i don't know if you guys have noticed (you have) but The Algorithm is kind of awful lately. by that i mean all of the algorithms. i feel like with basically every platform incentivizing content be primarily negative, it's easy to kind of get swept up in that and end up thinking more about stuff that you don't like compared to stuff you do.
i want to break out of that! so this is me making an attempt by talking about some things i've recently been enjoying. i probably won't go on for too long about any one thing, but i'm currently writing this sentence prior to writing any blurbs so who knows what the me from 10 minutes from now will end up doing.
games: minecraft
lately, i've started playing beta minecraft with the better than adventure mod, and i got myself a little server for like $7 just in case any of my friends want to play or if i want to force my cute boyfriend to look at stuff i've been making.
it's been a lot of fun! i don't usually play for too long at any one given point in time. something i really appreciate about beta minecraft is that it's pretty simple and small and slow. you can't sprint and there isn't really all too much that you need to actually explore for; there's not really structures beyond naturally generated terrain.
it feels a lot harder to fall into the trap of looking for some specific biome or structure, so i've been finding myself with more concrete and simple objectives that i can make tangible progress towards: make a path from spawn, make a house, make the exterior fancier, decorate the inside, make some pixel art. that last one is my current objective right now. i need like 400 wool or something. i have over a stack right now. when i see a sheep i get a little bit closer. progress!
i just remembered i can put pictures in so i'm going to do that:
youtube: defunctland
ok this is a subcategory for minecraft because i've actually been primarily watching it during minecraft specifically. i feel like anyone reading this probably already knows about defunctland, but basically he just talks about theme parks or parts of theme parks that are now defunct. it's mostly informative, but he also slips an occasional joke in there delivered very deadpan and they all land. he's funny af. highly recommend!!
games: tribe nine
this is a gacha game but it's also really good. but also if you don't like gacha games or if you're wont to gambling, definitely still do not pick this game up!
onto actually talking about it though, i've been really liking tribe nine. it came out in february and it's already seen a lot of really great improvements to the gameplay loop. tension cards, which are one of the two main equipment systems, had a lot of big problems when the game first came out to where it felt really confusing or hard to use them in a way that felt satisfying, but now creating loadouts is such a fun and gratifying experience.
in general, the game is really oozing with that danganronpa charm. it's a setting that's kind of serious, but also still very silly. the characters have tortured pasts and whatever, but they also create group chats to text about department store sales. i really, really love the art style, and i think that it's a phenomenal adaptation of danganronpa's designs into 3d - my only complaint is that some people have really small hands, ESPECIALLY kuronaka. it's like kind of crazy how small they are.
honestly the thing i've been really appreciating about it is that i can log on, do a little bit to make my characters stronger, and then log off. and the game runs better on my phone than any other of the "pc gacha game that is also on mobile" games (like mihoyo stuff and wuwa).
my main team has been tsuruko, aoyama, and kuronaka. i mainly am using them because i love their characters, and luckily they also work pretty nicely together! i was also so so lucky to get Q, who i do really want to use, but also please give my man a buff... he's so awesome. also the aoyama/Q propaganda is working on me and i think they should hold hands. i'm looking forward to chapter 3 because it looks like it's all about Q!!!
i also really like saigo, kohinata, and tsuki! even though he's dilf, i don't think i can see myself using saigo too much just because i think i'm mostly decent enough to where i don't need a super dedicated tank, but he's nice for full/mostly afk boss runs. kohinata is kind of too much of a dedicated healer to see much use from me either. tsuki's whole thing is having a comically huge damage modifier on her ultimate attack, so i've naturally joined the bandwagon on building her for that. i still have a long way to go before she can delete the non-roaming bosses though.
games: magic the gathering
i started to play mtg recently because my boyfriend's really into it, and it's actually a ton of fun. we've mostly been playing in tabletop sim, so i've gotten to try a good number of different decks and seen some of the classically evil things like krenko. most of the decks i'd been playing had been decks that people had made themselves, but a bit ago i tried a precon called deep clue sea, and that changed something in my brain and now i can see the beauty of deckbuilding. it's a really good deck already, but with playing it, you can see how it could be better, and by the end of the night after i played that game with it, i found myself with a list of cards i could slot in.
i ordered the precon physically because it's actually a really decent price compared to most magic precons!!
shows: severance
really what can i say about it. the core concept is: what if your work life and personal life were really separated? as in, you couldn't remember your personal life at work, and you couldn't remember your work life from outside the walls of the building? who are you without your memories?
the show is enthralling, funny, scary at times, incredibly human, and will keep you thinking about it. everyone should watch this.
movies: black bag
black bag is a movie that my boyfriend and i went to go watch!! it's basically just a cute little spy movie where all the main characters are spies who work for the spy company. and there's a spy among them... a double spy. i won't spoil too much, but everyone kills it!! the script is a lot of fun, there's a lot of fun symbolism and stuff, and the directing is awesome. cate blanchett and marisa abela are mothering, and michael fassbender is malewifing. it's awesome.
it's a movie where you're like oh yeah. THIS is cinema. definitely see in theatres if you can!!!
movies: glass onion
i actually finished this movie yesterday! such a phenomenal and fun mystery, and definitely one that you can solve before the ending. i honestly am very reticent to say anything about this because it's just such a phenomenal movie and i think it's best experienced with knowing almost nothing. it really is a glass onion, though!
books: sunrise on the reaping
i'm actually not far into this because i'm a sicko but man. suzanne collins is such a phenomenal writer. it's also extremely impressive how these prequel novels slot into the world very easily and have their own things to say. the ballad of songbirds and snakes was also so so awesome. if you liked the hunger games and/or tbosas, definitely pick this up!! i must finish it...
music: imaginal disk
my boyfriend recommended me this album and it's sooo fun. it's strange and sploinky and it bumps. a lot of the time with albums i don't love listening to the album like front-to-back type deal, but the songs flow into each other really well, and it's a great listening experience. give it a shot if you want!! my favourite songs from it in order of appearance on the album are: she looked like me!, true blue interlude, death & romance, "fear, sex" (i put that one in brackets cuz the song has a comma in the title), vampire in the corner, love is everywhere, cry for me, and angel on a satellite.
let's all talk about the things we like
ending this post with a recommendation!! i think it's important to try and defy the negativity borne of ragebait algorithms. see a video about how something you like is bad actually? maybe click not interested. see a post with a stupid take? mute and don't even bother looking at the replies. if all of these platforms only want to show you negative content, you have to be the one who looks away.
naturally, you still should talk about things you don't like! but maybe going down a super deep rabbit hole and spending all your time thinking about it isn't great. let's all talk about the things we like some more, and maybe we'll start liking more and more things.