#except for one of ruby's shitty racing games maybe

[our-reality]

28 java and ruby bc heaha funneie

28. are they a #gamer?

i don't like you very much /J

they play video games on occasion but like. #gamer implies something very specific and it is. Not Them! i can talk about what kind of games they like though

i think ruby hasn't touched any new console since like. the wii. her mom, while she does love her children, pretty much never likes spending money on video games cuz she thinks they can be addicting and distract from Important Stuff (she means well but she's also like. legitimately scated that her kids' eyes are going to melt out of their heads or smth playing video games. so.) so she doesn't buy them like. any big name titles. if they do get video games they have to pay from their own wallets so their library mainly consists of mario knockoffs and party/racing games that have literally no information available about them on google that they fished out of the bargain bin at a media store. ruby doesn't have great reaction times or hand-eye coordination and would probably struggle with more mainstream titles BUT since she's played the bargain bin games so many times she's cracked at them and she treats it like a genuine flex i love her

java probably played video games as a kid but grew away from them over time because she saw them as like. an inherently "boyish" thing and that kinda squicked her out. HOWEVER she used to play a lot of final fantasy and still holds many nostalgic memories from those games and that's why i think she'd use the name aerith online n shizz <3 as she got older she got over her fear-ish of video games and started playing more pc titles because she still had a laptop that she already used for drawing and that's how she got into things like ut/dr, imscared, silent hill, and other stuff (she emulates the silent hill games cuz she's based). nowadays she still replays ut/dr all the time but she also likes looking up free indie horror games in her free time and like. playing through them in an afternoon. enrichment for her

[thecousinsdangereux]

Team RWBY playing any of the following: monopoly, uno, Mario kart, or super smash brothers. They could also have pizza and drinks. (for @justkiddin304)

“Time for the real party to start!”

Yang’s said these words many times before, but usually not while carrying a small whiteboard, or with a dry erase marker clenched between her teeth. It’d be confusing if all of them didn’t know exactly what was coming.

“Did you take that off my wall?” Weiss leans across Blake to inspect the object in question, eyes narrowing, as soon as Yang flops down on the couch. “You’re buying me new 3M strips if you took that off my wall.”

“She’ll buy you new 3M strips,” Blake promises, when Yang only winks and props the board on her thigh, starting to add to the scribbling already on the surface. “But only if you fully participate,” she adds, tone teasing.

“I have a beer don’t I?”

Blake knocks the aforementioned drink, dangling in Weiss’s hand in the same way she might hold some kind of vermin, with her own. “Worse. You’ve got a can of PBR.”

“Ugh. Yang — ”

“Nope!” Yang cuts her off quickly, popping the latter syllable for emphasis. “You know the rules.”

“Then why are you writing them down?”

“Because that’s part of the rules. Duh.”

Weiss huffs, flattening her back against the couch, but perks up again when Ruby comes in; that’s part of the rules too, but also sort of inevitable, especially when Ruby’s wearing a wide grin and carrying an N64 above her head in triumph.

“I found it!”   

Yang lets out a piercing whistle of applause — the one that makes Weiss jump every time — and Ruby laughs, dipping at her waist in a little bow, before heading over to the TV to get everything set up.

“Okay, okay. I think I’ve got everything.” Yang turns, left hand sliding along the back of the couch, as she holds up the whiteboard for everyone to see. “It’s been two years since our last twenty-first birthday, but the rules haven’t changed. Anyone who breaks the rules takes an automatic shot and has to pick up a chore, determined by the birthday girl. Blake, if you would?”

Blake clears her throat, and begins to read. “‘Rule number one: Ruby is in charge. Whatever she says goes. Because it’s her birthday.’”

Another whistle, though this time, Weiss and Blake join in with their own applause, and Ruby steps out from behind the TV to reveal a pink tinge to her cheeks.

“‘Rule number two: everyone starts with an unopened can of beer. The beer must be shitty, even if we’re not all broke college kids any more.’” Her lips twitch as she continues reading. “‘This includes Weiss. No fancy shit!’”

“Was writing that really necessary?” Weiss sighs.

“‘Rule number three: when the race starts — at the countdown — you can open your beer and start drinking. Rule number four: you can drink at any other time during the race, but only if your controller is totally out of your hands. Drunk driving is illegal and a super dick move. Rule number five: coasting is allowed and totally encouraged...’” Blake squints at the board. “Babe, I can’t read whatever the hell you tried to squeeze in at the end there.”

“I was running out of space!” Yang explains, looking down and frowning. “‘Coasting is allowed and totally encouraged — the reason Weiss always loses is because she’s never learned how to do it properly.’ I feel like that was pretty clear.”

Ruby snickers, shaking one of the controllers she’s attempting to untangle. “That’s so true.”

“Hey!”

“‘Rule number five,’” Blake continues. “‘If your beer isn’t finished, you can’t cross the finish line. No exceptions! No matter how—’” She rolls her eyes, but presses on. “‘No matter how cute you are when you pout about losing on a technicality.’” 

With a little smirk, Yang’s fingers tangle in her hair and give one strand a sharp little tug.

“There was barely any beer left!”

Yang tsks. “You could hear it when you shook the can! And it was Weiss’s birthday. She made the final ruling.”

“It was simply awful that you were disqualified and had to take a shot instead of me, Blake,” Weiss murmurs, not even bother to hide her smile, and Ruby laughs again as she starts to hand out the controllers.

“Which brings us to rule number six!” Yang says with a wink. “‘If you come in last you take a shot. First place gets to choose what kind of shot it is.’”

“First place should also remember how close she was to sleeping on the couch when she made me take a shot of vodka, which she knows I hate.” Blake doesn’t manage to sound particularly peeved though, and even leans a little further into Yang’s gentle scratching of her scalp.

“Yeah, yeah. Any house rules, Ruby?” Yang asks brightly, tossing the whiteboard onto floor.

Ruby flops onto the couch alongside Weiss. “No teaming up! It’s every woman for herself in the cold, cold world of Mario Kart 64. Also no groaning when I pick the best courses. Oh! And I get Toad every time!”

“I don’t know if you need to make that a rule,” Blake laughs. “We all always pick the same characters. You take Toad, I take Peach, Weiss picks Mario, and Yang takes Wario.”

“I’ll have you know that I’ve been doing some research,” Weiss cuts in. “And I will no longer be choosing Mario. It was a mistake to count on a figurehead to get the job done.”

“Some research,” Yang repeats, laughing loudly. “Oh my god.”

“I didn’t realize there were different classes! It’s no wonder I’ve lost so much in the past. But no more!” She throws her hand down in a chopping motion, spine straight.

“Blake, I’m shaking. Look at her; she��s serious. She’s probably been practicing when no one’s around. You have to protect me.”

“No teams!” Ruby shouts.

“Plus, I really want to take you down a peg,” Blake adds, throwing Yang a wink of her own. “Or watch Weiss do it.”

“Oh, baby, that’s kinky,” Yang purrs. “I didn’t know you were into that.”

Ruby blanches, tapping through the starting prompts of the game as quickly as possible, as though it’ll help distract her. “And also none of that!”

“Please,” Weiss agrees, pursing her lips slightly as she selects Yoshi as her character (the only variation from their past choices).

Yang puts her hands up and leans back. “Fine, fine. Rule number one. I remember. Sorry, Weiss. Guess you’re gonna be missing out on all of this.” She gestures to herself and dodges Blake’s swat in the same movement.

“I’m devastated.”

“Yeah, I can tell. You’re, like — ” Yang cuts herself off with a groan as Ruby chooses their map, a musical chime filling the room. “Aw, Ruby! You know I suck at the fucking jungle one!”

“That’s why I’m picking it,” Ruby returns, rapid-fire, and sticks out her tongue.

“Oh, okay, you’re going down, birthday girl.”

—

Whether because she really has been practicing or Mario had just been a poor fit before, Weiss’s improvement is evident from the very first race. With the change, things are bit more interesting than they’ve been in the past. Ruby, the best at sober Mario Kart, always takes a hit by being the slowest drinker. Yang, able to drown a beer fastest, get less and less likely to take her finger off the accelerate button the more alcohol she’s consumed, and starts to fall off the track on a regular basis. And Blake has something off the opposite problem, always taking just a bit too much time on her turns.

After a few rounds, they’re pretty evenly matched; Weiss hasn’t lost (nor has she won), and the other three have taken one loss and one win each. It’s also getting to that point in the night where Yang’s ability to handle her drink a bit better than the rest of them starts to play to her favor.

“Looking a little flushed, Blakey,” Yang teases, brushing her fingers against her girlfriend’s cheek as soon as Blake’s finished her shot of tequila.

“I hate those stupid penguins.”

Ruby laughs, leaning into Weiss with the force of her mirth. “You hit so many,” she gasps. “You must’ve hit more than five. Maybe ten!”

Weiss is less amused. “Damn it, Yang! You shouldn’t have been able to skip over that last corner! I was so close!”

“Golden mushroom, loser! Y’all are in trouble now. I’m on fire!”

“Ruby, please pick a course that’ll shut her up,” Blake groans. “She’s past the point where I can handle her.”

“You can handle me anytime and anywhere, baby,” Yang coos, leaning in close enough to nuzzle up against Blake’s cheek; Blake tries and fails to look annoyed.

Ruby ignores them, tongue peeking out as she considers her option. Then, nodding to herself, she flicks the thumbstick several times to the right.

“Nuclear option, then!”

Three separate groans follow her decision, but she just grins.

“Rainbow road!” she yells. “If I can’t win, then I’m taking you all down with me!”

There’s not much time for more yelling, as the traffic light floats up on their screens soon after, and even if each has their own preferred technique when it comes to the game, drinking as much as possible during the countdown is pretty much the only guaranteed method of success at the start. After that, it’s less of a science and more of a shit show. And it’s not at all helped by the fact that at this point, no one is willing to play far.

Weiss starts it, because she’s desperate; Ruby gains the lead on the second turn (with a triumphant little shout), and without pause Weiss grabs the hood of Ruby’s sweatshirt and yanks it down over her eyes.

“Weiss!” Ruby yowls, wrestling with the fabric for a long moment… and promptly crashing directly into a Chomp. “Cheating!”

“There’s nothing in the rules that prohibits cheating!”

Ruby sputters, but can't immediately disprove it. Blake, focused on keeping Yang from running her off the track, isn’t of any help, which proves to be a mistake.

“Oh, shit. She’s right!”

A few well placed fingers in Blake’s side and she’s jerking away, concentration shifting to Yang’s hand rather than her controller, and Yang’s Wario finally rams into her Peach, sending her flying off the track.

“Good call, Weiss!” Yang cheers, quickly gaining second place, even as Blake shoves her out of the way, drinking as much as possible while her kart is lifted back onto the track. “That took out all my only competition. You know, seeing as it’s just you left.”

“Bitch!”

Yang laughs. “I’m not the one who attacked the birthday girl.” She uses her elbow to push away Blake who, back on the track, tries to reach around and knock Yang’s controller out of her hand. “Babe! Stop! I’m trying to avenge my sister!”

“I’ll avenge myself!” Ruby shouts, taking a curve at full speed.

“You’re so far behind now, though. Better let me take this one.” Wario tears through an item box, coming up with a red shell; Yang whoops. “Bye, Weiss!”

“Yang, don’t you d— ”

She fires the shell, hitting Yoshi and, worse, knocking completely him off the track.

Weiss growls and tosses her controller down, grabbing her drink instead.

“God, I’m just incredible at this game.” Yang squints at the screen, expression overly exaggerated. “Where even are y’all? I can barely see your icons on the minimap.”

“The ‘no teams’ rule is over,” Ruby suddenly declares, brow pinched. “Everyone team up against Yang.”

Yang gasps, risking a glance away from the TV to send her sister a wounded look that has absolutely no impact. “What the fuck, Ruby? What happened to sisterly love?”

There’s no response, which is probably as concerning as anything; Yang tucks her controller tight against herself and leans away from Blake, wary of any sort of attack. She actually manages to hold out well into the next lap, but eventually Weiss gets a blue shell — announced by a truly terrifying, cackling laugh — and when it hits, Ruby takes the lead, though not as large of one as Yang had enjoyed; Weiss and Blake are right behind her and Yang catches up fairly quickly, throwing Wario into turns that would have spun the rest of the smaller characters.  

“Last lap,” Weiss announces. “All I need is the right item and victory will be mine.”

“I think you’re forgetting that like, half a can of beer you still have, Princess. Gonna have to slow down and drink eventually. You too, Rubes.”

“Shit,” Weiss murmurs to herself, and, after exchanging a quick look with Ruby, both girls try to coast down the next hill as they attempt to finish their drinks.

It puts Blake in the lead… until she hits a fake item box that she’s positive Yang placed, given the woman’s loud laugh, and Yang takes first once again.

“Woo! Boy! Three-on-one and look who’s in the lead! Shit, this is embarrassing for y — ”

Without any warning, Blake reaches over, grips the collar of Yang’s shirt, and pulls her in; Yang makes a soft noise (of surprise or complaint, or maybe both), but it dies off as soon as Blake’s lips find hers. She manages to hold onto her controller for another moment, but when Blake turns a little further into her, knee sliding up over her thigh, she drops it, reaching for Blake’s waist instead.

Both of their characters roll to a complete stop.   

“Blake, you’re so brave,” Ruby wails.

“You say that because _you’re _not sitting next to her.” Weiss scoots slightly to the left, away from the couple, but remains focused on the screen, knuckles white as she and Ruby head toward the final stretch of the course. “But I suppose it was a… very effective maneuver, as far as sacrifices go.”

Blake shifts all the way into Yang’s lap, knocking her controller to the ground, and Weiss, catching it out of the corner of her eye, makes a face. “A little too effective. God, how are they still this bad? It’s been years!”

“Focus, Weiss!” Ruby demands, scooting forward until she’s on the very edge of the couch. “I wanna beat you fair and square.”  

The finish line is just ahead and both girls push on, Ruby barely in the lead. Still, she’s clearly confident in her victory, grin already stretching across her face as she bumps Weiss’s shoulder with her own.

Until Weiss laughs.

“Oh, Ruby,” she coos. “You really should pay attention to other people’s items.”

“What? Wait!”

The lightning bolt is timed perfectly; it hits Toad (and the still-stopped Wario and Peach) not five seconds before the finish line, and Weiss runs Yoshi over him, flattening the character to the ground, before making her big finish.

“Noo!”

Weiss’s celebration is nearly derailed completely when she stumbles over the wire connected to her own controller, but she tosses it aside quickly enough, hitting Blake in the back (jostling her from her activities), and launches into a victory dance that involves some very un-Weiss-like shoulder shimmying and some embarrassing arm flapping.

The agony of defeat doesn’t last long in the face of that, and Ruby stifles a laugh, gets out her phone, and starts filming.

“Oh,” Blake blinks, dazed, at the display. “Guess she — uh —  won?”

“Beg to fucking differ.” Yang’s smile is slow and lazy, and so very pleased with herself. Her fingers skirt along the waist of Blake’s jeans and she’s literally never cared less about Mario Kart than she does in that moment. “By literally every account that matters, I totally won that round.”