Happy New Year everyone 🎊 I can't believe it's been a whole year since I've posted. Every post I say I want to read more and update more frequently, but I never follow through with that wish. However, I've been reading here and there and exploring more hobbies throughout the year that I'd love to share.
WANXUQN, A HX
Can you believe I've had this blog since 2014? A little backstory on how I even started blogging into the void in the first place-- I took a journalism course in my freshman year of high school, and though journalism didn't end up being my calling, I still like to write little reviews here and there. This blog actually started off as an anime episode review blog, way back when Terror in Resonance was still airing. It's still one of my favorite stand-alone anime to this day.
Which brings me to my Favorite Animated Show of 2025, which goes to Link Click S2 + the Bridon Arc!
I also remember writing my very first book review on After Dark by Haruki Murakami, a book I chose due to its brevity and read when I was burnt out from lofty middle school reading expectations. It was a book that I ended up liking quite a bit, and there was a period of time where all I wanted to read was Haruki Murakami novels.
Now, my reading tastes have dramatically branched out to contemporary literary fiction, fun web novels, and memoirs as well. My Danmei Recommendation of 2025 goes to Wait For Me After School by Jiang Zi Bei.
My enjoyment of this book really came as a surprise to me. I typically stay away from high school dramas, probably because I feel as if I've read my fill of secondary school drama. But Wait For Me After School was heartwarming, sweet, and ridiculous in the best way. The romance between the two leads was very endearing, and Yu Fan's character growth was extremely satisfying to read. I loved how both Yu Fan and Chen Jingshen continuously inspired each other to be better versions of themselves. TLDR; read Chinese contemporary web novels if you want your standards to be raised to an impossible level.
I read some other really great danmei this year that I feel the need to mention: Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu and Married Thrice to Salted Fish by Bi Ka Bi. I really hit the jackpot with danmeis this year, or maybe I've just started embracing DNF culture. I used to fall into the sunk-cost fallacy when it comes to books, and even when I've stopped enjoying a book I'd force myself to push through it. However, this year has been so overwhelmingly busy, I've developed a zero tolerance policy for media and will immediately drop things that I'm not enjoying anymore. Maybe one day I'll go back to sparing the time to finish the stories I start, but in such a fast-paced lifestyle, I've learned to enjoy every spare moment to its fullest.
I have never been one to read memoirs, but a good friend of mine recently recommended I read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. Now I'm on a hunt for good, heartfelt memoirs.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a memoir written by a therapist and her experience being on the both sides of therapy. Reading the stories of each of her patients and how both therapist and patient create such a powerful impact on each other was heartwarming to read. I also enjoyed reading about her experience in therapy, and the progression of her relationship with both therapy as a concept and her therapist as a support system. One thing that I really hope I hold myself to is reading more nonfiction this upcoming year!
I revived this blog in early 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. With nothing much to do except online university classes, I found enjoyment in catching up on book releases that I missed due to my loss of love for reading during my high school years. I started following book bloggers on various social media platforms, and tried to participate in fun, themed readathons back in the day. One of the ones that I had a lot of fun with was the Nostalgia Readathon, in which I put my own little twist on it since I wasn't reading much during my high school years. Instead of published books, I was a prolific fanfiction reader during those years.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), my AO3 screen time was at an all-time low this year. However, one fic that left a profound impact on me was one that I actually read last year, called When All Hell Breaks Loose by sephlav. Coincidentally, this is also a story about the profound impact of therapy during dark times. It's a Blue Lock fanfiction that follows Itoshi Sae and Shidou Ryusei as they navigate a significant low in their marriage following an accident that leaves Shidou with a career-ending injury. When it seems that their relationship has become unsalvageable, their couples therapist suggests a trial separation, in which they pretend to agree upon divorce and spend six weeks with no contact. It was a very emotional and thought-provoking read, and very different from any fic I've read before.
Throughout the years I regularly hear a lot of discourse in regards to fanfiction, but I personally am still a huge proponent of fanfiction. Knowing how time consuming and labor-intensive writing can be, I think fanfiction is such a gift. I highly appreciate every writer who willingly puts out their hard work on any fanfiction site for nothing in return. It's also a great place to get writing practice in, and I credit it for my acceptance into my university's writing program back in the day! I really do miss writing every day :")
One new hobby that I picked up this year that is somewhat writing adjacent is pursuing Yelp Elite! I became Yelp Elite around April of 2025, and I've had so much fun writing food reviews at new and old restaurants and cafes that I visit. Before this endeavor, I never really considered myself a foodie, but lately I've been trying my best to find new restaurants and drink places that I can recommend to my friends and family whenever they ask! Here are some foodie highlights of this year:
2025 was truly the year of tea shops for me. I visited Molly Tea on their very first day of Soft Opening and have been in love ever since. My favorite drink of theirs is the White Champaca Oat Latte, but you truly can't go wrong with any of their drinks. My other favorite drink place of the year would have to be Torotea. I believe it first opened back in 2024, and I've been visiting once in a while since opening, but something really clicked recently and I've been going every week now. It's my go-to study drink during the exam trenches, and my favorite drinks of theirs would have to be the Jasmine Oolong Pure Tea with Passion Fruit Jelly, as well as the Koan-Im Milk Tea with Passion Fruit Jelly. I really love the QQ texture of their house-made jellies and tapiochis.
Another new hobby I picked up this year was collecting fragrances. My Fragrance Pick of 2025 would have to be Diptyque's L'eau Papier.
It has such a cozy, musky scent that works so well as a skin scent with a hint of mimosa. It's generally inoffensive, which is something that is really important to me in a fragrance. Since I mostly go to school or work, I try my best to make sure that the fragrance I wear isn't headache inducing. I've found that I'm a huge fan of Diptyque fragrances, and a special mention for this year is the new release of Fleur de Peau EDT, a beautiful powdery skin scent without the spiciness of the EDP's pink peppercorn, and instead with the addition of the more floral scent of magnolia.
Overall, this blog has lived a very full life from 2014 to 2025, and hopefully beyond! I truthfully started going back to this blog at a time when I was branching out into different hobbies and interests, with no one to share them with. I've always been a big yapper when it comes to things that I am especially passionate about, and I always need to wax poetic about the things that I love. Hence, this blog and my love for Yelp reviews. I hope to continue to post more about the media that I've been consuming and the things I've been enjoying this upcoming year.
Wishing everyone a wonderful and prosperous year ahead! Happy 2026!
—璇
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