<div align=center><font size=30>you can't win</font>
a game about losing
by kelly weng
[[START|1]]</div>you are playing a team-based multiplayer video game. the premise is simple: you go up against an enemy team consisting of other players. your team has to defeat the other in order to win.
you [[queue for a game|2]].(set: $speak to 0)(set: $mute to 0)(set: $report to 0)you quickly find a lobby. people choose their roles and you choose yours.
(either: "eventually, your team wins the game.
as the victory screen comes up, one of your teammates decides to boast in the general chat so that the enemy team can see. they brag about how easy that game was. then they barrage the enemy team with a slew of insults.", "eventually, your team loses the game.
as the defeat screen comes up, one of your teammates decides to blame the team. in the general chat, they angrily insult each person on the team, including you." , "eventually, your team loses the game.
as the defeat screen comes up, one of the enemy team decides to boast in the general chat so that your team can see. they brag about how easy that game was. then they barrage your team with a slew of insults.")
- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[speak out against the player|Speak]]
- [[report the player|Report]]
- [[mute the player|Mute]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]](set: $speak to 1)you type your response into the general chat.
the general chat is quiet for a moment. you almost trick yourself into thinking that the problem has been dealt with before the player replies.
they mock you, your skill. they call you a number of offensive terms.
nobody comes to your aid.
(if: $report is 0)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[report the player|Report]]
- [[mute the player|Mute]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]]{
}(elseif: $report is 1)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[mute the player|Mute]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]](set: $report to 1)you click on the player's name and scroll down the menu to the "report" option.
you note the abusive behavior. then you click "send."
a confirmation pop-up appears, thanking you for your report. you can't help but feel the emptiness behind these words.
(if: $speak is 0 and $mute is 0)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[speak out against the player|Speak]]
- [[mute the player|Mute]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]]{
}(elseif: $speak is 1 and $mute is 0)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[mute the player|Mute]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]]{
}(elseif: $mute is 1)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]]you exit the lobby.(set: $speak to 0)(set: $mute to 0)(set: $report to 0)
- [[queue again|2]]
- [[quit the game|End]](if: $speak is 0)[you ignore the player and decide to stay in the lobby.]{
}(if: $speak is 1)[against your better judgement, you decide to stay in the lobby.]
before the next game commences, the teams are rebalanced. [[you notice the player ends up on the team opposing yours.|Stay 2]](set: $mute to 1)you click on the player's name and scroll down the menu to the "mute" option. thankfully, you won't have to hear from this person ever again.
it's been maybe a couple of months since you started playing this game. you wonder how long your mute list has gotten by now.
(if: $report is 0)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[report the player|Report]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]]{
}(elseif: $report is 1)[- [[continue playing in this lobby|Stay]]
- [[leave the lobby|Leave]]](if: $speak is 1 and $mute is 0)[throughout the entire game, the player targets you specifically, both in-game and in chat. they go out of their way to hunt you down. every time they kill you, they taunt you in the chat. every time you kill them, they dismiss the elimination as a fluke or a stroke of luck.
(either: "you win anyway. the player blames their team for the loss, then continues insulting you, though the fire in their words seems to waver." , "you lose. the player insults you viciously, laughing at your skills.")]{
}(if: $speak is 1 and $mute is 1)[throughout the entire game, the player targets you specifically in-game. they go out of their way to hunt you down.
(either: "you win anyway.", "you lose.") you're certain the player is insulting you in chat, but there's nothing you can do.]{
}(if: $speak is 0 and $mute is 1)[(either: "you win.", "you lose.") you can see your teammates reacting to something you didn't catch in chat. you assume it's the player you muted, spewing even more unpleasant things.]{
}(if: $speak is 0 and $mute is 0)[(either: "you win.", "you lose.") the player you had wanted to ignore starts to talk in chat again, determined to make everyone else in the lobby miserable. your teammates react differently, either telling the player to calm down, or goading the player even more.]
people start to leave the lobby. when too many people leave, the game boots you out of the lobby.
- [[queue again|2]]
- [[quit the game|End]]you don't know why you keep playing this game when so many players in this community are determined to be relentlessly toxic.
you don't know why you keep playing this game when so many players in this community enjoy deriding other human beings who are simply trying to have fun.
you don't know why you keep playing this game.
you don't know why.
[[RESTART|Title Page]]