“Ah, man, this guy’s more exhausting than I thought.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenVZqZcNg3
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about gaming?277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhaYvpuGSV
Do you picture a bunch of over-eccentric boys kept silent by the audio of their headphones? 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5p8mcYN2MK
Do you imagine a whole new world of exaggerated color schemes and characters with various hair colors?277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡur3yeeCACO
Do you think of racing, fighting, shooting, skating, gambling?277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBpwSKphbp
Do you live off of gaming? Or is it just one of those things that you’ll never understand the hype about?277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuR9BzUny6
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.277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rzeQPnfl4
“Fuji. Come down for lunch before I call out your entire name.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYu5NvK0Rj
“Oh. This is bad. This is bad, bad.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaA0qA56j1o
But man, I’m on the last level of RawSK8.277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6RS2nKQdx
“Fuji Nak-”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUt7eGGD6d
"I’M COMING!!"277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCECYk8YyG
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. 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJ1xUmodBb
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.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYesVjUriWy
I feel like my life is about to come to an end over a bowl of miso soup. I should really head off now. 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fvNTKx5Er
“Yes, I’m here, I'm here!” 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaTTg0w8il
“No you’re physically here, but mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and in every other way possible, you’re there.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5a7YB7Ek9u
“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.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGqeff0n8V
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. 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdDMdoseb2
“Mom, we need a new heater.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwurzNeVmL
“Sure, I’ll sell your gaming set for it.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYr3V3XNLtz
“Mom, our heaters work beautifully, the suggestion of a new heater is absurd.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJo5yiZVE0
Yep, she’s the only game I can’t figure out.277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUfWR7pnnX
“Okasa, tadaima!”
“Oh, a warm welcome to my much preferred child.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuoWjobKHZ
“Yeah, I always knew you played favorites.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLqyg9MhOA
“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,277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhJ40nMzYS
“I’m dumb, but not that dumb.”
“You’re dumb enough to have not passed a math quiz you cheated on.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLPcOrPWyC
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). 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZ42JIObN8
“I… I… I’ll cheat better next time.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaG24Dusb2g
“Dear God, I don’t know if I should be ashamed or proud right now.” 277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS78d1AlOLh
“Knowing this boy, the latter, mother. At least he’s putting effort into something other than twiddling his thumbs.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLV14xZEfJ
“Alright, foods getting cold, let’s eat. Itadakimasu.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjtp1mgfvo
(Fuji and Junko in unison) “Itadakimasu.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ0JLeyuYW
“Geh.”277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAR5DoUkuGV
I slightly choke on the Miso soup.277Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaO2cXekz7
It’s cold.
ns 15.158.61.55da2
