“Ah, man, this guy’s more exhausting than I thought.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7Gx4UwFCw
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about gaming?209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdBktj7kFY
Do you picture a bunch of over-eccentric boys kept silent by the audio of their headphones? 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2IIIdv8MK
Do you imagine a whole new world of exaggerated color schemes and characters with various hair colors?209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgsTLIkKmg
Do you think of racing, fighting, shooting, skating, gambling?209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJb0JIEZQD
Do you live off of gaming? Or is it just one of those things that you’ll never understand the hype about?209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLG2dodUoNF
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.209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3nvrhg4yK
“Fuji. Come down for lunch before I call out your entire name.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2d4gxYNxw
“Oh. This is bad. This is bad, bad.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGOOyKcP9I
But man, I’m on the last level of RawSK8.209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQU2wMKfYng
“Fuji Nak-”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigGINePy6D
"I’M COMING!!"209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujnwbbfGrY
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. 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqav9s1Atga
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.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBd19E3y5fV
I feel like my life is about to come to an end over a bowl of miso soup. I should really head off now. 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfnuaflT9I
“Yes, I’m here, I'm here!” 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSrNmqAtvb
“No you’re physically here, but mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and in every other way possible, you’re there.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPWI1MgTPA
“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.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoRinsTcjs
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. 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHZIC0Mx1N
“Mom, we need a new heater.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGNUpkDGAs
“Sure, I’ll sell your gaming set for it.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1GJw7RlSs
“Mom, our heaters work beautifully, the suggestion of a new heater is absurd.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm20x4FIROo
Yep, she’s the only game I can’t figure out.209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FlJxAx5Cm
“Okasa, tadaima!”
“Oh, a warm welcome to my much preferred child.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMh5hrb8zOF
“Yeah, I always knew you played favorites.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBOeeLzV1O
“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,209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fVskrhzpP
“I’m dumb, but not that dumb.”
“You’re dumb enough to have not passed a math quiz you cheated on.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwbpXvYfAQ
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). 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWthGeYUkh
“I… I… I’ll cheat better next time.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAX8qnMjz8
“Dear God, I don’t know if I should be ashamed or proud right now.” 209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLESEZzEHql
“Knowing this boy, the latter, mother. At least he’s putting effort into something other than twiddling his thumbs.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoB236J4qLa
“Alright, foods getting cold, let’s eat. Itadakimasu.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32WfRviLna
(Fuji and Junko in unison) “Itadakimasu.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXciv8jSS7K
“Geh.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9veFYddq2R
I slightly choke on the Miso soup.209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDbOR9ko2M
It’s cold.
ns 15.158.61.12da2
