#does anyone even still remember this game

[jude457]

has anyone written inho developing a bitter agonising complex that gihun has replaced him as junho’s hyung after the games end? he can’t say it, obviously, because he’s inho and emotional honesty is illegal, but it just eats him alive how easily gihun slides into the space he used to occupy in junho’s life.

like imagine being inho. your entire identity used to be “older brother/parental figure” and now you’re a trauma-riddled ex-frontman who can’t walk ten steps without pain and can’t look your brother in the eye without remembering what you became. and the guy who blew up your entire philosophy—gihun—is just… better at being a human than you. better at being a hyung than you.

and inho sees that and just quietly crumbles because it’s not even jealousy exactly—it’s more like this awful realisation that this is what junho always needed. gihun takes care of him, and he does it well. like it’s second nature. and junho leans into it without even realising he’s doing it. like this is the kind of care he’s been starving for.

inho’s just there. watching it happen. watching them fall into this rhythm where gihun becomes the emotional anchor, the person junho turns to first, the one he trusts with the scared parts.

and then it happens. the moment that breaks him. junho calls gihun “hyung.” like it’s nothing. like it hasn’t just knocked the fucking air out of inho’s chest. because that word used to mean something. it used to be the last piece of who he was. the only thing left that said, you were important to him. you mattered. you were his older brother.

and now it’s not his anymore.

it’s gihun’s.

and the worst part? gihun doesn’t even flinch when he hears it. he just answers. like it’s normal. like it’s fine. because to him, it is. but for inho, it’s shattering. because it makes everything real. this quiet little shift he’s been trying not to notice. the way junho doesn’t look at him the same. the way he flinches sometimes when inho comes close, not from fear, but from memory. the way he laughs freely with gihun, like the weight’s been lifted, like he can finally breathe.

and inho just stands there, heart in pieces, thinking: i was supposed to be that. i was supposed to be the one who kept him safe. but he wasn’t. he didn’t. he hurt him. and now someone else does it better. and without meaning to, without asking for it, gihun became the version of “hyung�� that junho always deserved. it doesn’t belong to him. and the echo of it, floating casually from junho’s mouth in someone else’s direction, is worse than silence. it’s a replacement and it hurts like hell.

but he doesn’t say a word. because what could he even say? he lost the right to that name the moment he stopped being the man who earned it.

(side note it’s a complex for a reason. junho still loves him to pieces and inho is too blind and traumatised to see it)

[creatingblackcharacters]

How do I know if I am doing a disservice to my Black protagonist?

I am writing a fic with two protagonists, one of them is a Black guy, while the other one is a white girl. The story is about them falling in love, while becoming super villains.

The guy is a hacker, he is smart, calculating but forces himself to be more cold than he actually is. Stupidly protective and caring of his love ones, but outside of what happens to them, he is pretty neutral; if he does something that helps himself/love one that it just so happens to benefit other people? Cool, if he does something to help himself/love one that hurts others? It is what it is; he is still grappling with the morality of his actions, and one time he ever got a crisis about it. Up to this point in the story, he has never killed a person directly, and the other instances where you could argue he was involved in some capacity can be counted with one hand.

The girl on the other hand, is a monster. She was part of an experiment that gave her super human abilities, and after gaining them, her new goal to kill and eat anyone she considered a problem (criminals, police people, someone who annoyed her, etc.) The experiment unleashed more a part of her than affect her personality, and she is 100% aware of it, knows she could stop herself for following that impulse if she tried, she just isn't interested. She is also, fiercely protective of her love ones; the one trait that she has in common with the other MC. In terms of morality, she has said how she stopped giving a shit a long time ago; she knows she is a horrible person and is okay with it. At the beginning of the story she has more kills than she can count, and even on the story alone, I don't think I can remember how many people she has killed.

I wanted that dichotomy to be intentional; the Black guy who people would think the worst from the get-go, is insanely smart, reasonable, more thoughtful and calculating of the two; while the blonde white girl, is tiny ball of rage who would try to kill a Librarian because she thought the woman was by bitchy by kicking her out.

However, there has been a couple of times where people has come at my Black mc for things that don't hold a candle to what my white mc has done. At first, I thought it was just that effect of people judging Black characters to a different standard, but lately I had been wondering if it is something else.

Since is a story about them becoming villains, they get progressively worse when it comes to their enemies. My Black mc starts doing more 'groundwork' instead of just building gadgets, and because of that, he starts to get his hands dirty. My white mc has done murders more violent and visceral on the other hand.

I am afraid that because my white mc was introduced with the bar so low, she getting more vicious doesn't really hit; while it is now more noticeable when my Black character is getting worse, since he started from higher ground.

(For the record, they never get to the same level, the white mc will always be more violent, ruthless and cynical than my Black Mc.)

So, did I do my Black character a disservice by not making him as bad as my white mc?

Well, I haven't read your story, and so I cannot make this call objectively. But from what you're describing, no, it's just how Black characters are treated. Remember, you can write the most interesting, nuanced, wonderful Black character known to man, and people will still hate them because they're Black. You can see the pattern with every Black video game protag or character ever, really; this unusually high standard of behavior and expectation. "I need a reason to hate him and find him suspicious; see I was right!" Type deal. So. Yeah, sorry 😅 welcome to fandom racism. Grace is not For Us.

But also, having Black readers who are actually honest with you about your work helps with that insecurity of yours, too. Do you have any that comment consistently? Any Black peers who'd be willing to read it? Because maybe if they point out what you are and are not accomplishing, it may help you know what you've done to encourage that response, or if it's just the ignorance of the crowd you're writing to.

[toasttt11]

hers

May 24, 2024

Ophelia set her suitcases and bag to the side of the front door and smiled being back at the lake house, the lake house and Michigan has grown to become one of her favorite places to be, a place with a fresh start and didn’t hold any bad memories.

Quinn and Ophelia just got back into Michigan from Vancouver and Ellen and Jack had left the day after Canucks last game, Jim and Luke were currently still in Prague.

Ellen picked up Ophelia and Quinn from the airport.

“Bee!” Jack smiled widely as he walked back inside, he did see Ophelia only two days ago but still missed her. He’s staring to realized just how much Ophelia is apart of their family, he thinks about her just as much as he does Luke and Quinn.

“Jacky!” Ophelia grinned back quickly hugging him being soft as always making sure to be careful of his shoulder.

Jack squeezed her softly and when he pulled back looked at her chin, “Was it bad?” Jack knew she got her stitches out from under her chin yesterday afternoon and hasn’t had a chance to ask her.

Ophelia shook her head no, “It was okay, Quinn was there.”

Jack smiled not even being surprised by Quinn being there for her. Jack would honestly be more surprised if Quinn was not there.

“Are you ready for your surprise?” Jack grinned remembering Ophelia hasn’t seen it yet.

“Surprise?” Ophelia’s eyebrows furrowed looking confused as she looked between Jack, Quinn and Ellen.

“It’s Quinn’s idea for you i just helped.” Ellen explained with an excited smile.

“She did most of it because we were in Van.” Quinn spoke up feeling a little bit nervous hoping he didn’t over step with this surprise.

“Come on it’s upstairs!” Jack looked so excited for Ophelia to see.

Ophelia still looked confused but followed Jack up the stairs with Ellen and Quinn right behind her.

She looked more confused as Jack stopped in front of the guest room she stayed in all last summer.

“Open it.” Quinn encouraged her gesturing to the door.

Ophelia looked at him before turning to the door and slowly opening the door.

She froze seeing the guest room.

It was no longer bare, beige and simple but suddenly redecorated with a blue theme.

The bed now had blue blankets and pillows and there was a white mesh fabric draped from the ceiling over the bed with a brown whicker light hanging in the center.

There was more blue and beige decor piece across the room, multiple picture frames around the room that were still empty.

In the corner of the room there was a new white chair that looked so comfortable with a blue pillow and with a small table next to it with an stained glass antique lamp.

“You redecorated?” Ophelia slowly asked still not fully sure what this is and didn’t want to get her hopes up.

Quinn shook his head fondly and slowly pushed her towards the bathroom in the room.

She rapidly blinked seeing the new wallpaper on the walls in the bathroom, the wallpaper was bees.

“Bees?” Ophelia spoke up softly looking around slowly, the bathroom was pretty similar just with blue towels and blue jars and soup holder on the counter.

“For our Bee silly!” Jack softly teased reaching over and very gently tugging her hair.

Ophelia froze and slowly turned around with such an emotional look, “For me?” She’s never had anyone do something so kind.

“Of course Bee.” Quinn softly grabbed her hand, “I told you that you always have a place here no matter what. Now you have a permanent place because you’rere stuck with all of us.”

Ophelia sniffled a bit trying to keep the water in her eyes and not even sure how to get her words out and she just lunged forward hugging Quinn so tightly, “Thank you.” Ophelia choked out.

Someone actually wants her permanently. Quinn still wants her around after almost a year of her knowing her. He had a room done for her. All of the Hughes still want her.

Quinn squeezed her back holding the back of her head resting his cheek on the top of her head, “Always Ophelia.” He firmly and gently promised her.

Ellen smiled softly at Ophelia’s reaction and looked proud of Quinn as well.

Ophelia discreetly wiped under her eyes as she pulled away from Quinn as Ellen pulled her into a side hug.

“We did basic decorating the rest is for you to decide and add your personal touch.” Ellen told Ophelia looking excited to decorate with her.

Ophelia smiled softly leaning into Ellen, “Thank you Ellie.”

“You are very welcome my Dear.” Ellen squeezed her softly back.

Ophelia looked at the room, her room. She has a room with the Hughes and she’s starting to believe that she does have a place with their family.

ophelia’s room in michigan

[lollipopsnowy]

wehhhh 😭😭

[inksandpensblog]

something about the majority of Sebastian’s possible interactions being negative when he’s the only interactive entity in the game. something about player engagement and the desire for exploration and how this is fulfilled via interaction. something about player interactions prompting negative reactions from Sebastian but reactions are still reactions and so the player is essentially rewarded for harassing him. something about how any attempt to discover more of what his character has to offer basically ruins any rapport you could’ve been building with him. something about how the only way to keep in whatever good graces he still has is to go against player instinct and and leave him the fuck alone and deliberately not attempt to engage beyond the ground rules he lays out.

[moeblob]

Demyx (my beloved)

[newfriendatfreddys]

he really is. this is just, this is all he really knows? hes put in a lot of effort to be better and i think this is just, haha, a bump in the road. i dont agree with what he said to you at all, but he really is trying

shit wait for real? this is all he really knows? fuck, i'm sorry. i forgot that not knowing or remembering anything outside this place just gives someone such a fundamentally fucked up worldview that they become unable to internalize that Tormenting People On Purpose Is Bad and maybe they Shouldn't Do It. gosh, it must take such a tremendous amount of effort for someone Like That to Not be awful to everyone, always, at every given opportunity, when that's what this world literally brainwashes them, near unavoidably, into being! wow. he's so brave. and unique! there is no one else who could possibly know what it's like to have no memory of the outside world and only know this fucking place. woah. holy smokes. my mind is blown. thank you for sharing

[fei-scribbles]

tried working with a muted colour palette that reminded me of vivia

i wanna turn up the saturation so badly omfg how do people make muted colours look good-

[whathasangramainyudonewrong]

What’s the sitch with Caren and Angra Mainyu? Is it as simple as Caren having a crush on him or do I not have all the information?

The short answer is “It’s complicated”

The long answer is “It’s None Of Your Business”

- Aŋra Mainiiu

[voidimp]

i hate that the sims has stupid limited time in game events with exclusive reward items whyyyy cant i just play when i want. why cant you just release the items for free without having to meet certain requirements in the game!! or even as a pack to buy honestly!!! but this limited time shit fucking sucks!!!!!

[arsenicflame]

the way i play with Izzyverse is with every Izzy forming from a branching timeline- that they were all the same at some point, only one thing sent them off on the path to be "someones". some are obvious; Sam, Ed, Jack & Hornigold branch from the mutiny- a split second decision on who to go with, a miss timed hit leaving him in Hornigolds grasp- but the others are less so. how would he become Jackie's, or Ned's, or Anne and Mary's? what happens to make an Izzy Stede's? how do they even meet?

[arolesbianism]

Sits in shambles I didn't read maybe Jorge's id correctly in the mysterious hermit logs the first god knows how many times I read them and only just now realized that it's the same id as the scientist that speaks in the agricultural notes log why must I be so bad at reading

[kobochajunkbox]

Copypasta'd a charming quote I saw from the Mad Max game (2015) to search the source and-

[bearsgrove]

i need to play dao again so bad

[teaboot]

One time my mom took me to a hibachi grill with a bunch of her friends and if you've never been to a hibachi grill basically the draw is that theres a bunch of interactive performance stuff done by the cook who cooks for you at your table, and one of the tricks they did at this one was take a squeeze bottle full of liquor and shoot it into your mouth across the table (with permission)

And now at our table my mom explained this because it was my first time going, and she wanted to make sure to warn me it was liquor because she knows I don't drink- she just said "if he offers to shoot at your mouth, say no because it's alcohol".

And so the chef does his thing and it's all very impressive, but the time does come where he pulls out this squeeze bottle of booze and asks me if I wanna try

I of course say no, because I really don't do alcohol, so he moves on to someone else

And I watch, and slowly come to understand that this is some sort of game, because once someone is drinking from the continuous flow the chef starts counting "ONE! TWO! THREE!"

I realize that we're trying to see who can keep drinking the liquor from three feet away without choking or spilling, and its a bummer cause i kinda wanna try and I CAN'T

But he goes around the table with everyone there, and I think my mom makes it to three, one friend makes it to five, I think my brother got to three as well, and he comes back to me

And I'm REALLY bummed out now but I will not drink alcohol, so I sort of sadly repeat that I can't when he pulls out a SECOND BOTTLE and grins and goes "juice?"

And Im like FUCK YEAH LET'S GO and I'm a bit worried he's gonna spray it into my eye or something but he doesn't, it hits me right at the back of the throat, and I start drinking while the whole fucking table counts "ONE! TWO! THREE!"

And like

It just sorta

Kept going?

And Im looking at the chef and he starts freaking out by the time we get to six, and at around seven I kinda start looking around and my auntie is staring back in shock, my brother is laughing his ass off and my mom has her face in her hands

And then at like nine or ten it gets like. Super tense and quiet, and only the chef is still counting

And I guess it got too much for even him cause we're at eleven and I don't believe in quitting early and it is almost painful how awkward it's getting

So he cuts me off at twelve and raises his hands in the air and everyone else cheers and claps like a dumb movie

and I just sit back in my seat to look back at my mother staring at me surrounded by everyone she knows, bright fucking red in the face and choking with honest to god tears in her eyes and she puts her face back in her palms and starts chanting "I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't want to know"

So I give her the biggest, proudest grin and tell her, "I won."

So now every time something suggestive happens in a movie, or in conversation, or something shocking happens around us and she goes to jokingly cover my ears, I just ask her, "Remember when I won?" And she goes face-down and groans, because I know EXACTLY how she thinks I trained to develop that particular skill and she HATES knowing that about me

The truth is though, I'm a whole ass 28 year old virgin. I've never so much as kissed anyone in my life. I had no idea I could do that trick until that exact moment

But she doesn't know that, and I'm never gonna tell her

[followerofmercy]

Networking/Knowing A Guy: A Guide

This is the autism website. Now, as an extension of the power of love and friendship, there are few things more useful than Knowing A Guy. Knowing A Guy means you have a support network. Knowing a plumber, or a tax accountant, or just that one dude that's really fucking good at finding the information you need when you're really overwhelmed, can be the difference between being able to pay rent and having a fun party with friends to fix your shit.

How does one end up Knowing A Guy? It's a skill you can develop called Networking and it is one of the foundations of society. Unfortunately making those connections with people is fucking hard and nobody makes a tutorial for it. So, here you go:

The golden rule is you scratch my back and I scratch yours

It is necessary for survival to seek out useful people

Great news! Everyone is useful in some form or fashion - including you! When given the opportunity to learn about someone, do it! Extroversion does not come naturally to some people and that's okay. Just take whatever falls in your lap.

Types of usefulness: trade skills, connections of their own, personality you jive with, pleasant to talk to, niche interest in shared hobby, security - the list is pretty much endless. I know a guy that lives in the metro area - no job, no major hobbies, inoffensively annoying to me personally, kinda ignorant, not attractive to me, but you know what? He knows how the fuck to get around the city by foot. My rural-raised ass APPRECIATES the guide.

Remember important information: general personality, background, skillset, likes and dislikes. You can find this information by making smalltalk about their life. There is no such thing as pointless conversation. (Yes, even the annoying smalltalk)

The more people you know, the higher the likelihood that one of them will be useful in a given situation - or will know someone who is.

It is overwhelming. In a given clique/community/workspace/whatever, there is A Guy Who Knows The Other Guys. This Guy is a shortcut. Find them. They're often elderly, extroverted, a little bit annoying, a secretary or in some otherwise forward-facing position. Look for people that are gossipy/talk about other people a lot but not in negative ways. If they constantly talk shit, they'll talk shit about you too. They're still useful but be careful with the information you share

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.*

If you have low self esteem, you're going to feel like you're using people. You're not. That's the devil talking. People like feeling valued and the connections you are making are the threads holding community together. Recognize people for their talents. It's only a problem when you're taking advantage of people

So: don't feel scummy about it. You're an animal. You have to claw out your right to survive and people will respect you more for it.

Luckily mutualism is the name of the game in the animal kingdom. Offer something back. The foundation of a Know A Guy relationship is Mutual Benefit

Sometimes that Mutual Benefit is just spreading news of the The Guy far and wide. My plumber friend is my actual friend and I love her to death, but I'm maintaining our backscratch relationship by pimping out her plumbing business to anyone that'll listen

Food is a good Mutual Benefit. People across cultures for all of human history have bonded over food. I have good success asking people for a favor and then offering to buy them lunch in return **

General compensation is also good. Offer a service in return and always do your best to offer financial compensation as appropriate. Having your plumber friend take a look at your drain: doable with a case of beer. Having your plumber friend redo the pipes in your entire house? You need to pay for that.

Being transactional is not necessarily a bad thing. I would advise against keeping an itemized list of things owed, but fish don't seek out cleaner shrimp just because they enjoy their company. Everyone gets something

Unfortunately being extroverted and generally personable is a huge benefit here, but that's the value of the Guy That Knows A Guy. There's someone out there that has consolidated All The Guys so you don't have to be the local expert. Always remember nobody can do everything and you don't need to master every skill

* This is the foundation of a functioning community. I have many acquaintances that I find incredibly annoying. They include doctors, welders, artists, social workers, lawyers, construction crew and random fuckers at the grocery store. I do not hang out with them. I do not have to in order to maintain a civil Know A Guy relationship. I can drop them useful tidbits and fuck right off so I don't have to spend any more time than necessary with them

** People may assume romantic intent. Be prepared for that. I generally denote that it's a friendly/work lunch by calling them bro at some point if they're my age. Otherwise my general demeanor is sufficient to show that I do this with everyone

Source: personal experience, mother's teachings of crime, booth vending and poverty