may 2021 media roundup

[loveair]

 

WATCHING

TV SHOWS

i know i already talked ab word of honor last month but i finished it up after my exams ended and i just loved it so much :( i actually wasnt a Huge fan of the ending, bc idk,, it wasnt exactly rushed but also nothing in the special episode was explained and that made me wanna rip my hair out but anyway the comments talked ab what the book ending was and it just fit so much better so i am choosing that to be the Real ending. either way though, the obvious takeaways are that wenzhou are in love and happy and thats what really makes me happy (bc the fact that no one talks ab the fact that SPOILERS wkx is immortal but lost gu xiang only an episode ago ? and has no feelings ab that ? makes me wanna die) but i understand,, it was really the only way of getting a happy ending thru censorship. anyways i didn’t watch too many shows this month lol.

• nobleman ryu’s wedding: ive watched korean bls before and really enjoyed them so i gave this one a watch bc of the historical premise but didnt end up really liking it :( idk the pacing was weird, the plot was so unexplained, and ik most of these issues would be solved w longer episodes, but i found myself getting so bored while watching this :// it just wasn’t for me i think.

• lovely writer: one of my ig oomfs posted ab this show a lot while it was airing so i decided to watch it and it was a decent watch ! i liked how they explored all the diff parts of the bl industry: obvs the fanservice, but also fan stalkers, how directors view lgbt rep in their shows, etc. overall i think there was a lot of cool things this show explored that no other thai show has, and gene + nubsib were pretty cute. the only thing i Really didnt like was how sib would snap at other ppl but would fix his act in front of gene right away ? like it only happened a few times in the early eps, but it kinda rubbed me the wrong way,, i tried to overlook it but it lowered my enjoyment :<

• run on: im still watching this, but i watched the majority of it this month and im really really liking it Like. i think it has to be my fav kdrama ive watched so far (and to think that i only decided to watch it bc theres a tbz ost) bc its so realistic to me? the way mijoo knows she will put herself first before anyone else, the way seongyeom puts everyone else in front of himself ?? like. i cant. there are also so many little lessons along the way and they’re presented so sweetly that they don’t feel forced or cheesy ,, im just oh mijoo lover <3 i havent found a single episode boring yet and thats a first out of any kdrama ive watched before ! im on ep 14 so i’ll prob finish up in a few days !

KPOP CONTENT

just kinda watched whatever this month. im still behind on tmap but im caught up on vity park and those are the only two shows i keep up w rn, i just pick and choose whatever else i wanna watch. 

• the king of seas - cix: cix’s universe show was subbed and uploaded a few weeks ago, but i never got around to watching it until after my finals ended. i watched the whole show the day i got the second dose of the covid vaccine bc i wanted to ease my nerves a bit before getting it. i love cix they are so funny and also my top group atm :D

• how to be inssa - victon: victon is so funny and i missed them so i just started watching random content lol,,, byungchan and subin were so funny in this i love them !

• we clear - weeekly: weeekly are my babeys i love watching their content,, shin jiyoon i love u. also the entire group gangs up on soojin to clown her and i love that dynamic ! it’s very endearing to me <3

READING

BOOKS

i read 5 whole books and 1 graphic novel this month ! 3 were romances bc idk why, but ive been feeling a little unmotivated to read anything else lately ? but also who gives a fuck if all i read are romances. after finals all i really wanted was just some heartwarming contemps so yes. must i read genres other than romance? 

• the atlas six - olivie blake: i heard of this book last month from twt and i was so intrigued? dark academia has always interested me but i havent actually read much of the genre. this book’s plot was really slow but im pretty sure that was intentional to let the characters take the spotlight, and it worked really well. i was so invested in the characters, but i really liked nico and libby the most. im a sucker for soulmates of any kind, and libbynico are so clearly platonic soulmates :< i also Really like parisa, im excited for the second book bc the last quarter of the book made me so ???? did not see that coming at all. also i read this during my finals week which was kinda … a bad decision but i might reread in the future to pick up on things i missed the first time !

• second first impressions - sally thorne: na romances are the best thing ive discovered so far in 2021. i read the hating game earlier and while this one doesn’t surpass it, it was still enjoyable ! something about ruthie simultaneously being badass and a 25 yr old grandma is so personal to me ,, i love her and this was a fun read ! i read this like a day after my finals ended and i think i got out of bed exactly 4 times that day lol

• she drives me crazy - kelly quindlen: another contemp but this one is ya, which made me like it a bit less, but that’s def on me for picking it out when i know i dont enjoy ya that much lol. anyway this was a fun read and i love irene. i didnt think i would relate to a desi sapphic cheerleader as much as i did, but irene is my baby i love her. and the academics > athletics thing her mom had going on was so relatable ahaha. i feel like this wouldve been one of my fav books if i’d read it 3-4 yrs ago, when i was like 15-16 !

• mister impossible - maggie stiefvater: yes. yes im still following a series i started reading in middle school. im a ronan lynch luvr how am i not supposed to read his series. like all of ms’s books, things make close to no sense the first read around, and there’s basically no plot. i love ronan enough that it makes up for it, but what i dont enjoy is seeing adam and ronan not have 1 single real conversation throughout the entire book. also how am i supposed to wait 2 years for book 3 i already miss ronan. maybe a trc reread is in order soon.,,,

• people we meet on vacation - emily henry: BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS SUPREMACY! this was my third romance of the month :) im doing great. this one is my fav though,, it was a fast read but it made me feel so much. books where the guy falls in love first are literally better than any alternative so,, alex waiting 12 years for poppy, almost makes me believe in love lmao,,, 

• heartstopper volume 4 - alice oseman: this graphic novel is so dear to my heart i just love it so much <3 this volume was a lot heavier than the others, but it approached mental illness in a way that made it my fav heartstopper volume so far <3 nick and charlie are so so adorable and i Love seeing them grow :( the only ya series i still love keeping up with !

i wanna read anything other than romance next month lol. i havent been reading anything of real substance and i think my braincells are taking a hit bc of it :// maybe a danmei ? something that will exercise my brain a bit.

FIC

um for some reason i really got into a jaemsung mood this month, but like i kinda expected it bc of dream’s cb so yes, i scoured the jaemsung tag for fics i haven’t read before and here’s what i really enjoyed !

• green turns pink by tinymark (lumoon33): this has best friends to lovers which is my fav trope so i really loved this one :( it was so sweet and i loved the color metaphors !!!! more color metaphors !! the characterization really also got to me in this fic, and i just really loved seeing jaemsung grow with each other :( this is my fav jaemsung characterization, where jaemin is always dependable for jisung, and jisung learns just how much being able to depend on jaem is worth.

• Lightweight by allthelines: im not a huge arranged marriage fan bc past fics ive read w this trope are just either really unrealistic or very forced,, and i just don’t enjoy it but this fic approaches the trope so well ? i love that they dont instantly fall in love with each other,, or even like each other at first. it’s awkward and strange and it takes them a year to stop walking on eggshells around each other but i Loved it. so good. i read the renhyuck oneshot that takes place after this fic too and it was so cute lol i love that the premise of their relationship is them complaining ab jaemsung to each other. 

i also checked the cix tag like i usually do and found such an interesting fic ? it was such a gem very glad i read it

• rewind, reborn by popliar (littlerhymes): i was so intrigued when i came across this fic like ot3 ? and baejin is reborn ? so so interesting, and its so well written as well. i love baejin’s characterization in this,, it’s so accurate to me, and i just really love when he’s written as this person who has all these plans and sticks to them so strictly,, and i Love even more when it’s seunghun who gets him to stray from these plans. also the fact that he loved yonghee even in his first life ? goodnight yongbae dynamics make me go insane. the way that this stuck close to canon but also obviously switched things up ? amazing. anyway ive been thinking ab this fic so much i think its gonna be one i reread often :D

LISTENING

total scrobbles: 1,465

average scrobbles per day: 48

top artists:

1. nct dream (161)

2. enhypen (93)

3. p1harmony (92)

4. ab6ix (85)

5. drippin (78)

6. itzy (77)

7. blitzers (61)

8. oneus (49)

9. victon (47)

10. weeekly (35)

top albums:

1. hot sauce - nct dream (149)

2. disharmony: breakout - p1harmony (92)

3. border: carnival - enhypen (90)

4. mo’ complete: have a dream - ab6ix (78)

5. guess who - itzy (77)

6. check-in - blitzers (61)

7. boyager - drippin (50)

8. binary code - oneus (48)

9. 9 way ticket - fromis_9 (31)

10. a better tomorrow - drippin (28)

top tracks:

1. if you call me - p1harmony (27)

2. merry-go-round - ab6ix (23)

3. colors - drippin (23)

4. not for sale - enhypen (23)

5. overdrive - drippin (22)

6. fate - drippin (21)

7. lululala - ab6ix (19)

8. fever - enhypen (19)

9. a long winter - ab6ix (18)

10. countdown (3, 2, 1) - nct dream (18)

WRITING

my wc this month is pretty decent, though i didnt finish either of the 2 wips i was working on. my hunhee fic was only supposed to be 11k max, but it’s sitting at 19k rn with a few more scenes left to write. i made a embarrassingly low amt of progress on oats, given that i was trying to finish ch 17, edit, and post the first chapter which didnt end up happening :( for some reason, i always write 95% of the fic and then abandon it for like two days before going back and finishing it ? i think i find writing endings pretty difficult but :/ i was trying to get oats done but ig it’ll happen next month. ive been writing a good amount these past few weeks, but i wanna finish one of my wips soon ! hopefully in the next few days !

OVERALL + NEXT MONTH

overall this was a solid month of media consumption lol. there was a week where i did nothing bc i had just ended the semester but after that there was a week where i did nothing but read and watch tv lol. i feel like the more free time i have, the less i wanna do my hobbies and stuff but i should be busier in june ! happy w the amount i read this month though <3 next month i wanna finally catch up w tmap and finish oui go up s2 ! also watch all the dream content ive been saving for idk when :)