#I LOVE THIS SIDEPLOT SO FUCKING MUCH I SWEAR

[jusst-you-race]

hey Hey just a thought I know norstappen aren't immediately relevant anymore (they are always relevant to me) I was imagining norstappen fighting in ccc-verse. imagine. sry I need to make everything about them ik they're not suuuuper close in ur fic like maxiel are but max is like the only other driver lando has gotten Pissed pissed at this year (austria) and like genuinely disappointed (austin, mexico) and max the same but they both defend each other in the media (max saying lando Will be wdc in las vegas, lando saying he'd do the same as max by snitching even tho it royally fucked his race in qatar) liek there is just somethign so compelling about them... so much genuine respect between them,.. but when they actually do disagree the fallout is insane like lando is genuinely openly upset for the first time in a long time bc most of the time he brushes it off and goes to brood alone where no one can see but not this time!!! and max fumes bc he thinks lando is just being dramatic again and he's run out of patience and it becomes everyones problem.. sorry they r my faves which means I need to make them miserable in my head I'm just ranting feel free to ignore

but in other news in case u couldn't tell I'm obsessed with ur fic and the new pierresteban sideplot??????? exes??????? thissi so compelling I love toxic yaoi ok love u love ccc thank you for birthing it into this world so I and many others could read it I hope ur pillows are nice and cold every time you sleep I hope ur coffee is the perfect drinkable temperature every day

they r my faves which means I need to make them miserable in my head

okay i'm addressing this first because WOW if that isn't relatable there is no greater joy than putting your specialist boy through the horrors fr fr

in terms of norstappen i don't think they will have a big fight in ccc but i'm not going to rule it out entirely because even as i type this i can sort of see how i would make that work.... dammit... but never apologise for ranting to meeee!!!! i loved this so much i love hearing everyone's thoughts and rambles and things they like it's great <3

toxic yaoi my beloved <3<3 idk if pierresteban are going to be super toxic in ccc but they absolutely were toxic in the past i swear

thank you these are such lovely things to wish on someone (most appreciative of the pillow one as i go into summer)

[novemberdevils]

I took a shower before puck drop so you will get only intermission thoughts for today.

Jack keeping his hotel is just like me to the unending hatred that my sister for me, NO BECAUSE first race ALWAYS STRESS ME THE FUCK OUT-im a Ferrari fan im always stressed, jack my dear stupid Ferrari driver nico is not playing a game he just figured out that you have a praise kink and he is obsessed with you, oh jack I will wait for you oh oh moment to realise I actually think about nico a lot not because he is my rival but it’s because I love him, jack feeling like everything is tight and everything fits wrong is the worst anxiety feelings ever so please nico give him a hug and tell him it’s from me, Formation laps are awful. Oh I know -throwback when I went to bring my phone and looked away for literally two seconds and charles was in the fucking wall-, OUR FIRST RACE IS ON!! And let me tell you the way I was STRESSING reading the commentary and when they fucking touched?? Oh I lost it had to put my phone down to breath because first corner is ALWAYS stressful, you have killed it with the Ferrari radio bit it was so good genuinely got me even more into the fic and it made me so much invested with everything.

Okay second period has started so we will be back in the second intermission! 

WHAT DO YOU THINK FERRARI’S CALL WILL BE IF SAINZ GETS UP TO SECOND? Please dont do this to me I Will Cry, ryan being tired of jack and it’s only the first race is something I will cherish because no one can annoy the race engineers like drives do it’s a talent they all share and race engineer just have to suffer through it, but anyway yes let them fight, A JACK WIN!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYY AND IT IS A FERRARI 1-2!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for writing this and making me happy over fake results, ah jack having the home race curse there always a Ferrari driver who has it but he has a hundred home races he is good, oh my jack my dear you are in LOVE; what do you mean he thinks about what might noco say and is thinking about the articles they might be writing about him like boy get a grip, AND thinking he hasnt earn it because he didnt get to fight him for his he win JACK WTF??? This Is Not Normal Behaviour, “You didn’t like getting an easy win?” Where is that twitter meme the “you like pancakes? So you must hate waffles”, anyways jack really went and said I want nico to race me so I can earn my win; my guy wtf? YOU PUT THE COOL DOWN ROOM I let a squeal when I read it.

Okay third period has started and im getting so sleepy from my shower so I will end my rambling thoughts here today and will be back later to continue.

ferrari fan stress is so real... i will confess i was always more of a red bull fan myself but i live with ferrari fans lmao so we were just fighting whenever the race was on. go red bull. that was the easy life when i was paying my highest attention to the sport... what a great season it was. when max won like 15 races or whatever it was. he is so crazy <- i promise i am not doing That breed of crazy in my fic

i cannot resist the jack hughes praise kink. i swear it writes itself. i had nothing to do with that. don't look at me!!!

ferrari's call will be Annoying as always. ferrari team orders sideplot goes crazy. the only thing jack and carlos can agree on is fuck that we are not listening to their nonsense. i love when teams give team orders and the drivers just say no (oscar piastri TAKE NOTES.)

jack will forever be fighting the idiots in the media... and he will also forever be fighting. Himself. home race curse is real but like cmon man you DO have three home races a season there's got to be SOME hope for your unlucky ass. no spoilers though. it is about to be his first home race though yippee!!!

cool down room is a necessity i do intend to do it for every single race for the entire fic

[bastardbeewoman]

top fucking 10 best episodes

[demadogs]

You're so real for loving season 4

I don't get why it's been getting so much hate recently, specially on TikTok where everyone swears that season 3 was way better. Don't get me wrong, season 3 was enjoyable and the vibes were colorful and cool I guess, but there's no way it's better than season 4. Where's the running up that hill scene (and Max's whole plot), where are all the flashback montages, where are the darkish vibes from season 1, where is the Byler indie gay roadtrip sideplot?

It probably has to do with the fact that volume 2 disappointed a bit, but we shouldn't forget that the season is meant to be watched as a whole, and most of the episodes are great (Dear Billy is the best episode in the whole show come on)

HOW DO PEOPLE THINK S3 IS BETTER???

i didnt hate s3 when it came out but watching every season and the looking back at s3 its my least favorite because none of the main characters (that we like) even meet a monster until like the 6th episode i think?? the one in the hospital. yes theres flayed billy and the sauna scene but i like monsters that dont look human. a lot of the conflict in s3 are human. all the evil russians and everything. i get that it was necessary for the plot but i like a good old fashion MONSTER not some scary tall guy with a gun.

i also think aesthetically it just felt off. it is a very pretty looking season but right when i started s4 it just felt so right because they went back to that moody blue/gray color scheme.

i love the hawkins plot of season four so much. i loooove vecna as a villain. i love how much more horror the season felt. i love max’s story so much. dear billy IS the best episode in the whole show. and the running up that hill scene is the best scene in the entire show.

so many of my favorite scenes are from s4

the end of s3 montage where they reveal that max is cursed. this scene is so fucking good i love it so much.

running up that hill

the one take shootout

the PLANE CRASH CAN WE PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE HOW WELL DONE THAT WAS

when nancy, robin, eddie, and steve are in the upside down wheelers house playing with the lights and they play the same track that played in s1 when joyce first put up the lights. god i loved that.

I LOVE how they visually showed that it is literally the upside down. the way they had the gates either on a ceiling of on the floor to show that god that was so COOL!!!!!!!

how they showed nancy in ones backstory

lumax passing notes :((( 💜💖💚

the “epic synth version” of running up that hill playing over the montage of all of them in different places trying to kill one

the way they showed maxs bones snapping in slow motion and lucas’ reaction GOD

and thats not even including any byler stuff. i dont get why people didnt like volume 2 if theyre not only referring to the monologue. i loved it. the synth version of running up that hill played while nancy shot vecna?? that wasnt enough for you???

[moonsgreatestboydetective]

ALRIGHT SO: THE PETALS TO THE METAL GRAPHIC NOVEL

I just blew through the book (holy shit you guys it was so so good) and before I do a more thorough read through, I wanted to share my thots for the good folx who didn’t preorder/aren’t sold on the whole graphic novel thing, maybe sell y’all on givin it a read through!

If you don’t want your experience SPOILED for any reason (I attached a couple of pictures and my first impressions, but nothing at all major that’ll reveal any of their hard work, so don’t worry if you just want a sneak peek), I’m keeping them under the cut, so read on at your own discretion.

TLDR: If you have the money to throw their way, I totally recommend getting your hands on this book. It’s beautiful, totally true to the source material, and a really a fun ride (sorry) from start to finish!!

First of all, this graphic novel is actually fucking gorgeous. Like wowsers. The whole thing is just absolutely beautiful, like the prior two are really amazing, but this one is full of huge, sweeping landscapes, really lovely detail work, super expressive faces, the works. There are multiple full page spreads (it’s a bit longer than the previous two), full of beautiful colors and just stunning visuals.

All of the character designs are really really good. Obviously everyone has seen the concept art for Hurley and Sloane (we’ll get to them, they’re everything I dreamed of and more), but other NPCs, the battlewagons, the backdrops, everything is so lovingly thought out and is such an amazing visual. Captain Captain Bane, Maarvy (who is a girl now!), GARYL, the Lich (again, no spoiling), they’re all exactly the way you picture them and full of life and character.

It’s also got a ton of inside jokes and references for fans of the podcast who know what comes further along in the Balance storyline, like advertisements for the Chug N’ Squeeze, a cameo of Carey Fangbattle, the Red Robe’s Cave, and I’m sure a bunch of others I’ll notice when I read it again!

Obviously, Petals to the Metal is a real beefy boy, with ten episodes and the Lunar Interlude beforehand. This is actually where I am now on my latest (third!) relisten, and I just finished episode five and they still haven’t gotten to the race. There are a ton of goofs and a lot of sidequests/sideplots like the elevator fight that lasts almost a full ep, the whole misadventure with Little Jerry and Jereeeeee, and a bunch of other very good bits throughout the arc, and one thing I was really impressed with was how well they decided which bits of “filler” could be cut without damaging the narrative and missing fan favs. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER I’m super bummed they cut a large part of the hilarity of the Midsummer Festival, the majority of the scenes fighting Trent the Treant and in the elevator shaft, the iconic “Are you afraid?” line, and just everything about their attempted infiltration of the Hammerheads’ hideout [while this is actually a really hilarious cut and has been reworked to be a lot shorter] like the SAY MY NAME bit with Taako’s bad impression, Merle’s Evangelizing SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER. They do a really good job making it manageable to the readers by condensing a TON of material, but don’t outright remove anything that we the fans desperately were ready to see in full technicolor visuals.

This is, of course, referring to The Butt.

Just as an intentionally blurry sneak peek (there’s more that just this, I swear-- they were clearly Prepared for the fans) to ready y’all:

As for the other thing that everyone was foaming at the mouth excited for: Hurley and Sloane. Holy shit y’all. SO much more backstory, real obvious Gay™️, the ACHING when they look at each other, I’m just completely hearteyed in love with these beautiful ladies. They definitely changed a few things, as they’ve hinted at in interviews, but it’s really well done and still absolutely falls in line with the overall tone of the podcast. I could write a whole ass essay about how amazing their dynamic is, but I will definitely leave that as a ~surprise~ for everyone to see for themselves (along with the race itself, because we all know that’s the Main Event here).

The main THB character development is real real good too, with Taako’s “I’m a fully realized creation!” speech and Merle’s 50 Shades of Green moment being particularly amazing. Their facial expressions throughout the arc are wicked good and really convey the McElroy vocal inflections that are hard to show in print, like Taako’s shit eating grin while messing with Leon, and Magnus and Taako dying while listening to their FATHER seduce, well, everything.

In addition to all of the Easter Eggs for their listeners, there are also some great world building elements to tie this storyline back to the overall Balance Campaign, like another of the Director’s excellent speeches about the importance of disposing of the Grand Relics, the scene in Captain Captain Bane’s Office (which was also trimmed down and the lines modified, but still excellent), and our first look at the Hunger. The Hunger is absolutely terrifying (seriously, what a way to set the tone for the overriding storyline while still being wholly focused on the individual Petals arc)-- it looks Exactly the way Griff describes it in the Lunar Interlude and is just horrifying. The expressions on the THB’s faces are just *chef’s kiss*.

Overall, while there were a ton of elements that they had to adjust (partially for brevity and also to prevent potential copyright problems as in the first two books), the graphic novel is extremely well written, it absolutely feels like an extension/supplement of the podcast, and the art is utterly absorbing and gorgeously rendered. If anyone is somehow still on the fence about the book, I would give it a definite ten out of ten recommendation!

NOW GIVE ME THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM!