Subplots & Storylines – April to June 2021

Helloooo, my dear questers! I tried to keep this post concise, but my goodness, books and shows and things have a way of piling up over three months!* And I’ve found some new favorites that ABSOLUTELY deserve fangirling about. Here’s a few hints: Studio Ghibli. Time travel. We’re all mad here. Legendary war. Cinderella. Do these clues have anything to do with each other? NOPE. But since I can’t very well send gingersnaps through the screen to bribe you to keep reading, I’ve got to lay some kind of trail of crumbs for ya.

*…As I stop and reread the title, I’m realizing this post is almost a month late. Yikes! Forgive me!

Onward! I promise there’s no hungry witch’s oven at the end of this trail—just nerdy discussions!

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Screen Subplots

The Thirteenth Year

Wow, this movie was… something else, I tell ya. As a gender-swapped mermaid story, thirteen-year-old Cody starts developing fins and discovers that he’s adopted. The story is absolutely soaked in Disney nostalgia, and I spent the entire time trying to predict when Cody would finally sprout his tail. But despite the cheesiness, it was a pretty fun blast from the past. (1999, to be exact.)

Mission Impossible: Fallout

OH MY GOSH. I thought I loved Rogue Nation, but Fallout now tops it as my favorite Mission Impossible movie! (Shush, I know those are the only two I’ve watched so far. The point remains.) Non-stop conflict, intrigue, and plot twists… a dash of humor (thanks, Benji!)… and a well-woven theme all made it a solid action flick. Definitely one I’ll rewatch in the future!

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Aw, rewatching this was so much fun! The story hits all the right beats, and I love the clever animation style.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

This movie is SUCH A GEM. It brought me right back to my childhood with its simplicity and whimsical charm. I might… maybe… almost love it even more than the Howl’s Moving Castle movie? *gasp* (But if you sat me down to watch HMC again right this second, I might amend that statement and say they’re tied.)

In this adorable adventure, thirteen-year-old Kiki flies off to the city to get some life experience as a witch in training. But she’s not quite alone. She has Jiji, her snarky cat—who elevated the movie to “Tracey’s favorites” status all by his fluffy self. Together, they become couriers and zip all over the city, running errands for bakers and rich folks and old ladies. It’s not all that plot-heavy, but it’s SO ADORABLE AND HAPPY AND I WANT TO LIVE INSIDE THIS MOVIE, THANKS.

(And if you’ve seen it, come talk to me about my Jiji theory, okay?)

Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple

I watched this with my brother recently, and it’s my favorite part of Bungo Stray Dogs so far! Maybe it’s the fact that, as a movie, it sustained a longer plot than the more episodic anime seasons?

Regardless, there were some preeetty interesting things going on with a mysterious fog over the city, the apparent suicides of hundreds of people with supernatural abilities, and the unique villains behind it all.

TV Shows

Stranger Things (Season 3) // ONLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS OF ALL TIME. Ahem. My sisters and I finished this a while ago (their first time, my second), and ahhhhh, Netflix, please announce Season 4 soooooon. *cries*

Erased // HELLO YES I MUST USE ALL CAPS AGAIN BECAUSE THIS. THIS. IT’S BRILLIANT. I mean, the premise alone gets me excited. It’s about a young man named Satoru who has the ability to go a few minutes back in time—always to fix a situation, like saving a kid from getting run over by a truck. He can’t control it. It just happens. But THEN.

*spoilers for episode 1 ahead*

Then his mom gets murdered, and he finds himself thrust back in time not just five minutes, but eighteen years. As a child, Satoru must now figure out what set his mom’s murder in motion… and in the process, save a young classmate who was abducted all those years ago.

*spoilers over*

I FLIPPING LOVED THIS STORY. The mystery, the characters who won my heart, the nostalgic childhood vibes, the suspense… IT’S ALL AMAZING. And if you’re not typically into anime, this is one you might want to try! It’s only 12 episodes—plus I’ve already convinced at least one non-anime person to watch and she loved it, so there. 🙂

Julie and the Phantoms // A trio of ghosts from a 90s rock band join forces with a high school student who lost her passion for music after her mom died… and the result is a reincarnation of High School Musical with a supernatural twist. I had fun watching and hope there’ll be a second season! Sure, there were a few things I didn’t love, but it’s a really fun, fluffy story and the music is fantastic.

Kingdom: Legendary War // Considering I spent over 16 hours of my life watching this thing, it’s worth mentioning here! Kingdom was a music show in which six K-pop groups competed against each other for first place. The way these artists created massive performances, produced tracks, and tested the limits of their endurance and creativity within tight time limits was pretty amazing.

My absolute favorite stage to come out of the whole show was Stray Kids’ cover of Blackpink’s Ddu-Du Ddu-Du, flavored with their own hit song, God’s Menu. Inspired by Deadpool (the video even got noticed by Ryan Reynolds himself), this performance is grandiose, cheeky, and so, so catchy. And just wait for the Ant Man reference near the end.

An honorary mention goes to Ateez’s pirate-y Wonderland performance, which includes a GIGANTIC KRAKEN ON STAGE. (Pardon me, my k-pop fangirl side is showing.)

Shows I’m Currently Watching:

• The Secret Life of My Secretary // An absolutely adorable rom-com K-drama where every episode makes me laugh.
• Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle // Possibly the quirkiest anime I’ve seen!
• Attack on Titan (Season 3) // Fine, rip my heart out. I didn’t need it anyway. 😭

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Page Storylines

Blackout // Connie Willis // 4 Stars

TIME TRAVELLLL!!!

Better yet, time travel to WWII England!

This story follows a trio of historians from 2060 sent on assignment to study Pearl Harbor, the child evacuees, and London’s Blitz. Under their belief that no historian can possibly change the past, they’re there strictly to observe. Except… the rules of time travel seem to be glitching.

The whole book has an underlying sense of things going wrong. And with a lot of info hidden from the reader, you’re left to guess along with the characters and piece together clues from the multiple POVs. While the action took a little while to get going, the Blitz bombing scenes were especially tense. And by the end, I was rooting for our three protagonists to finally cross paths!

One thing I particularly enjoyed was the detailed, ground-level perspective of what ordinary people went through during the war. In some ways, the way they reacted in a crisis reminded me of current events (though obviously, they had it a lot worse then).

Apparently Blackout and its sequel, All Clear, were originally meant to be one book—so if you pick up book 1, be prepared for a lurching stop that leaves you on a cliffhanger! I’m looking forward to getting all the answers in the sequel someday soon.

Dust // Kara Swanson // 4 Stars

I sped through Dust in a single day! This urban retelling of Peter Pan gave me serious Once Upon a Time and Unblemished (Sara Ella) vibes. Embracing the darker side of Neverland, it had me fangirling over every nod to the original tale cleverly blended into the real world.

As our heroine, Claire, deals with past trauma and searches for her missing brother, along comes Peter Pan. Older. More jaded. But still a broken little boy at heart. Grounded in London and abandoned by his Lost Boys, he’s running from a dark past and trying to restore Neverland to what it once was.

While I wished the villain was less obvious and/or more intimidating, I still thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced run through the back alleys of London. The sparks of light and hope run through Claire and Peter’s story just like pixie dust, and I’m anticipating that will deepen the next book, Shadow.

Sword and Pen // Rachel Caine // 5 Stars

For reasons I don’t even remember, this series became my annual summer vacation read. Every summer for the past five years, I’ve taken the next instalment to the cabin with me. Waiting twelve months between each book made them a treat to savor… yet at the same time, I flew through each book in the matter of a day or two.

So to have all those special memories culminate in this—the fifth and final book—is bittersweet. These tales of musty old books and terrifying automaton monsters and the eclectic gang characters waging war against a dictatorship… they’re special to me.

And thankfully, Sword and Pen was a fitting end to an epic series. It tied up loose threads and brought character arcs to a (mostly) satisfying close. As everything came full circle back to Alexandria, Jess and his cohorts faced more traps, battles, riddles, impossible odds, and their darkest moments yet. One event in particular fell emotionally flat for me, sadly. But the love between found family and hope for the Great Library’s future outshone it and left me very happy with this series as a whole.

Maybe next summer I’ll have to bring book 1 to the cabin with me and start all over again!

Takane & Hana Vol. 2 // Yuki Shiwasu // 4.5 Stars

Volume 1 of this manga series isn’t entirely canon, but rather a collection of one-shots. So THIS is the first full story. We’ve got Takane: arrogant, charismatic rich boy and heir to a business empire. And Hana: headstrong high-schooler who accidentally takes her older sister’s place in an arranged marriage to Takane.

It was quite entertaining seeing their two worlds collide once more, especially since Hana had to masquerade as her sister at a fancy party. Takane had some especially hilarious moments too. Such a fun read!

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass // Lewis Carroll // 5 Stars

Can you BELIEVE this is my first time reading Alice in Wonderland?! It only took 25 years of existence to bring me to this point. My word. Here I am at last, enlightened and delighted.

I was actually quite surprised by how much I already knew about the story from the 1999 film. But it was so much better reading it in proper context. All the lovely nonsense, dream logic, and poetry made me happy. And to my surprise, Alice matured in Through the Looking Glass, becoming wiser in knowing when to argue with other people’s odd ideas.

All in all, seeing Wonderland was a long overdue experience, and I’m so glad I finally visited!

Firstborn // Tosca Lee // 5 Stars

What an epic binge-read! It’s been a few years since I read the first thriller in this duology, The Progeny, so it took me a moment to get my bearings again. But once I did, wow. The balance of suspense, high-speed action, and heart swept me away!

I really can’t say much without spoiling things… but if the sounds of a centuries-old war, unpredictable plot twists, courts of savants and geniuses, and supernatural powers piques your interest… then READ IT, I SAY.

ID:Invaded #Brake-Broken, Vol. 1 // Otaro Maijo // 5 Stars

At the bookstore one day, I picked up this manga on a whim. Pretty art style, Erased vibes, why not? And the premise of a detective waking up in a car without his memories seemed pretty cool too.

Thankfully, the story lives up to the cover! The pacing was so quick and the story questions were so intriguing that I had to force myself to slow down and catch all the details. Did I get answers? Not really, ha, but there are more instalments to come.

The Blood Spell // C.J. Redwine // 5 Stars

I FOUND A NEW FAVORITE RAVENSPIRE BOOOOOK! (It’s tied with The Wish Granter for me, actually.)

I loved everything about The Blood Spell: the whip-smart heroine, the charismatic hero, the alchemy, the threat of the wraith imprisoned in the forest, the seaside atmosphere of Balavata, the emotion, the tragedy, the triumph… *hugs book*

Blue de la Cour is an alchemist hiding the magic in her blood and trying to help the orphans in her city. I adored her stubborn discipline and intelligence. (And her no-nonsense grandma was all of that ten times over!)

Then there’s Prince Kellan Renard. I hate to admit, when he showed up with his flippant ways, skirting responsibility to escape the palace and charming everyone within earshot… I did judge him a teensy bit. But then he showed a much deeper, vulnerable, truly caring side and I appreciated him so much more.

And the Blue x Kellan ship? I LOVE ITTTT. As children, they hated each other. And now… well, I’ll give you a chance to find out for yourself what catalyzes a change. 😉

Let’s not forget to mention the villainess. I almost felt bad for her at the beginning. And then she went and did all these nasty things, and my goodness, I hated her so much. Definitely one of those “love to hate them” antagonists!

I shan’t go into the plot, but everything just clicked with the tale of Cinderella. And as usual with C.J. Redwine’s writing, knowing the original tale did nothing to diminish my enjoyment of every twist and turn of this darker retelling. I sincerely hope we get more Ravenspire books in the future!

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Tidbits

• Vacation is clearly where I pack in the most reading during the year: six of the eight books here were read in the span of one week. And now I’m back to a snail’s pace of 1-2 books a month. 😛
• Another favorite Korean sentence I’ve learned: 저는 책 없이 못 살아요. (Jeoneun chaek eobsi mot salayo = I cannot live without books.)
• 2020 Realm Makers replays were the wind in my writing sails toward the end of June. <3
• Speaking of which, I’m WAY overdue for a writing update here! Keep an eye out for a post about that…
• I’ve been happily filling my sketchbook and experimenting with new things lately. Ink in particular is a super satisfying medium to work with, I’m finding, especially for crisp line art.

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Okay, I’ve rambled long enough! Your turn to Tell me all about what you’ve been reading and watching! Anything new you’re using to expand your horizons? I’d love to hear about it!

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