i will most definitely get around to answering asks tomorrow (i'm so deeply sorry for the delay), but for today, i have something for the genloss au from a while ago.
so basically, gl!ranboo is technically alive, but their head is still in the box. and they can see just fine. i don't know how any of this works, so neither does anyone else. especially gl!charlie.
(tap on images for better viewing experience maybe)
thinking about how charlie's characters are listed in the credits. "slimecicle/patient charlie/charlie". episode one presents an exaggerated caricature of charlie's online persona, down to the costuming, the silly accent, the very on-brand jokes - this is charlie in his element as we as the viewers are accustomed to. given that these characters are the real streamers that we see, showfall created a character for him to play in which he was entirely and wholly the one-dimensional funny slime guy that he typically plays into, removing the real person charlie entirely and making him just slimecicle - he is very literally not a human. the second episode, charlie is less of an exaggerated caricature but is still not himself. he is "patient charlie" - his role in the game is stated before his name. we see reality break through with him briefly in this episode, so more of his humanity is sustained, but he never really breaks from the act. the third episode, it's just charlie. this is reality. at first he's playing the part of streamer, this satirical version of what it's like to be a content creator, doing react videos to nothing at all and trying desperately to appear engaging as the fourth wall shatters around him, and then he's broken out of it. he doesn't make any more jokes. he's not funny. this isn't funny, it's just scary, and he's just afraid. he just wants to get out of this alive. he's only human.
why aren’t we talking about how charlie is literally fusing with the wire monster here. listen to his voice, how the distortion sounds start lining up with his screaming. he literally says “ranboo, the button” TWICE in the distorted voice. wire monster charlie?? hello??
injecting the theory that gl!charlie grew up at showfall entertainment into my MIND
the one(1) line of evidence in question: when being asked about who they were before before all the showfall stuff, ranboo said they were in a cabin (ie the first episode). charlie said he grew up in a cabin. (and when hetch repeats "in a cabin," charlie stands and starts pacing.) additionally, in charlie's room in the first episode, there's a school photo that ranboo and sneeg specifically point out as being weird.
he's consistently been the most willing to play the part assigned to him, even if it meant letting The Hero give you an impromptu dissection, because That's What He's Always Done. he was never just charlie until ranboo snapped him out of it directly (and even then, it didn't seem to hit him until that conversation with hetch.)
yes that One Sentence that's driving me up the wall could be a miscommunication or me misunderstanding but I simply don't care this is canon in my heart. cc!charlie loves giving his little guys horrible horrible reasons for being silly goofy and I don't think "kidnapped as a child and forced to endure this shit his whole life" is far fetched