Clarity in Qualia

Alyx is a young man who has allowed his mother to dictate every aspect of his life for as long as he can remember. As a result, Alyx is currently in further education studying subjects that he has no interest in and dating a girl who he doesn't have feelings for. He has known for a while that his romantic urges tend to veer towards other males but is afraid of actually mentioning it to his mother for fear of upsetting her. In fact, Alyx refuses to even accept himself, preferring instead to just let life pass him by. Despite being fairly miserable, Alyx is empathetic to the point that he would prefer to suffer in silence than face the possibility of hurting others. His only solace lies in a chat group he came across online, where he's able to be a truer version of himself around the other members of the group, Alvy, Sio, Elil, and Kagan.