#performance check

Living alone in a mansion on a hill may seem lonely to some but for Lux, its peaceful. Opening their phone to see all the hearts and comments from their Luxies. Nothing could bring them more joy. Or so they thought. Lux notices it mid-way through their Monday evening live stream, right after a stunning transition into their new minimalist kitchen set. The view count was low. Lower than usual.

Not drastically, that would never happen to them, but enough for a chill to settle behind their sharp cheekbones and beneath their expertly-highlighted skin. 

“Okay, okay,” Lux smiles to their camera, brushing a glowing hand over their platinum hair and smirking like the world still revolves around them—because obviously it should. “So maybe half my Luxies are asleep or being terribly disloyal tonight. Spill. What’s the buzz, babes?”

Chat floods with excited messages.

“Lol they ditched your for a nerd dw lux im a real fan”

“Chance is live!! He’s doing a new worldbuilding stream!”

“Have you seen his latest GM tips video??”

“Lux, you and Chance would be ICONIC together omggg.”

“u just made me catch myself triple screening..y i got both lives up and my switch…”

Lux stares. Then sneers. The name “Chance” rolls around their mouth like something fizzy and sour.

“Chance,” Lux says flatly, “Bitch who?”

On the other side of the internet, Chance adjusts his glasses and holds up a handcrafted battle map. His fingers are paint-stained. His smile is crooked and genuine.

“So when i think about pacing,” he says, enthusiastic and completely unaware that he’s just triggered an ego-driven spiral in an influencer diva, “I always like to imagine what my players’ emotional hit points are. Like, if I hit them too hard, are they still having fun?”

Chat explodes in heats and admiration.

“You’re the best, Chance!!”

“Omg wait he’s so fine…”

“Joined late omg there’s so many people!”

“I WAS HERE FIRST CHAT”

“Everyone calm down theres not enough mods lol”

“Do you think Lux would ever play GnG with you??”

Chance flushes pink and laughs. “Oh man... 50k viewers!? Hey there guys! I hope I'm not stealing you away from something important.” He chuckles awkwardly. “Maybe I should post, like a QnA or something? Is that what big influncers do?” Chance smiles happily. “Properly introduce myself properly to my future party members? I hope you all stick around!”

Lux sees the vod the next morning.  They’re sipping an oak milk latte, wrapped in a robe that costs more than a small car, sunglasses on indoors.

Upfrontly calling them out? Pretending to be sweet? Acting like he’s soooo high and mighty and humble?

“‘UptoChance20’ huh? I see how it is,” Lux mutters, and opens their laptop with a manicured flick. “I won’t take this. He’s not stealing my Luxies away that easily. If its GnG they want its GnG they’ll get.”

The first GnG video Lux posts is titled “Rolling Dice, Rolling Eyes”. It’s half-sincere, half-parody. They wear a sequined robe, the dice are acrylic diamonds, and they only vaguely understand what AC means.

It gets a million views in three hours.

The next day on Lux’s alt account, a glow of four ring lights reflects in Lux’s narrowed eyes. They’re sprawled dramatically across a leather couch. A laptop sits propped up on a marble coffee table, and on the screen: Chance’s livestream.

He’s mid-sentence, grinning at the camera, arms waving like a car inflatable air dancer tube man.

“–alking about GnG! That’s wild, right?”

Lux’s jaw clenches. They sip their drink with the violence of someone trying not to throw it.

“I’ve seen some of their stuff and holy crit! Their production value, their branding? Their ability to monologue like a villain with a skincare routine? Inspirational. I have to be honest travelers, I’ve used some of Lux’s videos for inspiration sometimes heh!”

Lux nearly chokes.

“Like, yeah, okay, they don’t know what AC means yet, but the commitment? The drama? That’s the heart of a great player right there.”

“Heart of a clout-chasing saboteur,” Lux hisses under their breath.

“Honestly, it means so much that someone with that much reach is getting into the hobby. They could open so many doors for people who never thought GnG was for them, you know? Like, if Lux is playing, it’s officially cool.”

Lux throws a throw pillow at the couch across from them.

“He is so fake,” they growl, rewinding the stream just to watch the smile Chance gives when he says their name. “That ‘I’m just a little nerd’ act? Please. I see you, Dice Boy. You’re just trying to bait me into giving you more attention.”

They pause.

“…Which I am doing,” they mutter, eyes twitching. “WHATEVER.”

Onscreen, Chance laughs again, all sunshine and glasses slipping down his nose. It’s disgusting to Lux. 

“Honestly, Lux, if you’re watching this—uh, hi—thank you. Seriously. You’ve made my entire week.”

Lux freezes. “I hate you,” they whisper, very quietly, to no one. “Evil. Evil little man on my screen you’re going DOWN.” They tap the screen with force.

The chat continues flying by on Chance’s stream, filled with:

“Lux and Chance collab WHEN??”

“Chance is in OBSESSED omg”

“Imagine Lux as a chaotic sorcerer”

“Yall they live in the same city it might be possible”

“You guys are crazy, there's no way. They’re way out of my league. I mean, have you seen their lighting setup? And their whole face?” Chance’s face fade into a soft pink while talking, “I wouldn't even know how to talk to them without rolling for charisma first.”

Lux slams the laptop shut.

“Fine,” they say, standing with the gravitas of a soap opera villain mid-reveal. “You want drama, Dice Boy? I’ll give you…dramaAAa. Let’s see how genuine you are when the lights hit you.”

They storm off toward their filming room, their stomps thundering through the sound proofed walls.

Over the next two weeks, it becomes a thing.

Lux posts increasingly draaAmatic GnG content. Sketches. Monologues. A full video titled “Why Wizards are Basically Influencers”. Their Luxies eat it up. So does Chance, who, blissfully unaware of Lux’s internal rage spiral, keeps commenting with helpful, earnest suggestions. For example, the most recent one:

“This was hilarious! If you ever wanna try a one-shot, I’d love to run a game for you!! =D”

Lux reads it. Several times. Then sends a DM:

"Collab. In person. Let’s see if you’re as charming as you think you are, dice boy."

They meet in the biggest, most popular coffee shop in the city. The owner, with her earnest generosity and Lux’s ceaseless pleading, has allowed them one whole section of the floor to dedicate to this livestream.

Lux walks in first, dramatic and glowing, wearing a mesh shirt and enough highlighter to power a lighthouse. They expect Chance to be smug. Smirking. Maybe holding a ring light.

Instead, Chance nearly knocks over a cup of tea standing up too fast.

“H-hi!” he says, a little too loud. “You look—wow. That’s, uh. Is that a wizard robe but like, couter?”

Lux blinks. “Couture…” They look him up and down. “…It’s Balenglacas,” they say automatically.

Chance nods, eyes wide. “I thought so. I mean, obviously. Sorry. I’m just—really honored to be doing this with you. Like, I’ve been really getting into your content recently. You're just so funny and such a positive person, I’m beyond happy that someone like you is leaning into GnG.”

Lux stares.

There is no sarcasm. No smugness. Just this endearingly sincere, lanky guy with a bag of dice and the warmest smile Lux has seen since their Luxies started stanning someone else.

“…Right,” Lux mutters, suddenly feeling a little hot. “Well. Let’s get this over with or something”

They play a one-shot. Lux is dramatic, over-the-top, ridiculous, and Chance is quick to enable all of their intense and fame driven actions to their full potential. 

He builds the world around their nonsense. Gives them spotlight after spotlight. Laughs at their jokes. Gasps at their villain monologues. Lux finds themselves genuinely having fun. In fact, they haven’t had that much fun in a long time.

Somewhere in the second hour, Chance adjusts his glasses and asks, with genuine awe, “Lux…have you been…improvising your entire backstory on the spot?”

Lux smirks, but there’s a blush on their cheeks now. “Of course I am. I’m brilliant.”

Chance grins. “Yeah. You really are.”

Uh oh.

After the session and livestream ends, Lux leans on the table, voice quieter than usual.

“So… you weren’t mocking me. With the comments. The videos. The compliments.”

Chance blinks. “Mocking you? No! Why would I…? Oh.” Realization dawns. “You thought I was…? Oh no. Oh man… I just… I mean, you’re you. And I’m—me. I just thought it was really awesome that someone like you even noticed what I do.”

Lux is quiet for a second. Then: “You’re such a nerd.”

Chance smiles, sheepish. “Yeah. Kind of my whole brand.”

Lux laughs—genuinely, for once.

They look at Chance. His dark hair and crooked smile and the way he fiddles with a D20 when he’s nervous. And for the first time, they think maybe being worshipped is nice—but being seen?

The stream starts with a sparkle.

Literally.

Lux’s overlay is a shimmering gold frame with animated twinkles that flare in sync with their voice. They’re perched on their couch, all highlight and glitter. Beside them, Chance sits slightly off-center, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly and fiddling with the string of his hoodie.

“Hayyyy Luxies!” Lux beams, resting a manicured hand delicately on their heart like they just accepted an Oscar. “Welcome back, babes. And double welcome to a very special stream. As you can see, I’ve generously allowed a guest into the spotlight tonight.”

They tilt their head ever-so-slightly toward Chance—who gives a sheepish wave. He’s wearing his favorite hoodie, sleeves pulled halfway over his hands, and a single gold star sticker on his neck. Unbeknownst to viewers (but very known to the two of them), it’s discreetly covering a hickey Lux gave him.

“Hi! I’m Chance. Uh—well, I’ve been here before, so I guess I’m still Chance? In case you… forgot?” He chuckles awkwardly, eyes flicking to chat.

Lux turns to him with a smirk sharp enough to crit. Their glowing fingers drape casually over his shoulders, a pose so practiced it should be illegal. The D20 earrings dangling from their ears catch the light, as do the matching ones Chance wears.

“Sweetie, no one could forget you. Especially when you're accessorized to match me.” They wink at the camera like they invented it. “But today is super special. Today we’re doing a ‘Boyfriend tag’! ” They clasped their hands together. “Well ig ‘partner tag’ but this trend was invented before me!”

Chance laughs, more relaxed now. “Hopefully we’re able to answer these questions well enough for you guys! Let's see if our romance is rolling nat 20s or… a critical fail.” He presses his hands together, drumming his fingers together deviously. 

They glance at the chat.

'hi guys!!'

'OMG THEY’RE SITTING SO CLOSE'

'Lmao bc they’re dating??'

'Chance looks so nervous calm down king'

'WAIT ARE THEY MATCHING EARRINGS???'

'D20 earrings… i’m SCREAMING.'

Lux clicks into the first question with a dramatic flourish of one ringed finger.

“Okay,” Lux purrs. “First one: ‘What’s your favorite color?’ 

“Oh yeah I know this one,” Chance says quickly. 

Lux scoffs,“Yeah duh! Mine’s easy.”

“Gold, right?”

“Obviously. Or champagne. Or like… platinum with a hint of gold undertones, if I’m feeling humble.” Lux leans back in their cushions casually.

Chance squints. “Those all sound like… gold?”

“Oh baby.” Lux smirks. “You’re adorable but tragically unsparkly. So naive.”

“I know this stuff! I have to describe colors all the time!” Chance protests, laughing. “What about me, huh?”

Lux blinks. For a moment, their expression blanks, before they recover with suspicious smoothness. “Clearly… maroon. Or wait—do you even have one? Are you like, a beige mom?”

“Red,” Chance says proudly. “My dice are gold and red though. I guess it was fate, huh?”

Lux’s smirk falters for a moment, their face tinted pink, before returning. “Ew. You’re so cute. Disgusting.”

'He has relationship colored DICE'

'they're so disgustingly adorable'

'LUX BLUSHING??? mark your calendars'

“First impressions?” Lux grinned in anticipation. “Oh easy peasy!” Chance grins. “I think I know this?”

“You go first then” Lux crosses one leg over the other.

“...Didn’t you not like me?” Chance asked with a confused look.

Lux gives a knowing smirk. “Oh, I hated you. You know. All that… ‘earnestness.’ All that sincerity . How dare you?!”

“It worked out didn’t it.” Chance leaned over to bump his shoulder with Lux’s.

"Literally dumb luck.” They brushed him off bashfully. “You were scared of me right?”

Chance grins wide, nodding. “I thought you were terrifying and probably an eldritch being pretending to be a human. I was really into it.”

“Eldritch?!” Lux clutches their imaginary pearls.

“In a hot way!” He defended.

Lux nearly snorts. “You’re spending too much time with Ben-hwa.”

'You guys are so cute, i say aiming the gun at my head'

“LOL WHAT IS CHNACE ON ABOUT'

'Not the enemies to lovers…'

“Favorite date?”

They glance at each other.

“Let’s say it at the same time,” Chance suggests.

“Okay, 3, 2, 1—”

“Picnic!”

“Movie night!”

“Really?!” they say in sync.

Chance’s brows lift in suspicion. “You liked the picnic?” 

“Duh! It was soo cute!” They placed their hands on their chest happily. “Luxies, he planned this adorable little picnic by a creek and packed us lunch in little tuperware! It was like living inside a Pinterest board. I was the moment. We were the moment. Like a rom-com but with less budget and natural lighting.”

“I picked you a flower trying to be cute and ended up getting a spider on you.” Chance blinks.

“You did do that, which was absolutely insane, by the way. But I forgave you.”

Chance laughs. “Why do you like that one the most though?”

Lux narrows their eyes. “You really forgot? I’m going to be so mad if you forgot.”

“Forgot what?”

“That was when you first told me you loved me.” Their tone softens, just slightly. Like melted cheese.

Chance flushes red. “Is that why?”

“Anyways!” They clapped their hands together and quickly changed the topic. “You like the movie date?”

“Yeah I loved it, it was so sweet.”

“Yeah but like nothing happened.” They tilted their head.

“Well yeah but I dunno, I just like being around you. Even though we weren't really doing anything in particular.” Chance smiled while speaking, his voice dripping with adoration. “I like you like that, just existing around me.”

“So you don’t like me all of the other times?! Is that what you’re SAYING?”

“Lux really?” He said exasperatedly but his expression was disturbingly happy.

The questions keep coming.

'Biggest fight??' 

'Who’s the better cook?' (which caused some lighthearted arguments)

'Childhood crushes?'

Through it all, Lux’s energy begins to shift.

Their eyes keep flicking to chat. Their laughter shortens. Shoulders tense. The smirk widens a little too much, their tone a bit too polished. 

Chance notices like the good boyfriend he is and intervenes.

“Alright, next one—"

"Wait, is it okay if I pause real quick?” Chance asks, straightening suddenly. “I need to get some water.”

“Oh, of course!” Lux replies quickly, voice unnaturally sweet. “In the meantime, I can keep you guys company—”

“No. You’re getting water with me.”

“I’m literally not thirsty! Actually, I should be the reason everyone else is thirsty!”

“Too bad. You’re still coming.” Chance says sternly, grabbing onto Lux’s hand and helping them up.

Lux blinks, caught off guard. “…Okay guys I guess it’s B-R-B!! Stick around Luxies I’m doing an ad-break!”

Chance leans forward, muting the mic with a practiced flick.

Or… so he thinks.

“Am I like, in trouble or…”

“I know that look,” Chance says quietly, pulling them aside just behind the couch, standing up so their heads were out of frame but their bodies were still seen at the top of the screen.

Lux stiffens. “What look?”

“The one I don't like.” Chance sighs. “We can take a pause if you really need one.”

Lux scoffs. “Oh, please. This is me. All sparkles and sass, the people love it.”

“But do you love it right now?”

Silence. A month ago Chance would have never dared to confront this issue so head on but at this point he was more than familiar with this problem. It was better to catch it and squish it the moment it starts.

Then, softer, quieter than Lux ever is on stream, they murmur: “I’m sorry.”

Chance’s brows knit together, a gentle look on his face. Chance swallows.

“I keep trying but I keep thinking… what if they stop liking me?” Lux says quietly. “What if they see me laugh or my makeup creases or I say something embarrassing, and they go, ‘ugh, no thanks.’ What if the Luxies leave? What if you do?”

Chance blinks, eyes wide behind his glasses.

Lux isn’t done.

“I spent years building this. Every comment, every follow, every post. My worth is tied to a follower count, Chance. And it’s not even real. Half of them are bots. But if people stop watching? What am I even worth without it?”

Chance takes a breath. His own words come out halting. “I… kind of feel the same. Except, like, the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“I keep thinking this isn’t real. Us. That I’m just some… nerd you’re humoring until you remember you’re out of my league. You’re this amazing, talented, successful person and I’m…” He shrugs. “A dice gremlin with bad posture.”

Lux lets out a breathy laugh.

“I’m scared one day you’ll get tired of my rambles. My hyperfixations. Me.” Chance holds their hand tighter, bringing it up to his lips and brushing over their knuckles gently. “I’m scared I’ll mess this up. That I’ll say the wrong thing. That you’ll… hurt me.”

Lux stiffens. “I’m scared I'll hurt you, you’re scared I'll hurt you. Where do we go from there?” They look towards the floor. “I don’t want these gross thoughts and habits taking me away from you.”

“Hey,” Chance says gently. “I’m not going anywhere.” He uses his other hand to softly hold Lux’s cheek.

Their fingers intertwine. “You don’t have to earn love every second.” Chance brings them closer, pulling them into a warm embrace. “Not from me.”

Lux looks at him.

They lean forward, Lux leaning upwards and Chance resting his other arm around their waist, pulling them closer. When their lips meet its soft and honest. Lux has said this before (privately of course) but Chance’s lips were softer than any plush carpet they’ve ever stepped foot on. And the enthusiasm is greatly reciprocated. Chance easily gets lost in Lux’s kisses, to the point where he often loses air from them and gets lightheaded. Worth it in his eyes.

Slowly they pull away, still holding each other. “You hydrated enough?” Lux asked playfully.

“Now I am.” Chance replied. “You sure you’re ok? We can end the stream?”

“I think I’m ok, I’ll let you know.” They said as they pecked his nose. “Thanks lover”

Chance smiled, happy to see them feeling better. “Of course.”

They break apart and move back onto the couch and go to unmute. They both notice it at the same time. Chance freezes. Lux pulls back sharply. The mic and camera are still rolling and probably rolling the entire time. They both turn to look at chat, eyes wide.

Chat, running a mile a minute.

'WE CAN HEAR YOU GUYS' 'IS THIS REAL??' 'THEY LOVE EACH SO MUCH OTHER I’M GONNA SCREAM' 'THIS IS SO VULNERABLE I’M SOBBING' 'I AM LITERALLY A WITNESS TO HISTORY' 'did they KISS..' 'CLIP IT CLIP IT CLIP IT'

Chance and Lux stare in horror.

Lux squeaks. “The mic— you said you muted it— ”

“I DID!! I DID!! ” Chance blurts out, panicked. 

They lunge off-screen in a flurry of limbs, sparkles, and chaos. Stream ends with a squeal, a crash, and the iconic message: 'LuxLuminary has ended the stream.'

The clip of their kiss gets a million views in an 30 minutes.

Their followings double. Fan art floods the tags. Someone makes a “Roll for Love” animatic by midnight.

Chance’s Dicelings now ship “Performance Check.”

Lux, curled on their couch with Chance’s hoodie over their body, muttering into his shoulder, “This is so humiliating.”

Chance laughs. “You say that, but you’re bookmarking the fanart.”

“…Shut up, Dice Boy.”