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defectivevillain · 3 months ago

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better the devil

pairing: Stu Macher/transmasc! reader

the reader is transmasc and is referred to with he/him pronouns. otherwise, race is ambiguous and no physical descriptors are used.

summary: You meet Stu Macher at a party and he takes an interest in you. …If only you knew how dangerous that would be.

word count: 2.6k | ao3 version

warnings: canon-typical blood/gore/murder/violence, unwanted romantic advances (physical proximity, implied flirting) from a side character, and spoilers to Scream 1. There’s also one short moment where the reader thinks he will be misgendered, but he isn’t.

author's notes: I need a Stu/trans!masc reader fic. I NEED IT. So I’m here to deliver. Because sometimes you have to be the change you want to see in the world.

Three things: 1) just like many other shorts in this Spooktober series, the pacing of this fic will be a bit fast; 2) we’re going to pretend Stu isn’t dating Tatum; and 3) this is not canon compliant, but it still has spoilers.

The title of this fic is from Better the Devil by Z Berg. It's from Strange Darling.

You’re lost in your thoughts as you head down the hall of this unfamiliar house, weaving around people in an attempt to find some more space. You’re too distracted to notice the guy with short blond hair heading in the same direction, until you’re bumping into him.

“Oh, my bad,” he says, steadying you with a hand on your shoulder. “Sorry, dude.” He’s looking past your shoulder, as if preoccupied with something. You apologize too and he looks at you upon hearing your voice. You instinctively wait for a flustered apology (“I’m sorry, I thought you were-”). But instead, he’s just staring at you. It’s a bit unnerving.

After a few seconds, you decide to keep walking. At least, you try—but the guy is soon blocking your path. He’s pretty tall. “Hey, where are you going?” He asks, slinging an arm around your shoulder. You immediately get the sense that this guy isn’t trying to be invasive—he’s just a bit brazen. It’s a friendly gesture. “Running away so fast… you scared or something?” A hint of a lopsided smile rises on his face.

“No,” you frown, shoving your hands in your pockets.

“Good!” He grins. It’s an endearing sight, and you immediately chastise yourself for thinking so. “Say, what’s your name? You look familiar.” With that remark, you realize he looks familiar too. You introduce yourself and recognition passes over his face. “Oh, shit, we have math together.”

“Oh,” you remark, suddenly able to make the connection. “You’re… Stu?”

“The one and only,” he responds. “So, where are you off to in such a hurry?” He asks, raising a brow.

You just shrug, glancing at the staircase. Stu follows your eyes, noticing your brief lapse in attention. “I wouldn’t go upstairs if I were you,” he says, his eyes glittering with amusement. “Billy and Sid are gonna be up there soon. Could get loud.” There’s a playful grin on his face. Stu’s arm is still around your shoulders and his grip tightens for a fraction of a second.

The insinuation he just made is not lost on you, and you can’t quite hide a grimace at the thought. Stu just laughs. “You like horror movies?”

You nod and he brightens, leading you towards the living room and onto the couch, where a group is watching Halloween. You opt to sit on one end on the couch, trying to take up less space and enforcing some distance between you and these strangers. Stu settles on a chair behind the couch, but over the course of the movie, he taps the girl next to you on the shoulder and she moves. Then Stu is jumping over the back of the couch and sidling up next to you. He’s almost close enough to be touching you, and as the movie continues, your shoulders start to brush up against each other’s.

It’s hard to focus on the movie with Stu next to you. Not only is the proximity making you nervous, but Stu is also pretty restless. He’s almost always moving: constantly fidgeting and tapping his fingers or his foot; whispering under his breath. And as if you don’t have enough to be nervous about, a random girl decides the armrest mere inches from you is a viable place to sit. Now you’re sandwiched between this stranger and Stu, and the girl keeps glancing at you unsubtly. You don’t know what to do, especially when you notice that she seems to be drifting closer and closer to you. At some point, she’s going to be in your lap. The thought makes you move closer to Stu, attempting to put more distance between you and the stranger.

Stu’s attention is taken from the movie and he looks over at you, comprehension evidently dawning on him as he sees the girl leaning towards you. Stu’s emotional intelligence is clearly high, as he immediately senses you’re uncomfortable and gets to his feet.

“We’re going to the kitchen,” he says, tugging you up with him before you can object. “You can sit here, Sarah.” He says innocently, turning his back and heading for the kitchen. You follow after him, relieved to have an escape from that awkward situation.

Stu looks through the fridge and grabs a beer, before taking a big sip and looking over at you. “What’s up with you?” He asks after a few seconds of silence. “Sarah was totally flirting with you. Couldn’t take her eyes off of you. But you just sat there like a fuckin’ statue.” Stu is looking at you expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

You look down into your cup, feeling the need to avoid eye contact. “I wasn’t interested.” You murmur. “Besides, I don’t know her.” The excuse even sounds flimsy to you; Stu just raises his eyebrows, a smile on his face. It looks slightly strained.

“Half the guys here would kill to have her attention,” he says, looking out into the other room. A strangely dark expression flickers across his face—so quickly you’re sure you imagined it. Then Stu’s shrugs. “She seemed pretty desperate, though.” He finishes.

You nod in agreement, grateful to be spared from any further discussion on the matter. “We’ll find someone for ya,” Stu says with a grin, stepping over so he’s standing at your side and staring out into the living room. “We’ve got all night.”

You’re not sure why he’s doing any of this. From what you’ve heard, Stu is a pretty popular guy. He shouldn’t even be interested in speaking to you or knowing your name—let alone your romantic prospects. Why is he still entertaining all of this? Hell, you would’ve been less surprised if he shoved you to the ground after you bumped into him earlier. Yet he was nothing but kind to you, and he continues to act as if you’re actually worth talking to. You don’t understand it.

When Stu leaves to get some more beers—with a cheeky “I’ll be right back…!” and a fake gasp—you only have more time to contemplate that notion. Stu’s never shown particular interest in you before, but then again, you’d never spoken until today. You sit near the back of the classroom, on the opposite side as him. You don’t talk much during that class either, so there would really be no reason for him to notice you.

You must be zoned out for a while, because your thoughts are only broken off with the realization that all the partygoers are leaving. You blink and watch as they all whisper amongst themselves and exchange worried glances, before filtering out of the house and leaving you standing alone in the kitchen. Frowning, you head back into the living room—only to hear a scream that makes your blood run cold. A shiver runs down your spine as you hear a loud commotion outside. Before you can think any better of it, you’re heading outside to see what happened. It doesn't take long for you to find the commotion: Sidney Prescott is standing next to a car with a smashed roof, staring at the garage door of the house.

“Are you okay-?” Your voice dies in your throat as you see the blood splattered across her skin and the sheer horror written all over her face. Sidney points wordlessly at the garage door, where a girl—Tatum, you think— is hanging limply from the pet flap. Bile climbs up your throat and you stare ahead in terrified disbelief, unable to believe your eyes. As foolish as it sounded, you assumed you would be safe at a party—with the sheer amount of people. It seems that wasn’t the case.

Before Sidney and you can begin to comprehend what’s happening, there’s a harsh sound as a knife is dragged along the nearby car. The killer is standing behind you in a mask, and they quickly lurch forwards. Sidney and you run in opposite directions, and the killer races after Sidney.

For a while, you kneel in the bushes outside the front of the house, before summoning the courage to go into the home. You need to call the police, check for any other survivors, and find a weapon. You take slow, light steps as you cautiously walk through the door. The living room is now abandoned, with the movie still playing. Randy or any of the other remaining students are nowhere in sight.

It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, you’re glancing around the corner; the next, you’re just barely dodging a shape hurtling at you. The killer is back. You avoid their attempt at a tackle, and their knife sinks into the hardwood flooring near your head with an audible thunk. You kick at them and they reel backwards momentarily. Taking advantage of the momentary opportunity, you turn and attempt to get to your feet to run away—only for them to grab your ankle and yank you backwards. You twist to the side and the knife goes into the flooring near your side, tearing off some of your skin and wrenching a hiss from your lips.

You can’t dodge the third blow, as the knife hurtles down towards your face. Terrified, you block your face with a hand—and the killer stabs through your palm, exerting a lot of force and attempting to push the knife down into your skull. You grab at their wrist with your free hand and try to shove them off, but they have a distinct advantage in their position. The blade is a breath away from lodging into your temple; it’s pure adrenaline and terror that fight the killer off long enough for them to rip the knife from your hand and attempt to stab you again. You turn around and kick them in the face, scrambling to your feet and racing through the house. You run up the stairs, your heart roaring in your ears as you turn down a hall and duck into a walk-in closet, closing the door behind you quietly and hiding behind a rack of clothing. You’re quick to place a hand over your mouth and attempt to calm your breathing, despite your panic.

You hear the killer head down the hall moments later; you’re not sure how long you wait, stifling your panicked breaths, before creeping out of the closet and descending the stairs. You can hardly turn into the next room before you’re freezing, dread washing over you.

Sarah, the girl from before, is crumpled on the ground in a huge puddle of blood. There’s a stab wound in her chest and… her eyes are gouged out. Your ears are ringing. “She couldn’t take her eyes off of you.” Stu had said. Something ugly settles at the pit of your stomach. You immediately try to back away, only to collide with someone.

You’re hit with déjà vu. A mere few hours ago, you bumped into Stu just like this. And now, you twist around to find the same killer from before, standing behind you and wielding a knife. But his mask isn’t splattered with blood, and you remember your blood spraying all over the killer when he stabbed your hand.

…Are there two of them?

Your horrified thoughts must show on your face, as the killer tilts their head to the side before reaching up to take off their mask. “So,” a far too familiar voice says lightly. The mask rises to reveal Stu staring at you with a twisted grin. You feel like you’re going to throw up. “Guess you figured it out.” Stu looks at the knife in his hand as it catches the light, before pointing it to your neck. You immediately take a step back, only for him to follow with a step forward. This routine continues, until your back is hitting a wall and you’re trapped.

“I gotta say, this is a good look for you,” Stu remarks. He reaches out with a bloodstained hand and you can’t suppress a flinch. This seems to amuse him, as a smile rises on his face and he continues reaching closer. Eventually, his hand cradles your cheek and his thumb drags a bloody smear down your face. Then it pauses right at the corner of your lips. Your breath stutters in his chest at the heat in his gaze, and for a moment he almost seems to press you further into the wall—

Then there’s a grip on the nape of your neck, and you’re yanked off the wall by your shirt collar, shoved to the side and into the kitchen. With the knife still firmly pressed to your throat, you have no choice but to follow along with Stu’s movements. When you enter the kitchen, you lock eyes with a terrified Sidney and your heart breaks. You had hoped she would escape. It seems that wasn’t the case.

What happens after must be a dream sequence. That’s the only way your mind can make sense of it, as Stu and Billy reveal they’ve been working together to get revenge on Sidney for her mother’s role in Billy’s parents’ divorce. They also kidnapped Sidney’s father, intending to frame him for the murders before killing him and making it look like a suicide. Honestly, none of it makes much sense to your pain-addled mind. Your comprehension of their motive is only further stalled by the knife to your throat, and the intense, scrutinizing gaze you’re pinned under.

Billy seems particularly displeased that you’re here, but after some argument with Stu (“You had your fun, now let me have mine!”) the two of them move on. Now, they’re stabbing one another—evidently to make it seem as if they’re victims. Billy stabs Stu rather hard, and Stu’s soon stumbling and breathing hard.

It’s then that Gale Weathers appears. At this point, you’re tapped out—on the verge of falling unconscious. A chase of sorts ensues, where Billy goes after Gale and Sidney goes after Billy. Stu is losing a lot of blood, falling to the ground and pressing a hand to his wound. With everyone distracted, you find Sidney’s father in a closet and free him. When you come down the stairs with him, you find Sidney, Randy (how he survived, you have no clue), and Gale standing over Billy’s dead body. Sidney isn’t fazed when the killer suddenly lurches upwards with renewed life, instead putting a bullet through his temple and ensuring he won’t get back up again.

And… that’s that. Against all odds, you survived… and Sidney did too. You’re still reeling from the fact that Stu was one of the killers, especially after his kindness at the party earlier. That only brings up even more questions as to his motives. If he was going to kill you, why would he bother wasting time with you like that?

Nothing about tonight makes sense, and the others seem to agree. With the police on their way, the survivors are left to wait on the front porch—fighting off exhaustion and pain. The moment you hear ambulance sirens in the distance, your body gives in and you’re passing out.

You wake some time later to find yourself in the hospital. You’re told that you’ll make a full recovery within a few days, with rest and nutrition. Randy, Sidney, and Gail are all fine; but Tatum, Sarah, and several others are dead. Billy Loomis is dead. And… Stu Macher’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

You’ve survived. In the days that follow, your wounds begin to heal. But even as your injuries are patched up, the scars will always remain. And the thought of Stu, out there somewhere and very much alive, haunts you for the years to come.

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stateofsport211 · 6 months ago

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Wimbledon MS Q3: Meet Your Qualifiers (1/2)

Wimbledon qualifying rounds, illustration (📸 CNN)

The condensed version in a Twitter thread can be found here.

After a grueling competition spanning 2 rounds, the Wimbledon Championships' qualifying rounds in Roehampton wrapped up with 16 best-of-five matches playing simultaneously. These qualifiers might be dangerous, but before the draw is made, it is not proper if the qualifiers are yet to be met. Therefore, before freaking out "Who are they and what are they doing to the favorites" yet again, here are some summaries from the last qualification round.

They are written in the order they advance. Beware, this is probably another long read.

Section 3: Zizou Bergs [3] def. Denis Yevseyev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Zizou Bergs' point to 5-1* 15-30, 1st set (left) and to break for the match at 6-2 in the 3rd set (right) (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

One of the most in-form seeds, third seed Zizou Bergs, advanced to the third qualifying round after defeating Omar Jasika and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the latter in the most scenic route possible (6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4). He faced Denis Yevseyev, who stunned 28th seed Titouan Droguet 6-4, 7-6(3) in the second qualifying round, as well as defeating Matteo Martineau in three tight sets. This match turned out to be a masterclass from Z. Bergs, where he scored an almost flawless performance throughout the match.

The third seed began this match with an early break, followed by a running forehand to generate his one-point lead before serving the first-set breadstick (6-1). His dominance continued through the second set as he took it 6-2, and somehow found his way breaking for the match thanks to his forehand winner as D. Yevseyev's balance went completely off, also taking the third set 6-2 to confirm his spot in the main draw.

Section 4: Mark Lajal def. James Duckworth [4] 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Mark Lajal's point to *3-3 40-40 (1st deuce), 1st set (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

One of the notable fast-court/indoor goats, Mark Lajal, despite having a questionable hard-court form back in the first portion of the Asian Challenger swing earlier this year, the Estonian had a decent grass-court season as he made it through the second qualifying rounds of the Surbiton and Nottingham Challengers, but he could not make it to the main draw, somehow finding himself defeating Francesco Passaro and Henrique Rocha in the two qualifying rounds. In contrast, fourth seed James Duckworth had more experience as he qualified for Halle (500) despite the loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.

While this match was expected to be a tough, possible servefest at best, it turned out to come down to several crucial rallies. For instance, after a preceding unforced error, M. Lajal's forehand down-the-line error secured an important deuce before the Estonian broke to 4-3, followed by a consolidation to 5-3. While M. Lajal took the first set 6-4, J. Duckworth took a medical timeout midway, but despite his best efforts to stay competitive, he fell short in the exemplified said moments. As a result, M. Lajal became the first Estonian to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw since Jurgen Zopp became the lucky loser in the Roland Garros 2018, where he was eliminated in the third round against Maximilian Marterer.

Section 7: Quentin Halys def. Beibit Zhukayev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Quentin Halys' point to 3-3* 30-40, 2nd set (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

Quentin Halys might have had a questionable form within the past year, but he tried to salvage it in the Wimbledon qualifying rounds a year after taking a set off Jannik Sinner (in the third round) as he defeated seventh seed Gregoire Barrere 6-3, 6-4 and survived a three-setter against wild card Jay Clarke 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and faced a decent test in Beibit Zhukayev, who stunned Jurij Rodionov 7-6(5), 7-6(7) and 17th seed Hamad Medjedovic 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 in the second qualifying round. Staying aggressive on return while maintaining service game consistency became important in this match, and it proved itself as the match progressed.

After taking the first set 6-3, the Frenchman tried to stay consistent as he was spotted finishing his shots down the line: a forehand one that got B. Zhukayev ran over from his forehand side to minimize the gap, followed by a timely backhand down-the-line winner before he broke due to another unforced error from the unseeded Kazakh. By then, Q. Halys broke to 4-3 and strengthened his position with a service game hold straight away, where he successfully took the second set 6-4 right after, with a similar process from his groundstrokes neutralized B. Zhukayev's usually effective first serve to take the third set 6-4, securing his spot once again in the main draw as a result.

Section 14: Elias Ymer def. Sho Shimabukuro 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-1

Elias Ymer's point to force another deuce at *0-0, 2nd set (left) and to set up his set point to 5-3* 15-40, also in the 2nd set (right) (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Despite struggling to find his form back, Elias Ymer started to rebuild his form by reaching the Oeiras 4 Challenger final back on clay (l. Jaime Faria) and has tried to maintain his form since. He defeated Lukas Neumayer in straight sets in the first two qualifying rounds before fighting thick and thin to defeat Marco Trungelliti 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 in an entertaining encounter. E. Ymer then faced Sho Shimabukuro, who also made the cut last year and notably made it to the second round of the Surbiton Challenger (l. Leandro Riedi), as well as having a competitive first-round exit against Cameron Norrie in the Nottingham (grass) Challenger as a qualifier before stunning 14th seed Jozef Kovalik and recent Sassuolo Challenger champion Jesper de Jong in both qualifying rounds.

E. Ymer initially had a neat start to the match as he brought S. Shimabukuro to the tie-breaker, ultimately taking the first set 7-6(4) despite starting the tie-breaker in an unideal manner (with a double fault), recovering the mini-break deficit through his groundstrokes (mostly through his forehand side) before setting up the mini-break through S. Shimabukuro's forehand mishit. The Swede had not looked back since, taking the first set 7-6(5) before scoring a backhand down-the-line winner to force another deuce before breaking early to 1-0 to start the second set. Eventually, E. Ymer outhit S. Shimabukuro through his occasional slices in between his forehands, breaking for the second set 6-3 before dominating the third set that ended with a breadstick (6-1) to secure his third Wimbledon main draw qualification after 2015 & 2022.

Section 10: Alejandro Moro Canas def. Damir Dzumhur 7-6(6), 6-4, 0-1 ret.

Alejandro Moro Canas' point to create his break points in the first game of the second set, with the earlier (left) and the later (right) attempts (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Alejandro Moro Canas started to prove himself to be an all-around player (outside of his usual clay and occasionally hard-court prowess), continuing his form after winning the Rome (Italy) Challenger during the clay season, followed by qualifying for the main draw of Roland Garros (d. Mattia Bellucci). For the Challenger-level grass season, he made it as far as the second qualifying round of the Ilkley Challenger (l. M. Tomas Barrios Vera) before stunning Joao Fonseca 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(10) in a topsy-turvy match, followed by 29th Matteo Gigante 7-5, 6-2 in the first two qualifying rounds. On the other hand, 10th seed Damir Dzumhur defeated Tristan Schoolkate and Nick Hardt to make it to the third qualifying round despite his first-round loss to Joris de Loore back in Ilkley.

However, the likely physical first two sets already took a toll on the 10th seed throughout the match. A. Moro Canas then successfully took the first set 7-6(5) despite being comebacked when he should have served for the first set at 5-3, ultimately mini-breaking for the set thanks to his timely forehand winner. A working volley to Dzumhur's drop shot also secured A. Moro Canas' earlier break point to start the second set, but even though it was foiled, the Spaniard created another one through a forehand winner, which was successfully converted, and he had not looked back since. There was several close-call-related chaos midway, but the physicality of this game prompted Dzumhur to retire despite holding the first game to start the third set (1-0), sending A. Moro Canas to another Grand Slam main draw appearance.

Section 6: Lucas Pouille def. Luca van Assche [6] 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-2

Lucas Pouille's point to *5-2 40-40 (break point save) in the third set as he served for the match (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

Despite some questions surrounding his comeback and inability to catch a break, Lucas Pouille got himself together in this year's Wimbledon qualification rounds and convincingly defeated British sensation Jack Pinnington Jones 6-0, 6-3 in the first qualifying rounds before stunning Jiri Vesely 7-6(6), 6-2 in a classic encounter. The third qualifying round became an all-French generational battle as he faced sixth seed Luca van Assche, who defeated both Jules Marie and Li Tu in three sets, with the third set being brought into a (match) tie-breaker.

This match turned out to test their range consistency, which became evident toward the end of the match.

Section 12: Cristian Garin [12] def. Timofey Skatov 6-2, 7-5, 6-3

Cristian Garin's point to break 4-2 in the 1st set (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

Having to miss last year's Wimbledon due to his injuries, 12th seed and 2022 quarterfinalist Cristian Garin was determined to be back on track despite his questionable form throughout the past few years. Here, he defeated Enzo Couacaud 7-6(5), 7-5 in the first qualifying round before defeating M. Tomas Barrios Vera 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in an all-Chilean battle, facing Timofey Skatov in the final qualifying round as the latter defeated Andrea Pellegrino 6-3, 6-3 and stunned 26th seed Lukas Klein 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in the first two qualifying rounds.

Somehow, although this match was thought to be slightly more competitive, C. Garin turned out to dominate from his forehand side as he capitalized on T. Skatov's previous second-serve errors, utilizing his cross-court forehand to break 4-2 before he held his serves to 5-2. The Chilean ultimately broke for the first set 6-2, and even though T. Skatov tried to raise his level in the second set, C. Garin cleaned up his act to finally take the second set 7-5 and continued his form as he took the third set 6-3 to secure his main draw qualification round for another occasion.

Section 1: Maxime Janvier def. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard [1] 6-7(10), 7-5, 7-6(4), 7-6(5)

Maxime Janvier's points to 6-6(6-4, first set point save) in the first set and to *4-2 40-ad to create a break point in the second set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

After his Stuttgart (250) and Queen's Club (500) breakthrough, both eliminated in the first and second round as a qualifier, respectively, first seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard carried on his breakthrough season with straight-set victories over Ugo Blanchet and Antoine Escoffier. Somehow, he found himself facing another, more experienced Frenchman in Maxime Janvier, who defeated Yu-Hsiou Hsu 7-5, 6-3 and knocked out 30th seed Emilio Nava 7-6(1), 6-3 to secure the third qualifying round appearance.

Interestingly, this match became another rollercoaster coming down to Gio's second serves and some follow-up returns. M. Janvier tried to exert more pressure through his passes to prolong the first set even if the first seed took it 7-6(10), but the former managed to come back from 1-4 down in the second set as he brought Gio off-balance thanks to his slightly deep returns, passing the latter through his forehand (and a forehand return ace beforehand) before breaking back to 4-3 several games later. Ultimately, frequent double faults and a forehand error resulted in M. Janvier taking the second set 7-5, and he started nailing these moments for the next two sets, nailing the thinnest margins as he took the third set 7-6(4) due to Gio's failed drop shot, and generating his match point through the first seed's +1 backhand error before finally taking the whole match, securing his maiden Grand Slam-level qualification for the main draw after receiving a wild card to compete in Roland Garros' first rounds between 2018-2020.

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