A Learning Experience – Games
"Hey, today, it's not colour-coding like the one about planets, cyberbullying, vocabulary and chickenpox (coming up after this), it's narrating," Meiko noted.
"Well, that's because the author is too lazy to edit this in , so 'He' decided to narrate this," Luka explained.
"So, since this is narrating, the author can't really speak in dialogues; 'He's' thoughts are going to be expressed while writing," Kaito added, "It could be in brackets sometimes."
"Probably annoying for the author – 'He' has to put the 'said' stuff," Gumi said.
Yup, and my keyboard's gone sticky again, thanks to the air-con.
"Well, as you can see from the title," Rin began, "today, we're talking about games!"
"If you wanna know what we mean," Miku said, "please read on!"
"This… isn't created out of desperation, so please don't think that," Len joined in.
"Also, you must eat some eggplants while reading this!" you-know-who said.
"Uh, no thanks," the others said in unision.
You, the reader(s), are also not required to eat any eggplant of any sort, thank you very much.
Okay, I shall be writing this story in another 'language' (only at the times I feel like it). See if you can understand what I'm writing; the correct way will be below the story. I know it's really simple, though. No fun. But it's a game, and games are meant to be played. :) You can just choose to read the 'not another language' one only, if you want. :D Eh, but I gave up half-way. Wait, it's not even half. … Che.
Id waz a buraito sunneh mornin'. Lenneh woke uppu; his hair was tousled and he yoned sleepileh. Len glanced at the clock. Actually, it was only tsuurei in za mornin', so zere wasn't any sunnuraito. Yesh, igunore da fasuto sentonze. It wazn't zunny. He saw dat evwyone else was sleeping. He sighed, wondering why he woke up so early in the morning.
Zinking of goin' bak to zweep, he leh zown again, unzil he saw Kaido's head sticking out of teh… whazever Kaiteh was zleeping on.
"Kaito?"
"BAGABOOGEH?"
"Iv we're up… and da girlsh aren't…"
"Ar yuu shaying that Gakubo kood be up t-"
Dey were plofen righttu when za door basuto opan. And out came teh paaple-hered idiot.
"EGGPLANTS!"
And shat aned him ah harshu kickko in teh feisu by Kaito (at least he wasn't wearing a mini-skirt like Miku).
"EEEEHHHH! SHO DE MEAN-"
"Shtop whitening and zon't skureem your hado offu! Id'z… uh…" Kaito paused to guransu at za curoku, "Fifuzeen minutes past 3 in teh moning! Shon't you knows zhome peeps could beh slehpin right noe?"
Ren you're wisparing while skoruding it doesn't really get much effect.
"Um… shoo you shink dat, since we ah alluready awakei, we could just go down and eat zome bureikfasuto (even if it's around 3 a.m., we still can, right?)?" Lenny asked as softleh as he could, but roud enough for ze other tsuu to hear. Kaito nodded while Gakupo zeid, "Eggplants!" quietly.
And sho, zei climbed down da stairs to teh kitchun to get some breakfast. Len'sh one wash banana-flavoured cereal wit banana sulaises (don't worry, with normal milk, not banana-flavoured milk, Sof), Gakupo'sh one was 10 eggplants, and Kaito's wash… not aisu, but… tunas.
"Jasutu asuking… why aren't you eating any ice cream?" Len asked.
"No, zhat is not da right quest-chon! You should ask, 'Y U NO eat EGGPLANTS?'!" Gakupa 'correcuted'.
Kaito, igunoring Gakupo, answered, "'Rev-VANGU is a dish basuto saavd with ice cream'!"
"Huh?" Len shizn't get what he meant. Luka woulzn't zo anyshing for Kaito to get revenge on…
"Just kizhing. I just got teh sentonce from a 'friend'. And dish 'furendu' will be 'wevealed' at shee end of this story," Kaito said, pigging up zlices of tuna and pissing them into his mouth.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGGGPPP PPPPPLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAA-!"
Now zhish time it was Len punchs him on le arm (since Gakupo was sitting in the center). "Zhop shoutin'!"
"…Eeh. Sho the meanies."
"Gakupo…" Kaito sighed. Zhen she lookz at Lena and ask, "Have your eva watched ei vidiyo where shere are two 'me's (me and plural form 's') toking to eash osha on teh phone? Yeah, and de 'me' on za right was eating something… from one comment it could be tuna(3) (Though from another comment, it was mentaiko)."
"Sho… ish zat y you eating tuna?" Len asked.
"Bah, noes, nosh really. I just felt like eating it."
Eh, I'll give up now. And it isn't even half-way. T3T Because there're gonna be 22 pages in the Microsoft Word if I didn't delete it. Eh. It takes time, too, you know.
Okay, this is the correct version! :D
It was a bright sunny morning. Len woke up; his hair was tousled and he yawned sleepily. Len glanced at the clock. Actually, it was only three in the morning, so there wasn't any sunlight. Yes, ignore the first sentence. It wasn't sunny. He saw that everyone else was sleeping. He sighed, wondering why he woke up so early in the morning.
Thinking of going back to sleep, he lay down again, until he saw Kaito's head sticking out of the… whatever Kaito was sleeping on.
"Kaito?"
"Hmm?"
"If we're up… and the girls aren't…"
"Are you saying that Gakupo could be up t-"
They were proven right when the door burst open. And out came the purple-haired idiot.
"EGGPLANTS!"
And that earned him a harsh kick in the face by Kaito (at least he wasn't wearing a mini-skirt like Miku).
"EEEEHHHH! SO THE MEAN-"
"Stop whining and don't scream your head off! It's… uh…" Kaito paused to glance at the clock, "Fifteen minutes past 3 in the morning! Don't you know some people could be sleeping right now?"
When you're whispering while scolding it doesn't really get much effect.
"Um… do you think that, since we're already awake, we could just go down and eat some breakfast (even if it's around 3 a.m., we still can, right?)?" Len asked as softly as he could, but loud enough for the other two to hear. Kaito nodded while Gakupo said, "Eggplants!" quietly.
And so, they climbed down the stairs to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Len's one was banana-flavoured cereal with banana slices (don't worry, with normal milk, not banana-flavoured milk, Sof), Gakupo's one was 10 eggplants, and Kaito's was… not ice cream, but… tunas.
"Just asking… why aren't you eating any ice cream?" Len asked.
"No, that is not the right question! You should ask, 'Y U NO eat EGGPLANTS?'!" Gakupo 'corrected'.
Kaito, ignoring Gakupo, answered, "'Revenge is a dish best served with ice cream'."
"Huh?" Len didn't get what he meant. Luka wouldn't do anything for Kaito to get revenge on…
"Just kidding. I just got the sentence from a 'friend'. And this 'friend' will be 'revealed' at the end of this story," Kaito said, picking up slices of tuna and putting them into his mouth. (He said it to me today (12 March))
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGGGPPP PPPPPLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAA-!"
Now this time it was Len punching him on the arm (since Gakupo was sitting in the center). "Stop shouting!"
"…Eeh. So the meanies."
"Gakupo…" Kaito sighed. Then he looked at Len and asked, "Have you ever watched a video where there are two 'me's (me and plural form 's') talking to each other on the phone? Yeah, and the 'me' on the right was eating something… from one comment it could be tuna(3) (Though from another comment, it was mentaiko)."
"So… is that why you're eating tuna?" Len asked.
"Uh, no, not really. I just felt like eating it."
"Um, oh, okay," Len continued eating his cereal. But what will Luka say? She bought a lot yesterday…
"EGGPLA-"
This time, Kaito and Len did not hesitate to kick Gakupo in the face and poke him real hard the tummy respectively.
Gakupo fainted stupidly from that assault, sticking out his tongue.
Kaito coughed lightly. "I think we're not talking about the subject we're supposed to talk about…"
"I agree," Len said, "How about we finish up our breakfast and play a game?"
"Yeah, sure, why not." (not a punctuation error, it's there on purpose.)
So they quickly finished up their breakfast, left Gakupo still 'XP' on his chair, and went to the living room to play a game.
"So…" Kaito began, "what are we going to play now?"
"Uh…"
"Hmm…"
"Um…
"Eh…"
"Nnn…"
"Argh, let's just get it over with. Hey, guess what game that I'm thinking about? It's related to the numbers '5', '2' and '0'." (Yup, a game on a game.)
"Uh… a number game?"
"No. Okay, it involves things that can cut you."
"Uh…"
"… There are three things?"
"Is it… 'Scissors, Paper, Stone'/'Rock, Paper, Scissors'?"
"Yup, when you're using 'rock/stone', you ball up your fists. It also could mean '0' when people try to signal to each other like:
A: *How many marks do you get for your test?*
B: *Shows up a '5' on his hands and a balled up hand*
And using 'paper', you show all your fingers. And scissors, you show only two."
"Does that mean you want to play it?" Len asked.
"No, I'm just giving you a guessing game to do," Kaito answered. "Besides, I suck at this game."
"We can just play it for one round. If it's a draw, we both get a point."
"Eh?"
"Just try. You will never know if you don't."
Normally I'm supposed to say that to others. "… Okay, if you say so."
So they began. "Scissors, paper stone/Rock, paper, scissors."
Unenthusiastically. But anyway, the results were: Len-1 Kaito-0.
"I told you I suck at it."
"Let's try again."
"What?"
So they did it for about ten times until: Len-11 Kaito-1
"It's… a draw?" Kaito looked at his hand. Scissors.
Then at Len's. It's scissors, too.
"It's been years since I had a draw…" Kaito said softly.
"What?" Len asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Nothing."
"I told you you could do it."
For some reason, Len's acting like me if I were the one in Len's situation…
"EGGU-"
Gakupo's face suffered from two bandages and he suffered a 'broken' leg.
"Wow, Len, you became stronger. Last time, I didn't think that your kick could do much damage to his leg," Kaito 'complimented'.
"I'll… just take that as a compliment…" Len said.
"Luckily his leg didn't break."
"But he's screaming. And he's rolling around on the ground. I shouldn't have kicked him that hard."
"Ah, look, is that perspiration coming out from his eyes?"
"Uh, Kaito, you sound really sarcastic."
"Heave ho."
And off Gakupo rolled outside the house by the kick Kaito had delivered.
"Kaito! You've became more sadistic!"
"The rain outside will drown out his screams," Kaito replied solemnly.
Yes, there was a heavy downpour outside, and poor Gaku was rolling around.
"Gakupo!" Len yelled as he ran outside the house to stop Gakupo from rolling onto the road.
Kaito stared on emotionlessly before he realised what was going on. "Len! Gakupo!"
Before he knew it, both he and Len jumped out to push Gakupo out of the way of a car.
Fortunately, they managed to dodge the car, and landed on the sidewalk opposite of their house. Gakupo was x.x again, and he and the other two were lying on the wet ground. Then Len suddenly got up.
"Kaito! Why did you do that?"
"It's… because… uh… it's… a… game?" came out Kaito's lame reply.
"A game?"
"I don't know why I just did that, okay?! I'm sorry for what I had done!" and with that, Kaito rolled a few meters away from them. "Eh, it's really wet here." Then he rolled back.
"Egg… plants…"
"Kaito, he… he talked!"
"Len, you're sounding as if he was dead."
"Well, we have to get back."
"Yeah, let's go."
So they crossed the road, Kaito carrying Gakupo (actually, dragging him, Gakupo's not that short, you know, and he was 'x.x'), back to the house.
And they were soaking wet.
"Since this is supposed to be a game-related story, let's just start randomly about the subject," Kaito suggested, dropping Gakupo on the floor. "For a diet of only eggplants and eggplant juice…"
They sat in position (except Gakupo, who was still 'X.X') in the center of the living room, after drying up.
Gakupo got up, and wondered what was going on. "Hello! Did you eat eggplants yet?"
"Uh, no," the other two replied in unision.
"Oh, okay then, I will give you some."
"Wait, wait, wait! We already ate some!" Kaito cried, hoping it would change Gakupo's mind.
"Oh, then I'll give you some more!"
"Thanks, but no thanks!" Len said, "We're full from all the eggplants we ate while you weren't awake!"
"Oh, okay, then just keep some, eat them later!:D"
"… Nevermind," Kaito said, giving up.
"Thanks…" Len added, giving up as well.
"You're welcome!"
Kaito coughed lightly. "Uh, I'll just start randomly. I just choose the category of 'Traditional Games'. For fun.
Uh… Ball Tin? (It's called 'Bola Tin' in Malay, and 'bola' means 'ball', so even if the title sounds weird, it's the direct translation. It's what people played in the past in Singapore)
The numbers of participants required are at most 12. The stuff you need are: a tennis/rubber ball (or whatever ball you feel like using that can work) and… say, about 10 (similar kinds is better) tin cans. What you are supposed to do is get one team to destroy a 'tin pyramid' and another to rebuild it.
Steps to play:
First, players are split into two teams (in this it's called Teams Ice and Cream), one of which is to destroy the pyramid and the other to rebuild it. Then, you pile up the tins to form a pyramid. Supposing that team Cream destroys and team Ice rebuilds.
Team members of Cream are to mark a line 10 steps from the tin pyramid. Then their members position themselves behind the line while the other team's members stand anywhere behind the tin pyramid. A player from team Cream starts by chucking the ball at the tins. Even if he misses, he still gets another chance to destroy it. If he misses again, he gets another chance to destroy it. If he fails for the third time, the next member gets into position to throw. Each team member is allowed two throws only. If all the members of a team fail to knock the tins down, the teams change sides.
If team Cream knocks down the tins, both teams will rush for the ball. If a member from team Ice gets the ball first, he will throw it as far as possible (this is the only point of the game when they get to touch the ball) while his teammates reassemble the line.
During that time, team Cream members will try to retrieve the ball. When team Cream gets hold of the ball, they will try to hit members of team Ice or the tin pyramid. Team Ice players will try to dodge the ball. If they get hit, they are considered as "dead", which means that they are out of the game.
In order for their team to win the game, team Ice must complete the pyramid before all the players of team Ice are 'killed', they win and the teams change sides. But, for team Cream, they have to knock out all the players of team Ice before they rebuild the tin pyramid, if they do, the game restarts. (1)"
"That's… really long," Len commented. "This is the longest story yet."
"Well, the author thought that this would be easy and short as there are so many types of games (such as computer games, traditional games, educational games, guessing games etc.), but 'HE' didn't know that there would be so much irrelevant conversations," Kaito explained. "'He' should have seen that coming, because 'He' tends to go off-topic sometimes…"
"We only have one game though…" Len said.
"And we already have two-eggplants-and and eggplant-y-seven (2, 087) words so far!" Gakupo said.
I decided to make this about you Vocaloid 8 guys the moment I wrote paragraph two. But I haven't been adding Gaku inside…
"See?! More useless stuff! Add that in the author note, will you?" Kaito asked, annoyed for some reason.
Okay, more stuff in my author notes! :D
"Okay!" Len said, trying to bring them back to the topic. "Another game: computer games!"
How does he keep on changing his character so quickly? Kaito thought.
"Computer games can be very addicting! Get your attention here! Even though it can be very dangerous when someone is too addicted to gaming online, according to the latest Interactive Australia report by Bond University, about only 3% of gamers are loners and never play with others! Many games involve multi-players, with players either in the same room or connected online! Also, video games can give you an eye for detail; researchers from the University of Rochester found out that people who spent 30 hours playing action games over a month spotted targets on a cluttered screen 80% of the time, while non-gamers managed to do this only 30% of the time! (2) But, the key is moderation; as long as you do things in moderation, it's fine!" Len said frantically.
Kaito could see perspiration trickling down Len's face. He was really anxious to bring them back to the subject.
"Hey, why don't we play a game that is pop-eggplant-lar! It's been played in many fanfictions!" Gakupo suggested cheerfully.
"Which is?" Len and Kaito asked in unision.
"Eggplant or (Yes, 'SNWDM', it's 'or', not 'and') Eggplant!"
"Uh, o… kay… do you mean 'Truth or Dare'?" Len asked.
"Aren't they the same?"
"No, Gakupo, truth and eggplants and dare and eggplants are two VERY different things."
"Oh, okay," Gakupo said, munching on an eggplant.
"Well, since it's only like… wait, 4 in the morning?! After all that, it's just 4?!" Kaito shouted (kind of softly) dramatically (like in Gintama, where this people will shout and stuff).
"We… could do it… since it is a game…" Len said.
"Okay, I'll start first! Len, truth or dare?" Gakupo asked, looking at Len.
"Uh… truth?"
"Don't you think that eggplants is the most awesome food in the world?!"
Len could hear Miku's "Leeks rock eggplants suck" in his head. "Uh, no… not really."
"WHAT?! YOU DON'T-"
"Shut the hell up!" Kaito yelled, kicking him in the face once more. "It's his own opinion!"
Don't worry, even though it's written as 'yelled', it wasn't very loud. And God, my homework's killing me! (I'm just exaggerating, but seriously, it is horrifying)
"Um… Kaito, truth or dare?"
"Eh… truth?"
"So… uh, Kaito… do you… like bananas?"
"… Is… everyone gonna ask about their character items?" Kaito wondered aloud softly.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't think of anything that quickly…"
"Uh, Len… you sound a bit… different. Oh wait, don't tell me you're gonna-"
Len started getting a little watery.
"Oh, come on, Len! That's not like you! I'm really sorry! Was I being too insensitive?!"
"It's okay, Kaito, it's not your fault…"
"Len! You sound even weirder than just now! I'm sorry! Don't cr-"
"EAT EGGPLA-!"
Then Len threw a banana at Gakupo's face.
"We can… just continue with the game," Len said, drying his eyes.
"Um, okay, answering your question… I think bananas are okay."
"… Okay."
"Eggplants!"
"Well, at least he isn't shouting that loud now," Kaito muttered, looking annoyed at him.
"Eggplants!"
"Do you think he'll keep on saying that?" Len asked Kaito.
"Well, maybe I'll just continue. Gakupo, truth or dare?"
"Hmm… eggplants!"
"… How the hell do you expect me to know what you're referring to?"
"I choose eggplants!"
"… What do you mean?" Len asked.
"Eggupurantsu!"
"Gakupo, you can only choose 'truth' or 'dare'. If you say any other answer, you will be kicked out of the house, put on the road, and have your screams drowned out by the noise produced by the heavy rain outside. (By the way, how long has it been there?)" Kaito 'threatened'. (By the way, any peeps watching HxH? Hah, Kaito's the old lady.)
"… Eggplants."
"What the hell! I told you, only 'truth' or 'dare'!"
"Eggplants!"
"Gakupo, you're filling up our space!" Len yelled (softly).
"Gakupo, since you gave me no choice… I dare you to be kicked out of the house, put on the road, and have your screams drowned out by the noise produced by the heavy rain outside."
"Kaito!"
"Just joking."
"That didn't sound like a joke to me…"
"Okay, Gakupo, I dare you to shut up and eat your eggplants."
He did as told.
"Well, sorry again for not being very productive," Kaito muttered. "Well, let's just play one more game before the story ends."
"Hmm…"
"Eggplant game!"
"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?"
"Ehh, so the meanies."
"Singing!" Len said. "We're Vocaloids; we sing!"
"Uh… so what game related to singing are you gonna choose?" Kaito asked.
"Hmm… Why don't we… uh… sing?" Len couldn't think of anything.
"Eh?"
"Eh-ggplants!"
"DON'T go changing my speech, please."
"This is… slowly going longer with irrelevant things, isn't it?" Len asked.
"Probably," Kaito answered.
"Well, let's just go somewhere! Eat eggplants! And sing eggplant-oke!"
"Eh?"
"Well, since this is running long, let's just end this," Len said, "This could be the first story from the Learning Experience 'series' that has more than one chapter…"
"Well, thank you for reading."
"Eat EGGPLA-"
Poor Gakupo.
Hey, as you should know, this is the authors note! Okay, the 'friend' is… my friend! :) Yeah, pretty suckish, I know. I heard him say that during class (it was on the 12th of March) and then I remembered about Kaito. Ya know, ice cream… and stuff… He's only ONE OF the reasons why I look forward to Math lesson in school. :) I call him 'Mister A. A.'
Okay, you remember Kaito telling me to write the extra stuff in my author note? Okay, so I actually made this randomly; I thought that it would be easy, short (it's hard to do that, though) and straightforward, buuut (it's there for the elongated pronunciation of the 'ah' sound in 'but'), I didn't. Okay, also, ever since I wrote the second chapter, I decided to make it about the guys. You should know I never really plan my stories, I just 'go with the flow'. All I need is the beginning, and it'll start flowing. Eh, but that is kind of a disadvantage sometimes. You see that there're a lot of conversations, like in the real life, right? They are kind of pointless sometimes, but it's socialising (I hope that this is British English). It'll be like their robots if they just focus on games and games only. But then, I tend to go off-topic. Which, of course, suck. Well, thank you for reading, I suppose this is the end. I'll make another chapter if I feel like it. Wow, this took pretty long. I doubt anyone would bother reading the next chapter, anyway. -_- Eh.
By the way, please tell me if you find any mistakes in this; I didn't have the time to check just now. Like I said, homework is truly horrifying. (Damn you, homework)
12th March 2013-22nd March 2013
Adapted from (or for (3), it's just the website):
(1) .sg/
(2) . /the-pros-and-cons-of-playing-computer-games
(3) watch?v=VU5C5NDerlc