I’ve gotten to the end of the demo now. I’m trying to stick to just romancing Sam, but it’s so tempting to romance the others as well. Especially G. And of course, the locker room scene being what it is, I had to choose the romantic options in there too I think I might start another save just to romance everyone.
If I was the MC I’d be pretty hurt and angry by Rayyan’s reaction to be honest. I came second in the 5-mile run (beating Rayyan too), got the Devil’s Dozen, won both my challenge matches, took a set off Deepal, and won both my doubles matches. Like I’m not going to be a dead weight. From an out-of-universe perspective I totally get it though. It makes sense for Rayyan to react like that, since they’re both super intense and want to win at all costs.
I think I’m getting a feel for what some of the RO character arcs are going to be - Rayyan’s is learning to be vulnerable and care about other things as much as tennis, G’s is opening up to a more serious relationship despite their time at Cargill being temporary, and Sam’s is figuring out the long-distance angsty friends-to-lovers. I’m not so sure about Tobin’s though.
Lol fair. Hahaha you were the best that you could be, and Rayyan comes along with that
Ohhh absolutely!! Pre-med MCs would certainly be getting themselves into a lot of trouble. Citadel is a great illustration of that brutal life, chef’s kiss
Aquestion… When we are playing the tournaments, will there be any interaction with our MC? I ask why, within what is possible, our MC must be known for having won a national u18 tournament
I am now jumping ships. Rayyan, you were the love of my life ever since I read about you in the RO description page but from now on, I’m going to have to shift from a Rayyan Rider into a Tobin Tapper. But seriously though, his reaction to being paired up with MC is something I find mildly frustrating. Like, my character performed as well as he could: Got a devil’s dozen on his fifth try, is the number 4 seed, won both of his doubles matches and Rayyan’s acting like he just got paired up with someone outside the top 6. I get that he’s like really intense and really competitive but the way he handled that was just so unnecessary. I think maybe he wanted to be partnered up with Tobin or something who is No.2 and like, I get that. Better players, strong. Or maybe he just doesn’t think him and MC would be a good match because of reasons. Whatever, it’s just, he reacted as if being partnered up with MC was like losing to Max on an official match or something. His blowup would have genuinely hurt my sincere MC and I kind of want to have an option to like, react negatively to him as opposed to just brushing it off as if nothing happened.
RIGHT?! A year ago if you had asked me what tennis was, my answer would have been “ping pong but bigger” and now I know what an aggressive baseliner is and what a groundstroke looks like.
Wait, I just thought the 2nd session hadn’t come around time-wise yet. I didn’t get it either. I’ve been looking forward to it, too, becuase I just bet a decent chunk of a romanced G’s photos are of the MC.
If Felix is any indication, Tobin’s is going to be about them learning to let things be less than perfect. Or nothing at all, may we have something stress-free.
It was!
This is extremely, and perhaps insultingly, reductive!
… The balls are also fuzzier.
Maybe you can add it to the LA visit to Sam instead? Sam seems like the type to forget their own combination on a regular basis, which could be why my mc learned the skill in the first place during highschool.
i dont get the hate towards rayyan, the locker scene made me like him even more.
here is a person with passion. someone who has dedication and comittment to his craft. someone who is willing to do anything and everything to see his goals realized. in times where most people I know just drift between “i’m discovering myself” and “i’m just gonna go with the flow” and other excuses to deal with them doing nothing with their lives (I am guilty of this and hate myself for it), here is a person who actually knows what he wants and what he needs to do to get it. its a rarity and tbh I enjoy every second of it.
you could just switch to having tobin as your partner, but where’s the fun in that? wouldn’t it be more fun to prove rayyan wrong? to cut through the competitive tennis field as the undisputed prodigy alongside him? he becomes a legend. you become a legend. its all very satisfying.
he is now my 2nd favorite character the 1st is my slightly homoerotic but completely platonic friendship with sam.
No he doesn’t. For example, Rayyan has absolutely no idea how doubles pairing up works.
I find it immensely fun to not deal with raging assholes, actually. I’m still not switching, because I like Deepal and he doesn’t deserve to have to put up with Rayyan, but still.
I do not care about Rayyan enough to go to the trouble of specifically proving him wrong.
Or I can cut through the competitive tennis field as the undisputed prodigy NOT alongside him, which still leaves me a prodigy, but makes me a prodigy that doesn’t have to put up with an asshole. Maximum victory.
Tobin ALSO does this, and manages to do so while being one of the nicest people ever.
i never understood the phrase “nice guys are boring” until I played this game and met tobin. he is so bland and forgettable when compared to the other tennis characters (rayyan, emerson, max, deepal, etc.).
also tobin absolutely does not have drive or ambition when it comes to tennis, he literally just picked it up one day and just went with it without another thought.
what, are we all supposed to hold hands and sing kumbayah? god forbid someone isnt 100% passive and agreeable.
aside from the doubles scene, I have not got a single sense of “raging asshole” from rayyan. he vibed with me at valentinas. he was impressed during my challenge matches. he invited me for a morning jog (another rayyan W, morning jogs are great). yeah ig there are moments where he’s cocky and competitive but I like that about him because I can also be cocky and competitive so it balances out.
Dude, literally the first thing Rayyan tells you when you get paired for the strength test is that he won’t let you cheat, on the assumption that you WOULD.
@burninglights I almost forgot! Presumably, come Monday, the coaches are going to ask our opinion on the whole shebang, and so I’d like to preemptively request an option on the lines of:
“‘I’d prefer Tobin, and so would anyone else, but if you think it’s the best for the team I can suffer through Afiq’, you say with a dismissive shrug.”
(if this or outright asking for Tobin gets you Tobin, also preemptive requesting an ensuing option to apologise to Deepal for saddling him with Afiq)
Also extremely exhausting to deal with Rayyan as a partner for what would likely be two years. I mean if mc does well with Rayyan coach probably isn’t going to split them up next year, all well and good but R is still two years ahead of mc and who will the mc get saddled with then? Max is probably too good to not have another stable pairing by then, so it would probably be another difficult pairing with a freshman who really might do what Rayyan is afraid mc will do to them, tank our rating.
Oh shit, Check! Please looks amazing! I’m definitely going to check that out. I dont know much about ice hockey but I read one fanfic set in an ice hockey AU years ago and I’ve not been the same since. Honestly, I’d totally write an ice hockey IF if I had any knowledge of the sport.
And yes sorry… my update schedules have not been the… most efficient
Ahhhh you have impeccable taste
HAHAHA honestly, maybe haggis should make an appearance. I’ve been obsessed with it ever since I experienced the awesomeness that is Burns night in the UK. Haggis was brought out in a silver platter with honest to god HORNS on it and poetry was recited. Couldn’t ask for more.
@ceciliasantana oh gosh what a chaotic passage, thanks for letting me know!
@bouncyball all my love, respect and condolences to you
@Akky42 ooh yes good idea, I definitely might do this again!
Nothing much to add for the arcs for G, Rayyan and Sam for now
As for Tobin–
The only thing I’d add to this is seeing Tobin slowly let themselves be cared for as well (hinted at when Felix said “lol Tobin can take care of themselves”) and also learning to fight for/go for what they want! (Instead of always trying to put other people’s needs and desires first. I’ve wanted to write a scene where MC says “yes but I want to know what you want,” for a long time now.)
Oh, the scene where Felix complains about being a barrista got me thinking about this again:
It is also worth considering for Rayyan, Tobin, Sam and an mc who continues to prove themselves a prodigy.
I mean my mc would like a car of his own.
I was even thinking about having mc use the possibility of a personal sponsorship as a retort to Felix in the vein of if they are so good then maybe they should let the overpriced coffee chain sponsor them instead of working as a barrista.
In legal and political terms I hate that what initially seemed like a good thing that might let the spoils of super lucrative sports leagues get shared more evenly with the players who make them is now being taken into a highly unequal direction again.
I think I might start another save just to romance everyone.
