The living room buzzed with the sound of button mashing, trash talk, and bursts of laughter. Blankets were draped over the couch and chairs, while pillows littered the carpet where most of them sat cross-legged in a big circle. The giant TV lit up everyone’s faces as they battled it out on-screen.

Two Time was hunched forward, gripping their controller like it was a lifeline. “Builderman, stop camping! You’re making this boring!” they complained, while Builderman—shirt sleeves rolled up and a confident smirk on his face—continued to rack up wins without even breaking a sweat.

Chance leaned lazily against the arm of the couch, absolutely destroying Noob in a racing game. “It’s called steering, Noob,” he teased as Noob’s car flew off yet another cliff.

Shedletsky sat in the middle of the floor with a bowl of popcorn, launching kernels at Elliot when he wasn’t eating them. Elliot didn’t even notice at first, too busy loudly accusing 007n7 of “messing with the controls” when his character lost a match.

Taph, tucked into a blanket burrito, gave a rare silent giggle when Dusekkar—dead serious—lost a minigame to Guest 1337, who didn’t even seem to be trying. The veteran guest sat back with his massive arms crossed, calm and collected, like he’d been winning games since before the rest of them knew how to hold a controller.

The night was pure chaos, but it was the best kind—friendly rivalry, ridiculous pranks, and the warm comfort of knowing that, for now, they were all safe inside, just enjoying the game.