#doesnt have to be insane it just has to be made because making stuff Feels Good.

[swiftcast-selene]

"you think he's just making us do his chores?" "who cares? look at the size of this one! you could serve 'im up for dinner." "...he does look delicious."

[devotedlystrangewizard]

i have such strong memories related to black sails like. it was my mom's birthday. during a weekend. think 2018/2019. we went away for the weekend to this. place. idk what its called in english but yk rent a tiny house for like a few days. whatever. i can remember what it looked like. i sat on that couch watching black sails. my sister and i had to share a room and i managed to break the bed (not permanently) i had to sleep on & because even after fixing it i didnt trust it, i slept on the floor. it was on that floor that i watched s2 of black sails. it was on that floor that i saw that fucking scene that fundamentally changed me as a person. because. listen. black sails was one of the first shows id watched with a queer story. with not one but two major plot threads revolving around queer people's relationships. i remember sitting in the car in the dark as the rest of my family was ordering fries for us and i remember my mom going "hey look gay couple!" in a restaurant. it doesnt feel real. that entire weekend is a fever dream. i thought i was just watching a pirate show. the pirates were gay. the pirates were fucking gay bro. i cried over that show. i wept at the end of it. i had to play boardgames for my mom's birthday and pretend like i wasnt going insane because the pirates were gay and i was just. ough. i was 14 or 15 and i was barely out and i was new to being queer in any capacity and it was such an experience.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Making s'mores w/ the proxies

Bro I made cajun shrimp a while ago and I wanna make it again it's so good but my dad doesnt like cajun seasonings💔

Notes: reader is GN, admin shows his bias against smores and its so obvious LMAO, masky and hoodie are stubborn about their masks

CWs: none

MASKY

loathes smores, he just thinks theyre too much and not worth the mess.. he doesnt have much of a sweet tooth, and the only reason he would eat one is because you went through the effort of starting a fire and bringing the stuff out and meeting him in the woods

has his back to you while hes eating his, hes not quite to the "hes fine with lifting his mask up around you" stage, and its going to stay like that for a long while

viscously rubbing his face afterwards to get rid of any leftover mess, he hardly ever talks or makes a sound but you can hear him hissing under his breath as he works

snatches up any napkins or wipes you hand him and rubs his face clean- may rip his mask off to clean the insides of it because he put it back on not realizing there was still more mess on his face

rage rage anger he hates it so much

HOODIE

you have to beg him to take his nasty crusty gloves off before you even open the bag of marshmallows- for both your sakes... you love him, really you do, but you cant stomach the idea of him touching the same food youre going to eat with said gloves

doesnt much care for smores actually, he thinks theyre too messy... it gets absolutely everywhere and he isnt too fond of the feeling of his mask sticking to his face where he missed some spots

it also doesnt help that he doesnt fully take off his mask, only lifting it up enough to eat the damn thing... he wouldnt have to worry about it if he just took the entire thing off... but oh well

likes the marshmallow moderately roasted- far from burnt, but toasted enough that its softened

would prefer a different treat next time

TICCI TOBY

you know what? blasting him with the beam of "has never tried a smore before in his life because the author has never gotten to try one"

burns his marshmallow but he prefers it that way, both texturally and flavor wise, you may think him insane for roasting it until the outside looks like coal but it brings him joy!

doesnt mind the mess it makes, if he gets some of the melted marshmallow on his hands he might wave it in your face and pretend hes about to touch you

very passionate debate on whether or not the chocolate goes under or above the marshmallow- he thinks it tastes better above but most people do it under.. he swears it tastes better this way! just try it!

you know how some people will take those cracker/meat/cheese lunchables and make a giant stack? he does that with the smore and its as messy and horrific as it sounds

[illyabata]

scars are A Thing™ with wriothesley and nobody can convince me otherwise, idc if there is zero mention of his scars or their meaning when he comes out idc it’s my permanent headcanon that scars and their stories are simply entangled with his character idc

so now i give you: wriothesley who is fascinated by your scars

tw: discussion of scars lol, but in no way do i indicate their origin unless it’s stretch marks. however if talk of scars at all is triggering to you, dont read!! it’s sweet fluffy stuff, but that doesn’t matter if it will trigger you. please take care :)

sfw, big brainrot under cut

theyre so much smaller than his, more delicate, just like you. doesnt matter if compared to other people you are big or tall, he’s such a big guy that he makes you feel small no matter your size or height. and no matter what your scars look like to you, to him they are beautiful. to him they are delicate.

he’s enamored by all of your scars no matter their origin—stretch marks, however, seem to intrigue him the most of all. he’s absolutely transfixed by them, and you can never understand why. he’s simply mesmerized by the way the blemished skin stretches as he thumbs and presses it, watching the discoloration flatten itself only to bloat back when he leaves it alone. for some reason he just seems so puzzled by the concept of natural scarring of the body; nothing had happened to harm you for these to appear—they’re simply the product of change, your skin either going through rapid periods of expanding or shrinking. he thinks they’re pretty.

he’d spend so long just running his rough fingers over your skin, absorbed in the feeling of the puckered tissue under his own blemished hands. whether the scars are stretch marks or from something else, he loves them, he loves you.

this might sound weird but i just like to imagine you both spend time gently tracing each others’ scars as comfort, like it sounds weird in words but it makes sense i promise. there is something intimate and fascinating about scars, no matter what they’re from; it’s truly like the language of your body’s history, a record of what has occurred. you can resent them or be proud of them, it really depends on the person and situation—but regardless, scars are always a record, and that is a constant no matter the person.

and if you’re not comfortable with that level of touch or that much attention on your scars, that is absolutely okay. he’s not going to make you uncomfortable, he’ll always ask if it’s okay before he looks at or touches them—or touches you at all, really. he never wants to hurt you. and if you say you’d rather he not touch your scars, he’ll understand and just show you he loves you—all of you—in some other way.

like idk about anyone else or if its just me and im fucking insane but sometimes i get lost looking at my own scars; sometimes the human body at work is just kind of fascinating to watch, and even more so in retrospect. it’s like holy fuck you’re looking at its handiwork, you can plainly see how the skin has been so masterfully rebuilt into this little woven bandaid of cells, carefully crafted to not only rebuild but protect. your body has looked after itself, and it will continue to do so. and thats just kind of a fascinating thing to me idk😭

some extra thoughts about scars, not really to do with wrio; red brackets will indicate the end of it if you want to skip: [[ it usually replaces any feeling of disgust i have because instead of focusing on the bad feeling of remembering where they came from or being sad at the way they look im able to think about how cool it is the way my body recovered and made my skin even stronger; it didnt just wipe it all away and give me a clean slate so i could forget, it pieced the cells together again bit by bit until it had not only replaced the wound but enforced it—so instead of forgetting the bad feelings, they were replaced by wonder. sort of like a sign that says “proof that where once there was pain, now there is strength”. it’s kind of like how they say you don’t just try to quit bad habits, you must replace the bad habit with a good one. you can replace the bad feelings associated with your scars with new feelings, whether they are good feelings or neutral feelings or meh feelings. ]]

before you, he understood scars to be an ugly thing—a source of shame, a show for others to marvel at if he left them uncovered, for them to ogle at and whisper about as if trying to guess the origin of the wounds was a sort of entertainment to them. and then in the fortress of meropide, his scars felt much less like a source of shame and more like an intimidation factor (which wasn’t something he necessarily felt good about, but it was something that he benefitted from as the duke). but when you came along and he began to know you, suddenly they were this beautiful, fascinating phenomenon that lead him to view his own scars in a different light.

he’s a powerful, strong man, yes. he’s intimidating and feared, but he is also loved, and all for good reason—he is solid and safe, an image of reliability to others. and sometimes it could weigh him down when he couldn’t seem to let another help carry the burden.

the way you made him feel, though, tracing his big ugly scars like they were rivers, like they weren’t repulsive—it changed him entirely, and it changed the way he saw himself. in the overworld, he was a criminal brute slathered in the proof of his savageness. in the fortress, he was the rock-solid standard for redemption, and he had to uphold his firm reputation. but with you, he was able to be fragile; with you, the walls he had built to protect himself from both sides of fontaine’s society came tumbling down, because he didn’t have to pretend when he was with you.

if such a small, sweet thing like you could see him in such a kind light with so much love in those eyes of yours, perhaps he was not so bad after all.

everyone else in all of teyvat could believe he was truly a bad guy like he sometimes enjoyed playing at—but it wouldn’t matter, because there you were in his bed every night, held fast in his big arms as you mindlessly traced the long, thin writings engraved in his skin, letting the stories they told lull you to sleep.

[moonshynecybin]

Hi! I have been thinking about Marc and the ways he expresses his anger... giving the cold shoulder... the silent treatment if you will (he will speak ABOUT vale but not TO vale let alone WITH vale)... need your input please....

hmm good question.... this got. STUPID long sorry

uhhh marc is, in general, good at keeping his (negative) emotions in check. like i think marc loooooves to think of himself on track as a mature, controlled, and rational dude. above distraction. a killer. a cyborg. idk his dad has talked about how he doesnt really complain much about injury and there's also allll these stories about what a mature kid he was... so i think that when he was young - ESPECIALLY in a racing sense because he was so much younger than most of the people he was competing against - he internalized that in order to do all the stuff he wants to do racing-wise, he reallyyyy has to keep a level head and not well. act his age! and i think that extends to a lot of how he manages his emotions today (at least in a public setting). even in places where im pretty sure hes PISSED (sepang. phillip island 2013.) he just kind of. visibly contains himself. not a confrontational dude in the outright sense he'll clench his jaw and try to work through it.

which is part of what makes his valentino-oriented crazy so interesting. bc people were noticing that marc in 2015 was kind of. being weird. as his and valentino's relationship deteriorated. like they were both outwardly very much like we can keep it on track :) until the big fallout towards the end of the year but uhhhh. well marc has said that vale started pulling back in september of 2014 like he was noticing SOMETHING, and they clashed on track A LOT in 2015, and i think marc sensed vale cooling on him and freaked a lil. hashtag neurotic 22 year old moments. he is my favorite crazy ex girlfriend. like usually he IS good at separating that stuff out and managing his emotions in the racing sense but in assen that year when vale overtook him off track after they made contact he raised a BIG stink with race direction and actually had some uh. not especially chill quotes about it. (it should be noted marc was also flopping for the first time in his motogp career. like in his brain he stopped winning AND vale stopped talking to him he was goin through it) adn all the reporters noticed too they were like. why werent you sucking and fucking in parc ferme. like vale's left turn wrt to spaniard sabotage comes outta nowhere but people WERE noticing that things were changing. i bet marc noticed too. BUT they are not the type of people to talk about these things so they keep it to vague flirting in presscons and escalating on-track tension slash proxy wars waged in race-direction contexts... liek truly you are 22 you are not going to keep your championship title and your hot sports idol bestie is no longer flirting with you on twitter and you COULD just talk to him about that but you'd rather DIE so youre going to ask honda to back you up to race direction about your last race where you DEFINITELY lost bc winning is the ONLY thing thatll make you feel better. even though thatll help convince your hot sports idol that you are engaging in a benedict arnold level betrayal scheme against him. an insane time to be marc marquez. 2015 really kind of is a study on how both of them handle losing: NOT WELL.

and then the thing about sepang is that then the lid is blown clean off and marc spends the ENTIRE race being annoying on purposeeeee. hes so fucking pissed and hurt at valentino that he decides to get under his skin for REALSIES instead of focusing on his race. like idk he probably would have fought hard for the win without the drama that how he works but uh. i think he was being annoying specifically to bite at vale's edges. and part of that is bc marc is naturally and effortlessly annoying. but i think part of it was SPITE. like his team advised him not to speak on anything from that presscon and he didnt, but he can still fuck him over on track. get under his skin. like he cant tell vale to his FACE that he's angry and confused and hurt. but he CAN let him know on that fucking racing line. where he cant be ignored. idk like i cant see marc letting anyone else get under his skin like that.

AND another big ass exception to the marc marquez anger management philosophy is from misano 2019 where vale messes with his qualifying lap. a lovely anon sent me some videos of marc talking to the press and jesus christ i dont think ive ever seen him angrier oh my god. AND the anon also linked the race from that weekend where he won and he celebrated harder than ive seen him celebrate some TITLE wins like he went. notably nuts. the commentators were all like uhhhh. he mustve REALLY wanted to get one over on vale adjfhlkdh... idk if any of this answered your question but his relationship to his emotions fascinates me hes so weirddddd. and its interesting to me that he can shrug off jorge ruining his last race at honda and be friendly but also be like. kind of aloofly pissed at bezz. because of valentino! he can repress the rest of it, but valentino shines through the cracks.

[paradoxbeta]

WHO IS EOC? i am very curious now!!!

>:) okay SO

tumblr picture formatting is utter garbage and i dont want these to take up too much space so im cramming these drawings into one row (or not if this crapsite breaks on me, because it seems to be REALLY fighting me on this, so if it ends up not making a nice little picture row know that i tried my best). but this is effigy of composure!

he has a couple problems, but the big one is that his superstructure has a terrible parasite situation. the parasites are flat, thin, and able to make it into grooves and pipes the inspectors cant reach. flushing out doesnt do much to dislodge them and they breed faster than they can be killed, so theyve happily made their homes in this sheltered, food-rich haven (to the obvious distress and horror of the host iterator). originally the concept for these parasites were much closer to centipedes and had the placeholder name "synapcipedes," but ive since started leaning more towards an obvious tapeworm motif for them because its gross and i enjoy it morbidly. it also has some pretty cursed implications if you think about it for too long which i have decided are funny/really disgusting/so stupid that they have to stay. i still flipflop between considering them centipedes vs tapeworms though and i dont think thatll ever be rigidly defined. the ambiguity is nice to toy with

on the top 10 list of "things that are not fun" having turbo worms has to be somewhere up there, so eoc has it *rough,* and kind of sort of eventually barrels off into the deep end because of it. his futile attempts to clean his own structure are frustrating enough, and the constant feeling of bugs crawling all over the inside of his body (which only gets progressively worse with time) does no favors either. however, the real big reason why he mentally declines is just because there's a ton of centi-worm things eating like fire through his neurons and other what-have-yous that iterators need to think and function. i think if he only got hit with one of these 3 things then he might have been able to hang onto his sanity, but with the triple combo he doesn't really stand a chance of doing much except stalling his functional death. which is good on him because if i was an iterator and my overseers told me i had a structure infestation, my mental health would have just preemptively swan dived off a bridge before anything even happened

anyhow, exponential parasite population growth meant exponential increase in all this other fun stuff, which means the time from the beginning of the infection to the time eoc is considered officially gone is startlingly short (for iterators, at least). it still took quite the while because losing your marbles is a loonnnng process, but still, yikes. its unfortunate because eoc was a real jokester pre-everything, and a cool guy to talk to. he was one of those people who could come up witty comments for anything like hed been ripped from the script of a sitcom. oh yeah, also, should have mentioned this earlier, but he ends up accidentally amassing a scavenger cult mid-insanity which goes hilariously bad because he's barely aware it's happening. nothing really works out for this poor iterator.

tldr: eoc gets parasites, they erode his brain, he goes nuts about it, (accidentally amasses a cult,) dies

[liquidstar]

wait speaking of getting isekia'd via truck, a couple weeks back me and a friend on were talking abt portal fantasy/isekai tropes (mostly bc i was infodumping abt rz again), and it made me think abt a fun concept for an ocverse. tho its possible similar things have been done obvs with just how inflated the genre is, just hear me out OK

story starts in the normal world, with a typical Nerdy Guy going about his daily life, expositing about how he feels bored and longs for adventure and magic, just like in all of his favorite media. as he's crossing the street, distracted by his mobile game, he doesn't notice The Truck(tm) coming straight towards him. except he's not hit by it- he's pushed out of the way in the last second, saved by a passing girl who gets hit in his place. this is who the story is about now.

mc gets sent to that sort of intermediary dimension that some isekai have, where she meets the Goddess Lady or whatever that was in charge of the whole isekai situation. goddess lady proceeds to freak out, because she nabbed the wrong person, and she's going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE. she starts questioning the mc, only to find out that this kid has a good social life, does well in school, is in sports, and has barely ever played a video game. basically the opposite of the socially introverted, underachieving, repressed, genre-aware guy she was supposed to have reincarnated. for the sake of fulfilling somekinda hero prophesy or whatever. and the mc kinda bargains to be sent to the fantasy world anyway bc, well, its that or death i guess. so the two of them kinda have to team up to course-correct this mix-up.

mc is kinda given a list of tasks to do that basically mirror how a typical story like this Would Go, expected to fall in line with the tropes in order to achieve the ultimate goal, but kinda ends up failing at all of them... or not? failing backwards, maybe. doing it in a way different from how its meant to go- using the wrong formula, but somehow getting the right solution. while sort of continuing to question the insanity of the whole situation, and the nature of this whole fantasy world. just fucking up all the tropes.

but a layer i'd wanna add on top of all that is the fact that the hero prophesy (or whatever) called for a man. so upon arriving to this new world, the mc is basically put into a "gender swapped" body and... doesnt seem to mind. this isnt an uncommon isekai trope either, but i hardly see it tackled with much care to really explore whole Gender Thing beyond gags about the "mismatch" (which can be in poor taste) or the conclusion that "well because their Body is now this gender, their gender identity changes to match" which i feel is a pretty shallow and binary take-away to draw abt bodies and identity.

but i think there can be more to explore w the prospect if you actually wanna get into gender stuff. in this case, i'd particularly wanna get into the idea of imposter syndrome. the main character was not MEANT to be... the main character. seen as a phony fighting tooth and nail to meet expectations, and constantly fumbling. not a real hero, or a real man. but its meant to be an act anyway, so why does that bother her? it was like that back on earth too, trying as hard as possible to be the perfect girl. a good social life, does well in school, is in sports.... but that good girl thing always felt fake too. or desperate. what was she trying to prove? how long as this BEEN bothering her, actually? why does it feel easier to breathe in this body, despite everything? the way this whole act makes her happy is scary, because its fake isn't it? but wait, which part was fake? the before or after? is it all fake? isn't this all just a mistake?

was it really a mistake? who is more heroic; a guy too focused on a mobile game to pay attention to those around him, or the person who risked their life to save a stranger? but the hero prophesy was for a "man," right? what does that even mean?

[thatonebipotato]

gonna ramble about MAWS season 3 predictions and stuff under the cut, its gonna be pretty long and also mostly about conner

ok so first off, MAWS season 3 and conner in s3 are both CONFIRMED LETS GOOO

so i have some thoughts about what i think will happen, at least very specifically with conner

alright so first off, its possible that they could go the standard clone route. thats what im hoping for, as it seems pretty fun and has so much angst potential, especially in this iteration

first off there's the half kryptonian half human thing. thats probably gonna be luthors main draw to why superboy is better. however, thats also gonna be the thing that drives him to isolation, as it tends to do. hes too human to be kryptonian and too kryptonian to be human

luthor and slade, who are fairly good at manipulation, can use this against him and keep him feeling isolated so that he stays with them. knowing them and what they can do, i also believe that they might use kryptonite against him to keep him in line

i believe it could be some kind of sick back and forth, where conner keeps one upping clark and kara and being used as proof that aliens arent needed or wanted, and then clark and kara catching back up and him feeling like hes failing his only purpose

this leads up to a culmination of superboy going against superman and supergirl. ive mentioned the line "i never asked/wanted to be made" coming up before, and i think it could be here that its used

the first season was about clark learning and accepting who he is, then the second was about him and kara learning and accepting who they are, so it does make sense for the third season to also throw in a third kryptonian so they learn who they are together

however, the conner teaser we got shows him looking fairly tan. both luthor and clark are fairly pale in this iteration, so its possible that it could be a clone between lois and clark instead, as ive seen some people point out.

the alternative, which i think is a little bit more likely, is that it will be a conner from an alternate dimension.

alternate dimensions have already been played around with in the first season of MAWS, and as seen in this photo (the second one of the post) from the panel showing off what might be the s3 opening or possibly a promotional poster or smth, it looks like they're not only going to be bringing back the other dimensions, but it seems like that might be the main focus of the season

what i think could happen with this is that they either get to a dimension with conner in it and he helps them with whatever they need, or hes the one/is also traveling dimensions and they just happen to run into each other and they help each other out.

from there, i think we can learn that conner doesnt exist in the main dimension yet, so conner gives clark tips on how to handle him when he finally gets made. that, or because of weird dimension stuff he has to be super tight lipped about everything and can only give him vague hints.

near the end of the season, we also get a teaser for the main universes superboy, who gets to actually star in a potential 4th season

idk, these are just my thoughts that i wanna share. we dont have a lot to go off of as far as i know, but im so hyped for the next season its insane. if anyone wants to add PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go for it, id love to hear other thoughts and perspectives and discuss this with people!!

[thelureking]

I had this idea to make a list of all the games I played in 2022, half as a recommendation list, and half because I struggle to remember when I played what. I have a really bad time ranking stuff, so I'll just list them chronologically (or, as chronologically as I can remember).

Note: Sometimes I dont have a lot to say about a game, but that doesnt mean I didn't like it or that it isn't good.

So, with that being said:

1) Our Life: Beginnings and Always

This game has put visual novels on another level entirely. How must I go on knowing that I will never be treated like royalty by any other game like this did. Our Life tells the story of your friendship and/or romance with Cove Holden, your new neighbor. This Visual Novel remembers an insane amount of stuff you choose, and it can put you in the state of mentioning something you did as a kid that you completely forgot about. I actually really liked how you can go the entire game as just friends, or choose when your character develops romantic feelings. I cannot overstate how well made this entire thing is. Can't wait to play the DLCs and for the sequel to be released.

Absolute recommend.

2) Iron Lung

If you have a computer, you can play it. It is not an option.

Claustrophobic above all, this game captures the pure dread of the unknown, building tension and atmosphere as you travel through this unknown planet's red sea. Highly recommended.

3) An Outcry

Amazing game that I don't see enough people talking about. The first game that made me actually physically ill while playing an alternative route. I don't know what hit me the most, the subject matter or the type of person I played in that route, a person I know exists and maybe I've met, a person I hope I never become. I knew what the game was specifically referencing, but I found it good that it was able to trigger that response on someone who lives in an entirely different place, with different historical events, but with enough similarities that made the feeling of dread and disgust that much real. Its message is clear and loud as it should be, and one that I think maybe now more than ever needs to be heard. I cannot recommend this game enough.

4) Stillwater

Now this is a Visual Novel that I really liked and would have loved for it to be longer, but I love it as it is. It left me wanting more about the world and its characters, and I think that's a good thing. It feels unfair that this is the one I typed the least about, knowing how much I liked it. It's really worth the read/play.

5) The Caribbean Sail

Have you ever wanted to be a sailor or a pirate? Have you ever wanted to grab a ship, sail into unknown destinations, encounter supernatural phenomenons and watch as your fellow crew members die of disentry five seconds after leaving your first port? Because if so, I have the perfect game for you. It's inspired by the Oregon Trail game, and that's literally what the gameplay is like, except on the sea. Which was enough of a selling point for me.

6) Carrion

My child, it has every disease. Loved the concept when I saw the trailer, forgot I can actually buy games now, and then proceeded to do that. Being able to live my fantasies of being a flesh creature that destroys and eats everything in its path was a delight. The creature is my child and I love it very much.

We need more games that let you play as the monster, I'm serious.

7) The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante

This game is both my beloved and the thorn on my side. Who would have thought that in a game like this you would proceed to suffer through life? I said to myself as if I hadn't known what I was getting into. You'll experience loss, you'll struggle to make a name for yourself, your family will fall apart, and you may never kiss your best friend Tommas who gave you a totally platonic ring to commemorate your friendship because the game doesn't want you to.

Or you'll have a different experience than me on my first playthrough.

You follow the titular Sir Brante from the moment of his birth to his last breath, exploring the world he lives in, full of injustices that at times made me go "I do not care about the lots, give me a fucking gun so I can take you to the fucking Twins". There are many branches regarding life paths, the fate of your family and that of the entire city you live in. But don't worry about it now, keep looking at those toy soldiers at the store as a little kid, I'm sure nothing will happen in the future.

8) Princess Maker 2 Refine

And apparently I didn't get enough of walking a kid through life.

Who looks at a game about raising a little girl by managing her monthly schedule and balancing her stats, health and money and says "yes, this is the game I'll play to destress"?

I do that. Don't ask why.

I have only reached two endings, in one my beautiful daughter became the royal painter, her art held as the most beautiful and inspiring in the entire world. In another, my girl made a name for herself by exploring the lands surrounding the kingdom, so fast on her feet nobody could even scratch her; she married a dragon prince and became the teacher of her own fighting school.

And even with all of that, her goddess mother was not happy.

So yes, this is the "divorced dad who got custody" experience.

9) Planescape: Torment

What can change the nature of a man? That is a question posed by one Ravel Puzzlewell, night hag of the Gray Wastes. It is one of the many questions that this game asks, intertwined by the many philosophies it presents. Planescape Torment does not stick to one question, it asks many, and it lets you answer.

It is a beautifully written game, one of the best I have ever read. There is one moment that I do not wish to spoil, but it still sticks to my head months after I experienced it. As a writer, I found myself fascinated by how a certain event was told, all because of the way it was presented.

It feels like an injustice to not talk in length about Planescape: Torment, but I seriously don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't played it yet. A blind experience is fully worth it. All you need to know is that this is the game that made me post for the first time here, two dumb memes for myself and one short analysis that sometimes reminds me that yes, people can interact with it. Shameless link to it here

10) Growing my Grandpa!

If I had to describe this game without saying too much, I would say it's "heartwarming horror". Two words that don't usually go together, but that they perfectly fit here. The story is, like the title says, about growing your grandpa, more like helping a girl grow her grandpa, but still. Strangely sweet and unnerving, I was tense the entire time, and even when I had to replay it to get the second ending (this was entirely my fault, since I could have gotten it way easier) that tension never left.

11) FAITH: The Unholy Trinity

I don't remember how I found out about this game, but I remember waiting patiently for it to get a steam release so I could buy it and play its three chapters all together. The day finally came, and all that waiting was worth it.

The gameplay is simple, yet the developers found a way to have me both crying in fear and frothing by the mouth out of anger every time I saw the game over screen (affectionately). In terms of difficulty, I would say the game is easy until it isn't, looking at you Chapter 2 and 3 Final Bosses, you bastards. Then again, I saw people say they struggled in places I didn't, so I would say it depends on the player.

The story is so interesting and it's still marinating in my brain please I need people to talk about how the prologue of chapter 2 and the one note in chapter 3 relate please. The cutscenes are also so well done, and I had to restrain myself from using one as a second picture because I didn't want to spoil any of them.

All in all, a must play, fully recommend it.

And remember:

GARY LOVES YOU

12) Inmortal Mantis

This is a tricky one. On one hand, the game starts off by basically spelling out every action you have to do, and suddenly it goes full on "fuck around and find out" mode. On the other, the game implements some interesting mechanics that I would love to see developed on a longer game, but I am not going to put the length against it while knowing how hard it is to make a game. And maybe being short plays in its favor.

13) Who's Lila?

This game is my King in Yellow. I cannot stop thinking about it. I finished it with all endings and achievements in a day, and it wont leave me alone. It is always there, forever crawling at the back of my head, stretching itself over my brain and weaving my thoughts into a spiral as easily as a spider weaves its thread. It made itself a home in my mind and I won't kick it out any time soon. I played it because the concept of controlling a character's face in place of a dialogue wheel was interesting, and the story and the way it's presented (hand in hand with the gameplay) lured me deeper and deeper. I cannot even describe it without giving it the praise it deserves. It takes full advantage of its medium. Playing this game is an experience that I can't recommend enough, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves.

14) Someone stole MY LUNCH!

This visual novel is pure fun. The humor is so good I found myself reading the entire thing out loud while wheezing. I actually found out recently that it's made by the same people that made Stillwater, which, looking at it now I should have known. It's good and I'm not still over not seeing that one joke coming; well played.

15) MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF-

... INSIDE A BAG OF MILK is a short visual novel about a girl going to the grocery to buy milk, and the challenge this seemingly small action can be. It is your responsibility to help her through this.

The steam page description perfectly summarizes it: "This is an artistic manipulation with word and form, only then - a game."

Reblog with more games

Or, you can jump to the 2023 list!

[sainteclectic]

ok ok wholesoul rambling christmas edition because im Feelin a Certain Way and youre the wholesoul authority in my head youre just the wholesoul guy. consider :

the holidays roll around and soul is, one one claw, HEAVILY squicked out by all the nativity stuff and jesus stuff and general christian-holiday business talking about "jesus is god" and all that. hes like No yourw wrong youre so wrong. you see, random white lady, god is actually this specific yellow dude

but on the other claw, it doesnt help his obsessiveness much. he makes little gifts for whole that he knows he wont ever get the chance to give, whether physically, or restrained by his own nervousness. he keeps heart and mind as civil as he can because "HEY ITS CHRISTMAS STOP ARGUING BE JOLLY" but its so much more draining. he wishes so badly whole could be here. he wishes the headspace had a fireplace he could lay in front of, the others asleep and safe and okay, with his sovereign there next to him. everything would be perfect. but that isnt happening, right? it could never. whole would never, surely.

also heart and mind find a little cardboard-cutout-whole ornament on the tree (somehow they got a tree into the headspace idk) and are very perplexed and soul is like I MADE IT MYSELF :DDDDD

idk how well this aligns with your hcs but we ball

I am Honored to be the wholesoul guy. I love them so so much it's insane

it's not often that soul gets to celebrate christmas during the loops, since the day usually doesn't happen during concord. he likes to pretend, though. pretend that he can have a normal holiday. he likes decorating the house, wrapping presents that he'll never give, making stockings they'll never use {and if he makes one for whole and stuffs it full of presents, hoping desperately that maybe He would see them somehow, what's the harm in that?} he tries desperately to keep the peace as his christmas gift to whole, begging them to get along and have christmas spirit- it's mostly an excuse, but at least they're not trying to kill each other today. he's exhausted from trying to make everything perfect that day, but maybe whole will be proud of him grateful for it.

re: religion, soul is generally kind of uncomfortable around christianity (see: two wuv), and I think that religious trauma informs how he sees whole. after all, in christianity suffering is seen as just and holy, and soul definitely sees his suffering as a form of worship. he's the ultimate martyr, the sacrificial lamb, using his pain as devotion because otherwise it's just pain with no meaning. he desperately wants all this to mean something, to be appreciated and his god be proud of everything he's gone through. it's also a more comforting religious experience, one untainted by past experiences. he knows that the christian god would hate him, but he can at least pretend that whole would love him. and he revels in that. clings to the possibility like a drowning man clings to a life preserver.

fun fact about that last part! my upcoming work actually has a passage about soul drawing whole:

It's never seen Whole, not exactly. Not like this. It sees Him in brief flashes, more of an impression of a face than His true visage. It's a face he's tried to recreate, to draw over and over, every single loop, so he doesn't forget what it looks like. {He refuses to look at his own for a reference. It feels blasphemous, to imply he could ever be comparable to Harmonia.}

and in the beautiful world I've crafted in my brain where they can interact, I think soul would be so incredibly nervous getting anything for whole. after all, what do you possibly get a god? how could your gift possibly be enough for divinity? he tries dozens of ideas: a tacky gag gift to make him laugh {too disrespectful}, a handmade gift {his work could never be good enough}, a simple gift {too mundane for a god}, an over the top extravagant one {too flashy for someone like whole}...

eventualy whole finds him sitting in his room, half-finished and destroyed gifts strewn across the floor. he says it's okay if he doesn't give whole something perfect, that the fact someone cared about him enough to want to give him a gift is the perfect present :-)

[sdvshanewife]

Gonna be honest and say that I don’t even think shane is rude he’s just not very nice. (Obviously all early on) first meeting he says the thing why are you talking to me I don’t know you. Which is a) true and b) not that bad he’s just like bruh who are you man. Okay woah not very friendly like most of the town but just how it is sometimes

And I feel like no one ever considers the actual situation afterwards. If you keep talking to him despite him very obviously wanting to be left alone and have somewhat made it clear the first time that’s on you?? He SAID leave him alone. The player isn’t respecting that and keeps talking to him. Obviously in stardew valley it all works out happy ending they get married yeah yeah everything’s okay but. In the real world if you keep bothering a guy who tells you to Leave Him Alone and he starts saying stuff like “what do you want” “go away” that is literally entirely on the person who doesn’t listen to him and you know, leave him alone?? It is so insane to me that people act like he’s the worst, acting like you said hi and he went “fuck you and your entire family I hope you die in a [redacted]”. Okay, I’ll agree that he’s not nice. But It is genuinely crazy to me that people agree that he’s apparently such a huge jerk. I think we’re all used to the town being really welcoming and warm and friendly so when he’s like that it’s unexpected and a bit of a shock, and I also understand being sensitive to stuff like this (no hate to that at all)

But I do not understand people who think others actually own them conversation just because…? and when someone doesn’t want to be bothered they are somehow lacking in personal morality. That is wild to me. Is it weird? Yeah maybe depends on where you’re from. Does it say something about who they are as a person? Probably not. At least less than they think.

I guess the fact that Stardew is expected to be a wholesome warm fuzzy game also plays into it. Like why are you like this it’s stinking up my cozy little game etc etc. And I get that but I don’t think it’s fair because Shane’s thing is not the only heavy topic in this game. Alex dealing with a parental loss and iirc also past abuse from his father!! Pam’s alcoholism and as a result putting Penny through so much bullshit and responsibility she shouldn’t have had to shoulder!! Kent is a former pow with ptsd!! And more that’s “milder” but still not all sunshines and rainbows. I know Stardew has the reputation of being cozy and warm and it’s true but that is mostly due to the players saying it themselves. There was no promise that there would not be heavier topics in the game at all. And it’s also handled well (not like uhh sudden horror twists or stuff) and is not otherwise very “out of place” so yeah it’s not fair to expect that from the game or him.

Um honestly by this point I’m not that mad anymore so

Live laugh shane our mantra yeah

the reason people make out shane to be ruder than he actually is is because they compare him to the other villagers that say hi and are friendly blah blah blah. it's also just expected for people to be friendly or atleast be "decent" (for a lack of a better word?) when you talk to them (or when they talk to you). when someone doesnt want to talk, theyre expected to not be so blunt and be like "oh sorry, i dont really wanna talk right now" and not be as direct as shane is.

i dont really agree with the "stardew valley is made out to be a cozy game". while i understand where you're coming from, most people don't mind the heavy topics, what they do care about is the way shane acts. ive never seen people complaining about penny's, alex's, or kent's stories which contain heavy topics. they're easier to sympathize with because the characters are nice.

LIVE LAUGH SHANE

[cowedeakamatsu]

I have to come to term with the facts I'm really, REALLY not made for manwhas. its insane, no matter how many I try, no matter the genre, I either like it but end up loosing interest (happened twice, girls of the wild's (not half bad but ultra slow)) and GoH (which i liked for some time ? but after a while I got bored, and i disliked how everything felt filler because they put on way too many characters only for them to be defeated ultra quickly and replace by others. but hey the 3 main characters (well more like 4) were nice to follow. and the power system based around summoning / borrowing powers from god was cool, but felt kinda vague after some time.) Outside of that I legit disliked all those I tried and theres like, a dozen. from wholesome to serious to comedy, the writing NEVER works on me. I also tried the most famous ones, like tower of god (which there is undeniable qualities but its not for me), solo leveling, which i disliked and troll about on a daily basis, glad the fans are eating good with the anime they seem to like tho, albeit I wish they stop saying bs like "its deeper than one piece". Also tried lookism and viral hit cos they had animes so I was like "i can start the manwha, and if I dont like the format move to anime if thats the issue", but the issue was the writing for both. And gave bastard a chance some time ago but honestly forgot all about it. also tried the boxer and couldnt get bothered at all, like legit I remember reading it a bit, and then stop, and then read star strike it rich. (if you havent, check star strike it rich, its DOPE @plaindangan validates for real) And about the "its deeper than one piece", havent tried yet the most glazed manwha ever, omniscient reader's viewpoint, I know its great, heard it like, a billion time (or so it seems) and it feels to me like its treated like the berserk of manwha in terms of cult. but the synopsis, look, and some stuff people showed me really dont make it for me. i'll give it a shot when the anime drops, just to see if maybe. it's insane to me How i'm such a fan of a lot of genre, and shonen demographic series especially, but I cant seem to get into the writing of ALL a media. is it the format that tickles my brain the wrong way ? honestly I have no idea.

feel free to give me your opinion on stuff you read you liked (manwhas, mangas, @plaindangan , personnaly i like @plaindangan a lot ;p )

no but like, really try star strike it rich, same author AND artist as the kengan (kengan asura, kengan omega) but with girls, and they build a free fight business from the get go all the while having to find regularly good fighters for their own champion to fight cos say champion was the daughter of a cult leader and has tons of bombs she'll make explode if she doesnt get good thrilling fights (because she LOOOOOOOOOVES fights). If you know the author you know its absolutely bonkers and very passionate and knowledgeable about fighting and muscles, and the artist SLAPS.

[the-s1lly-corner]

not sure if you’ve done this already but how would slenderman react to the reader hugging his tentacles? and generally showing affection to it.

Reader who hugs n kisses slendermans tentacles!

dont think i did anything like before so yahoo! honestly as much as i love slenderman, thinking of a whole boat load of ideas over the course of like. 9? years, this never crossed my mind. your brain, huge

its not often that you see his tentacles out, usually theyre for his hunting as well as defense.. and to look more intimidating. you know, generally not something that he wants you to be around for..

but i think every now and then they creep out during down time with you, perhaps during a cuddling session with your tall monster boyfriend? or maybe you even get him to indulge in "play" (not that kind of play get your mind out of the gutter) and his tentacles slip out, like you guys playing simple games

the image of someone playing tag or hide and seek with the forest demon is making me chuckle, something much needed post mini cry/freak out session LMAO

personally i like to think that he can only half way control his tentacles. like yeah sure when he needs them they're out, but for the most part they do their own thing, you know?

set up down, lets get to the actual request. his tentacles are colder than him, and admin is personally torn on making them slimy or not... perhaps slightly so? like juuuuuuust enough to be just a little oily but nothing insane, kind of feels like your hands after you just put lotion on them. smooth, too

very cold. i know i mentioned that theyre colder than him, but its like ice cold. so...

basically he doesnt expect you to show any love to this part of him, so hes thoroughly confused when you grab one of them and gently press your lips to it.. then let go. then grab another and give it a kiss as well

cue a confused head tilt before his voice comes into your head to ask what on earth youre doing

isnt it uncomfortable, with the slight ooze? isnt it too cold? doesnt it at least taste a little off?

torn about it, because on one hand hes used these things to kill. but on the other hand he mostly kills in order to protect his space and to sustain his body, and admin likes thinking that he sometimes gets a bit of guilt. call it him resenting his own existence and simply wanting to be left alone while having a natural curiosity for the world around him even though he only really destroys the life around him

also he doesnt like giving you stuff from victims, and i think he would have similar feelings about his tentacles

and yet... he cant deny, that he can hold you closer with them, that he can keep you nearby with them... and that you love him, and every part of him. undeniably, you do. i dont know, its something that when i think about it, its sweet

this creature is full of resentment, for himself and the world he was put in as well as the one who made him (zalgo cough cough au stuff) but here you are

assuming the reader is a human i think it hits even harder, because youre something that hes built to wreck and destroy. and yet youve given him pause, and that was enough for you to win him over

and you never stop surprising him

im getting off topic, but im just a sap for concepts like this, you know?

"its rotten work," "not to me... not if its you" but its you and slenderman, basically

i think the first few times when you start showing his extra appendages affection he pulls them away from you, maybe even forcing them back and tucking them away

but i think over time he melts into it and accepts it...

oh how cruel it was, for the universe to give this reclusive creature a sense of longing, which has been exasperated now that hes gotten a taste of it first hand

[fictionfixations]

wiki

I FIGURED OUT HOW PEOPLE ADD STUFF ON THE WIKI

there's TEMPLATES

(god i feel like sebek with all these caps)

ive mostly just been seeing how other people do it and referencing it (cause there's specific names for things. like the navigation box for events having its own thing and a specific name for its 'type')

so so.

You know that one post I made sharing Azul's birthday bloom lines because it wasn't on the wiki? I ADDED THOSE

not the recordings tho because i dont know how to do it and i dont think recent-ish cards have those audio files (you basically add stuff from a sort of 'storage'. Like. you put in the name and it just. appears. like, for card type or something like that you put in the card name, like, say, 'Birthday Bloom', and that card appears there. its cool.)

i dont know how to explain it.

I did it for tsumsitter kalim too

and then because i am insane i did his vignette too (MY HANDS HATE ME). im so bad at describing how the tsum moves around. it was repetitive with 'hops'

because i am undescriptive (also the tsumsitter doesn't have a icon as far as i can tell. so most of the parts with tsumsitter kalim i just switched to his dorm uniform one. but for that one bit where he picks up the tsum i set it to tsumsitter. so its just. red. ALSO i KNOW its tsumsitter because i went to riddle's and checked what outfit name they used for him and its Tsumsitter.)

i got lazy and stopped describing when it left. so if anyone wants to go do that be my guest.

anyway i dont know if there's some special thing for when a time skip happens. like when there's a black swipe to signify talking/time skip so. fshuif

i dont know how to add him to the vignettes box either so. whoops. (i didnt even know there was a vignette navigation box ngl)

and because. for some odd reason i like doing this. i added chapter 5-1, 5-2, and 7-1 of Sam's New Year Sale 2024 (That's Pomefiore's bit, and then Diasomnia's visit. contemplating adding Diasomnia's leave too but my hands hurt). because those are pretty short and dont make me die inside (everything else is so absurdly long and at that point when i feel like stopping i just dont want to leave it unfinished like that yknow?? so i just keep going until im done and then die inside)

i dont think there's a file for the hagoita thingy??? the paddle. thing. i know in some chapters in other stuff it shows images of the item itself. but i looked back to when it was first introduced and there's no image of it showing it. and i tried searching for the file but nothing. so. it prob doesnt exist.

anyway if there's any typos im sorry. its more noticeable on stuff like the name and outfit cuz any typos mess it up, but on text, unless it has that red squiggly, im blind

[dehydrated-turtle]

alright this is me over analyzing my tears ricochet and jason todd & bruce wayne :D (every single one of the lyrics included bc im insane) i got some of this stuff from genius so it may not be the exact meaning of the lyrics but art is subjective and meant to be interpreted differently so suck it

"we gather here we line up weeping in a sunlit room / and if i'm on fire you'll be made of ashes too"

ok so we are obviously setting the scene for a funeral, pretty self explanatory while talking about jason, he's dead. now the second part of this line means that like 'if i go down youre coming too', in relation to jason i think this would mean how bruce like spiraled so far when he died OR this could be the kind of ultimatum he gave bruce in UTRH saying 'you either kill him or kill me before i kill him' like im going down youre coming with me yk?

"even on my worst day did i deserve babe all the hell you gave me? / 'cause i loved you i swear i loved you, till my dying day"

jason's worst days could be like coming back and being a crime lord and bruce giving him shit for it but it could also be just him making a mistake as robin when he was younger and bruce going apeshit. and yes he loved him, but only until his dying day? WOAHHHHH i hope he still loves him though but i can see that line being a kind of outburst of emotions like "i dont love you anymore!!" but only because he's angry and doesnt actually mean it

"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace" (im only gonna do the chorus lines once lol)

well i feel like this is self explanitory, he didn't have it in him to go with grace, dying of like 3 things and so brutally, or he fought until the end and even tried to save his mother who betrayed him, OR he didnt even have it in him to stay dead lol

"and you're the hero flying around saving face"

I LOVE THIS LINE I LOVE IT I LOVE IT UGH anyway you can see this as bruce being a hero, because he is batman after all, but he's only saving face, keeping up appearances, not caring about what jason feels and has to keep up his "morals". it also could just be a stab at bruce being "narcissistic"

"and if i'm dead to you why are you at the wake"

I've struggled to understand this line sometimes but i've come to the conclusion it means like if im dead to you why are you still around like why do you keep bothering me if im dead to you. applying this to jason, he's asking bruce "if i'm dead to you, if you disown me because i killed people, why do you keep bothering me, leave me be old man." also the double meaning because he did actually die.

"cursing my name, wishing i stayed"

this would mean like bruce "cursing his name" and wishing he stayed or at least stayed the same, saying he was better before he came back and what happened to that little boy and things like that.

"look at how my tears ricochet"

on genius it says that ricochet means to like bounce off of something but its usually used with things like bullets or other projectile weapons and such. i think this is so FITTING UGH. some people have also said that they ricochet off of the intended target, this being bruce, because they are unaffected by the emotional distress. some others had said that it could mean that sometimes when a bullet ricochets it causes more damage and not to the intended target. this could be just the rest of the batfamily like dick because he was affected too or just going back on himself

"we gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean / some to throw some to make a diamond ring"

I SAW SOMETHING SO INTERESTING ON THIS LINE ON GENIUS someone said that the stones could be in reference to secrets or little things about a person, some to throw or like use as blackmail, some to make a diamond ring like some to cherish and just have little things about someone you love and make the relationship stronger. I LOVE THE DUALITY BECAUSE ITS SO JASON AND BRUCE they love each other and have their own little things about each other but either would use them against the other

"you know i didn't want to haunt you / but what a ghostly scene"

yeah this is self explanatory ALSO JASON HAUNTING DICK AHHHH anyway

"You wear the same jewels that i gave you / as you bury me"

I've seen some people say that this means like i can see you trying to look like you cared, wearing something i gave you while you put me in this coffin but i dont really see a connection to jason and bruce in this. you could take it however as like keeping his suit on display or something, this is definitely one of the weaker links

"'cause when i'd fight you used to tell me i was brave" (see above for the rest of the chorus)

I LOVE THIS LINE TOO so many bangers anyway, i feel like this one is self explanatory as well, bruce used to tell jason when he was robin that he was brave when he faught but not so much anymore. he's not proud of him anymore

"and i can go anywhere i want / anywhere i want, just not home"

now he's free from bruce and being in the confines of his rules and someone else's name, he can go anywhere he wants and do anything he wants but he can never go home because of it, im gonna go cry for a sec hold on

"and you can aim for my heart go for blood / but you would still miss me in your bones"

I LOVE LYRICS LIKE THIS, lemme just take a sec to appreciate the fact that theres a double meaning in there, going for blood but missing and missing someone so much, i love it. anyway, i would connect this to the end of UTRH when bruce accidentally kills jason, oops spoilers, but he comes back agian with the same purple shit that brought him back in the first place (superboy prime puching reality making it so jason cant die??) but he MISSED HAHA LOSER bc obviously jason is still alive. and bruce would still miss jay no matter what he does because thats his son and jason knows it.

"and i still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky) / and when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies) "

he only ever really talks to bruce when he's screaming in anguish or cursing his name for just being generally mad at him or when he misses him perchance. and when bruce can't sleep at night he knows its because of him, bit of a dry line in terms of jason and bruce but i love it nonetheless

"and so the battle ships will sink beneath the waves / you had to kill me but it killed you just the same"

these lines are another weak link because there really isnt any way i can think of to connect them to jason other than the last line saying but it killed you just the same, being like bruce almost killed himself every night going out full of rage when jason died but thats all i can think of rn

"you turned into your worst fears"

I LOVE THIS WHEN TALKING ABOUT BRUCE BC HE LITERALLY DID he turned into a bat, his biggest fear but from jason's perspective it would be more something along the lines of what he's doing isnt justice anymore and letting joker run free is an act of injustice because he knows hed cause less death and destruction if he were dead instead of locked up AGIAN for like 3 seconds

"and you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain / crossing out the good years"

tossing out blame like bruce telling himself that he's responsible for jasons death or just generally tossing around blame for things to others because he doenst want to deal with the consequences, i feel like jason would think he does that yk? and obviously hes drunk on the pain of losing his son like damn but he's crossing out the good years still when he sees jason now, not acknowledging the fact that they really did have good times and that jason isn't just a criminal, he is his one and hes the same person as when he died he just grew up

ok thats all of the lyrics, this song is so them its actually insane i think taylor just wrote it about them atp

[nyoomfruits]

For the fake title thing!! What would you do with Deja Vu for Lestappen 🤍

alsdfjasldk i had to ask eby for help on this one but she said 'the five times charles tries to kiss max and the one time he finally succeeds' and now i'm YELLING

like the first time they're only four or five and they're at a karting tournament and maybe max trips and scrapes his knee and charles is like "well when i fall my mom always kisses my forehead to make me feel bette" and max is like "thats so STUPID i'm not a BABY" and charles is all >:( about it

the second time they're like eight or nine and maybe they're at a race and its kind of awkward because they're not really friends but max keeps talking to him and suddenly charles is blurting out "my brother has a girlfriend" because lorenzo just told him like two hours ago and its been on his mind all day and he needs to tell SOMEONE and max is like "okay?" and charles is like "yeah, the KISS and stuff. have you ever been kissed?" and max scrunches up his nose and is like "no" and then charles very tentatively goes "... do you WANT to" and max thinks about it and is like "no thank you" and then they run off to play with their other friends

then they're sixteen, and they're at a karting tournament and they sneak out with a few other of their karting friends at night and they sit on a roof and someone's smuggled beer with them and somehow max and charles end up sharing one and thats the first time charles actually thinks about kissing max. for real. he almost does it, because the alcohol in his veins makes him feel brave and courageous and why the fuck NOT, but then max looks at him, and the blue of his eyes is bright bright bright, and charles ends up chickening out

charles is 20, and he's made it. he's made it into f1. three years after max, sure, but he's HERE and they're not going to get rid of him that easily. he doesn't do that well in the race, but it's okay, he'll get better. he's still RACING and despite the mediocre result, when he steps out of the car he feels EUPHORIC. max gets out of the car as well, and charles spots him across parc ferme, and for an insane second charles wants to run over there, wrap his arms around him, kiss him full on the mouth. annoyed by the fact he apparently STILL hasn't gotten over THAT stupid crush, he makes his way back to the sauber motorhome.

charles is 24 and he wins the 2022 austrian grand prix. he WINS after the worst fucking streak in history. he doesnt think he's ever felt more euphoric. max sprays him with champagne on the podium, and all charles wants to do is rip the bottle out of his hands and kiss him silly. he's made peace with his crush over the last few years, even though he knows it's never going to get reciprocated. but in an insane moment of winners euphoria and champagne showers, he lets himelf think it might.

charles is 25 and he wins monaco, after the worst start he's ever had. both max and checo had to dnf for it to happen, but he doesnt even care, he's won. max is there, waiting for him near the ferrrari motorhome when he finally gets back. he expects him to be annoyed, maybe. expects him to give charles a bland 'congrats' and fuck off.

what he doesnt expect is for max to pull him behind the motorhome, press him against the wall, and kiss the everliving daylights out of him.