adored every moment of this game's presentation. the visuals are a perfect complement to the writing - wavy, hazy, atmospheric, but grounded in specificity.
the sensory details sold the intensity of the sport, and the characters' anxieties over their bodies. the shaving plotline kept me especially on edge, and the restraint shown made it even more memorable. i was tense throughout, waiting as the pressure built and built, constantly certain something was about to pop.
like many of my fellow narps in the comments, i appreciated the amount of context built into the story. i loved the swimdex as a method of both providing further context and extending the narrative!! very cool trick, i gotta steal that sometime >:)
as i read, i was often reminded of tillie walden's "spinning." there's this sequence where she talks about making her bedroom as cold as possible before sleeping at night, A/C on full blast, no blankets, just so her body doesn't have to re-adjust when she gets to the ice rink... competitive sports institutions really fuck kids up, huh?
excellent work on all counts! thanks for sharing y'all!!