Life update! After almost a year of no update (but hey I'm back)
After almost a year of no update (and inconsistent updates... sorry); I'm finally back with new updates! First of all, I have a post prior to this one so check it out if you love k-dramas and have watched recent released k-dramas.
Here is the link to that k-drama review post!
Now unto the update; A lot has happened in the past and I'll be sharing the most recent things that happened, especially during the first half of 2023. If you are ready for the long update, click the Keep Reading and enjoy!
Adding a new group in my Ult List <3
From my previous posts, I have been vocal on stanning a 4th gen boy group which is Oneus then eventually adding Onewe (though onewe is not a boy group, rather its a boy band). Unfortunately, I moved the two in my stan list and became hiatus with kpop in general but still listens to girl groups.
Now just last month, June of 2023, I was able to discover a boy group's comeback which is Bite Me from their album Dark Blood due to the "issue" that this comeback has created. I've been seeing in the news that fans of this boy group have been sending a truck to the front of their building so that they would drop the female dancers in the official choreography and performance. Now I was curious which group was it and what does it look like (the dance); that curiosity lead me to their performances and after just one video, one video of watching that certain performance, youtube recommended me with their performances through shorts (and basically recommending their videos to me). I actually do know this group already prior to this situation and I've watched their early debut mv's (From Given-Taken to Fever in 2021) and even liked some of their songs (specifically Fever which omg I love).
With the female dancers as their partners, I would say that its not really big of a deal, its just that maybe its the first time that boy group had female dancers as partners and their skinship is no joke because of the nature of the performance; and that's why the fans are fuming about it. Either way I think its fine since they are just performing.
Going back to the topic at hand, I stanned Enhypen just last month! It's a really odd but happy feeling that after a long time I've added another group to my Ult list (Just for context, Stan List is my list of groups that I listen to but not I'm not a big fan, support-wise. Like casually listening to their music and not financial support whereas in Ult List, if I've added a group there, for example Monsta X, I would listen to all of their songs, watch all of their performances and shows, and financially support them through buying merch and watching their concerts) and I have another group that I'll be spending my time, energy, and money on. So far I've been genuinely happy with this group and that I'm seeing myself supporting them in the long run. My bias btw would be Heeseung, which is the oldest and closest to my age. I thought though that my bias would be Jake, because he was the first one that I knew and caught my attention but I ended up with Heeseung because of his charisma (and their Bite Me performance in Be Original and he literally gave me butterflies in my stomach :"> ). Hopefully I get to see them soon, live because I missed their 3-day concert here in my country because I was not their fan before ugh.
Coffee Shop + Books
During my break, I was able to breathe some fresh air and got out to unwind and treat myself. With a friend, I went into a book sale and bought some books. The books were a mixture of Fiction and Non-Fiction, and as for the fiction selection, I bought Lust by Roald Dahl because the cover is so minimalist and pretty. My friend also shared that they have other books of the same author, which are Madness and Fear, but was not a fan (they haven't read both yet), and mentioned books also have pretty covers! If I had extra money during the day of the booksale I would buy all of it (though I may not enjoy all of the selection so I think one might be enough for now). Other books that I've bought are Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles, which I just grabbed and bought impulsively because while we were walking we just passed by it and I'm like ooh I know this one, the story/theme is like Caraval and Night Circus (and I'm a fan of the former) and its affordable so why not (plus its hardcover); And Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo, third book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and I've been wanting to buy the trilogy for a long time but something just stops me from buying it (not sure what is it lol). Now I have the 3rd book and recently bought the 2nd one, leaving me searching for Shadow and Bone (the first book), almost done collecting it finally. For the non-fiction, I just bought a recipe book and a book called The Fast Diet by Michael Mosely and Mimi Spencer, because both are about food (cooking and dieting).
Days after the book sale, I've been into a cafe with the same friend. We arrived in the morning and left in the afternoon, not too many customers and we enjoyed our stay. The place is actually nice, the ambiance is great and we had a relaxing stay. The food was okay though, not too memorable but not bad. I'll probably go back there during my down times just to be in a different environment, though I hope more cafes open in our area so that there are plenty of options to unwind to and there are many places I can spend my money on, especially with cawfee.
Some Game Updates
Pulling my very first limited 5 star in Honkai: Star Rail
Another Hoyo Game that will rob my time and money.. i guess. So I've tried playing Honkai: Star Rail, since I am familiar with Honkai Impact 3rd (which is my very first Hoyo game) and I've spent some time with Genshin Impact, and all I can say is I'm not really invested into this game compared to Genshin Impact, and that GI has given me enough trauma that I can't stand grinding for resources and gacha. Since HSR has a similar formatting with Genshin, Imma not be addicted into this game, although its quite fun and laid back because of the auto / 2x speed, I won't spend my time with another game that has continuous timeline or story because I have other games to play. Either way, I do know their characters and I'm currently level 25 in the game which will stay that way until I don't know when really . My first official 5 star is Gepard but my first limited 5 star is Luocha. I was thinking if I'll pull for Jing Yuan since they said he was a solid DPS but I don't have enough to pull for him and then Luocha is a healer, dps-ish (haven't tried him ever since I pulled for him lol) and I need a solid healer along with Gepard who is a very good support.
I'd say HSR is a solid game but I won't be spending my time and energy into this game and stay with games that I truly enjoy. Will be sticking with Tears of Themis and Genshin Impact though I don't really enjoy Genshin Impact anymore and just a casual player who wants the new characters with the 4.0 update around the corner.
Anyway, I'm happy to get Luocha, another husbando worth pulling for. Though I just pulled him because he and Ayato have the same jap VA.
Tears of Themis 2nd Anniversary Pull Results~
Finally, it's Tears of Themis 2nd anniversary! That means new SSR for me to pull. During the first anniversary, I believe I got Artem at an early pity and then with the free tears from the activities and events, I got a bonus Luke card since I pulled for his card because he looks bulk in that card and I like it! Now it's the second anniversary and of course I need to pull for my best boy, Artem. Fortunately, I got him at around 30 pulls and at that rate I should've stopped right? Well ya girl can't just stop squealing over Vyn's card, because aside from Luke's, I think his card is 🌶️🌶️ so I did pull for it. The results were sad though, because after getting lucky with Artem, after three 10-pulls, I did get another SSR but it was Medieval Suspense (and not the anniversary card of Vyn), so I had to pull up until the 98th to get his anniversary card. It was painful because as a f2p, I used all my s-chips for his card now I'm broke. Well, at least I got that SSR and can move on into saving again for another event.
Going back to the Persona Universe!
Last thing to talk about that is game related is getting back into the Persona universe (not an official title but I would just like to call it like that) and being able to play Persona 5 Royal! 4 years ago I was introduced to Persona 3 Portable and played the game in PPSSPP and it became my favorite game of all time. I was aware that time that there's Persona 5 but it was just released on the PlayStation Console, which I don't have btw and it wasn't ported to the Windows PC until 2022. At the time of release on the PC, I've been wanting to play it but then its so expensive :< Thankfully, I have a friend in our class and she introduced me to the PC Game Pass from XBOX, and the selection of their games, Persona 3, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal are all included. I was able to play Persona 5 Royal for the first time and omg I haven't stopped till now. I was almost 60 hours into the game though my 3-Month subscription ended.
Anyway, my initial thoughts, its so grindy and the story is long compared to Persona 3 (which I wasn't able to finish as well due to academics; though I am planning to finish it of course, after P5R) BUT I am enjoying it and I'm looking forward into finishing the story. I'm sad that boys cannot be dated in P5R, because the lead is a boy but I'm enjoying the female characters, I've chosen Tae Takemi as the girl to date and be romantically involved with because she's cool, though if I have the chance to pick again, it would be Futaba or Makoto that I'm going to choose.
Well I hope that I'll be able to subscribe again to the Game Pass and continue playing this wonderful game (and finish the story).
And now, the playlist for this month:
July 2023 Playlist
Bills - ENHYPEN
Fine - NU'EST
Paradise - (G)I-DLE
Welcome to My World - aespa
SHOUT OUT - ENHYPEN
My update ends here. I hope you enjoy reading this long post hehe~
- ella













