Jackie's Fridge

Literally upvoted because her hair visibly grew out in the time it took to gain weight and that delights me.

THOT is a derogatory acronym for “That Ho Over There”, used to dismiss a woman as promiscuous.

Adorable dryer lint

I was gonna check my iPad 1 to see what’s still on it but it might finally have died for good. There were some fun time wasters like Ragdoll Blaster, Cube Runner and Robot Unicorn Attack, and if you create music there’s NanoStudio and BeBot. I think there was a solid video pinball game as well.

They came after DankPods?? That’s it. The accelerated climate change, massive content theft, and literal fascism was fine but how DARE they

“Gender confusion?” You mean like the kid who can’t ask anyone in his life why he’s attracted to boys and not girls? Or the kid who constantly feels like she’s in a stolen, ill-fitting body and scares herself every time she looks in the mirror and a boy stares back?

You’d think books would be a sensible, non-judgemental way to find answers without painting a target on your back.

But that’s the real point of all this, isn’t it?

Willy’s Wonderland is a way better Five Nights at Freddie’s than the actual Five Nights at Freddie’s.

Seriously they need to fail faster

It’s still there so I’d call that a success.

I believe in you

Too lazy to keep scrolling but I haven’t yet seen mentions of Lilo & Stitch (the best movie Disney ever made) and Dark City (the director’s cut and if you haven’t seen it don’t spoil it, just watch it).

…and now I’m seeing a bit of a tone difference between them

So what exactly does he do that’s worth $300,000/hr? Or let’s say he works 10 hours a day, 7 days a week for the whole year (and you know he does not), $190,000/hr?

Clutch 100%. I’d see them every time. Flogging Molly were fantastic but the venue had awful acoustics which was kind of a drag, so I owe it to myself to see them again.

Humans

Yup. Friend of mine finally cut loose her deadweight husband after 2 kids. She started dating an amazing woman and I’ve never seen her more happy. Luckily she also got custody, and her kids are awesome human beings.

This is the way

Try everything you find remotely interesting - you never know what will click.

Draw stick figure comics. Stories, jokes, whatever you like.

Create music (if you have an iPad or MacBook, Garage Band is free and excellent). There are lots of YouTube videos you can learn from.

Learn how to solder and repair electronics and appliances. It’s a great skill to have and you can save money if you know how things work and can do even minor repairs.

Sewing! You can find vintage Singer sewing machines on Facebook Marketplace cheap or free (seriously, just because they’re old doesn’t mean they’re worth $100). Read up on what to look for and how to maintain these machines (if they move, they can be repaired). Use this skill to make stuff or just to alter or repair the stuff you have.

Volunteer at an animal shelter! (Assuming you are okay with animals.)

Take up cooking or baking and try new recipes. Your parents might get into that.

As for gamedev, that’s something I don’t do, but again, there are all sorts of resources online you can use to hone your skills, get new ideas, and realise your vision. Working on your own projects might be more fulfilling than working for a game company, just with how devs are treated in the industry.

Fireworks are a tough one. Ear plugs or some aggressive noise cancelling headphones are about it, because people loooove their boom pops. I had to go to an NFL game recently and my AirPod Pros were a lifesaver.

For entertaining, I’ve just started asserting myself (excrutiating, but the brief social embarrassment is worth the longer stress of dealing with the circus). It’s honestly easier these days because a) I’m older and starting to realise most people I hang out with will take it in stride and b) I am lucky to have extremely low pressure family and friends. So this might not work for you but I hope it might.

If you can’t be 100% honest, tell people you get stressed easily - they usually understand that. Or if they’re selfish, that you have a migraine (which I would get from the anxiety of an upcoming event, so not necessarily a lie for me). Migraines have a similar look & feel and if you prime them to accept that you have one, they are more likely to roll with it if you need to disappear and decompress for a while.

I also like the other poster’s suggestion of helping prepare food or clean up. It gives you something to focus on and takes you out of the main event. People will appreciate not having to do the work themselves so they can enjoy the party. It’s a win-win.

Finally, if you need a shield, offer to take photos. It’s not glamorous, but personally I am far more comfortable staying to the sidelines and hiding behind the camera. Just remember to follow through and upload the best photos to a cloud drive to share with everyone.

Okay it’s obvious I need to re-watch it. Thanks for putting this one back on my radar!

Good luck - you’ll do great!