“Ah, man, this guy’s more exhausting than I thought.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOuMksFae0
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about gaming?306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSONrcQZWit
Do you picture a bunch of over-eccentric boys kept silent by the audio of their headphones? 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17XuiglpN0
Do you imagine a whole new world of exaggerated color schemes and characters with various hair colors?306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvRQDIOGE7
Do you think of racing, fighting, shooting, skating, gambling?306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNKXtxM10L
Do you live off of gaming? Or is it just one of those things that you’ll never understand the hype about?306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRzygPcDZc
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.306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KJd7zNBR4
“Fuji. Come down for lunch before I call out your entire name.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWpx6IzWmn
“Oh. This is bad. This is bad, bad.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0XZFmtr2u
But man, I’m on the last level of RawSK8.306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkJEth5Hp8
“Fuji Nak-”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDE6RY3A57
"I’M COMING!!"306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEOdOm97kX
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMgS6peXA4
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.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaB6NYS2Bxe
I feel like my life is about to come to an end over a bowl of miso soup. I should really head off now. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0iOe9Zg4O
“Yes, I’m here, I'm here!” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8q2kPkh6Xb
“No you’re physically here, but mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and in every other way possible, you’re there.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MtDf0rprr
“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.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSpMBQm0gq
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. 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2Q8jXtF7F
“Mom, we need a new heater.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhKO7jqNax
“Sure, I’ll sell your gaming set for it.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPx7oaOvt4
“Mom, our heaters work beautifully, the suggestion of a new heater is absurd.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3vIF8WhEx
Yep, she’s the only game I can’t figure out.306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwG7INMesM
“Okasa, tadaima!”
“Oh, a warm welcome to my much preferred child.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPdziiISDE
“Yeah, I always knew you played favorites.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhT8Ih7lx8D
“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,306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4KFRBVoOw
“I’m dumb, but not that dumb.”
“You’re dumb enough to have not passed a math quiz you cheated on.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLyCxTJCvG
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). 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTigCfWNC1z
“I… I… I’ll cheat better next time.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFZhF2tDIP
“Dear God, I don’t know if I should be ashamed or proud right now.” 306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYBSHnSTGR
“Knowing this boy, the latter, mother. At least he’s putting effort into something other than twiddling his thumbs.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlmL9uaYru
“Alright, foods getting cold, let’s eat. Itadakimasu.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNXUBjzcGr
(Fuji and Junko in unison) “Itadakimasu.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNhLLVrEsz
“Geh.”306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhlPgwMgSe
I slightly choke on the Miso soup.306Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZa0yGjrKh7
It’s cold.
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