#game jam 2021

[cheesecakemermaid1048]

YES!!!I GOT THEM ALL!!!!

Anyway check out Nom Nom - Great Autumn Jam demo,it's pretty good

link to game

[t3n5cious]

• AAU Super Showcase ATL Championship (June 2016)

• FIBA Team USA U16 (May - June 2017)

• Paige staying with Azzi's family (2017)

• Maryland visit (Fall 2017)

• Working out together (February 2018)

• Nike Boo Williams Invitational (April 20-22, 2018)

• Capital Classic All-Star Game (April 28, 2018)

• North Tartan Summer Jam (June 15-17, 2018)

• FIBA Team USA U17 (July 2018)

• Azzi going on a cruise with Paige's family (2018)

• Azzi helping Paige out with her basketball charity clinic (August 2018)

• Their Instagram birthday posts for each other referring to one another as other half (October & November 2018)

• Paige being at Azzi's Sweet Sixteen (November 2018)

• Azzi supporting Paige on her state championship game + Wearing Paige's Hopkins Jersey (March 16, 2019)

• Yellowstone National Park Trip (Spring Break 2019)

• Paige praying over Azzi's injury (April 13, 2019)

• Cheesefactory clip during Spring before Azzi's knee surgery (Spring 2019)

• Spooky Nook with their AAU teams (April 26-28, 2019)

• Overtime 1v1 video (July 2019)

• SC30 Camp (August 5-7, 2019)

• Cabin camping (August 2019)

• Celebrating Paige's birthday together (October 2019)

• Paige at Azzi's comeback game wearing a Team Azzi shirt (January 2020)

• Their whitechocolate535 reunion TikToks made on (January 2020)

• Paige supporting Azzi in one of her games wherein Azzi dropped 20 points (January 2020)

• Azzi at Paige's game while wearing a Team Paige shirt (March 11, 2020)

• Azzi supporting Paige in her State Championship Semifinals game (March 12, 2020)

• One of their March Tiktoks (March 2020)

• Paige wearing the gray Azzi shirt with (2020) - Just a bonus clip cause it’s hella cute

• Paige's bedside photos mainly comprising of photos with Azzi (March 2020)

• Paige photos in Azzi's room (March 2020)

• Paige choosing a photo of her and Azzi for a school project (2020) - another bonus because it was too cute not to add

• Paige's Azzi to UCONN recruiting efforts (2020)

• 20 questions eye contact clips (April 2020)

• Paige supporting Azzi in her GTS Fusion AAU games (2020)

• Paige staying with Azzi’s family during COVID: TikToks, Azzi's YouTube videos, other YouTube videos) (April - July 2020)

• Azzi hanging out with Drew and making a TikTok with him (2020)

• Azzi missing Paige on TikTok main (October 2020)

• Their birthday greeting videos on TikTok (October & November 2020)

• Togetherx Facetime clip (November 5, 2020)

• Azzi at Paige's NCAA Final Four + Facetiming her (2021)

• Paige being with Azzi during Azzi’s prom (May 2021)

• Paige being with Azzi and the Fudds during her rehab (April & May 2021)

• UConn summer workout together (June 2021)

• Paige supporting Azzi during her Team USA U19 camp (July 21, 2021)

Current look at the compilation vid timeline. We still don't have internet connection since our internet provider decided to be incompetent as hell but we move on. Let me know what I missed out on and what should be added moving forward from this timeline as well. Much love.

[feverdreamjohnny]

"Why There Will Never Be a Peeb Adventures" otherwise known as "The Peeb Adventures Pre-Mortem"

Since 2020, I've made a good chunk of games. Hell, even though I've been doing this for 10 years to date, the majority of my progress as a creative began over the course of this 4 year period.

Out of all the games I've made - or otherwise had a hand in - there is only one that's apparently struck a chord so deeply with people that to this day I still get messages and comments asking when it will come out.

The title of this post already explains the whole deal so I'm not gonna be dramatic about it right here. As per usual, I will instead get heart-clutchingly dramatic about the subject by the end of this story.

I felt the idea of a "Pre-Mortem" might be a fun way to talk about games that will never be finished. Maybe I'll make more of these down the line for other old games, who knows.

"The Incredibly True Origins of Peeb Adventures" or "Wow! I Hate It!"

Peeb Adventures began as a gift game for my long-time friend Aaron. It was simple, fun little gag that stemmed from a 3D model I made of a character he doodled during a drawpile session. I gave Peeb a grapple hook just because I wanted to experiment with swinging mechanics and felt the gag gift was a great space to toy around in without having to actually ask myself how on earth I'd want to structure a game around a grappling hook. Foreshadowing!

Eventually, the gag gift did that classic thing all developers have experienced before where your game spirals out of control and grows into a hideous monster, and what started as a fairly abstract grappling toy convergently evolved into that dreaded state we call a "3D Mascot Platformer."

I made a very short demo in the summer of 2020. It went absolutely nowhere, and after an idol of mine caught wind and asked to play it (before sending about 3 paragraphs of feedback suggesting how to improve what was, in my view, a trainwreck of baby blocks stacked on top of eachother), I shelved the project.

"The Absolutely Tremendulous HPS1 Adventure of Peeb" or "My Friend Jam Suggested I Revive the Project and So I Did"

Shortly after Peeb was shelved for the first time, I joined a community of game developers called Haunted PS1. For those not in the know, HPS1 was essentially the nexus point for "retro horror games" in the indie sphere, and a lot of the resulting deluge (non-perjorative) on itch.io can find its roots in this community.

HPS1 was a good place. Lots of nice, talented people willing to tolerate the kind of mindless riffing I often do in voice calls, anyway. I made a decent chunk of friends there, some of which I'm still quite close to, even today.

HPS1 has this tradition called the HPS1 Demo Disc that began in 2020, and with the year coming to its end, there was talk of a new one set to arrive in spring 2021.

Unlike the first demodisc, however, 2021's disc required you to submit a game in-progress to a panel of judges. They'd then give their yay-or-nay, and you were either in or out.

One day, I was musing over the fact that I didn't really have anything to submit so I would likely have to sit out of 2021's disc. My friend, Jam, who you might know as the developer of the Heilwald Loophole (or Beton Brutal) suggested I consider reviving Peeb Adventures as my submission to the demo disc.

Why did I follow through on this? I don't know. It's funny to think a scenario this simple was the launch point for my career.

Over the next 6 months, I worked on turning the absolutely horrendous gag game into... Something still kinda trite but at least playable. I had some help from my longtime teammate drurylain, my longtime friend Aaron (the creator of Peeb's original design), and my longtime spiritual uncle Tim, and with our powers combined... A new kind of demo experience where you don't do anything of particular note besides swinging around was born.

Also quite important: the very same drawpile session that spawned Peeb also spawned Orbo, who would also make his own appearance in Peeb Adventures as a recurring side character (since I felt like Peeb needed a friend).

"Go! Incredible Friendship Unites in the Gameosphere! Peeb and Orbo are Born!" or "Peeb Adventures: Coming Never"

So the demo for Peeb Adventures was finished early March 2021, and the demo disc went live on itch.io on the 25th of the month.

The demo disc then proceeded to do a backflip and pick up a LOT of traction online. Which then meant Peeb itself was catching little bits of the traction in its mouth and smacking its lips.

I went from "guy who makes games for nobody" to "guy who makes games for that one very specific brand of teen on twitter who loves the object head show", and I was riding high.

Fanart poured in. People showed a lot of love. I was dazzled by it all, really.

Despite the love for the game and the potential on hand, progress was stagnant. My group of friends and I all got together in a google doc and wrote an entire planning bible for the game. Game mechanics, story beats, twists and turns, the whole thing. Despite having the structure lined up, I had other ambitions and began working on a multiplayer deathmatch game that quickly overtook my work schedule.

Peeb sat on the backburner, but at the time I still wanted to finish it one day. My main excuse was "well, I just need more money! If I'm going to work on this game it's gonna need more than one fulltime person and I can't just ask people to work for free!" That excuse worked on me for a while.

"I Don't Think I Want to Play With You Anymore Peeb!" or "There's Such a Thing as Too Much Love"

A while had passed at this point. My ambitions hadn't just grown, they'd completely shifted. Before long, I found myself working on yet another demo for the 2022 HPS1 Demo Disc, "The Spectral Mall."

Nowhere, MI wasn't just some random toy for me, but the culmination of all my love into one game. Despite its silly demeanor, the game was a product of a lot of pain, and even now I still desperately want to finish it. Except I have to make money to live, so... Oops!

Anyhow, there was a shift in demeanor for me during 2022. You have Peeb, a game that I made on a whim as kind of a joke with friends, and you have Nowhere, MI, a game that meant the world to me during really dark times.

And you know what? There were a lot of people that wanted Peeb. People that never stopped asking me about it.

I realized while working on Nowhere that I didn't really know what I would even do if I ever had the chance to work on the full Peeb Adventures. Not only did I find the nagging kind of annoying, Peeb was also something I couldn't really... Wrap my head around?

It occurred to me that Peeb wasn't really "my" game anymore, it was "his" game. The old Johnny.

I'd changed a lot since the game had come out in early 2021. In a year and a half my world got flipped upside down, and... I don't know, Nowhere was way more reflective of who I was now. Sure the humor was still pretty asinine, but there was a shift. It was hard to picture the "Peeb Adventures" people were actually looking forward to when my own sensibilities had drifted so far.

When the Nowhere demo came out along with Spectral Mall, it did... Alright? People liked it, but it wasn't the same as Peeb's release. Hell, even in Nowhere's release there were people pushing it aside to ask the same question they'd been asking every week leading up to it. "When is Peeb Adventures coming out?"

"Goodbye Peeb!"

It was increasingly harder and harder to not look back at Peeb and kind of hate it. It was rough in every respect, and yet it whenever I met people who'd heard of me online, they always cited Peeb Adventures.

Strangers continue to ask me when it's coming out. On rare occasion I'll get someone asking about Nowhere and I'll feel a bit excited anyone else cares about that game besides me and maybe my friends, but most of the time people just ask about Peeb.

To finally answer this question I've been asked for nearly 4 years: There will probably never be a Peeb Adventures.

"Goodbye Johnny."

I like to believe one of the reasons people are attracted to my body of work is because I make games to reach out to other people. That's probably not the real reason, but it's nice to play pretend and imagine your work has more significance than just "ha ha boner."

I put a lot of myself in my games and I rarely hold back, even if an idea is insanely stupid or strange. The result usually becomes something more like a scrapbook than a game.

It's hard to try and expand on a game like Peeb when the Johnny who made it isn't really with us anymore. If I worked on Peeb now, you'd get some kind of irregular frankenstein that'd never be as exciting as the original vision was.

By the time I get around to Nowhere again, am I still going to be this Johnny? Or will the next Johnny look back at Nowhere the same way I look at Peeb now? Who knows.

Anyway, look forward to more games from me and my friends. Even if it's not Peeb Adventures, it'll still be us.

[sodaraptor]

Thank you for 500 Positive reviews.

Back in February of 2021, only 3 months after the first jam game, I sat down to start development on Hypnagogia: Boundless Dreams. I had no idea what direction I wanted to take with it, I only knew I wanted the game to be an outlet to visualize a few of my weird dreams to the world. Fast forward nearly 3 years later, and I'm staring in awe at the Steam store page listing it as "Overwhelmingly Positive", an achievement I honestly figured I'd never quite reach.

Throughout that time, I've watched people stream it, make fanart of the characters, tell me they laughed at moments, cried during others, and that it left a longing impression on them even after moving on to other games. I never would have thought it'd have the effect it has had in the micro-indie community, and it delights me more than anything to hear how many people are looking forward to a follow-up sequel. Your continued support speaks volumes, and every little bit helps keep me motivated to continue making silly little games.

Anyways, I'll stop gushing now. Thank you so much, and expect another visit to the dreamscape very soon 💎

[undersprite]

...

Ah, jeez, did anyone remember to dust in here while I was away?

Hello, everyone—CHAOS_FANTAZY here, former entrant and judge to the Undertale/Deltarune Sprite Comic contest. It's been a while since the previous one hosted in 2021, but I've been thinking about running this contest again ever since.

So why not now?

As of right now, I've reopened the official contest Discord server in preparation for the 3rd """annual""" comic contest—slated to run throughout the summer, with the submission period running from June through August. I'm making this post to inform everyone of the contest's return, with all the general information given below:

Huh? What? Sprite Comic Contest? I don't understand anything!

A sprite comic, as its name suggests, is a web comic that uses sprites rather than artwork as the main means of depicting its subjects. This is commonly done to produce fan comics for video games, and Undertale is no exception—many prolific AUs, including @invertedfate, began as sprite comics.

This is a contest to produce a sprite comic about Undertale or Deltarune—a game jam but with comics, as it were. If you've ever had an idea for a story you want to tell using these games' characters or setting, but could never justify dedicating time to telling it...this is the excuse you need!

Who's running this show now?

As aforementioned, it's me, CHAOS_FANTAZY! I'm joined by a panel of three volunteer judges, Mufeet, Subna, and Soufon (Whom, much like myself, has no major social media platforms). All four of us are not only long-time Undertale fans who can remember when sprite comics were a highly popular storytelling format, but also participants in previous sprite comic contests!

What's in it for me?

Although he's no longer directly involved in running the contest, the former host @fmsdraws has graciously offered to supply it with illustrated prizes. Additionally, we have a small cash prize pool to distribute among the top three (Via Paypal/Cashapp, or an alternative if both of these are unavailable to the winner):

First place will receive $25, and a custom illustration with up to two characters from Fms.

Second place will receive $15, and a one-character custom illustration from Fms.

Third place will receive $10, and a custom sprite from Fms.

Additional prizes may be added to this pool over the next week or so; this post will be edited to reflect these changes.

How do I participate?

I'm glad you asked! Our official Discord server is not only the proper avenue to send a submission, it also contains all the official rules regarding the production and submission thereof. (The original contest's rules are here, but there have been some revisions and modernizations made since.)

As aforementioned, the contest is planned to run through August—make sure you get your submission in by 11:59 PM EST on August 31st!

That's all for now. Good luck, everyone!

[ofthedevil]

Assuming some aspect of OTD was planned when writing Model Employee, to what extent was it? Had you decided that Heartbreak was gonna be... so relevant, for instance?

To clarify:

of the Devil was fully planned by the end of 2021 and was first playable on itch.io in September 2022 as a linear visual novel with no failstates where players would have to choose the correct choice at multiple points to progress Morgan's explanation of the crime. It contained the same story content as Episode 0 does today.

Model Employee was a game-jam project planned developed and released entirely in September 2023. It was decided relatively early into the month that it could take place in the same time and world as of the Devil.

of the Devil Episode 0 came to Steam as a Steam Demo in March 2024 with the gameplay, UI, soundtrack and style as you know it today

of the Devil released on Steam in February 2025 as Free-To-Play, with anyone able to access Episode 0 for free. Episode 1 released the same day as paid DLC for the Free-To-Play game

[cheruberris]

 ൃ ̮͡ ancient texts . ` 燽 / ❛ ( . . . ) BRAVE GIRL. ❜ ─── 𝕼 . people never say that to a lucky person, do they?

▬▬ meet the sho̲w̲ 𝓇unner . your favorite ukrainian / german train wreck. minor. head president of the intj virgo ravenclaw council ( don't ask me if i'm a perfectionist. i'll explode. ) you can call me gigi, cheri or li whatever u're comfortable with. my pronouns are she/her !! :3 my sexuality is a speeectrummm, though i currently label myself as a bisexual ( with a strong prefrence for women ) i'm still figuring shit out, ok ??

don't mention these things infront of gigi ೀ ( or she'll start tweaking out )

media . all of my hyperfixations kind of revolve around media, so bare with me. when it comes to video content; i've recently gotten into smosh ( smosh games entertain me the most, though smosh pit etc. can also be fun! ) movie or niche dating show commentary is also my jam. social commentary in the form of e.g essays are great as well. kpop variety shows !!!!! you turn time to twice, or channel nine on and i start jumping. while we're on the topic of kpop, those niche kpop storing photocard videos also fill me with joy. alsooo drag race, hello??

movies . oh thank you so much, letterboxd for asking. of course i can tell you my top four movies! top. 1 has & will always be chihiro: spirited away, it's beautiful all around. second is coraline, no questions asked. now here's where it gets tricky, cause i could go the comedic / rom-com route or a little more serious. if we are staying away from silly, i'd go knives out ( both are great, but i'd pick the 2018 one ) and batman begins ( christopher nolan uuuuh ) mama mia 1 and 10 things i hate about you, would be the silly route btw.

music . i got into kpop in 2021, though i'm not THAT big of a fan anymore, i still listen to the various genres within the industry. my ults are twice, fromis and tripleS. in general i am a lot more of a girlgroup stan rather then a boygroup one. i also like anything alternative, such as alternative indie or alt. rnb. also been getting into a lot hyperpop recently, i am one of charli xcx's 0.25% listeners or smth.

a list of my ⠀︵⠀desired realities⠀◌Ⳋ𝅄

ೀ . figure skating

ೀ . singer! fame dr

ೀ . actress! fame dr

ೀ . smosh! fame dr

ೀ . percy jackson! dr

ೀ . harry potter! golden trio? dr

(i'll detail & rework these later i have an latin exam tmr peace out)

[courtesycalling]

Aniline's sprites which I created for my game jam game Pbouxhkiir Night on the Primox Alpha.

She was a very fun character to design and draw, and she has the most expressions out of the three characters.

The premise of the Pbouxhkiir Night cast was a long-running concept that I had reused a few times (in various things that never saw the light of day). The idea was "what if something's cast was comprised entirely of aliens who were all from wildly different genres of sci-fi?".

Annie specifically was designed to evoke the designs of Kirby and Mario characters, and the cute (and melancholy) way those games depict outer space. I thought it would be funny if, in contrast to this, she's the rudest and most spiteful character in the cast.

She's some kind of comet person, which I imagine living on a very large timescale. She's probably multiple hundred years old. Her colors are constantly flickering and shifting.

By the way, the chemical "aniline" has multiple pronunciations, but I've been saying her name /ˈænəˌlaɪn/.

_____________________________

Annie's design, specifically, was a concept that I reused multiple times. The last appearance was in an alien paramedic game concept that @wyntonyang and I discussed in early 2021.

(I still want to revisit this game idea one day. Also, nothing in this image is canonical to the Pbouxhkiir Night universe.)

_____________________________

The earliest iteration of this character was, I believe, a concept for a protagonist of a Kirby dating sim which I discussed with some friends in 2018.

This is a completely different character by now, lol.

[ollypopwrites]

Seven Albums Tag game

got tagged by @silshinobii @aldisobey (a while ago i’m so sorry)

1. Ceremonials (2011) - Florence and the Machine

listen i love them all, there isn’t a florence album i wouldn’t put on this list BUT this one is particularly special to me. this album sealed the deal for me with her and i haven’t looked back.

2. Lemonade (2016) - Beyoncé

I watched the video album every day, i listened to it daily, there isn’t a single song that doesn’t either hit you with a brick or just plainly isn’t a fucking jam. The beyoncé album felt like she was really taking a new journey as an artist and when this released it felt like she found herself almost, she knew what art she wanted to make and remains one of the best at what she does.

3. Born This Way (2011)- Lady Gaga

Gaga stan forever and ever this album was formative. It’s not just fun pop music but it also is — and i love that :) Gothga forever.

4. 4 Your Eyes Only (2016) - J Cole

every song is good. every one. i don’t really know what’s up with j cole on a parasocial level because but i do know this album is one of the greats to me. I listened to this nonstop for an entire year.

5. Violator (1990) - Depeche Mode

this was released before i was even born but it was, and still is, one of my favorite albums. sexually awakening? idk man to me it’s got so much i could talk about

6. at the beach in every life (2025) - gigi perez

gigi has quickly and abruptly solidified herself as one of my all time favorite artists and this album has been on repeat since it’s full release, all of the singles have been on repeat since before then. grief and love and religious guilt is one hell of a cocktail apparently.

7 Hozier (2014) by Hozier

the beginning of what feels like a lifelong love. if i could every album i would. my partner and i fell in love to this one though, so it’s got some special place in my heart.

special mentions:

Montero (2021) - Lil Nas X

Froot (2015) - Marina and the Diamonds

For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) — Bon Iver

From Under the Cork Tree (2005) — Fall out Boy

The Black Parade (2006) - My chemical romance

tagging @thepalehorsevictoria @emmg @the-bear-and-his-sunbird @howarethosenuts

[cbedfordart]

First of all!! Holy guacamole the music for SWC is phenomenal!!! I have some of the songs on my gym playlist they’re perfect for when I workout!!

Secondiy, how long did it take you to make SWC? After playing it I started thinking about making my own game but was curious how the process went for a two person team like yours

Gosh I miss going to the gym ;;! But thank you! In terms of time, we start the project at the end of 2020, but most of the development was between 2022 and the 2024 release. We had full time work still while tinkering away in 2020 - but when we signed with the publisher which allowed us to work on it full time, we were able to expand what the game could be and really focus on it - it would have been a completely different experience had we stayed working with other jobs, that much I'm certain. The process was difficult, and I think especially trying to make something this size our first time around for a commercial project. We did do some game jams in 2021, but that's a different thing all together. They are fun and absolutely worth while to experience a bitesize version of how it feels to finish something, and it may also be a good indicator to see where you might struggle if things become stressful during production (do you try to work till 4 am? Do you avoid the project all together and abandon it? how would you handle people who suddenly can't commit to the project anymore? etc) It's hard work, like, this is the hardest I ever worked on anything in my life - and that's because I really cared about it! But there's so many interconnecting parts, there's so many opportunity for things to break, and when it's all said and done, you have to go through the meat grinder of seeing people struggle with what you've made, dislike parts of it, even if they love it overall that's still hard to see. When your game goes out there, people don't see the developer who's worked 60 work weeks and ate one meal a day in the last three weeks because they didn't have time to eat just to get it done. We are very grateful that people enjoy the game, and I really worry what my mental state would be if the game wasn't received how it has been. Make your own game, but do not make something the size of SWC lol. Not for your first time. And be very realistic about how long it will take, and be extremely realistic about how much work needs to be done. I could write an entire dissertation about what I've learned, what I'd do differently and the whole experience itself - but I can't do that here lol. There are more tools and resources to be able to just get up and make a game - I want you to read this and feel encouraged and feel a fire in your heart burn to make the thing you want to make, but I want you to know it is easy to burn yourself and you must take care of yourself, and you must look out for your health. After the release I was very much thinking "Could I do this again? I don't think I could ever do this again" But there's the drive to want to create and it is hard to extinguish. I hear a few seconds of the Space Channel 5 soundtrack and I'm ready to throw myself to the wolves of gamedev all over again. There are too many worlds in the mind that I must create so that others can occupy them! I must share these worlds, it would be selfish of me not to! So we must be sure to take care of ourselves. If you ever make that game, I wanna see it!!!!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Uplinkchump Linkdump

On June 20, I'm keynoting the LOCUS AWARDS in OAKLAND.

It's Linkdump Saturday! This is the day on which I clear the giant backlog of links from the previous week that I haven't managed to post in my newsletter's "Hey look at this" sections. This is my 19th linkdump; here's the previous 18 dumps:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

Let's start with some fun and games. Liam is a high-schooler who created "Bad Plumbing," a Jenga-style boardgame using a variety of 3D printed shapes; the game was a smash hit at his local game-jam, so now he's kickstarting it:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/liamclift/bad-plumbing

The shapes are delightful and Seussian, and there's a very ingenious game dynamic that's not just "make the pile bigger." You can pre-order for $30, and for $100, you'll get a version with a custom-designed shape of your specification. I backed!

It's lovely to see something that's both excellent and delightful, but to be honest, the majority of this week's links are excellent and enraging. Most of these links from The American Prospect, which has, under David Dayen's executive leadership, gone from "a magazine I really like" to "the first thing I read every day."

This week saw a the Prospect publish a stunning series of articles on prices, a sacred object for neoliberal economists, who see them as the carriers of the information that allows society to order itself for maximum efficiency and broadest benefit. Unfortunately for these economists, the love-affair with prices is one-sided: they may love prices, but prices hate neoliberalism.

The dogma that says that any government interference in pricing will destroy the economy by "distorting" prices does not survive contact with reality. The instant the government steps away from regulating monopoly, and its handmaiden, fraud, prices go batshit crazy.

This week's Pluralistic newsletters were dominated by this brilliant series in the Prospect. On Wednesday, I wrote about the Prospect's investigations into algorithmic and surveillance pricing:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/05/your-price-named/#privacy-first-again

And yesterday, it was the epidemic of junk fees:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/07/drip-drip-drip/#drip-off

There's more than I could fit into the newsletter, though, like Friday's excellent piece on the scourge of surge pricing by Sarah Jaffe:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-06-07-urge-to-surge/

Jaffe's piece was especially interesting given economist Ramsi Woodcock's compelling case that surge pricing is a per se violation of antitrust law:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/26/aggregate-demand/#pure-transfer

The Prospect series was so timely. After decades of pricing orthodoxy, economists like Isabella Weber are making huge waves (and attracting a tsunami of abuse). Weber's interview with Vass Bednar on the Globe and Mail's Lately podcast this week is a must-listen:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/lately/article-the-millennial-economist-who-took-on-the-world/

(Though if you get your econ ideas from the New York Times, you'd miss this whole revolution, as the Grey Lady's views on prices remain mired in the Reagan era:)

https://twitter.com/HalSinger/status/1798849195664916648

Few prices are more important than the price of the roof over your head – after all, "shelter" is only second to "food" in the hierarchy of needs. Dayen's Friday story for the Prospect in NIMBYism gets to the crux of the cost-of-living crisis: people who own houses want houses to be expensive, and will go to enormous lengths to make sure that shelter costs as much as possible:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/housing/2024-06-07-homeowners-want-housing-prices-to-go-up/

Dayen attributes this to "the wealth effect" – that is, most people would like to be richer, and the minority of Americans who have a positive net worth owe that status to rising house prices, and the plurality of Americans who have a negative net worth thanks to a mortgage are counting on rising house prices to flip them into the black.

When America threw off the Gilded Age, we charted two courses to prosperity for working people: labor unions and home ownership. The ruling class cannily convinced us to rely solely on the latter. The housing emergency raging across the country is the inevitable result of that decision:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/06/the-rents-too-damned-high/

The Prospect's consistent brilliance isn't merely an editorial matter, of course. The magazine features a recurring cast of some of the best muckraking writers in the field, and the absolute peak of that impressive pile is Maureen Tkacik. Tkacik's work on Boeing is stunning:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/01/boeing-boeing/#mrsa

Her labor coverage is second to none:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets

And no one writes better than her about private equity:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

I am in pure awe of Tkacik's prolific and expert work. So when I read her piece on Long Covid in the Prospect this week, I was stunned to learn that she has been severely disabled by this heavily downplayed – but rampant – chronic illness:

https://prospect.org/health/2024-06-06-nih-perpetuating-long-covid-denial/

The fact that Tkacik is doing this career-defining, high-frequency work while being randomly smashed by a series of acute Long Covid incidents makes her achievements nothing sort of heroic. But Tkacik's Long Covid coverage isn't a lament for her personal situation – it's a characteristically brilliant investigative story about the systematic cover-up of Long Covid by the NIH, which has a long history of dismissing inconvenient illnesses as psychosomatic, from black lung to chronic fatigue.

Tkacik's Long Covid coverage adds yet another subject where I'm learning more from the Prospect than from other sources – part of a host of issues where the magazine leads the pack. An issue far more squarely in its wheelhouse is antitrust, especially the intersection of antitrust and labor rights.

This week, I eagerly devoured Luke Goldstein's story about the latest in a series of lies that Amazon executives were caught making to the US government:

https://prospect.org/labor/2024-06-06-senators-allege-amazon-lied-delivery-drivers/

You may recall when Jeff Bezos lied to Congress, claiming that the company didn't spy on its sellers and clone their best products:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58961836

Or when Amazon posted a lying rebuttal to a Congressman who objected to its drivers being forced to pee in bottles in order to meet its punishing schedules:

https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/policy-news-views/our-recent-response-to-representative-pocan

The latest lie: Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy lied to the Senate about the company's relationship to its drivers, whom it insists are "independent contractors" because they are hired through cutouts called "Delivery Service Providers":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

These drivers work for Amazon. It dictates their working conditions. It installs cameras that watch their eyeballs while they drive. It enforces an illegal "no poach" system that fixes their wages. And it lies about all this. To the Senate.

You know what they say, it's not the crime, it's the cover-up. Tech barons go through life in a warm bath of their own bullshit, surrounded by lackeys who are contractually prohibited from calling them on it. They forget that there are people out there in the world who won't offer them this deference – including lawmakers and regulators.

That's why Facebook lied to the FCC when they bought Instagram, withholding key information in order to secure regulatory permission for the merger:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ftc-claims-facebook-withheld-information-152834983.html

After decades of inattention, the world's governments have discovered a newfound energy for busting trusts and smashing corporate power. Five years ago, it looked like maybe this was a fixup by Big Cable or Big Content to take Big Tech off the board so they could claim more dominion over our lives:

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/06/04/why-is-there-so-much-antitrust-energy-for-big-tech-but-not-for-big-telco/

Today, every sector is coming in for antitrust scrutiny, and the tempo is only increasing. Just this week, the FTC and DOJ opened investigations into Microsoft, Openai, and Nvidia:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/6/24172868/ftc-doj-antitrust-openai-microsoft-nvidia-investigations

Yeah, there's still a lot of policy focus on tech, but that's because tech has extended its tendrils into every area of policy. That's the end-point of a decades-long process of tech going from sitting alongside important policy questions to being inseparable from them. I've had a front-row seat for that transformation, through my work with EFF, whose brief just keeps expanding as tech infuses every aspect of our lives and rights.

The latest example; EFF's "Surveillance Defense for Campus Protests" by Rory Mir, Thorin Klosowski and Christian Romero:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/06/surveillance-defense-campus-protests

The military has gone all-in on electronic surveillance, and campuses have gone all-in on militarized policing, so campuses are now sites of electronic warfare, and protesters are vastly overmatched. This is an excellent and timely guide.

Well, this is where this week's linkdump comes to an end. It only falls to me to send you off with one last week: Libro.fm's buy-one/get-one sale on DRM-free audiobooks, with a share of each sale going to an indie bookstore of your choosing! This is a heckin deal, and a great way to start weaning yourself off of the Audible monopoly (also, my latest novel The Bezzle, is in the sale):

https://libro.fm/bogo

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/08/medley/#the-prospect

Image: Cjp24 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Automobiles_in_a_french_junkyard.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[hummingbird-games]

2023 In Review (Indie Games)

Last year's! | 2021

I apologize in advance for how long this might be. As a reminder, I don't bash games here so even if I hated something with every fiber of my being...I ain't sharing. As a second reminder, my more in depth reviews and live blogging has moved to Gem's Game Gems so I don't clutter the HBG's main blog. Okay. ON WITH THE REVIEW!!

DEMOS

Diffraction (Demo)- A rainy day otome indeed. I love the quiet gentleness of this game, the two romance options, and the fact that our MC is a photographer and struggling with her art and stack of life "failures" (because...SAME!!)

Alaris - I was asleep and now I am awake: I came late for the advertised fae and dragon lore, stayed seated and waiting for Fenir zjgjdf. Oh, and I guess the mystery surrounding our MC's abilities LOL.

The Summit Library - When I say I was maaaaaad when I realized I blew through chapter 1 and would have to go back to waiting for more content??? LOL, I was very miffed. Anyhoo, check out this title for the gorgeous art, another intriguing mystery (like what is *up* with the magic in the poor library?? who or what is to blame?? 👀) and of course the lovely characters we've been introduced to thus far.

Of Sense and Soul - I'm a regency romance girl. Like after you strip away the other stuff, I am but a poor woman with simple needs: a good ass love story 🤧💛 It's about the yearning and the slow burn and the will they/won't they/PLEASEEE they...I've never been so charmed by a demo, and the full game is going to be amazing I just know it!

Made Marion - This project is a game I've been keeping tabs on for a hot minute but hadn't taken the time to sit and properly enjoy the demo. I'M SO GLAD I DID!!! It's in early access now, so I'm hoping eventually I'll be able to carve out some time to play, but guysss Velvet Cupcake is doing the Thing?!? No idea which love interest I'll go for first, but I had a fun time meeting the Nottingham peeps in the demo.

Herotome (Super Demo) - Oh gosh. Oh gosh oh gosh oh my GOSHHH. Where do I even began?? (Really the question is where the hell do I end because this is one of those projects I talk about a lot/think about a lot and surprisingly haven't run out of things to say zkjfksjd). Another game I've been following for a while, it 100% lives up to the superhero genre in its aesthetic, the characters you interact with, the music and sound design, and of course the slowly unfurling story. Jade and Mia had come out as my top faves, Warden is still there, like hovering in the backgroud, shhhh but I have a special place in my heart for Griffin too (that conversation we have with her?? I have so many screenshots just so I can go back and reread and sear the words in my brain. Like a weirdo. Yup.)

Celestial Crowns - Stats building, celestial royalty, dating sim where you fuck around and find out your choices directly affect your MC's personality?? I'm sat. I supported the Kickstarter and now I try to practice patience for the full game's release siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighh.

OTOME/JOSEI JAM

Please note this is a SUPER abridged list for my sanity and I fell a little more in love with these 2 jams with each entry I played...

Intertwine - As embarrassing as it sounds, I've never given much thought to the "red string" thing, and I consume more than enough romance media LOL!! But Van is suuuuuch a beautiful man, the UI for this game is so interactive and lovely, the music is ALSO lovely, just lovely-love all the way around teehee. (Also this game encourages replayabillity so like, do with that info what you will.)

Spring Boy [Demo] - I believe this game is going through a complete rehaul, so my thoughts and feelings refer to the original jam entry I played. The art is bright and cute and it's a super super short demo, but I was intrigued by the other student we meet on our mission to plead with our professor about our bombed exam lol!

Assignment Due: Project Blue - IRl group projects??? Suck absolute ass. Group projects with a guy name Asher?? Suddenly it's my new favorite thing in the world 😁

Cryptid Campaign Manager [DEMO] - Remember the last time I looked over a cryptid dating sim??? Remember how I was SUCH a fool?? Good thing I didn't make that mistake again!! The prologue is such a tease but you get an idea of what the full game is gonna be like, and I'm excited to see where my career involving love (and politics) goes!

Heart Cage [Demo] - Yoooooo I stay my ass far far far away from yanderes (could never get into the trope or the character type). WELP. Guess I just needed to keep searching because I really downloaded this off a whim--well, the whim being one of my fellow dev peers playing and rating-- and proceeded to get sucked in 🤧I thought being a detective would be the highlight, but I guuuueeesssss I was more into the romance options than I thought. Oops.

Evernight - I tried to explain what this game meant to me on the side blog, but words failed me. I still don't know what to say other than I loved it?? Which is like ummm I say I love everything, and yeah I'm easy to please BUT Y'ALLLLLL if you play no other game, play this one. Please. Date a werewolf. Or a vampire. Or a fae. Plz. Also figuring out the mystery of your MC's abilities and past is just delightful, ugh.

Bright Oak (demo) - Anotha one I wrote about on the side blog!!! Play this one!!! The writing is lush and atmospheric and the characters are all delightful and it's another game with a mystery to untangle!

The Faithfulness of the Universe- This one gets the award for most unique all around entry that I played. Theeeeee prettiest pixel art to bless my eyeballs, and this tasty mystery concerning Fate and witch Faustina's future (or lack thereof 👀) and what it all means. As a player I very much want to know what it all means!

A Cup For All Seasons - Another game that needs its flowers y'all. It's short but super healing and super cozy and the voice acting and music really tie the gaming experience together???

The Working Woman's Guide to Burning Bridges - DEMO - It's the way I played the demo twice and I've been thinking about it ever since 😭😭😭🙃 obviously life happens and things come up, plus this was a demo. But. BUT!!! I am on my hands and knees prayinnggg the team gets together again to finish the game. I love playing as a stressed, lowkey bitter hot mess who doesn't have her life together 😂somehow the fictional version is soooo much more entertaining!!!

Keyframes (Spring Demo) - After the game College Craze, this is legit THE college, slice of life visual novel of my dreams. I cannot wait for the updated demo next year, and the Kickstarter whenever that rolls around. And now that the developer is on Tumblr, I've definitely been stalking the account and reading each new post like it's my day/night/weekend job 🤧

Hello Counsel 💋 - Okay I take it back, Evernight is like a 20/10 but Hello Counsel is like an 100/10 👁️👄👁️ This game is necessary for my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, alright? The banter ✅ the character designs ✅ the music ✅ the sizzling chemistry between Poise and Salem ✅ I wish this game had more buzz because IT'S SO GOOD!!! (also the dev, Miseri, is who I wanna be when I grow up. I've made it through almost their whole backlog of games and there are no misses and EVERY game is different from the rest and it makes it hard for a toodler dev--ME--to cope LOL)

Candied Hearts - Isekaied into a candy themed game?? Sign me TF UP!!! (Peppermint I love you dearly, you must understand.)

Fully Released & Played (at least 1 playthrough)

The Knight's Dilemma - I don't even know how I originally stumbled upon this??? I just know it had been in my backlog for a hot minute and I was intrigued enough to save it way back when. Y'ALL WHY DIDN'T I PLAY SOONER SKJFHFJFH! There's a couple different endings, I loved the voice direction, AND it's such a simple concept of a game that was just executed beautifully.

Trouble Comes Twice - If I had to make a top 5 list of romance VNs, guess who makes the list?? Guess. Guess guess guess. Have you guessed yet??? LOL! I have been in love with TCT since it's development days and with each passing month, waiting in anticipation, playing the Pateron beta builds, screaming on the main blog about every single thought I had about Jace and Hazel (shoutout to Jace for helping me figure out *me*) Lol if you're curious about said thoughts, those posts are on this blog and not the side blog.

Aelfric the Wondrous - 10/10 would love to forget my first play through JUST to have that experience fresh again 😭😭💛Cute and funny and a wonderful parody type game all around.

A Summer's End - Hong Kong 1986 - Goodness, there's no excuse for why this took me years to finish but anyhoo, I finished, I loved it, I recommend it! It's romantic and achingly authentic and the art is soooo gorgeous I literally can't stand it 😭

The Things You Do For Love - Unhinged yandere manages to entertain and garner sympathy and laughter from Gemini. And that poly ending is chef's kiss too????

Band Camp Boyfriend - There are a handful of games I found and loved before I began my game development journey, and this is one of them. BCB is so dear to me, because of the story and characters but also because of the Dynamic Duo creators and their team behind the scenes. I was never a band kid I was a chorus kid but just as the band geeks loved this game to pieces, us normal folks do too!! Even the boys who I didn't like I STILL managed to find joy in playing their routes (still have a few more to finish at the time of this posting lol, GOTTA GET THE FINAL ROUTE YO). Anyway, this game more than delivered for me and I hope more people keep discovering it!!

Belle Automata: Chronicle I [RELEASED] - While only Chronicle 1 is out at the time of this posting, I already know that the 2nd and 3rd parts are going to be just as amazing???? I wrote about this one on the side blog, so here's my copypaste that still rings true:  

I love TNP (The Nightmare Prince) but Victor’s route hit the sweet spot for me. Maybe it’s the slow(er) burn nature of this route, maybe it’s the reserved nature of Victor and watching him slowly start to care (AND NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE FEELINGS TEEHEE) for me.

A Date with Death - I wrote about this on the side blog--again--. The demo. And then right after finishing a route. And then again where I was fully awake and still managed to sound deranged. No copypaste for that, I shall be nice. But yeah!! Another game where I was screaming at the sky about how much I love it and how I'll never know peace as long as I live.

Our Life: Baxter DLC - I need to offer an official apology to both Cove and Derek because falling head over heels, down the stairs, crashing into the parking lot, falling again but down a manhole for Baxter's infuriating ass was NOT on my 2023 bingo board??? HELLO???? I bought his DLC just to complete my OL collection. Was not expecting to love it this much. Was not expecting to be called to write fanfic and abandon all responsibilities to do this. WHILE DOWN WITH COVID TOO. Allow me to play the song of my people. *Send in the Clowns plays*

Our Cinderella - (this is so funny I'm taking about a side game before the main game LOLOLOLOL) Guys. Guysss. You guyyyysss 🥹if you're looking for a cozy, hilarious, equally oddly and wonderfully sweet short game, this is the one!! You may have your personal favorite Iggy ship (like me) but all the pairings are so amazing and just make sense lol!

Wylde Flowers - This is the only non visual novel game on here but it gets the spotlight because I did NOT spend 90+ hours on this game to gatekeep this beauty. No. It the coziest, the funniest, the funnest, the most addictive Switch game (after Teacup) I've ever played.

Fully Released (& still on 1st playthrough)

Garden of Seif: Chronicles of an Assassin - Life kicked my butt and then sat on me SO while I finally got my grubby hands on the full copy, I still have only played the entirety of the demo. But. We will return to this in 2024 and hopefully I'll have a full review for the next wrap up!

Our Wonderland - I looked back at the side blog and I can't believe it was only THIS year that I started OW??? Because I'd known of the game and the dev for longer than that??? So basically what I'm saying is that I was chicken shit for longer than I've been in love with this world that Developer Carrot has created kjzhhshggj. But OMG to get me, who is scared oh so easily to get hella invested in this clearly labeled horror game??????????????? And even with shit gets super absurd and hella disturbing, I cannot stop playing. At the time of this post, I'm only in Act 4, hence the category above, but it's only because I play each act in a sitting and lose track of space and time and myself. That's a compliment btw.

...

Okie!! That's 2023 in a nutshell! I played a looooot of really good games this year and while I would have liked to talk about them all, I think this list provides a nice overview.

Let me know if we share any favorites!

- Gemini 💛

[yodawgiheardyoulikemecha]

So it appears that I've missed the fact that there's been a semi-regular mecha-themed game jam on itch.io since 2021.

There's 110 entries in MechJam V. If you're interested in mecha games and/or supporting independent game creators, go check it out!

[murdersuicidematinee]

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Welcome to the world of Tiny Don Cheadle, where only scoring a million points in super-basketball can facilitate his master plan to put LeBron James in Game of Thrones. Or Something. We watched Space Jam: A New Legacy and came away knowing less about the plot than before we went in. It's a lot like The Emoji Movie, but infinitely more embarrassing on pretty much every level. 

Featuring: the Star Wars memory hole, Andrei Tarkovski's CATS, cami's casketball, live subtitles for American listeners, podcast therapy, and LeBron's special move that kills Bugs Bunny.

Movie: Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) Director: Malcolm D. Lee Rating: ah shit lads, just remembered I don't care at all

Follow our Patreon for show updates, episode notes, stills and more!

intro and outro music: "Everyone in Town Wants You Dead" by Singing Sadie

[kathlare]

name of the game

Lando Norris x Amelie Dayman

Summary: A chance encounter at a restaurant in Mexico City sets the stage for an unspoken battle. Old wounds resurface, unspoken tensions build, and a familiar push-and-pull dynamic reignites.

Wordcount: 1.1 k

Warnings: none

full masterlist // request over here!

November 3rd, 2021 - Mexico City, Mexico

The hallway of the hotel in Mexico City was quiet—too quiet. Max’s duffel bag was slung over one shoulder, his Red Bull hoodie pulled halfway over his head as he dragged his feet toward his room. He had landed barely two hours ago and was running on fumes, half-asleep and still slightly jet-lagged.

The only thing on his mind was a shower and about twelve hours of sleep.

Key card in hand, he turned the final corner of the hallway on the eleventh floor… and froze.

Lando.

Standing down the hall like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes locked with Max’s for one terrifying second—wide, startled, guilty.

Then, without a single word, Lando spun around and ran.

—Are you serious?!— Max shouted, already sprinting after him.

Lando fumbled for his key card, nearly dropping it as he skidded to a stop in front of his room. His hands were shaking. His heart pounded.

Max was getting closer.

He jammed the key into the slot. The lock beeped. Green light.

Max was nearly there.

Lando threw the door open and tried to shut it behind him, but Max’s foot caught the edge.

—Nice try,— Max grunted, wedging the door open and shoving it inward.

Lando groaned, defeated, throwing his hands up. —Jesus Christ, Verstappen.—

—You ran. Like a full-blown cartoon character,— Max said, stepping in and slamming the door behind him. —What the fuck was that? What did you think I was gonna do? Bite you?—

—Honestly, I don’t know,— Lando muttered, backing up until the backs of his knees hit the bed. —You’ve got that look in your eyes. Like you’re about to ruin my life.—

Max crossed his arms. —I don’t need to ruin it. You’re doing a fantastic job all by yourself.—

Lando didn’t say anything. Just sat down heavily on the bed, elbows on his knees, hands dragging down his face like he could scrub the shame off his skin.

Max stayed quiet for a second, watching him.

—You gonna explain? Or are we gonna keep playing hide and seek?—

Lando looked up. His eyes were red, rimmed with exhaustion, and something Max wasn’t used to seeing on him—heartbreak.

—I love her,— Lando said simply. No preamble. No excuse. Just the truth.

Max blinked.

—I fucking love her. It’s pathetic, I know, but it’s real. And I swear to God, it’s like every time I think I’ve moved on, she walks into a room and my brain just… stops.—

Max let out a slow breath, settling against the wall. —Okay. So… what happened?—

Lando let out a laugh. It wasn’t a happy one.

—I want to be with her. Like properly. Not sneaking around. Not pretending we’re just friends. Not being whatever the fuck we’ve been since Monaco.—

—So be with her,— Max said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Lando shook his head, bitter. —She doesn’t want that. Not with me. Not anymore.—

Max frowned. —She told you that?—

—Not exactly. Not with words,— Lando muttered. He sat up straighter, running a hand through his curls. —But she doesn’t have to. She’s moved on, Max. You saw it. You saw what she did in Austin. And now she walks around like none of it mattered. Like I never mattered.—

Max didn’t answer right away. He let the silence fill the space, heavy and electric, waiting for Lando to finish what he clearly hadn’t gotten off his chest yet.

Lando exhaled sharply and stood, pacing the room. —I was all in, man. Like—actually ready to do it right this time. The relationship. The future. Everything. I was ready. And she looked at me like I was something to hide. Like I was just her little secret.—

He stopped in front of the window, staring out over the lights of Mexico City. His voice dropped.

—I’m not gonna be that for her again. I won’t.—

Max stayed leaning against the wall, arms still crossed. —You really think she doesn’t care?—

Lando turned, eyes glassy now. —I think she does, but not enough. Not enough to let me in. Not enough to try. I’m in love with her, and it fucking hurts. It hurts because I keep showing up and she keeps shutting the door in my face. And now it’s like… I’m the punchline in a joke I never even wanted to be part of.—

Max’s jaw tensed. He wasn’t used to seeing Lando like this—unguarded, unraveling.

—And the worst part?— Lando added with a bitter smile. —She’s not the villain in this. I don’t think she means to hurt me. I just think… I think I’m easy to leave behind. I always have been.—

Max finally pushed off the wall, walking toward him.

—You’re not.—

Lando scoffed.

—I mean it,— Max said. —You’re a dumbass, but you’re not easy to leave behind. You’ve just been letting her treat you like someone temporary, and you’re not. You want more than she’s willing to give, and that’s not on you.—

Lando looked at him, like he wanted to believe it. Like he needed to believe it.

—You think I’m being dramatic,— Lando said after a beat.

Max shrugged. —Obviously. But you’re also not wrong.—

Lando let out a shaky breath. —What am I supposed to do, then? Just pretend she doesn’t exist?—

—No,— Max said carefully. —You be honest with her. Tell her what you want. And if she can’t give it to you, then walk away. For real this time. Not for a weekend. Not until she calls again. Walk away and mean it.—

Lando was quiet.

Then, softly...

—I don’t know how to stop loving her.—

Max’s expression softened, a flash of something deeply protective flickering behind his eyes.

—You don’t have to stop. You just have to stop letting it destroy you.—

Lando nodded slowly, like the words had hit something raw and necessary inside him.

And for the first time in a long time, Max could see it clearly: Lando wasn’t broken. He was just in love.

Too much. With the wrong timing. With a girl who didn’t know how to let herself be loved back.

Yet.

—You staying here for the night?— Lando asked, clearing his throat.

—Yeah. Room across the hall.—

Lando snorted. —Figures.—

Max gave him a look. —Try to sleep. You look like shit.—

—Thanks, mate. Really helpful.—

Max walked to the door, pausing before opening it.

—You deserve to be someone’s choice, Lando. Not their secret. Don’t forget that.—

Then he slipped out, leaving Lando alone in the quiet of his hotel room, heart still pounding, chest still heavy—but maybe, just maybe, starting to breathe again.

-------------

liked by lanfan43, ameliesbblener, and others

gossipdaily: Amelie Dayman was spotted tonight having dinner once again with Mexican actor Andrés Baida at a cozy restaurant in CDMX. Sources say it looked intimate—lots of smiles, no phones, and definitely no "just friends" distance between them... 👀🇲🇽

Is this becoming a thing or just good company while she's home? 👇

View all 39,013 comments

f1sluttycorner: girl’s not in her soft girl era anymore she’s in her revenge dinner era → lanfan43: @f1sluttycorner she’s booked, busy and dining w hotties. Lando who?? → charleslemonade: @lanfan43 no bc lando definitely saw this and chucked his phone 💀

gridgirliee: not the repeat dinner... she really said "run it back" 😭

pitlanechaoss: she’s with andrés AGAIN?? lando gonna fight air → wifiofthegrid: @pitlanechaoss i fear this fight is canon now → redflagbabie: @wifiofthegrid the silence from both sides is LOUD

ameliesbblener: i’m just saying we never recovered from "he didn’t like or comment on her birthday post" and now THIS?? → gridteaadmin: @ameliesbblener certified lover boy left the chat 🫢

melancholymcLaren: this better be her “i’m over you” arc bc i’m tired of suffering → f1shiptrash: @melancholymcLaren SAME, like babe just block each other and heal

stayinyourgrid: someone check on lando. and max. and maybe carlota. idk → tiktokteammate: @stayinyourgrid max already booked him a boys trip 💀

softlaunchdetective: first Mick, now Andrés… this is not a drill → gridgossip: @softlaunchdetective atp she's building a roster and i respect it

wagsunhinged: she said "what breakup?" and went straight into ✨Mexican heartthrob era✨

pitlaneprincess: not him AGAIN??? girl do you need help blinking twice → dtsguiltypleasure: @pitlaneprincess the way she’s serving main character energy tho 🫡

tracksidebarbie: imagine being Andrés Baida and not knowing the fanbase already hates you 😭 → enginefailure: @tracksidebrabie they’re gonna call him "Andres who?" in 3 business days

paddockclownery: someone check on Lando’s spotify activity rn bc i just know it’s giving Bon Iver and despair 💔

carlossainzmydad: ok but real talk where’s the lanmelie reunion arc bc i can’t do this anymore 😩

formulaloverxo: no like… is she auditioning for The Bachelor or something bc every week it’s a new man 😭 → helmetblonde: @formulaloverxo she said "rose? no. revenge? yes."

thewagsfiles: this is Amelie’s hot girl villain arc and honestly? cinema. → merclessgossip: @thewagsfiles no bc she’s not even hiding it anymore she’s just out there

checoprotector69: checo seeing this: "no mames otra vez ese güey?" 😭 → spicytifosi: @spicytifosi checo tryna be supportive but internally SCREAMING

backofthegridbabe: remember when she was soft launching lando's SHOULDER and now she's full launching andrés’ FACE 😭 → raceweekriot: @backofthegridbabe the evolution is insane omg

wokemclaren: she’s out here living life and Lando’s probably still trying to text "you up?" and deleting it before sending 😩 → f1flirtycorner: @wokemclaren bro he’s in his ghost typing era

f1babygirlchronicles: if this is what peace looks like, why does it hurt 🫠 → tyrewarmerslut: @f1babygirlchronicles because we were rooting for them. WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR THEM.

lanmelie4eva: don’t care, didn’t ask, still waiting for the reunion this weekend 😭 → ameliesjorts: @lanmelie4eva girl we are in the denial stage collectively

formulagrumps: this Andrés guy better drive a fast car if he’s gonna compete with Mr. McLaren himself 💀 → helmetshairandheartbreak: @formulagrumps imagine trying to follow up Lando Norris… good luck king 😬

gridtea: y’all think Lando knows??

chicanequeen: so we’re all in agreement that lanmelie is on pause and not done, right?? → silverstonecrier: @chicanequeen RIGHT??? this has to be a temporary season finale energy

fansinshambles: i’m not mad… just deeply emotionally unwell 💔 → drsopenbutmyheartclosed: @fansinshambles literally spiraling in 4k rn

f1hotlaps: Andrés is just the rebound until our emotional support situationship gets back together 🤷 → barcelonababe: @f1hotlap let her get it out of her system i guess 💅

-------------

The restaurant buzzed with conversation, silverware clinking against plates, the scent of sizzling meat and warm tortillas filling the air. Lando sat across from Max, absentmindedly swirling the ice in his glass while Max scrolled through his phone.

He should’ve been focused on the upcoming race. Mexico City was always a challenge—high altitude, passionate fans, a circuit that demanded precision. But all of that faded the moment he saw her.

A few tables behind them, nestled in the dim glow of candlelight, was Amelie.

And she wasn’t alone.

The guy sitting across from her—Lando recognized him immediately. Andrés Baida. The same actor all the gossip pages had been linking her to ever since she came back to Mexico a few days ago.

Lando exhaled sharply through his nose, gripping his glass a little tighter. He wasn’t jealous. He didn’t care. Amelie could do whatever the hell she wanted. He had a girlfriend. He had moved on.

But that didn’t stop the irritation bubbling under his skin as Andrés leaned in, murmuring something that made Amelie laugh.

That laugh. The same laugh he used to hear at three in the morning when they were tangled in his sheets, whispering about the dumbest things. The same laugh that had been his favorite sound until it wasn’t his to hear anymore.

—Mate, you good?— Max asked, glancing up from his phone.

Lando forced himself to look away, shrugging. —Yeah.—

Max followed his gaze and sighed when he spotted her. —Well. That’s unfortunate.—

Lando huffed out a humorless laugh. —Tell me about it.—

Max took a sip of his drink. —Ignore her.—

That was the plan.

Until Amelie noticed him.

Their eyes met, and for a second—just a second—Lando saw something flicker in hers. Surprise? Annoyance? Something else entirely?

Then, that flicker disappeared, replaced by something far more infuriating.

A smirk.

Lando braced himself. He knew that look. Knew exactly what was coming next.

Amelie turned back to Andrés, but now, every movement she made felt calculated. She shifted in her seat, crossing one leg over the other, her dress riding up just enough to be noticeable.

Lando took a deep breath, gripping the edge of the table. He wasn’t going to react. He had nothing to react to.

But then she did it again.

Her fingers dragged lazily along the rim of her wine glass before bringing it to her lips, taking a slow sip, eyes flickering in his direction like she was daring him to say something.

Lando clenched his jaw.

Max, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, smirked. —She’s fucking with you.—

—No shit.—

—And it’s working.—

—Shut up, Max.—

He tried to focus on their own table, on the steak he hadn’t even touched, on whatever Max was rambling about now. But it was impossible when he could feel Amelie’s presence like a goddamn gravitational pull.

She laughed at something Andrés said—too loud, too exaggerated. It was almost theatrical, and Lando knew her well enough to recognize when she was putting on a show.

Then came the final straw.

Andrés leaned in, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering for just a second too long.

Lando scoffed under his breath, rolling his shoulders back. He wasn’t mad. He wasn’t.

But his body betrayed him, stiffening in his seat, a sharp exhale leaving his lips.

Amelie knew.

She turned her head slightly, meeting his gaze once again, and this time, she didn’t look away. She just raised an eyebrow, almost like she was asking: Something wrong?

Lando dragged a hand down his face, inhaling deeply as he forced himself to look away.

He wasn’t going to do this. He wasn’t going to fall into her trap.

But then, just as he was about to turn back to Max and pretend like none of this was happening, Amelie did something that made his blood fucking boil.

She tilted her head slightly, biting her bottom lip in that way she always did when she was up to no good, before leaning in—closer, closer, until her lips brushed against Andrés’ ear as she whispered something.

Lando saw the way the actor smiled, the way his hand found her thigh under the table, and that was it. That was the moment he knew she had won.

Because despite everything, despite the months apart, despite the fact that he had a girlfriend waiting for him back home, he still felt that same twisted, burning possessiveness when it came to her.

And Amelie fucking knew it.

Max must’ve noticed the way Lando’s posture shifted because he let out an exaggerated sigh. —Jesus Christ, mate, if you’re gonna lose your shit, at least do it after I finish my steak.—

Lando ignored him, fingers tightening around his glass.

Amelie pulled away from Andrés just enough to glance back at him again, her smirk deepening. She dragged her nails slowly against the stem of her wine glass before taking another sip, her eyes never leaving his.

It was so subtle, so effortless, but he knew exactly what she was doing.

Testing him. Pushing him. Seeing how far she could go before he snapped.

—She’s playing you like a fucking violin,— Max muttered, stabbing a piece of his steak. —And honestly? You’re letting her.—

Lando exhaled sharply, forcing a tight-lipped smile. —I don’t care.—

—Right.— Max snorted. —That’s why you look like you’re about to throw your drink at that poor guy’s head.—

Lando didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he did the only thing he could think of.

He picked up his phone and opened Instagram.

His thumb hovered over the direct messages for a moment before he found the name he was looking for.

Luisinha.

She had sent him a selfie earlier—one of those effortless, sun-kissed, no-makeup pictures that made his chest tighten.

Lando clicked on it, then smirked. If Amelie wanted to play games, fine. He could play too.

He turned his phone slightly, angling it just enough so that Amelie could see as he typed out a reply.

landonorris: Miss you.

He hit send.

Then, just for good measure, he pulled up their last photo together—a candid shot from a few weeks ago, Luisinha curled up against his chest, his hand resting on her thigh—and left it open on the screen as he set his phone down on the table.

And when he glanced back up, Amelie’s smirk was gone.

Good.

Maybe now they were even.

[stereopticons]

On this Day in Schitt's Creek: June 12

2019

heaven, help me [david/patrick, T, 10,392] by inmoonlightigetseasick

"The small town circuit was no fun for anyone, no matter angel nor demon. It was by far the most dreaded assignment. Finding oneself stationed in these places, one could make friends. Or, make an enemy, and keep them close until the distinction between these things became fuzzy and irrelevant. One could make this a habit, no matter where one went. And then there was the sparkling pleasure of anticipating something everywhere one ended up." David is a demon stuck working in a small town, his longtime rival Patrick is an angel. They shouldn't even get along let alone go into business together, but desperate times call for desperate solutions. Really desperate.

Memories [david/patrick, G, 1,517] by Asanamu

David hit his head, and doesn't realize that the hot guy sitting by his bed is his husband.

North by Northeast [david/patrick, T, 728] by @vodka-rocks-and-a-piece-of-toast

It's time for Games Night 3.0...

not going anywhere [david/patrick, M, 12,935] by @samwhambam

It's the first night of their honeymoon and all Patrick wants to do is spend time with his new husband. Candlelight dinners and relaxing on the beach, letting David rub sunscreen into Patrick's skin every two hours. But instead of a romantic dinner on their first night, they're at dinner with David's tool of an ex-boyfriend and his new boyfriend. Chad's presence opens up old scars and Patrick's heart breaks for his husband.

Reunion [david/patrick, G, 5,371] by JessX2231

David joins Patrick at his high school reunion

you knocked me out of my head [david/patrick, G, 4,581] by @yerbamansa

On a work trip to the California coast, Patrick surprises David with an extra day off (no wedding planning allowed). His plans don’t work out the way he hoped, but maybe that’s OK.

2020

[art] 50 Shades of Ray (TM) [david/patrick, G, fanart] by @sparklesmagiclightlove

Filling that reception shaped hole.

Cantaloupe Jam [david/patrick, E, 8,954] by @whetherwoman

Patrick had been in a mood all day. David could attribute it to the shipping delay on the order of body milk, or the vendor who called right during the morning rush to renegotiate his contract, or fact that Patrick's favorite blue pen ran out of ink and he was forced to use black. But the truth was, Patrick had just woken up in A Mood. On the positive side, there was one thing that always, always worked when Patrick got like this. On the negative side... sometimes it took a lot to get Patrick to admit he wanted it. Like, a lot, a lot.

Colour me Interested [david/patrick, T, 12,095] by @agoodpersonrose

David is finally convinced to go on a hike with Alexis, and meets someone along the way.

Hold On With Me [david/patrick, G, 1,124] by bigficenergy

David processes being the last Rose left in Schitt's Creek.

lay this curse down and tell me otherwise [david/patrick, T, 16,242] by @maybewecandreamalittle

David Rose refuses to believe in soulmates, especially the ones with loud eyes and warm smiles.

2021

check my nails (baby, how you feelin'?) [alexis/twyla, M, 706] by @sarahlevys

This is entirely, totally, stupidly stupid. Alexis is hot. She has better, easier, more fool-proof seduction techniques. She could just, like, take her shirt off and let the rest fall into place. But Twyla makes her nervous. Twyla makes her second-guess. Twyla makes her breath catch and her face flush, makes her smile so hard her cheeks ache. Written for the prompt: Twyla is a hand model for Alexis’s edible nail polish line. When they meet, Alexis decides to become more hands on!

life ain't passing you by [david/patrick, T, 3,027] by @dinnfameron

“I like this for you,” David says as he slides onto the stool beside her, mouth quirked to the side like he's sharing a private joke with himself, and she's the punchline. “There's nothing to like,” Stevie insists, taking another sip of her coffee. David and Patrick exchange a look, and now they're both in on the joke. “No, fuck you, don't do that,” she says. “Do what?” “We're not doing anything.” +++ Stevie has breakfast at the cottage before a business trip. David and Patrick have some thoughts regarding her feelings for her new coworker.

squabbles, etc [david/patrick, M, 961] by @5ambreakdown

“But have you considered that I love you?” “David! ‘I love you’ stopped being an effective argument when we got married.”

The Ver-Ray Best of Ray of Sunshine [gen, T, 8,808 + podfic] by @patrickhearteyesbrewer Amanita_Fierce @cosbrarian @cottagepodfics @sarahlevys @eafay70 @five678patty @godoflaundrybaskets @hullomoon @hullosweetpea @januarium JocundaSykesEncore @kiranerys42 @kiwiana-writes @lilythesilly @lisamc-21 Little_Black_Bow @mayonnaisetoffees @midnightstreet Mo_on_raccoon @petrodobreva @reginahalliwell @rhetoricalk @roguebebe @schittposting @landofsonlali @sunlightsymphony @fishandchipsandvinegar @swiftlythebest @treepyful @wi22iou @olive2read

In this ver-Ray special episode of Ray of Sunshine, Ray looks back at some of his most popular interviews and segments, with full transcripts! Features interviews with local business owners, investigRAYtive journalism and a very special performance by the Jazzagals. Today's episode is brought to you by: Jake's Woodworking, Herb Ertlinger Fruit Wines, Mr. Hockley's Tea, The House Barn, and many more!

2022

Breathe again [david/patrick, T, 1,228] by @smblmn

A man kissed me last night. A man I’m undoubtedly attracted to. A man I can see myself falling in love with. It was life changing.

BtP S4, Party Favour: Fests [gen, G, podcast] by BehindThePod HowOldAreWe @hullomoon @n0connections

hullomoon invites N0Connections and HowOldAreWe to talk about participating in fests, and specifically creating works for Schitt's Creek fests. [1:10:00]

one perfect blend [david/patrick, G, 1,872] by @hullomoon

When David goes to Herb Ertlinger's Winery for his mother, he isn't prepared for Patrick, the man doing the wine tasting. my 202nd work

2023

Free Delivery [david/patrick, T, 877] by @wearpersistencewell

In the early days of Rose Apothecary, David learns he had the mail delivery system all wrong. Alexis doesn't help. Patrick does.

2024

Ordinary Day [david/patrick, T, 12,997] by @wearpersistencewell

David and Patrick each wake up in each other’s bodies - as high schoolers. Over the course of one day, they each gain insight into their boyfriend’s past and present - as well as their own. This is a completed work.

Stats:

No fanworks for 2017 or 2018 2019: 6 fics/35,524 words 2020: 5 fanworks (4 fics, 1 fanart)/38,502 words 2021: 4 fanworks (3 fics, 1 fic/podfic combo)/13,502 words 2022: 3 fanworks (2 fics, 1 podcast)/3,283 words 2023: 1 fic/877 words 2024: 1 fic/12,997 words Total: 20 fanworks (17 fics, 1 fanart, 1 podcast, 1 fic/podfic combo)/104,685 words