International Dramas: N.Flying Web Dramas

Promotional image of (from left) Lee Seunghyub, Yuna, Kim Jaehyun, Choi Jungwoo, and Kim Doori from ‘Big Picture House’. Copyright goes to Naver TV Cast.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I’ve been watching some K-Dramas again, but because I wanted to make an N.Flying post, these are the ones that took top priority for me. For those of you who don’t know N.Flying, my sister made an entire post about them recently. I would highly recommend checking out N.Flying; they have very quickly become one of my favorite groups of all time. I listen to their music on repeat. They also don’t have very many fans in comparison to other groups, so they definitely need and deserve all the support! Anyways, my bias is Jaehyun, the drummer, and it didn’t take me long to figure out that he is also an actor. He’s most known for acting in a Japanese zombie drama, but he has done some K-Drama projects. And so has the lead singer Seunghyub. In fact, I figured out that both of them had been on two different short web-drama projects together! The mix of me loving KDramas and loving N.Flying was just too perfect, so I had to check out both of these dramas. Because they are both so short, I’m going to review both of them here. I do have a longer KDrama review coming up, so stay tuned for that as well! Anyways, I’m just going to get into these two web-dramas, because they were both amazing in different ways. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

‘All-Boys High’:

Summary- This is a set of ten episodes, each about four minutes long, that consist of clips of the lives of two students at an all boys high school. Jaehyun and Seunghyub play two opposite personalities who sit at the same desk together and navigate hilarious happenings while attempting to figure out their future.

Review- Rather than a good and bad section for this drama, I’m just going to give it a general review. Especially because it’s more of a series of comedy clips and much less of an actual full length story. I don’t think I could pick out something that I disliked about this, because I really loved it for what it was. An amalgamation of hilarious clips and relatable scenes of high schoolers just trying to figure out what they want. There’s a pretty meaningful storyline where Seunghyub’s character reveals to his teacher that he wants to become a singer, only for a more senior teacher to laugh at him. This results in his teacher defending him and making a great point about not diminishing the dreams of students. But mostly this is comedy such as, Jaehyun’s character getting caught pretending to be a ‘One Piece’ character or being asked to stand up when he’s only wearing boxers because he took his pants off since it was so hot. Usually this is highlighted by Seunghyub’s character being stoically embarrassed or awkwardly trying to support him. There’s a nice arc throughout the stories where the two characters become close friends, but expect more big reactions and comedy than anything else. It’s hilarious for the most part and each episode ends with ‘Rooftop’ playing in the credits. It’s a very short watch that I highly recommend for any fan of N.Flying.

‘Big Picture House’:

Summary- A series consisting of twelve episodes in between ten and fifteen minutes long. This series follows five college age students who are all struggling with having dedicated their childhoods to the possibility of becoming an idol, only for it to not pan out. It specifically follows Gayoung, a young woman who, after being kicked out of her company, needs to find a new place to stay and find a musician share house. A house created by a kind benefactor for aspiring musicians. The series addresses how we often take careers too seriously and how failure in one avenue doesn’t mean all the doors are closed.

The Good:

Gayoung- I really really liked her as a main character of this drama. She really had a personality all her own, and it didn’t feel like she was a blank slate. She had her own ambitions and dreams, and she also made mistakes that the drama was excellent in explaining and pointing out. For example, she initially rubs some of the people she shares a house with the wrong way, specifically Sungwoo, for talking down about idols. Over the phone, he overhears her calling idols pathetic and without any real musical talent. It turns out that she is talking to her father, and she is attempting to convince him not to worry by trying to convince him that she never really wanted the job anyways. Over the course of the story, she learns to be much more observant of the people around her. She also learns that having someone who has everything in common with you, doesn’t necessarily make for your perfect boyfriend.

Hyunmin- He’s the second lead in this drama, which is hilarious considering Jaehyun plays the first lead. He has already been taken out of the running for being an idol when we meet him, but he still holds out hope that he will one day debut. In the meantime, he is working as a vocal coach for the company he was hired under. He invites Gayoung to the share house after she is sent away from the company they were both apart of, mostly because he has a crush on her and likes that they have everything in common. His character is amiable and kind, and you can see why Gayoung would choose him at first. Though his main function is to be rejected, especially in such a short drama, he feels like a character with depth all the same.

Sungwoo- I know I’m biased (literally), but he was by far my favorite character in this drama. He at first appears pretty stoic and standoffish ( a far cry from Jaehyun’s other roles), somewhat because of overhearing Gayoung’s conversation with her dad. After he realizes her situation, he makes up for it by placing some chocolate milk anonymously at her door. Which is sadly mistaken for having been placed there by Hyunmin. Because really, he’s just a very adorable and caring character. He works multiple part time jobs at night and is still training to be an idol during the day, but he’s being phased out because of his age. He’s often looked down on by his former colleagues and suddenly finds himself feeling very lost. Gayoung is a light in his life, until he mistakes her for having accepted Hyunmin. Will I ever forgive Jaehyun for making me cry because of his couple of heartfelt sobbing scenes in this show? Maybe not. Sungwoo was the most adorable and the most heartfelt character in the entire show.

Chohee- She was one of the characters it was hardest for me to understand, but I liked her because her actions were never supposed to be rational. She was a character who also felt lost after losing her place in an idol group and is honest to herself that what she wanted the most was the attention and recognition. So, she instead tries to become a famous YouTuber, but she makes content that she feels everyone else will want to see rather than what she wants. Her insecurities involving the way other people see her are giant, and it’s always portrayed as a flaw. Her relationship even suffers from it. She makes so many bad decisions, but you understand where she’s coming from.

Jaejin- A sweet character who’s main function is to attempt to be there for his girlfriend during one of the hardest times of her life. This includes her seeing his occasional anger as signs that he hates her and her becoming jealous of him for getting more attention when she convinced him to make a couples video. He is an excellent boyfriend and does nothing but support her. Does he deserve the way she treats him? Definitely not. But he tries to understand where she’s coming from every time nonetheless. An overall wholesome character.

The Main Romance- Watching Gayoung and Sungwoo fall in love was one of my favorite parts of this drama. From the moment he gifted her chocolate milk, to the moment she realized it was actually him who had been taking care of her all that time. The moment when she realizes that she misses him and that she actually wants to be with him is such a tender moment despite this drama altogether only really being a short movie length. And when he surprises her at the end because she wanted him to come back, I almost cried again. This drama was so good at story building with the short amount of time that it had. Jaehyun’s smiles and hugs are also almost too cute to watch.

The Side Romance- I’m not putting this here because I think this is a cute portrayal of a romance. This is entirely a couple who’s going through a rough patch because one of them is trying to find themself. I like this because it’s so realistic and because it gives you the hope that they’ll come back together. She learns at the end that she never really communicated with him enough. It never portrays the relationship as being healthy; instead she learns that her insecurity made it unhealthy and wants to fix it. It’s more of a learning experience for the couple than an initial romance or breakup, and I really appreciated that.

The Message- None of the characters end up as idols by the end; but they aren’t supposed to! Hyunmin gets married to a different girl and becomes famous for his coaching abilities. Sungwoo starts getting a foothold in theatre. Chohee starts making content that she likes and is slowly getting recognition for being herself. Jaejin becomes a composer. Gayoung is the closest to not really following this trend, because she becomes a solo artist instead of debuting in a group. But for the most part, this is about a bunch of people finding jobs that they’re passionate about, even if it wasn’t the one they imagined. Which is such an amazing message for young people, especially right now. The drama feels like a giant hug for every young person who feels lost right now. And I know there are a lot of us. It doesn’t diminish you, instead it tells you that you aren’t alone.

Bad:

Length- The only thing I can really think to put here is that it’s too short. I would have easily watched and loved a full length drama with all of these stories expanded. Sometimes it felt like the stories were rushed, but that was only because they were attempting to fit within the length of a mini drama. So I can’t fault it for that. And the storytelling was well rounded! I just wish I had more of it to watch! I feel like I left Sungwoo far too soon.

Overall, I highly recommend both of these dramas. But especially ‘Big Picture House’. This has to be one of my favorite drama pieces that I’ve seen in a while and it was so short! But I think so many people need to hear the message from this drama. So many older people forget what it’s like to feel young and lost, and many young people need to know that not ending up in your initial view of your career is not going to be an overwhelming failure in your life. I really like the message of finding something you’re passionate about, even if it wasn’t what you pictured before. That’s actually how I’m currently sorting out my own career. And the characters and main romance are so wholesome and cute! I also recommend ‘All-Boys High’ for if you need to laugh for a little while. That one isn’t as profound, but I loved it as well. Let’s all give the boys from N.Flying some love, because they deserve all the love and recognition in the world!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: ‘Persona 5 Royal’ Review

Poster of Joker for ‘Persona 5 Royal’. Copyright goes to Atlus.

Hey! Hallie here!

‘Persona 5 Royal’ has been out for a while now but, to be honest, I was really on the fence about purchasing it. I love ‘Persona 5’, it’s one of my favorite games, but a lot of companies re-release games with only a couple added perks at full price as a cash grab. I see these re-releases as both a huge waste of money and a really transparent and frustrating effort to make the most money for the least amount of effort. That said, ‘Persona 5 Royal’ advertised itself as something completely different. It promised two completely new characters with gameplay attached to them, a deeper connection than was previously available with Akechi, and an entirely new palace that would provide hours more of gameplay. All of that on top of getting rid of some of the more frustrating gimmicks in ‘Persona 5’ and overall upgrading the original experience. Still, even that couldn’t fully convince many fans to pay full price for the new version of the game. I still wasn’t sure about it myself. But recently I decided that I should just try it out and see what everyone was talking about. Did it exceed my expectations or let me down? A little of both, but mostly, I very much recommend it if you’re a ‘Persona 5’ fan! Let’s get into all of it. SPOILERS ahead!

Gameplay: There’s a few major gameplay changes throughout ‘Persona 5 Royal’. The one I noticed right off the bat is the upgrade to the guns. Instead of only getting so many bullets to use before you have to rest to replenish them, ‘Persona 5 Royal’ replenishes your stash each battle. So guns are actually useful now! Staying with in-battle changes, you can now unlock showtime attacks as the game progresses. These are tag-team attacks between two characters that each have fun animations and deal tons of damage. I loved almost every showtime attack, but the Akechi and Joker attack specifically blew me away. Also, baton passes are now available right off the bat, which is really nice considering it’s one of your most useful skills. And, of course, there are new personas to discover if you so choose. Moving on to palaces, every single palace has been reworked. In some palaces, more annoying or frustrating segments have been cut down. I really appreciated that Okumura’s palace spent less time having me solve the “which robot has the keycard” puzzle. Palaces also have new enemies or fight segments, such as the new second part to Madarame’s boss fight. There’s also a grappling hook function in palaces that takes you to new locations. Usually this is used to help you find will seeds, another new addition to palaces that you can collect to get a strong item or ability.

Moving on from palaces, let’s talk about the day-to-day gameplay. Firstly, Morgana makes you go to bed less and the game gives you more time overall to work on your confidants and stats. I was able to max out all my stats and complete most of my confidant rankings by the end of my play through this time around. There’s also new locations to explore and take your friends to, such as Kichijoji with it’s new jazz bar and darts/billiards hangout spot. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, there are more options to increase your stats, there are more interactions via post-hangout calls to help with your confidants, and there are even specific functions that will give you suggestions. Two other major changes belong to the Velvet Room and Mementos. Mementos is larger and now has a shop where you can alter Mementos for more XP, items, and the like. Meanwhile, the Velvet Room will go on high alert so the player can create more powerful but at times more randomized and risky combinations. If all of this wasn’t enough, they also rebalanced confidant abilities and persona abilities as well. There’s a whole lot of new going on here, but keep in mind, the base game is still the same. All of these new additions simply make everything more player-friendly. You won’t find any major changes to the story or the palaces until later in the game, where Maruki’s palace comes into play. Maruki’s palace is probably my favorite one. It’s hospital-like design is interesting and the new music in this section has some of my favorite pieces in the entire game. Plus, this palace has my favorite puzzles. I loved finding each new video room to watch more of Maruki’s backstory, I loved guessing which survey answer Maruki would want me to pick, and I even enjoyed the color puzzles. This palace is well worth exploring.

Characters:

There are two new characters, but in this section I want to talk about three of the characters. These characters are Maruki, Sumire, and Akechi. Firstly, if you want to play any of the new content, you should immediately start working to max out the confidants of these three. To be fair, you’ll only be able to max out their confidants to level 9, 5, and 8 respectively. Maruki and Akechi’s confidants will finish as the story progresses, and Sumire (Kasumi)’s will reopen for you to continue once the story progresses. While possibly frustrating, this only proves how important these three are, so let’s look into them. First, let’s talk Maruki. As a confidant, I loved him. He was awkward in an endearing way, clearly cared about all of the students, and fit the type of comforting teacher character I love to see in school settings. Before Maruki, it seemed like the game was trying to get you to embrace Kawakami as the “cool” teacher. But, let’s be real, the entire relationship with Kawakami is creepy and she has never actually seemed to care about any of the students. Maruki solves that problem. But his transition to villain is rocky. I really like the idea of Maruki using the information from his sessions to try to make everyone happier, only to become corrupted in the process. But once Maruki revealed that he had been the one to make Sumire think she was Kasumi, I liked it less. I mean, most therapists reaction to “I hate myself and I want to be someone else” wouldn’t be “Yeah, that’s probably for the best”. He used absolutely none of his training as a mental health professional in order to create his reality. He just took everyone at their word on what they felt would make them happiest and moved on. Not to mention how many times he pulled me back into a fight after I beat his boss. Sore loser much?

Sumire is next. I really didn’t like this character. Both my sister and I have listed our grievances with her on this blog before, so I’ll make this quick. Sumire, in trying to live her life as Kasumi, is a horrible twin trope. She perpetuates the idea that twins are so similar that one could plausibly replace the other. I did like that the game highlighted some differences between Sumire and Kasumi, but having Sumire continue to pursue her sister’s dream by the end instead of embracing her different ideas and interests seemed to undo all of the good. Plus, she didn’t have much of a personality. She reminded me of Haru in the way that she was nice, reasonable, and not much else. They gave her plenty of scenes, but not enough development in the actual plot. Finally, let’s talk Akechi. Akechi’s confidant really helps you get to know the guy. When it comes to the original game, I didn’t really get the hype behind Akechi. I love his English voice actor, Robbie Daymond, so I always had a soft spot for him. But he only ever seemed like either an egotistical rich kid or a psychopathic murderer. His confidant gives us more of Akechi trying to fit in with his generation as well as trying to battle with his feelings of liking the protagonist, but being so jealous of him that he hates him simultaneously. The new depth is interesting, and it lends itself well to his appearance in Maruki’s reality. Here he finally does away with the pleasantries and is his regular vain, blunt, slightly unhinged self. And it’s refreshing. You get to see his selfless acts justified by the selfish view that Akechi must protect others because they’re too stupid to protect themselves. His second death, where it’s discovered that he was brought back by Maruki and therefore won’t exist when Maruki is defeated, is heartbreaking. Especially because of how adamant he is that the protagonist shouldn’t care about his death because Akechi wouldn’t want to live in Maruki’s reality anyways. I loved Akechi, I loved his sass, and I will miss him. (Can we also talk about how Maruki brought Akechi back for the protagonist? Why isn’t he a romance option again?)

That’s it! So what are my final thoughts? I liked the new additions. I liked the helpful new features, the new music, and I really enjoyed the new palace. As for the new characters, or additions to the characters, my opinions are mostly positive. Though I don’t like Sumire, she doesn’t make me want to tear my hair out or anything. And I could appreciate Maruki despite his faults. Plus, this game gave me a whole new love of Akechi. I don’t think I could go back to playing the original game after this. But I also think that, had I never experienced this game, I would still be very content with the original. After all, ‘Persona 5 Royal’ is the same game just with added bonuses. So while it’s easy to get hooked on these bonuses, if you’re content with the original game, I wouldn’t say that you’re completely missing out if you skip over this one. Just, in the very least, look up the new Akechi content. And if you aren’t a ‘Persona 5’ fan, it’s not like this game is different enough to change your mind. All that aside, I did really enjoy ‘Persona 5 Royal’ and I would really recommend it!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Comfort Entertainment: Pastels and Character Inspo

Screenshot of (left) Wang Zi Xuan and (right) Wang Yibo in ‘Gank Your Heart’. Copyright goes to Mango TV.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I’m going to take a slight break from all the K-Pop posts, mainly because I’m slightly getting over not getting BTS tickets (I did go to the LA one, so I’m honestly fine!) and I’m currently stuck in the music world of N.Flying. I swear I’ll find something else to discuss about them soon because I love their music so much! But right now, I’ve kind of been sitting on this idea for a while and I wanted to get it out there. I’ve mentioned very briefly in some of my past posts that I have an absolute love for pastel colors. In fact, a lot of my fashion style revolves around my love for pastel colors. This has been a more recent development over the past three or four years as I’ve started figuring out what I really like. And, as a giant geek, a lot of my style inspiration has actually come from fictional characters and the media that I consume. So, in this post I’m going to go over some fictional characters and one real person, who have influenced me and my love of pastels over the years by watching media that features them. Maybe it’ll even give you some inspiration!

Kat Hillard (and other Pink Rangers)- Power Rangers:

I think this is one of the most obvious ones from when I was a kid and it definitely still influences me. When I was a kid, I dressed a lot more tomboyish. But I wanted to dress more like the pink Power Rangers that I absolutely loved. And some of them definitely still inspire me. Some more than others, especially because I’m a lot more into softer pinks than redder pinks. Kat Hllard probably dressed the most in soft pinks (before Zeo), so she’s my primary example. She also dressed a bit less trendy and a bit more casually compared to Kimberly. But I think one of my favorite things about the Power Rangers in general is that all of their outfits change to heavily feature their ranger color. Tommy even makes a joke about having to buy more black in ‘Dino Thunder”. (How do you need to buy more black??) So, I definitely do enjoy constantly going around in pink and feeling a bit like I’m an actual Power Ranger in civilian clothing. Katherine alternated a lot between pants and skirts as well, which is something that I do. And her occasional headbands and scrunchies is something I have definitely adopted. I think if my ten year old self could see me now she would be overwhelmingly happy. When talking about pastels, it’s difficult to not mention an actual Pink Ranger.

Ann Takamaki- Persona 5:

Ann’s character is one of my favorites and there’s a lot that I love here aesthetically. Especially with her persona, Carmen. Ann dresses in a lot of reds and pinks, but what I like here is that Ann definitely has a comfy style to her. While Katherine is a lot more of a nice-casual, which is what I usually wear out, Ann is very realistic in her hoodie game. I just like that Ann is depicted in quite a few oversized comfy sweaters, because those are some of my absolute favorite things to wear. Ann’s casual looks do lean more towards the side of reds than pinks, and I honestly don’t wear a lot of red, but her hoodie and skirt style is something I wear a lot these days. Especially since we’re all still inside a lot. And the red and pink hearts and roses that adorn much of Ann’s aesthetic have definitely affected some of the patterns I look for on my pastel sweaters or hoodies. Either way, Ann is one of those characters I have picked up some inspiration for in my search for more and more pastels.

Seraphine- K/DA and League of Legends:

I have to mention the new Queen of pastels. Though I haven’t been a fan of her long, she has already become fictional fashion inspo for me. In fact, that’s partially how I picked her out as my favorite avatar in K/DA. Her hair alternates between pastel pink and pastel blue. What more could I ask for? The exact colors that they used are really soft so they are right up my alley, and she’s shown in a variety of styles because they try to use her as an idol. So she has home photos and idol photos. Her idol outfits are more bright and glamorous, with chokers and mini skirts, which I have definitely looked to for concert fits. But the photos that they release for her social media are a lot more oversized sweaters with cute dresses. Though she is fairly new and I am fairly new to her, it is very difficult for me to not mention this character when talking about pastels. Her entire aesthetic is pastels.

Ariel- The Little Mermaid:

I have to talk about another childhood style inspiration because this one goes with more of a beachy style that I adopt during the summer. Ariel also has a soft pink dress that I could definitely point to, but there’s also more to discuss here. Like the mermaid vibes and the more fantastical vibes. I love wearing flower crowns and bows every once in a while, and the princess vibes from Ariel covers that. But I live in California and I do tend to embrace the lighter sweaters and light blue sailer shorts that usually go along with something that feels more beach casual. Ariel is this very aesthetically pleasing mermaid and princess combo, and I go to that a lot. Though Ariel herself probably affects my hair inspiration more than anything else.

Qiu Ying- Gank Your Heart:

It’s kind of odd for me to mention this character because I wasn’t very fond of her in this C-Drama. Her character was kind of flighty and often blamed the male lead for things that were entirely and very clearly not his fault. But that’s besides the point. I owned a few pastel pieces before quarantine began, but I accumulated most of what I now regularly wear over quarantine. I wasn’t really into buying clothing for myself until I actually discovered that I had a sense of style that I felt really comfortable in. I knew that I liked pastels before, but I didn’t really know exactly what I liked. And part of me coming to realize that softer looks with pastels was part of my personal style was the entirety of Qiu Ying’s wardrobe in this drama. She constantly wore pastel pinks and blues and went for a much softer style. The oversized sweaters and cute smaller skirts that I’ve been talking about. Between her plain pastel hoodie, her oversized sweater covered in hearts, her soft pink leather jacket, and her pink and blue skater skirts; I had so much that I wanted to try. And I have more or less accumulated all of the items that I just mentioned. Am I ashamed of this? Not really. Honestly, this entire drama is part of the reason why my aesthetic is the way it is now. One of the main hang out spots in this drama is at this pastel pink shop that the characters were constantly ordering strawberry milkshakes from. And Qiu Ying’s apartment was just as pastel as her wardrobe was. Thank you Wang Yibo for introducing me to one of the most aesthetically pleasing shows I’ve ever seen in my life.

Farina Jo- YouTube Channel:

The channel is just her name if you were curious. This is a channel that I randomly found while looking up BTS concert videos and I’ve been following it ever since. It’s run by a German model named Farina and her boyfriend Dongin who is Korean but from Germany. Farina’s hair is usually dyed this very nice pastel pink. She also has amazing game when it comes to buying pastel oversized sweaters. Some of my favorite pieces I’ve seen her wear are this amazing cloud sweater, all of her fluffy pink ones as well, and she of course repped the strawberry dress that was flying across the internet for a while. The sweaters have to be my favorite though, they are definitely the cutest! I would also recommend checking out this channel because Farina and Dongin are nothing but adorable and sweet. It’s some really good wholesome entertainment.

So, if you’re also looking into getting into pastel fashion, I hope I’ve given you some places to start. I know I definitely needed some help to figure out exactly what kind of pieces I wanted and what I would rather pass up. I really do find that looking for pastels specifically can push you in some very specific directions. Pastel goth is one of the main things I’ve felt pushed onto me because of the lack of options, but that’s not exactly what I was personally going for. I find that having ideas to go off of really helps you get more specific so that you don’t feel you have to get a specific piece if you want to dress in pastel colors. Hopefully these inspirations will help you just as much as they helped me. Or maybe I just gave you a new aesthetic to be into! Either way, finding what you feel comfortable in can be tough. But having fictional characters and other media to help you find what you do like, is one of the main things that helped me find out more about myself!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop: N.Flying

Photo of Seo Dongsung, Kim Jaehyun, Lee Seunghyub, Yoo Hoeseung (Hweseung), and Cha Hoon (Hun) from N.Flying. Copyright goes to FNC Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

The k-pop section of this blog is taken up by BTS more than anyone else, partly because BTS monopolizes most k-pop news and partly because we adore them way too much to complain. But I do love to spotlight other groups I love, so thanks to a friend of mine, I’m talking about the k-rock group N.Flying today! N.Flying is definitely one of the least well known of the groups we’ve covered, but last year their cover of the intro to ‘Demon Slayer’ got them some well deserved attention. Meanwhile, their song “Moonshot” has become my newest obsession. I can’t stop listening to this song and whenever I’m not listening to it, it’s playing on repeat in my brain. So, as usual, I’m going to highlight each of the members and all of the things that will make you fall in love with them just as fast as I fell in love with them! Note here that I won’t be talking about the controversy with former member Kwangjin because I don’t know enough about it to write a fully formed opinion. Let’s go!

Lee Seunghyub:

Seunghyub is the leader of N.Flying as well as one of the two lead singers and the sole rapper. As the leader he’s one of the more responsible members of the group, though he isn’t one of the most talkative in interviews. He does very obviously try to keep conversations going between members though, and he’s very good at checking in on the Maknae. This is probably because the Maknae of the group has changed multiple times, and the two last Maknae’s of the group have been members that were added on after debut. But I’ll get to that in later member’s sections. As for his performance as part of the group, he’s the lead singer with the slightly deeper and more husky voice. His voice isn’t incredibly deep, but it does give him a unique sound and lends itself well to his rapping, which he is very passionate about and it shows. For him I would highlight the song “Lupin”, as that song gives you a good mix of his faster-paced rapping as well as his amazing vocals.

Cha Hoon (Hun):

Hun is the lead guitarist and one of the backup vocalists. Additionally, he’s rightfully known across k-pop circles for his good looks. He’s probably the quietest member, though he’s not as quiet as you might expect in interviews. The other members describe him as cat-like in that he’s sometimes cute, sometimes very serious, and values his privacy at times. But don’t let his intimidating persona fool you. He’s best friends with the goofiest member of the group, Jaehyun, and the two have a YouTube channel called 2IDIOTS where their chaos is there for all fans to see. He’s also one of the biggest rock aficionados in the group because of how many lead guitarists he looks up to. He especially loves the group Guns N’ Roses, which makes my eighties rock-loving heart very happy. On stage he’s very calm and cool, which suits his badass persona. The song I would highlight for Hun is “Video Therapy” just because of the more unique and crazy things he does with his electric guitar in the song.

Kim Jaehyun:

Jaehyun is the drummer of the group as well as an occasional backup vocalist and my sister’s bias! He’s also the most popular member because of the sheer amount of charm radiating off of this man. He’s the biggest goofball you could find. Offstage he’s the most talkative member in interviews. He’s always the first to pick up a conversation and invite others to join in. He’s also the first to start cracking jokes. I’ve died laughing at an interview segment where he mimicked Voldemort from the ‘Harry Potter’ movies. He’s also up to do most crazy things, including spontaneous choreography. It’s clear why the other members refer to him as the energizer. It’s hard to imagine anyone creating as much chaos with Hun as Jaehyun. On-stage, Jaehyun is eye-catching. He approaches drumming with childlike glee, and his cute smiles and flirty winks assert his stage presence extremely effectively. For Jaehyun, I’d recommend the song ‘Hot Potato’ because the drums are fast paced and fun in this song.

Yoo Hoeseung (Hweseung):

Hweseung is the other of the two lead vocalists and my bias. He’s also a former Maknae of this group. The Maknae situation in N.Flying is complicated. The first Maknae was Jaehyun, but in 2017 FNC decided to change some things up by bringing in another lead vocalist to compliment their first one. This was Hweseung, who’s voice is one of the most incredible voices you’ll ever hear in your life. At that point he became the new Maknae, but the newest member of the group has sent that position into chaos once again. But back to Hweseung. Hweseung is incredibly sweet. He isn’t as vocal as Jaehyun, but most interviewers have found him easy to talk to and he always has something very nice to say to the fans. His humor is also very quick, which has caught me off guard multiple times. As for his stage presence, he’s extremely energetic and, as I said before, his voice is unmatched. He’s gone on Korea’s ‘King of Masked Singer’ and blown the judges away, and he also does musical theatre. Which makes sense once you hear his crazy belt and range. The song I recommend for Hweseung is “Moonshot” because of how addictive his vocals are throughout it.

Seo Dongsung:

Dongsung is the bassist, background vocalist, and new Maknae. He only joined at the beginning of 2020, which has been rough on him due to the slow year and the daunting task of catching up to the other member’s popularity. But he’s taken it all in stride with a stunning smile and a very cute personality. Dongsung is quiet, but his kindness always shines through. All the members have also rightfully expressed how adorable he is. His politeness betrays how professional he is as well, since he came into this group after another group he was part of, ‘HONEYST’, disbanded after only two years. In that group he was the oldest and the leader, which he felt fit for him since he’s the oldest child in his family. However, he enjoys being the youngest for once now that he’s part of the group. I think he’s an excellent fit and it’s always a joy to see him jamming out on his bass. For Dongsung, I’d recommend the song ‘Oh Really’ both because of the bass and because of how much fun he has playing it.

That’s N.Flying! I hope this post gave you a good idea of who each member is as well as some song recommendations you can get addicted to! I love this group and I’m still learning more about them, so I can guarantee you that there will be more content to come about the band here on our blog! For now, I’m going to keep making my way through their discography and downloading all of it onto my phone.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop: Tours, Albums, and Controversy

Screenshot of (from left) Kim Taehyung, Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon, Jeon Jungkook, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, and Jung Hoseok from the ‘Permission to Dance’ music video. Copyright goes to HYBE and BTS.

Hi! It’s Annie!

We’ve recently gotten even more news from BTS, though they still seem to be taking some time to rest and prepare. Which I am very glad for and hope that they continue to do. They definitely deserve it! But throughout this rest, we’ve gotten hinting towards several new projects and now the confirmation of some others. Also, in the world of ATEEZ there was a recent large controversy that could even lead to legal action if companies aren’t careful. With so much news to talk about with just what we’ve gotten over the last couple weeks, I think it’s time that I actually address it all. So I’m just going to dive into it!

ATEEZ and JYP:

This is the story that has been blowing up the past couple days, so I’m going to start here. JYP, which is known as one of the current big K-Pop companies, just released a new MV for a new girl group. NMIXX debuted with a song and vibe that was meant to be refreshing and fantastical, evoking a lot of imagery that felt very fantasy-like. But eagle eyed ATEEZ fans felt that something was all too familiar while watching the debut MV. There are several scenes that are being pointed to specifically as looking like they’re from an ATEEZ MV, and a lot of side-by-side comparisons. One of a flying galleon among pink clouds, one of the galleon then crashed, one of a blue-sky sunset cityscape (thought I note that this one is pretty common), and the other of an alleyway that looks very similar to the end of ‘The Real’. The band is also tackling the pirate theme in this video, which is pretty bold right now. Many people inside the K-Pop industry have expressed that it would be difficult for any group to do a pirate theme right now with ATEEZ practically claiming the genre for themselves and absolutely perfecting it. They don’t own it, but another group attempting to tackle it is going to be automatically compared. And rookie groups especially can’t compare to a group that has already perfected it. But over-all, the imagery pushes it over the edge. I personally believe the plagiarism allegations are completely founded, especially with the galleon shots in the MV. JYP’s silence feels like more of an admittance of guilt than anything else. But I have also seen people blaming the members of NMIXX and saying that the group should disband. I don’t agree with this. The members of this group just debuted and are currently in a position where they can only do whatever they are told to do. Especially in a company like JYP. Absolutely blame JYP; but not the group.

BTS New Music:

Throughout their break, we’ve gotten several picture hints of possible projects from several members of the group. We know that we’ll probably get Taehyung’s mixtape sometime soon, and we now know that Hobi is also planning on his own mixtape release. In fact, we’ve seen Hobi post hints that he was creating a mixtape for months. Now he’s announced that he meant to release it on his birthday, though there were also delays. But we’ll get there soon! We’ve also seen almost a confirmation that something will be released in March. Possibly a new BTS song. And with similar studio pictures from both Namjoon and Yoongi, it’s hard to not speculate that there might be something coming from them individually soon too. We don’t have much in the way of confirmation yet, but I think it’s no secret that people are expecting new music soon. We’re most likely getting another album in the net few months too and I’m not sure there’s enough time to emotionally prepare myself for an album. But I am so excited for the prospect of any new music from them! I just hope they got a really good break beforehand.

BTS Recovery:

I don’t think I’ve talked about Taehyung getting Covid or his recovery much. But I think right now it’s not uncommon to hear that our favorite idols are down with Covid, unfortunately. I’m really hoping that it stops soon, but it at least seems that none of them are really getting all that sick because of their vaccinations.

BTS Tour:

So while there hasn’t been any official announcement regarding a world tour with all the dates and locations; I think we’re all pretty sure that a tour is currently happening. Recently, as I mentioned in my last post, BTS announced ‘Permission to Dance-On Stage’ for Las Vegas. Which I am definitely going to try and get tickets for if I can. I don’t live all that far so it’s just a small road trip for me and I really want to see them again! Especially since it seems like each location might be getting a rearranged setlist. However, with the announcement of this location, they did describe it as a tour location specifically. They used the word “tour”. I know a lot of people were hoping to get a tour of their new album once it releases, but I do think that this is the important tour to do right now. Especially with some of these songs being specifically aimed for ARMY coming out of harder Covid times. I think that our 2022 tour is going to be ‘PTD On Stage’, and they will slowly announce more locations and times as things go on. I wouldn’t expect this to happen all at once. After all, their Seoul and Las Vegas shows are a month apart. I also wouldn’t expect another tour after this. Especially because the South Korean government still has not made any decisions regarding BTS and mandatory military service. I also wouldn’t expect it to be much easier to get tickets to any of these locations. Because they are currently keeping things so close to their chest about locations and times, it doesn’t really assure many ARMYs who would usually wait to see them when they perform closer to them. I still don’t recommend a lot of travel right now, but I know that’s going to fall on deaf ears especially when it comes to BTS. It’s understandable, but I would still wait to see if they come closer to you. BigHit has at least forced Ticketmaster to release all of their tickets on the first presale day. But that also means that if you didn’t get into the ARMY presale, you aren’t getting tickets. So try to get into that presale if you really want those tickets! I already have my confirmed registration emails from Ticketmaster so I’m crossing my fingers!

Tour Etiquette:

Now, with this tour and more locations being announced, there are a lot of things that ARMYs are asking other ARMYs not to do. Many ARMYs in LA got angry at baby ARMYs for apparently not screaming loud enough, not knowing the lyrics to songs, and not knowing the fan chants. As someone who was there, I saw no evidence of any of this. The arena erupted with sound from the crowd, and sometimes fan chants weren’t done because they actually mixed so many of their songs. When fan chants could be done, they were done. Also, being a baby ARMY isn’t a bad thing. We need to get rid of the idea that you’re wrong or bad just because you’re new to a fandom. It’s something we’ve probably all felt directed at us in some way and it’s a ridiculous notion. Nobody wants to hear it again, guys. It’s BTS, of course the arena is going to be loud. And if you are a new ARMY, don’t feel discouraged from getting a ticket if that’s what you really want. You aren’t any less of a fan and your wants don’t mean less.

BTS on Live:

I figured I should mention this because they’ve all started returning to Vlive again! I even caught part of the Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jimin one lately! Here’s your reminder that all of their live videos will soon completely transfer over to Weverse. We don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like yet, but soon the Vlive app won’t be as useful to ARMY. However, their lives are just as adorable as ever. We got to see Yoongi crack a walnut with brute strength, Namjoon call out Jimin about Instagram, and Namjoon assure Jimin that he looks perfect the way he is. I completely agree, Namjoon! So I guess we’re going to have to keep our eyes out for those random lives that could come on at any time! Both exciting and nerve-wracking!

I’m so glad that we’ve gotten so much BTS content recently and I’m excited to get even more! I’m also so stressed about tickets next week; so I’m just crossing my fingers and telling myself that at least I’ve seen them once. I hope all of you who want BTS tickets get them as well! And if you’re planning to travel, please do it as safely as possible! Covid isn’t over despite several places taking away precautions. Please be careful! And hopefully I’ll see some of you in Vegas!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Books: More Opinions on ‘Harry Potter’ Ships:

Screenshot of Alfred Enoch and Devon Murray behind the scenes of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’. Copyright goes to Warner Bros, Heyday Films, and Patalex IV Productions Limited.

Hey! Hallie here!

About a month ago I posted some of my opinions on the most popular ships in ‘Harry Potter’. Let’s just say that my opinions of couples fans have put together is more positive than my opinions of most of the couples that are actually in the series. But there are definitely couples I didn’t really have time to include and couples that I forgot about entirely. So armed with more deep dives into fanfiction websites, and admittedly some resulting trauma which I’ll get into below, I have an entire new list of ‘Harry Potter’ ships to discuss! Let’s get into this!

Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour:

I completely forgot about this canonical couple when I discussed the couples Rowling put together in my last post. I actually do like this couple. This is the only couple Rowling wrote that I genuinely support. It kind of comes out of nowhere, especially if you’re only familiar with these two in the movies, but given that the readers don’t know much about Bill and Fleur’s day-to-day it isn’t necessarily strange that the two got together. And I like their relationship. I like how devoted Bill is to Fleur despite how much Molly disapproves. I like how Fleur is unafraid to stand up for herself against Molly as well, especially when her love for Bill gets called into question. The moment where she insists that she doesn’t care that Bill’s face was marred by a werewolf and notes that she has good looks enough for both of them despite Molly’s insults, is probably the most romantic scene in any of the books. Plus their wedding is pretty. So while I may criticize the books and movies for every other canonical couple, this one, while not often focused on, does get a pass.

James Potter and Lily Evans:

Another canonical couple! This one isn’t bad. It just isn’t developed or explored. ‘Harry Potter’ fans know that James was a bully during his school years and that Lily didn’t like him because of it. But, at least according to Remus and Sirius, James grew out of it. Had he not, Lily likely wouldn’t have ended up with him in the first place. Does that make them a good couple? I have no idea. All I know is that they loved each other and they loved Harry. In the very least James wasn’t obsessive like Snape was, so there’s that.

George Weasley and Angelina Johnson:

This couple makes me want to vomit. Genuinely. This is one of those ideas Rowling had after the books came out that is considered canonical by some and just another of Rowling’s bad after-the-fact additions to the ‘Harry Potter’ universe by others. I’m on the team that believes the latter. Because this couple is so offensive and wrong in so many ways. It perpetuates the stereotype that twins are so similar, that the other people in their life find no significant differences between them. Obviously this is completely untrue. Twins, as we have stated on this blog before, are completely different people with different personalities. But on top of that, the only reason why Angelina ends up with George, according to the awful author, is because she’s mourning Fred. So not only does Angelina decide to date George because he’s “close enough”, but the entire time she’s also wishing he was Fred. How is that healthy? In the least bit? Reason number 1001 why Rowling needs to stop talking.

Hermione Granger and Fred Weasley:

We’ve officially made our way out of the Rowling-made couples and into the fan-made couples. Hermione and Fred is a relationship that gains and loses popularity sporadically throughout the ‘Harry Potter’ fandom. Most people began to like the couple because of a scene in the books. In the scene, Hermione accidentally comes across an invention by Fred and George that punches her in the eye, leaving a dark bruise. When Hermione approaches the two with said black-eye, Fred expresses immediate guilt, gets her something to take care of the bruise, and ensures that she’s alright. This act of kindness felt more meaningful to some than anything Ron ever did for Hermione. Because Fred doesn’t share an unhealthy relationship with Hermione in the way that Ron does, many fans also see Fred as the solution to the Ron problem. Hermione still gets to be a Weasley, and she can be in a relationship with someone who has the potential to respect her more. I like this ship for that reason. I also really appreciate that Fred has none of the problematic implications that other characters often shipped with Hermione do (Draco and his racism, Snape and his everything).

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas:

This is a very popular ship in the ‘Harry Potter’ fandom. These two are always seen together. Even when Seamus and Dean reach a disagreement in their beliefs about Harry they still spend all their time together. Dean even attends the Quidditch World Cup with Seamus and his mother. They clearly have a very close relationship, so it makes sense to take this chemistry and turn it into something romantic. Especially because Rowling was so bad at creating any kind of representation at all in ‘Harry Potter’, let alone LGBTQ+ representation. The fact that Seamus spends most of his final year at Hogwarts missing Dean because it’s too dangerous for him to attend due to his parentage, only to run to hug Dean when he shows up for the Battle of Hogwarts, is adorable. And the best part? Their actors are friends in real life and have vocally supported the ship. It’s no surprise that so many people like this couple.

Percy Weasley and Oliver Wood:

This couple was only recently brought to my attention, but it has a decent following and is admittedly pretty cute. Most people have put these two together because, as they were in the same year at Hogwarts, fans discovered that they must have shared a dormitory. Also because, as I said before, there is no LGBTQ+ representation to be found in ‘Harry Potter’. They don’t interact at all in the books or movies, but they do have similar motivated mindsets. I also like that many fanfic authors have used this couple to help Percy strive to be a better person, which many of us wish for both the sakes of Percy and the Weasley family. There’s a lot of space that fans have found to be creative with this ship, and I appreciate that.

Harry Potter and Severus Snape:

Why are people like this? Why must they traumatize me in this way? This ship has a lot of the same issues that the Hermione/Snape ship has. Namely, many fanfic writers don’t age up Harry, making him a minor in these stories. A good chunk of supporters of this ship also use Snape’s interest in Lily as a means to make Snape interested in Harry. Which is clearly, very disgusting. There is no reason for this couple to exist and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

That’s it! This group was definitely a mixed bag but it was interesting to go through! There were even some ships in here that I didn’t know existed! As of now I feel this post will probably be the last in this series. While there are many other ‘Harry Potter’ ships, including cross-fandom ones, there are way too many to talk about. I’ve also covered all of the major ones I’ve heard of. But if I do find more couples to talk about, count me in! I have a lot of fun looking into ‘Harry Potter’ ships and fan created content!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Video Games: The Women of ‘Persona 5’

Image of ‘Persona 5’ characters (from left) Ann, Makoto, Futaba, and Haru. Copyright goes to P-Studio, Atlus, and PlayStation.

Hi! It’s Annie!

So, currently I’m trying to distract myself from the stress of attempting to get tickets to the Las Vegas ‘Permission to Dance’ BTS concert. I mean, this feels less stressful than last time since I already saw them in LA, but seeing them again while they’re on tour would be amazing. So, in attempting to distract myself I’ve thrown myself into one of my favorite video games, though I usually mostly just watch my sister play it. I’ve also been watching the Anime and diving into panels done by voice actors from the dub. Because the voice actors from the dub are amazing and I’ve been a fan of a lot of them for a long time. Mathew Mercer??? Robbie Daymond??? Erica Lindbeck??? Count me in! But the women in particular from this game have been discussed a lot, because of the strides they took for representation and some of the shortcomings of the game itself. Because while the female characters in this game are some of the best I’ve seen in a long time, and while they also have taken massive strides, there are still some flaws here I want to point out. And all of them have their merits! I’m definitely not here to say who’s “best girl”. I will specifically be going over Ann, Makoto, and Futaba with a little bit of Haru at the end. As this is about the original game, I won’t talk about Kasumi. Especially because I already have a post about her in our ‘Twins in Media’ section, and it isn’t…the most flattering towards the character. I’m just going to get into it! WARNING: This article will have spoilers and possible triggers. I won’t get fully into the triggers, but they will be there!

Ann Takamaki:

The fact that a medium that is known for over-sexualizing women tackled the over- sexualization of women, is amazing in itself. Though the purpose of the game is more for tackling societal issues. Specifically, societal issues in Japan. And though I am not well versed in Japanese cultures, I think there are some things that everyone can relate to here. Specifically the way women are often over-sexualized by the male gaze and how disturbingly often this can happen to even young women. In fact, in getting into this fandom, I’ve seen a lot of over-sexualized artwork of the female characters in this game. Keep in mind these characters are between the ages of fifteen and seventeen in this game. And it really makes me wonder if the people making this artwork even payed attention to the entire story arc of Ann. Ann starts out this game fending off the advances of a teacher, Kamoshida, while also going along with his games sometimes because of his hold over her best friend’s slot on a team. Ann watches as this man destroys her best friend’s life, and through her own guilt decides to take action. Through this she learns that some men only see women as sexual objects and that she won’t let herself or anyone else be treated like that anymore. Her first action upon unleashing her Persona, is to destroy Kamoshida’s warped and sexualized version of her in his Palace. Which was such a clever move! She forces Kamoshida to live in order to atone for his crimes and forever have them linger over his head. A fate that she deems worse than death. While this is one of the best ways I’ve seen anything handle over-sexualization, there are some tone deaf things that happen with Ann later in the game. Such as just after when she has to pretend to agree to model for a nude picture, or several comments specifically made towards her by Morgana. I know that this kind of sense of humor is often common in Japanese media, but they felt very misplaced after the storyline they created for Ann. I also feel that her costume was created to be slightly sexualized with the idea of her taking it back for herself; but, especially with her negative response to the outfit, this isn’t clear. Again, it took strides but it isn’t perfect. It’s still important though and I love how opinionated and strong Ann remains throughout the game

Makoto Niijima:

While Ann dealt with the over-sexualization of women; Makoto dealt with a very different problem that woman all over the world face. Realizing your career choice is extremely male dominated and having to come to terms with how you’re going to move through that. This is where some of the differences between America and Japan come in. While we are still nowhere near equality in the workplace, we are actually quite a bit above a few other countries. Japan is a country that values men in power specifically, and that means that Makoto realizing she wants to become a police chief is extremely difficult. When we meet her, she doesn’t quite know this about herself yet. Which is also extremely relatable for young people. She feels indebted to her sister who she feels she is a burden to, and feels that following in her sister’s footsteps will make everyone happy. So she makes the decision to be a lawyer, without actually wanting to be one. In doing this, and also her sister being who she is, puts a lot of expectations on her shoulders, suffering under her own expectations and the expectations of others after a while. Which is something that anyone can relate to in some way. She is also used as a tool by the principal and other authority figures because of her brain and position. Women being used my men in power in unfortunately common. Eventually she realizes that she would be more suited to the position of a police chief, which is an extremely difficult position for a woman to get into in Japan. Her entire story involves being used by and then navigating around men professionally. And the narrative portrays her as the smartest one there, especially over the men in her life. Makoto’s issue is less with this and mostly also with over-sexualization. Though Ann suffers from this more, the show still takes time to over-sexualize Makoto too. Even though the entire point of her character is her brain.

Futaba Sakura:

Her story arc more involves the positive portrayal of those who are neurodivergent or suffer from mental illness. Which is a topic that is more important now than ever. Only in recent years have we started to truly understand neurodivergence and have been open with the fact that most everyone deals with mental illness at some point in their lives. This conversation has been important through the pandemic especially and assured everyone that they aren’t alone in their thoughts and feelings. Futaba herself canonically suffers from anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Some have also thrown ADHD and Autism into that mix too, but those two haven’t been canonically confirmed. Though they most certainly could be and the signs are there too. Because the conversation about mental illness is so new, we still have hilariously poor representation for mental illness in media all over the world. Futaba is one of the first positive and completely inclusive depictions that is good. She doesn’t just magically get over it. She has to go through steps to get help and ultimately also help herself. She learns how to deal with social anxiety by slowly getting more used to crowds with the help of Joker. This was so important for me to see because I sometimes also deal with social anxiety in this way. She is the one who realizes that her own negative thoughts are just an illusion and not her personal truth. And she also has to get used to the members of the team in chunks. A newer game came out that revealed that, a few years later, she is still making strides with dealing with her anxiety. Futaba is never shown as dumb or less capable for being neurodivergent, in fact she’s also one of the smartest on the team. I love that some of the smartest members of this team are Makoto and Futaba who are both women. Anyways, most of the time she is portrayed as completely capable. But she does need help and asks for it sometimes too, which is important. It’s maybe taken a step too far when she refuses to leave Joker and still completely relies on him by the end of the game. Ryuji also calls her a pet hamster in the dance game, which wasn’t well though out. But overall, she’s one of the best examples of a neurodivergent character I’ve ever seen.

Haru Okumura:

I won’t talk as much about her as she isn’t a very focused on character and comes in very late to the game. But her storyline is also important for women, though the cultural difference here is also prevalent. She is constantly used by her father to gain political status, is stuck in an arranged marriage, and is held under “ladylike” standards. She takes her life back into her own hands, finding a way for herself and rejecting all the ways that she is used by the men in her life. For hundreds of years, women in many societies were viewed as objects. This is an example of how women are still sometimes seen that way, and it rightfully demonizes it. Women should be able to choose their own lives for themselves, in marriage and with everything else. The fact that these expectations for women still exist in some places is horrible, but it’s important to point out.

All of these characters are nothing short of amazing. As are every other character in this game. Maybe Morgana isn’t always my favorite, but I love every other character in this game and what they represent. Like Joker being an ex-con for example, which is amazing! This game especially needs more recognition for having mental health being the most essential theme of the game. Everything has faults, but this might be one of my favorite pieces of media just for its representation of these things in general. And it’s very aesthetic and is very realistic in the way it shows young people hanging out. Like just vibing together and occasionally being on phones or going out. It’s nice that it feels so natural! So, if you haven’t dove into this yet, I would highly recommend it. These are the superheroes that we need now.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Netflix Shows: What We Know About ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 So Far

Poster featuring (Top) Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, (Middle) Joe Keery, Gaten Matarazzo, Priah Ferguson, (Bottom) Sadie Sink, and Caleb McLaughlin for ‘Stranger Things’ season 4. Copyright goes to Netflix, 21 Laps Entertainment, and Monkey Massacre.

Hey! Hallie here!

I would have posted about this a few days ago but J-Hope’s birthday takes some precedent on this blog so, finally, I’m talking about all the ‘Stranger Things’ updates we got a few days ago! This series is one of my favorite television series of all time, which is surprising because I don’t like horror. But, despite my dislike of gore and being scared, ‘Stranger Things’ has always won me over with its excellent character development and carefully crafted twists. And after a few years of waiting, we now have confirmation that season 4 will be coming in just a few months! May 27th is the date we’ll receive the first part of the season, yes, first part, while the second part will come only a month later on July 1st. I’ll explain that decision and all the other things we’ve been given about season 4 below, so let’s get started!

Posters:

First let’s talk about the four posters we received for this season and which characters are present on each. This has been one of the biggest debates amongst fans since the season 4 announcements, but it’s clear enough who’s who that we can discuss this without fear of being incorrect. First up is what appears to be a high security prison is Russia. The trio bundled up in this poster is one of my favorite trios from last season. That would be Hopper, Joyce, and Murray. I really don’t know how Joyce and Murray got to Russia, but given the fact that each poster has in common the gaping holes from the Upside Down that have acted as portals in other situations, that might be a good bet. Next is the most obvious poster, which features Eleven facing away from us while standing in a hallway of the lab she grew up in. Considering the fact that she moved to California last we saw her, she’s clearly displaced as well. Our third poster has the most characters in it, and it also shows off a new location that we received a teaser trailer for a little while ago, the Creel House. I’ll get into that one more in the next section. Exploring this house is Nancy, Robin, Steve, Dustin, Erica, Max, and Lucas. As I recall none of these characters went to California, so my guess is that this is in Hawkins, but who knows. All I know is the Scoop Troop is reassembled, and given that they were my favorite part of season 3, I’m unbelievably excited. Finally, our last poster is in California, where Will and Mike have reunited while Jonathan and his new friend Argyle, played by Eduardo Franco, lead the charge. There are multiple new characters we can expect from this season, but the fact that Argyle is the only one who made it into a poster feels significant.

Teasers:

The first teaser we got for season 4 of ‘Stranger Things’ was two years ago. This teaser was a short one, showcasing a snowy railroad where armed guards were watching over the workers on the tracks. The notable part of this teaser, as most of us remember, is the moment where one of the workers takes off his hat to wipe his brow. When his arm falls away we see Hopper, head shaved but definitely alive. Did I cry? Maybe. A little. Moving on from this we got a cryptic trailer that took place in the lab, where Martin Brenner, or “Papa” as Eleven knows him by, instructs the other children he raised there. Meanwhile, Eleven sits behind her door, seemingly uneasy. The next teaser was mostly made up of clips from previous seasons, but in the few clips we did receive from season 4 footage, we saw the group in the poster above investigating the Creel House, some men holding a distressed Eleven back, and Hopper exploring an unknown location. The next teaser gave us more on the Creel House. For one, every time the Creel House is brought up we get a clearly important shot of a grandfather clock within the house. The poster above was even given to us with the words “tick tock” attached. What exactly this means, I don’t know. But I do know that the Creel House dates back to somewhere around the 30s. At that time a family of four owned the house, but given the dead animals on the lawn, the fluctuating power, and the creepy shot of the two kids lying motionlessly on the floor, I don’t think the group exploring the now dilapidated house is going to have the easiest time. Although, it is fun to see Dustin quote Sherlock Holmes to a very confused Steve.

The biggest teaser we recieved was given to us three months ago. This teaser set up the entire storyline through a note Eleven’s writing to Mike. In the letter she describes how amazing her life is in California, but it’s clear she’s being ostracized at school despite her words. Through various scenes we see that she still misses Hopper a lot, Will is now working on his art more seriously, and the both of them get rides to school from Argyle in his pizza van. Regardless of her struggles, Eleven says she’s looking forward to spending spring break with Mike. Is that how he ends up in California? Maybe! More importantly, we get a few shots in rapid succession that hints to more of the season. Eleven seems to be using her abilities to project herself into a roller rink, Joyce finds a creepy doll, Jonathan gets shot at by an unknown group of people, Murray hears something shocking in his headphones, a procession of cars with a helicopter approaches, a mysterious door appears, the pizza van spins out of control with Mike and Will inside, there’s a diner, the shot of Eleven being held back is shown again, and it all ends with even more gunshots and explosions. From all of these teasers it looks like we’ll be getting a very action-heavy season complete with a haunted house. All of that sounds amazing to me.

Why It’s Been So Long and the End of the Series:

I’ve seen a lot of fan complaints since we received all of the recent news. With ‘Stranger Things’ season 3 airing in the summer of 2019, it will have been two years since the last season aired when season 4 drops. Because of this, I’ve seen fans say that everyone’s lost interest and that they should have released season 4 in the winter of 2020 when they had initially promised it. Given that ‘Stranger Things’ started the rush for streaming services to create their own exclusive shows because of its popularity, I’d say its impact is more than many are giving it credit for. Their loyal fan base is a massive one that sells out events every Halloween. And also, don’t forget the global pandemic that put most productions on hold for nearly a year and a half. I’d say that’s a pretty good reason to postpone airing the season. With that rant out of the way, I’m not at all surprised that they decided to separate the season given how long the Duffer brothers say it is. Apparently, they wanted to cover so many things in season 4 that it ended up being much longer than all their other seasons. If it’s as long as they say, it makes sense to release it in two chunks. I’m just glad that we only have a month to wait between them. We don’t know when season 5 will release at this point, but that isn’t abnormal. All we know is it’s the last season, which is what the Duffer brothers have planned for a while. And if you’re confused because some people have been spreading the rumor that it’s going to be a movie, know that the Duffer brothers have never said that. It seems like it’s going to be a season like the others. But it won’t be the last we see from this universe. Apparently the Duffer brothers think there is much more to explore with different characters. I’d be interested to see what they come up with next.

That’s all the information we have so far! I threw in some of my speculations for this series, but I honestly don’t know what to expect from this season. Some fans have been discussing character deaths, but considering that ‘Stranger Things’ has walked back every major “death” so far (I’m talking characters like Hopper and Eleven rather than one-season characters like Bob Newby and Barb), I’m not expecting any deaths among the established main cast. That could partially be wishful thinking though, because I love all of these characters and I don’t want to see them come to any harm. It’s amazing how ‘Stranger Things’ can have such a large cast and make you care so deeply about each of them. I can’t wait to return to their stories and fall in love with all of them all over again.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Twoho Appreciation

Selfie image of (left) Choi Jongho and (right) Jeong Yunho. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I touched a little on this in my Valentine’s Day post, but it has recently been brought to the forefront that quite possibly the most underrated members of ATEEZ are these two amazing gentlemen. Which makes me incredibly sad. I have not made it a secret that Yunho is my bias and Jongho has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard in my life. And several things have come up recently that have brought up how much these men can sometimes be disrespected. Obviously, every member of every group unfortunately has to go through being disrespected at some point. But there have been several hits in the recent weeks that have caused Atinys to stand up for these two specifically, so I’m going to go through some of my favorite aspects of these two men while also addressing what has happened over the past weeks. Because these two boys deserve nothing but all the love.

Jongho Lanyards:

The event that started the string of events following it. There was an ATEEZ event not long after their concerts in the US ended, and many talked about this event specifically because of the freebies that were being given out. Lanyards featuring each of the members of ATEEZ were given out as part of this, and people were being very disrespectful about not receiving a lanyard with their bias on it. Specifically, a lot of people were trying to trade Jongho lanyards and would be very angry when people wouldn’t want to trade with them. I think all of that is wrong. Firstly, if you want to trade within your friend group because of biases, that’s fine. But wanting to trade with absolutely anyone because you don’t like the member you got, that sounds a lot like solo stan behavior. Personally, I would have loved to get a Jongho lanyard or a lanyard with any other member of the group on it. Because I love all of them. Jongho, for one, has one of the best voices in the industry and he’s the adorable maknae! I also highly recommend watching ‘Imitation’ if you haven’t, because his portrayal of Hyuk is guaranteed to steal your heart. I questioned my bias wrecker several times during my watch because of Jongho’s adorableness and this one very well-shot scene where his hair was blowing in the wind. Anyone who got a Jongho lanyard is absolutely lucky, and Jongho biases put up with a lot of bull from people attempting to force all of their lanyards on them. The Jongho biases are absolutely correct. Everyone attempting to trade is not.

Yunho Dance Prodigy:

I talked about this already, but there’s been updates about this one. A lot of people were accusing Yunho biases of solo stan behavior because they were calling him the main dancer of ATEEZ because ATEEZ doesn’t have an official dance line anymore. But Yunho is the leader in dance practices and has been noted to be the best dancer of the group by other members of ATEEZ. And he worked hard for both of those! He’s often underestimated because he’s such a tall dancer, and has expressed his frustration with that. The argument over Yunho’s dance abilities blew up so much that it caught mass media attention. ‘Koreaboo’ even made an entire appreciation post for Yunho’s dancing in support of him. Another tall idol trainee also came out in support of Yunho, explaining how difficult it is to dance when you’re over six foot and the tallest in your group. It means more movement in a shorter amount of time than anyone else in your group, so you often struggle alone with attempting to match the pace of everyone else. And yet Yunho does it effortlessly and nails the dance moves each time. So much so that he’s been called “my boy” by a popular choreographer in LA. So much that every member goes to him when they have questions about choreography. He even had a solo dance video before their debut that showed off how amazing he is. And he continues to show off his skills with every dance break he’s given. He’s definitely one of the best dancers of the 4th generation artists, and it isn’t solo stan behavior to give him the recognition he deserves. Especially when he can sometimes get less recognition than many of the other members.

Twins? No:

A lot of people have been saying that they think Jongho and Yunho look alike. I personally don’t see it. But a picture came out where a trick of the light really did make Yunho look a bit like Jongho while he was masked. People took Atinys talking about it as an excuse to call Yunho and Jongho “twins” and some people even expressed that they were never going to tell the two apart. Which, as someone who is actually a twin, sentences like that usually just tell me that the person who said it is unwilling to put any effort in. This has gotten so out of hand, that people have been posting this underneath every picture of Yunho and Jongho. International fans need to be hyper aware of how many times we tell people from other countries that they look the same. Because it’s something that uneducated white people do, way too often. I’m sure they don’t think they look the same and I’m also sure that they don’t want to keep seeing it under every post. If you genuinely think they look similar, I know I disagree, but fine. You don’t have to put it under every picture though. Just be more aware. Because sometimes it feels like new fans or solo stans not wanting to get to know two underrated members of the group. Yunho has longer features, is extremely tall, and very gangly. Jongho has rounder features and has a shorter and broader stature. They are both extremely handsome! Let’s celebrate them for their individual looks too!

Jongho and Dispatch:

This is one where my take on it probably isn’t what you would think, given the topic of this post. ‘Dispatch’ recently released a video behind the scenes at the ATEEZ concert in LA, but this video didn’t have Jongho in it. This caused many fans, mostly international ones, to become angry. Especially because it was so soon after Jongho was trending because of the lanyard and merch incident. I understand that Jongho biases were on edge, I kind of was too. But fans who spoke Korean were quick to point out that while Mingi was talking at the beginning of the video, there was a note explaining that Jongho felt too ill to film it. As someone who went to the last day of the LA concert, I can confirm that Jongho wasn’t feeling his best. It was announced that he was suffering from stomach aches before the concert and during the first day he twisted his ankle backstage. He was unable to perform some of the encore songs and definitely pushed himself to his limits dancing. But despite this, Jongho fans went as far as to say that the video shouldn’t have been put out at all if Jongho wasn’t feeling well enough to film. I feel this is going too far. Members of any group should feel free to take time for their physical or mental health without having to feel guilty about it. And forcing idol groups to postpone everything, including important media to get them out there, because a member is sick is not going to promote what we want it to. It’s going to promote more idols attempting to keep going when they really should take breaks. It’s kind of similar to how I feel about people telling Jimin to come home because he posts the least on Instagram. He should feel free to take breaks from any of his social media when he wants to without fans unknowingly making him feel guilty for not being a part of everything that’s posted. That’s just my two cents, but as I said, I understand where Jongho biases are coming from. And Jongho did so much more than anyone would be able to do on a twisted ankle at that concert. I’m so glad we all chanted his name so many times to let him know that he was loved and appreciated for everything he was doing.

Underrated Members:

There are always underrated members of a group, and they always have their own fair share of fans who love them as much as they deserve. I just wish all of them could be loved equally. And this happens to every group, including BTS. I recently found a picture of gift boxes set up for each of the members of BTS at a debut event. Jungkook’s box was overflowing and many of the other boxes had quite a few gifts and letters. Except for Namjoon’s which had only a couple and Hobi’s which had nothing at all. This still can be seen sometimes as Jin, Namjoon, and Hobi’s merch usually sells out last. I always hate seeing anything like this, and seeing any group being treated this way always rubs me the wrong way. As K-Pop stans, we all need to get better about supporting every single member of a group. I think I need to get better too. We all should like all of their pictures on social media, if you’re making something to give to one of them at an event then make something for all of them, and follow all of their social media accounts. Lately, I’ve seen people ranking the members of groups based off of their personal “bias order”. There isn’t any such thing and there shouldn’t be. You can have a bias and a bias wrecker based off of who has helped you personally or caught your personal attention, but what we aren’t going to do is start making lists and ranking everyone in a group. It doesn’t matter if it’s your personal preference. These are human beings, not fictional characters in your favorite show.

Jongho and Yunho are both amazingly talented and handsome. And they both have so many fans; I don’t want to make it seem like either of them have barely any. ATEEZ has a lot of fans who love all of the members. But we also need to be better about treating the groups like we love all of them! Don’t be afraid to show another member of a group love even if they aren’t your bias. Let’s make sure they know we love all of them equally!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

BTS: Happy Birthday, J-Hope!

Photoshoot image of Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) for Vogue. Copyright goes to HYBE Entertainment and J-Hope.

Hey! Hallie here!

Happy Birthday, J-Hope! I’m a little late to posting this today, mostly because I’ve been watching BTS content all day, but I absolutely can’t miss the 28th birthday (29th in Korea) of my ult bias! If you’ve looked at my past posts I’ve done for J-Hope, you probably know I’ve talked plenty about his discography on his birthday before. So instead, I’m going to talk about the general things I love about him as a person and as a performer. Also, let’s get hyped for his next mixtape! He already confirmed Hope World 2 is coming soon! With that aside, let’s get right into this!

Main Dancer:

It shouldn’t be new information to any ARMY that Hobi is one of the main dancers in BTS. J-Hope and Jimin earned main dancer positions in the group for their major talent, partially because both of them entered Big Hit with a lot of dance experience. Hobi’s experience came from the underground dance group, “Neuron”, that he was in before he became a trainee. His hip-hop dance style was insane from day one of BTS’s debut because of it. And it’s only improved over time. I could talk forever about the “Boy Meets Evil” piece he has done as both a highlight video and live onstage (I dedicated an entire post to it recently). Not to mention the smooth and effortless way he moved when I saw him live myself late last year. But he’s not just an impressive dancer. He also leads dance practice, teaches the other members choreography, and comes up with some of the choreography himself. The other members of BTS have described him as a patient but precise teacher. All of the members have hilariously expressed that they’re frightened to catch his gaze during dance practice because it’s nearly impossible for a mistake to pass his notice. I’m completely enamored with J-Hope’s dance style in every performance. I also seriously appreciate both the confidence in his craft and the maturity it takes to make the contributions he’s made to BTS’s dancing as a whole. He’s truly one of the most talented dancers in the industry.

Main Rapper:

A lot of people wrote off Hobi’s talent as a rapper at first because his flow isn’t as fast as Namjoon or Yoongi’s. Some people even spread the rumor that J-Hope was behind on his practice as a rapper when BTS debuted because he was meant to be a vocalist but switched places with Taehyung last minute. This rumor is completely false. In fact, BTS was initially intended to be a group where all of the members rapped. Still, J-Hope asserted himself as a unique member of the rap line by bringing a completely unique style to the group. His flow is constantly changing depending on the mood and beat of the BTS song. Some verses are melodic (His singing voice is also incredible), some are hard-hitting, some are slow, some are fast, and all are complete with Hobi’s charming cadence. His constant but shifting flow makes all of his verses so addictive that ARMYs have come together to agree that his verses are a highlight of every BTS song. This is the reason everyone should be getting excited for his next mixtape. I can already listen to “Hope World” constantly on repeat without realizing how much time has passed. I can’t even imagine the amount of time I’ll be spending listening to him rap once his next mixtape drops.

Our Hope:

This man puts everything into the hopeful stage presence he’s created. At every concert he’s bright and cheery, putting his all into each performance and interacting with ARMYs as much as possible to ensure that everyone’s having a good time. When speaking to ARMY he encourages us to be ourselves, believe in our abilities, and to lean on him when times get hard. He acts as the energizer within BTS, keeping track of all of the members’ happiness, health, and exhaustion levels to make sure they have the energy to get through each project. In his songs he’s expressed the desire to heal the world of all its darkness by acting as a beacon of hope for everyone. He came up with the idea of “Hope World” for exactly the purpose of giving everyone a place they can feel happy and comforted. But he’s also been open about the fact that he’s a human being who doesn’t always feel hopeful. J-Hope is his stage presence. A name he chose that he feels called him to the greater purpose of spreading hope throughout the world. But Hoseok is a human being who experiences a range of emotion, including sadness and depression. I’d argue that the fact that he’s open about this helps his message even more. As a fan, I love that I can watch videos of Hobi spreading happiness to instantly brighten up my day. But I also feel that it’s ok to experience days where I’m feeling low because even someone as happy as J-Hope experiences that too. It’s important to remember that we’re all still human, and J-Hope makes me feel okay with that on both good and bad days.

I’ve mentioned a few of these things in passing before but I really wanted to dedicate an entire page to all the things I love about J-Hope! He’s one of those kinds of people that I’m just happy to know exists in the world. He deserves all the love for his birthday! Every year, I get kind of sad to see that his birthday doesn’t trend as long on social media as some of the other members, but really, as long as ARMY is sending him love, I’m sure that that’s enough for him. He obviously has an amazing support group around him between his family and the members of BTS, and I hope they’re giving him all the love today that ARMY can’t from afar.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie