there now. I also really want gelato now. I guess I’m going to have to try harder to find a good gelato place semi-close to me! Don’t make the mistake that I made and watch the Netflix movie. They change so much of the plot and none of it is good. The characters are almost completely different from the book and so much worse. Definitely one of the biggest examples of “the book is better than the movie” that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. But the book is amazing and you absolutely should read it if you’ve ever even entertained the thought of traveling to Italy.

These are only some of the books I’ve read recently, but I feel like these books are the best for Fall reads. Personally, I’ve already been leaning hard into the season. I’ve already been eating pumpkin flavored foods and enjoying Halloween vibes while I pick out what I’m probably going to wear for the holiday this year. Even though it’s still nearly two months away at this point. Which is weird to think about. But, especially with my new job and related Master’s degree program, expect more frequent posts about books that I like! Because I know that there’s so many that I still haven’t talked about!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

ATEEZ: Kindness and Treatment

Promotional photo of (from left) Jung Wooyoung, Park Seonghwa, Choi Jongho, Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong, Jeong Yunho, Choi San, and Song Mingi. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I think there’s a lot of rightful anger going on coming from Atiny lately. And it all has to do with the way that our boys have been treated because, we have to be honest here, they’ve been treated horribly left and right by people who should be looking out for them. It’s been exhausting to see how these amazing men who are known for being so incredibly kind have been treated by people recently at events. Thankfully, Hongjoong just announced that as of next month ATEEZ will be going on a well deserved break. They’ve been running non-stop without a breather for years now, pretty much ever since Covid, and they really do deserve to rest for a while. Everyone needs to rest at some point. But I don’t like to write posts that are just negative, so I don’t only want to talk about the bad stuff that’s happened to them recently. I also want to dedicate a portion of this post to how kind the members of ATEEZ are because I need the reminder of what they’re putting into the world when I think about people who are throwing their kindness and messages into the trash. I hope that the many Atiny who are not doing that can be there for them during this time and help them know that we’re all here to support them and carry on that kindness!

K-Con:

I think we can all agree that K-Con was nothing short of a mess this year when you exclude the artists and their amazing performances. Most people came away from K-Con with Covid, there were several serious complaints of racism against K-Con this year, and many of the fans at the event as well as some of the questions asked to the artists were completely disrespectful. Many Atiny noted early on in K-Con that Mingi was, rightfully, not having it. KQ hasn’t been treating ATEEZ the best recently scheduling wise and their schedules between K-Con and Hello82 were insane. Neither company seemed to treat ATEEZ, or many groups for that matter, with the respect they deserved. Mingi could be seen at many events casually talking to Atiny instead of participating in the crammed together games. Most of the Atiny he talked to acted very respectfully towards him, but one “fan” in particular recently became infamous among Atiny for the way she treated Mingi. At an event the members of ATEEZ went down the line granting wishes to Atiny in the audience that they chose. Mingi, naturally, chose someone who was carrying a sign that had his name on it. She promptly asked him to pass her photo card to San so that he could sign it instead. Sometimes I honestly can’t fathom the way people think about them as somehow both more and less than human at the same time. These men are incredibly over-worked human beings with real feelings! If you wouldn’t treat your closest friend that way, you shouldn’t ever consider treating them that way either. Her treatment of Mingi was horrifying and I hope that nobody ever treats him that way again or any other member of ATEEZ for that matter.

Jongho’s Health:

Jongho has been having reoccurring issues with his ankle for some time now. Apparently his ankle has been acting up more lately and was especially acting up before K-Con. I personally think that KQ should have made him perform on stage while sitting if the issues were this bad, but I was not behind the scenes so I don’t know exactly what happened here. What we do know is that after K-Con, Jongho’s ankle was discovered to be so bad that he had to be immediately flown back to South Korea where he is now about to have surgery. ATEEZ has been touring in Mexico and Brazil without him and the Atiny there have been massively supportive and loud in singing Jongho’s parts. All of this also happened in between massive incoherent and absolutely unbelievable criticisms about Jongho’s dancing skill. Jongho is one of the most amazing talents in the fourth generation, if not in K-Pop in general, and the fact he’s massively underrated saddens me. But what really makes me absolutely baffled is that anyone would go after the dance skills of anyone in ATEEZ. They were formed partially based off of their dance skills. They are known for having the most difficult choreography of any group. And it just saddens me that it took Jongho massively injuring himself for these people to quiet down and realize just how much effort he’s always been putting in. I am also so angry at KQ for over-working them to the point where one of them injured himself to this degree.

Green Flags:

One of the trends going around TikTok regarding ATEEZ recently has been the “green flags” trend and I tear up almost every time a video like this appears on my timeline. But I really do want to share some of the things that have been coming up lately, because they make me so proud to be a part of the journey with these men and really lighten my day. They give me hope that nice people really are out there! A woman who worked on staff with ATEEZ during a video call talked about her interactions with Yunho and San. When she was having trouble with the technology, something we can all relate to, and started praying that the connection would go through, Yunho laughed and prayed with her. He also gave her words of encouragement that were then echoed by San who was next in line. She said that she had been considering quitting her line of work before this and that their moments of humanity and empathy towards her made her reconsider. Hongjoong has been well known for supporting the LGBTQ+ community and talked about how if he ever came out with a clothing line, he would want to have gender neutral clothing for everyone to express themselves. He’s also thanked their staff very genuinely many times including shedding tears on stage for how hard their staff works. ATEEZ are known for being respectful to staff. Even people who have worked minimum wage at conventions have had stories of ATEEZ bowing to them just walking in the hallways and thanking them for their help. Seonghwa went viral not too long ago for his emotional and respectful reaction to a fan letter that a mother read to him for her daughter. When covering songs, Hongjoong has taken out words or phrases that objectify women as well as racial slurs. San recently became angry at a story of a husband throwing away all of his wife’s memorabilia without her permission. All of these small stories just scratch the surface of what staff have said about them and what we’ve seen of them. We’ve visually seen many members of ATEEZ helps fans calm down from panic attacks or talk with fans like they just value and want the connection, like Mingi recently. I’m sure I’m missing things and I definitely wish I had more stories about more specific members, but these are just the ones that have showed up on my timeline. We all know that all of these boys are national treasures with the kindest hearts. I mean, we all remember Jongho carefully handing out flowers to Atiny with the biggest smile rather than throwing them. Or Yeosang turning his personal fan towards an overheated fan without realizing there was glass in the way. Or Wooyoung helping a delivery driver pick up a bunch of boxes he had dropped. We’ve seen them give their chairs to fans who were being made to sit on crates (looking at you again Hello82) and carry heavy equipment for staff. I am always so grateful to ult one of the groups in K-Pop who have one of the biggest reputations for being kind. I just hope that we give them back some of the kindness and that the bad stuff isn’t all they see right now.

I am so grateful to have these men in my life. They have helped me through so much and I hope that I give them back just a little bit of the support that they’ve already given me. Which means that it is that much more horrifying when I see people treating them the way they have been treated recently. What I want most right now is for Jongho to heal quickly and for that break to last for at least a couple months. They deserve all the rest! Though I know they’ve talked about how difficult it can be to let themselves rest sometimes. But I hope they know that we’ll all be here when they get back!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: The Spirits of ‘Spiritfarer’ Ranked

Screenshot of Daffodil, Stella, and Gwen from ‘Spiritfarer’. Copyright goes to Thunder Lotus Games.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’ve talked a lot about my favorite cozy games on this blog, but recently I had a real life situation that made me think of ‘Spiritfarer’ in particular. ‘Spiritfarer’ has been a very sad but calming form of catharsis for me, and I don’t think that would be true if it wasn’t for the amazing cast of characters you get to know throughout the game. ‘Spiritfarer’ does an amazing job of making you care about every single spirit you encounter, even if you didn’t like them at first. So much so that you feel a sense of sadness when you help even the difficult characters cross over. But still, some characters feel more memorable than others, and some aren’t quite able to overcome the bad things they did in life. For this post I’m going to rank each of the spirits, but naturally, this is my personal opinion. If I put your favorite character towards the bottom of the list, this is my preemptive apology! Also, SPOILERS AHEAD!

14.Elena: There are some characters in this game who are difficult to deal with, but Elena puts them all to shame. First off, she won’t accept hugs. Hugging the characters of this game is one of the most wholesome elements of the entire thing. Still, I would have accepted a character who challenged the mechanic by putting up boundaries, as long as they weren’t incredibly rude about it. But Elena thrives on being rude. She says things like “don’t touch me,” and “keep your distance,” when you offer a hug. When she talks about her past you very quickly realize that she was the type of teacher you hated as a kid. She thought all of her kids were lazy and inadequate, and she notes that one of the highest moments of her career was when she finally got up the courage to scream at the kids in her class. And though she does say that the school she worked at valued money more than hard work, you still can’t help but think that screaming at students wouldn’t accomplish anything. And unlike some other characters in the game, she doesn’t change. She doesn’t go through much character growth before she decides to pass through the Everdoor. If Elena is anything, she’s a lesson that even people you don’t get along with deserve some empathy at the end of their lives. That lesson doesn’t make her any easier to like, though.

13.Bruce and Mickey: These two wind up at the bottom of most people’s lists and I’m not one to break this trend. Once again, we have a character who isn’t easy to get along with. That isn’t Mickey, the big bull who doesn’t speak, but it instead describes his brother Bruce, a small hummingbird who speaks on behalf of himself and his brother. Or so he says. Though Bruce is mostly unpleasant (The brothers do accept hugs though,) and irritates the majority of the spirits on Stella’s boat, their story is the thing that saves them from the last place position. It becomes clear towards the end of their time with Stella that Mickey isn’t there. He’s silent because he passed on long ago after a car-chase ended in him getting shot, and he only appears because Bruce isn’t willing to let go of him. This state reflects the state they were in when Stella knew them as an End-Of-Life Nurse, where Mickey was technically alive but braindead, and Bruce never left his side until the end of his life. It’s a devastatingly tragic story, but it isn’t one that allows these two a higher position on this list.

12.Giovanni: A lot of people have mixed feelings about Giovanni. On the one hand, he’s extremely charming, has an excellent sense of humor, and is overall very kind to Stella. But when you hear his wife, Astrid’s, point of view your opinion of him quickly becomes complicated. He was known for using his charm to win over many women. While he was married to Astrid. He cheated on her, and even in death he doesn’t show much remorse for it. While he will admit that he hurt her, he has a firm belief in living life to its fullest. Which to him means that marriage shouldn’t hold him back from the excitement of flirting with other people. He can even be found flirting with other women in the spirit world. Though he will eventually confess that this entire attitude was a facade built to hide behind how inadequate he felt next to the successful and well-liked Astrid, it still doesn’t excuse his actions. This is a case of someone who seems likable on the surface but only leaves you with mixed feelings when he passes through the Everdoor.

11.Daria. I love Daria, but she, much like the next character on this list, doesn’t get a lot of time for her story. What we get is extremely interesting. She was a patient at the hospital Stella and Jackie worked at (We’ll talk about Jackie in a bit), who struggled to connect with others due to her sound-to-color synesthesia. You connect with her in mini-games through music and eventually find out that she was a talented painter and musician before her condition worsened. But that’s really all you figure out. She doesn’t even spend time on your boat until it’s time to take her to the Everdoor. You just don’t get a lot of time with her, and though the gameplay with her is memorable, her story doesn’t get enough of a spotlight.

10.Buck. Buck is always one of the last characters you’ll pick up on Stella’s boat and he won’t ask to go to the Everdoor. He is meant to be the last person on the boat, the one to accompany Stella to the Everdoor, and because of that you don’t get as much time with him as you do other characters. You do become very familiar with his nerdy interests, specifically concerning table-top roleplaying games. You get hints of the guy he used to be, a former friend of Stella’s sister who died too young and rounds off Stella’s story as one of her first experiences with death. In a way, you warm to him just because he’s the last person to be encouraging to the player before Stella passes on. But unfortunately, there still isn’t a lot to his character.

9.Beverly: Beverly is a kindly old owl who only ends up this low on the list for not shining as brightly as the other elderly women you meet in ‘Spiritfarer’. She’s also one of two characters who deals with memory problems, but hers are admittedly less impactful than the other event I will mention later. Her life was pretty simple. She talks a lot about her husband, who she met on a blind date and who passed before her, and her two kids who have long since left. She’ll reminisce mostly about small events she can remember, and as her memory goes, she begins to repeat those events. What really stands out about her is her stubborn and witty personality, but ultimately she’s just a neighbor Stella once knew. There isn’t anything particularly surprising about her.

8.Jackie. Kind of like Giovanni, Jackie is a bit of a more complicated character. He’s a former co-worker of Stella’s who lived on her couch for a while before his untimely death. In life and in death, he’s always been a bit jealous of her. While she found purpose in her role as a nurse, he hated his role as an orderly and often shirked off work as a result. He was responsible for caring for Daria when she was alive, and though he used her as an excuse not to do other work, he never bothered to connect with her and advised others not to bother with her. At one point his actions and general anger problems caused Daria to retaliate, harming Jackie and leading to his dismissal. Which in turn, led him to Stella’s couch. After you essentially replay the events of Jackie and Daria’s life in the Spiritworld, Jackie moves onto Stella’s boat and decides to start working on his problems. He makes a genuine effort to work through his anger issues, his lack of self-confidence, and the depression that led to his lack of motivation. By the end of his story you can see Jackie has grown into a better person who’s more proud of who he is. It’s a really great character arc, and a memorable one as well.

7.Gustav: We’ve gotten down to the characters I absolutely adore and we’re only at seven. Gustav is a really fascinating character. He’s a German art curator who Stella met in Japan, and throughout their interactions you can tell he majorly inspired her in life. She visited one of his art shows and spoke to him often, and his imaginative and wise words even serve to leave a lasting impact on the player. Gustav can be a bit difficult to please on the boat, but he’s always kind and level-headed. The problem with Gustav is his attitude towards his multiple sclerosis. He makes it very clear that it was mentally hard for him to come to terms with it, and he hated the impact it had on his body. All of that’s fine. What’s not fine is his very limited view of his inability to walk, and his relief over not having a wheelchair in the after-life. This isn’t so much a problem with the character as it is a misunderstanding by the writers when it comes to disability representation, and the ways aids like wheelchairs play a role in many people’s lives. But that conversation is better heard from disabled fans of the game.

6.Alice. These last few are really difficult for me to sort out, but Alice is a very important character to me. She’s extremely nice but can fall to the background if a player isn’t paying enough attention. She’s quite shy and doesn’t want to be a bother to anyone. But the more you get to know her, the more you see a bright, warm personality. You get to know her as a mother who loved her kids and who wanted the best for everyone. But in life she had dementia, an illness that Stella took care of her during and which inspired Stella to become an end-of-life nurse. In death she struggles with the same illness. By the time you take her to the Everdoor, she doesn’t remember Stella and the player must dress Stella in colors Alice associated with her daughter so she’ll trust Stella to help her cross over. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and hits extremely hard for anyone who’s seen someone suffer form a similar illness. But, like all the other crossings, it offers a level of peace and comfort that I very much needed when I played it.

5.Gwen. Gwen is the very first character you meet in ‘Spiritfarer’ and the spirit who helps Stella build her boat and gain the confidence to become a spiritfarer. As you get to know her you realize she was an old friend of Stella’s, one who was known for trouble-making but still was a figure Stella looked up to for a good portion of her life. Gwen is jaded from her difficult relationship with her father and has a hard time accepting her smoking habit as the reason for the lung cancer that killed her. But she still makes a point of looking out for Stella, and it really feels like you’re losing a safe space when you help her through the Everdoor. Though Gwen is only there for the first part of the game, her connection to Stella and her complicated personality make her memory last long after she’s gone.

4.Atul. Uncle Atul is one of the most adorable and heartbreakingly confusing spirits in the entire game. No one can argue that Atul doesn’t give the best hugs out of every spirit in the game, and his generally boisterous and joyful personality only serve to make his rounded frog form more adorable. When you talk to Uncle Atul he always talks fondly of his family, including Stella, his actual niece whom he took pride in teaching many life skills. Even though he can irritate other spirits on the boat with his constant tinkering, he still puts other people first. He’s almost too kind to everyone he meets. But Atul is more complicated than he seems. He struggles with finding happiness himself despite all the good things he’s done. And then there’s his disappearance. Atul doesn’t ever get to go to the Everdoor. He’s just gone. This parallels the disappearance that happened in life, a situation that devastated Stella. Though seeing his spirit confirms for Stella that he died, the fact that she can’t help him pass on further cements for Stella that there was nothing she could have done in that situation. Still, it’s hard to let him go.

3.Astrid. A complete badass who you meet while she’s arranging a worker’s strike, Astrid isn’t one to mess with. She’s kind but fair, gentle but firm, and doesn’t take anyone’s BS. Hilariously, she isn’t one to turn down a bit of gossip, but she’ll never cast judgement on someone who doesn’t deserve it. I mean, she hid Jewish children in her mother’s restaurant during World War II. How could this woman be anything but badass? All of this makes it more heartbreaking when you begin to explore her relationship with Giovanni. She loves him dearly even though he by no accounts deserves it. And she struggles with wanting their relationship to bring them both happiness while coming to terms with the fact that it never can. But even through all that she still keeps an eye on Stella, whom she took in as a surrogate grandchild. She’s just amazing and it’s difficult not to like her.

2.Summer. An absolutely gorgeous snake and an actually confirmed queer character, Summer married into Stella’s family when she fell in love with Stella’s aunt. She struggled her entire life with breast cancer, experiencing a dread for it that she still hadn’t accepted in death. But Summer put all of her effort into being at peace with the universe, deciding to grow a garden and pursue more spiritual hobbies. Because of these things she’s a very calming presence to be around. She’s one of the best spirits to talk to just because she’s so empathetic and understanding towards Stella. Her impact on Stella also plays directly into the story, as being by her side after Summer’s wife died and her cancer returned inspired Stella to become a nurse. I also find her storyline the most healing, with her character more than any other character deciding to spend her time on Stella’s boat working to fully be at peace with the way she died. By the time she leaves she’s achieved peace and there’s something so fulfilling in seeing that.

1.Stanley. Yes, I’m one of those ‘Spiritfarer’ fans who can’t get enough of Stanley. Can you blame me? Stanley is the only child you encounter during the game. That in itself is absolutely tragic. But interacting with Stanley, you never feel too sad. He’s the brightest ray of sunshine you’ll meet in the game. He’s also hilarious. He’ll tell anecdotes that sound very much like a little kid, will repeat adult words he doesn’t understand, and will draw your attention away from serious thing so he can talk about his pet beetle. Already his appearance, as a mushroom with multiple arms rather than an animal, reflects the whimsical imagination of a kid. But the quiet moments where he contemplates his situation also reflects the surprising wisdom of a child. The moments right before you send him through the Everdoor are definitely sad, especially because he expresses that he’s frightened. But like every other character, you see him grown and change with his time on Stella’s boat, and you can only feel happy for him when he passes on. In many ways Stanley reminds me of why I like this game so much. While his situation is sad, the way it’s dealt with is so lighthearted and gentle that ultimately, it winds up comforting rather than horrible. It’s not easy to create a tone like that, but ‘Spiritfarer’ does.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Live Entertainment: ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ in LA

Promotional photo of (from left) Mathew Cavendish, Nancy Zamit, Chris Leask, Ellie Morris, Greg Tannahill, Henry Shields, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Lewis. Copyright goes to Mischief and Center Theatre Group.

Hi! It’s Annie!

So, I wasn’t able to get tickets to K-Con this year. And honestly, I didn’t go last year either because I usually save my money for actual artist tours rather than going to K-Con. But this year I was at least hoping for some kind of ATEEZ event and I wasn’t able to get into any. (It also wasn’t advisable to go to K-Con on Sunday because of a freaking hurricane in California of all things. And KQ is overworking ATEEZ so much that Jongho had to be rushed back to South Korea. I am more than a little angry.) Luckily, my sorrow about this was lessened a little by the fact that Mischief decided to come all the way out to LA from the West End with my favorite production, ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ and I was able to see it on Saturday. I’ve actually done a previous post about ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ and if you told me back when I wrote that post that I would eventually see the original cast perform it live, I would have thought you were crazy. The cast is entirely British and I have absolutely seen their original production, ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’ on tour, but it was a touring cast. When I first heard that ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ was coming, I thought it would be a touring cast too but was still more than happy to see it. I watch the BBC version of it often when I’m having a bad day and need a laugh. I didn’t realize it was the original touring cast until after I had already made plans to see it and I was absolutely shocked. I think I almost cried because I am an emotional bean. And now that I’ve seen it, I can say that seeing it live is so much better. MAJOR SPOILERS for if you want to watch the BBC version or are going to catch this before it leaves LA! If you can’t see it in LA, I highly recommend watching the BBC version (which is free on Youtube) in general and before moving on with this review. I’m just going to get into it!

Summary: The Cornley Polytechnic Theatre Society is a usually poor theatre group that has done several unsuccessful productions. The cast consists of Chris, the snobby control-freak Director and Captain Hook/Mr. Darling. Robert, a vain self-important actor who swears he is the Co-Director and plays Starkey/Peter’s Shadow/Nana/Tree. Jonathan, a slightly creepy actor who sleeps around and plays Peter Pan. Sandra, an over actor who thinks she’s a great actress and plays Wendy. Dennis, a very dumb actor who can’t remember his lines and plays John/Smee. Max, a childish actor with a crush on Sandra who plays Michael/the Crocodile. (He’s only cast because of a rich family member that donated a lot of money.) Nancy, an energetic yet exhausted former techie who plays Mrs. Darling/Lisa/Curly/Tinkerbell. Lucy, the niece of Robert with stage fright who plays Tootles. And others which includes Trevor, the very Scottish and not-into-it Stage Manager and the Narrator who changes depending on the show. This time it was Bradley Whitford who laments having to do this despite his Emmys and apparently took the job because of the current strike. This motley crew of characters are notoriously bad at shows and the audience watches as everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.

The Actors:

I think it makes sense to point out that the original cast of this show are the original cast for Mischief in general. These characters have been played largely by these people and have also been added to over the years by these same people. At the showing that we went to, we didn’t actually see a few of the actors. Henry Shields was out as Chris, so instead we got Harry Kershaw, who was an amazing and hilarious Chris. We also saw Brennan Stacker as Lucy rather than Ellie Morris. She was also just as amazing as I could have imagined. I was really worried that we wouldn’t be able to see Jonathan Sayer, who may just be my favorite member of the original cast, but I’m not sure I could say that since I love them all so much. Jonathan Sayer was busy for the first half of this run and we managed to catch him right as he came back. I really really wanted to see him as Dennis. I don’t think anyone expects the main creator of Mischief to cast himself as the dumb actor and it was really funny to see him address the audience at the end of the show as the creator after seeing him play Dennis for two hours. Dave Hearn was unfortunately not there as Max but Matthew Cavendish has been playing Max in theatre productions for a while as well. I also especially loved seeing Henry Lewis as Robert. Nobody does the larger than life personality and very distinct “Woof!” bits as well as he does them. Nancy was amazing live! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone multi-task like that on stage. But overall I loved seeing everyone. We actually saw Chris Leask who plays Trevor outside the venue before the production. The Scottish accent made me laugh every time. We even got to see a talk back with Charlie, Nancy, Matthew, and Brennan at the very end where they demonstrated safe screams and talked about feeling safe on stage. It really felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to see these amazing actors from the West End!

The Unexpected:

The BBC version of ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ is about an hour and the live version is about two, which means there are quite a few things in the live version I hadn’t seen. Which was great, because I laughed doubly as hard at the comedy I wasn’t expecting. The most shocking moment for me was probably when a stage light fell onto the stage. It made a really loud noise and I think the entire audience gasped. Trevor as Peter Pan lasted a good deal longer live than in the BBC version, which I really liked. For me, Trevor becoming Peter Pan is one of my favorite parts of the BBC version and I loved hearing him do more of the lines. There was so much more of him hanging upside down in this version though and I have no idea how he could stand it! Harry Kershaw as Chris set up this incredible moment to make a little girl in the audience help him murder Peter Pan which was such a funny moment. Another moment that I loved was after Sandra finds Jonathan and Nancy kissing. In the BBC version she slaps Jonathan and then gets into a bit of a fight with Nancy. In this version Sandra slaps Jonathan and then talks with Nancy, they check on each other, and then they team up to slam Jonathan’s head into a table. This change was suggested by Charlie and Nancy who didn’t think that the women would fight each other when they had both been wronged by the guy in this situation. Both my sister and I cheered very loudly when this happened and I’m sure we startled people around us. I don’t care. It was a great moment! Bradley Whitford added his own flavor to the show by adding in anecdotes about the strike which thankfully was met with a lot of approval from the audience I was a part of. He also did this hilarious gorilla bit that he had only premiered the night before. I didn’t realize that Daniel Dae Kim was going to take over the role of Narrator next and I’m almost sad I didn’t get to see him, though Bradley Whitford was hilarious! I’m curious to see what the difference between the Narrators will be. But Bradley Whitford seemed to be a perfect match for this production with his comedy style. There was also a whole bit with mermaids on roller skates and a horrible under-sea scene that had me laughing so hard. And Dennis’s lines were eventually taken over by the husband of the person originally feeding him lines after an impressive fight that Dennis repeats to the audience word for word. It was an amazing scene where they managed to make the audience feel for characters that weren’t even on stage. I did miss a few of the TV jokes, like Chris falling off the row boat in the public pool before suddenly appearing on stage. But all the new jokes more than made up for it!

The Iconic:

I don’t think many things in ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ get more iconic than “Not you Dennis, walk away!”. Seeing Dennis center stage for that and hearing the uproarious laughter afterwards made the moment that much better. Robert was a hilarious presence and the almost incoherent pirate argument between Dennis and Robert remains one of my favorite parts. It felt like every joke just hit even harder live and I couldn’t stop laughing. Or in this case it was more like wheezing. But despite the fact that the characters aren’t created to be completely likable, you end up rooting for them anyways. You get involved in Sandra’s odd love triangle and celebrate when Trevor miraculously catches Lucy who’s being projectiled across the stage. The storylines that happen backstage are just as important and just as iconic as the comedy that happens onstage, which is what makes this come together to be such a great piece of theatre. It’s not just comedy, it’s characters too! The entire idea for this is brilliant!

I absolutely needed this laugh between the hurricane coming, being a little let down by K-Con, and starting a new job that I’m nervous about. And Mischief never fails in making sure I laugh. Very hard. I’m still so shocked that I could see this cast and I’m not going to forget this any time soon! If you’re in the LA area, go catch this amazing show before it leaves! Just wait until the weather gets a little better. I hope everyone stayed safe and continues to stay safe!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: The Problem With ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’

Still of Tom Nook from the ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ teaser. Copyright goes to Nintendo.

Hey! Hallie here!

If you’ve seen any of my past cozy game reviews, you know that I’ve been slipping in some very judgmental comments about ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’. To be completely honest, the game got very boring, very quickly. It seemed like this game was all everyone could talk about in 2020. It came at the perfect time for all of us to be locked inside and bored out of our minds, and the new gameplay elements allowed for an even more customizable experience than any ‘Animal Crossing’ games had offered before. That meant you could kill a lot of time by reshaping your entire island, moving around buildings, and using furniture to create complicated designs. But despite all of these extra gameplay mechanics, after a good period of people absolutely adoring the game, a huge amount of players collectively put the game down and didn’t pick it up again. Now it’s common to see games recommended specifically for gamers who are tired of ‘Animal Crossing’. But why are so many people tired of ‘Animal Crossing’? Why did gamers find that, in a game with no ending, there still isn’t any replay value?

The Villagers: Let’s start with my personal biggest issue with the game. The entire reason I got into ‘Animal Crossing’ as a kid was the ability to interact with the cute villagers. Every single villager had a unique design, but more than that, every single villager had a unique personality. It wasn’t just that you could tell who the villager was from the catchphrase they used or the items in their house. They all had different goals, opinions, and funny observations. Overtime you could even see villagers forming friendships or rivalries based on how comparable their personalities were. Some villagers would talk often and would brag about the letters they sent to each other. Others would fume after only a few minutes of conversation with each other. Sure, ‘Animal Crossing’ has always had personality types such as cranky or peppy, but past games had a wider range of interactions each villager could have with the player or other villagers. It made them feel more alive. ‘New Horizons’ stripped that away. Now two characters of the same personality say the same things over and over again. If you have two snooty villagers on the same island, you might as well just have the same character. Characters are also less likely to interact with each other. When they do, they filter through the same preset conversations between certain personality types. Normal characters have the same things to say to lazy characters each time, regardless of which lazy villager they’re interacting with. It’s incredibly frustrating. It feels like every villager was reduced down to their most generic traits, a situation where they simplified the game rather than improving on it. If I can’t enjoy talking to the villagers, what can I enjoy?

New Things Happening Every Day: Yes, on a basic level there are new things happening on ‘New Horizons’ every day. Every day new shells appear, plant growth progresses, different fish or bugs show up, and new fossils show up. Some days you’ll even have a visitor to the island that will sell you goods or look to collect specific items. But what happens when you’ve run out of fossils to collect or you’ve collected so many different kinds of fish that you just don’t care anymore? What is there to do when collectables run their course, whether they’re the kind you buy or the kind you find? ‘New Horizons’ doesn’t have an answer. That’s why they came out with a DLC. They couldn’t seem to figure out what else to do with the game. But other ‘Animal Crossing’ games didn’t need a DLC to be re-playable. They had schedules for comedy shows your character could go see and auctions your character could attend to get rare items. Not only that, but past games knew when to keep visitor characters rare. In ‘New Horizons’ there’s an entire island where you can interact with the “rare” visitors whenever you want, like Redd, and buy their goods. And on top of all of that ‘New Horizons’ has less random events. There aren’t days dedicated to the player deciding which villagers house has the prettiest lights or competing to create the prettiest garden. Now some event days are only marked by a rare item showing up in Able Sisters or appearing when you shake trees. Meanwhile, the game overuses event days like the Fishing Tourney or the Bug-Off to the point that the player doesn’t see these events as special anymore. It almost feels like the randomized things that happen everyday are made to become eventually mundane.

The Player Has Access to Too Many Things: This one might be controversial, but I think a lot of my frustrations with the game revolve around the fact that I can just do whatever I want. And I’m not talking about the access players have to designing their island. I like the new design-based gameplay. But I don’t like that I have the power to invite whatever villager I want to live on my island. I don’t like that I have the potential to access every single piece of furniture or clothing I’ve encountered in one place. I don’t like that I can make so many bells in the game that I can actually run out of things to buy. Part of the appeal of ‘Animal Crossing’ was not knowing what you were going to get. Having your favorite villager move to your village was exciting because it was random. On the flip side, angering villagers until they left was so fun because you didn’t know who’d come after them. Getting rare items was important because you didn’t know when you’d see them again. And making your house giant was an effort that made you feel fulfilled once you finally were able to afford it. The reason why I stopped playing ‘New Horizons’ is because, in record time, my house was huge and my island was a five star island. It felt like I beat the game. Credits rolled and everything. That was so much harder to accomplish in the past ‘Animal Crossing’ games, and it made you want to come back to the game more often. I don’t often complain about games being too easy. But when there’s nothing else to do once you complete several easy tasks, I think a game like ‘New Horizons’ could benefit from making those tasks more difficult.

Those are my main problems with ‘New Horizons’. I still think it’s a cute game. I actually picked it up again recently, after erasing my entire island of course, to try to recapture the fun I had in the beginning hours of ‘New Horizons’. But once you get past those hours, it’s really easy to run out of things to do. And that’s very unfortunate. I love ‘Animal Crossing’. It’s one of the games I’m most nostalgic for. And it’s really a shame that I can’t get the same enjoyment out of ‘New Horizons’ that I once got from ‘City Folk’.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

International Dramas: ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938’

Promotional image of (left) Lee Dongwook and (right) Kim Bum for ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938’. Copyright goes to tvN.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Still in the spirit of the current strike and especially avoiding Netflix like the plague, I have yet another review of a non-recent K-Drama. This one is available on multiple streaming websites, none of which are Netflix. I have twice attempted to get into ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed’ which is a popular but not critically acclaimed fantasy K-Drama. There really seems to be a debate on whether or not the drama is good or not and people especially seem to have an issue with the romance in the first season. What people did really like, however, were the characters of Lee Yeon and Lee Rang and their brotherly relationship. Both are handsome and charming and have an almost Thor and Loki type dynamic going on; except it is so so much better. This was also an acting comeback for Kim Bum, who everyone acknowledges as being the best part of the first season. But unfortunately, beyond the scenes with Kim Bum in them, I really couldn’t get behind the first series. I would always get so bored a few episodes in, look for encouragement online, and then end up dropping it when people said that the series didn’t get much better. So, when I heard there was a second season that was almost more like a companion to the first season than a sequel and took place around the 1940s, I was all in. And you really don’t have to know anything about the first season to enjoy this one. I am very glad to say that I absolutely loved this and loving it as much as I do makes me want to go back and watch the first season even less. I’m just going to get into it! MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for BOTH seasons!!!

Summary: After an important theft, Lee Yeon follows the mysterious masked thief back in time to 1938. A time where many of his immortal god-like friends are still at the forefront of society and, most importantly, he is able to reunite with his brother, Lee Rang, who is the leader of a group of bandits and very skeptical of him. Together the brothers join forces to solve several problems in that time period and try to find out who the mysterious man in the red and white mask is. Though Lee Yeon might have bitten off more than he can chew with the explosive return of Ryu Hongjoo, who definitely has her eyes set on him.

The Wholesome:

Lee Rang- I have no idea how I’m not supposed to start with him. This is Kim Bum’s character and everyone is not kidding when they say that he’s the best part of any scene he’s in. Think of a kicked puppy turned anti-hero and you’ve got the heartbreakingly adorable and devastatingly badass Lee Rang; a character who will simultaneously rip your heart to shreds and make you swoon. And I really should have expected it from him considering that the stand-out in ‘Boys Over Flowers’ has always been Yijeong for me. Kim Bum just has this charm about him that catches your eye in every scene. It honestly doesn’t matter who else you’re supposed to be watching. Your eye will immediately find him even if he’s in the background. Every time. And he’s amazing at playing characters who seem guarded on the outside but are really just huge softies. After Lee Rang was abandoned by Lee Yeon, he found himself completely unaware of how to defend himself or the mountain he had been left on. Which results in him killing a village of people which then results in his brother being sent to take him out. When Lee Yeon does actually fight Lee Rang, the betrayal is even more cemented. Hence the enemies to brothers storyline in the first season. Lee Rang once again starts this season off skeptical of Yeon, because this is a complete redo of that character development as it takes place in the past. This is one of the reasons why I say you really don’t have to watch the first season. But needless to say, Lee Rang has had it tough and has also done some pretty deplorable things. He has serious abandonment issues and has guarded himself against the world. And we spend this entire season seeing him soften and become a guy who would drop anything to help anyone. We see him struggle over his own emotions and learn to let people in. And Kim Bum’s acting for all of this moved me to tears several times. Yes, this character is swoon worthy, sarcastic, and charming. But all you really want to do is give him a hug.

Lee Yeon- I wasn’t expecting to like this character as much as I did, but I really did end up loving him too! He has a certain jokey type of charm that catches you and won’t let you go. Both brothers are fluent in sarcasm, but while Lee Rang has a darker undertone to his, Lee Yeon is much more light hearted. The type to brush his hair out of his face before stabbing someone and make it look more like an effortless chore than an actual battle he’s struggling with. He really gives off this energy that he’s lived for a long time and he doesn’t have the energy to do this anymore. But he has a really compassionate heart that keeps him in the game and keeps people endeared to him. While many people in this drama start out suspicious of him because of past events, he refuses to give up on them. And his refusal to give on people and instead look out for them in whatever way he can is what keeps people around him. You don’t often see a main character who’s the glue that keeps people together and he certainly is. He doesn’t care about your view of what’s masculine and what’s not. He’s a caretaker, plain and simple. He takes care of everyone and really tries hard during this season to make sure that everyone is going to be taken care of before he goes back to the future. Even if that means he never gets back. Both brothers are similar in the fact that they would both deny it, but they have such big hearts. And they’re both hilarious to watch.

Brotherly Love- They’re even better together. Yeon appeals himself back to Rang by just being there for him and showing him that he’s not leaving him behind anymore. When Rang finds out that Yeon is truly willing to repair their relationship, he immediately is willing to take a bullet for his brother. More than anything else, this series is about their relationship with each other. The writers really took the criticism from people about the last season and fixed it. In the last season I know that many people didn’t enjoy that it focused on a romance that wasn’t super successful instead of giving more time to the brother story that certainly needed more time to develop. This drama is all about that brotherly story and the re-do of their repairing relationship. It also becomes, at several points, a hilarious buddy-cop type of show where they’re constantly bickering while trying to solve some mystery. They bounce really well off of each other and look so great together on screen. There’s even a gag where they need to go undercover at a hair salon so they apply for jobs there. The woman running it refuses to hire men until she sees them in the waiting room, adjusting their suit collars and cuff links and otherwise looking very attractive, and hires them on the spot. But the best part is the adorable moments where Yeon is tucking Rang into bed after Rang has already fallen asleep or just staring at Rang because he enjoys their time together. (Spoiler: Rang dies in the first season which is why this time is so precious to Yeon. And even after Rang finds out that he dies in the future; instead of feeling betrayed he also enjoys their time more. This is also why I won’t watch the first season.) The brotherly dynamics in this show are the best part and they carry the show.

Hongjoo- I LOVED this character. And everyone also seems to like her more than the female character in the first season. She’s both hilarious and badass and I wanted more from her. She runs what is essentially a brothel, and she is fiercely protective of the women who work under her. On several occasions during this drama, villains will kidnap people who work for her because they know that those people are her weakness. She will do anything to make sure they come home safe. I think we all want a boss exactly like her. Her fighting skills are probably more advanced than anyone else’s in this drama (which is saying something) and although she’s just as scheming as her two best friends (Yeon and Muyoung), she’s definitely smarter than them. She also has the ability to steal scenes. But so did Yeon and Rang. So it really did make it difficult when there was a scene with all three of them in it. Massive abandonment issues are a thing in this drama and, yes, she has them too. She just wants to be loved, which is so freaking relatable. You really feel for her and I love the way she single handedly brings her friend group back together despite all the scheming from everyone involved. Including herself. She’s the resident badass here. Need I say more?

The Romance- There was a small cute romance between Rang and a mermaid named Yeohee and it was EVERYTHING. Yeohee works at a tailor’s shop and boutique and first meets Rang when she’s fitting him for a suit. After he blushes adorably when she makes a couple of adorable comments about how cute she finds him, she decides that she wants to catch his attention. She sees him again when she’s singing at a speakeasy style place and gives him a necklace for protection which eventually results in her saving him from drowning. As he is a nine tailed fox, her saving him now inadvertently means that he owes her. Something she had no idea about when she saved him. And she uses her wishes to get him to do fun things with her that he usually wouldn’t do. When he starts falling in love with her, he is initially angry because he’s not used to the way she makes him feel. At one point the poor bean even breaks down into tears because he’s not used to the warm and tingly feelings he’s been getting around her, which is the most adorably heartbreaking scene I’ve ever seen. I still don’t know how to handle that scene, it’s just too pure and wholesome. They save each other on multiple occasions during the series and they actually have a happy ending! Despite a couple close calls; she doesn’t die! And knowing that Rang has someone to love him is actually what makes Yeon feel like he can go back to his own timeline. This is just the sweetest relationship ever and I will never stop crying about it. You can’t make me!

The Setting- The vibes here are immaculate. Everything from the nicely tailored suits, to the black and white movies that the characters go to see, to the small speakeasy on the corner. I also absolutely loved the cute little boutique shop with the mirror in the back that Yeohee worked at. All of it felt so aesthetically pleasing. I know I will be re-watching this series over and over for the characters and relationships especially, but I could honestly re-watch it for the vibes alone.

The Wearisome:

Muyoung- I called that he was the red/white mask from the moment he appeared on screen. And he never got as much character development as I wished he did. I was very very happy to see him end up as a Doctor so he could potentially start his relationship with Hongjoo, but we needed more time for him to get there. Especially after he kept his schemes going so long after the friendship was reforged. We didn’t even get enough time of him actually fully registering that who he brought back to life wasn’t really his brother. Nothing about his plot ended very clearly even though it felt like it was supposed to. He wasn’t a bad character but there were a few elements that fell flat.

Saying No- Yeon kept telling Hongjoo that he was in a relationship. He said this constantly. She still attempted to force herself on him in a couple of situations and wouldn’t really take no for an answer. And this was usually played for comedy. I’m still seeing this issue in a lot of dramas where somebody being a borderline stalker and not taking no for an answer is viewed as either romantic or comedic depending on the gender of the person doing it. It’s bad no matter who does it. This depiction of a lack of understanding for consent really needs to stop. It would have ruined her character for me if it wasn’t for the fact that I know this is still such a common problem in the writing for so many dramas around the world. It bothers me so much that this is still common.

I really don’t have much to say about this drama that’s negative. I could talk all day about how amazing it is! And I probably have already talked far too much. But if you like Thor and Loki vibes, you’ll love this. Because this is really like if Thor and Loki were better developed characters and their relationship as brothers was WAY better developed and more wholesome. This drama also has a great amount of action and fantasy and is just so aesthetically pleasing. It is absolutely one of my new favorite K-Dramas and I will probably re-watch it soon despite the fact that I just watched it. I can’t resist! I need to visit my Lee Rang again! If you haven’t seen this drama, I strongly recommend you go and watch it. Even if you didn’t like the first season at all, you’ll probably love this one!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely Annie!

Video Games: ‘Chicory: A Colorful Tale’ Review

Official art for ‘Chicory: A Colorful Tale’. Copyright goes to Greg Lobanov and Finji. Artists are Alexis Dean-Jones and Madeline Berger.

Hey! Hallie here!

And I’m back with another video game review! Continuing on with my love of playing cozy games, I saw that this game was basically a coloring book with cute animal creatures and I knew that I had to try it out. But if you know my taste in games, you also know that I like deep storylines. Fortunately, this one delivers on that too! As cute as it is, the heart of ‘Chicory: A Colorful Tale’ is the hardships of being an artist, including topics such as imposter syndrome and depression due to burnout. But how do these elements work together? And does a coloring book translate to good gameplay? This is a non-spoiler review, so I’m just going to go into the basics of what I liked and disliked about this game. Mainly I want to talk about how cozy it is because, as usual, I want to make sure the people with anxiety like myself can find games that will feel comforting!

The Story:

This story follows a main character (The character is named after the player’s favorite food but the default name is Pizza), who works as a janitor for the artist Chicory. Chicory is the protector of the land of Picnic and is known for being a Wielder, or the artist chosen to wield a magical paintbrush. Picnic in its natural form is colorless, but the Wielder is able to bring color to the world by coloring it in themselves. But one day all of Chicory’s colors vanish from Picnic. When Pizza goes to check on Chicory, they find the magical paintbrush left on its own. In a split-second decision, they pick up the brush and begin to re-color Picnic. However, Picnic’s in a worse state than they thought. And to make matters worse, Chicory is bed-ridden and refuses to pick up the brush again when it’s offered to her. Pizza quickly finds themselves in the position of not just coloring everything back in, but also figuring out what happened to Chicory’s colors. While each character in this game is absolutely adorable, Pizza and Chicory are the focus of the game and the way the hardships of being an artist are explored. Though they’ve always wanted to be the Wielder, Pizza was never confident enough in their art to pursue that. And when they end up in the position of showing their art to the world on a large scale, they’re hit with criticism they aren’t prepared for. On the other hand, Chicory was chosen to be a Wielder. But she’s both tired of her work and convinced that she isn’t good at art anyways, so she quits. As an artist I found it really cathartic to play through a story where the main characters have the same problems with finding confidence in their art. And though the game shows the lows of being an artist, it also shows the process of coming to love your art and approaching art on your own terms. I highly recommend this for anyone who’s struggled with their abilities in any sort of art form.

The Gameplay:

As I said above, this game is basically a virtual coloring book. Instead of fighting any enemies, each new screen has a new set of trees, flowers, and houses to color. You can color as much or as little as you want to, and throughout the game you can even collect “brush styles” which are basically stamps you can use to add more precise shapes to your creations. I also really enjoyed that each area of the Picnic map has only four colors to choose from, which felt like enough variety to have fun with the colors without making be spend way too long trying to pick colors on a color wheel. If you find coloring books calming like I do, this game is the perfect way to unwind. However, the brush is needed for more than just coloring. In order to get to each new area, you need to use your paint to interact with the environmental puzzles around you. On some screens that means using paint to grow plants to walk across, on others it means coloring in an otherwise pitch black cave, and on others it means finding a pattern to paint into a doorway in order to open it. Each area is a series of new puzzles, and while they’re fun to solve, they aren’t too difficult to figure out. Whenever you’re stuck, there are also telephone booths in most environments. When you use them you get to talk to Pizza’s adorable parents! Pizza’s mom will talk to you first and will give you your general objective, which is helpful if you end up lost and unsure of what you’re supposed to do. If you need more precise help, Pizza’s dad will give more exact hints to help you get through the area. There are also boss battles in this game. They can seem complicated at first, especially because they require you to control both Pizza and the brush at the same time, but the game does help you get used to it. Dying during these battles doesn’t restart the battle either, but instead puts you right back where you were so you can keep going. Overall it’s really calming and creatively satisfying to play.

Collectables and Side Quests:

There are A LOT of collectables in this game. I’m not someone who likes to go around collecting everything in a game, but there are so many collectables around the map that I wound up finding a lot of them anyways. The collectables mostly consist of clothes you can dress Pizza in, brush styles, and lost kids which, when delivered to the home of a woman who looks after them, can be traded for decorations for your house. These are just fun little aesthetic details, and the game provides more for you even if you don’t decide to grab more collectables. For example, in one area of Picnic there’s a shop that allows you to trade any of the clothes you do have for a piece you may have missed. There’s even a hairdressers that gives you mystery haircuts depending on your mood, kind of like ‘Animal Crossing’. On the other hand, side quests aren’t as large of a presence in this game. They don’t impact the storyline much at all, but they do give you slightly more time to get to know some of the side characters that pop up in towns around Picnic. They also aren’t very hard to complete. While there are characters who might ask you to deliver a lot of letters, others will just ask you to paint their house or make a mural. But if you’re worried that completing side quests are the only ways to get to know the cute animals that live around Picnic, don’t be! Talking to the characters gives you just as much personality, and sometimes characters will come up to talk to you and admire the landscapes you painted. One character even gave me some fan art they drew! There’s a lot to do in the land of Picnic, but you can trust that none of it is overwhelming and (almost) everyone you interact with will be perfectly pleasant!

That’s it! I feel like I went on for a while about ‘Chicory’, but this wound up being one of my favorite games I’ve played in a while. It was relaxing in a way I really needed without it being so short that I felt like I went through it too fast. I clocked in around twenty hours of gameplay, ten of those being story related and the rest being dedicated to coloring in everything I could and exploring everywhere I wanted to go. But even with there being lots to do, I never felt overwhelmed. I especially loved this game’s approach to the topic of making art, which I found very relevant for the week before I start my college art degree. I highly recommend this game and I hope you have just as much fun creating with it as I did!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Happy Birthday, Mingi!

Performance screenshot of Song Mingi. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

ATEEZ has been giving me a lot of stress lately between recent announcements of K-Con, their fan sign, and their Bouncy challenge all in my area. My luck getting into any of these events has been pretty nonexistent thus far. But you know who usually helps me out with stress? Song Mingi! And this will be posted pretty much right on his birthday, so I really do want to give a very excited HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mingi who has been making all of our lives a little better since the moment he debuted with ATEEZ. This man is known for his incredible deep rapping voice, his composition genius (Can we talk about the orange juice song?), and his moments of wisdom that we can all take with us. With each passing day I become more and more astounded by this man and everything he has done to make Atiny feel seen and empathized with. And he’s also always hilarious to watch in just about anything ever. So I’m going to get going on just some of what makes Mingi so absolutely great!

Wise:

I feel like his more recent domestic style vlogs have strayed Mingi’s biases right into delulu land. As a Yunho bias, I absolutely relate and can say nothing. I’m probably in delulu land more than I’d like to admit. But for the people who (like me) originally thought that maybe he was showing too much of his personal life for himself to be comfortable, don’t worry about that at all. In one of his most recent vlogs, Mingi said that his more domestic posts and vlogging projects were specifically to show Atiny that he’s a human being. That he’s a real person with real thoughts that can absolutely relate to the struggles we’re all facing too. Which is an incredibly noble thing for him to decide to do for Atiny. And his more recent attempts to connect more with Atiny have only become larger and more genuine. In recent behind the scenes vlogs, Mingi can be seen interacting with the camera and attempting to give really wise advice to Atiny about happiness. He’s now talked about how anything that brings you happiness at all, including small things throughout the day, count as happiness. That it isn’t something you have to achieve. He’s also started talking about his anxiety, which I am very happy about and really relate to because in the past couple years I have also been diagnosed with anxiety. Mingi talked about how his anxiety came from feeling as though he had accomplished too much too soon in his life and ended up having to unlearn that success in life is defined by career goals. Unlearning that success in life is defined by career goals has been a huge part of my anxiety journey as well, though in a different way. But hearing him talk about it and knowing that there was someone else also going through that process was so healing for me. I am forever grateful for his comments assuring me, and I’m sure plenty other Atiny, that I am not alone. And also, let’s be honest, those clips of him vlogging with his Mom are some of the cutest moments I’ve ever seen an idol post.

Hilarious:

I think Mingi has always been one of the funniest idols to watch doing anything. He always has the biggest reactions; whether it’s him being the most scared giant you ever did see or him screaming the loudest in a game where only he hadn’t had any alcohol. I also relate to his lack of interest in drinking, so I loved that about the segment too! On top of his reactions to variety show segments such as this, his reactions in more behind the scenes types of footage are also always funny. Yunho and Mingi recently released a skit where they were arguing about Mingi supposedly deleting Yunho’s gaming profile because Yunho wouldn’t pick up Mingi’s call. (Again, all fake.) This is somewhat a call back to a past vlog where Mingi accused Yunho of not respecting his “moral loyalty”; which has now become a fandom wide joke. They both were able to do that skit with complete straight faces, but Mingi’s acting almost seemed personal. Which tracks considering how often Mingi has done challenges or skits like this with a completely straight face. He’s been known for completing really cutesy dance challenges this way and it always makes it that much more enjoyable to watch. But while we can all agree that Mingi is an absolute joy to watch on camera; the other members have said that he’s even more fun off screen. In another more recent vlog, Yunho and Yeosang were asked about Mingi’s charms right before Mingi walked through the room only to open a door and promptly roar as he entered. Both Yunho and Yeosang agreed that Mingi always has them laughing, especially off camera.

Relationships:

It wouldn’t be a birthday post if I didn’t talk about all of their relationships to each other. Mingi is one of Hongjoong’s problem children in that Hongjoong revealed that Mingi is the second most difficult member for him to parent (only after Yeosang). Mingi does often seem to have his own agenda but he’s also the only other rapper and writer alongside Hongjoong. You can tell that they have fun riffing off of each other and giving each other inspiration, and their pairing in the ‘Bouncy’ MV was nothing short of perfection. Like the other members of the maknae line, Mingi really does like to tease Seonghwa. But they also have a very sweet relationship where they both become fixated on certain things very easily. Yunho and Mingi have known each other forever and you can absolutely tell. Mingi fondly reminisces on times when Yunho would take him out for lunch or dinner during their school days and accuses Yunho of betraying his moral loyalty. Mingi has also recently declared that he would marry Yunho as soon as the law let him. (Unfortunately, same sex marriage is still not legal in South Korea.) Yunho at first laughed when he heard that Mingi had said this and then said that he would leave it up to Atiny’s imagination. Either way, their head-spinny fun and cute hand kisses always make them a noticeable pair. Despite having been given the nickname “tower twins” because of their intimidating height; those two are some of the most gentle giants you’ll ever see. Mingi and Yeosang were oddly controversial for a while because in a Vlive they admitted to not having each other’s numbers, which made fans wrongly speculate about their relationship. Since, they’ve proven to be very close and have light-heartedly talked about rectifying the situation. Both of them can be quiet in group scenarios, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t close! San looks after Mingi and often treats him like his own personal child while Mingi’s relationship with Wooyoung is more wild and full of constant laughter. They both burst out laughing very easily. And Jongho has called Mingi his favorite hyung and Mingi has claimed that he practically raised Jongho. His relationships with all of the members of ATEEZ are so adorable!

Performance:

When I think about performance and Mingi, I do immediately think of Yunho teasing Mingi recently by saying that he needed to use his pelvis less while dancing. Because Mingi will use his style of dancing to make any choreography move sexier. I mean, that man has even fully taken his shirt off for more than one performance before. He’s one of the ones that Atiny will cite as an eye-catching member that brings new fans into the group along with San. When he performs, it’s really difficult to look away from him! And even if you do, his deep voice while rapping will immediately draw your attention back. Also, can we talk about his badass shootout scene in the ‘Bouncy’ MV, please?

I want to say the absolute biggest Happy Birthday to Mingi! He’s a standout performer and a hilarious presence. He has that chill attitude where he’ll just sit down and casually talk with Atiny. (He’s done this before during a game where if you made sound you had to go in this waiting area; when he’d get out in the game he’d go to the waiting area and comment on the video feed with Atiny.) I think his strength is admirable and has inspired so many Atiny, including myself. And I so admire his want to let us all know that we aren’t alone. Thank you so much Mingi for making sure I felt like there was someone out there who understands me!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Books: ‘Monk & Robot’ Series

Close-up of the cover for ‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ by Becky Chambers. Published by Tordotcom. Artist credit goes to Feifei Ruan.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’ve been reading a lot more lately as a distraction from all the things I’m dying (absolutely DYING) to write about while attempting to avoid discussing struck works in support of SAG and the WGA. Among the books I’ve revisited are the ‘Monk & Robot’ series by Becky Chambers. These are two novellas, meaning each are only about 150 pages, entitled ‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ and ‘A Prayer for the Crown Shy’. Both Sci-Fi books use a cozy atmosphere and two very wholesome characters to discuss things like the importance of nature and the meaning of life. This series is the epitome of cozy fantasy, but even more than that, I found them so incredibly healing when I first read them that I cried. So naturally, I want to convince as many people as possible to give this series a shot by talking about all the things I love about them! I’m keeping this post completely spoiler free as well, so you can hopefully go into these books with the same amount of wonder I did.

Summary: A non-binary monk referred to as Sibling Dex lives in Panga, an alternate version of Earth where humans have put behind their dependence on technology, money, and worker exploitation in order to live in a society reliant on being one with nature. Due to restlessness, Sibling Dex has recently taken up the mantle of tea monk, a type of monk who travels Panga and listens to the problems of the overwhelmed while finding the perfect brew of tea to ease their troubles. But when even the travel doesn’t ease their restlessness, they head off the beaten path and come face-to-face with a robot named Mosscap. The problem? The robots left humanity behind long ago to live out in the wilder forests and haven’t been in contact since. But according to Mosscap, the robots want to get back in contact with humans in an effort to answer one question. What do humans need? It soon becomes clear the answer to that question is very complicated.

The Characters: As you could tell from the title of the series, the books really surround the characters of Sibling Dex and Mosscap. While you meet other very pleasant characters on their journeys through Panga, the relationship between these two characters and their distinct views on life are what make the series. Sibling Dex is easy to relate to. They experience a very relatable case of burnout throughout both books, and you can’t help but sympathize with both their constant exhaustion and their constant disappointment in themselves for not living up to their own expectations. Their story is cathartic, and made even better when it’s seen through a character who has a satisfying level of sarcasm, frankness, and genuine kindness. On the other side is Mosscap, who combats some of Dex’s pessimism with wide-eyed curiosity and undeniable sweetness. Mosscap experiences its own insecurities, but the way it finds joy in every-day things and appreciates them for what they are rather than what they could be, makes the character healing simply because we get to see the world through its eyes. (Also note the very loving use of it/its pronouns for Mosscap. I absolutely adore it.) The two characters take turns being teachers for one another throughout the books in a way that allows each one to develop into the best versions of themselves. While Dex struggles with their view of themselves, their love for other people and other points of view allows Mosscap to see the loveliness in the complexities of humanity. Meanwhile, Mosscap’s general naiveté doesn’t prevent it from teaching Dex not to define importance by apparent usefulness. I learned so much from each character and I won’t forget those lessons anytime soon.

Solarpunk: These books are actually one of the best examples of Solarpunk I’ve ever read, but I don’t think a lot of people know what Solarpunk is. Most people are familiar with Steampunk, a Sci-Fi genre that incorporates 1800s steam-powered machinery with modern technology to create an alternate version of reality that takes heavy influences from the Victorian era. Solarpunk challenges the unsustainable nature of a steam-powered society by instead imagining an alternate reality where humanity embraced nature and made an effort to create sustainable technology. This series is one of the best things you could read to introduce yourself to this hopeful genre. The world of Panga is full of nature, whether it’s the bustling cities full of plants growing across large buildings and giant wind turbines, or the small villages that boast wooden cottages built into trees and clearings dedicated to trading necessities. There are solar farms alongside regular farms in some areas, means of collecting rain for drinking water in others, and even areas where people refuse to use any technology or electricity at all. The people who live in Panga (who do use technology) tend to have mobile phones as a means of contacting those they love, but also as a means of trading currency with each other. But that currency isn’t money. It’s acts that benefit society. If you “buy” food from a vendor, you simply pay it back by contributing in your own way to society. The mobile phones are used to tally how many acts you have done that can be traded for things you need. And if someone fails to benefit their community? Well, they’re merely checked up on and helped by their neighbors. It’s truly idyllic, and it makes Panga the perfect world to escape into when I’m stressed.

The Robot Analogy: Within this series there’s a plot thread that’s been played with a lot recently by Sci-Fi writers. This involves humanities creation of, and subsequent exploitation of, robots. In ‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ it’s revealed right when you open the book that one of the main catalysts for humanity deciding to create a Solarpunk society was the robots closing down factories by refusing to work, and then going to live in the wilderness. The problem with this in a lot media (*cough* ‘Detroit Become Human *cough*) is that robot exploitation is often used as a poor analogy for slavery. And of course, all of it’s being written by white writers. That isn’t the analogy this book uses, fortunately. Instead, the book clarifies that humans see robots gaining sentience as a work of their gods to help society. Some do believe robots should be classified as constructs or tools, but should be respected as one respects necessities. Others believe robots should be identified as organic, like humans, because they gained sentience. And some believe that robots are neither and gained sentience because humanity had chosen ease over giving jobs to those who needed it, and their gods decided to rectify that mistake. It’s a really interesting look at not only humanity grappling with their own egos in a situation they couldn’t control, but also the modern-day problems we have with technology taking over human jobs. And all of it’s wrapped up in the main narrative here: Worker exploitation. The book makes clear that robots left humanity because they were overworked and undervalued, which we see in so many professions today. It’s really refreshing to see this plot line used for good.

I’ll leave this here so I don’t keep rambling about how much I love these books. I absolutely adore the ‘Monk & Robot’ series. The characters are deeply relatable and their discussions give me more hope for humanity than anything else I’ve ever read. Crying during these books isn’t a result of sad moments, it’s a result of catharsis. Becky Chambers made me feel seen and accepted just as I am. And she also made me believe that humans do have the capacity to care for the nature and the other people around them. Not every story makes you want to change the world, but this one does. And even more importantly, not every story makes you feel valid for just being yourself, but this one does that too. These books had an extremely positive impact on my life, and I hope they’ll affect you in the same way.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

International Dramas: ‘Love Like the Galaxy’

Promotional poster of (left) Leo Wu and (right) Zhao Lusi. Copyright goes to Rakuten Viki and Tencent Video.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Continuing with not talking about any piece of media involved in the current writer’s and actor’s strikes, I really wanted to start finding dramas that are outside of the usual big name streaming services too. Because the streaming services are one of the biggest targets of the strike and for good reason. They are paying their workers some of the least right now. So, in an effort to find a drama as disconnected from all of these as possible, I went searching on actual international drama services for something free and this popped up everywhere. If you want to watch this one right now for free, you’ll be able to find it on multiple (actually legal) sites and none of those are the regular big name streaming services. I was a little skeptical at first when I saw that it was free multiple places, but when I looked it up I saw a bunch of people saying that it was one of the best historical romances to come out in the past several years. After seeing nothing but rave reviews (and watching a couple of swoon worthy scenes online), I decided to give this one a shot. I’m so glad that I did! This has to be one of my favorite dramas I’ve seen in a while and one of my new favorite romances. I almost decided not to watch it when I saw that there were fifty six episodes. I ended up watching this drama in five days. Am I proud of myself? No. (Maybe a little.) Was it worth it? Absolutely, yes! It doesn’t feel like the drama is that long because it’s packed with so much action and romance. I’m just going to get into it! MAJOR SPOILERS ahead!!!!

Summary: Shaoshang is a clever and headstrong girl who’s lived in a loveless household her entire life after her parents abandoned her with her grandmother for other priorities. General Ling Buyi is loved by all the women in royal and noble households and has a long list of women wanting to marry him, but he is unwilling to marry anyone. After a few chance encounters he finds himself unwittingly falling for Shaoshang, who is completely oblivious. But his lifelong want for revenge may just ruin any relationship he may or may not have with the woman who likes him a little more than she lets on.

The Good:

The Female Lead- One of the things that I love about Zhao Lusi in anything is that she never plays a demure or helpless lead. She always faces first with a charm steeped in pure intelligence that you often don’t get in female leads in anything. I think she’s my favorite romcom actress right now just because of that. I seriously can’t think of a role that she’s played that wasn’t fiercely intelligent. I feel like a lot of dramas don’t feel that their characters can be well balanced if they don’t stick to a main trait. I have no idea why that is. Zhao Lusi always plays characters who are a mix of multiple things, which is a breath of fresh air. I’m glad that dramas are starting to stop with this idea that a woman can only be one thing. I feel like especially with women in dramas, people want to see a female character stick to a specific aesthetic. Often times knowing too much or being too intelligent is seen as taking away too much from the cuteness and innocence of a character. That is absolute bullshit and I’m very glad that this drama didn’t fall into that trap. She was adorable and still more clever than most of the men in this show. She fought for herself against bullies and took her own revenge. She stood up for herself, even against her own boyfriend at parts. She is a master healer which is viewed as a complete strength rather than a “female position” within the army. All of the other male characters miraculously massively respect her for her healing abilities. I mass watched this drama to cope with stress before a job interview and watching her gave me the strength I needed to just be myself and even have fun during the interview. She’s one of those female characters where I walked away from the drama wishing that women had more role-models like this character in media. She is strong, nuanced, complicated, and contradictory. Just like real women are.

Male Lead- At first glance he seems like the typical stoic general type character you’d get from a drama like this. He’s not one to show his emotions very easily and he’s the first one in the fray when a fight breaks out or someone sets a fire. He’s well known for both his intelligence and his brutality on the battlefield. In fact, towards the beginning of the drama they take this a step forward by talking about how he’s also known for his torture tactics. That was a particular detail I really wasn’t expecting. Because the point of this character isn’t that he’s perfect at the beginning. Despite having a kind heart, he has a deep seated need for revenge that’s made him pretty bloodthirsty on the battle field. And, just like the main female character, he also didn’t grow up in a loving household. So he doesn’t actually know how to take care of people that aren’t his soldiers. When he and Shaoshang first get together he completely flubs it. He tries to tell her what she should or should not do in trying to look after her health. He also attempts to get her and her family up early in the morning to strengthen them in self defense. None of this is asked for and it’s also not left alone either. Shaoshang threatens to break their engagement over him taking liberties where they aren’t asked for or wanted. And he takes each and every single one of her critiques to heart. He communicates with her, often the first one of the two to do so, and continues to grow throughout the drama to be not just a protective husband, but an actually respectful one. He treats her like an equal and becomes the best version of himself, including learning to show his emotions more. He’s also one of the most swoon worthy characters I’ve ever seen. Leo Wu plays him so expertly and every romance scene made me want to sob just because of how kindly he looked at her. His sword fighting scenes are also action packed and so fun to watch.

Romance- This drama is all about the couple getting closer not because of forced circumstances, but because they actually communicate. When there’s a problem they either communicate with each other or make the mistake of not doing so and learn from it. Towards the beginning of their relationship, Shaoshang is extremely bad at communicating and will only tell him things when she’s angry with him. He communicates with her that he wants her to talk to him when something is wrong and eventually they become amazing at it. It feels almost like a realistic view on a relationship, especially because we see so much of them as a couple and supporting each other. He goes from wanting to always protect her to trusting her to come back alive and respecting her boundaries while still being protective in a healthier way. She goes from not knowing how to communicate to encouraging him to communicate even more. And when there’s a problem, each of them show that they’ve actually learned. When he tries to tell her not to eat close to bedtime and she expresses that she’s uncomfortable with him trying to control things like that, he makes up for it by giving her a pancake around the same time. I love that this drama covered things like boundaries! That aside, the romantic moments here are also so swoon worthy. There’s a moment where she’s trapped by bandits and he comes to help her and gets injured. She’s the only one who knows how to safely pull an arrow out of his wound. Despite this scene being kind of graphic; the way he holds her wrists and never breaks eye contact made me almost pass out. And then afterwards he asks her if her hands hurt from pulling out the arrow instead of worrying about himself. It was one of the most romantic moments I’ve seen in an any drama ever, I keep looking it up just to rewatch it. When he later ends up sacrificing his relationship for his revenge he’s completely mournful of it, to the point where he starts to cry every time she enters a room. And he more than makes up for it by showing that he can be trustworthy and that he more than trusts her. This is a relationship between two people with horrific trust issues learning to fall in love and put their complete trust in someone else. It pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel for each character. There’s not a moment where one of them does something that you can’t empathize with. And their relationship at the end of the show is one of the strongest I’ve ever seen in a drama.

Family- Even though Shaoshang hasn’t seen her family for most of her life, the way they eventually become close to her and stand up for her is amazing. The entire family is incredibly capable, to the point where all of them fight. I’m talking the women too. Her family is so badass! And the Emperor and Empress taking the main couple under their wing and really being there for them was also so cute. (Also, her eldest brother is absolutely gay coded and you can’t convince me differently. They even make sure that he doesn’t get married at the end!)

The Female Relationships- Though there are bullies, this drama really tries to focus on having healthy female relationships, especially where they are unlikely. The Empress and the Emperor’s concubine both have children who are trying to become the next Emperor. But they view each other as sisters and never try to hurt each other or each other’s families. That’s a first for me, despite the many historical dramas I’ve seen. Shaoshang has two best female friends in this that she talks to about everything. This drama likes its female friendships and I love it!

The Bad:

The Bullying- I could have done with a little less petty bullying. I understand why it was needed, but having so many instances of the same women bullying Shaoshang over and over and over again got a little tiresome. I think a few less instances would have made things more smooth.

Dropped Plotline- I loved almost everything about the Prince politics plot. Which is saying something considering I usually don’t like politics in my fantasy. But aside from the amazing plot twist at the end that Buyi was working for the third Prince instead of the Crown Prince the entire time; the end of the Crown Prince’s story kind of sucked. We knew that he was basically too nice to be in power, but we never heard what he truly felt about losing his power. And he ended up with a wife who tried to instigate the death of the woman that he truly loved. He deserved to be happy! He wasn’t malicious at all! Why did this drama never address how unhappy his situation ended up by the end?

The Villains- I don’t think any of the real villains were really developed. There were a few things I also didn’t quite get by the end. Like what that mist they were talking about was and why all those physicians that investigated it died. I liked the revenge plot line a lot, but none of the men and women behind it were very interesting.

The point of this drama really is the romance and the drama never loses sight of that. Which is why I don’t feel like a single one of those fifty six episodes ever went to waste. Each one was needed. Though the villain at the end especially didn’t have much of a purpose, you could see why it was important to the overall plot and the main couple’s relationship. And even though it mainly focuses on the build up of this relationship, there’s plenty of action to go around here. I loved the fight scenes and the choreography both with swords and with a plethora of other weapons. This drama is more historical than fantasy, so we don’t get magic as much as we get full on sword fights and I absolutely loved that aspect of it! The equality of the couple, the mutual respect, and the most swoon worthy romance scenes I’ve seen in a long time made this drama a completely re-watchable one for me. This absolutely goes onto my list of favorites. I really didn’t have much to nitpick here. Absolutely give this one a watch! And give something well worth it a view that has nothing to do with the big streaming services.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie