“Ah, man, this guy’s more exhausting than I thought.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xHzRsvWjO
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about gaming?358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzoYnY28PX
Do you picture a bunch of over-eccentric boys kept silent by the audio of their headphones? 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnP566Q3fE
Do you imagine a whole new world of exaggerated color schemes and characters with various hair colors?358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjVhxTeZbc
Do you think of racing, fighting, shooting, skating, gambling?358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nFgJTpuD1
Do you live off of gaming? Or is it just one of those things that you’ll never understand the hype about?358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqPYaCBY47
I live for it. Every breath I take behind my screen is new power flowing to my avatar. Every level I unlock is a whole new galaxy that I must swim through. Every character I take down, every creature I pulverize, every road I wander, every weapon I hold, every item I gain, every game I win. I live for it.358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGHOafgudD
“Fuji. Come down for lunch before I call out your entire name.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q2o9bFYdV
“Oh. This is bad. This is bad, bad.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUW3LkklLm
But man, I’m on the last level of RawSK8.358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevbYgZJm4x
“Fuji Nak-”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFP6v6GmR1
"I’M COMING!!"358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iA9vJ7yA1
I rip off my ultra-bass headphones while gently placing them on my grazed desk. I abruptly swirl around 180 degrees in my swivel and violently jump onto the floor with my pale bare feet. It’s so cold. Was it this cold when I was gaming? I take one step closer to my door, and oh no- I’m already looking back. The room’s dark. All of the lights are off, and the windows are shut. The heater’s just barely working, we really need a new one. My desk’s cramped up with a mountain of tissues, Cola cans (some finished and some partially full), a half-eaten bowl of Ramen noodles, some thrashed-up looking figurines, lollipop wrappers and sticks, and a bunch of gambling cards dripping off the desk like water. I don’t even gamble (yet), where the hell did the cards come from?
My eyes shift away from the hot mess and gaze into the computer screen. A mirage of colors that look so enticing it’s almost dangerous- the only thing lighting up the room, brighter than blurred city lights. I taste the sourness of adrenalin wafting through the air. Wait a second- it’s sweat, so much for having my own dramatic monologue. 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9LbrUKINu
I can feel my eyes gleam and grow bigger as they study the game’s interface with undeniable astonishment. “RESUME”, “HELP”, “CHANGE SK8”. These three words, floating in the middle of the glass like undiscovered planets, appear to me as Gods. Each button has a heartbeat of its own, and I can feel mine synchronize with every one of them. I get a cold sweat when competing, yet I’m on fire like never before. I feel like I’m being absolved off my sins in Church and every crack of the whip, off the game, is painful. I feel like-
“FUJI NAKAMURA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0ANTM94Mc
I feel like my life is about to come to an end over a bowl of miso soup. I should really head off now. 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HYBAOPyEU
“Yes, I’m here, I'm here!” 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMrtyDzgHd
“No you’re physically here, but mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and in every other way possible, you’re there.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuKOgfkGzw
“Isn’t the existence of my body more than enough?”
“The existence of your body will no longer be if you come this late for lunch again.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3OAzYNxRd
She’s smiling, but it seems sinister. Is this a good or a bad sign? Either way, the only thing that gives me more goosebumps than losing virtually is this woman right here. Mom. 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtouUexAbw
“Mom, we need a new heater.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iRH6VKoOm
“Sure, I’ll sell your gaming set for it.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUdW5AwMcb
“Mom, our heaters work beautifully, the suggestion of a new heater is absurd.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunRO5wBydx
Yep, she’s the only game I can’t figure out.358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwBPwFWTqL
“Okasa, tadaima!”
“Oh, a warm welcome to my much preferred child.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jX0ULg95a
“Yeah, I always knew you played favorites.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAU7bA5XRi
“I did not say ‘favorite’, I said ‘preferred’.
With a short gap of silence taken to absorb the after-attack of such an already diminishing remark, all I could say is,358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbv7Z7s5GEQ
“I’m dumb, but not that dumb.”
“You’re dumb enough to have not passed a math quiz you cheated on.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OnuohZuCh
And this is a game I’d never want to play, “The Sister Complex”, aka, Junko Nakamura. She was named after Junko Tabei, the first Japanese female climber to have climbed Mt. Everest. My parents, and their creepy obsession with the concept of overcoming situations, named her after the woman who’d overcome the highest mountain in the world. They have high standards, yet they had me. But as long as she hasn’t climbed Mt. Fuji, I’m good (wink wink). 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡalHY8eNS2p
“I… I… I’ll cheat better next time.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TFF1HFGY3
“Dear God, I don’t know if I should be ashamed or proud right now.” 358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJc5xCBACfF
“Knowing this boy, the latter, mother. At least he’s putting effort into something other than twiddling his thumbs.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCbCsSnRnc
“Alright, foods getting cold, let’s eat. Itadakimasu.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoyO6qosfp
(Fuji and Junko in unison) “Itadakimasu.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaq72cJZoLe
“Geh.”358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQu7qJFx2uR
I slightly choke on the Miso soup.358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjclv6ZswL
It’s cold.
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