K-Pop: Things I Love About Both ATEEZ and BTS

Promotional images of (top) Jeon Jungkook, Kim Taehyung (V), Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi (Suga), Park Jimin, and Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), and (bottom) Kim Hongjoong, Kang Yeosang, Choi San, Park Seonghwa, Song Mingi, Jeong Yunho, Jung Wooyoung, and Choi Jongho. Copyright goes to BTS, Hybe Entertainment, ATEEZ, and KQ Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

I decided a few months ago that I was going to focus less on fan wars and unnecessary drama within the K-Pop community on this page. I don’t like to focus on negativity here and most of the time, the problem is simply that fans are acting childish and repulsive. Undignified name-calling gets thrown around, idols get dragged through the mud without reason, and fanbases compete over which one of them is more toxic while simultaneously demonstrating toxic behavior. It happens too often in every fan community and it isn’t worth anyone’s time. So, as an ATINY and ARMY who has no interest at all in joining in on the conversation that happened earlier today, here are some of the things that I love about both groups!

BTS:

Songs- BTS is versatile when it comes to the songs they’ve released. From the more pop sound of “Dynamite” to the heavy beats of “No More Dream” to the gorgeous and slow “Mikrokosmos”. There are even songs that highlight only the rap line, like “UGH!”, or only the vocal line, like “House of Cards”. And that doesn’t even cover all of the solo songs the members have filled albums with. No matter what mood you’re in, there’s always something to listen to from BTS’s discography. And on top of that, their song lyrics are deep and meaningful. The song “Zero O’Clock” is about struggling with depression but finding hope in the next day that comes. The song “IDOL” criticizes the industry for trying to put BTS in a box while encouraging everyone to love themselves and be proud of themselves. I’ve cried at the messages in multiple BTS songs and I’ve found new perspectives about the world in them as well. Their music means so much to so many people and it isn’t hard to see why.

Performances- We could talk all day about the amazing performances each member of BTS puts on onstage. The choreography BTS does is satisfying and fits really well with each song. “Black Swan” has a more pretty, contemporary look that conveys the desperation of the song while the choreography for “Dionysus” is more energetic and exciting. Each member perfects the choreography, and when it comes to dancing, Jimin, J-Hope, and Jungkook have also brought multiple solo pieces to the table. Jungkook does this least of the three, but his charisma and fluid movements complete each performance. Meanwhile Jimin has taken my breath away with his contemporary dances and J-Hope has blown me away with his precise hip-hop influenced solos. As for the others, Jin is effortlessly funny in every appearance he makes, Taehyung is the king of intense facial expressions and the raised eyebrow, Yoongi is incredibly intimidating every time he begins to rap, and Namjoon commands the stage in a way unique completely to him. There isn’t a way to walk away from a BTS performance feeling disappointed.

Members- All of the members of BTS are so lovable and so talented, it’s extremely difficult to pick a bias. Namjoon, the very fitting leader, speaks openly about his struggles with mental health and the ways that his time with nature has influenced him. If that wasn’t enough, his writing is responsible for many of the meaningful themes in BTS songs. Jin is the oldest but youngest member of BTS. His sense of humor is just as immense as his good looks and everyone could learn a lot from the positive way in which he lives his life. Yoongi is yet another member who’s open about his mental health. He’s unapologetic about discussing depression in his songs and encouraging others to embrace their imperfections. J-Hope is sunshine personified. He’s honest about not always feeling positive but still makes it his mission to bring hope to the other members and fans. Jimin is a sweet soul who never hesitates to lend a hand to those in need of help. Despite his own struggles, he’s always more worried about those around him. Taehyung is an old soul who appreciates his self-growth immensely. He always looks to improve himself but never seeks to change who he truly is. Lastly, Jungkook is the youngest and least experienced. But he embraces that and finds wisdom in speaking about how strange his youth has been within the industry. There’s so much to learn from all seven members.

ATEEZ:

Songs- ATEEZ is the reigning champion when it comes to hype songs. Their songs have heavy beats and motivate listeners within the first few seconds. You can’t tell me that songs like “Wonderland” or “Fireworks (The One)” don’t make you want to kick ass the minute they start. I don’t think I’ve ever danced more at a concert than I did when I went to see ATEEZ. But ATEEZ doesn’t just do amazing hype songs. They also do sweet love songs that display a more sultry side to them, like “Deja Vu” and “Desire”. And beyond that they have songs with deep meanings that are meant to inspire. “Good Lil Boy” covers fighting back against a world that seems difficult by finding self-confidence and enjoying each moment. Meanwhile, “Turbulence” tackles the feeling of being lost or lacking a direction in a society that tells you that your worth comes from deciding what you want to do with your life. So many ATEEZ songs remain close to my heart, “Turbulence” being one of those songs that came around at just the right moment for me. ATEEZ knows how to relate to their audience just as much as they know how to motivate them.

Performance- ATEEZ choreography is some of the most difficult in K-Pop. Each song is high energy with some incredibly intense movements and even impressive stunts. You just have to look at a performance of “Wonderland” to see how insane their choreography can be. But beyond that, each member brings a high amount of charisma to performances. Hongjoong is called the king of facial expressions among fans for both capturing the meaning of each song in every expression and turning into “demon Hongjoong” to amp up the intensity. Seonghwa also is known for going “demon” as well as for shifting from sweet and shy to confident and sexy within seconds. Yunho is the dance captain and proves it with his perfect, powerful movements. Yeosang is known not just for his statuesque physique but also for his grace onstage. San is so good at dancing, despite not having a dancing background, that the company has made him center for multiple dance breaks since debut. Mingi, shirtless or not, radiates power whenever he begins to rap. Wooyoung’s chemistry with every member he dances with is unmatched even considering how close the group is. Finally, Jongho only needs to open his mouth for audiences to suddenly understand why fans call him one of the best vocalists of all time. ATEEZ brings the term “entertainment” up to new heights with every performance.

Members- To some eight members seems like too much, but all eight members of ATEEZ are so incredible that not one of them falls into the background. Hongjoong is yet another leader who contributes to writing a lot of ATEEZ’s meaningful lyrics. The thoughtfulness he uses when both interacting with fans and looking after his members is heart achingly sweet and far too rare. Seonghwa is a very nurturing member as the oldest of the group. But beyond that, he’s been open about his struggles with his self image and helping others through the same issues he’s had. Yunho is a puppy dog in a human body. Not only does he aim to keep everyone laughing and happy, but he also aims to be a solid supporter of those who seek happiness from him. Yeosang is surprising in the way that he’s quick witted and snarky. But his sudden kindness and love for the fans is just as pleasantly surprising as his humor. San is incessantly helpful to all who need him. His sweetness makes it hard for him to say no but just as hard for him to turn his back on fans and friends who are struggling. Mingi is well known for using humor to light up a room. But he’s also been open about his mental health and encouraged taking time for oneself. Wooyoung loves being the annoying younger brother. He’s all too lovable but his quiet compassion makes him even more so. Lastly, Jongho’s perseverance is enviable. His ability to encourage others through difficult times is admirable. I can’t speak enough about how grateful I am for these boys.

Though I’ve been an ARMY for longer and I talk about BTS more often in general, ATEEZ has made a giant impact on my life as well. They both have come into my life at moments where I really needed encouragement. They both have changed my mental health, and my views in general, for the better. I wouldn’t trade the joy either group brought me for the world. And I don’t see why I should turn my back on either one simply because a few people decided to display toxic behavior on the internet, where toxic behavior is always prevalent. ATEEZ has an immense respect for BTS and BTS has a similar respect for ATEEZ. I don’t see either group wanting discourse like this. So instead, let’s celebrate both of them and everything they’ve done for ARMY and ATINY.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Realizations

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

Hi! It’s Annie!

Obviously the ATEEZ concert was a few days ago which we have a full overview on already if you haven’t checked that out yet! But I wanted to talk about some of the things that I personally experienced at the concert and the way that some of my opinions changed after that. Because the concert really gave me an entirely new perspective on ATEEZ, which I find is usually the case after you finally see a group live in concert. And this was one of my favorite concerts that I’ve ever been to. They were all so happy to be there and so happy that Atiny was there and I miss them so much already! I sincerely hope that I’m able to see them in concert when they come back around this year! But I have such a greater appreciation for some things that I’m probably going to return to even more often than I did before after all of that. And there are just some general observations I had at the concert that I want to share. So, I’m just going to get into it!

‘Imitation’:

The more I’ve watched of recent ATEEZ variety show appearances, the more I’ve heard them mention ‘Imitation’. And the way they do it is absolutely my favorite. Because they have absolutely no qualms in making fun of it. Yeosang is constantly teasing San over how few lines he has, Hongjoong is always mixing up which character San played and which one Seonghwa played, and at the concert they yelled “Finally now, it’s my time” at Yunho which caused them all to burst out into laughter. Not only was I really happy in the moment that I understood all of these references, I liked that they were all making fun of it in their own ways too. Like how little screen time some of them had or how many people poked fun at “Diamond”. Yunho and Seonghwa even danced to it at the concert! If you’ve read my reviews for ‘Imitation’, you probably know that it wasn’t my favorite, completely on the account of the writing being a bit all over the place. But I think I probably took the show too seriously. Though the writing for the show wasn’t great, it was still a cute show that had a happy ending. It almost makes me want to go back and watch it. I stand by my thoughts that there were a lot of things that didn’t make any sense at all, but that doesn’t necessarily have to make it unenjoyable.

“Still Here”:

I’ve always loved this song, and recently it became something of a comfort song for me. The song itself talks about how ATEEZ is always there for us and always will be, and Yunho takes so much of the chorus that I was blown away the first time I heard it. And hearing it live was very emotional for me. It made me love the song more, but it also gave a new meaning to the song. It’s one of many from the concert that now I’ll probably cry when I hear, like “Star 1117” and “Turbulence”. But I think this one stuck out to me because I’ve been listening to it so nonstop. So while my opinion on the song is still that it’s amazing, it is now also so much more emotional for me.

ATEEZ and LA:

I don’t think it fully hit me how much Los Angeles means to ATEEZ until they started talking about it during the concert. Yunho talked about how they had started their journey in LA as KQ Fellaz and what being back meant to them. Hongjoong even introduced us to the new KQ trainees, though Atiny remained loudly loyal to ATEEZ. But the emotion they all had over being back in LA was insane to see. Yunho started crying at the end of the show which made me absolutely sob. Just thinking about how this is where they viewed their career to have started blew me away and I hadn’t really thought about it that way before this point. Not only that, but it has actually become a hot topic in South Korea how much popularity ATEEZ experiences in the US and the UK. For some reason, that I will never be able to understand, ATEEZ isn’t as popular in South Korea. Netizens discussed their popularity overseas after it became known that ATEEZ was going to stay in LA for longer than people expected to market themselves. I don’t know how much longer they’re staying here, but their music is some of the best and most relatable I’ve heard. They deserve to be just as popular everywhere.

ATEEZ Choreography:

I seriously have no idea how these men survived until the end of the show. This was the most intense choreography I have ever seen live in my entire history of concert-watching. They performed a good amount of their discography and only a couple of their songs didn’t feature intense choreography. A lot of their songs are also hype songs with strong beats, so the entire audience was dancing. I was tired by the end of it from just dancing where I was standing. I think we all take for granted just how much these men do and just how much they put into all of their performances. They barely looked tired at the end of the show, which was absolutely insane to me. They perfected that choreography, and even Jongho gave it his all even though he was injured. The fact that they even performed “To the Beat” shocked me, but the choreography for it, especially at the end, was more than I ever expected. Going to an ATEEZ concert is exhausting in the absolute best way.

“Fix On”, “Jongho”, and “Captain”:

Ok, so I found out pretty early on in the concert that none of them really take themselves seriously. When Mingi tried to be serious he would just end up giggling, especially after we all started chanting “Fix On” when he started speaking to us. Hongjoong also got flustered when we chanted “Captain”. But nobody got as flustered as Jongho when we chanted his name in support for him because of his injury. What I’m really trying to say here, is that all of these boys are just as down to earth in real life as they seem to be. They all got flustered at the fan reaction to them at some point or another, and seeing them all giggle and smile at the chanting is something I’ll carry with me forever. Seriously, these boys are so sweet.

I love these boys and after seeing them in person I love them even more. With the announcement that they’re coming back this year, I’m already planning to see them again. I seriously hope that I can see them again. And I will definitely cry that time too, because I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing them in person. Seeing them gives you such an appreciation for what they do and how much work they put into everything. And it also makes your voice disappear the day after.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

ATEEZ: Concert

Live appearance of Jeong Yunho, Park Seonghwa, Choi San, Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung, Choi Jongho, and Song Mingi. Copyright goes to KQ Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

Despite being anxious about the concert because of the current pandemic situation, my sister and I decided to be as careful as possible while attending day two of ATEEZ’s concert in LA! This concert was amazing. The members gave every single song their all, kept up the energy for all of their difficult choreography throughout, and spoke to Atiny for so long that the concert ran long. It was incredible to not only see the members perform live, but also to see them goof off and enjoy being in front of Atiny. I expected this concert to be great, but it really exceeded my expectations. There were even surprises throughout that I didn’t expect, one of them being a switch of bias wrecker for me because Yeosang’s stage presence blew me away. I’m going to arrange this post a bit differently because there was so much audience interaction that I feel it deserves its own section. So let’s get into it!

Performance:

As usual, the concert started immediately on time because of the music video showings leading up to the beginning of the concert. The music videos were fun, especially “The Real” which was the last song to play before the opening song and which received the light dimming treatment. Then eight silhouettes appeared on the curtain and curtain rise brought our opening song “WONDERLAND (Symphony No.9)”. This song was one of the ones I was looking forward to seeing the most and it was an epic start to the concert. Hongjoong nailed the opening, Jongho hit his crazy note change live, Seonghwa came out with a sword, and all of the members brought serious energy and skill to the choreography. I was expecting them to go into another song immediately afterwards, but here they gave them their first moment to speak with us. There were quite a few more stops for audience check-ins than I’m used to, and I really loved it. But I’ll get into that later. Afterwards they started “Pirate King”, an essential song for an ATEEZ concert that Hongjoong led with grace. “Say My Name” came afterwards. The last part of the song, where the beat picks up and the fire effects start, rightfully made Atiny lose their minds. “Treasure” and “Precious” are songs that are connected and, because of that, were performed back to back. This duo marked two of my favorite performances we saw all night. It’s so satisfying to see the beginning of “Treasure” start with Hongjoong kneeling on the floor with his eyes covered, only for “Precious” to end the same way as though time has been reversed. “Treasure” was also the first time that night that we saw demon Hongjoong come out in a major way and I screamed louder than I thought possible. Plus, the choreography for both of these songs is absolutely mesmerizing, particularly when Mingi took the forefront and brought up the energy to a new level. And props to Yunho for leading all these songs as their amazing dance leader. He did an incredible job.

After this we had a break, and then the silhouette effect was used again, which is always an epic entrance, to lead into “Utopia”. “Utopia” is definitely a really hype song and it brought all of the energy immediately back up after the break. Next was “Better”, a lovely song with an amazing message, and given the slower pace I wasn’t really expecting much choreo. But there was great choreo to go along with it. In fact, this was about the song where I realized San was being pulled forward during dances a lot and I absolutely think he deserves it. We also got a really cute moment where Mingi made Hongjoong jump to retrieve his mic before his verse could start. He was kind enough to kneel while giving it back. Continuing with the slower song trend, “Still Here” was next, a song that is emotional to many Atiny who have waited to see ATEEZ through quarantine. Yunho kissed Mingi’s hand during this song and everyone in the audience completely melted. “Wave” came next, which brought the energy back up and gave us some adorable Yeosang and Jongho moments. Then we were blessed with “Inception”. This was about where I realized Yeosang was slowly creeping into my bias wrecker position. The song begins with all of the members wearing masquerade masks to highlight the dreamlike theming of the song. Yeosang leads the intro dance in this mask and he basically hypnotized me with his grace. This man is seriously so beautiful. How do you follow up a performance like that? With “Deja Vu” of course! “Deja Vu” is one of my favorite ATEEZ songs and seeing it live solidified that. All of the members were feeling the choreography so much that you couldn’t help but get pulled into the song.

“Take Me Home” was another one of my favorite performances of the night, which surprised me. The entire song they played around with partitions for each member, hiding them while they moved on and off the stage at different times and ending the performance with a cool disappearing effect. “Desire” came next, which was a very pleasant surprise. San does so well during concepts like this and Mingi, as always, ups the intensity in an extremely satisfying way at the end. Speaking of intensity, I danced so much during “HALA HALA” that I felt like my light-tiny arm was going to fall off. You can’t sleep on songs like “HALA HALA”. “Answer”s choreography always gets me and the members delivered everything I expected from it and more. And then we got an epic Wooyoung and San dance break. I haven’t talked a ton about Wooyoung so far, but here I just want to say that his dancing was on point the entire night and his on-stage chemistry with San made multiple performances feel complete. This dance break was no different. It also set the mood for “Fireworks (I’m The One)”, another one of my favorite songs. Jongho once again showed off why he’s one of the best vocalists in K-Pop during this song and I love him for it. “Good Lil Boy” was another song I didn’t expect, but this song has another great message. It was nice to hear it live. The song went right into “The Leaders”, which was a mashup I didn’t expect but went crazy over. Next was “THANXX”, “To the Beat”, and “Rocky” all right after one another. This series of songs was insane to hear back to back simply because of the amount of energy ATEEZ maintained through all three. And yes, Mingi was shirtless during the dance break and we all screamed. After this we went into “The Real” which I had been waiting for all night and which didn’t disappoint. Mingi and Yeosang killed the dance break in this one as well.

The last few songs were the closing and emotional set. “Eternal Sunshine gave us all a moment of happiness while the closing of the concert was incoming, as did “Dancing Like Butterfly Wings”, both of which had more of a relaxed and audience-centered feel to them. If you want to see “Dancing Like Butterfly Wings”, the members filmed themselves during that performance, so if you couldn’t make it, check out their YouTube! “Star 117” was emotional to both ATEEZ and Atiny. This in particular was the song where there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire arena. But “Turbulence” was incredibly emotional too. Especially because Jongho came back on stage for this one after having to take a bit of a break. If you’ve heard about day one of the LA concert, you probably know that Jongho hurt himself about halfway through the concert and had to take several breaks throughout. He was still obviously injured on this day, but he gave every performance his all and hardly ever left the stage. Seeing him come back for “Turbulence” was emotional all on its own. I’m so thankful to Jongho for all the work he put into the concert and I hope he’s resting well.

Audience Interaction:

So many things happened during this concert that I couldn’t possibly remember them all. However, I do want to highlight some of my favorite moments. Firstly, we chanted for multiple members during the concert, but never so loud as the moments where Hongjoong asked us to cheer for Jongho. Hongjoong was very worried for Jongho through the concert but he was pleased to hear how loudly we cheered for him and even more pleased to see how flustered it made Jongho. Also, Seonghwa and Yunho gave us a completely unprompted performance of “La La Land”. Yunho’s laughter throughout brightened the entire room. Also, can we talk about the equally unprompted workout session Yunho and Yeosang started? Random, but way too impressive. At some point during the show Mingi encouraged the audience to applaud Hongjoong’s good looks so, on his command, we cheered until Hongjoong took his jacket off. He blushed quite a bit and told us not to like sexy things too much. I respect it, Hongjoong. I’d also like to point out a moment that was both very sad and very hilarious at the same time, where Hongjoong asked us all to cheer for the new set of KQ Fellas attending the concert. He made the mistake of hinting that they might be better than ATEEZ, which Atiny loudly disagreed with. It kind of undermined Hongjoong’s attempts at getting us to cheer for the new members, but we cheered for them afterwards and Hongjoong laughed about it. Hongjoong also thanked Atiny for teaching him to use “father” instead of “daddy”. Good job Atiny. When all of this was over, though, the members thanked us all for being their stars while they were going through difficult times and Hongjoong encouraged all of us to keep going when things get hard. I can’t wait to see them when they return. And they will return! Hongjoong confirmed that they’ll be back this year! Look out for that Atiny!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

BTS: Namjoon Quotes

Photoshoot image of Kim Namjoon. Copyright goes to HYBE Entertainment and BTS.

Hi! It’s Annie!

There’s a lot I could talk about and a lot I’m not sure if I should talk about right now. For one, Hallie and I are going to the ATEEZ concert tomorrow. I made a previous post about how nervous I am for that during this current spike, and I hope that everyone is able to stay as safe as possible. There’s also the release of the new ‘Legend of Vox Machina’ television show. But, though I had plans to cover that initially, I don’t think I will be anymore. My opinion watching it is that I felt it didn’t have any of the charm or development of the original, so I won’t be watching enough of it to actually review it. So, because my initial ideas have already been covered or thrown out the window, I wanted to take some time to talk about something that is actually calming for me. Especially because I’m far more freaked out about tomorrow than I probably should be. And what always calms me down, is my ultimate bias, Kim Namjoon. A lot of the time because of the amazing wisdom that comes from him. He even recently went on Weverse for hours to give struggling ARMYs advice. This man has my whole heart. So I’m going to go through some of his quotes that have most helped me.

“Life is not speed, but direction. Expectations never end.”:

I think people often view Namjoon as more wise figure than actual human person. And I think his responses on Weverse most recently proved that he is an actual human person who happens to be wise. He not only gave advice, but also connected with ARMY over having similar flaws to what they described. He talked about how he often felt as though he doesn’t finish many projects and he can’t focus, but then he also turned around and gave out advice like this. An ARMY described how she often felt as though all of her peers were surpassing her, and Namjoon noted that everyone will always have expectations about you, but that you only live life on your own time. It’s a comforting notion for everyone who’s stuck inside right now and feels like they can’t really go anywhere in their lives. I am definitely one of those people.

“I think to be born means pain, it’s just that sometimes one may overcome that pain and turn it to joy.”:

This is another quote from his recent stint on Weverse. This one comes off dark in the beginning, but I think this is the most comforting thing he said for me. Because he’s not saying that pain is all life is or most of what life is. Instead, he’s pointing out that none of us are alone. It is perfectly natural to struggle through things sometimes and feel pain in your life. In fact, this is how he stated that pain is not all there is. He goes on to say that everyone finding their own directions and being able to share that with other people is one of those forms of joy. It was a long comment that was a lot of him musing about life, but it was a long comment that proved that we all have more shared experiences than we think we do.

“But still, this day will end when the second hand and the minute hand overlap, the world holds its breath for a very brief moment.”:

Literally all of ‘Zero O’Clock’ is amazing for every reason. The song itself talks about bad days, especially bad mental health days, and how each new day is an opportunity for something good. Or at least something better. It even talks about blaming yourself for your feelings and feeling like everyone is living life faster or better than you are. A lot of the things Namjoon continues to talk about when talking to people on Weverse. Jimin even talked about how much he connected with the song and how it felt like a comfort to him too. The song is gorgeously written and one of the closest you’ll find to actually talking about mental health in a relatable and comforting way through music. And Namjoon writes about it because he’s gone through difficult times with his mental health himself. And the song also includes the lyrics; “and you’re going to be happy”. Which is nothing short of lovely.

“I think there’s no need to live your life based on the standards of others. Everyone says “dream big”, but I don’t think you have to live so fiercely like that all the time.”:

This is something I’ve really taken to heart recently. There’s this idea that you have to have a big career dream and you have to achieve it in order to be successful. But that’s often not the way we are. Who ever said that our dreams have to be based off of our careers? Some people have dreams that are more based in things like travel, or family, or even hobbies. You don’t need to have a big fanciful career for everyone to see in order to be successful. And that’s what Namjoon is saying here. Just because society doesn’t view your dreams as their definition of “big” doesn’t make them any less important. And if you don’t know what your dream is quite yet, that’s ok too. We all aren’t born with a dream in our heads that we have to see to completion. We live and we learn and we develop based off of that. What society usually views as dreams more often than not places unreasonable expectations on young people. Remember that even those things that you think are little, are just as much dreams as BTS wanting to become world famous. It’s based on your perspective. Not anyone else’s.

“Happiness is not something you achieve. You can still feel happy through the process of achieving something.”:

This is another thing that I love because it tears down societal expectations and definitions. It seems as though quite a lot of people have fallen into the trap of thinking they will be happy in the future when they have ticked off all of the things on their list that they feel they need to be happy. I will admit, there have been times where I’ve caught myself thinking this way. But this form of thinking causes you to miss everything important and eventually not be happy once you’ve ticked off all of those things. Because, once again, you’ve missed the point. Will those things make you happier? That’s quite possible. But what will make you really happy are things that are more involved in the journey of getting there. Like the people you meet or the things you learn about yourself. Happiness is not a far-off goal. We treat it too many times like it is. It is a state of being that you can find in anything. It just takes some work to retrain your brain to stop thinking of happiness as something you have to achieve.

“There are many sad days. But rather than sad days, we hope to have better days. That’s what makes us live. That’s what makes us dream. That’s what drives us to desire for something.”:

I don’t think I’m alone in saying that my mental health in quarantine hasn’t been the greatest. And honestly, this is kind of where Hobi starts coming in. What Namjoon is saying here is what J-Hope has based his entire brand off of. The idea that we all need hope and that hope is far more important than we give it credit for. It’s what gets us through the sad days. This is why it’s so touching when Hobi refers to ARMY as his hope in turn. Because we all help each other dream and aspire for better days when we’re at our worst.

“No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin color, your gender identity, just speak yourself.”:

This one is passed around a lot and I’m pretty sure I’ve brought this up in a past post myself. This was important not just because of the message, but also because this was BTS indisputably supporting several causes at once. They fully came out in support for the LGBTQIA+ community and several others with this statement. It also encourages their main message, which is to love yourself and find your own voice. I think most people have heard this by now, but I don’t think we should ever underestimate just how much reach this quote had and just how much it accomplished.

“The fans don’t hurt me, I hurt myself.”:

I only include this, because I need to talk about just how protective Namjoon is over ARMY. It’s built up over time, where Namjoon in many interviews subverted any questions that suggested that ARMY were crazy fans. Lately this has built up to him prompting people like James Corden to apologize to ARMY on air and him boldly and matter-of-factly stating that they get all of their votes through real people and that there are no bots involved. Namjoon will never not stand up to others on our behalf, and I fall in love with him just a little more every time he does it.

“In Korean, the word ‘future’ is made up of two parts. The first part means ‘not’, and the second means ‘to come’. In that sense, ‘future’ means something that will not come. This is to say: The future is now, and our now is us living our future.”:

I like this one, because especially now we can all get stuck in looking to the future and feeling miserable that we aren’t there yet. Worrying about the future can distract us from paying attention to what’s so great about what we’re experiencing now. For example, though I’m really not happy that I’m stuck inside, my family has been even closer than we’ve ever been before. You can have hope that you’ll do all the things you dream of doing, but don’t let that stop you from paying attention and living your life now.

Namjoon is now my bias, so I had to do a new post for him because of this change. But he’s also such a comfort to me because of many of these quotes. I’m forever grateful that the entire rap line have all talked about their experiences with anxiety and depression. Them being able to talk about their experiences is what I imagine is majorly helping many ARMY right now who are struggling with their own mental health due to the state of the world. I know I certainly have found comfort in their words. I think everyone could do to listen to some of the things that Namjoon says. But also, remember to think of Namjoon as a human being even if you do find comfort in his words. Namjoon has often found himself placed on a pedestal, and has opened up about how that can be difficult for him. So listen to his words, but also remember that he’s gotten to these conclusions by having the experiences that we all do. And that’s what’s important. That we all learn that we’re more alike than different. Personally, I’m really excited that I recently was able to nab a pair of his jogger pants. Thank you Weverse for restocking! But other than that, knowing that Namjoon also has had his issues with anxiety will help me through tomorrow. And him sharing his own experiences felt like a warm hug that made me sob at the concert. I hope that BTS tours again this year so that I’ll be able to experience a Namjoon ending ment again. Though hopefully Covid is back under control by then so I won’t freak out about going to that concert.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Studio Ghibli: What We Know About Ghibli Park

Screenshot of Sophie and Markl from ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Copyright goes to Studio Ghibli.

Hey! Hallie here!

For those who don’t know, Studio Ghibli has been teasing the opening of a new theme park for a while now. As of yesterday, we finally got an opening date! It is now officially opening later this year on November first. If you’re wondering how you could have missed the news about a Ghibli theme park when it’s already opening this year, don’t feel bad. We haven’t gotten very many updates on this project and the secrecy has made pretty much everyone surprised that we’re getting this park so soon. However, what we do have gives us a good enough picture of the theme and purpose of this park. So here’s everything we know so far!

Location:

This park is being built inside Aichi Expo Memorial Park in Aichi Prefecture, located between major tourist locations Tokyo and Kyoto. The park is full of gorgeous things to see that will stay intact even with the theme park moving in. The Expo Museum is a permanent fixture that showcases the robots and nature-based projects that were shown at the 2005 expo. There’s a traditional Japanese Garden complete with a tea shop where you can pay to take part in a tea ceremony. Flower Square is surrounded by flowers and houses a restaurant for guests to enjoy. There’s also a children’s area dedicated to interacting with nature and a Ferris wheel where you can see it all from above! While we don’t know what kinds of attractions we’ll see in the Ghibli park, we do know that the park won’t be the only thing worth exploring in that area! One of the areas of the theme park, Dondoko Forest, has already been partially open to the public as another staple of Aichi Expo Memorial Park. That’s because the already existing house of Satsuki and Mei from ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ is going to become part of the new theme park. The house is entirely screen accurate, from the water pump outside, to acorns scattered in dark locations, to the bus stop a few paces away. The clothes the characters own can be found inside the house along with all of Tatsuo’s (Mei and Satsuki’s father’s) books and archeology materials. Their bike even sits outside! I can’t wait to see the house surrounded by a completely immersive environment!

The Themed Areas:

Three out of five of the themed areas in this theme park will open starting November first. The first is the above mentioned Dondoko Forest, an area based on ‘My Neighbor Totoro’. No other attractions have been confirmed for this location other that the replica house that already exists and a few nature paths, but we can expect more to be added to the location. The next is the entrance of the park, Springtime of Youth Hill. This area is set to have buildings and details inspired by ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, ‘Castle in the Sky’, and ‘Whisper of the Heart’. The observation tower serving as the entrance to the park is being described as steampunk, which definitely aligns with ‘Castle in the Sky’ and some of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. There will also be a replica of the antique shop from ‘Whisper of the Heart’ for fans of that film and ‘The Cat Returns’. Finally, the largest area that will be opening in November is Ghibli’s Giant Warehouse. Much like theme parks we’ve seen in places like Abu Dahbi, this area will be entirely indoors despite housing large structures. Among those structures is an area based on ‘Spirited Away’, a Totoro themed children’s play area, various exhibition rooms including a small theatre, and reportedly the Air Destroyer Goliath from ‘Castle in the Sky’. The two locations that will come later, supposedly next year, are Princess Mononoke Village and Witch Valley. The first will be a replica of Irontown, or Tatara-ba, complete with statues of the mystical and terrifying creatures in the film including the corrupted boar god Lord Okkoto. The second is a mix of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ attractions, among those being Howl’s castle and Kiki’s childhood home.

Park Purpose:

For a theme park we’re seeing a lot of replicas of locations from the movies and not a lot of rides, right? Well, that’s because the focus of this park isn’t rides. While we don’t know as of yet whether or not rides will be completely absent from this theme park, we do know that there will not be very many if there are. The point here is to showcase the many gorgeous worlds Studio Ghibli has brought to life while reveling in the nature surrounding it all. This park won’t be tearing down any trees. The point of each location is to coexist with the nature around it, which is not surprising if you’ve seen movies like ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ where environmentalism is at the forefront. Hayao Miyazaki is passionate about caring for nature and avoiding unneeded structures that are made purely for human entertainment and money, so a giant rollercoaster is not something you’re going to see here. But if you’re like me and you just like exploring immersive environments, that won’t be a concern at all.

That’s what we know about the park so far! I can’t wait to see what it’ll be like when it opens. I’ve been planning my dream trip to Japan for years now, and this park opening is only increasing my desire to visit the country and all of the Ghibli exhibits I’ve had my eye on for so long. Hopefully everything will be much safer once Ghibli Park opens so no one is at risk of danger while exploring the gorgeous scenery they have planned.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Sci-Fi/ Superheroes: Best Companions in ‘Doctor Who’

Screenshot of (left) Matt Smith and (right) Karen Gillan in ‘Doctor Who’ Copyright goes to the BBC.

Hi! It’s Annie!

It has come to my attention that I have yet to write about ‘Doctor Who’ even though I’ve loved it for so long. And I recently went back to watch some of the eleventh Doctor and thought that it was a crime that it had taken me so long to get back around to this. I will only be discussing my personal favorite companions for the tenth and eleventh Doctors, as those are my favorite ones and the only Doctors I’ve watched seasons of more than once. Each of these Doctors have had three notable companions. For ten it was Rose, Martha, and Donna. For eleven it was Amy, Rory, and Clara. And while there is no companion that I dislike of any of this collection, I do have my favorites. So I’m going to go over how each companion was with those Doctors and which one became my personal favorite! I’m going to get right into it, but before that, this is your SPOILER warning! Seriously, if you for some reason have not watched these seasons of ‘Doctor Who’, go watch them and stop reading immediately! Seriously!

Tenth Doctor:

Rose: I think the tenth Doctor really needed a familiar face when he woke up, and Rose is the most familiar face you can get when it comes to companions. David Tennant’s Doctor was full of both charm and angst; his very first appearance also involving him taking down the entire career of a woman with only six words and claiming that he was a Doctor of no second chances. Rose is one of the most compassionate companions there has ever been, she was a perfect human side to him battling with his own occasional thirst for vengeance. Though they had a bit of a rough start, Rose soon accepted him for who he was and fell in love with him even more than she had with the previous iteration of the Doctor. They also worked well together as a team and had constant adorable banter as well as inside jokes. And Rose is the only companion to actually end up with the Doctor in a way. Not exactly, but it was basically a human version of the tenth Doctor that wouldn’t regenerate. Rose is such a comforting and friendly presence that you can’t help but feel happy when she’s on screen.

Martha: The actual Doctor to the Doctor’s lack of professional medical training. Martha is insanely intelligent and compassionate with her healing abilities. She eventually becomes more of a soldier, and it is usually because of their fundamental differences that she and the Doctor butt heads so much. Martha speaks up against the Doctor distancing himself from others and acting reckless, especially after she decided to leave after having fallen in love with him and realized that being around him was no longer in her best interest. The Doctor and Martha worked well together because they were such opposites, but it was difficult to see them as having a close relationship because of how ill fitting they were. Martha is a badass, but she and the Doctor belonged more as friends than companions in my opinion.

Donna: Donna is the most amusing companion to ever exist. No one could ever give the Doctor as good as she gets before Donna. On top of all of this, David Tennant and Catherine Tate were great friends before they even played opposite of each other here. And this wouldn’t be the last time they played opposite of each other either. They did several comedy specials together as well as theatre. If you haven’t watched them as Benedick and Beatrice respectively in Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, I also highly recommend that. They are always hilarious together! This chemistry comes off in waves. Never has banter between two characters seemed so easy and seamless. Donna lets the Doctor know the minute she disagrees with him, but she more importantly views him as completely a friend and an equal. When the Doctor is upset she treats it as a genuine emotion and cares for him as a friend. She also constantly teases him, all in good fun though.

Winner: Donna. I love all three of these companions, but for me nothing can beat the combination of David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Their banter has never been matched since their appearance on the show, and I doubt it ever will be. Donna also had one of my absolute favorite introductions; Donna teleporting directly into the TARDIS in her wedding dress was iconic. And Donna not viewing the Doctor as someone to look up to and just her best friend, created a dynamic between them that made it feel as though the Doctor was being cared for himself. I love every scene that they’re in together and, though I love Rose and Martha, I can’t get over how perfect and amusing the Doctor and Donna were.

Eleventh Doctor:

Amy: The girl who waited. The introduction of Amy comes not long after the introduction of the new Doctor, and she is the first face he sees. She helps him discover his love of fish fingers and custard. And she’s quite possibly the sassiest companion the Doctor has ever had. Though she starts out with a crush on the Doctor, their relationship turns into something that’s more like the ultimate best friends. Amy can tell when the Doctor has reached his limits and the Doctor can tell when Amy has reached hers. Though her storyline gets very convoluted and messy as things go on, Amy will always be his family in some way. Even when that means she doesn’t always travel with him anymore. More importantly, I think Amy understood the Doctor in a way that no one else had before this. She really saw the Doctor for who he was and accepted him fully into her life. And she became an author. How cool is that?

Rory: Amy’s fiancee and eventual husband, who ends up becoming somewhat of a constant companion. Their marriage is one that the Doctor endeavors to protect, and even tricks them into getting back together on some occasions. But while Rory begins as something of an idiot, he proves himself to be one of the most true hearted people to ever board the TARDIS. He waits for Amy for two thousand years and loves her so innocently. He’s THE devoted boyfriend. Though he might not always be the smartest person in the room, his presence is lovable and needed all the same.

Clara: The impossible girl. Clara’s wit was evident from the first moment we met her, or a version of her, in the Dalek asylum. And then again when we met her as a governess in London. And then again when we met her in present day. Clara’s very good at keeping up with the Doctor, and also very good at watching out for everyone including him. The fact that Moffat essentially made her the most important companion was not great and definitely overly ambitious, as was the decision to make her almost completely on parr with the Doctor himself in some episodes with twelve. Obviously, being as smart as the Doctor is great. Not everyone can do what the Doctor can, and companions should have their own strengths. But her playfulness still comes through despite that and I always love seeing her. Establishing her as a school teacher and giving her more of a life to herself also made her more dynamic.

Winner: Though I love all of these companions, I think I’m going to go with Amy. I have several issues with Clara, more than I mentioned before and all to do with writing. Clara didn’t have much of a personality beyond the wit we first saw, and when it came to twelve she treated him as something disposable. Amy is a great example of being able to set barriers with the Doctor while still feeling like an intimate part of his life. The Eleventh Doctor was very affectionate, and seeing him hug Amy or press a kiss to her forehead was always sweet and not forced in the slightest. I think it also says something that Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are still close friends. The chemistry really does come across. And then there’s the addition of Rory, who is such an adorable and lovely character. Even if he didn’t quite always get in on the Doctor and Amy dynamic. I just don’t think many companions top Amy. And I’m sure the Doctor thinks so too.

The tenth and eleventh Doctors both had such excellent runs and such excellent companions. Though I don’t watch ‘Doctor Who’ as much as I used to, it’s still a comfort show that I occasionally go back to. And every time I’m always blown away with how lovable so many of the characters are and how much chemistry all the actors have together. So much so that they often end the show extremely close friends. The BBC has made so many of my favorite shows from ‘Merlin’ to ‘The Musketeers’ to ‘Doctor Who’ and all of these shows have become comfort shows for me. I’ll always eventually go back to one if not all of them, and the ‘Doctor Who’ seasons are full of such amazing messages about life and love and how precious it all is. If you haven’t dove into the world of BBC shows, I would recommend you do. Just prepare to fall down the rabbit hole!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Studio Ghibli: Films That Emotionally Destroyed Me

Screenshot of Nahoko and Jiro from ‘The Wind Rises’. Copyright goes to Studio Ghibli.

Hey! Hallie here!

Studio Ghibli films have a tendency to make audiences extremely emotional. I’ve cried at least once during the majority of their films. But some films hit just a bit harder than others. After crying, yet again, at the end of one of Ghibli’s films just yesterday, I decided it would be fun(?) to talk about all of the Ghibli films that have absolutely destroyed me emotionally. On this list there will definitely be sad films, but some of these films are more emotional by simply confronting everyday struggles that audiences can relate to. So with that out of the way, let’s get started! SPOILERS AHEAD!

‘Howl’s Moving Castle’:

We’re starting out with a film that isn’t really sad, but dealt with mental health in a way that I found deeply personal. And no, I’m not talking about Howl sliming his entire house for the sake of being dramatic. I’m talking about Sophie and her journey overcoming her self hatred. Sophie begins the film as a reclusive hat maker, uncertain about her interactions with everyone else who works in her stepmother’s hat shop. Pretty early on in the film we see her get turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste, and surprisingly, she accepts it pretty easily. From the way she speaks to herself we begin to learn that Sophie doesn’t see much of a difference between her usual appearance and her appearance as an old woman. As an old woman she feels plain and unattractive, which is evidently not uncommon to her. The only real surprise she experiences is the fact that she’s having an adventure, which is something she never envisioned for herself. As the film goes on we see that the spell on her is something she’s partially responsible for, as it begins to dissolve in moments where she experiences self confidence. When she stands up for what she believes in by defending Howl to his former tutor, she turns young again. As a direct contrast, in a moment where she completely forgets herself and her self hatred when admiring the flower garden Howl gives her as a gift, she turns back into an old woman by telling Howl that she isn’t pretty or capable. At the end of the film Sophie completely rids herself of the spell by losing all of her self doubts, embracing her abilities to protect Howl and her new-found family, and believing that she is deserving of Howl’s love. It’s a gorgeous transformation and one that makes me emotional every time I watch the film.

‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’:

Here’s another film that deals incredibly well with mental health. This movie is almost entirely about overcoming a loss of passion in your craft and even in the world. Kiki starts out her journey excited and eager to prove to the world that she’s a skilled magic user. While trying to find what she wants to do with said magic, she decides to open a delivery service. But her first deliveries go horribly wrong. The first results in a temporary loss of the toy she’s trying to deliver and a hasty attempt to get it fixed while Jiji takes its place. The second seems as though it will go well when she encounters two elderly ladies who are very kind, but ends badly when the recipient rudely accepts the delivery while simultaneously insulting it. Meanwhile, Kiki tries to balance the interest of Tombo and the social life he promises with her work, and at one point Kiki even gets seriously ill. All of that results in Kiki losing her magic and slipping into a deep depression because of it. This sequence is incredibly raw, but serves as a very realistic look into feeling inadequate and lost. It’s cathartic to watch Ursula explain to Kiki that artist blocks are difficult but normal, and even more cathartic to see her find new purpose when she rescues Tombo at the end of the film.

‘When Marnie Was There’:

This movie centers around the character of Anna, a foster child with social anxiety, clear depression, and asthma. She gets sent away to her foster mother’s sister, or her aunt, to get some fresh air to help ease her asthma and also to take her away from some of the stressors that may have caused her depression. The exploration of Anna’s depression throughout this movie completely shatters me. As a foster child, Anna feels as though none of the people around her truly care for her and that they will get rid of her should they ever find her annoying. Because of this she’s distant. She spends most of her time sketching but refuses to show others her drawings. However, it’s clear she wants other people to be interested in her sketches and she wants to let others in, she’s simply afraid of being abandoned in the same way she believes her blood relatives abandoned her. Because of this she lashes out, at one point calling a girl she’s meant to befriend a “fat pig”. What makes matters worse is the reveal that she knows her foster family gets money to take care of her and she fears that it’s the only reason they keep her around. It’s through her relationship with Marnie that she’s able to see everything through a new perspective. Not only do Marnie’s encouragements bring up her confidence, but an outside perspective allows her to see just how much her foster family loves her. At the end of the movie Anna discovers that Marnie was her grandmother and is finally able to know how much her blood relatives loved her as well, giving her peace and the ability to start healing.

‘The Wind Rises’:

If you know anything about the man this movie is based off of, Jiro Horikoshi, you know this movie isn’t happy. Though it’s a fictional retelling of his life, it’s still about the man who invented one of the deadliest war planes of all time. But Hayao Miyazaki turns this story into a beautiful piece about the morality behind creating art during times of tragedy and the fraught idea of greatness. Jiro is an extremely kind man with a kind heart. He attempts to give his dinner to starving children and he carries a stranger on his back to safety after a horrendous earthquake. But his dream is to make planes and this dream is one he intends to realize while Japan is fighting a losing war. He struggles with his dream, trying to design a plane that does justice to his large imagination while encountering many failures. And then he meets Nahoko, a woman who he briefly encountered when he was young, and the two fall in love. He proposes to her without much haste but she refuses because she’s suffering from Tuberculosis. Meanwhile, at the retreat where this romance occurs, he meets a German man who is clearly against the war and makes Jiro question his role in it entirely. At this point it feels as though Jiro could take two paths, one where he continues trying to perfect his plane-crafting during a pointless war, or one where he dedicates himself to the woman he loves. But, of course, the movie carries out this true historical figure’s destiny by having him complete his art while Nahoko, whom he marries when her illness gets worse, passes away. And while Jiro grapples with the fact that he wasn’t there for her, he also acknowledges his art was something he relied on his entire life. It’s a sad movie, but also a fascinating look at the need to create even when the world is at its bleakest.

That’s my personal list! Noticeably absent from this list are ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’ and ‘Grave of the Fireflies’. I left these two out for different reasons, though I enjoy them both. ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’ has some of the most gorgeous animation I’ve ever seen as well as an emotional story, but, for me personally, the sad nature of the story became more frustrating after a movie full of immoral characters making decisions they were warned against by Kaguya herself. As for ‘Grave of the Fireflies’, I was 100% emotionally devastated by this film. But I was so destroyed by it that I really don’t want to spend too much time talking about it. The movie is basically just two children starving to death. Need I say more? In any case, I highly recommend all of the films I listed above. Sure they’ll destroy you, but who doesn’t want to be destroyed by something as beautiful as a Studio Ghibli film?

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Live Entertainment: Renaissance Faires

Official image off of the ‘Renaissance Pleasure Faire’ website. Copyright goes to the ‘Renaissance Pleasure Faire’ in LA and the many talented performances.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Lately, I’ve been missing some of the things I wanted to do before Covid hit pretty badly again and put a lot back up in the air. One of the things that I’m hoping this current spike doesn’t effect, is the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Los Angeles in the coming Spring. Because, if you haven’t been able to tell from many of my other posts, I am a giant geek. I’ve even talked about playing Dungeons and Dragons on this blog before. Which I’m so glad is being more normalized by shows like ‘Critical Role’! But, if you’ve never been to a Renaissance Faire and you’re at all interested in medieval style entertainment and have an interest in immersive entertainment, I would highly recommend going to one at least once. Renaissance Faires are magical in the way that they seem to transport yourself to another place entirely, and the people who work there are even better at adding to the immersion than anything around you. I’m going to talk about my personal experiences with Renaissance Faires, specifically the one in Los Angeles, and what they usually entail.

The Joust/ Sword Fighting:

In the US, we generally have the same Renaissance Faire group that goes to most Faires. One of my favorite things about this group is that they generally travel with female knights and the master of ceremonies is also a woman. This is amazing considering establishments like ‘Medieval Times’ still don’t allow women as knights in their venues. So if you want to see a woman fight professionally as a knight, Renaissance Faires are some of the only places you can see that at. The show usually has several times, usually around three or four per day, and the last one is always different compared to the other three. While the first three might just be the joust and competition, the last one is usually that along with a giant fight between several of the knights. You never know, the knight you were cheering for in the first show could reveal himself to be a villain you didn’t expect. And the knights are always very in character, it’s so fun to hype them up from the crowd. I have never been a sports fan, but apparently jousting is my form of sports. You can’t expect how into it you’ll get and how into it everyone else is too.

Ambiance and Performances:

Renaissance Faires are usually very big and full of tents of shops, food, and games (such as axe throwing and archery). Also, in some more scenic Faires, there’s plenty of greenery and sometimes they even take place by rivers. There’s a lot to walk through, so there’s always some sort of entertainment around every corner as well. A newer addition to most Renaissance Faires is the presence of elven or otherwise fantastical characters. They often don’t speak and are in full body paint to represent a specific element. They mostly interact with kids and are overall really good photo ops. There’s also expected things like acrobatic shows, sword juggling, and groups playing Medieval type music throughout the Faire. The music especially really sets the mood for everything else. My favorite thing that I saw other than the joust was actually a one man Shakespeare puppet show of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ that was more of a comedy. It sounded odd to me going in, but it turned out to be hilarious. Never underestimate any of the acts at a Renaissance Faire. Most of the performers have been practicing all year for this event, and they’re all very good!

Tents and Shops:

Be prepared to spend a lot of money if you decide to go, because there’s way too much to spend all of your money on. If you’re looking for costume pieces such as corsets, dresses, or even armor, all of those things are available. I got lost in a headpiece tent that had amazing pieces such as tiaras or other more elven like pieces with gorgeously colored jewels. If you are interested in buying an actual sword, there are those too. I know that some Faires even have a tent for buying “pet dragons”, which are of course really expensive. They are smaller shoulder sized dragons that are also intricate puppets and very realistic looking. Much like going to Ollivander’s in the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’, they match you to a dragon and make the experience as realistic as possible by treating them like actual pets. There was also a tarot tent that was mostly outside and covered with plants of every kind. It looked like you were entering a mini-garden. Also, expect the food to be theme park fare and expensive. It isn’t great, but it’ll get you through the day unless you decide to bring your own. Some Renaissance Faires, like the giant one in New York, have actual cottage-looking building fixtures as shops instead. While most Faires don’t have this added detail, I hope to eventually go to one that does!

Costuming:

There’s a common misconception that everyone who goes to a Renaissance Faire has to dress up. That’s very not true. I saw almost just as many people dressed up as not. You’ll feel like you fit in no matter what you wear. I am personally the type of person who likes to go all out with my costume. I bought a dress specifically for this event and I’m really into flower crowns so I went searching for the exact color flower crown that would match it beforehand. Just as a note, if you want a flower crown I would recommend buying one online or making your own because the ones I’ve often found at Renaissance Faires can have quite small flowers. That aside, I would definitely try and look into what you want to wear to the Faire at least a month in advance. Most places that make costumes specifically for events like this can take four to eight weeks to get your costume to you. I bought my dress off of Holy Clothing, which I highly recommend if you’re looking for something to wear to any event from a Ren Faire to a LARP. Their time frame is often pretty long. The dresses are more sturdy than regular costume pieces. But if you want to buy pieces at the Faire, I recommend doing that somewhat. Just don’t count on buying an entire costume, maybe just some pieces, because it can be really pricey.

Interactions:

I would highly recommend going to the Faire with a group if you can! Bring your D&D group! That’s essentially what I did. But if you just go by yourself, you won’t feel alone. So many people walk up to you and really make you feel at home. I haven’t been called “princess” that many times since I was a child at Disneyland. And this time people somehow treat the perceived nobility of your costume with seriousness. It’s kind of world bending in a way. You can also interact with the Queen; I know that certain Faires even allow you to pay extra to have tea with the Queen. I’m personally ok with just walking around the Faire and seeing where it takes me, so I’m not personally going to try that but it seems to be a popular event. Expect people to talk to you, but they aren’t persistent so if that’s not your thing they’ll back off. But sometimes interactions are some of the best parts of the Faire!

If you are a giant geek like me, I would highly recommend going to your most local Faire. They are also full of small businesses that need your patronage, so it’s a great way to support those businesses as well in a fun and immersive way! Just don’t expect to leave with that much money left. I really hope I’m able to attend this year!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Books: My Opinions on Popular ‘Harry Potter’ Ships

Screenshot of Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as Hermione and Ron in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’. Copyright goes to Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.

Hey! Hallie here!

We always have a pretty large gap between ‘Harry Potter’ posts mostly because, as much as ‘Harry Potter’ has been influential to Annie and I, it’s rightfully controversial to talk about. Rowling is pretty adamant about continuing to be an awful person and her writing is full of harmful stereotypes. We’ve talked about this more in detail in the past, but none of that’s really my goal with this post. My goal is to, once again, discuss what Rowling wrote as opposed to what the fan community has popularized by talking about the romantic relationships in ‘Harry Potter’. To be honest, I don’t like any of the romantic relationships Rowling built up throughout the series. None of them. I’ll discuss that in a minute. I don’t like all of the relationships fans have popularized either, some are very disturbing, but I still see a reason for, and even a need for some of these relationships. Most fans do ship two characters together for a reason. (I say most because I’ve seen genuinely crazy things on fanfiction websites.) I won’t get to all of the ships in ‘Harry Potter’. I’m not intending to write an entire novel. But I will get to most of the most popular ones! So let’s talk about some of these ships!

Ron/Hermione: I’m going to address the main romances in the books right away. This relationship is awful. Ron and Hermione spend about half of every single book fighting. Every. Single. One. And they don’t make up because either of them admit wrongdoing. Most of the time they don’t even seem to have any respect for the others desires or feelings. They make up because Harry either takes it upon himself to negotiate a truce between them, or Harry’s safety becomes the main focus. Some people have mentioned that Hermione and Ron going from constantly bickering to a romantic relationship falls into a common romance trope, but I’d argue that Rowling doesn’t pull it off. Because, as I said above, the respect for each other just isn’t there. Their insults aren’t light annoyances, they genuinely hurt one another. They go months ignoring each other and refusing to communicate. And does this behavior ever change? Does it develop into something more healthy as the books go on? Nope. The cycle repeats from book to book. Their friendship is barely functional and even that never developed over the course of the books enough for it to be fixed.

Harry/Ginny: There’s nothing here. It feels like the only reason these two ended up together was because of the desire to make Harry a Weasley by the end of the books. To be fair, the relationship between these two in the books isn’t as bland as it is in the films. In the films they just feel thrown together and they only have a few small romance scenes that lack any chemistry whatsoever. In the books they spend more time together and you see more of Harry admiring how cool of a person he feels Ginny is. But there still isn’t anything substantial there. They share a few interests but neither of them go to each other to talk about those interests. The developing feelings Harry has for Ginny are vague and sidelined, just as Ginny’s feelings for Harry are. And their time as a couple still lacks chemistry.

Remus/Tonks: I’ve talked a bit about this in the past, but I want to clear something up. I don’t have a problem with age gaps between two consenting adults. As long as no manipulation is present, a thirteen year age gap, as is the one between Tonks and Remus, doesn’t bug me. What bugs me is the way this relationship affects both Remus and Tonks. Firstly, Remus is very clear that he isn’t ready for a relationship. He doesn’t believe himself capable of love (A problem that is infuriatingly never resolved, even when he’s with Tonks), and until he is, he doesn’t want to endanger someone or impose upon them by being in a relationship. It is only Tonks begging him to reconsider in front of a bunch of other people who voice their support of her that convinces him to give the relationship a shot. And once the relationship starts, not only was Remus right about not being ready for a relationship, but Tonks gets turned from a confident woman who stands up for herself into a weeping mess who refuses to challenge Remus on his ideas. Harry’s the one who has to yell at Remus on her behalf in order for him to put his insecurities behind him for the betterment of his new family. I love both of these characters so much, but this relationship is a giant no.

Snape/Lily: So many people have discussed how wrong this relationship is, but let’s go over it again, shall we? Snape’s care for Lily is entirely selfish. He calls her a slur and expects her to still be friends with him. When Lily questions Snape on the friends he’s keeping in school, he sees it as a betrayal rather than something worth considering from someone important to him. When Voldemort plans to kill Lily, Snape bargains for her life but has no issues with the deaths of her husband or her infant child. When Snape takes it upon himself to watch over Harry for Lily’s sake, he mercilessly bullies him and threatens him multiple times. He’s obsessed with Lily but he never considers what’s important to her.

Hermione/Viktor: This relationship is featured in the books but is not the relationship Hermione ends up in. And that’s a shame because it’s by far my favorite relationship in the books. The movie takes away everything I like about this ship by making Krum a dumb jock who falls for Hermione while working out. In the book, Viktor isn’t a dumb jock and he isn’t seen as one. He’s quiet and solemn, to the point that some feel he’s creepy. But he’s kind and intelligent. He first encounters Hermione in the library and returns to the library daily to catch a glimpse of her. He also asks her out in the library once he finally works up the courage to approach her. When they start a relationship and Rita Skeeter spreads rumors that Harry and Hermione are together, he calmly asks Harry about it and takes him at his word when Harry denies the rumors. Hermione references Viktor a few times after the fourth book because they send letters back and forth constantly, and according to Ginny, she remembers him fondly. Rowling only kills this ship in the last book, where she paints Viktor as a skirt chaser for no reason in order to make Ron seem like the better option.

Draco/Hermione: We have an entire post about this. I don’t like Draco. His relationship with wizard slurs is a little too close for my liking. The fact that some people feel it makes sense to pair him up with the girl he lobbed most of his wizard slurs at leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Draco is supportive of Voldemort’s group of wizard nazis and never shows a desire to change, so why he would end up with the object of his most vicious torments is beyond me. However, while I do think it’s out of character for Draco, I do see a lot of Draco and Hermione shippers attempting to make Draco a more supportive and respectful partner for Hermione as a direct contrast to the Hermione/Ron relationship. So at least we can all agree that she deserves a less toxic relationship. Overall though, would this relationship actually be less toxic? Probably not.

Draco/Harry: I have a lot of the same criticisms here as I do with the Draco/Hermione ship. Draco is a terrible person and he bullies Harry without remorse. While there’s less slurs being thrown around here, that doesn’t make it any less awful. However, once again I see fans using this ship as a vehicle for fixing a major issue in the books. That being, Harry actually dealing with the trauma inflicted on him throughout his life by being hunted by Voldemort and brought into a war. I don’t know why Draco fans are so good at making him an empathetic and respectful guy, but I appreciate it. Even though I still believe it’s out of character for him.

Harry/Luna: I think this ship is really cute. Harry is one of the only characters in the books who doesn’t constantly criticize Luna. He even admires her ability to unreservedly just be herself. He genuinely thinks she’s a cool person to spend time with, so much so that he invites her to Slughorn’s party as his plus one. And Luna, in turn, appreciates his company. She isn’t used to spending time with someone who likes her without caveats and she clearly appreciates it. She even reads Harry well enough to help him through his emotions and keep a clear head. These two are definitely better matched than Harry and Ginny.

Luna/Ginny: These two are friends in the book, but their friendship isn’t explored much. It’s mostly left off-screen because they aren’t really in Harry’s social circle as the two are both a year below him. That said, LGBTQ+ relationships are always worth exploring in media that ignores them, and Luna and Ginny definitely have the potential to be incredibly cute together.

Luna/ Neville: A relationship that grew so much popularity that it was confirmed in the movies. It’s cute. I see what people are going for when it comes to pairing up the two social outcasts together. Do I think these two have chemistry? Not really. But it isn’t a bad ship by any means.

Snape/Hermione: This is a problematic ship. Let’s put aside the fact that Snape bullies Hermione about just as much as Draco does despite being a teacher and an adult. Let’s also put aside that many shippers draw creepy comparisons between Hermione and Lily in order to justify Snape’s attraction to Hermione. Most shippers don’t age up Hermione. So this is a minor and an adult. THIS is an age gap I’m 100% uncomfortable with. Please stop shipping this.

Sirius/Remus: We also have an entire post about this ship on this blog. I left this one for last because it’s my favorite ‘Harry Potter’ ship. On the one hand, this ship would have solved multiple missteps Rowling made in the books. One is the fact that she queer-coded Remus by making his condition an allegory for those suffering with HIV/AIDS without actually making him queer. The other is constantly claiming that she had LGBTQ+ representation in the books without actually writing it in. This relationship would also help Remus work through his issues nicely. It’s canon that Sirius being framed for alleged murder was one of the major things that made Remus’ mental health take a dive. It’s also canon that having his friends support him throughout his changes during the full moon helped him embrace himself a whole lot more than he had before school. Sirius coming back and mending their relationship could have easily been the catalyst for Remus healing. And having someone to help him through full moons again could have also helped him through his self loathing. As for Sirius, his relationship with Remus could have also helped him through the trauma he has from spending twelve years in Azkaban. It would have developed these characters so much more than anything Rowling actually did write.

And those are my thoughts on the biggest ‘Harry Potter’ ships! I tried to get to as many as possible but I definitely missed a few so I might return to this concept later. As of now, I really want to thank all of the fans for attempting to heal some of the wounds Rowling created with her writing. You guys are doing so much more for this community than she ever did.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop: ATEEZ on Tour And BTS in the Clear

Promotional image of Kim Namjoon. Copyright goes to HYBE and BTS.

Hi! It’s Annie!

The last time I wrote a K-Pop news update wasn’t all that long ago, but there have been so many updates to what I wrote last time. Most are good to an extent, but some of which I really wasn’t expecting at all. I was really waiting to update until we heard anything about the ATEEZ tour, and I think some of the moves regarding that specifically have shocked everyone. But we also have gotten some more confirmation from BTS about exciting things and an update regarding their health that probably everyone knows about right now. This post will most likely mostly be about what I hope for when it comes to the ATEEZ concert that I will be attending in less than two weeks now. Which is absolutely insane. But I know that I missed so much BTS news and that deserves to be talked about as well. So with all that out of the way, I’m just going to get right into it!

BTS Updates:

First and foremost it is very important to note that BTS is now all clear from Covid. Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jin have all made full recoveries after minimal time quarantining, so it really was just a light case for them thanks to their vaccinations. Since then we’ve had absolute confirmation that BTS will be releasing an album this year. Many of us already figured that it was going to happen, but it’s nice to have more official confirmation. We have already seen both Namjoon and Hobi post photos on their respective Instagram accounts of them back in the studio. Though it seems as though Hobi is working on his own mixtape while Namjoon may or may not be working on the album itself. Namjoon could be working on his own mixtape and I would definitely cry if he surprise-released one. But I’m with most people in thinking that it’s probably more to do with the new album. In addition to all of that, we also got confirmation that BTS is back together after taking their vacation time. It’s unclear if their vacation is over or if they’re just getting together. I hope they still get some time to vacation! But many of them shared similar Instagram posts where they all could be heard in the background, confirming that they were spending some time together after all of the quarantining. It’s nice to know that they’re together again!

Another recent update is that the BTS webtoon, “7FATES: CHAKHO”, has been released. I’ve already read the first part and it’s more than I expected. I didn’t expect it to have a darker twist and I love that each of the members have weapons that match their old microphone colors. But Jungkook’s character has been trending because there was an implication from something, that his character might be gay. I don’t even know what exactly it was because it was so buried on Twitter by the time I got to it that I don’t think that most people knew what it was about. I think it had something to do with his character’s reaction to Namjoon’s character. (Me too, I’m still so happy that they gave Namjoon’s character canonical glasses!) #RESPECTJUNGKOOK started trending, and I, like many other people, thought that it was very stupid. It is not disrespecting Jungkook if you do something different with a character that is based off of him. The character is not him. It has never been implied to be an absolute one hundred percent adaptation of Jungkook. View it like acting. An actor is never completely represented in the character they portray. All of the time, they are absolutely different. This webtoon is set in a fantasy world where the boys are fighting demonic creatures. Do you see them fighting demonic creatures in real life? Exactly. Leave this alone. This isn’t disrespecting anyone. And if his character turns out to be gay, more power to him. Just don’t start assuming things about the real Jungkook if that happens because, once again, he is not his character.

ATEEZ Tour:

This tour has had my head spinning in so many directions that I have no idea what to make of anything anymore. Before their first few shows in Seoul to kick off the tour, many fans thought that they were going to just cancel because of the Covid spike that we’re seeing internationally right now. The show, however, went on without a hitch. It was a little odd considering that nobody could cheer at the concerts in Seoul, but everyone made the most of it! And it’s good that there were such protective measures in place! The idea before this turned out to be successful, was that if they cancelled the shows in Seoul then they would probably postpone the entire tour. And considering that the next legs of their tour required travel, many still though that this was the end of the tour for now and the rest would be postponed. Not long after the Seoul concerts though, ATEEZ announced the postponement of the European leg of their tour. All of which have dates that span between February and March, and most of them during the time when Covid is expected to see a little bit of a downturn. But the dates for the US tour, which are all in January and still during the spike, were not spoken about for a while. I think I can speak for most US fans when I say that every day I was expecting an announcement that the US tour would also be postponed. But then they made an announcement that they were flying to Chicago and this is the first day of their US tour, which did happen. I’m still not really trusting it. I’m still almost expecting a last minute cancellation, but now that they’re here I really hope they can travel safely and everything goes well without anyone getting sick.

I’m going to be as blunt as possible, for those of us going to the ATEEZ tour in the US, we have to be even more careful than we’ve been before. Possibly even for the BTS ‘Permission To Dance’ concert. Because the PTD concert took place before the spike and, though many fans travelled to see it which probably wasn’t smart then, at least the boys were quarantining and weren’t really traveling. When some of them travelled afterwards is when they got Covid, which was right at the beginning of the spike. I know ATEEZ is hotel quarantining in every location, but they are still traveling. And though there will be less fans traveling, it is more important than ever to keep everyone safe. Including each other. Now is NOT the time to be going to large events, out to big cities, or to any busy places. Now is the time to try and quarantine yourself as much as you possibly can before your concert date. Double mask, keep yourself safe. If you test positive, don’t go to the concert. I was personally hoping that ATEEZ would postpone for the safety of themselves and their fans, but I understand the decision to keep going. I am also very excited and impatient to see them. But it would have been much safer to try and postpone for late Spring or Summer when sicknesses in general are proven to go down. But that’s unfortunately not what’s happening. I’ve seen some people who are going to the concert in LA boast or post about going to giant events. Or some people who are planning to travel to LA from other parts of California or nearby states planning to do a list of things in the city while they’re here. I hate to be that person, but I wouldn’t recommend doing any of those things right now in general, especially not before the concert. It usually makes sense to do some of those things, especially if you’re on a trip. But the placement of this concert in the spike doesn’t really allow you to do any of those things safely. I would even strongly recommend double-masking at the concert itself.

I can’t speak for the venues in different states, but at least the one in LA requires you to be vaccinated and masked the entire time. If you can’t produce a vaccination then you must produce a negative Covid test within 48 hours of the concert. There will be other locations that don’t require some of this and just strongly encourage it. I think to go to this concert unvaccinated and not wearing your mask the entire time would be irresponsible. I wouldn’t even recommend taking your mask down for a picture. Please try and keep yourself and everyone around you as safe as possible. As excited as I am to see ATEEZ, I can’t say that the concert happening right now doesn’t make me a little nervous. I’m going to try and look on the bright side, but that depends on everyone being responsible and respectful of the artists and the people around them. And if the unthinkable happens and there’s some sort of an emergency that causes the concert to be postponed, please do not get angry that you won’t see them so soon. That should not be our first priority, everyone’s safety should be, and that also only means that safety precautions were put in place. Most people say that this spike won’t last very long. So if it gets postponed they will be back soon! Personally, I’m hoping that a decreasing spike might mean another BTS tour this year. But we’ll have to see!

Update: As of today because of the postponement and change of dates for the Monsta X concert, my sister and I will no longer be able to attend due to vacation plans we’ve had for months now. So unfortunately, we’ll have no post about that concert. But we still have the BTS concert post and, if everything goes to plan, we will have an ATEEZ concert post soon!

All I’m trying to say here is that we really need to keep our boys and each other safe! The concerts have already started and that’s an accomplishment in itself! But just because the US leg of the tour has started, doesn’t mean that the people hoping to attend their concert should drop their guard. We need to be vigilant. Let’s have fun but also keep each other safe at the same time. But seriously, all the worries and my general anxiety aside, I still have not registered the fact that Yunho is going to be in front of me. My brain is short-circuiting with this information.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie