The wide-screen monitor cast a pale glow over the messy desk—a battlefield cluttered with empty cups, snack wrappers, crumpled notes, and a graphic tablet with an unfinished character illustration. On the gaming chair, Auri slumped, half-dead, suffering from a major creative block.
Such was the life of a game developer who couldn't write a compelling backstory for his characters.
Auri stared at the dimming screen. The I-beam cursor on the blank document continued to taunt him with each blink, mocking him for his inability to write a meaningful sentence. He had finished the initial designs and established the character roles, but his biggest problem was their backstories, or lack thereof. They felt too shallow, unrealistic. No one would want characters like that.
A knock on the door resurrected him from his half-dead state.
Auri forced himself to stand and padded across the room to unlock his door. The hinges creaked as he pulled the door open, meeting his older brother's warm smile. "Lu, what's up?"
Lu lifted the tray of food he was carrying. "Mom said you skipped dinner. Still working on your game?"
"I am." Auri stepped aside to let his brother in. "I thought you're staying at grandfather's tonight."
"I finished worked early, so I thought I'd drop by before I go," Lu said, looking around. "Your room is a mess. Where do I put this?"
"Just put it on my desk."
"There's no space at your desk. What's this?"
Auri grabbed the graphic tablet and put it next to the monitor before tidying his workstation. "It's the last character I'm working on."
"Wow! Such details." Lu pushed his rounded glasses up and inspected the concept art closer. "He looks like a prince."
"That's because he is a prince."
"Really? And then?"
Auri held an empty paper cup and blinked. "That's it."
Lu gave him an unimpressed stare.
"I know it sounds uninteresting, but he doesn't have a backstory yet, so for now, he's just the prince."
Lu put down the tray at the corner of the desk and grabbed the graphic tablet. "Mind if I look?"
Auri only shrugged as he stuffed his mouth with food. He hadn't realized he was hungry until foods were in front of him. He sat on his chair while his brother browsed through his drawing tablet.
"Who's this?" Lu showed him the illustration of a raven-haired male character wearing a set of white armor. "Wait, I'll take a guess... he's a knight?"
Auri gulped his food and answered, "A holy knight, yeah."
"And?" Lu stifled a laugh. "That's it?"
Auri shoved a spoonful of rice in his mouth to prevent himself from answering.
"So they really have no backstories yet, huh? Want me to help you out? I can give you suggestions?"
That wasn't such a bad offer. His brother had always loved reading books. He may be able to help him overcome his creative block.
"So, what do you think of the characters?" Auri asked after swallowing the food in his mouth. "First impressions would do."
"Hmm... this holy knight guy, he looks like a rizzler."
"What?"
"Maybe it's the way you drew his smile?" Lu showed him a close-up look of the knight's smirking face. "See? He looks like the kind of guy who would walk up to you in a club and say a cheesy pick up line just to get your attention."
Auri felt a sweat form on his forehead. "He's just really confident because he's a high-ranking knight."
"So? A high-ranking knight can't be a flirt?"
"Why would a high-ranking holy knight flirt around when his job is to hunt heretics?"
"It could be his way to dig around information about heretics? Charismatic people are expert manipulators, like politicians and psychopaths. They use charisma to make you lower your guard and get what they want from you."
Auri hummed, reconsidering. "Not bad, I guess."
Lu beamed and returned to the tablet with a proud smile. He showed him the next character he found, which was an auburn-haired guy with the most courageous grin. "The red lightning on this guy looks sick. Is he a mage?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
Auri paused to think. "He likes to fight."
Lu didn't hide his laughter this time.
"I-I mean, he's a close combat mage. He doesn't use wands or staff or something. Just pure lightning magic."
"Okay, okay." Lu cleared his throat. "So he likes to fight. He sounds like a typical shonen protagonist, but he's more than that, right?"
"Of course. He's..." Auri trailed off, his brows furrowing in thought. "He's supposed to be a hero of their kingdom."
An image flickered in his mind—an image of destruction. And amidst the chaos, there stood a lone man who had lost everything.
"But he kind of failed and now he's labeled a heretic who only thinks about fighting because that's the only thing left for him."
"A fallen hero, huh?" Lu hummed in approval. "That's interesting. Maybe behind his thirst for battle, he's a man trying to find a new purpose in life? Maybe it's his way to prove himself again."
"Maybe."
Lu swiped through the tablet again and snickered as he showed him an illustration of a silver-haired man with the most serious look on his face. "Oh, this guy looks like someone who is smarter than you."
Auri scowled at his brother. "Are you messing with me? That guy is a high elf archer."
"Why are elves always portrayed as an archer?"
"Because they are hunters?"
"Wouldn't that make him just like any other elf? I mean, you could turn him into something different to make him special."
Auri tried to reconsider, but he had no clue what to make aside from the typical elf archer.
"Why not make him an elf spy instead?" Lu suggested. "He can still be an archer if you can't let go of the concept, but since he will have to do infiltration, he will have to use a more subtle weapon."
"What weapon do you suggest?"
Lu pointed to his head. "Knowledge. It's the strongest weapon a spy can wield."
Auri rolled his eyes. "You just want to push for the 'guy who looks smarter that me' idea."
The smirk on his brother's lips answered his question. Fucker.
"Now, who's next?" Lu squinted at the tablet. "Oh, it's another guy. I thought it's a girl this time because of the long hair. But I guess this character looks more like he came from a historical Chinese drama."
"That's where the inspiration came from."
"I see. He looks really elegant with the bluish-white hair and flowing robe. So what's his role supposed to be?"
Auri scratched his cheek. "I can't think of anything else right now but kung fu master or heavenly demon of the murim."
Lu held his belly as he cackled with no tomorrow. "Oh, brother. Why are you so bad at this? I thought you already created a game with Jim?"
Technically, he did, but he only worked on the coding and other technical stuff. His friend, Jim, did all the worldbuilding, storytelling, and character creation. It turned out great and the target audience ate it up, but it's not something he can proudly talk about with his family.
"Well, a martial artist can definitely spice things up, but what's with the seductive smile again?" Lu asked, squinting his eyes at him.. "Are you making an otome game?"
"W-What?"
"All the characters are male too..."
"No, it's not! It's an action role-playing game where you can choose to play as a knight, a mage, an archer, a martial artist, or a brawler. It's not a BL otome game!"
Lu's eyebrows rose in amusement. "I never said anything about a BL otome game, though?"
Auri's face burned with embarrassment as soon as he realized his mistake. "Ugh, this is all Jim's fault."
"Jim? Wait, is the game you created with Jim a BL game?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Lu chuckled. "Hey, I'm not judging. I'm dating a fujoshi girl, remember? It won't bother me at all if you make a BL game."
"I'm not making a BL game," Auri said in a final tone. "That game with Jim is just a onetime thing."
"Okay." Lu shrugged, shifting his attention back to the tablet. "So, uh, in this 'not a BL game of yours', who is this hottie supposed to be?"
Auri wanted to bury himself to the ground when his brother showed him the illustration of a half-naked muscular guy with metal gauntlets.
"Is this the brawler guy?" Lu asked.
"Yeah..."
"I almost thought he's a baker."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Lu cleared his throat, trying not to smile. "So, what's his story?"
Auri willed his blush to go away before he spoke. "He's just a normal guy who fights in the underground arena."
"So, another battle-thirsty maniac?"
"No, he fights not because he wants to. He's doing it to survive in a lawless place where the strong rules and the weak suffer. He's very a loyal guy and will do everything to protect the one he loves."
Lu nodded his head and put the tablet down on his desk. "Looks like you already have his backstory covered, so I don't think I need to say more about the brawler guy."
Pushing himself off from the edge of the desk, Lu reached a hand to pat his head. "Good luck with the game. I hope you get to finish it."
"I hope so too." Auri leaned against the touch. "Thanks for the suggestion. I'll make good use of them."
"Anytime for you, little brother." Lu gave a final pat before leaving for the door. "It's already late. Get some rest for now."
"I'll just type your suggestions real quick before I forget them."
Lu only waved a hand before closing the door.
"Ah, I forgot to ask his impression about the prince," Auri said as he stared at the unfinished illustration of a blond guy on his tablet. "I'll just ask him tomorrow."
That was his initial plan. But when he woke up the next morning, his older brother had vanished without a trace.