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Amity was used to hearing weird noises while Luz was gaming. Grunts, yells, screams, all sorts of sounds. She had even come to (very rarely) expect the crashing of a controller hitting the ground if her girlfriend got too upset. So when the room went quiet for too long, Amity began to worry.
It was getting late, the sun had already set on a long day. Amity had a short shift at the library and then was helping at the animal shelter along with Luz for their annual adopt-a-thon. After it ended, they came back to their cozy apartment with dinner and settled in. Luz immediately went to her video game room/home office, while Amity lounged in the living/dining room reading another book she checked out that day.
Usually, Amity would be able to read amongst the sounds of Luz gaming. It was her own unique way to check in on her girlfriend and have an idea of how much time had passed. When it grew quiet, however, Amity found herself putting her book down. She waited for a minute and strained her ears. She could still hear the faint clacking from the controller, but whatever game Luz was playing now had the volume nearly turned off and she was silent. Amity hesitated another moment, unsure if Luz had switched games or was deep in concentration in a campaign. But after hearing the familiar “Victory!” chime without any cheers or groans, Amity immediately got to her feet.
She crossed into the hallway and peeked around the threshold into the room. Luz was seated in her gaming chair, that was normal. But rather than being her animated self, she was silent and had a sad look in her eyes. Her thumbs hovered over the controller, unsure of what to do as the screen returned to the home page. Amity walked in, stepping into her girlfriend’s line of sight. Luz didn't even react. Whatever happened was serious.
“Hey, is everything alright?” Amity laid her hand on Luz’s shoulder, and that seemed to bring her out of whatever haze she was in. She lifted her head, leaning into Amity’s touch.
“Yeah, just… not great teammates that’s all.” Luz shimmied, readjusting in her chair. But Amity could tell it wasn’t that simple. She pulled over the small futon they used as an occasional footrest and sat in front of Luz. She gently took the controller from Luz’s hands and took them in her own. Luz let out a sigh.
“What happened?” Amity looked up at Luz with warm comforting eyes and Luz’s resolve faded.
“Well, just a really bad match… I was trying to improve my skills on a healer I don’t use often and I was doing my best and the team against us had to have been pros or something, you can tell ‘cause a bunch of them had single short names like they always do.” Luz rolled her eyes and let out another sigh. “But anyway, this guy on my team just out of nowhere gets on voice chat and starts yelling at me and the other healer. Saying that we were doing a shitty job and aren’t healing.”
Amity frowned as she listened. It wasn’t uncommon to encounter grumpy players who blamed their teammates for a frustrating game when it wasn’t warranted. She could see Luz tense up as she continued.
“But this guy was… geez I don’t know what he was seeing but he just kept yelling and yelling and swearing and he called us things too…” Luz looked away. “I don’t know what pissed him off but he called us the f-word and the n-word too.”
Amity sat up to wrap her arms around Luz. Situations like this were an unfortunate part of gaming for them. They were all too familiar with players using slurs and swear words while they played, especially if they were using voice chat as well. Amity did what she could to ignore the comments and focus on gaming, but she knew they would get under Luz’s skin. Her girlfriend had a temper, and combined with an incredibly strong sense of justice and fairness, situations like that would often turn into loud shouting matches - thankfully without engaging the offensive player - that required switching games or ending their gaming session early. But it was rare for Luz to go silent like this.
Gently rubbing her thumb against her face, Amity lifted Luz’s chin to kiss her cheek. “You’re a good player and I know you were doing your best at healing and playing the match. That guy is a jerk and you should definitely report him.”
“I know and I did.” Luz nodded, “It just… I’m trying not to let it get to my head. But I hate it when this happens. One guy having a bad time just makes it terrible for everyone else.”
Amity nodded as she rubbed her girlfriend’s back. “I know Luz, and I’m so sorry it happened. Just remember that you are a good person no matter what he says.” Amity pulled her into a long and tight hug. Hopefully her words and her love would help settle Luz’s mind.
“I just keep thinking how miserable he must be to react like that, ya know?” Luz muttered quietly, “Like we’re all doing our best and it's a freaking game, it’s not something to lose your mind over.”
“Exactly, and I’m proud of you for how you handled it.”
“Thanks, it was a crappy matchup anyway, but yeah it wasn’t worth it to let myself get mad at him.” Luz leaned into Amity more, closing her eyes. “Can we head to the room now? I’m done playing for the night.”
“Yes, and you should do something relaxing like watching some videos or going through Pumblr.” Amity kissed her head, helping her girlfriend to her feet. She led Luz into their bedroom and took care of shutting down her Swap.
Tending to the rest of the house for an early night, Amity refreshed their water bottles and stepped back into the bedroom. Luz was in her pjs and under the covers with Ghost and Stringbean cuddling her. She had a faint but genuine smile as she scrolled through her phone. Small moments like these were a blessing to Amity. She knew that Luz struggled with her emotions going wild, so to see her keep her calm was a victory. The jerks of the video game worlds can stay grumpy far away from them and their peace.
Luz started giggling and waved to Amity. “Come here, you need to see this video.” The sounds of a cow mooing drifted over from her phone. Amity shook her head with a smile. She wasn’t sure what strange thing she was going to be shown this time, but as long as her girlfriend moved on and felt better, she’ll gladly enjoy the weird noises.