#reading challenge leaderboard

[screadingchallenge]

Before I get to the final results of this year’s Challenge, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated. We have a great community of writers and readers (and podficcers and artists) in this fandom and I started this Challenge as a way to motivate all of us to celebrate our amazing fanworks. So, whether you read 1 fic or 400 (!) thank you for being part of another fun Challenge. 

I want to give a special shout-out to the fic rec blogs: @farm-witches-fic-recs​, @scraregenrecs​, and @schittscreekficrec​ for making some great recs for all of the different Challenge categories. Much appreciated!

The Behind the Keyboard author interviews will continue even though the Challenge is over - I still have lots of interviews to post, so if I haven’t gotten to you yet, don’t worry, it’s coming, I promise. And if you are an author who would like to do an interview, please message me, I’m happy to have you! I also have some other plans for that series, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Now, for the thing you’re all waiting for. Here are the final results for this year’s challenge. This year there were 44 readers (up from 29 in 2021) who read 6178 fics, 55.8 million words and left 4642 comments. Even though this year’s Challenge was 4 weeks instead of 8, that’s a significant increase from last year’s totals of 5417 fics, 44.1 million words, and 2556 comments. Congratulations to everyone!

The full leaderboard, as always, is on the Challenge website. Here are the top three leaders in each category: 

Congratulations to @weathereyehorizon​ and Demora00 for rocking their categories!

And a special nod to everyone who left comments on 100% of the fics that you read. There were a lot of you this year and I love to see it.

Until next year! ✌🖤💙

#sc fic reading challenge #sc reading challenge #reading challenge leaderboard #sc fanfic #schitt's creek #schitts creek

[zzoguri]

[part one] the perfect pair ➵ “ew, is that sunwoo over there? 저리 꺼져.”

esports player!kim sunwoo x esports player!reader

being a woman in the esports league is hard, but dealing with cocky kim sunwoo is unmatched. with the valorant champions tour about to commence, you two are forced to team up to retrieve the trophy. what will be tested—team morale or your patience around sunwoo?

chapter genre/warnings ➵ enemies to lovers, afab reader (they/them pronouns), slow burn, slight angst, crack, sexual tension, misogynistic & sexist remarks and behaviors, sunwoo is such an annoying teammate... retired ow player now val player…, rush gets introduced YIPPEE, sunwoo gets jealous...?, bets are made, a lot of gamer lingo (check the guide & visual aids!)

word count ➵ 10.5k words

parts ➵ check out the series masterlist

a/n ➵ it's out! felt a lil pressured by the number of notes i wont lie! i hope u guys enjoy this along with the visual aid <3 special shoutout to @shegotthewoobies @vernyangel @heemingyu @deobienthusiast for beta reading <3 much love to you all <3 esp to ki who made the usernames <3 if you enjoyed reading, do reblog and leave feedback!

want to be part of my taglist? send me an ask! masterlist

HYST wins VCT’s Game Changers By Bae Sumin

HYST takes the title as the winner of the Valorant Championship Tour (VCT) Game Changers in Los Angeles, USA against defending champion 88RR. The team took over the playing field, showcasing their astounding teamwork and tactful gameplays, and won 3-1 in a best-of-five series.

Since the first match on Bind, players Ailurus (Y/N) and bokku (Miyawaki Sakura) demonstrated their chemistry through their formidable performance as Omen and Yoru respectively. Their alliance was enough for their opponents to avoid one-on-one battles.

Rising player Ppiya (Hong Eunchae) secures her position as one of the most impressive duelists to come from this year’s VCT. In all of the matches played, Ppiya secures at least one kill per round, placing her 3rd in the leaderboards out of all players in the event.

In their second match on Ascent, remarkable sentinel players CHUU (Kim Jiwoo) and subakhye (Son Hyeju) built solid defense systems and dealt with flanks with ease. They can adjust their setups accordingly as they observe their opponents’ playstyle.

Although their exceptional performance in Game Changers makes its mark in VCT history, Ailurus only hopes that they are given more opportunities to engage in such tournaments. “I am happy [about our win], but I hope that the [VALORANT] esports scene sees us more than just winners [of Game Changers]. I want to be seen as a remarkable player regardless of gender,” they share.

Despite HYST participating in VCT for the past two years, this is their first championship win. In last year’s VCT, the organization met its defeat in VALORANT Challengers through their other roster consisting of players bae (Jacob Bae), nuguri (Kim Sunwoo), Darong (Lee Jaehyun), gyulz (Ju Haknyeon), and Maize (Lee Juyeon).

Both teams are under the guidance of Coach bori (Kim Younghoon), a retired VALORANT and League of Legends pro player.

These turn of events displayed HYST’s dedication to improvement and VALORANT. Many followers hope to see more of the reigning champions of Game Changers.

ROUND 1: “WELCOME TO MY WORLD!”

The moon radiates tonight, its white gleam accompanied by speckles amidst the sea of black. Now would be the perfect moment to take some time to yourself; get in more hours of sleep, or pick up a book you’ve been putting off. Instead…

“Hi, everyone! It’s been a while,” you greet your viewers through the webcam.

The monitor shines on you, colors of blue and violet painting your skin. On the wall behind you is a shelf filled with memorabilia; medals from small competitions along with trophies from bigger tournaments. 

“I know it’s a little late here, but I was itching to play some matches.” Your eyes glide through your stream’s chat. Many viewers are ecstatic to have you back on Twitch while others question your late hours of streaming.

jseollie: even after game changers?? CRAZY! bboppull: GRIND NEVER STOPS 💪💪💪 bookeucutie: tell us abt vct!!!

A chuckle leaves you as you open up Valorant. “I really enjoyed my time in VCT! I met some of my favorite players like Lorri from Evil Genius, sonder from Shopify, even Version1’s MeL.”

You lean back on your chair as you recall the event. “I won’t lie, I was very nervous about going against 88RR, which, by the way, is a lovely team. We met up for drinks after.” You scratch the back of your neck as you try to go through what your chat says.

“I remember talking to Kura about it since the semifinals, and she had to give me a constant pep talk.” The memory of Sakura knocking sense into you after every match makes you laugh.

As you dish to your viewers about your experience throughout Game Changers, you read their comments. Many of your viewers were happy with your revelation of the teams' bonds with each other. “Yeah, we’re competitive but we’re here with the same dreams, so I think it did help us form some kind of connection. I was able to exchange contacts with Sunmi and Taeyeon as well. I told them that whenever they decide to come back to Korea, they should give me a call.”

ajiajibee: is the trophy with you? ghanadara: i think it’s beside the picture frame

“Oh, I don’t get to keep it. It’s back in the headquarters,” you say as you slightly swivel your chair to the side. “That picture frame, however,” you point at your shelf, “is my certificate. That way, we all have something to bring home.”

You adjust your chair before smiling at the camera. “Anyway, I’m really happy that our practice paid off. It was an honor to even participate and meet other players.”

Most of the reactions were positive ones; congratulations and desires to see your team play together for more events. Yet, regardless of your achievements, there’s constantly a handful of negative ones.

hwithefool: Cant believe you won game changers. Ur not even that good. hwithefool: didn’t even get to champs L honeycube: boosted ass universefactory deleted hwithefool’s message. universefactory deleted hwithefool’s message. universefactory deleted honeycube’s message. hwithefool is now banned from this chat. Reason: Being rude honeycube is now banned from this chat. Reason: Being rude

Thankfully, your moderators were there to take control of such—but you’ll always know what people think of you.

“Anyway, for today’s stream, I’ll be playing with Juhak and Hyeju!” You exclaim as you switch scenes, now showing the Valorant lobby. “We’re going to play on our alt accounts for today, so it should be fun.”

real_juhaknyeon: LFGGGGG goated team rubyvobo: we get nom, jeorge porkwell, AND hyejuseyo?? We win today sunwooluver: what about nuguri?? he’s solo queuing right now rubyvobo: OFHEJSHSJJSKS I LOVE YOU GUYS sunwooluver: WILL NUGURI JOIN??

One of the few perks that comes with being an established streamer is that you could ignore comments, pretending you never saw them, and you’d get away with it; people just didn’t need to talk about it all together and you’d be fine.

So when you invite Haknyeon and Hyeju to your party, you continue talking to your chat about today’s stream. “We’re not going to play ranked today, I think?” You hum for a moment, going through the agenda in your head. “Well, we might, but I have no clue. It depends on what they want.”

Before you can continue with your rambles, your phone vibrates on your desk. Once you grab it, you notice that text messages from Kim Younghoon, the coach of the organization, have come your way.

coach bbang 🍞: hi y/n! don’t forget to remind your teammates about tomorrow’s meeting for vct ☺️ coach bbang 🍞: and gl with your stream tonight! y/n: teewai coach :DD see u tomo

“Sorry about that!” You put your phone away and give your full attention to your monitor. Hyeju and Haknyeon already joined your party, and you spot that they’re in a voice channel on the HYST’s Discord server. “Before I go join VC with the others, I just wanted to say thank you for supporting me and the others in Game Changers. It was a fun but tough competition, and I wouldn’t be here without you guys.”

Although your job did start as a hobby, you continued to persevere through such hardships thanks to your support systems; your teammates and viewers alike. You only ever considered going pro thanks to two friends. Unfortunately, time has its way of making you drift apart from them; you hope you can go face-to-face against them one day if the universe willed for it.

“Anyway, let’s have some good games!”

“I tuned in to your stream last night, Y/N,” Eunchae starts. “That losing streak is insane.”

You sigh, shoulders down as you walk dejectedly. “Don’t even get me started. Our randos were ass and wouldn’t stop talking shit.” You look at your younger friend who only pouts as you recap the events of last night. “I know you would always enter and clear sites for us, my Manchae.”

With your arm wrapped around her shoulder, her expression shifts into a smile. “I mean, that’s the least I can do as your duelist.”

“Well, not everyone seems to know that.”

The HYST headquarters is a three-story infrastructure whose interior resembles corporate buildings; the furniture is mostly of sleek leather and dark-stained wood. Monotone linoleum tiles and off-white walls stretch throughout the building.

As soon as you both arrive in front of the meeting room, you swing the doors open, revealing Sakura, Hyeju, and Jiwoo who sit together on one side of the conference table. You and Eunchae rush to them, exchanging greetings and embraces.

“Do you always play Valorant?” Jiwoo directs the question to you, referencing your stream last night with Hyeju and Haknyeon, to which you roll your eyes.

“No, I just had the itch to play!” You take a seat in between Sakura and Jiwoo. “Plus, I’ll take any opportunity to make some money.”

The doors swing open. “Hi, everyone. It’s nice to see you all,” Younghoon greets your team before walking to the whiteboard situated in the corner of the room.

The organization’s general manager, Lee Sangyeon, trails behind him, a smile painting his face as he takes a seat at the end of the table. “I’ll say this again, but good work in Game Changers.”

“Thanks, Sangyeon,” Sakura expresses her gratitude on behalf of the team. “We wouldn’t have been able to win without your help along with Younghoon’s.”

He shakes his head, trying to play it off. “No, I’m just here to make sure you guys get to participate, you know? Just want to make sure that you guys get recognized.”

Silence settles. The squeaking from Younghoon's marker is faint but loud enough to capture your attention. Although his figure covers most of what’s written on the whiteboard, you catch sight of a few gamer tags—Ailurus and bae.

Before you can decipher the other words, the doors open. “Hi, guys!” Haknyeon enters the room with all smiles. “Hello Game Changers winners,” he bows his head, making you chuckle.

His teammates, Jacob and Juyeon, trail behind him, relaxed expressions resting on their faces. “Congrats on the win,” Jacob shakes hands with everyone on your team. “That one play on Ascent went crazy, by the way.” His praise is directed towards you, and you try to play it cool.

“Ah, it was nothing. Just got lucky.”

“If I was in your situation, I probably wouldn’t have secured that round,” Juyeon chimes in as he takes a seat beside his teammates. The three boys sit across from your team.

Haknyeon smacks Juyeon’s arm, laughing at his words. “Yeah! Remember that one round in Breeze?” Juyeon only rolls his eyes while his teammates recap the events for your team.

You don’t really interact with Haknyeon’s team (or Jacob’s team if you were going to follow formalities), just the occasional greetings and small talk if you were going to be honest. It’s not like you didn’t want to be friends with them; there aren't enough opportunities to bond when you all have different schedules, let alone priorities. But you did enjoy their team's presence, and every interaction with them is one you hope may bring your team closer to theirs.

Except for one player.

“Sorry, we’re late!” Hyunjae enters the room with an apologetic smile. “Someone decided to sleep in.”

“Not true! Hyunjae’s lying.”

The room starts to grow dimmer, almost as if life were sucked out of it. Only you seemed to see it, never the others. There he is—the only exception. 

He’s dressed in an oversized graphic tee layered on top of a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black baggy jeans. His hair shows its soft curls, clearly indicating that he’s the one lying.

A playful pout rests on his lips as he tries to continue his defense. Yet, when he locks eyes with you, he holds back. A scowl now paints his face.

If you follow esports, then you would know who Kim Sunwoo is—an established pro player who switched from Overwatch to Valorant. At first, many people were confused by his choice, throwing away years invested into a different game. Yet, it seemed that he didn’t care about what others had to say as he signed with HYST a few months after he started playing Valorant.

Within that time frame, he was able to impress Younghoon and Sangyeon with his gameplay. After all, Valorant and Overwatch required different playstyles. It was easy for him to become big in the Valorant pro scene, as you would like to say, for he made use of his existing fame.

He’s adored by many people who follow the pro scene; audience and players alike. You, however, seemed to think differently.

You shift your gaze to Younghoon, silently hoping that the meeting will commence. As if he heard your thoughts, he says, “No worries. Go, take your seats.”

Unfortunately, Hyunjae opts to sit across from Eunchae, leaving one vacant seat across from you. 

Sunwoo sits on the chair as a dejected sigh leaves him, causing you to roll your eyes while you keep your gaze away from him. All you need to do is get through the meeting and you won’t have to face him for a while.

“Thank you everyone for coming here today,” Younghoon starts as he faces all of you. The whiteboard behind him has now been flipped, and the gamer tags are now hidden. “Uh, before we get into the agenda for today’s meeting, let’s congratulate the winners of Game Changers!”

Applause erupts from everyone who didn’t participate in that competition, but your eyes don’t miss how slow the boy across you claps, almost as if he wasn’t impressed.

“Now, we can get to the point of today’s meeting.” Younghoon steps to the side, revealing the text written—VCT GAMEPLAN with irregular shapes surrounding it. “We all know that VCT is around the corner, a few months from now, which means we’ve got to start our preparations.”

“Normally, we would’ve gone straight to strategizing and having you guys,” your coach looks at the team across you, “practice, but Sangyeon and I have agreed on doing things differently this year.” He flips the board, revealing everyone’s gamer tags. “We’re changing the roster.”

Many players are caught off-guard by Younghoon’s announcement. It’s not usual for a roster change to take place, especially with only a few months left before qualifiers commence.

“We know that not everyone may want to participate in the upcoming VCT, and I’ve spent weeks trying to configure what’s the best roster to represent HYST.” Younghoon then pulls out a blue marker and starts to circle some names; CHUU, Darong, bae, nuguri, and… Ailurus? “These are my picks for VCT.”

A frown appears on your face, but before you can comment, Haknyeon beats you to it. “I don’t know if having Hyunjae and Sunwoo play together is smart.” All eyes are now on him. “I mean, no offense,” his eyes flicker to the two subjects, “I don’t know if Jiwoo and Y/N would be able to keep up, and that’s not a diss to them.”

“I agree,” Jacob chimes in. “Haknyeonie, Juyeon, and I can play with Sunwoo and Hyunjae as duelists because we know their playstyles well. We’ve played together for years. Y/N and Jiwoo would be playing with them for the first time.”

Younghoon bites the inside of his cheek, deep in thought as he considers what’s been said. “Thoughts?” He directs his question to the two people in question. The two players exchange glances, almost as if they were communicating.

“Yeah, I know Sunwoo and I can adjust our playstyle but it took more than half a year for Juyeon and Haknyeon to get used to our playstyle,” Hyunjae says as he scratches the back of his neck. “And if it helps, I’d prefer to sit this one out. You know, I have a lot of sponsorships lined up that I need to stream for also.”

Your coach sighs. “No worries. What about you, Sunwoo?”

“Wait, can I say something?” Jiwoo gathers the attention of everyone in the room. “I also want to opt out of VCT. I mean, I just played in Game Changers.” A guilty smile takes over her features.

Thankfully, Younghoon acknowledges where Jiwoo comes from. “Of course, I understand. After all, that’s why we're having this meeting.”

Before your coach can try to reconfigure the roster, Sangyeon stands up from his seat.

“Can I suggest another rotation?” Younghoon nods before handing him a red marker. Sangyeon starts to circle another list of gamer tags, ones he believes should be in the final line-up of players for VCT; it consists of bokku, bae, gyulz, Ppiya, and… Ailurus, again? Your coach frowns as he looks at the selection.

“I think Sunwoo should be benched.” Your eyebrows shoot up at Sangyeon’s words, not expecting those words considering the player’s reputation.“He’s made some rash plays recently, and you know that.” You glance at the boy who sits across from you only to see that his gaze is affixed to the ground. 

Younghoon shakes his head, clearly in disbelief at the manager’s words. “Yes, but that’s only for a few matches. Trust me when I say that Sunwoo is strong as a duelist and an initiator.” His attempt to defend his mentee is weak against Sangyeon’s opinion.

“He plays for himself!”

Clearly, the two higher-ups have opposing views.

“Think about it; Eunchae and Sakura are great duelists, and anyone else on that team plays initiator.”

Although Sangyeon seems to believe his proposed line-up is the best one yet, your coach shakes his head. “Eunchae isn’t playing.” He glances at her before saying, “She told me beforehand.” All eyes are now on the teen who only shows an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I wanted to take a break from this year’s VCT to focus on my studies.”

Sangyeon scratches the back of his neck. “Well—”

“Hey,” Sakura cuts into the conversation. “Haven’t we considered that Y/N and Sunwoo might not want to play together?” She looks at you two with scrunched eyebrows, clearly confused by your coach’s proposal. “I mean, we all know their relationship, no?”

Your feud isn’t under the table. All of the players know about your distaste towards each other but they don’t know where it stems from.

“Yes, but their playstyles complement each other.” Everyone’s confused as to why Younghoon is persistent. “Out of all my mentees, I’ve worked with them the most, and I know exactly how they can work together.”

“Well, I want Y/N on that team.” As your manager says that, all the attention is now on you. You’re not sure why Sangyeon would say that. Uncomfortable with how you’ve become the topic of the conversation, you cannot help but sink into your seat.

“And I agree with you. But if we’re going to have Y/N play, I need Sunwoo on that team.” You lock eyes with Sunwoo briefly as your coach says that. “He’s my one-pick, and I know he’ll help the team out the most.” Sangyeon sighs, rethinking the roster once more. You shift your gaze to the ground, clearly unhappy being paired with the player across from you.

You weren’t happy that the two continued to discuss the final roster without asking you, but before you could speak up, someone beat you to it.

“Shouldn’t Y/N take a break?” Your gaze lands on the boy across from you, eyebrows now furrowed over his suggestion. “I mean, they did just come from winning Game Changers. We can have Juyeon take over.” When you spot a small smirk resting on his lips, you ball your fists.

Whatever game Sunwoo is playing, you don’t want any part of it. If anything, whatever he’s trying to insinuate has you clenching your teeth. And you’re about to retort—

“No,” Sangyeon says, speaking on your behalf. “Y/N’s a good leader and a team player. I trust Y/N the most out of all the people on the roster.”

Sunwoo raises his hands in defense. “It was only a suggestion.” But when he glances at you, you don’t miss the sinister smile on his face.

Not only was Sunwoo trying to bench you out of the competition but Sangyeon and Younghoon were too invested in their conversation, speaking on your behalf as if you were nothing but a tool for the organization. Without a second thought, you stand up from your seat. Everyone’s eyes are on you as you storm out of the room.

That’s the thing about being a pro player in the esports scene; no one seems to listen to you if you aren’t a man.

For once, silence settles amongst everyone. Your departure is a message, one that everyone failed to see earlier on.

A sigh leaves Sakura. “I know we’re all worried about VCT but let’s not forget to hear everyone out, okay?” She glances at the doors that are now shut closed, wondering where you may have gone. “You know Y/N. Just avoid speaking on their behalf and let them talk for themselves.”

“Yeah,” Eunchae huffs, “let’s give them time to cool down. We only wrapped up Game Changers a few weeks ago.”

As Younghoon crosses his arms, a sigh leaves him as he looks down to the floor. “Sorry, Sangyeon and I were too caught up with what we wanted.” He glances at his watch before shifting his gaze to the players who sit idly. “Let’s talk about this again once they come back.”

In the eye of a hurricane stands you, a witness to the chaos, wondering what course of action nature shall take upon you. Somehow, your screams are soundless—not a single soul minds the hurricane for as long as it doesn’t hit them.

You stand in front of the washroom mirror, taking your time to recollect your thoughts. The stress that comes from the upcoming VCT, the pressure to represent HYST once more, the likelihood of working with Kim Sunwoo for the first time—there’s nothing you can control.

The stars point you towards acceptance, perseverance.

It’s not that you were against representing HYST for the upcoming VCT events. If anything, you were grateful that Sangyeon and Younghoon trusted you to undertake such an important role.

Although you’ve competed in Game Changers, the audience it attracts is smaller in comparison to the ones your manager and coach want to see you in. All eyes will be on you as you compete to reach to Champions.

The weight that comes with playing in a worldwide esports event, one that most of the community is tuned into, rests on your shoulders—a coalition of anxiety from every round that plays out, migraines from reconfiguring your strategies, the comments of you playing just because you aren’t a man. Those reasons should be enough for you to decline the offer, to protect your peace, and to make more out of your streams.

But nothing can compare to bringing back home the fruit of your labor—the Champions Cup—the recognition that comes from competing, and the bond built amongst teammates. If you got to experience all that from Game Changers, you’re almost certain that VCT will bring experiences to be marked in your books.

But what do you know, right?

With a mind clearer after today’s event, you exit the washroom, still deciding whether you should compete or not. Yet, it’s as if the universe has plans to provoke you as you come face-to-face with the last person you want to see.

His eyes lock with yours and a snarl appears on his face. “What? I had to use the washroom.” Defensive, like always.

Before you can make your way back to the conference room, he grabs your arm, holding you back. You glare at Sunwoo, your eyes glancing at his hand on your arm, and he lets go.

He bites the inside of his cheek. “I know we don’t like each other.” Tell me about it. “But,” he sucks in a breath as he stares back at you. “I know we want to prove ourselves, so why don’t we just suck it up and work together?”

Anyone could believe that Sunwoo’s trying to play nice with you—he’s willing to make amends in hopes that there’s no bad blood between you two—but you could care less about what this man has to say.

“It’s not that easy,” you start. “You don’t understand what I want.” Unlike him, you know that proving yourself does nothing.

His frowns over your words. “What do you mean—”

“Sunwoo, you can easily say you want to play to prove yourself,” you cut him off. “I can’t say the same for me. It’s a privilege enough that I can even play in these events.” You jab your index finger against his chest, making him stagger backward.

That’s what makes you and Sunwoo different; while he chases praises from a few lucky plays, you’re left to deal with the backlash from just breathing.

If Sunwoo wants to retort, you don’t give him the chance to do so as you walk away from him. As you reach the doors, you take a deep breath in before swinging them open. The chatter is interrupted by your presence as you make your way back to your seat.

Sunwoo follows shortly, keeping his gaze on you as he takes his seat. You would’ve ignored the way he looks at you but the eye contact you two exchange amplifies what you told him then in the halls. So when an ominous grin appears on your face, the lousy bridge he tried to build towards you crumbles. After all, it was constructed on a poor attempt to save his career.

“Count me in.”

ROUND 2: “YOUR BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS THAT YOU PISSED ME OFF.”

With every day that passes, the weight of VCT rests heavier on your shoulders. Playing with a team you don’t compete with is not easy. Yet, you’re hopeful today—it’s all you have, after all.

As you enter the practice room, you are greeted by the chilly air that emits from the air conditioners. The practice room resembles an internet cafe; desks are lined up with monitors and keyboards while CPUs are placed under the tables.

You catch sight of Sakura and Haknyeon chatting away as they sit in front of their assigned computers. Jacob, however, is busy talking to Younghoon; you can only assume they’re talking about possible strategies.

Before you take a seat beside Haknyeon, you make sure to greet everyone. “And I couldn’t believe Juyeon just fell to the floor!” He exclaims which has Sakura laughing.

“What’d I miss?”

Haknyeon looks at you on the brink of tears before he retells the story. “Okay, because you know how Juyeon and I share a room?” You nod. “So, I told Juyeon to shut the lights off on his way to bed because I was ready to go to sleep. But somehow, he got lazy while walking so he had this genius idea to just jump to the bed.” At this point, your friend is laughing in between words, and the story has gone incomprehensible.

“And the next thing you know it, Haknyeon hears a sudden thump.”

You burst into laughter over the story. “You’re telling me he missed?!” The only answers you get are chortles from the two.

Preparations for VCT have fueled your anxiety for many reasons, possible losses and backlash to name a few, but Haknyeon and Sakura bring pockets of sunshine amidst the storm. If they weren’t here, you wouldn’t know how to deal with your worries.

“Sorry, I’m late!” Your mood shifts as your last teammate enters the room with an iced americano in his hand. You both lock eyes for a brief moment before you shift your gaze back to your friends, chewing on the inside of your cheek.

“Okay, hurry! Everyone, start fixing your setups,” Younghoon orders as he claps his hands, grabbing everyone’s attention.

You chose your seat in hopes that Jacob would sit beside you, making it easier for you both to discuss possible team strategies. Yet, the other in-game leader sits somewhere else, leaving Sunwoo to take the spot next to you. Your bubbly mood has turned sour.

“Anyway, today we will be having a practice match! So, what to expect is that…”

Younghoon’s words fall flat on your ears as your heartbeat fills your ears. As you try to fix your monitor and audio settings to fit your preferences, you hope that the anxiety will die down. Yet, you feel a pair of eyes stare a hole right into you—annoyance now accompanies your anxiety.

“Can you mind your own business and listen to Coach?” You raise the question, only loud enough for your annoying teammate to hear.

“I am paying attention.”

You scoff, “Oh, so you’ll listen now?” You rip your gaze away from the computer to glare at Sunwoo. “You didn’t listen to me last time.”

A few days ago, your team decided to scrimmage against the other members of the organization. It was a good way to practice before signing up for scrimmages against other teams participating.

Unfortunately for you, it was a match that solidified your dislike of the player. With every round, he found ways to get on your nerves, ignoring your comms and playing for himself to name a few. If you were going to be honest, you expected a bit more from Sunwoo—Sangyeon is right about his stance on the player.

Sunwoo shrugs, glancing at your coach who continues to explain today’s practice match. “I don’t know, your strats weren’t making sense last time. I trust Jacob more.”

You clench your fists as you close your eyes briefly in disbelief. “So, if it’s a man speaking, you’ll listen?” You shake your head in disbelief as you return your attention to the computer. “Jacob and I had the same plan, asshole.”

If Sunwoo wanted to defend himself, he’s not allowed to do so as Younghoon calls on both of your names. “Hey, are you listening?” The two of you nod profusely in a poor attempt to hide your conversation. “Okay then. For today’s scrimmage, you’ll be going against RUSH.”

There’s no way, right? “Sorry, did you say RUSH?” You earn a nod from him, and your world tilts on its axis. After how many years, it only took one scrimmage for you to reunite with your reasons behind why you stand in the pro scene today—Jeon Jungkook and Eric Sohn.

The three of you first met each other in university in a club full of people who liked to play video games. At first, you weren’t sure why you joined in the first place, dreading the possibility of dealing with men who would throw misogynistic comments towards you. Yet, the universe found a way to make sure you would enjoy your stay, gifting you two boys who became your best friends from university. 

“Today is the perfect time to get to know your opponents, get a feel of what they do. I know that you guys have started playing together, trying to get a feel of what it’s like to play together, but I hope this scrimmage will build on it,” Younghoon says as your team quickly logs into their accounts on Discord.

Once you’ve logged in, you notice that Younghoon has sent you an invite to a Discord server. You accept it, greeted by the huge selection of teams participating, and you catch sight of RUSH in a voice channel. All of their gamer tags are recognizable, but two of them have stuck with you since your university days.

“You can all jump on the voice channel with them. Don’t forget to introduce yourselves.”

You’re the first to hop on a call and your teammates follow you shortly. Usually, you were the type to have someone lead the conversation, but to say you were excited to talk to your old friends would be an understatement. “Hi, everyone.”

“Oh my god, is that Y/N?” Jungkook asks, surprised by the sound of a familiar voice.

“Y/N?!” Eric’s microphone crackles over how loud he exclaims your name, and a grin rests on your lips over the reactions.

There they are. “I know, it’s been forever. I haven’t talked to you both since we graduated.”

The next thing you know, their faces appear on the screen; they don’t look too different from when you last saw them, but they’ve grown up. “Is it actually you?!” Jungkook asks. “I won’t believe it until I see you.”

A chuckle leaves your lips over your old friend’s words. “God, I’ll turn my cam on.” You click on the video icon, revealing your poor attempt to hold back your grin. “Happy now?” 

“It’s been so long, what the fuck? I miss you! Congrats on your win!” Eric says. “Everyone, why don’t we turn on our cams?” Both his teammates and yours have turned their cameras on. “Let’s introduce ourselves.”

The introductions are quick. You learned the real names of Jungkook and Eric’s teammates; Choi Soobin, Jeon Wonwoo, and Lee Jeno. RUSH’s roster is a good selection of players. Your palms get sweaty as you hear your heartbeat in your ears—nothing could’ve prepared you for today’s scrimmage. 

Before you can all agree to start the match, Sunwoo pops a question. “Sorry, how do you guys know each other?” You watch his expression through Discord, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

Jungkook chuckles before saying, “We went to uni together, met in this club which we all left after our first year.” All he gets is a hum from your teammate, but you don’t miss the way Sunwoo looks off into nowhere, almost as if he’s irritated—you wonder why his mood shifted. “Anyway, are we ready to have our match?” You all hum in agreement before turning your cameras off.

“Alright, good luck and have fun!”

The worst Valorant matches are the ones that reach overtime. It’s 12 to 13 on Icebox in RUSH’s favor, and your team is on the brink of losing—only one win is needed and your opponent will leave victorious.

“I think we should go through mid and then make our way through A-site.”

You shake your head in disapproval. “No, Jacob, I think we should enter a site together instead. It’s risky to pass through mid since,” you glance at the leaderboard to check how many credits Jungkook has, “I have a strong feeling someone will use an operator.”

Although Jacob seems to consider your suggestion, a groan leaves Sunwoo. “Wouldn’t it be better to split up?”

“No, we’re not strong enough to fight our own battles. We need to play together, fight together.” You would like to think that your team can handle isolated battles, but you guys were weak against RUSH. Perhaps they had good reflexes or better game sense.

As the timer starts to count down, Jacob orders, “Okay, we’ll go with Y/N’s plan. The most important thing is that we don’t pick fights on our own and plant the spike.”

The round commences, and you all make your way into your positions; Sakura and Jacob slowly make their way through A-main while you go up to the belt. Haknyeon carefully sets up his trip wires and camera before joining you.

“I’m going to dart first.” Once you get your recon bolt out, you shoot it far enough to land on the wall; it catches the presence of Soobin and Wonwoo. The toxic screen goes up, perfectly concealing the site.

“Go!”

It happens all too quickly, shots fired and damage dealt and received. Before you know it, your team is dead—except for one who didn’t seem to listen to your plans.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” you say as you spectate Sunwoo, watching that he’s making his way back to where you guys died, leaving mid. There are only two players that he needs to fight, Jungkook on Jett and Eric on Deadlock. You know the round is tense, and the last thing you want to do is aggravate him.

Thankfully, Sunwoo plants the spike, but he situates himself in a spot that wouldn’t allow him to reposition quickly. A pair of footsteps go up the stairs, signaling that someone is making their way to heaven.

For a moment, he keeps his gaze affixed to screens, but he looks back to A-main, expecting a flank, and he’s right; Eric comes into his vision.

You expect Sunwoo to win the fight, but when his body falls to the ground, a sigh leaves you. The mood has plummeted, sinking into murky waters of frustration, disappointment. “Fuck, sorry,” Sunwoo apologizes as he covers his mouth in frustration.

“It’s okay, you tried,” Jacob attempts to console his teammate. “Good work, everyone.”

The spike gets defused; HYST has lost against RUSH.

“Come on, let’s go hop on a call with them again.”

With that, your team follows Jacob’s orders. “Tight match everyone, but a fun one!” Wonwoo says.

“Yeah, thanks for the game,” Sakura responds, trying to stay in high spirits.

“Well, we have to get going. We have another scrimmage,” Eric starts. “Y/N, send me your number through DMs. Let’s hang with Jungkook.”

You hum, a small smile resting on your lips. “Sure, see you guys in Challengers.” With that, everyone leaves the voice channel.

While RUSH is probably celebrating their win, HYST is in low spirits. It’s a practice match, sure, but still a match nevertheless.

“Good work, everyone,” Younghoon says in an attempt to cheer everyone up. “I really liked the energy I saw from you guys. You all put up a good fight and fought together.”

Although everyone seems to hum in agreement with your coach, you don’t join in. “Why did you stray off?” You redirect your gaze to the boy beside you, only earning a frown. “Didn’t we agree to play together?”

He rolls his eyes at you. “Yeah, but—”

“But what, Sunwoo? What could’ve been the reason for you to not enter with us and not follow the game plan?” You’re frustrated over everything; the stress of VCT, your loss against RUSH, your teammate who never listens to you.

“Hey, knock it off!” Younghoon gets in between you two. “Now is not the time to be fighting.” You and Sunwoo only glare at each other. “Cannot believe I’m dealing with a bunch of 5-year-olds,” he mutters under his breath.

“Jacob and Sakura, nice work in holding B-site, by the way. Haknyeon, you also did well holding A-site.” Then, your coach glances between you two. “Now, we still need to work on your coordination and teamwork.” It’s a statement for your whole team, but it feels as if it were directed at you and Sunwoo. You wish you sat out of VCT.

“You can go now.”

With that, everyone gets ready to exit the practice room. Your coach is the first one out. You think you’re at fault for causing stress on him but if only Sunwoo would work with you—listen, for the matter—then maybe you two wouldn’t be in this mishap.

“Hey, you two.” You look at Jacob who calls on you and Sunwoo. “Can you stay behind for a bit?” You glance at Haknyeon and Sakura who observe the interaction briefly. As you both nod, your other teammates have taken their leave.

Now, you stand in front of him with your teammate beside you. A sigh leaves him as he rubs his jaw while a frown rests on his face. You only see Jacob like this when he’s focused on his games, but never when it comes to dealing with issues like what your team (or you and Sunwoo, really) has.

“I know you two don’t like each other, and I still don’t know why.” You and Sunwoo exchange glances before ignoring each other once more. “But you understand that you both signed up for VCT, right? That means you will be playing many matches together.”

You’re aware that agreeing to represent HYST means having to work with Sunwoo. Your reasons for participating are enough to convince you that you handle all the upcoming matches with Sunwoo—all adversities will be dealt with. Yet, you couldn’t speak for your teammate. 

“So, I’m asking that you guys focus on working together. I’m not asking you to make up or anything but to still be professional around each other. We still have to win the qualifiers, so no funny business, okay?”

Jacob was right. Your dispute is getting in the way of team dynamics, holding HYST back, and you didn’t want to inconvenience your team any further. With that, you nod, begrudgingly accepting Jacob’s request. You can spot Sunwoo nodding along with you in the corner of your eye.

“Okay, thanks. You can both go now.”

When you and Sunwoo leave the practice room, not a single word is exchanged. 

ROUND 3: “DON’T LOOK SO SMUG, SUNWOO!”

Over the last months, you and your team have spent every waking hour on Valorant—practice, practice, practice, until you all felt satisfied.

To say you were sick of the game is an understatement, but some of your teammates try to make every minute enjoyable; Haknyeon would goof off some rounds and knife opponents from behind, Jacob would make comments that you never would’ve imagined leaving his mouth, and Sakura would ask questions about everyone before every round. You take your part in lifting the spirits and making these matches less monotonous by reading stories from the r/AmITheAsshole subreddit.

As for your relationship with Sunwoo, you’ve tried to keep it professional. During matches and strategizing phases, you would communicate with each other, exchanging ideas of how to win these games. Outside of those periods, however, were spent ignoring each other’s existence.

Thankfully, all those months of practicing didn’t go to waste—your team went against multiple organizations during Qualifiers, and now you’re on the last leg of the event. Only one more win is needed and your team makes it to Challengers.

Now, your team is in the practice room, head-to-head against another team. It’s 11 to 12 in your team’s favor on Ascent. It’s absurd that your opponents made a comeback from 3-9, but you’ll blame it on the superstition.

“Let’s play default. Their team tends to push out anyway,” Jacob orders before he takes a sip of water. “I’ll play by tiles while Sakura and Haknyeonie can go to A-site. Sunwoo and Y/N, play near B-site. Just make sure to not get caught by their Sova’s recon dart.” Everyone on your team agrees with Jacob’s plan.

The round commences. Just like what Jacob called out, a recon dart is thrown, but it doesn’t catch sight of you and Sunwoo. “Sova’s by B-site,” Sunwoo tells the team. 

“I hear footsteps by tree,” Sakura starts, and Jacob takes it as his sign to smoke the cubby off. Before you know it, he takes a peek at mid and kills off the enemy team’s Gekko. Sakura flashes A-site before double-swinging with Haknyeon. “There are three players by A-site! Go to B-site!”

You and Sunwoo start to make your way through B-site. You walk in front of him, trying to smoke off  hall and market. It should’ve occurred to you how weird it is that Sunwoo trails behind you, but it doesn’t, and you choose to enter the site.

The next thing you know, your body flops to the ground, and you let out a groan. As you spectate Sunwoo, he successfully trades you. “Spike down B,” the announcer voices out. Now, it’s a three versus one battle.

“Astra’s with me! Go plant,” Haknyeon calls out, and Sunwoo listens. He plants the spike like a breeze and situates himself in the boathouse.

Jacob tucks himself by mid, waiting for Astra to pass through spawn. “I can catch Astra off-guard while you try to pinch them,” he tells Haknyeon. Within a few seconds, he successfully lands his shots and kills Astra, securing HYST a win—your team will be participating in Challengers.

Everyone cheers, getting off their seats and huddling into a group hug. “Holy shit, Jacob! That was such a good 3K!” Haknyeon cheers as he’s overfilled with joy.

Your teammate tries to shrug off the compliments. “We all did good.”

A pair of arms wrap around you and Jacob. “That was an amazing play!” Younghoon is thrilled by today’s matches. “WE’RE GOING TO CHALLENGERS!”

It’s a dream come true; you’ll be competing on stage in front of a wider audience against teams who are more capable than you—who have more experience than you—but the journey has only started. You wonder what the upcoming months will have in store for you and your team—what will time do for you and Sunwoo?

You’re the first to break up from the hug, everyone else following along. “I’m going to call Sangyeon over,” your coach announces before making his way out of the practice room.

Then, Haknyeon pulls out his phone. “Wait, the guys are blowing up our group chat. I’ll just call them.”

Sunwoo is about to follow his teammates, but you grab hold of his forearm as you hold him back, and he frowns at you. “I need to talk to Sunwoo,” you smile at the other guys who only glance at each other, confused by your actions. Yet, they let the matter go, letting you deal with your business with him.

Sakura grabs your shoulder. “I’m going to call the team. Anything you want me to tell them?”

“I’ll tell them myself, it’s okay. You can go.”

With that, it was only you and your teammate.

You let go of his arm and a frown replaces the grin you once showed. “What was that during the last round?” As Sunwoo scrunches his eyebrows further, you groan. “You literally baited me.”

An exasperated sigh leaves him. “God, it’s not that serious.”

“Sunwoo, you’re playing duelist. You’re supposed to be entering sites for the team.”

“And I do!” He glares at you, annoyed by your complaints. “We still won. Can’t you just be happy that we made it to Challengers?”

That’s the thing you hate about playing with Sunwoo; if the outcome is good, he’ll turn a blind eye to his mistakes. How does he improve as a player if he doesn’t acknowledge his faults?

He’s about to turn away from you—make his way to his teammates and celebrate today’s win—but you grab his hand and pull him close to you. The sudden action almost has him toppling over you, and thankfully, his reflexes are quick enough to make sure you both don’t fall.

But the distance between you two is smaller, his eyes wide while yours remain stern. He holds his breath while yours grazes his skin.

You’ve never seen him this way—compliant, obedient—and it’s a sight to behold, one you’d like to keep for yourself. If only he were like this to you, then maybe you wouldn’t—no, snap out of it.

“Sunwoo.” He gulps at the way you call his name. “I’m your controller, I’m supposed to stay alive longer to support you.” You hold his gaze. “Try to keep this behavior up during the rest of VCT, I dare you.”

There’s malice laced in your tone, an attempt to make him cower—obey—over your threat, and you know your job is successful when Sunwoo doesn’t try to retort. He has every opportunity to retort—rile you up like all other times—and yet, he remains silent.

With that, you let go of his hand, stepping away to give you both room to breathe. Patches of warmth litter all over your skin, from your neck to your chest. To have Sunwoo look at you like that has—

“Guys!” Younghoon comes back rushing into the room with Sangyeon trailing behind him. You catch sight of the smile that rests on your manager’s face, clearly proud of your team. “Let’s look at the list of the teams who made it to Challengers.”

Your coach fiddles with the television remote and opens up the stream. Just in time, you’re able to look through the teams who made it to the next event. As you spot HYST in a sea of esteemed teams, fulfillment bubbles within you.

Yet, you know the battle doesn’t end here. RUSH makes the cut—will your team remain victorious or will it meet its demise?

ROUND 4: “YOU’RE HERE TO TAKE MY KILLS, SUNWOO? LET’S MAKE IT A COMPETITION.”

You were lying when you said you were sick of Valorant. There were other games you could be playing, Minecraft, Overwatch, and Stardew Valley to name a few. Yet, here you are, playing your favorite (read: most hated) game for today’s stream.

“I won’t lie, I’m not sure why I’m playing this game on stream,” you chuckle. “Like, I could be playing something else to save my mental health.” The comments keep coming as you ramble, trying to kill time.

keybladetwo: CONGRATS IN PLAYOFFS!!! GOODLUCK IN CHALLENGERS orangecheeko: HYST TAKEOVER 🔥🔥🔥 hungrydinosaur: the 3k bae did last round was INSANE

A flood of compliments comes your way, making you smile. “Awe. Thanks, everyone! I still can’t believe I’ll be playing for Challengers, and then there’ll be Masters and Champions.”

reingoaway: how was it like playing with the others :O noxturnal: U and Jacob on the same team must be crazy! Aren’t u both IGLs

A hum leaves you as you think over your answers. “It’s fun for the most part,” you admit. “I mean, it took us a while to get used to each other’s playstyles, but I’d like to think that the practice paid off.”

You fiddle around with your Valorant collection, changing skins on some firearms. “I’d like to think Jacob and I do pretty well in strategizing in the middle of matches. Sure, we have our fair share of contrasting opinions but we always consider each other’s ideas.”

Although the time you spend practicing with your team can be tiresome, your teammates try to make every round enjoyable. It’s thanks to them that you’re able to deal with the weight of VCT for the most part. There is burnout that comes from playing the same game at a pro level—at least you have most of your teammates to thank for the most part.

tagmeup: Will you play with nuguri? ailguriluver: YEAA u guys go crazy together ashfallen: nuguri & ailurus stream 🙏

You would’ve ignored it as you used to with all other streams, but your chat seems to flood the same question; there’s no escape even in the safety of your own channel. “Uh,” you scratch the back of your neck, “I didn’t really plan to stream with nuguri.” 

nugunuguwho: He’s on stream right now!

“He is?” You bite the inside of your cheek as you type out his username on Twitch. His profile shows up, showing that he’s live, and you adjust your stream so that it shows your browser. Now, your audience can see that you’ve searched him up.

Once you click his stream, you are greeted with the words “DEFEAT” flashing on the screen. “Aish, fuck this game!” On the top left corner of the screen is your teammate, all dressed in a gray hoodie with hair messier than usual, and frames resting on the bridge of his nose. He leans back on his chair, tonguing the inside of his cheek out of frustration from losing a match.

The screen shifts to the match summary, showing that he’s currently 00RR in Ascendant 3. “Man, you would think that people in these ranks would at least understand to comm!” He then showcases his match history and—holy shit, it’s a red carpet. “Guys, it’s not looking good.”

You hide your smile behind the back of your hand. Although you make comments about how terrible of a player Sunwoo is, you would’ve never imagined him to be on such a horrendous losing streak.

(At the same time, it could be the fault of his teammates, but you weren’t going to give him that satisfaction. He’s an awful player, point blank.)

“Ailurus is on my stream?” You are snapped out of your thoughts as he mentions your gamer tag. “How do you know?” He scrunches his eyebrows as he reads the chat. “They’re streaming?”

You rush to close the window and frown at the camera. “I can’t believe you guys sold me out!” As you shake your head, you shift your stream back to the game. “I was trying to spy on him! Anyway, I’m going to queue up because I cannot have Sunwoo ruining my win streak.”

You’re about to queue into a game, hoping to end the discussion, but your eyes catch sight of a familiar name and you halt your movements. 

nuguri: r u down to play?

It’s an internal battle—should you pretend you didn’t see Sunwoo’s message or should you fake your relationship with him?

Time ticks. The more you contemplate, the more you realize that you can’t play off that you saw his message in a sea of unfamiliar usernames. You’ve dug up your hole—there’s no turning back now.

“Okay, add my alt account.” Not a single mention of his name, and yet, your audience knows exactly who you’re talking to. The chat is filled with messages of excitement.

A friend request has been sent to you. “Is “sawako’s bf” your fucking alt?” Your gaze shifts to the chat, waiting for a message from Sunwoo.

nuguri: check discord

You roll your eyes before accepting his request on Valorant before opening up Discord. Another friend request has come in, and—is that a Smiski as his display picture? Your mouth parts open as you accept his request. Before you can shoot him a message, he calls you, and you don’t think twice before picking it up.

“I didn’t know you liked Smiskis,” you admit, surprised by the sight of the figurine. The sight of your profile picture, a Smiski from a different series, beside his photo is humorous—who would’ve thought that you two would match? “I didn’t even know you had another Discord account.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

You shrug. “I mean, you just don’t look like the type you know? You reek of “loser e-boy that can’t do shit” energy.” As you hear him gasp, you chuckle.

Perhaps it helped to interact with Sunwoo in front of an audience. You can say diss him if you wanted, boiling it down to banter, and no one would question it.

“First off, I have a Discord account for work and another one for just personal use. And second, I am not a fuckass e-boy.” His defensive energy has you rolling your eyes. “Hey, I see you rolling your eyes!”

“The fuck? Get out of my stream,” you say as you glance at the camera. As you go back to Valorant, you see that you’re invited to Sunwoo’s party. Once you accept the invite, Sunwoo queues you both up for a Ranked match. “If we lose, I’m blaming it on you.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault that I lost all my matches today.”

You bite on the inside of your cheek, holding back your laughter just in case he’s still watching your stream. “Okay, whatever you say. I know you only peaked Immortal 1.”

“Immortal 1 is a good rank! What are you trying to say?” A chuckle leaves him as he says those words, clearly knowing that he’s unfortunately not like you who is currently ranked at Immortal 2.

“I think you just want me to boost you.”

“Match found,” the announcer voices out. You are greeted by the opening screen of Sunset.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m down on my luck that I need someone to boost me.” Sarcasm is evident in his tone, and you can’t help but laugh. The screen then shifts to agent select. “What’s good, everyone?” A bad attempt at deep voice leaves Sunwoo as he talks to a team full of strangers.

You’re thrown back by the sudden tone shift, causing a giggle to leave you. “What the fuck was that?!”

“Go! Talk to the team.” You shake your head as if he can see you. (Maybe he’s still watching you, after all.) He hovers over Reyna before telling you, “It won’t hurt.”

The thing about you is that you would never talk to a team full of strangers, but you don’t think twice when you say, “I’m good,” before hovering over Omen.

“There we go!” He exclaims in your call. You try to hold back your grin.

Unfortunately, the moment doesn’t last long. “Didn’t you mean to hover over Sage?” A stranger on your team asks.

You frown. “What do you mean?”

“Because you’re a woman.”

You should’ve seen this coming—there’s a reason why you don’t like to speak in this game.

“Just because I’m born a woman doesn’t mean I need to play that agent. I can play Skye if we need a healer,” you suggest, trying to keep your cool over what the stranger says.

“Nah, Skye might be too complex for you.”

You’re thinking if you should just lock in on Omen or retort, but both choices lead to an outcome where they’ll constantly be on your ass. Before you can make a decision, however, someone speaks.

“Hey, let them play whoever they want to play. You can play Sage if you really want,” Sunwoo cuts into the conversation, hoping to diffuse the situation. But when a chuckle leaves the stranger, you know it’s far from reaching that.

“Ah, I see how it is. How’s the head?”

You’ve officially reached your limit, and it seems Sunwoo has reached his as well. “This shit isn’t worth it,” Sunwoo ends the conversation with that. Before you know it, you’re back in the lobby, alone. “Sorry, I quit the game. Just give me a second to boot it up.”

As you hear those words, warmth surges within you. You don’t like your teammate at all and he’s never given you any reason to treat him with kindness, but just this one action is enough to make you see him in a different light—is he rotten to the core or have you been blinded this whole time?

Before you know it, he requests to join your party, and you accept the invite. When your eyes catch sight that he’s deranked to Ascendant 2, it hits you that he lost some RR just to avoid playing with the player who was giving you a hard time.

(Would it be bad to hope he did it for you?)

You hop in the queue to find another match.

It’s quiet for a moment; the mood has been ruined by some stranger on Valorant. Yet, Sunwoo seems to have something under his sleeve, a way to lift your spirit. “What if we pick each other’s agents?”

“This is a ranked match. You know that, right?”

Sunwoo lets out a groan. “I know that! But think about how fun it would be! We can play each other’s mains!”

“Do you really want to play Omen or Sova?” The screen then shows you’ll be playing on Pearl. “I thought you wanted to win some games.”

“Hey, I can definitely play those agents!” You roll your eyes over his words, clearly not believing him. “Let’s make it a competition. Whoever gets placed on top of the leaderboard wins, but you play Raze while I play Omen.”

A hum leaves you as you contemplate his proposal. “What’s the prize?”

“Well,” Sunwoo pauses, thinking over what can be done. “What if the winner gets their wish granted by the loser?”

“A wish? What type of wish?”

“Well, that’s for us to determine in our own time.”

You should’ve said no—why would you agree to such a bet with the one guy you can’t stand being in a room with? But the problem is that your pride is on the line, and you wanted to prove to Sunwoo that you could do his job better as a duelist.

So, you don’t think twice when you say, “Ah, fuck it. Let’s do it.”

You should’ve played Raze earlier on in your esports career. The match passes you like a breeze, entering and clearing sites and shots landing on your opponents every round. You don’t remember having this much fun playing Raze for the first time.

But somehow, the universe didn’t listen to your wishes—Sunwoo sits on the top of the leaderboard while you’re under him.

“Fuck! I only needed one assist and I would’ve beaten you.” As you complain, your teammate laughs.

“Ah, I wonder what I should have you do for me.”

You roll your eyes before looking at the time. “God, it’s that late already? I think I’m gonna end the stream already.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ll be back.” Before you know it, he deafens himself on Discord.

A sigh leaves you before you briefly look through the chat. “Sorry guys, I’m gonna end it early. I still need to pack my suitcase for Challengers next week.” There’s a mix of comments, ones that beg you to stay while others that thank you for today’s stream. “I’ll try to stream again before I leave but no promises. Bye, everyone! Hope you enjoy the rest of your days!”

With that, you end the stream. Another good stream out of you despite how short it was.

The most surprising thing to come out of this stream is that you were enjoying your time with Sunwoo. Whether it may be from the later hours of the day or just a front that he was putting up for the audience, you didn’t want to think too much of it. You’ll accept it for what it is now.

As you quit out of some of your applications, you look back at Discord to see that he’s back.

For a moment, it’s quiet. There’s an internal struggle within you—should you thank him for what he said earlier or not?

You didn’t want to call attention to the issue anymore. Unfortunately, you’ve had your fair share of experiences with misogyny throughout your life, and it pained you to say that this wasn’t the worst thing you’ve heard. 

But he beats you to it, almost as if he was bothered by the silence, and says, “I’ll think about the wish for a bit, just want to think of my options.”

A groan rips out of you. “Don’t make me do anything stupid, please.”

He hums for a moment, almost as if he was considering your request, but you know who he is. “No guarantee! I’ll see you soon.”

Before you can retort, he ends the call. You stare blankly at your screen. If you thought Sunwoo was okay, you were absolutely wrong. He’s still a shithead.

But when you get in bed, you stare at the ceiling for a moment, and you can’t wipe off the grin that rests on your lips.

God, you need to sleep. 

perma taglist ➵ @deoboyznet @kflixnet @blankjournal @winterchimez @miusgirl @jenoscafe @sweet-unicorn-world @vernyangel @mosviqu @stealanity @deobi0412 @blue-rainydays @maessseongs

series taglist ➵ @wooluv09 @untilsunset @hiefisch @wonuroyal @sunkitti

if you enjoyed reading, please do reblog and leave feedback! don't just like :]

#deoboyznet #kflixnet #bjnet #k-labels #works of moni #kim sunwoo #the boyz #the boyz x reader #kim sunwoo x reader #the boyz angst #the boyz imagines #kim sunwoo angst #kim sunwoo smut #kim sunwoo the boyz #sunwoo the boyz

[kagecage]

PRESS START | NINJAGO

Kai Smith x Reader

A stranger keeps beating your high-score, until one day you find out who.

Entering the old arcade, you felt an immense power of nostalgia overcome you.

Hearing the kids laughter and the sounds of beeping from the machines, you smiled to yourself knowing how much you missed this place. You wonder to yourself if anyone has yet to beat your high-score in any of the games, you chuckle remembering the old times when kids tried to surpass you, but failed.

Walking up to the counter, you ordered a few coins with a grin, knowing you wont be here for long.

‘Space invaders’ One of your many favourites, you tapped a button, making the screen light up in different pixelated colours, you darted your eyes over the names on the leaderboard.

You were in second.

You looked at the name above yours and smirked, ‘Kai’ is his name, you loaded up a coin in the slot and sat comfortably in the plastic chair. Automatically you pressed start and the game begun.

•••

You felt bad for the little kid, that ‘kai’ is probably crying knowing his high score was beat. It was the next day and you walked through the glass doors of the entrance to the arcade, some employees even greeted you, considering you’re a regular. Passing the shooting game you made a small glance over, seeing a guy about your age with spiked up brown hair. You paid no mind to it and continued to the counter to purchase some coins.

Once you got to the Space game, coins in hand, you realized the boy left, shrugging it off you sat in the seat once more with a flick of your finger on the big red button, the screen showed the leaderboard and your mouth agape.

Your high score was beaten once more by that ‘Kai’ guy.

You grumbled to yourself then with a smirk you started to chuckle, whoever this ‘Kai’ person was, you knew you were rivals. You decided to stop playing around and actually try your best in this game, your hand moving around the joystick, fingers pressing to eagerly shoot the targets, eyes darting across the big screen.

Left, right, right, left, up, left, down.

Moving your spaceship and shooting the targets.

•••

The next day, you came back to the arcade, once you entered the door you heard someone yelling to themselves. In curiosity you followed the voice which lead to the same game you’ve been playing the past few days. Seeing the same boy with spiky hair and a red hoodie on, he couldn’t seem to beat your high-score, he would either be 100 points off or lower, mostly 100. Reading the screen that announced game over, he dug his hand into his pocket but paused. Checking his other pockets frantically he realized he ran out of coins, giving up he entered his name onto the leaderboard.

Y/n

Kai

…

…

Your eyes widened and you felt your lips tugging up with a small chuckle, he tapped the enter button and saw his name in second place, getting up from his seat in defeat, he turned and saw you watching while leaning on a claw machine with your arms crossed. He tilted his head in confusion but then saw you walking up to him, being a few feet away from each other, you held your hand up for him to shake.

“Good game” You spoke out with a smug grin, his eyes widened in realization and he smiled with a fiery look in his eyes. “Good game indeed, you were quite the challenge” taking your hand in his, you both shook your hands and released from each other’s touch, chuckling with closed eyes you nodded towards him.

“Many years of experience I guess?” You shrugged with the same smile on your face.

After chatting with the hot head for a few hours along with a small hangout, it was quite fun going around the arcade and beating little kids.

But you knew you had a new rival and a new friend to compete with, or maybe a player 2.

Thank you for reading!

-k.t

#ninjagoxreader #ninjago #kai smith #ninjago x reader #lego ninjago #fanfic #fandom #ninjago kai #kai x reader #ninjago cole #cole brookstone #ninjago zane #zane julien #lloyd garmadon #ninjago lloyd #lloyd #arcade #kai smith x reader #x reader

[perseephoneee]

(For Ficmas 2023) Isaac Lahey and cookie decorating

cookie decorating (isaac lahey x f!reader) {ficmas 2023}

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ happy day 12 of ficmas!

warnings: allusions to sex

a/n: its christmas eve! this one is short but i wanted to keep it sweet and to the point. thank you guys so much for joining me in this journey to write 12 fics in 24 days (honestly exhausting, but i'm happy I did it). reminder that my requests are open, and to join my taglist if you want to read more of my work in the future. i have a couple requested fics that i need to work on, but i'm hoping to start having a regular posting schedule for you guys in the new year. once again, ily and thank you guys for supporting me always <3

↳ masterlist  ↳ ship exchange ↳ taglist ↳ ficmas 2023

Before your last school vice principal was killed by one of the many werewolf problems that arose in Beacon Hills, the high school didn’t have as many “school spirit” events. There were the typical ones, but truthfully, not a lot. But then, the high school needed a new vice principal, and suddenly, Beacon Hills High School was experiencing an influx of school-wide events. Some of them were incredibly stupid, annoying, and trivial, but occasionally there would be one that would excite all the students. This was one of those times. 

“I am happy to announce that for the holiday season, we will be doing a series of competitions centered around winter,” Mr. Bean, the new vice principal, announced at a school assembly one morning. You almost skipped it but were caught by Coach Finstock in the hall before you could sneak out. Your boyfriend, Isaac, was asleep next to you. “They will be non-denominational, of course. But what is the prize, you ask? After careful consideration, it was decided that the team that gets the most wins out of the twelve contests will get automatic As for the winter break homework– that’s right, a free pass!”

That got the students awake, chatter filling the auditorium as students daydreamed about not having to do any work over the break. You also perked up. Even though you were a good student, you never got an actual vacation with how things went in your life, and your brain almost couldn’t process all the reading and napping you’d get done if you didn’t have any homework. 

“Isaac,” you hissed, slapping your boyfriend in the arm. He groaned as you awoke him. “We are entering this.” He looked at you in confusion as you explained the competition to him. That seemed to wake him up. 

“I’m not doing too hot in Chemistry right now, so that’d be great,” he mumbled, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

“You told me you were okay!” 

“I lied,” he shrugged, and you slapped him in the arm again. 

“I offered to help you with your homework.”

“I wanted to make out with you instead.” That made you roll your eyes, but you didn’t get the chance to chastise your boyfriend as you finished listening to the rules of the competition. 

The following days went by as pretty much every student in the school participated. Everyone got points for the challenges, and the team with the most points got automatic As. There would be two runner-ups who got Bs. You questioned whether any of this was legal, but your lust for winning overtook the rational part of you. Your competitive nature shined as you and Isaac quickly rose to the top of the leaderboards. Between your book smarts and Isaac’s athletic prowess, you took the contests by storm. There was trivia, a sledding race, a snowman competition, and a relay race. Ethan and Aiden were The only team close to beating you two, which just spurred on Isaac more. Even Scott and Stiles, who had fallen behind since they spent more time arguing like a married couple than cooperating, were rooting for you and Isaac just to see Ethan and Aiden go down. 

The final contest wasn’t anything crazy but required precision and focus. Cookie Decorating. Of course. 

You hunkered down at your house, baking cookies and looking at YouTube tutorials for the best way to decorate cookies. You had some cookies look like ornaments, others like reindeer, and a couple as snowflakes. Unfortunately, Isaac had grown distracted about half an hour into your baking adventure. Which meant he had turned to distracting you. 

“Can we take a break?” he sighed, sitting at your counter as he watched you add frosting to piping bags. 

“We need to turn these in by 4 pm today, so we need to hurry,” you responded, tying off the plastic piping at the top and looking at your sketched designs before adding anything to your cookies. Isaac slid off the stool, standing beside you as he watched you draw careful shapes. You weren’t paying attention to him, so you missed the devilish smirk on his face as an idea came to him. He pushed your hair to one side, standing behind you as he wrapped his arms around your middle. You hummed, still focused on decorating, when he pressed kisses along your neck and shoulder. You became hyperaware of his lips on your skin as he licked a line from your artery to your jaw, hot, open-mouthed kisses following soon after. You bit your lip to stop a gasp from leaving your mouth. “Isaac,” you hissed in warning when he bit down, coaxing a sigh from your lips. 

“Y/N,” he hummed, his hands dipping under your shirt and running up and down your sides. His hands were cold and made you shiver wherever he touched you. 

“You’re being a nuisance,” you whispered, hand shaking as you kept trying to decorate. 

“Take a break,” he smiled against your skin, continuing his ministrations. You tried to calm yourself, but after making another mistake in decorating, you growled in frustration and turned around in his arms. 

“You’re obnoxious,” you muttered, back pressed against the counter as Isaac had you cornered. He just smiled, leaning down to kiss you as he had you caged against the counter. You let him kiss you, hands running up his arms, tangling in his hair. You let him take you to your bedroom, make love to you, and effectively distract you. And when he was done being needy, you went back to finish decorating the cookies, wearing just his shirt and underwear, even letting him steal one when he thought you weren’t looking. 

You ended up winning the competition, much to the chagrin of Ethan and Aiden, and you couldn’t find it in yourself to care as you spent winter break in peace with Isaac. 

#isaac lahey #isaac lahey x reader #isaac lahey imagine #teen wolf #teen wolf x reader #teen wolf imagine #daniel sharman #ficmas 2023 #12 days of ficmas #my writing

[contentloadingandstuff]

🎉Celebrating Hu Tao's birthday!

No fifteenth of July can go without a party with Director Hu. Be it a small one with just you and her closest friends, or a larger event for everyone to enjoy, there’s always something planned. 

When it comes to the guests, Hu Tao isn’t very restrictive - the more the merrier! Not only does the fun increase with each person, but so does the gift pile…

Since Wangsheng is the main provider of funerary services in Liyue, Hu Tao can’t complain when it comes to the budget. She doesn’t have a lot of personal expenses, so she will have plenty saved up. 

Organizing a party using money earned on death? It’s quite dark indeed, but Hu Tao would just shrug if you’d mention this. That’s life, she’d reply. 

When it comes to the place… If you weren’t there for a second opinion, Hu Tao would see nothing wrong with throwing the celebration inside the funeral parlor. Considering that such a place would likely kill the mood (and be horrible for her business' reputation), Hu Tao would choose to go for a big campfire in the great outdoors. That removes the locale’s expenditure, and lets her invite more people to the event. Fresh air is also a plus.

A compulsory guest would be Xiangling, not only because she’s a great friend of Director Hu, but also because she will gladly be the chef for the event (as long as she gets to experiment with the dishes a little).

Hu Tao’s mind is just bursting with ideas. How about a rap or a poetry battle? The winner gets ice cream, and the loser has to eat Jeyun Chillies raw - the higher their spot on the leaderboard, the more of them they have to endure. Poor Chongyun…

Twister! Whipping up a playing field consisting of a bamboo mat with a colored cloth on top is no biggie for her. Hu Tao will gladly find out - who is the most flexible of her friends? Maybe she’ll get to learn something about your capabilities even, hehe.

She always liked a good archery competition. And maybe some javelin throwing as well? Javelins… That gives her an idea - spear fishing! Or just fishing in general if that turns out too challenging, boring or direct for the guests. 

And when the night falls, ghost stories! Throughout the year she had come up with plenty of new and thrilling tales, and she just can’t wait to share them. It has been a long time since she saw Xiangling squeal in fright after all.

If those prove to be not exciting enough, Hu Tao will take it to the next step - a ghost hunt. She’ll set things up with her befriended, playful, ethereal pals, of course. She wouldn’t want to get anybody hurt - wild spirits tend to be unpredictable, and, although rarely, very violent. 

When Hu Tao, the notorious thrill seeker, finds herself with people who want to go “off-road” with the paranormal, she will not find the strength to refuse. With her spear firmly in hand, she will lead her team into the darkest of corners, looking for a good scare. Maybe that will finally make you jump - it’s hard to scare you. No fun. 

Whatever the attractions may be, they for sure won’t be boring. Not when it’s Director Hu’s birthday!

Thanks for reading!

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x male reader #genshin impact x male reader #fluff #genshin impact fluff #genshin fluff #genshin impact hu tao #hu tao #hu tao x reader #hu tao x male reader #hu tao x you #hu tao x y/n #hu tao fluff

[sunnytrivia]

Round 1 of The Always Sunny Trivia Challenge 2: Electric Boogaloo is LIVE! You have until Wednesday, May 10th at 11:59 PM ET to complete it.

Info & Reminders:

If you haven't already, read our information post about the competition.

Enter your URL as your name at the beginning of the quiz in order to be counted on the leaderboard.

Once you start the quiz, you'll have to finish it in one sitting (it should take no longer than 15 minutes).

You have 30 seconds to answer each question.

Only pay attention to your score out of 31 at the end, since the system takes into account how fast you answer a question in the big score it gives you.

In order to participate in rounds 2 and 3, you must have participated in round 1, so make sure to set a reminder to complete it before the deadline.

Good luck and have fun!!

Link to the quiz

[chrysochroma]

Hermit Horror Week

Day 3: Chase

@hermithorrorweek

Title: Trophy Hunting

Prompt: Chase

Rating: Teen And Up

Words: 1,009

Warnings: Gore, Blood, Violence, Death, Horror, Decapitaton

Summary: False is very good at the Head Games.

read on Ao3

Since its beginning, the Head Game had occupied most of FalseSymmetry’s time. She found that the other participants mostly used mob heads or wandering villagers’ trades to get to the top of the leaderboard. However, False decided that she would take a different approach to the challenge. Something a bit more entertaining. 

False stood before the bounty board at the Head Game building, eyes scanning the list and fingers tapping against the grip of her bow. She heard the faint flapping sound of an elytra closing and spun in the direction of the sound, nocking an arrow and drawing her bowstring back. 

“Hey, Impulse,” She called out.

“Hey,” He replied, although a bit quietly.

“Watcha doing?”

“Oh, nothing.” He equipped his shield with a flash. “Just looking at the leaderboard.”

“Yeah? And who’s winning?”

Impulse quickly glanced at the board next to him, not wanting to give her more of an advantage than she already had. He read the name on the top sign, then slowly turned back to False. “You.”

“I wonder why.” She tilted her bow down and shot her arrow straight through Impulse’s foot and into the ground, pinning him where he stood. 

A spike of pain shot up through Impulse’s leg as a couple hearts disappeared from his health bar. He tried to step away, but was stopped by the arrow. “Hey, I don’t want any trouble,” he started. 

False put her bow away and equipped a shining diamond sword instead, then ripped one of the pieces of paper off the board. “Well, too bad for you that you’re today’s double point Hermit then, isn’t it?” She stepped closer, tightening her grip on her sword’s handle. 

“Can’t we cut a deal?” He offered, still holding his shield up. 

“Sure we can. You stay still while I take your head, and I’ll make this quick for you.” She raised her sword. 

“No, no, no, I meant something more along the lines of: you don’t kill me, and I’ll … give you diamonds! You like diamonds, right?” He smiled nervously. 

False tilted her head to the side, her lips spreading into an entertained grin. “I do, but I’m going to have to respectfully decline your offer.”

“Wait-!”

“Pleasure doing business.”

She swung her sword, cutting through Impulse’s neck, separating his head from the rest of his body. Impulse’s body slumped to the ground, blood pouring out of his severed veins. 

She sheathed her sword, then picked his head up out of the puddle of blood in the grass, ignoring the rest of his body laying there, then walked over to the anvil and penned her name across his forehead, claiming the bounty as hers. She dropped his head in the designated barrel with a wet, bloody splat, then walked over to the lake next to the Game building and washed his drying blood off her hands and sword. 

False walked back to the leaderboard and smiled at her name at the top. 

Every day, False checked the new bounties, hoping to find another target to hunt. She was only able to claim the bounty a few times before it got taken, but this was one of the lucky few. 

False landed on the top of a giant mushroom and tucked her wings back, eyes locked on ZombieCleo. She was updating the leaderboard with yesterday’s scores, completely focused—a perfect target. 

Silently, False spread her wings again and glided towards the back of the Game building, keeping her eyes on Cleo. She landed on the edge of the back wall, then jumped onto the stack of diamond blocks in the middle of the area and climbed to the top. She drew her bow back with a creak, then let the arrow fly. She watched as it embedded itself in her shoulder, causing Cleo to stumble back. 

Cleo pressed a hand over the wound to staunch the bleeding and looked up towards the source of the arrow. She locked eyes with False, then spread her wings and flew off. 

False smiled, then nocked another arrow and pulled the bow’s string back, tracking Cleo through the sky. She pointed the arrowhead to just ahead of where Cleo was and let the string go, shooting the arrow through the sky towards her. She watched as it punched a hole through Cleo’s wing, causing her to falter and fall back to the ground. False took a leisurely glide down to where Cleo had crash landed, still holding her bow. 

Cleo was laying on the ground, looking at her wing. Blood from her shoulder was pouring out onto her shirt and hand, which was failing to stop the flow. She looked up just as False landed. “Nice shot,” she said.

False nocked another arrow, drew back her bow, and aimed straight at Cleo’s heart. “Thanks.”

The arrow stabbed into Cleo’s flesh, her blood making another stain on her shirt. She coughed a few times before her chest froze and her muscles went slack, her body draining itself of life. 

False took out her sword and sliced her head off, scoring a line in the mycelium below. She went to pick up the head, then paused. 

How about I keep this one for myself? She thought. A trophy of all my hard work. I deserve it, She decided. 

She picked up Cleo’s head, then took off towards her home base. During the journey, she had the best idea of what to do with it. 

A perfect way to ward off competitors, She thought. 

When she arrived at her house, she went into one of her chests and got a fencepost, then went outside and stabbed it into the ground next to her front door. Then she raised Cleo’s head and stared into her glassy eyes before impaling it on the spike in her lawn. Cleo’s blood dripped down the oak wood of the post, leaving a burgundy stain in its wake. 

False smiled at her new decoration, then went inside, took out her sword and began to sharpen it in preparation for her next kill.

#hermithorrorweek2023 #hermitcraft #writing #creative writing #horror #falsesymmetry

[welcometowriteblr]

CALLING ALL DEMIGODS! CAMP WTW BEGINS NOVEMBER 1ST

It’s the beginning of summer and it’s time for the cabins to open. While you were away, our leaders have been called to complete a quest: gather writeblrs from across the world and create a challenge to win Nano 2023! Do you have what it takes to be the best demigod of them all? Our prophecies are telling us that it could be you…but who knows what those things ever really mean, right? Cross the magical border, avoid the monsters on your tail, get claimed by your godly parent, grab your new t-shirt (yes, you can keep it), get ready for some crazy rounds of capture the flag, and try to keep yourself out of trouble. The counselor’s are busy enough as it is. Ready to have the best summer of your life, half-blood? Come join us at CAMP WTW and get yourself ready. Starting NOVEMBER 1ST, it’s up to you to write as many words for Nano as you can!

EVENT RULES AND DETAILS

With our upcoming event we have had many people join our Discord server. This is the perfect time for us to release our FAQ about how we deal with events and such inside of them. If you are participating, please read through this!

THE SERVER

We have a leveling system in our server. The more you talk, the more you level up. We will kick people from the event if you have yet to reach CROOK aka LVL 5 as it is extremely easy to reach. All you have to do is talk. This is non-negotiable. CROOK is reachable within a day. You must also give yourself roles from the role menu when you join! If you need help just ask a leader or mod. You will be also be kicked if you do not do this. We only require AGE and PRONOUNS. Other roles beside these DO NOT COUNT! Please do not join and not give yourself roles!

JOINING ONCE THE EVENT HAS STARTED

Please try and join before NOVEMBER 1ST. Anyone who joins a week late (NOVEMBER 8TH) will not be accepted into the event. You must be active. We will be more lenient with the level rule if you have just joined but if you continue to not be active and haven’t reached common within a week you will likely be kicked from the event.

HOW IT WORKS

Most of the information is contained within the document accessible within the server's event channels. Rather than word count, the leaderboard will be based upon the PERCENTAGE of how close you get to your word goal. Anyone who reaches their word count before the final few days will be asked to increase their goal to make it fair for slower writers.

Please do not hesitate to speak or join the server. We are extremely welcoming and active, but if you cannot respect our rules then you cannot participate in our events.

#announcement #event

[frogpantsthebloodgod]

so uh i thought of a little minecraft minigame

its called “ancient city survival” and basically it goes like this:

Ancient City Survival

Hello! If you’re reading this I’ve actually finished the rules for this, and it’s been posted on tumblr. 

Ancient City Survival is as it sounds- survival in an ancient city. But theres a twist - you, the player, only get stone tools (sword, axe, pickaxe, etc.), 16 torches, and 16 eggs or snowballs. 

You are allowed to use creative to get the tools before going into the city, and for finding the city itself. 

The goal? Survive as long as possible. 

The rules? Ok here it goes:

Only stone tools are allowed to start with, you may mine materials or loot to get better ones

Only 16 torches to start with

Only 16 eggs and/or 16 snowballs 

No other blocks or items may be taken to start with, additional items must be mined or looted from chests

You cannot leave the ancient city at any point, unless you die.

When you die (for any reason) you stop the timer for how long you lasted.

You may bring a clock if you choose to do so. If you do, your time is measured in Minecraft days and are therefore a different class of the challenge. (This is measured in Days instead of Seconds or minutes)

At any point you may attempt to kill the warden, but you may not destroy ALL the shriekers, but you can destroy some

Depending on the difficulty you choose, you get a different light source (i.e. torches, redstone torches, glow lichen, glow berries, glowstone, etc.)

Play on bedrock edition, to make it accessible to more people than bedrock.

When you want to record your score for the tumblr leaderboard, tag either @ancient-city-survival-official or @frogpantsthebloodgod 

Have fun i guess

Funny thing is this started with me just wanting to practice surviving in the deep dark lmao

yes i will be making a separate blog for this

#minecraft #minecraft minigames #deep dark #go ahead And play it with your friends or competition #I wont stop yall

[filminah]

Salut!!! I am here to give you some resources that helped me learn french! <3 I will warn you that I learn very informally. I hate taking notes or like seriously studying.

Langauge Transfer- a free podcast lesson that is FANTASTIC for getting a good base in the language and for making connections from english to french. You can listen on youtube or soundcloud

netflix- once you can at least read a bit in french, i would highly recommend the show Lupin on netflix. Watching with french subtitles and then graduating to sans sous-titres will really help! It is a wonderful show and I think that Omar Sy´s accent is really easy to understand

TV5Monde- they have a really good listening comprehension test and then give you resources to improve. You might watch a video about an art exhibit and then answer some questions about it.

Youtube- I can not stress this enough. Not only can you find teachers, but you can also find native french content to practice. BUT the most useful is the comments. That's where you can learn a ton of slang and vocab

I have never been a huge soccer fan er I guess le fút lol. But i am now. Paris-Saint-Germain has a great channel with interviews and games with the players.

CRAZY SALLY

cam summers

Piece of French (teacher)

French Avec Nelly (teacher)

InnerFrench (teacher) and he has a great podcast too!!

Easy French (interviews for people learning french)

lingoni french and french with Alexa (these two were never my cup of tea but are great quality)

Duolingo- some people really do be hating on it, but it has gotten a lot better. I wouldn't recommend it as a only/primary source of learning, but it is a great supplement to get some more vocab in. Plus if you join in on the leaderboards and challenges, it is fun

I do make flashcards as a way to review vocab and I go over them when I get the chance. Quizlet made a lot of their stuff premium :( so i use Brainscape which is pretty great

The best way to get better is to talk!!!! Even talking to yourself for a few minutes a day will do wonders

Bonne chance! <3

oh my, i love you <3 merci beaucoup!

i'll definitely check out all the resources!

#amimi #studyblr #learning french #french studyblr #french #foreign languages

[hotsexydorks]

Prompt & Scribbles: Nerve Pack Party Edition

Slutty TW Pack Prompt: The pack try to spice up their pack nights with a brand new Party Dare game. How far will the game take them?

Read the full story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14053365/chapters/134188954

“Okay. We’ve got to pick something else to do other than hanging out in this basement every month.” Liam groaned as he threw a wrapper across the room, letting it hit the far wall and dropping it in the bin. 

“What do you suggest then? We’re all broke, it’s not like we can splash out on shit that we can all do.” Theo said from his side of the couch. 

Pack nights. Another hangout night just like any other. Watching movies, playing video games, eating food, things had now become routine. Their activities became stale, draining some of the excitement out every time they hung out. Originally the idea came from someone in the group that it would be good to have them to help keep up morale, someone being Stiles. 

Eager to defend his idea he spoke up. 

“Jackson, Derek. You’ve got money, why don’t you guys pay for something fun sometime?” 

“No way Loser, I’m not spending money on something like this.” Jackson furrowed his brow. Even as part of the group and making amends the jock never dropped his name calling of Stiles. 

 “It’s a bit late for that right now Stiles, maybe another time.” Derek scoffed. He did have to admit that he too was also growing a bit bored of their repetitive hangouts. 

“Okay okay fine. I didn’t want to resort to some normal people stuff but I heard about this new party game site where you sign-up and can win prizes and shit for doing dares. It’s got a leaderboard and everything.” Stiles said. Moving off the couch he got to the table and opened his laptop.

Throwing his rows of tabs aside he pulled up the website, sharing his screen to the TV in the room the logo and site started to load in. 

[DARE DEN]

“Prizes. Riches. Adventure. Do you dare to take the challenge”

The screen quickly changed, fading away, leaving the boys with a choice. 

Sign up or Walk Away. 

Looking back at the group Stukes gestured at the new shiny thing on their screen. 

“So you wanna do this or not?” He asked fingers hovering over the trackpad. 

“I guess, not like we were going to do much else anyways.” Scott shrugged sipping from his drink that helped him swallow down some of the salty snacks that he had swiped from the table. 

 “Free money, I’m in.” Theo called out from his place where he had been relaxing on the side.

Stiles lapped his hands excitedly. “Alright, time to get this party started.” 

Starting the process Stiles signed the group up for the game. The first step was to take a picture of the group and name all the players. That was easy enough with the webcam he had hooked up to his machine. 

Urging people into the frame they took the picture and went through naming each of the faces. One by one giving their faces a name on the system. Each of the steps came with an  explanation and this once was so they could know who did what challenge. One of the rules being that no one player could take the majority of the challenges every five challenges. 

After they were set up the group settled around the table to watch the next steps. 

“Howlers?” Aiden said looking squinting at their group name with disbelief in his tone. 

“Yeah. You know cause awoo–” 

Shrugging through his explanation Stiles felt a smack of a pillow behind his head when the other’s saw the name. 

“Just be glad it’s that and not something like Stiles’ Angels” Rolling his eyes Isaac adjusted to his new position after his pillow was stolen for use as a missile. 

Settling the group back down they read through the rules of the game before they officially started their first challenge

To earn points you must complete a challenge. Challenges can only be considered complete if they are done on camera. 

All earned points are added to your total bank. If you refuse to accept a challenge you lose twice the number of points you would have earned. E.g If you refuse a challenge worth 20 points, you will lose 40 points from your total.

No player may accept more than three challenges every five rounds.

“Time to play.” Liam said excitedly moving to the group ready to take his first dare. 

Welcome to the Den, Howlers. We’re excited for you to play our little game. Are you ready for your first challenge? 

Read the full chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14053365/chapters/134188954

#story sunday #prompt #scribbles #derek #scott #stiles stilinski #liam #jackson #theo #ethan #aiden

[screadingchallenge]

Week 1 Leaderboard

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for - the Week 1 Leaderboard results! 38 people submitted their numbers for the first week of the Challenge, which is a significant increase over the number of people who participated last year (yay!). Because there were so many submissions, I’m only posting the top 3 people in each category here on tumblr, the full results are on the Challenge website. 

Here are the week 1 leaders:

Remember, if you didn’t submit this week, you can still submit for Week 2 when it opens on Friday. The numbers are cumulative, so you can jump in at any time. 

Congrats to everyone who’s participated so far - let’s keep the momentum going!

#sc fanfic #sc fic reading challenge #sc reading challenge #reading challenge leaderboard #schitt’s creek #schitts creek

[zzoguri]

[the guide] the perfect pair ➵ “welcome to valorant.”

esports player!kim sunwoo x esports player!reader

your official guide to “the perfect pair” universe, from gaming lingo all the way to vct timeline

parts ➵ check out the series masterlist

taglist ➵ @winterchimez @miusgirl @jenoscafe @sweet-unicorn-world @vernyangel @mosviqu @tbzhub @stealanity @wooluv09 @deobi0412 @untilsunset @hiefisch @blue-rainydays @maessseongs @wonuroyal @sunkitti

a/n ➵ i understand that not everyone may be familiar with gamer lingo or how vct works, hence, why i made this post in the first place! i hope this can guide you as you read the story! for any questions, feel free to let me know! thank you again to @shegotthewoobies @vernyangel @sizzlingdino for your help :') it was so hard having to explain these terms. please expect the first chapter to drop in a few days

WHAT IS VALORANT

VALORANT is a 5v5 competitive first-person shooter game developed by Riot Games. The main goal of the game is to plant or defuse the spike (depending on what side you’re playing on). There are four different roles in this game where the agents are categorized into:

Duelists: Known as the primary attackers, they are expected to help enter and clear sites.

Initiators: These agents help push back enemies and clear sites through their abilities.

Sentinels: Experts in holding sites, they help in building a defense against opponents and handle any flanks.

Controllers: Their abilities help in adjusting the battlefield by smoking out opponents.

These are the ranks in order. Iron 1 is the lowest, and you slowly progress through it by going to Iron 2 then Iron 3 then Bronze 1, and so on. The highest rank is Radiant. Depending on how you play in your ranked matches, you will obtain or lose RR.

WHAT IS VCT?

It's the abbreviated form of “Valorant Champions Tour” which is an esports tournament hosted by Riot Games. There’s a series of events that eventually accumulate to the main event which is Champions. These events act as a way to shortlist teams until the main event. In this story’s universe, this is the flow of events:

Qualifiers:  Around 100+ teams compete around this period

Playoffs: Around 50+ teams compete in this period.

Challengers: Around 20-30 teams compete. The teams are divided by regions and must battle through a bracket system.

Masters: Around 16-18 teams compete against each other. The regions are now mixed.

Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ): Around 10 teams compete to garner a place in the main event. These are for the teams who didn't place high enough to get a ticket to Champions.

Champions: Around 16 teams compete against each other, both from winners of Masters and LCQ, to determine who brings home the Champions Cup.

WHAT IS GAME CHANGERS?

Game Changers is an event where women, nonbinary players, and other gender-marginalized groups compete. It’s an initiative to provide a platform of recognition to these players.

In this story’s universe, Game Changers is the first official tournament to start the year’s VCT.

VALORANT/GAMER LINGO

Here is a list of terms you may need to familiarize yourself with. When it comes to maps and actual matches being described, please refer to the gifs and/or images attached.

Ace: Typically, this means a good player. However, when a player kills off the whole opponent team, they get recognized as an ace

Bait/Baiting: When you use a teammate as “bait” in order for the enemy to put their focus on them

Boost/Boosted: The accusation of being brought to a higher rank with the help of someone with a better skill set. It’s typically thrown at women

Botfrag: The player at the bottom of the leaderboard

Care [Insert skill/weapon/agent]: Reminding your teammates to be aware of something that could affect the outcome of the round

Default: A strategy in which you try to gather information about your opponent by baiting their abilities as a way to gain map control. It is important to do when your typical 5-man pushes don't work out

Double swing: Two players peek together, often to put pressure on the opponent, and get a pick/force a trade

Fill: A player that adjusts to the agent lineup

Flank: Those who essentially try to attack the enemies from behind, aiming to pinch at them or attack them from behind

Jiggle peek/jump spot: Cautiously peeking without exposing yourself fully

Lineups/Lineup Larry: Someone who is able to accurately position/throw/shoot their abilities to designated places that may prevent opponents from defusing the spike or gathering information

One tap/140: Essentially means that the opponent has low health. When using a Phantom, a type of rifle, it deals 140 damage

Pick: You got a kill, basically

Retake: All active defenders will fall back/regroup outside of an attacker-controlled site and push in strategically in order to regain control of site

Stack: When most players play together on a site in hopes of surprising the opponents

Tapping the spike: Fake defuse to make the enemy team think you’re on the spike

Throwing/threw: Someone who is accidentally or purposely doing bad plays during a round or the whole game

Topfrag: The player at the top of the leaderboard

Trade: When your teammate dies, you get a pick on an enemy

Wall bang/Wall bangable: In the game, certain walls can be pierced through with bullets, and can be used to shoot players even through walls

Whiff: When someone misses their shots badly

For those who want to know the game better, you may refer to the following links along with the graphics:

BEGINNER’S GUIDE

Concepts: Roles in Valorant

VALORANT dictionary: 38 terms you should know

Valorant Ranks: Ascendant, Immortal, Radiant Explained

#fic: the perfect pair

[whosthatdccharacter]

Heyo! We've done six of these so far and it's been fun running this little game for yall. I hope its entertaining for you!

Now that we've got some under our belts I wanted to open up for feedback on a few different points. Im going to go over how ive done stuff so far, so if you have any thoughts on aspects of it you can chime in.

Putting the rest under the cut since it's kind of long.

1. Timing

So far I've tried to post new ones at sort of random times in the day so it doesn't give any one a consistent advantage. Im US Eastern and posts might go up anytime between 8am and 2am. I might even use the queue to schedule round the clock.

Another timing thing is that when someone guesses right, I give at least a few hours more before posting the reveal. It's just to give people a little more time to play, even if someone gets the answer right away. That's not to say you cant play after the reveal posts go up, but if youre anything like me, as soon as the ability to see the answer is available im clicking that link lol.

And since the reveal post tags the winner, I wait at least a few more hours for the next silhouette post so the prev winner doesnt have the advantage of being notified of the next one.

So a question here is should I wait longer or shorter on any of these areas? Do you like that its only one unrevealed at a time?

2. Difficulty level

This has been the hardest because it's a learning curve to find what's easy, what's hard, and why. There are SO many characters and runs, so it's hard to know if something I thought was memorable was even a blip on other people's radars. So ive tried to do a mix of difficulties.

Easier ones mean more people have the satisfaction of guessing and maybe getting it right, but if it's too easy then it might feel like these are puzzles for babies.

Harder ones mean a challenge and a lot of satisfaction if you figure it out or know that it's some niche thing. But if it's too hard then nobody gets it and it can feel kind of bullshit.

So what im wondering here is, do you feel like these have been too easy or too hard? Do you like it being a mix?

3. Character and image selection

If I put up a straightforward silhouette of Etrigan, everyone's going to get it and there's no challenge. On the flip side if i did a silhoutte or jason blood standing in a contextless room its like that could be literally any random man, so itd lead to random guesses. So ive been trying to find the sweet spot of the silhouette being somewhat familiar but not completely unique, and the rest of the image with some stuff going on. I think that's been going well but it does mean it relies on me and my ability to make a good little puzzle of it. So i hope I've been doing an alright job in that area.

Choosing from particular runs is interesting. I usually think of a character first then go find something they were in. Im finding the stories with other characters and team ups are good options to provide that extra context. But then the tricky part is that i have to be at least somewhat aware of whats popular and whats not. I dont want to use a panel from a run nobody read (unless its really good), and I also dont want to do one so infamous that everyone knows it like the back of their hand. So as with choosing particular images, I hope my choice of titles I'm sourcing these from has been fair.

4. How to guess

I went with tags so it encourages people to reblog and hopefully spread awareness of the blog. I think its also the easiest way people are inclined to interact per post. We couldve done asks but sometimes those get dropped by tumblr, and all the reveal posts would be answers to asks instead of standalone posts.

I like the idea that even for old ones people can still play and have fun with guessing on their own. Not sure if theres a clever way to encourage that.

And i hope the leaderboard is fun. Just a small incentive to participate. Its like saying nice job, thank you for playing.

5. Hints

As mentioned previously, if over a day goes by and nobodys got it ill post a hint. I've only done one hint so far and i was really not sure how subtle or overt i should be. Idk if anyone has thoughts about it?

--

So that's it. That's the process behind things and kind of where my mind is on it. I want it to be fun and chill, so if you ever have feedback about something you can always send an ask. It can be about the topics here or really at anytime about anything.

Thanks for playing everyone! Keep it up!

#wtdcc-bts

[6ad6ro]

so why the fuck did they make the ai in super street fighter 2 turbo so cheap? it's such a good game when played with others, but the singleplayer is straight up unplayable. even on easy. it's as if they erased everything they knew about making fun but challenging ai for the earlier sf2 games and instead tried to follow in the footsteps of the quarter-stealing, brainless, input-reading, cheating ai that was in mortal kombat.

like i know ssf2 was hated when it came out, but i never really ever heard anyone pointing to this aspect as part of the blame. i can't imagine any new player putting more than a quarter in that godawful machine. which cut off new players. it certainly turned me off so badly that i didn't come back until alpha 3. and i know i wasn't the only one.

srry i guess what made me think about this is that sf6 has all these cool emulated classic arcade games. and it's awesome. except they're singleplayer only. and because there's a leaderboard aspect to it, they upped the difficulty to what i'd confidently assume was hard (based on things like the enemy count in final fight, a game i'm pretty familiar with). and while i def think being unable to change the difficulty soft dipswitches even on unranked freeplay was overall a bonehead move, at least the other games were still enjoyable on some level.

but super turbo with hard ai turns it into a... bad game. i'd genuinely rather play sf1. the only sf i think is worse is sf5 and that's pretty fuckin bad lol. i guess it's a weirdly similar situation tho: a potentially really good game ruined by dipshit dev decisions. but it almost hurts more because ssf2t is probably my favorite version of sf2 to play against other players. anyways rant over.

#ill end up deleting this later #becoming a regular thing lately #like talking out the trash lol

[dlamp-dictator]

Remember than the Apparition enemies’ true forms need to just take a certain amount of hits to defeat, meaning DoT and fast ASPD is a godsend. Here are a few Operators you want for that.

Exusiai on S1. Don’t be fooled, S3 going off is luck/time dependent while S1 is much more reliable.

Blue Poison in general, but S2 is best since you can time it better.

Ethan on S1 is especially good here, having his module maxed out also helps, but is not needed.

Any Mech-Accord caster, as both the drone and the caster count for 2 hits.

GreyThroat (yes, you read that right) on her S1. S2 works as well, but you have to time it well.

Hibiscus Alter on S2, though save it for the Clarity’s Lampstand and Sharpedge’s Spearheads if possible.

Amiya on S1. While her S2 is a bit better, the stun could screw you if you’re unlucky.

Swordmasters in general, as they naturally hit twice.

Lava Alter on S2, though be mindful of where your allies are lest you make my mistake and realize Ethan’s maxed out module makes him surprisingly beefy in the HP department.

Other general advice I can is that most of the enemies are pretty weak to Arts damage, so blitz the Sharpedge and Blueflower with arts ASAP if you can. Push and Pull Operators are also pretty handy here as well, Gladiia specifically was the MVP of my Risk 8 run.

Here’s a few more... specific/rare Operator’s that can help.

Gavial Alter on S2 had legit saved my Risk 8 by pulling in enemies that would had devoured my squishier units at the bottom of the map.

Specter Alter on S2 essentially meant I could determine when to switch her into AoE Arts damage, as well as tanking the Sharpedge for a bit before Gavial finished it off.

Blaze on 2 was a surprisingly helpful lane holder at the bottom of the map thanks to her high HP and her AoE archtype letting her attack multiple Apparitions at once so Gladiia and Specter only had to hit them once or twice and I didn’t have to waste their skills.

And that’s about it for everything that helped me for this daily map. Hopefully this advice will help you too.

Also, if a specific challenge mission let’s you use the support buff, use the fucking support buff. This is a single-player, tower defense gambling game, only nerds give a shit about the nonexistent leaderboards.

#arknights #your dictator is speaking