Sapphire Rose
Hep
- 3,534
- Posts
- 13
- Years
- Age 29
- Coruscant
- Seen yesterday
Won 1st place in SWC during the GT 2024
Disclaimer: Let me preface this that while this story was heavily inspired by the rivalry that was going on in Eevee Arcade during the GT, none of the elements in this story are real. This includes names, backstories, personalities etc. I took inspiration and kept the usernames of the individuals involved in that rivalry the same as they were my inspiration but changed everything else. It's amusing to me that StarStruck did end up beating my scores in Arcade in the end.
I wasn't expecting to place and wrote it literally just for fun //hides
Arcade Club
by Sapphire Rose
Prompt: Competition
Every Friday, once the final bell had rung, the hallways of Obsidian High School filled with chatter and laughter as students poured out of their classrooms, ready to embrace the freedom of the weekend. For Astra and her friends, however, Fridays meant one thing and one thing only: Arcade Club. It was a cozy haven filled with the flashing of colorful lights and the constant rattling of joysticks and buttons—a place of fun, friendly competition, and the thrill of high scores. This was their sanctuary, where the troubles of homework and high school faded away like snow in the hot, burning sun.
Astra, in particular, had been the reigning champion of most of the games for quite some time. Her nickname, Starstruck, sat comfortably at the top of every screen, followed by her friend and clubmate Alex, whose nickname, Lavender, was most often found right underneath hers. There was also Vincent, a true racing prodigy, and Deva, a pro in rhythm games. Together they were an unbeatable team that pushed each other to greater heights, always trying to topple one another to keep their minds and focus sharp. Astra, however, made sure every Friday that it was her name that remained at the top, and thus her name became known throughout the neighborhood as the true queen of the arcades.
But the vibe in the arcade this particular Friday was different; something felt off. As they entered, the usual racket of the crowd seemed more focused and…quiet. They barely noticed the group entering at all and kept staring at the screens, their whispers of awe echoing throughout the room. Only when Alex cleared his throat was there a deafening silence.
"What's going on?" Astra's voice pierced like thunder on a quiet night through the arcade, her brown hair reflecting the different colors of the lights as all attention was immediately on her.
"You may want to see this, Star…" her classmate, part of the crowd, addressed her by her nickname and poked towards the screen.
Astra approached and when she realized what they had been hung up about, her heart skipped a beat.
"SapphireRose…" She read the name now sitting on top of hers on the leaderboards. She rushed towards a different game and checked its screen as well, then another, and another… This SapphireRose was not just a completely new name that appeared but had also toppled her scores across multiple games, leaving a trail of destruction on the highscores behind and bewildered players in their wake.
Alex rushed over as well, leaning over Astra's shoulder to take a peek at what had everyone, including his friend, so quiet.
"Woooooowww! They've got you completely beat!" He laughed in excitement, breaking the tension that had everyone still gasping for air and rubbing through his black curly hair.
Vincent and Deva approached as well, a lot calmer than their rowdy friend was. With the top of his finger Vincent pushed his glasses back in place.
"Our weekend has just gotten a lot more interesting…"
"It's nothing we can't handle," Astra exclaimed. A silent challenge lingered in the air, electrifying the arcade with a sense of excitement and anticipation. She shared determined glances with her friends and gave them a nod. They didn't know who this new name was, but they wouldn't let it bother them. It was time to fight back.
By the end of the evening, as usual on a Friday, Astra had climbed back onto the leaderboards, defeating SapphireRose and leaving them in the dust as the true number one. The Arcade Club returned home satisfied, stopping on the way for pizza to celebrate their hard-earned victory over this new challenger.
With this lingering feeling of gratification, they went through another week of school, returning to the tests and mountains of homework until Friday came around once more.
"Again?! How?!" Alex shouted, running ahead of the group toward one of the machines. He grabbed the machine, almost expecting it to answer.
"Wonders how they got so good," Deva said, trailing behind. "Thinks that they have practised at a different arcade."
"Then all the more reason for us to defeat them," Astra proclaimed determinedly. "We can do it. We are the Arcade Club! We'll show them what happens when they step on our turf!" She reached out her hand toward the center, waiting for the others to join her in their group cheer.
"That's our leader," Vincent smirked as he joined in with his own hand, followed by Deva.
"Heck yeah! We'll show 'em!" shouted the rowdy Alex as he threw his hand in at last. Together, the group threw their hands up for the cheer, the crowd they had once again accumulated shouting along.
"Let's fight!"
The Arcade Club scattered across the floor, each member determined to reclaim their dominance in their favorite games. As the sun dipped below the horizon and the arcade prepared to close its doors, the team clawed their way back into the rankings and claimed victory over their new villain once more. Astra even left a note at one of the machines dedicated to SapphireRose that simply read, "Loud sneeze." Of course, she was referring to the new high score she put down for them to see. The group laughed and celebrated with their traditional pizza feast before returning home with satisfied smiles, ready to face another exhausting week of school before their next showdown.
Astra didn't even notice that she had been tapping her feet all day until Vincent asked her to stop this act of anxiety. After all, there was nothing to worry about for the queen of the arcade. However, as the final bell rang, he was the first to get up. Surprised, the other three looked at him as he awkwardly pressed his glasses further up his nose and let out a quiet cough before slowly sitting back down.
"I suppose I, too, am eager to check whether our scores have remained untouched," he said. The group laughed.
But that joyfulness quickly turned into a scowl as Astra read a note with "Louder sneeze" and saw her high score once again defeated, this time by a score that was difficult to beat even for her.
"Who do they think they are?!" Alex shouted, grabbing the note and tearing it into pieces. "I'll come for them! I won't let them get away with this!" He continued his outburst and trampled the pieces scattered on the floor.
Astra was deep in thought, a troubled expression decorating her sun-kissed face. While she was frustrated with this new development that had been plaguing the Arcade Club for weeks, she couldn't deny that a form of excitement had grown within her. Had she truly and properly found a rival…?
"Wonders what's on your mind." Deva moved closer, examining Astra's face from different angles with their arms behind their back, accidentally tickling her with their long blonde hair. Having successfully grabbed her attention, Astra looked up.
"I think it's time that we challenge them directly. I want to see just who they are." Astra tried her best to keep a straight face but couldn't hide the eager smile forming beneath the surface. Deva sighed with a smile of their own, not at all surprised by the longing of their friend.
Although they couldn't beat the scores of this "SapphireRose" that day, Astra went home feeling no less satisfied. Alex, however, took the defeat a bit more to heart. It was one thing to bruise his own pride, but anyone who dared to challenge Astra's had to go through him first! That's why he secretly left behind an angry smiley on the note Vincent had written for Astra at her request—a direct challenge dedicated to "SapphireRose." It was Astra's hope that they would respond to this challenge. Of course she had noticed the scribble Alex behind and scratched it out.
The challenge overall was pretty clear. Considering this villain seemed highly competitive, Astra decided to let them choose the game. Alex disagreed, saying it was risky, but Astra was confident. She had played every single game in the arcade, after all. How else could she truly redeem her pride than by winning at the game her opponent wanted to play? Besides, she partly wanted this challenge to finally meet their mysterious villain.
It was an exciting week for the Arcade Club—at least for everyone but Alex, who wanted nothing to do with whoever was behind the name "SapphireRose." Astra could hardly concentrate on school, and Friday seemed to take longer to arrive than usual. But it arrived all the same.
As soon as the school bell rang, Astra dashed out, her fellow clubmates and friends close behind, making haste toward the arcade. When they arrived, they encountered a girl not much older than Astra, with long, curly blonde hair and small streaks of pink. She waited at the designated machine, hand on her hip, foot extended confidently. Perhaps impatience had gotten the better of her.
Astra suddenly felt nerves rising to her throat, blocking whatever words she was trying to stammer out.
"Are you alright?" Vincent asked, stepping in front of the girl, who had stopped in her tracks.
"Hm-hm!" was all Astra could manage. She cursed under her breath as her feet refused to move. Alex tried nudging her forward but was met with a disapproving shake of the head from Deva.
The blonde girl turned when she heard the commotion. Upon seeing the group, she approached them, each step as fierce as the gaze she fixed on Astra, yet with a playful glint in her eye.
"Well met. You must be StarStruck, then?" Her voice pierced Astra's eardrums, jolting her back to reality.
"Yes. Y-You must be SapphireRose, then?"
"Yep! That's me!" She clasped her hands together with a smile, mirroring Astra's excitement.
"Shall we get started?" SapphireRose winked and headed toward a machine in the back, gesturing for the group to follow with a glance over her shoulder. "You said I could choose?"
Astra took a deep breath to regain her composure. Was this really the girl she'd been losing to? She didn't seem intimidating at all.
"Yes."
"Then I'd like to choose this one," SapphireRose said, pointing to a machine with neon letters flashing "Beat Saber." Astra nodded, and they each took their positions, preparing the controllers. Just as Astra was about to swipe her card to pay, SapphireRose beat her to it.
"Actually, I have one more question. Don't you think this would be more interesting if we placed bets?" the girl asked, her eyes playfully locked on Astra's.
"What were you thinking?" Astra asked, her competitive spirit returning.
"The loser is no longer allowed back at the arcade!" SapphireRose dramatically declared, placing her hands on her hips and lifting her chin like a true villainess.
"WHAT?!" The Arcade Club members' voices echoed through the room. "That's way too much!" Astra exclaimed. "Why so extreme?!"
"How else will we ensure that we perform at our best?" SapphireRose replied, sticking her tongue out playfully. Vincent leaned closer to Astra.
"Be careful; she may actually be insane," he whispered. Astra considered his words, then locked eyes with her opponent.
"Alright. Deal."
Astra's words prompted another "What?!" from her three friends. As Alex stepped forward to protest, Astra raised a hand to stop him.
"I can take her on. Leave it to me." She gave him a confident smile.
"Oh-oh! I like your spirit. Let's get started then!" SapphireRose posed flamboyantly with her controller, as if channeling a character from a show. "Let's do 3 out of 5!"
Astra nodded, and they both selected their songs. The fifth song would be chosen by whoever reached two wins first. Astra won the first round, but SapphireRose claimed the next two. Her confidence started to waver.
"How are you this good?!" Alex asked, trying to buy time for his friend, whose shoulders had begun to sag. SapphireRose turned around, but her grin was tinged with pain rather than confidence.
"I was sickly as a child and couldn't go outside much, so I spent most of my time playing games—JRPGs, MMOs, survival games, and so on." Her smile never left her lips, but her eyes had a spark Alex hadn't seen before. "As I got better, I discovered arcades. I didn't have any friends growing up, so I spent most of my time here. Beating high scores was my way of communicating with other players."
SapphireRose turned her attention back to the game, determined to win again.
"I know it's a bit pathetic, but I considered them friends." She faced them once more, her radiant smile beaming. "I consider you friends too!"
The group stared at her, blinking as silence filled the air. Alex turned to Vincent.
"You're right; this one is cuckoo."
SapphireRose chuckled. Astra had been silent since the revelation. She blinked a few times before closing her eyes, a small laugh escaping her.
"For your dedication, I won't hold back. I'll meet you with the same ferocity you've shown your other friends." Astra grinned, momentarily forgetting their bet.
"Good! I'd want nothing less!"
It was a fierce battle between them. Despite SapphireRose choosing the fifth song, Astra wasn't deterred. With the score tied 2-2, it all came down to the final round. SapphireRose's exhaustion caught up with her, giving Astra the edge she needed.
"Come on, Astra! You can beat her!" Alex shouted from the sidelines, looking less worried than before. Perhaps he, too, had forgotten the potential consequences.
"Show her why you're our leader!" Vincent spoke louder than usual, intentionally not matching Alex's volume.
"Knows you can do this," Deva clapped.
The Arcade Club's usual crowd cheered for Astra as well. Their confidence in the arcade's number one player helped her secure victory with a mere 20-point lead. A loud cheer erupted throughout the building.
SapphireRose let out a contented sigh, still catching her breath from the intense exercise.
"Congratulations, you beat me at my own game, Miss StarStruck." She wiped sweat from her forehead.
"You weren't bad yourself, SapphireRose." Astra caught her breath and extended a hand in sportsmanship. After all, this was the most fun she'd had in a while.
SapphireRose took her hand and shook it.
"As per our bet, I won't show my face in this arcade again," she said with a smile, though a hint of sadness lingered.
"Oh… right." Astra remembered. She had been having so much fun that she had forgotten their bet. "It would be a shame to lose such a good rival," she whispered under her breath. Would it be shameless to call off the bet?
"May I ask which school you go to? We hadn't seen you until a few weeks ago, yet you claim to have been in arcades long before now." Vincent's question pierced Astra's thoughts, directed at SapphireRose.
"I moved here recently. I'm starting high school next week," she answered.
"Wait, high school? Which one?" Astra asked.
"Obsidian High School."
"What?! That's our school!" Astra's eyes lit up like fireworks. Without a second thought, she clasped SapphireRose's hands. "You MUST join our Arcade Club then!"
SapphireRose blinked at the sudden invitation, her eyes meeting those of Astra's friends.
"Ah, but our bet…" she smiled awkwardly.
"Screw that stupid bet! You don't need those to play your best!" Alex shouted, his opinion of her completely changed.
"Yeah, screw the bet!" Astra echoed Alex's sentiment, the fire in her eyes burning brighter.
"You called us friends, didn't you? Friends stick together." Vincent reminded her, adjusting his glasses.
SapphireRose looked at each of them.
"Very well then!" She beamed, tears sparkling in her emerald eyes. Astra shook her hands energetically, throwing her off balance. Once she regained her footing, she spoke again. "Then as your friend, please call me Elana."
"Welcome to our club, Elana!"
Comment by Author:
I love writing. I really do. Even though I don't post many of the fanfics I create on the forums anymore, I have a whole drive full of DnD and Star Wars fanfics. In fact, my entry for the SWC was originally going to be another Star Wars fanfic, but then the whole rivalry in Eevee Arcade happened, and it gave me the inspiration I needed to write something else entirely.
The biggest challenge, however, was writing something short and new with characters no one knows anything about and somehow fleshing them out during the story without making it too long, uninteresting, or requiring multiple chapters. I meant it when I said that I didn't expect my story to place, let alone take first place.
I've always looked up to my fellow roleplayers in the Roleplay Corner who are able to write interesting stories so well that they're like songs dancing on paper. I've always found their writing engaging as a reader. I'm very proud and happy to have placed first, but damn do I feel an imposter syndrome coming up. ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
Judges Comments:
Bay:
Spelling/Grammar: 9 | Character/Plot/Description: 10 | Relevance: 10
"Having a piece based off the rivalry going on during the Get Together's event sounds like it'll either be wild or actually pretty clever. Yours is the latter as I love the progression of the Arcade Club getting competitive because of SapphireRose dominating their games. And then when they met SapphireRose the first time and lost to Astra, the friends inviting her to their club is very sweet and heartwarming awww. This was a very fun read!"
Bobandbill:
Spelling/Grammar: 9 | Character/Plot/Description: 7 | Relevance: 10
"It was a cute story, and a neat way to use the theme which I think was quite well integrated throughout. It was a nice conclusion to the story as well, although I did somewhat predict it would go that way before the final showdown started, while the bet of 'the loser has to leave forever' seemed rather over the top. I'm not used to having PC users feature in stories like this too, although you did state they were not accurate representations, haha - but it does make for weirder names that feels a bit out of place. Grammar was solid - one minor instance at the end was "Friends stick together." Vincent reminded her," where the full stop should be a comma."
CoolKid575:
Spelling/Grammar: 10 | Character/Plot/Description: 9 | Relevance: 10
"I really like your idea of basing the story around the rivalry that went on in Eevee's Arcade throughout the GT, although it was a bit odd seeing the names of actual PC users, even if you did make it clear that they're not supposed to be accurate representations of their real selves. Outside of that though, the story was great and fit the prompt perfectly, I especially enjoyed the build up to SapphireRose's reveal as her and the group traded high scores back and forth, and her deciding to join the Arcade Club instead of banishing herself from the arcade was a very sweet ending to the story."
Gimmepie:
Spelling/Grammar: 10 | Character/Plot/Description: 8 | Relevance: 10
"I see that the braincell you share with Chura has been thoroughly immersed in slice-of-life anime. This time we get something more like a sports series. Not to be derisive though, of course. In actuality, I actually found myself getting extremely immersed in the story - although the choice of using existing PCers for the usernames of the characters was a bit jarring (even if Eevee's Arcade was your inspiration). I respect casting "yourself" as the villain though.
Like I said, your wriitng here was actually really immersive. Your characters all felt distinct and their passion and investment for the arcade really came across. You did an excellent job on the pacing too.
Also, you do a good Deva impression."
Please read the other entires as well!
"Our Kind" - By Juno (Joint Silver Medalist with Eleanor)
"Caught in the middle" - By Eleanor (Joint Silver Medalist with Juno)
"Finding Your Center" - By Groc
"Letter to my sister" - By Aquacorde
"The Great Race" - By 5qwerty
"The Taste of Triumph" - By Arcaneum
"The Name You Know, But The Story You Don't" - Delta Crowned Sword
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