I like Synth's take on the text. Personally I don't mind the hugs and the dragon kisses (probably because I have the opposite issue of being touch-starved, possibly depressed but I don't want to say that for certain without an actual diagnosis BUT ANYWAY).

But I think the concerns raised here are valid, and if a small, simple change in the text would make more people feel comfortable with participating in the holiday, I'm all for it.

i don't think any change needs to be made here. my thought process is: pet sites benefit from their colorful casts of characters, "colorful" characters are characters with personality, and the thing about people with personalities is that they're human and they're not perfect. they have flaws, they cannot please everyone.

i can support things that are genuinely discriminatory being changed. i do not think every npc needs to be watered down to avoid offending anyone.

i'm not a touch-adverse person, but i fully support this if it makes people feel more comfortable using the site.

while the npcs aren't doing this irl, it can still trigger some people. i know some people who aren't okay with real people sending hug or kiss emojis in texts / on discord. you don't have to understand someone's boundary to respect someone's boundary.

the touchy feely NPCs dont really bother me but i think a small change wouldn't necessarily "ruin" them. Charity saying "can i hug you?" is similar enough anyway, it doesnt even alter her character that much, and a really small and easy fix that staff could do

same with the rreign, could change the text to saying it magically marks you with its favor. doesnt change that much or break the game imo

for the people who are saying it doesnt need to be changed, would the proposed changes make you uncomfortable? if not, then perhaps consider how a small change to make others more comfortable could be an overall net positive

yes, it does make me uncomfortable how increasingly common it is for every fictional character to need to talk like a therapist.

charity's personality is excitable to a fault. people are free to dislike her for that. there are fictional characters i hate for their personality, but that is not the author's problem and they do not necessarily need to be changed.

Yeah, it'd be one thing if the text was in some way a microaggression or discriminatory, or if actual interactions were happening. Charity's excitable and I get the sense that she's the type of person who'd run up and give her friends a big bear hug as soon as she sees them. There's nothing innately harmful about that.

If the text is changed I won't be bent out of shape about it, but it should be done in a way that retains that personality. For example, "You've made me so happy! I wish I could give you a great big hug!" or "Eee, that was so kind! I just wanna hug you!" Anything more clinical would flatten her as a character.

I don't blame people for feeling off-put or triggered by certain content (hell, I have Cynthia's image blocked because it creeps me out) but there are steps you can take on your own to cultivate your own online experience. I strongly suggest seeking out and using tools like ublock or FoxReplace to block images or change text, since it'll ultimately empower you to do what you want to do online while avoiding potential triggers.

I love this suggestion the most. Keeping with the character:) Honestly? I hope it Isn’t replaced with “Can I have a hug?” It can be triggering to certain people who have had to deal with assault irl.

Echoing here too, yes, it would bother me. It sets a precedent then that every interaction between our HAs and Subeta's NPCs has to be a sanitized experience so that nobody gets offended. =/ I don't play games for them to be a sterile experience.

Watch out, Survival, your days are numbered it seems.

I think changing the wording to reflect this will be more logical than her spending half her time hugging people. Those few seconds per hug must add up when there's a long queue of people waiting to give her donations.

I am excruciatingly touch adverse, to the point of having full-on panic attacks. I do not think this (charity) is an issue honestly. it's not real, and even if it triggered me I have control over my Internet experience. I can block things (usually pictures - but holy heck are there so many fecal matter food items on this site). but in the words someone said above, "I don't want every npc to have to speak like a therapist".

for the same reason (the computer is not touching you) I also do not support adding an accept/cancel to every single kiss or bite or flower in other holidays. shitty diabetes jokes in old item descriptions or racist undertones? absolutely support the change. but a line about a fictional character hugging your pc is not something I feel is needed at all.

I understand it can be hard, but at some point you need to take charge of your own experience, either by blocking the thing upsetting you (I'm sure if you can't find a way with Firefox you could probably get a kind user to make a script to delete her text or something), or by backing away (a week-long hiatus during the holiday that upsets you) when you know you're going to be triggered by activities involved with it.

alternatively, just open each item you're donating in a new tab and close them without switching to them and seeing her text.

Since the red rreign was mentioned here, I actually read the text and noticed the he doesn't actually kiss you. He doesn't even seem to touch you.

I get it, I do..unless I initiate it Im like Kuzco ' NO TOUCHY' lol, I dont get irritated by the NPC though, but do feel the 'flavor' of the text could be changed somewhat. I will tolerate it from my nieces and nephews though since theyre dad doesnt show any affection towards them at all..

it is odd the text for the Rreign says blessed but achievement says kissed(tbh never noticed that til now). Id say just change the achievement to say blessed

Updating text on the site that's been the same for years is always a win. Charity has got to have other things goin' on in her noggin.

Offended...that word bothers the hell out of me in this context.

I'm not offended by Charity's hugs. I'm bothered, I feel uncomfortable, sometimes I physically flinch. I'm not resentful, angry or feeling insulted - its much more in the realm of pain than offense.

Yes, I handle it just fine. I generally don't read the stuff, I open in new tabs and close the tabs without even looking. Its not a huge deal, but I'm very happy that Amber will be taking a look at it and reword it a little.

Uncomfortable? Only on a very base emotional level. But if I bother to examine those emotions for more than a few seconds, I realize that a game character's dialogue has no effect on the real world, and thus it doesn't matter whether it would bother me or not.

To explain for the sake of explaining: The biggest way my brain receives & shows affection is through touch. The cute intimate interactions with NPCs on this site (& other games) always make me so happy! It's like a little fraction of an actual hug. During times when I've been really depressed & isolated, receiving a bear hug from Tempest has literally made me cry lol. It does make me sad, initially, to imagine Charity being so busy (& her customers being so impatient) that she can't spare a few seconds for a hug.

BUT, through the power of emotional processing, I realize that none of this is real!! The hugs aren't real! We aren't being touched IRL. And I think everyone could benefit from separating their emotions from some words in a game.

I think we can probably stop talking down to people who brought this subject up. We're already avoiding text that bothers us, or we wouldn't even be here on the site at all.

I can't tell if people are trying to actually be helpful, but you can offer advice (or ask if it's even needed or wanted) without being condescending. "It's not real." Yeah, we know. I guarantee you that every person who has mentioned the text discomfort does actually know we're playing a browser game and these characters are fictional. Did you know, if we thought it was literally real, we would have attempted to talk to Charity herself about her excessive hugs?

It really rubs me the wrong way that people have a "learn to cope" response. You guys could offer tools like adblock that changes or hides text, say "I don't think it's necessary to change this for everyone, but here let me give you a tool that is useful in this case and many others." But instead, now we have "nobody who brought this complaint up can regulate their emotions." Talk about jumping to conclusions! The OP was clearly made with many jokes and lightheartedness.

It's fine to disagree with the suggestion, but give people the benefit of the doubt that nobody is having a meltdown if the text can't be changed. Could you pretend like you're actually having a conversation with another person and not just typing a lexture into a text box and hitting send? Many of the comments here sound like they're talking to the internet at large and putting that on every person who has said they don't like the text, even though most of those comments are pretty dang chill. And if you really can't read the tone of the thread, you can ask.

THANK YOU.