Life Updates & Gaming Adventures

The February blues hit hard as we commiserate about adulting struggles, work deadlines, and the never-ending battle against muddy paw prints

Eden champions Obsidian's Avowed as a triumph of weird fantasy and complex moral choices that puts other RPGs on notice

Peter confesses he hasn't fallen under Avowed's spell yet but is intrigued by Eden's passionate defense of its uniqueness

Musical Journeys

Peter takes us into the melancholic melodies of Dawn of Solace and the powerful vocal performances in Lacuna Coil's latest releases

Eden surprises everyone (including themselves) with an unexpected deep dive into 1960s Brazilian samba, featuring hidden gems from Tenorio Jr. and the Salambanso Trio

Literary Explorations

Eden savors the sweet cultural journey of A Bánh Mì for Two while struggling through the deliberately paced Cold War classic The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Peter connects the dots between Le Carré and Nick Harkaway's The Gone Away World, revealing literary legacies hiding in plain sight, and assures everyone he will, eventually, start Wind and Truth

Featured Topic: Akane Banashi - Where Tradition Meets Ambition

We unpack the first three volumes of this captivating manga about Rakugo, the centuries-old Japanese art of storytelling. Akane Banashi masterfully transforms this traditional art form into a compelling underdog narrative with:

The perfect blend of reverence for tradition and the fire of youthful ambition

Competition that feels both high-stakes and surprisingly cozy

Characters who demonstrate that truly owning a story means finding your authentic voice within it

A fascinating peek into an art form that feels both foreign and surprisingly universal

Tune in as Peter shares his perspective as a manga newcomer, and we both explore why this series about sitting alone on stage telling stories has us completely hooked!