the <^> game | v. twenty-three

[cainhurst]

i'd have to say it's a tie between IAMX and in this moment. i haven't really listened much to IAMX in the past year (the previous two or three years, IAMX was always my top artist for each spotify wrapped, this is the first year it was in this moment with IAMX not showing up in my top artists or even my top 100 songs at all). still, the albums kingdom of welcome addiction, volatile times, the unified fild, metanoia / everything is burning, and alive in new light got me through a lot and i can relate to the themes/emotions covered in the songs a lot.

as for in this moment, my love for them also stems mainly from the fact that i can relate to a lot of their music and i love how they incorporate darker religious undertones, so to say - songs like the in-between, holy man, joan of arc, half god half devil, no me importa, roots, blood, witching hour, etc. are all very relatable to me in one way or another. and then there's songs like black wedding, and as above, so below that are just... big vibes. their music videos are also very big vibes - the video for the in-between is probably one of my favourite music videos out there.

also, maria brink is just peak aesthetic and i adore her energy a lot. she's both gorgeous and an incredibly strong, inspiring woman

^ giving gifts always warms my heart a lot, so i'm sure you'll get plenty of fuzzy, warm feelings from it as well!!

pigeons. but i like all birds

^ go beat that french test into submission!!
> me, watching one of my guinea pigs steal a slice of cucumber from his cage mate: i,,,, was going to give you your own slice, y'know // got ninja'd a few times, but that's what i get for staring at my guinea pigs too much *starts staring at them again*
v do you have a favourite youtuber/youtube channel?

[noch]

rn it would have to be uhhhhhhhhhhh idk?? i kinda just watch whatever nowadays i don't really stick to a particular channel or type of content,,, actually thats kinda a lie i've been watching a lot of phoebe bridgers' live performances recently so i guess that's kinda what i'm into rn

^ has guinea pigs WOOOOO i love those lil guys. i went to the pet store a couple weeks ago with my sister and we just sat and stared at the guinea pigs for a looong while. i like those guys
> i have to s h o w e r but its like not the right TIME to yknow? it's gotta FEEL right. and that time is not now. but i also have to go out and get things so idk maybe i just go do it now
v favorite thing to do in the morning?

[sugarbird]

On weekend mornings, favorite thing to do is play a game. On week day mornings, I don't do anything except get ready for work

^ I'm glad there's other people out there besides me that doesn't do something until it "feels" right
> Really worried that I've just been extremely burnt out on drawing and gave up. I wish I could draw for fun again, for myself. At least I still doodle a lot (never when I'm supposed to for some reason)
v I love hearing stories, so tell me one. You have cool "ghost" stories? (or just the weirdest thing you've ever witnessed?)

[Dragon Nap]

Something pretty weird happened to me recently, i'm in an insect biology class rn and i wanted to add more alcohol to a vial with a caterpillar in it, but when i went over to the fume hood to add more, i got a static shock bc of the dry winter air and when i looked at the vial it had turned milky white when it was supposed to be clear! Still have no idea why it changed color, I'm not sure if getting shocked had something to do with it either. Pretty weird nonetheless...

^ i'm sorry you have art burnout! That happened to me too when i took a drawing class in community college, it just wasn't fun drawing when i was stressing about due dates, take a little break maybe or try a different art media to see if that helps!
> Just got a couple books from the library, and picked up a couple of groceries at the dollar store! It was a nice little trip out of the house! Now I'm gonna read or watch a movie then do some homework.
V what was the last book you read? Tell me about it! :3

[tea rose]

piranesi by susanna clarke! i love it so much, just... the symbolism that life is what you make of it and that it's meant to be enjoyed and appreciated instead of ignoring it in the pursuit of success... you can find beauty in the darkest of places and if you can do that, you're going to survive... also the mc's level of forgiveness makes me cry ugly tears i love him so damn much

^ went to the library! definitely one of my favorite places to hang out
> one of my favorite artists released a new omori remix and i cannot describe the feelings it gives me. literally one of the most beautiful songs i've heard
v repeating the question above!

[Chevalier]

The last book I finished was That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis. I didn't find it as good as one of his books I read previously, Lucky Jim, but it wasn't too bad. Mostly I felt that the last 1/3 or so dragged a bit. I do like how Amis' characters are always just, not brilliant people? I find he uses them quite well for comedy, and it is a nice change from the usual, but the MC didn't quite live up to Lucky Jim's protagonist. I don't really regret reading it, but I'm a bit hesistant to pick up another of Amis' books because I'm not sure they'll live up to Lucky Jim (although, it must be annoying to have your first book published be what everyone remembers...)

^ That sounds nice! I'm not too familiar with omori's music but I find video game OSTs are among the best pieces of music.
> I recently started reading Tides of War by Steven Pressfield, and I'm really enjoying it so far, and yes I am going to use this space to rant about it. I'm only about 100 or so pages in so far (it's 500 or so long), so it's still early days, but I could see it becoming one of my favouite novels. The author clearly knows ancient Greece and the setting of the war super well, and it really adds to the atmosphere - I read some reviews didn't like how it required some background knowledge of the historical setting, but for me it makes it a lot more realistic. It feels like I'm reading a fictional tale that was actually written from the time period. Also, it has Alcibiades in it, so it was always going to be good.
v What's your favourite period of history and why? Do feel free to rant about it below :^)

[emiistar]

favorite period of history - i can't say i particularly have one within an intellectual context, but as an era i'm really interested in the early 2000s. i was younger when that lifestyle/style was popular so it always had an air of mysticism to it since it was for the 'older kids' or whatever. shame to say that it pretty much died out as soon as i became old enough to understand; but i guess time marches on. this decade has been so boring though, everything is just swamped by social media/technology/microtrends and i'm just bored... no originality... oh well.

^ that sounds really intersting, i'm glad you're reading something you're so invested in! you sound really smart as well, and it's always nice to find a good book~
> feeling kinda weird and rejected today... just realized how detatched i've really gotten from my friend group since the start of this year and found out i'm not on one of their private stories anymore. kinda hurts... :") it's a bit deserved though, my mental health has been horrible so i guess me not coming to stuff = me getting left out. i wish they'd make the effort though, just once
v what's something you struggle with daily?

[skyline]

lately, cleaning up after myself and just cleaning my room. i'm usually so good about it too. i also have a few things i really need to get done costume wise that i've been putting off, that i otherwise would also usually be really good about getting to. the con's in two weeks yippee.

^ no bc same i felt the exact same way like even just a few days ago. i'm really close to one of them and kinda close to the other, the two others i wasn't so much until honestly a few days ago. but they all had a gc without me, and i just felt really left out a lot especially at cons, but one of them is causing some problems and i've noticed the rest of them are distancing themselves from them for now but, yeah. don't blame yourself for not being super active really, i've been the same way many times, mental health is more important. sometimes u just cannot jump in a conversation and if they blame u for that... yeah they're probably not the best people. but when it's the opposite and they're not even bothering to reach out, i can see how that'd honestly feel worse. i hope you feel better dude
> i'm feeling better today but i slept until almost 5 pm. i wish there was actual Food to eat here rn but we're also moving on the 1st so there's no point in buying a bunch of food we won't finish before then. but god doordash is EXPENSIVE why are you charging me $18 for a BURGER. anyone who has access to a good form of transportation whenever you need it i envy you
v what is your opinion on lofthouse cookies

[noch]

LOVE to an UNNECESSARY DEGREE!!! the way they gnaw on my enamel and make my bones hurt is invigorating (i'm fr)

^ dude oh my god before i got a car i had to live on doordash WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE???? like? the cheapest thing i can get in my area is mcdonalds but like i don't LOVE mcdonalds yknow :((((
> went to meijer and got some face stuff and makeup stuff and i'm so excited to use my silly little face cleaning wipes and makeup tomorrow wooooooo!!!
v if you got $1,000 to use on anything (besides bills & necessities) what would you use it on?

[axes]

i already have that but if you mean like i have to spend it rn on something then id buy all my friends and my brother and sisters some really fancy gifts. 100+ dollars on each of them. my brother id probs get pokemon cards for, my sisters probably something to do with apex legends, and my friends...hmm id have to think about those. maybe id put the friend money away to help to get everybody in the same place for a visit eventually

^ got some makeup that is so fun!!! makeup is awesome i wish i had the patience for it. and makeup wipes feel so heavenly for whatever reaosn. i hope it looks how you hoped!
> my new job is going to kill me at least ill be getting my steps in every day. it is kind of hilarious how hard they overwork us. so much respect to stockers everywhere now that I am one
v hello, tell us about one item that is special to you!