Video Game Humiliation: Ending A

When I originally wrote this story years ago, I couldn't decide on what ending I liked best, so I wrote both. For Ending A, read this whole story if you end up rooting for Roberto. If you want to root for Ryan instead, wait for Ending B to be posted soon! Or, read both for all of the ENM content

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Okay, five more minutes until our next round. Again, five more minutes.

I looked up at the scoreboard in the center of the room and saw my username at the top of the list now. This was the biggest collegiate video game tournament of the year and in all of my free time between homework assignments and lectures, I’d been practicing this game, Mortal Kombat. I’d been playing the game since I was a kid, but they’d just relaunched it on a virtual gaming system, and I had to get good at it all over again. This version had modified weapons, and apparently, there were secret combos that weren’t in any manuals- you just had to discover them for yourselves.

I stepped up the staircase at the side of the stage and watched the current match being finished up. Two guys in gaming chairs had all of their focus on the large screen in front of them, as their avatars fought to the death. And after about another minute, the guy on the left pumped his fists in the air- he’d won. He took off his helmet, shook his opponent’s hand, and they walked off stage to fill up at craft services.

Hey, are you Ryan?

I heard my name and turned around to look at one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen. I’m not trying to stereotype here, but most of the time, I wasn’t really trying to flirt with any of my competitors, but this guy was an exception. He looked a few years older than me, and I was transfixed by his dark and beard, and his striking green eyes looking at me through tortoise shell glasses.

I am. Roberto?

That’s what my license tells me. Good luck, man.

He smiled and stuck out his hand, and I melted as I shook it. I was too flustered to keep the conversation going, so I just stood blushing before we walked out to take our seats. I slipped on the controller gloves and helmet, and I saw my avatar standing in front of me, already in his fighting stance. A lot of people here had avatars twice their size that looked nothing like them, but when I designed mine, I tried to stay mostly accurate. I of course made him more muscular, but come on, who wouldn’t? As I turned my head to my right, I saw that Roberto also had a mostly life-like avatar, and I imagined the real version of him in a sleeveless vest.

Fuck, I have to stay focused. I turned my head forward again and starting going all of my best moves and combos in my head. Finally, it was time. On screen, our avatars floated onto screen, and the original narration came through my ears.

Fight!

Immediately, Roberto was launching forward, swinging a sword around in a whirl of action. As he swirled, he leaped into the air, flipped twice, and landed back on the ground. As for me, I was still just standing there in my fighting stance. It was then that I knew I was fucked. He either was trying to just psyche me out at the beginning, or he’d figured out one of those secret combos. As he finally took his first stab at me, I realized it was the latter.

I stepped back, and the tip of his sword grazed the jacket that my avatar was wearing. I’d never seen it happen before, but on screen, my jacket fell open and just disappeared off my body. Assuming it was a glitch, I kept fighting, swinging my nunchaku at him as fast as I could… but he was just too good. He leapt over me, and before I could turn around, his sword again made contact, but he barely gave any health damage. Instead, my shirt fell off my avatar, and I was left bare-chested on screen.

Again, my avatar was more muscular than me, but still, it felt like I was exposed up there. Above my ripped chest, it was still my face on that twenty-foot projector that everyone else in the room could see. Before I could even fight back, his sword was there again, slicing off my pants.

Through my helmet, I could hear laughs and cheers from the crowd as they saw me, I mean my avatar, standing on the platform wearing nothing but a pair of boots and what looked like a loincloth. Not even on the character customization screen had I ever seen a character this exposed in the game. I needed to learn whatever combo Roberto had done at the beginning, but first, I wanted to win.

Author’s Note: I couldn’t decide what ending I wanted, so I’m leaving it up to you to pick. If you’re rooting for the dashing Roberto, choose Ending A after the cut. But if if you want Ryan to make a comeback, then choose Ending B after the cut.

Ending A:

Roberto had retreated back to his side of the screen, and he was taunting me, lunging forward and then stopping so that I’d look silly trying to dodge him for nothing. Whenever I spun around on screen, the edge of my loincloth lifted up, and I wasn’t sure if I was seeing correctly, but it looked like I could see the bottom of my ass peek out every time.

Roberto’s health bar was still at 100%, but mine was already halfway gone. His moves weren’t causing that much damage, but I assumed that once my character got naked, it would be a fatality and game over. I just couldn’t imagine the developers trying to figure out the game mechanics of a dick flopping around on screen. So, I needed to act fast if I wanted to salvage this match.

I retreated back a bit and looted around in my inventory for another weapon, but an earlier match had robbed me of my favorite sword. I pulled out my only other weapon, a short dagger, and knew that it would have to do. I didn’t know if my weapon would cause the same stripping damage as Roberto, but I would have to try.

I pretended to lunge to the left, but then doubled back and swiped my dagger right across Roberto’s chest. As I immediately retreated, I looked at his shirt unbuttoning and then disappearing on screen. His chest was the same even, olive skin tone as his beautiful face, and his meaty pecs were covered in dark chest hair that matched his beard. I tried not to, but I can began to imagine Roberto shirtless in front of me, and I got lost in the fantasy.

Screams from the audience made me stare back at the screen, and I looked in horror at my health bar plummeting. As I’d stood motionless and defenseless on screen, Roberto had dashed forward and stabbed me one final time with his sword.

Fatality!

The bright red word appeared five feel tall on the screen, and I took off my helmet and started to get up. But the screen hadn’t faded away yet. Roberto’s avatar was still moving, and he stepped right behind my avatar. His sword was gone, and he was just using his hands to untie the sides of my loincloth. I was frozen in my seat as I watched the loincloth fall to the ground, leaving my fighter wearing only a pair of boots.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the dick in front of me- some illustrator had drawn everything including pubes that looked weirdly just like mine. I felt so exposed, and instinctively, I moved my hands over my crotch as if that could help my embarrassment. I saw the flashes from the audience as they all took pictures and videos, and I knew that I’d be seeing them online soon.

I had to get out of here, so before anything else happened, I jumped out of my chair and tried to run off stage. Before I even made it a step, I felt my shorts snag on the arm of the chair, and I heard the sounds of fabric ripping. My thin gym shorts were torn off my body, and I was left standing center stage wearing a pair of tighty-whities that I knew must be partly see-through under the bright lights. Everyone kept taking pictures, and I was frozen in the spotlight until the announcer came back on stage and helped me to the side.

Backstage, I grabbed my jacket and tied it around my waist, trying to cover myself a little, but it was too late. I pulled out my phone to see text messages already pouring in.

Huh, fatality indeed…

Ending B will be posted soon!