tank check

A call-out or self-assessment determining whether someone is playing intentionally badly in a game — deliberately dying, feeding kills, or throwing objectives on purpose. Dropping an int check on a teammate is equal parts accusation and interrogation: are you actually this bad or is something deliberate happening here? The check invites either a confession, a defensive explanation, or a meltdown in chat. A staple of competitive gaming communication, it has migrated into everyday discourse to question whether someone's terrible decision-making is wilful or just genuinely catastrophic.

A real check is a moment of honest, no-sugarcoating assessment — either given to yourself or delivered by someone who cares enough to be blunt. It cuts through the cope, the delusion, and the convenient narratives you've been running. When someone hands you a real check, they're not being mean; they're being a mirror. You're either in your bag or you're not. You're either growing or you're circling. A real check doesn't dress up the truth. It presents it plainly and expects you to do something with it.

A moment of self-assessment or social calibration where someone — or a group — pauses to evaluate whether the hype they're feeling is justified or if the ego is running on fumes. A gassed check is what a real friend gives you before you say something embarrassing, or what your own internal critic delivers after a compliment hits too hard and you start walking different. It's a reality temperature check dressed in slang, the verbal equivalent of someone subtly gesturing for you to dial it back before you fully embarrass yourself.