Chapter 10 — The Yips (Confidence, Collapse & Course Correction)
Ted Mosby believed confidence was something you found in love.
Barney Stinson believed confidence was something you wore like a suit — even if the seams split.
And Ivar Scherbatsky? He believed confidence wasn't volume or bravado. It was repetition — what you could still do when the lights were on, the crowd was watching, and the silence dared you to blink.
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The Victoria's Secret Party
It was the event of the season: the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show After-Party. New York's elite clustered under chandeliers, the air buzzing with perfume, champagne, and camera flashes. The gang had somehow been invited — courtesy of Ivar, who had contacts everywhere in the entertainment world.
Barney, of course, treated it like the Super Bowl.
"This," he declared, adjusting his tie, "is my field of battle. These are my people. Tonight, legends will be written in lipstick."
Robin rolled her eyes. "You're going to strike out so hard, even the Mets will pity you."
"Correction," Yvonne said dryly, "Barney will trip before he even gets to the plate."
"Which," Megan added with a grin, "is still more entertaining than watching the Mets."
Ivar sipped his whiskey, green eyes flicking across the crowd. "Correct. The game isn't won in noise. It's won in execution."
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Barney Loses It
Barney approached the first model like a man walking into destiny. He straightened his tie, flashed his million-dollar grin, opened his mouth…
And nothing came out.
"Hi," the model said politely.
Barney froze. His smile twitched. His throat closed. Then — horror — a squeak escaped, the sound of a dying mouse.
The model blinked, smiled sympathetically, and drifted away.
Barney stood there, shell-shocked, like someone had stolen his language.
At the booth, Robin was doubled over laughing. "Did he just squeak?!"
"Correction," Yvonne said, deadpan. "That was a whimper."
Megan clapped. "Legendary."
Ted frowned. "I think he's having some kind of existential crisis."
Ivar leaned back, calm. "Correct. The legend has met silence."
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The Yips Spiral
The rest of the night was worse. Barney tried again and again, each time collapsing further:
One model asked what he did for work. He stammered, "Business… uh… suit things."
Another asked if he wanted to dance. He tripped over a chair.
A third leaned in to hear him, and he panicked and yelled, "I LIKE PIE!"
By the time they returned to MacLaren's, Barney looked like he'd been in combat. He sat in the booth, staring into the abyss of his beer.
"I've lost it," he whispered. "The yips. I've… lost my mojo."
Robin smirked. "You never had mojo. You had volume."
"Correction," Ivar said calmly. "Confidence isn't a resource. It's a skill. You forgot how to practice."
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The Intervention
The gang tried everything:
Ted gave a pep talk about "remembering your inner architect," which helped no one.
Lily and Marshall role-played scenarios, but Marshall accidentally made it romantic.
Megan tried insulting Barney until he fought back, which actually got a smile.
Yvonne threw a coaster at him. "Correction: if you can't handle rejection, you don't deserve attention."
Barney sulked deeper. "I used to be a god among men."
"Correction," Ivar said, leaning in, voice quiet but cutting. "You were a man who hid behind tricks. Tricks fail. Confidence doesn't. Start over. Practice in silence. Win the small rooms before you demand the big stage."
Barney looked up, eyes narrowing. "You're saying… re-learn how to flirt?"
"No," Ivar said. "Re-learn how to speak."
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The Rebuild
The next night at MacLaren's, Barney forced himself to approach an ordinary woman at the bar — no models, no high stakes.
"Hi," he said. Just "hi." Simple. Human.
She smiled. "Hi."
They talked. It wasn't legendary, but it wasn't catastrophic. Barney walked back to the booth with a grin that was smaller, but real.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Barney announced, "the legend… is in physical therapy."
Megan raised her glass. "Correction: you're still limping, but at least you're moving."
Yvonne smirked. "We'll call it progress."
Robin rolled her eyes but smiled. "Don't push it, Stinson."
Ted laughed, relieved.
And Ivar? He simply nodded once, the way a teacher acknowledges a student who has finally stopped faking.
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Stella's Subplot
Through all this, Stella floated in the background of Ted's life. She was supportive, sweet, but visibly stretched thin with her daughter and her ex creeping back into the picture.
Ted ignored the cracks. Ivar didn't. Watching Barney rebuild his confidence only sharpened Ivar's concern: Ted was about to invest everything in someone who didn't want to be rebuilt.
"Correction," Ivar thought as Barney laughed again, "confidence can be trained. Love cannot."
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Closing Beat
By the end of the night:
Barney had begun clawing back his confidence, one small win at a time.
The gang toasted his return to humanity.
Stella's presence hinted at trouble brewing.
Ted basked in denial.
And Ivar? Calm, sharp, letting the night play out like a test — because sometimes you rebuild by failing first.
Because the yips aren't weakness. They're reminders that legends are only real if they can speak without the costume.
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👉 Do you want me to move straight into Chapter 11 ("The Platinum Rule"), where Barney warns Ted about dating Stella (and Ivar escalates it), or pause for a sketch of how Stella's engagement arc is heating up behind the scenes?