◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ׁ ˙ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ׁ ˙ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ׁ ˙ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི ◞
— lifetime #38 ( colin ritman x reader ) major char death !!
a/n : bare with me this is my first time posting + made a version w colin’s pov but idk if i like it
summary : colin falls in love with you, but no matter how many times he tries, he loses you in every lifetime.
Timeline #38 - July 14, 1984 at 9:07am
I walked into the office, the faint sound of pens tapping and keyboards clicking the only thing filling the silent atmosphere.
Holding a bag over my shoulder, I scan the room to look for the supervisor. Thakur, his name, was it? He approaches me.
He speaks cheerfully, “New hire, yeah? Y/N? Nice to meet you, I’m Mohan Thakur.”
“Welcome to tuckersoft, we’re all pretty uh, unorthodox here, you’ll fit right in.”
I smile politely, trying to be nice while having no idea what to expect from an office full of guys who’re all stuck in their minds.
He jerks his head over to the other side of the office as he speaks up. “Let’s get you settled in. You’ll be next to Colin Ritman. He’s one of our brilliant minds, a bit quirky, but you’ll get used to him.” He says.
I give him a silent nod as I make my way to approach the desk, the man is too delved in his monitor to even realize I’m approaching him.
After standing there for a while, in silence, I speak up. “Hi, sorry, I’m Y/N, the new hire.”
The man- Colin, doesn’t look away from his monitor as his finger taps on the desk.
“Doesn’t matter, none of it does.” He mutters under his breath, barely audible. I didn’t understand and I didn’t really want to.
Still, I take a step closer, “Sorry, what was that?” I ask, looking at him.
He looks up at me, smiling unusually, but for a second, there’s a split moment wherein I can see some sort of recognition in his gaze, which was odd. I’ve never seen him before, at least I didn’t think so.
He swivels his chair slightly to turn over to me, taking the cigar out of his lips as he extends his arm for me. “I’m Colin, yeah?”
I swallow, nodding, “Yeah, Y/N, game design.” I say, taking a peek at his computer monitor “Looks intense.”
He smiles cryptically, his gaze following mine at the computer. ‘BANDERSNATCH’
“It is, but it doesn’t really matter. Every choice leads to the same end, you’ll see soon enough.” He says, grinning.
I raise my eyebrow, intrigued by the concept, It was odd. “Well maybe I like a good challenge, let me see.”
He moved over slightly, giving me enough space to stand next to him as I looked down at his glowing monitor.
“It’s more than just a game, really. It gives you the illusion of free will, when in reality, all the choices lead you to the same ending. Ever feel like you’re repeating things? like you’ve done it before?”
I was left a bit unsure on how to respond, I was expecting normal first-day small talk.
“Isn’t that what making games is kinda like? trying out different outcomes and seeing what works.” I say.
“Maybe.” He says, taking a drag of his cigarette as he speaks back up. “Or maybe it’s something else we’re stuck in, some game we don’t realize we’re in.”
I smile, letting out a soft chuckle. This guy really was a quirky one.
“Lucky for you, I’m good at solving patterns. Maybe I could help you break the loop.” I say, smiling softly.
His eyes narrow, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he nods.
“I wouldn’t count on it.” He says after a long exhale, looking up at me.
After a brief pause, I speak up. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, then.” I say, giving him a polite nod as I make my way to my cubicle.
Timeline #38 - July 21, 1984 at 10:36pm
It’s late, and most of the office is empty. only him and I are left, working on our respective projects. The office’s dimly lit and the only sound is the faint hum of the computer fans.
“I swear some of these games are puzzles designed to make you lose your mind.” I say, stretching back as I yawn.
Colin looks over at me, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“That’s the point. Life’s a puzzle too, the more you try to solve it, the deeper you fall into the hole.” He says.
I raise an eyebrow at him, intrigued but by this point, used to his behavior.
“Is that why you’re so — existential all the time? you think we’re in some unsolvable game?” I ask.
He pauses, looking at me as if he had something serious to say.
“What if I told you, you’ve said that before?” He questions.
I chuckle. “Déjà vu? Happens to the best of us.” I say, not taking him seriously.
His smile fades, and for a second, it doesn’t feel like a joke anymore. “No, not déjà vu. We’ve had this conversation before, 37 times. In different timelines.” He says.
I lean back in my chair, confused. “Okay, now you’re just messing with me.”
He leans back, pulling away as he returns to his project. “Forget it, you wouldn’t believe me anyways.” He sighs.
Timeline #38 - July 27, 1984 at 1:47am
Walking down the empty streets of London at night, discussing our game mechanics and creative ideas.
“You know, I think you’re over complicating it. Not every choice has to lead to some dark spiral.” I say, nodding.
“In your game, maybe, but not in mine. No matter what I do, it’ll always end the same.” He says.
I smile at that, despite his serious demeanor.
Timeline #38 - Aug 2, 1984 at 11:27pm
Tapping my pencil on the desk, I start to notice Colin’s behavior. He seemed nervous, waiting for something. Maybe he was just on something, eitherway I was concerned.
“You’ve been acting weird, is everything alright, Colin?” I ask, growing worried.
He stiffens, speaking in a serious tone. “No, no it’s not.” He shakes his head.
“There’s something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure you’ll believe me.” He says.
“Colin, what’s wrong?” I ask, scared.
He doesn’t look at me, but he speaks up. “We’re living in a simulation. And I’ve lived through this moment, through us, over and over again. Every time, I meet you. Every time, I lose you somehow.” He says.
What was he talking about? He can’t be serious. I was trying to process his words, trying to laugh it off, but his desperation made it seem as if it wasn’t a joke anymore.
“Colin, I-“ Before I can speak, something happens, a glitch of sorts.
There’s a flicker in the lighting, in the computers around us. His eyes widen.
“No, no, not yet. Not again.” He says, at this point, he was scaring me.
When the glitch grew worse, the numbers in the walls started growing more visible. He pulled me by my wrists, bringing me closer.
“Listen to me. When this resets, you won’t remember any of this. But I will. I’ll find you again. I always do.” He says, leaving me nothing but confused.
“Colin, wh- what’re you talking about?” I ask, frantically wanting to understand him.
The room begins to destabilize, pixels and light warping around us as the room starts to collapse. His grip tightens.
“I love you, I’m sorry, I wish you could remember, I wish I could save you.” He says, but when I try to respond, things start fading away.
I try to pull away, feeling nothing but fear and confusion as everything around us begins to fade into white noise.
Timeline #39 - July 14, 1984 at 9:07am
I walked into the office, the faint sound of pens tapping and keyboards clicking the only thing filling the silent atmosphere.
Holding a bag over my shoulder, I scan the room to look for the supervisor. Thakur, his name, was it? He approaches me.
He speaks cheerfully, “New hire, yeah? Y/N? Nice to meet you, I’m Mohan Thakur.”
“Welcome to tuckersoft, we’re all pretty uh, unorthodox here, you’ll fit right in.”
I smile politely, trying to be nice while having no idea what to expect from an office full of guys who’re all stuck in their minds.
He jerks his head over to the other side of the office as he speaks up. “Let’s get you settled in. You’ll be next to Colin Ritman. He’s one of our brilliant minds, a bit quirky, but you’ll get used to him.” He says.
I give him a silent nod as I make my way to approach the desk, the man is too delved in his monitor to even realize I’m approaching him.
After standing there for a while, in silence, I speak up. “Hi, sorry, I’m Y/N, the new hire.”
He looks at me almost immediately, as if he was expecting me. He doesn’t seem happy.
“Yeah .. I know.” He says.
◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ׁ ˙ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ׁ ˙ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ׁ ˙ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི ◞
ellievsbear
kianamaiart
blakekathryn
gracieabrams
germansingergirl
2087
yousharknotpass
titsay