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belletroxa · 1 year

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an easier one for you: sam or max and you can only choose one and it will be as if the other never existed

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

⚠️ LONG ASS POST ABOUT SILLY CARTOON DOG AND RABBIT ⚠️

⚠️ I'M LOOKING WAY TOO DEEP INTO THESE BASTARDS SOMEBODY SAVE ME FROM OVERANALYZING THESE BITCHES ⚠️

🚨⚠️ YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ⚠️ 🚨

"an easier one."

"an. easier. one." is what he said

how do you feel after ruining me huh.

do you feel good.

bet you do.

DO YOU KNOW HOW THIS CHOICE PHISICALLY HURTS ME. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING, I'M SO PARASOCIAL ABOUT THEM THAT I LITERALLY FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN STABBED RIGHT HERE IN MY CHEST AT THIS VERY MOMENT. I LITERALLY DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO START CHOOSING. BECAUSE I'VE SEEN BOTH SIDES OF THEM BY THEMSELVES AND LIKE. DUDE LET'S JUST START WITH THE FACT THAT MAX IS CANONICALLY DEPRESSED AND LITERALLY HATES HIMSELF. BRO IGNORES HIS SUICIDAL URGES BECAUSE SAM EXISTS AND IS THERE FOR HIM. HE CANNOT STAND TAKING LIFE SERIOUSLY AND WOULD LITERALLY BE A DEPRESSED HOBO LIVING ALONE IN THE STREETS WITHOUT SAM. HE WOULD LITERALLY PROBABLY HAVE A CRIMINAL LIFESTYLE AND STILL FEEL PURPOSELESS BECAUSE THE WHOLE REASON HE FEELS HAPPY IS BECAUSE HE HAS SAM'S COMPANY AND CAN COUNT ON HIM WHENEVER FOR ANYTHING AT ALL. THERE'S NO MAX WITHOUT SAM DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME I MEAN THAT LITERALLY HE WOULD NOT HANDLE IT WITHOUT HIM AND EVEN IF HE DID HE WOULD NOT BE HAPPY HE LITERALLY IGNORES HIS MORALS AND HIS POTENTIAL TO BE BETTER BECAUSE THAT WOULD NOT MAKE HIM HAPPY, WHAT TRULY MAKES MAX HAPPY IS JUST HANGING OUT AND HAVING FUN WITH SAM. HE IS ALWAYS MAKING JOKES BUT HIS ACTIONS SHOW THE OPPOSITE OF THE OVERCONFIDENT PERSONA HE PORTRAYS THROUGHOUT THE GAMES AND COMICS, ALTHOUGH HE ACTUALLY IS INSANE THE FACT MAX IS NEVER EVER CONCERNED FOR HIS OWN SAFETY IS BECAUSE HE LITERALLY DOES NOT CARE OR HAVE APPRECIATION FOR HIS OWN LIFE, THAT IS LITERALLY SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR, THE ONLY REASON HE STILL IS NOT DEAD IS BECAUSE OF SAM AND THAT IS SHOWN SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE, HE STILL ONLY PUTS HIMSELF THROUGH THESE DANGEROUS SITUATIONS IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS (AND EXPECTS) SAM TO SAVE HIM, AND HE IS A 100% CORRECT. MAX LITERALLY ONCE SAID, AND I QUOTE: "I KNOWN YOU'D TAKE A BULLET FOR ME SAM", AND HE COULD NOT BE MORE CORRECT. MAX NOT CARING FOR HIS WELLBEING IS LITERALLY NOT BECAUSE OF SELFISHNESSS OR THINKING HES UNTOUCHABLE, IT'S BECAUSE OF HOW SAFE SAM MAKES HIM FEEL, SOME COULD SAY "OH BUT HE IS BEING SELFISH BECAUSE HE THINKS SAM'S LIFE REVOLVES AROUND MAX", BUT THE IRONIC PART IS THAT THAT'S KINDA TRUE!!! THEIR LIVES REVOLVE AROUND EACHOTHER!!! BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO MAKE TEMSELVES TRULY HAPPY AND ACCOMPLISHED!!!

OH AND. HAHAHAH. FUN FACT. BUNNIES CAN DIE WHEN THEY'RE ALONE. THAT'S RIGHT. THEY GET DEPRESSED AND DIE.

ha. hahahah. ooooh but that's still NOT JUST IT. SEASON 3 SHOWS A LOOOOOT OF MAX, EVEN THOUGH WE MIGHT NOT REALIZE IT....

WARNING:

⚠️SAM & MAX TELLTALE/SKUNKAPE SEASON 3 THE DEVIL'S PLAYHOUSE SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️

ONE MIGHT SAY MAX "DOESN'T CARE FOR SAM BECAUSE HE IS SELFISH", AND EVEN THOUGH THATS WHAT MAX WANT US ALL TO THINK, IT IS NOT TRUTH. IN FACT, HIS BEHAVIOUR AND ACTIONS SHOW THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. A LITERAL PROOF OF WHY MAX IS NOT SELFISH IS BECAUSE HE LITERALLY SACRIFICED HIS LIFELONG DREAM OF DYING WITH SAM FOR SAM'S OWN LIFE AND WELLBEING! AND NOT ONLY FOR SAM! FOR THE ENTIRE CITY! WHEN MAX CHOSE TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF, HE SHOWED THAT HE CARES, WHICH IS THE LITERAL OPPOSITE OF WHAY HE WANTS EVERYONE THE THINK, BUT HIS ACTIONS ARE LIVING PROOF THAT HE'S NOT THE OVERCONFIDENT SELFISH LONE WOLF HIS PERSONA PORTRAYS, BUT ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE!!! CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING MORE SELFLESS THAN A LITERAL SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS' LIVES??? WELL I CAN'T. LIKE BITCH HE LITERALLY NOT ONLY SEVERED ANY CHANCES OF SAM SAVING HIM, BUT HE LITERALLY GAVE UP HIS DREAM OF DYING WITH SAM AS WELL!!!!! AND REGARDLESS OF IF MAX COULD COMPREHEND THE SITUATION, HE FELT SO SAFE WITH SAM IN THE MOMENT HE REALIZES SELFLESSNESS!!! MAX COULD ACTUALLY COMPREHEND THE SITUATION A LITTLE BIT AND AGAIN, HIS ACTIONS ARE WHAT SHOWS THIS, FOR ANSWERING SAM'S CALLS, FOR SMILING WHEN SAM BROUGHT UP MEMORIES THEY SHARED IN THE CITY... AND. MAINLY. I THINK WHAT SHOWS HOW MUCH HE CARES ABOUT SAM, IS THE NEED THE ALTERNATE-DIMENSION MAX HAD TO LITERALLY TIME TRAVEL TO ANOTHER REALITY TO FIND A SAM FOR HIM, BECAUSE HE LITERALLY WOULD NOT STAND LIVING WITHOUT HIM, AND DOESN'T TAKE THAT AS A PLAUSIBLE CHOICE.

⚠️ SPOILERS OVER! ⚠️

you can go on now! :)

anyways... the center of everything that surrounds max:

sam.

sam is essentially the reason why despite everything, max is still happy. sam is the one and only person that has always been there for max. the one that always knows what he's thinking and the only one that truly understands him. while max is portrayed to be the more extroverted of the two,sam is the one who is actually able to actually talk to other people and even befriend them! i know this seems like an useless fact considering the current topic, but if we actually consider how max is supposed to be kind of an extrovert (which i seriously doubt he is), let's just see would would be his social life without sam: oh that's right, HE BASICALLY WOULDN'T HAVE ONE, THAT'S RIGHT, THE BITCH WOULD HAVE NO FUCKING FRIENDS. SAM IS LITERALLY THE ONLY ONE MAX CAN COUNT ON! and the only friends max ACTUALLY made WERE BECAUSE OF SAM. but if you consider that if max didn't keep playing thevideogame SAM made at prom night, and considering the fact sam wouldn't exist if i chose max, max would've become way more social after that prom, as it's shown in his flirty behavior when talking to momma bosco, he would probably attract dozens of girls and be so popular amongst everyone, but would he be happy?

not really... :(

anyways, i think sam might have made max more introverted than he could've been (and pls let's thank him for it, I CAN'T IMAGINE the possibility of max being a straight rizz-and-bitches-haver motherfucker in an alternate reality...), and we know that, when max suffers from lack of sam, he becomes lonely. theres nobody there for him anymore.

if we look back into the cartoon for a second, we can see that sam and max's relationship means a LOT to max. the cartoon max is UNDOUBTEDLY the sweetest version from the rest of the medias max appears on, and therefore, probably the most expressive one as well, that way we can see max express how his relationship with sam means so much to him, to the point that if they weren't friends, max's life would be PRETTY GOD DAMN TERRIBLE!-

DON'T GET ME WRONG! sam WILL be depressed without max aswell, but to some extent, he can go on. meanwhile, max is basically not able to function properly without sam, and ends up in bad places.

AND AGAIN: DON'T GET ME WRONG! that does NOT mean sam loves max ANY LESS! he cares about max just as much as max cares about him, and, as sam is way better than max at portraying his emotions, since in the games we always play from HIS point of view and know HIS perspective about basically EVERYTHING. and it is CLEARLY shown in LITERALLY EVERY PIECE OF MEDIA OF THIS FRANCHISE, JUST HOW IMPORTANT MAX IS TO SAM, they both end up being open about how they love eachother, even if they arent open about ALL of their stuff, there isn't a single moment where these two doubt that the other cares about them. they openly know how much the other cares about them. sam just expresses it better in every media, while max is a little more close in relation to that, because he doesn't like taking things seriously and showing empathy, he thinks of love as a weakness, hence the persona he portrays being a complete sociopath that does not care for anything that does not involve being hilariously unhinged, he portrays his mental instability as a complete joke, because that's what he thinks he is, a pure comic relief, which is not wrong, but he takes that role too seriously, to the point that he thinks showing humanity can be considered as unfunny, and, therefore, not relevant. but still, as i said, his actions show how important sam is to him.

more the devil's playhouse spoilers later in this section because it is literally SUCH A COMPLEX SEASON i'm literally OBCESSED with it i could talk about it for HOURS, this season literally changes the perspective of the characters completely, we see a WHOLE NEW SIDE OF THE PROTAGONISTS THAT WE HAVE NEVER GOTTEN SO INTO IT BEFORE, hence the reason this fucking game rented an apartment in my fucking mind since like i think two years now and it refuses to get the FUCK out. it makes you think and it makes you care SO MUCH MORE about the characters and it's SO WELL WRITTEN UGH I LOVE SEASON 3 SO MUCH. and c'mon, it's clear the main focus of season 3 is sam and max's relationship (hence why i love this season so much, besides it being really good of course), this game explores how much they help, care and generally NEED eachother. and this is done both in a subtle and in a direct way, you've gotta look a bit more into max to truly understand him as a character, in special, you've gotta look a bit more into his super-ego, which reveals a WHOLE other side of max we didn't know before. meanwhile, the way they portray sam's point of view about max is generally the same as this franchise does in every piece of media.

he's openly very worried about him, worried he'll lose him, he does everything to save max every time, because he also cannot be truly happy without his little buddy... :(

in every piece of media, sam is portrayed to go through basically every stage of grief every time he's separated from max (god they're so codependent they literally joke about it themselves LMAO), in the unfinished comic where max dies for example (please purcell finish that comic i'm desperate), sam seems completely purposeless at the final panel. (which happens SO MUCH THROUGHOUT THIS FRANCHISE, I SWEAR THIS MOTHERFUCKER DIES SO MUCH---)

oh and by the way:

⚠️ MORE SEASON 3 SPOILERS AHEAD!!! ⚠️

⚠️ BEWARE!!! ⚠️

ok so, speaking about max's deaths, i GOTTA talk about season 3, and how it expresses the loneliness of sam PERFECTLY to whoever's playing. it portrays how much sam misses max, because WHOEVER'S PLAYING STARTS MISSING HIM TOO!! i mean, two whole seasons of this duo, to suddently be separated for a whole episode, go back to normal, then spend ANOTHER WHOLE EPISODE WITHOUT MAX TOO?? HOW CAN WE NOW MISS MAX! how can't we miss their conversations, miss their jokes, and just miss their relationship in general! it just feels... wrong, to not have max be there around sam. and that's probably what the game wants us to feel! it makes us understand the rage he feels after losing his little buddy in episode three! and it makes us understand the depression and panic sam goes through episode 5, and the NEED to bring him back NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES! it's not JUST to save the city. sam NEEDS max back. you play the game and care about them because they made you laugh, but, when things get serious, all the player wishes is to go back to normal, so you can have the good time you had with these characters before, you NEED sam to get max back, because you KNOW sam NEEDS him. you want them to be together. you want them to be okay. you want a happy ending, because c'mon THEY'RE SAM & MAX! THEY DESERVE A HAPPY ENDING! c'mon, every episode ends up with sam saving the day (max helping of course, but mainly there to be a funny little guy who also serves as a prop), and then they both end up happily ever after! but... this season is a little more complicated. sam's main priority this season was to have max be ok. he wanted to protect him, max went through such bad stuff in this season that weren't even max's fault, so all sam wants is for him to be okay! max doesn't deserve to suffer! and sam feels as if he HAS to protect him. since max doesn't seem to be able to do that by himself.

but... the twist is...

for the first time in this franchise

sam fails.

he fails to keep it all together as always, he fails to solve it all in a way that would make everyone happy.

he fails to save his little buddy. (fuck i'm getting teared up)

and BOY...

does sam feels guilty.

they saved the city, but... at what cost?

max's life, and, consequently, sam's happiness.

max is sam's sun. he wants him to be okay... he needs HIM in general. and he's always sure he's managed to make sure his partner's fine. he literally made a solemn vow to protect max at whatever cost.

but not this time.

then...

the credits roll.

he lost his little buddy. and he thinks it's his fault.

....

nAH SIKE MAX FROM AN ALTERNATE DIMENSION WHERE SAM DIES USES THE TIME MACHINE TO GO BACK TO A REALITY WHERE SAM IS ALONE SO THEY CAN BE TOGETHER AGAIN

but... when max tries to joke about it and treat like it's all a joke...

both remain silent. and max realizes it's not a joking matter. its probably the toughest situation both had to go through. and they know it.

usually they joke about things, since that's their way of communicating, they never take anything seriously, they're always trying to be funny to make the other laugh (insert banang gag here) because their partner's happiness makes them feel achieved.

but this time it's not like this.

they keep quiet for some really long seconds...

theeeen they come back to normal!

the relief that comes to everyone, sam, max & the player, when they come back to joking and just being silly goofy little guys, i can't even begin to explain how relieving it is to have sam & max back! their dynamic! their conversations! their chemistry! it's just immaculate.

one could say "they're repressing their emotions! they should talk about everything they went through! not just ignore all of that and move on!"

but i don't think so.

even though sam is known for comically over-explaining stuff, and max is known to need stuff being explained to him, due to his fish memory and alienation of everything that surrounds him...

they don't need to talk now. they both know what they went through. and both know how awful it is.

they know themselves so well to the point the don't need to talk about how much they love and care for eachother...

they already know. :)

oh i just remembered i was being angsty about them being separated so hey fun fact after the season 3 finale sam is forced to live the rest of his days knowing that his max is dead! and live with an extremely flawed alternate timeline copy who doesn't remember anything from the last three years of their lives! but he's fine with it because he was genuinely about to snap without max so he can't do much about it lmao that's how much he needs max and doesn't complain about the alternate version because he know his little buddy ALSO has been through a LOT.

lmao sorry i couldn't resist i had to be angsty for at least a bit more

⚠️SPOILERS OVER!!⚠️

back to normal programming! >:3

ok not gonna lie i'm kinda tired of writing about how much they love eachother because COME ON MAN we ALL KNOW how they both care and need for one another.

oh wait i had an ask didn't i?

ok lemme check it again wAIT FUCK NO-

THERE CAN'T BE SAM WITHOUT MAX THEY BOTH ARE MADE FOR EACHOTHER THEY'RE A TWO IN ONE PACKAGE THEY CAN'T BE TRULY HAPPY WITHOUT ONE ANOTHER

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SAM'S PERSONAL HELL IS? YEAH THAT'S RIGHT. BEING WITHOUT MAX. SAM WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HAVE MAX WITH HIM FOREVER AND MAX WOULD TOO. MAX LITERALLY DREAMS THEY CAN LEAVE AND DIE TOGETHER. BOTH CANNOT IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT EACHOTHER. AND EVERY TIME THEY'RE SEPARATED THEY PANIC AND FREAK OUT.

i love how i don't even have to speculate how would sam be without max as i did with max before in this essay, SAM LITERALLY SAYS THAT HIMSELF! AND I QUOTE:

"without max, i'd be just another grim loner, skulking through the seedy armpits of the city, assaulting crooks and assorted crook-like punks in a humorless, over-narrated fashion. sure, it’d probably sell like granny panties in a nunnery, but would I be happy? not really..."

AND PEOPLE COULD SAY "OH BUT IN THE CARTOON SAM GETS OVER MAX-" SHUT UP SHUT UP YOU DON'T KNOW THEM LIKE I DO!!!! SAM HIMSELF SAID HE WOULD NOT BE FUCKING HAPPY WITHOUT MAX!!!!!! THEY NEED EACHOTHER!!!!!!!!

...

anyways imma pretend i didn't receive this ask and you pretend you never asked this capiche? sam and max need to coexist and wouldn't be able to keep their shit together if eachother didn't exist &/or live with them

anyways i quoted sam before i feel the need to quote some max sentences!!!

"don’t be such a worrywart, sam. if it makes you feel any better, I PROMISE to take you with me when I merge with the godhead!"

oh and there was that one time where they had this dialogue that still kills me to this day:

sam: "if you die first, promise to wait up for me, okay little buddy?"

max: "oh sam! when i die, i'm taking you with me!"

i swear they're so- *gunshots*

anyways have some photographic evidence of why they need eachother to be happy if you're still not convinced:

buh bye :3c