So last weekend, Slynx and I could do a movie marathon. Finally. It has been a hot minute. Regardless, at least we are back at it. So we chose three movies and we had fun. Were they the best movies? Nope. But you know what, we enjoyed them nonetheless.

Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)

I mean, I chose this one because it was a Josh Hutcherson movie. It was a treat when we saw Matthew Lillard in this movie. The movie didn’t disappoint. At least for us, it didn’t. I am not familiar with the game. I just know that it was scary and there were jump scares. And that was enough for me not to be interested to watch the gameplay. Regardless, I appreciated the fact that the movie was not scared to make the story very human. The main pull for me was Josh’s story. And how he dealt with his trauma. I am not sure what other people complained about it, I didn’t really look for reviews on this movie, but if I would guess, it is probably because the movie focused on the human aspect. Like I said, I am not familiar with the lore so I am assuming it strayed from the original material. Anyway, it has some pretty decent jump scares. For me anyway. I get scared easily. Acting was top-notch. Not surprising with actors on the roster.

Me Spy (2020)

I was not expecting a lot from this movie really, but I wanted something lighthearted after Five Nights at Freddy’s. Slynx said that the plot was meh. I mean, it’s a family/kid’s movie. So yeah, I understand why they needed to make this palatable for younger audiences. But it did not diminish our enjoyment of the movie. The comedic timing was on point. I love Dave Bautista. He is such an underrated one. Considering that this dude has a lot more range compared to some other popular wrestler-turned-actor out there. The supporting cast was great. I was laughing, I was excited, and I genuinely enjoyed the story. And the dancing, oh the dancing!!!

Baby Driver (2017)

This was Slynx’s pick for the movie marathon. And it was a good pick. It was enjoyable for the most part. The premise was pretty interesting. I love me some heist movies for sure. But in theory, this was not a heist movie. Not really. Sure there were some plans but we didn’t really get to see the heist. We saw the escape because of course the movie was focused on Baby. The soundtrack was really good, I would give it that. The acting was great, again, not surprised considering the actors on the roster. Jon Hamm was great. Baby and Debora were cringe. There was really one character here that I really did not care for. He was a loose canon and talked too much. Not going to lie, there was a scene in this movie that I tuned out because he just talked and talked and talked. And I really did not give a fuck about this character or what comes out of his mouth. Anyway, the movie was still enjoyable for sure. I’ve been tempted to watch for a while so I was glad that Slynx suggested it.

Nothing to note today. Just that my boyfriend and I apparently were in movie watching mood. We were able to watch three movies before we called it quits for today.

Scream VI (2023). We definitely liked this better than the 5th installment. I should’ve known the objective of GF in this installment, I mean this was a “re-re-quel” after all. The acting was on point for each character, especially GF. One of the things that I actually enjoyed in this franchise was the big reveal, and the actors chosen to be GF did not shy away to show how unhinged they were. Especially for this installment. I also appreciated the fact that these newer installments were not scared to be stab happy. Even Sam, whose weapon of choice was a knife. I would watch the next installment hands down – if we ever get a next installment.

Halloween (2018). Despite knowing of The Shape, I actually only watched one movie from this franchise. Don’t ask me which one, I would not remember. It could be the first one. Maybe. Regardless, I do not remember much of it. My hun decided that he wanted to watch this one. Boy, I was on the edge of my seat. To say that I was stressed was an understatement. I had my dog on my lap for most of the movie because I needed comforting apparently. If Ghostface was stab happy, The Shape was the one-and-done kind of deal. His purpose was to kill, and that he did. He went on a rampage for one night. Pretty much killing on anyone he got his hands on, well, seemed like as long as they were alone. He didn’t really touch the little kids. Teens or preteens seemed to be fair game. And of course, Laurie. I liked it though. I am considering watching the other movies in this franchise.

Cabin in the Woods (2012). This one fell on the campier side of the horror genre. It did its job. It definitely was full of cliche but you know what, I enjoyed it. There were some parts where we were laughing, there were some parts where I just muttered “what the fuck”, and questions on what if they had chosen a different killer. Like the mermaid for example. Would it just crawl to the cabin? Who knows. I hoped my boyfriend appreciated this move more now that we watched it together. Hopefully, he enjoyed it more compared to the first time he watched it since he now knew that this was considered a horror comedy.

My hun and I were actually debating if we should have a movie day where we just watch movies since we tend to watch anime more on a daily basis. Not going to lie, this was nice. I mean, I still gravitate towards anime and 30-min episode series compared to 2 hr long movies but I liked the break in our routine. I wouldn’t mind having this kind of hangout.

Today was a bit of a lazy day for me. Well, sort of. I mean, I still got things done. I went to the store and bought some groceries. I got gas for Enzo, so I would not have to worry about it in the middle of the week. I finished my laundry. I threw away the trash. I washed the dishes. And I even cooked. So I felt pretty accomplished despite feeling lazy. And for the most part, I did a lot of these things begrudgingly. I mean, I did not have a choice. No one else will do them.

I did read a lot of Circus of the Damned last night. Okay, I said last night that I was having issues with the MC. Yes, because her flaws are annoying. But there were some chapters in the book that I enjoyed and I even found myself smiling. You cannot blame me, I enjoy meet-cutes for couples. And Anita meeting Richard was no different. I enjoyed their conversation in the car while Anita was dropping him and his friend off at his house after some “exciting” night at the circus. I liked how Richard asked her on a date – well, to go caving for a first date. And I like the phone call that Anita made to change the plans from caving to a Halloween party and then settling on doing the caving thing the weekend after that. I also like how Anita kept on denying that she never thinks of Jean-Claude yet he always seems to be in her head. So yeah. The action scenes were really good too. Sure, those scenes can get a bit graphic but I love them.

I also read today as well. But just webtoons, to be honest. I am planning to read some more of Circus of the Damned tonight. And if permitted, read some Heaven Official’s Blessing. I was not able to pick it up last night. I was pretty engrossed with Circus.

My hun and I got to hang out. We watched some anime and a movie (surprising).

Green Snake. I cannot complain really. This animated movie is pretty decent. It did not blow our minds or anything like that. But it was decent. The story flowed well, the premise was good, and the animation was top-notch. The thing that annoyed me though was the fact that we were about halfway through the movie and I realized that the movie is a sequel to another animated movie called White Snake. And I got annoyed because Netflix did not have any disclaimer about it being a sequel. After a simple search online, we found out that the original title of this movie was White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake. But Netflix decided to just call it Green Snake. Regardless, it was still a solid animated film. Not sure if you need to watch the first movie to appreciate this one. But my hun and I are planning on watching White Snake soon.

Bleach: The Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc. I am so suspicious of Ginjo. I understand that the objective was to have Ichigo regain his shinigami powers back so that the Fullbringers can be normal people but why. And how does awakening Ichigo’s Fullbring help with regaining his shinigami powers? Also, I am still confused about Tsukishima. His motives are still unclear.

Darwin’s Game. Well, this anime is getting interesting for sure. I do enjoy Kaname’s subtle character development. I mean he is too soft anymore. Still not corrupted enough. But I am liking his support system in the game. The Analyst is OP. And they introduced Sui and Souta.

Kotaro Lives Alone. I’m glad my hun is liking this anime. He said that one episode seems to put you on an emotional rollercoaster. I mean, I cannot blame him. One of the reasons why I love this anime is the way it got emotions out of me.

Today was not busy for me. I finished my laundry last night so all I really needed to do was to the store to do some grocery shopping and then portion the meat and put them in the freezer. And that was what I did. 

My hun and I were able to hang out earlier today, which was nice. We got to watch some anime episodes. 

I finally made the decision. I decided that I do not want to watch The Case Study of Vanitas. I gave episode 11 a chance. I really did. But I had to stop it when the episode the 7:12 mark. I cannot. I was just done. I am not going to rehash my complaints about the anime. There was nothing wrong with it – the anime has a 4.9 rating on Crunchyroll for crying out loud. It just did not jive with me. So we decided to drop it.

Tokyo Ghoul:re. My hun and I decided to start with season 3. And I have thoughts. Obviously, there is a time jump from the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. There are some changes. The huge one is Kaneki. It tripped me out for a bit when he was introduced as Sasaki. And the only reason why I know he was Kaneki is because Sasaki is having internal struggles as well, with the other part of him – a very huge one, locked in his head. Some shuffling with where the characters are now kind of surprised the heck out of me – Hinami, Uta. I mean, the really annoying thing to me is the fact that they added pretty much unnecessary characters. They are not needed in the story. Or maybe they are but I highly doubt it. They were just there to make a point that CCG dabbled in artificially creating one-eyed ghouls like Kaneki to fight against ghouls. You have a moody guy obsessed with getting promoted, an airhead for a team captain, an overly weak one who needs to be freaking rescued, and a freakin child who has no work ethic. I cannot. The only thing that is really making me want to watch this is Ken Kaneki with his internal struggles and reconciling his human and ghoul sides, Shuu Tsukiyama with his depression of losing Ken Kaneki (yes, I am going to say losing Kaneki because he seems to be a man who lost his love), Juuzou Suzuya and his surprising maturity, and I am still waiting for Amon to freaking show up because I refuse to believe he is dead. There were no remains on the street, and I doubt freaking Kaneki ate him during their fight last season.

Haikyu!! I do not have to say anything about this anime. We keep enjoying each episode. Definitely really exciting, and we love seeing how the Karasuno volleyball team adapts to the hurdles especially now that it’s the inter-high competition arc.

And since I decided to drop Vanitas, I had to choose another anime to watch. I chose Mars Red. We watched the first episode and it was a bit slow and theatrical. So I just decided to drop that one and pick up Bleach again. Do not get me wrong, I might pick up Mars Red again but on my own and when I am in the mood for something like that. 

Bleach. We needed to watch The Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc before jumping into the The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, which I have been itching to watch since it came out. But since we have not watched Bleach in a while, we decided to watch the last episode of The Arrancar Arc for a refresher. I’m really excited to continue on this anime. It has been a while.

Today was certainly lazy. Since I finished a lot of my chores yesterday, I was free to pretty much do what I want today. And that is exactly what I did. 

I slept in – granted I slept late last night. But to actually be in bed until closer to 11 AM was nice. I actually really enjoyed it. Granted the dogs ate a lot later than their normal time, but it was fine. Me sleeping in rarely happens.

I was able to read Darling Girl significantly today. And I really have some issues with the story. I found myself aggravated about so many things that I kept finding myself slamming the book repeatedly on my table and just making really frustrated noises. Chris even heard me from her room and had to ask me what was wrong. And all I said was this book is frustrating. I have not liked the main character like this. The decisions, the morality, just the character itself is just uuuggghhh. And then, I better not see a freaking romance arc here between the MC and the PI. But I’m already calling it. And I am not looking forward to it. I am not one to shy away from romance but Jesus, when I read that two-page hint that there could be a romance arc coming, all I could think of was “are you fucking kidding me”.

My hun and I hang out today, and we watched some episodes of some anime that we are watching – Castlevania, The Case Study of Vanitas, and The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.

Castlevania. Isaac’s character development was amazing. The way he conquered Styria. My goodness. And he changed. From season 1 until recently, he just accepted the fact that he will die. I mean regardless of him being a trusted lieutenant by Dracula and going along with the plan of killing the human race, he never expected to live. But now, he wants that for himself. He wants to live his life. His main goal before was fueled by revenge but now it was getting rid of evil so that people can live. It was amazing. 

Hector too. I mean sure, it might not be as significant as Isaacs but the way he took accountability. The courage shown when he faced Isaac knowing that he will die. His decision to help with reviving Dracula was fueled by guilt and Isaac explained that he already suffered the consequences of that betrayal. And Hector really did. And for him to be able to just voice out what he actually wants to do with his life. Yeah.

The Karen that is Carmilla is now dead. And honestly, sure I love the Isaac fighting sequences, but I really think that was too good of a sequence for a very useless character. And yes, I will continue to think of her as such. She did not do anything in this series. I’m sorry. She is very entitled and unlikeable. She dreamed. That’s it. The fruition of those dreams, the planning, and the execution fell on the other three – Striga, Morana, and Lenore. Carmilla was a waste of space.

And Saint Germain can die now, but a very anti-climactic death, please. 

I swear, this series did Adrian so dirty. Being used, being manipulated, and he can’t seem to get a break from it either.

The Case Study of Vanitas. Vanitas just surprises me, to be honest. He is a character for sure. Very animated. I mean, he just kisses Jeanne, the Hellfire Witch. But honestly, I feel like that is just him toying with her, but still. I am really interested in Noe for sure. I mean, he is a vampire so yeah, my being interested more in him is a given. I do enjoy his flashbacks. And hopefully, we get to see some of Vanitas’ past as well.

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting. Yaeka planning Kirishima’s birthday party was just adorable. And everyone in the Sakuragi family was involved in making sure he didn’t find out anything about it. From Sugihara trying to confine him in a room with the rest of the group to watch a scary movie to Kazuhiko Sakuragi trying to distract him into a conversation about anime, just so Yaeka has enough time to set up everything. She even gave Kirishima a drawing of him. So sweet. We also got to see a backstory about how Kazuhiko and Miyuki met and how they started dating. 

I honestly do not know what is up with this character, Yuri Mashiro. I do not understand his goal – just to antagonize Kirishima and try to bring back the old him. The last few panels of episode 10 were a bit hard to watch. Because I actually saw Kirishima revert back to who he was before he started babysitting Yaeka. It was a bit concerning since he came such a long way. 

Anyway, what the plan for the rest of the night? Well, read some more. I have no other plans, just chill and read some more of Darling Girl. I guess, get annoyed even more. I just want to see how the MC will handle the consequences of the decisions she made.

I went to work this morning. Why? I had to do some smoke testing for software updates that will be launched on Monday. I left the apartment at around 6:45 AM. Since we had snow the day and night before, I needed to de-snow my car. Then I drove to work. Testing was planned for 8 AM. So when I got to work at 7:30, I didn’t even think to check my email. Anyway, just to get to the point, the smoke testing was canceled and the only reason why I found out was that I checked my email at 8 AM. They canceled the testing at 7 AM when I was clearing my car of snow. Was I pissed? Yes since no one decided to put a message in the testing channel…So they wasted my time. Mine and Chris’ time since we were both onsite. We were able to test 4 items since we were already onsite. I cleaned my car longer than the time we spent onsite. It was a waste of time. So we would need to go onsite again tomorrow at 7 AM. Yay.

Anyway, I did all my planned chores today. So that was productive at least. I was craving some buffalo chicken wings, so I made some. My cramps were still bad so I was in a very meh mood. And the situation this morning did not help.

I got to hang out with my love today. I think about seven hours. So that was good! We watched a movie, finished another anime, and started a couple of anime.

Bullet Train (2022). Well, it was funny. Very actiony. It was not great by any means. But it was entertaining. I liked it enough. We did enjoy the banter between The Twins – Tangerine and Lemon. I liked the cameos for sure. The only character that I did not care for was The Prince. Why? The kid got away with too much shit on that train because she was a girl pretending to be helpless, and these guys wanted to be her hero. It annoyed the shit out of me. I mean come on. But whatever. It was enjoyable enough.

Ouran High School Host Club. Well, the last two episodes were wow. I teared up. Tamaki’s life was just heartbreaking. The Kyoya episode was pretty good too. And I just hate Tamaki’s grandma and Kyoya’s father with a passion. Like I cannot. My hun gave the anime a 6.5 to 7 out of 10. I was annoyed at first since he really enjoyed the show. He explained it but harsh! 

Moriarty the Patriot. Obviously, this is a rewatch for me but I wanted my hun to see it. We watched three episodes. And my hun got hooked. And I would like to keep it that way. I was not sure if he will like anime, to be honest. But I loved this anime too. So I want to see his reaction to it. This is on top of the list of my favorite anime. So far, my hun likes the trio – the Moriarty brothers. 

Castlevania. We rewatched the first season today. So four episodes. We were going to start with season two but I forgot season one. So when he suggested rewatching it, I said yes. Yeah, that anime is very graphic. I can take it though, as long as there are no torture scenes, I should be okay. I am liking the trio here as well – Trevor, Sypha, and Adrian. My ears perked up when Adrian got out of his coffin. Yeah – I like vampire characters. Action sequences are good. And I love the fact that Sypha is not some damsel. We shall see though, I would definitely like to continue with this one.