Monthly HapPENings: January

Well, it's been a couple of months since we had one of these, but now it's back! It's time for . . .

So, life stuff that happened in January . . . honestly, it's just been my usual stuff: the regular Sunday routines, working five days a week while hanging out with my sisters and Preston and Megan in the evenings, and chilling on Saturdays. My sisters and I did go sledding once, though! The side of the hill was pretty much just sheer ice, which was great for going down, but not so much for heading back up. My saucer decided to catapult me forward at one point, so that was fun. (Note: sarcasm. It was actually kinda painful.)

Also, I slipped on some ice recently and sprained the muscles in my left knee. 0/10 would not recommend nor try again. I've had a bit of time off work for recovery, so any prayers would be appreciated.

Bookish HapPENings

What? I actually finished a book?? Will wonders never cease??? Once I got into the book, I was really hooked and blazed through the rest of it. There were definitely some unexpected twists--though I don't know if you should take my word for it, because I didn't expect the ones in The False Prince, but others found them super obvious. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, but I'm a little more forgiving knowing that there's a fourth book coming. All in all, a solid quick read that wraps up the trilogy pretty well, which has me wondering where book #4 is going.

HapPENings on the Screen

Watching EXO's Ladder is very different for me in two ways. One, I've never really watched a reality or variety show before, because the vast majority of them just don't interest me. Two, I have never watched the second season of any show before watching the first one. But this is a lot of fun and is super hilarious too! All eight members are so cool and amusing in their own ways, and they seem so much like brothers. I'm just over halfway through, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest!

Yo, I'm nearly finished S3 of My Hero Academia, and man, has this season gone in places I wasn't expecting! Can't believe there's just one episode left . . . I'm already having predictions about what's going to happen in the next one. But if it ramps up the intensity and the emotional side of things even more, it's going to hurt my heart. I didn't think the show was going to make cry over the things it has. S4 is going to be fire, I just know it!

I have caught up with Bungo Stray Dogs (and am eagerly anticipating S4), so now I'm rewatching it, but with Tracey. I'm definitely reminded why it's one of my top favorite anime. The characters and their dynamics with one another is just the best, and then the plot starts getting very, very interesting when S2 rolls around. Also, the music is something else, I tell you. Very unique, and quite enjoyable. (I honestly wish more anime had their soundtracks released for purchase.) Don't sleep on this show if you're into anime!

What if I told you that Erased was one of the best shows involving murder mysteries and time travel? Would you believe me? Because you should! I'm watching this with Preston (he's seen it already and is showing it to me), and it's so difficult to watch only one episode a week. I have four left, and I must know what happens! I have theories that are really crazy, but I think I might be on to something . . . Plus it touches on some very dark, but very important themes and subjects. I really want to say more, but I don't want to spoil a single thing. Anyway, you need to add this to your list of shows to watch. You won't regret it, I guarantee that.

The first season of Psycho-Pass is nothing short of brutal and chilling. The whole setup is really interesting--latent criminals working under police inspectors to fight crime and stop people with unchecked psycho-passes--but man, the show is pretty grim. What makes it all the more frightening is that at one point, China was wanting to implement a similar system. Which probably explains why they banned the anime, as it exposes the deep-rooted flaws in the system. Add a villain whose motivations make a lot of sense and some dark violence and deaths on top of that, and you've got quite the show. I'm super intrigued by it, and while I wouldn't recommend to anyone who gets queasy easily, I do recommend it if you enjoy gritty cop stories with some interesting commentary on society.

AGH. SEASON FOUR IS FINALLY HERE AND AHHH. AND I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL STUFF BUT AAAHHH! . . . That is all. (I can say that the visuals have somehow improved even more since S3, and I'm just constantly impressed??? So yeah.) . . . AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Gaming HapPENings

I picked up the Assassin's Creed Chronicles trilogy for my computer a couple of years ago, but with my poor excuse for a laptop that I had back then, playing them just wasn't possible. Now that I have a proper gaming laptop, I now am able to experience these for the first time. China is the first in the sub-series and has the most appealing setting to me. (Assassin's Creed game in feudal Japan with ninja and samurai when?) I've played the first two chapters so far as of when I'm writing this, and I'm quite liking it! It's neat to have a 2.5D platformer AC title instead of the standard 3D with more free-roaming. The art style is also quite different from the main series, but it's super appealing. I look forward to seeing where the game and the plot goes.

When Team17 announced a battle royale entry in the Worms franchise, my curiosity was piqued. All of the main series Worms games had been turn-based, so what would a real-time title be like? In two words: very entertaining. I wouldn't necessarily call it a battle royale--or at least, it's very different from the standard BR games I've played. But that doesn't make it any less fun. I like to think that I'm decent at it. I tend to get an average of five kills per match, though I also tend to die a lot. I've played only a couple of hours so far, and sometimes the matchmaking takes a little while, but I'd say Worms Rumble is probably my favorite Worms game thus far.

Writerly HapPENing

Well, I did end up doing a little, itty-bitty bit of writing in January. I'm trying to get back into writing by doing a shorter project that's written like an anime. I'm calling it Death Under Maddison Bridge, and I think I've got some really cool ideas for it. I don't know how much I can really share at this point, but I will keep you all updated if you're interested!

So that was my January! Hard to believe we're already one month into the year. How was your January? Also, do you still like these posts, or do you have any suggestions for what I could do to make them more interesting?