Mirai No Kodomo
Omoi XI: Gamers For Life (Li Lianjie)
I proudly look over the numbers for Three Kingdoms: YSC's pre-orders, fresh from the printer. The number of pre-orders paid in full through the official website is amazing! I have to show this to Suzuki-san, I really have to.…Especially after what happened over the last few weeks. I-I'm still amazed I managed to keep myself in check as well as I have so far.
I mean, seriously, I found out the other day that KameNoCha rehired Odawara, they just put him on another project. As far from me as possible, at least, it's another MMO. They kept it quiet, too, I only found out through Kyouya seeing him listed in the employee database as "Active."
I'm hoping he learned his lesson but…
…Well…
I-I can't win with Suzuki-san, can I? I mean, this MMO somehow went from a certain failure to huge! I mean, it started with a bunch of small, gay-oriented gaming sites. They all published the Odawara story as a "sad example of the rampant homophobia in gaming." MMORPG Cenrtral was the only major gaming site to pick it up and that was because MMOGaymers was an affiliate of theirs.
Then I restored The Way of The Mauve Fist and I don't know who sent it to 'em but a ton of gay gaming sites copied the letter I sent out to members and posted it on their sites and…
…Well, I've got a ton of new fans among the gay community. And I ain't complaining! Gamers for life! Or, as some of 'em are emailing me as, Gaymers For Life! Ha! I wonder if Liangji would call himself that or not. When he's out, I mean…I still feel bad about that. I mean, it feels like if I let out Jianliang's secret to Mom and Dad, y'know? I'm just glad Liangji's in a position where his parents are completely understanding about that kind of thing.
Jianliang confirmed that Liangji is definitely keeping it a secret, he asked if anything "interesting" happened in my game...No mention of Odawara. I think it's a little weird he's in the closet but...Jianliang told me how scary it is at first, let alone confusing...
...He's got a point. Sorry again, Liangji, I hope you figure things out. When you come ou
Anyway, after a while the story was picked up by some of the major MMO blogs and news sites, Three Kingdoms: YSC was declared a "Haven for Gay Gamers." I mean, someone even got an anonymous source to describe the scene when Odawara was fired and, well…
…I might've made a scene but I was pissed and really stressed over what was looking to be my biggest failure. Anyway, my MMO is seen as "gay friendly" and the free publicity got a ton of casual players interested.
Of course, there are some downsides…For one Odawara does have supporters. "Gay Kingdoms" is the unofficial nickname for my game among homophobes. Some are screaming for me to be fired for "spreading perversion to innocent young video gamers," y'know "corrupting the youth" or some crap. My game'll turn people gay, apparently. Some think I'm gay, not that I care what they think.
Though, I've gotten a few, um, nasty emails mixed with internet tough guy death threats for "making a faggy MMO for freaks." And some emails from "concerned citizens" who argue, "letting gay players be open in your game will only spread the perversion of homosexuality. You'll be hurting the poor, young straight players by exposing them to perverts! Please, reconsider your decision to allow such filth in your video game."
In the immortal words of the legendary SeeD, Squall Leonhart: ...Whatever.
But there's the homophobic critics and then there's, well, the execs. Like Suzuki-san, president of the company…
Apparently, Gay Kingdoms isn't the only nickname. KameNoCha Studios is also known as "OkamaNoCha." A few of the execs do not like the fact KameNoCha is suddenly associated with the gay community and they blame me for it. They're actually demanding that I shut down The Way of the Mauve Fist and things like it! They agree with Odawara! I've been told twice to shut it and guilds like it down from two different higher ups. They want all gay guilds and gay content removed by the public release. Even though I warned everyone under me: Anyone caught shutting down a gay guild will get the same treatment as Odawara…
…But with word spreading that he was rehired, that's turned into an empty threat. But most of the staff is with me, they've met Jianliang and Takato since the incident, too, they like them. And my nephews, they've all met my nephews since I started this MMO – I always let 'em test the latest and greatest features, they even played a few features the beta players can't access yet last week. A lot of the programmers like Liangji, he's a dedicated gamer like a lot of them are.
A couple execs, however, complained to Suzuki-san about me "letting gay couples into the office" to "flaunt them." Suzuki-san called me on that, I explained, "That was my brother and his husband, they brought my nephews to test some features." He let it go, thank the Gods, but warned me to "be careful" with all of this "gay hype."
…I admit, the Odawara thing has everyone talking about gays and gay culture, both sides are arguing about it online (NOTHING ignites a flame war better than homosexuality does…I swear, I sometimes hate the internet), KameNoCha game forums especially. But, aside from letting my family come by, I don't think I've ever flaunted homosexuality at work, beyond my warning about closing down gay guilds…
…I'm starting to wonder if Suzuki-san and the other execs think I'm gay…
Either way, I'm meeting with them in a little bit, to either argue my case or resign…This is my game, I even built the game engine it runs on with my bare hands and help from my gay brother. I am not going to let them tell me who can and can't play my games! My games are for everyone!
I've already got my desk packed up! I doubt I'm going to win this. Suzuki's a hardass and the others…Hell, who do you think rehired Odawara? Sorry, Jianliang, Liangji…I tried. And I'd rather be fired than do this to you…My family comes first, not keeping a job I know would make me miserable if I had to go against Jianliang, Takato and Liangji.
…Even though Jianliang told me "it's not worth it" when I asked him if he'd try to get me a position in Hypnos if things went the way I expect him to. I told him, even if I could live with myself for selling out my beliefs for my job, there's a lot more…
…I also feel like I'd be betraying all the players than came to my game, seeing it as that Haven the gay news sites are reporting it as. Okamatsu's not the only one with a gay guild, now. There's at least two or three big ones (with purchased land) on each beta server and a bunch of tiny ones...Hell, one mini-guild managed to convert an in-game bar into a gay bar! "The Flaming Dragons," they call themselves, set up shop at a tavern in Luo Yang. Guild Vendors (players who sell items as a profession) sell "gay items" (in terms of name and appearance, sometimes function), "flaming weapons" (literally, they have fire element attached to all of them) and all kinds of stuff. They hang out and dance in the bar or do business with other players for loot to make more items with, it's sort of a "gay businessman's club" now.
That's the sort of thing I want in this game, the players having as much freedom to do whatever the hell they want!
We even had to open up two of the servers we were saving for release because of the volume of people signing up for the beta…A lot of them listed "reason for volunteering" with "gay guild" or something like that. A lot of them thanked me for making it so they "don't have to hide!"I don't want to let them down! I won't be the one to do this to them!
They'll have to get rid of me first!
And they will. I just know it. I'm history here.
So, this is it for Li Lianjie and his career as a game designer…Damn it, I wanted to at least get one console RPG or Hack N' Slash out before this. But…Hey, how many guys have two MMORPGs under their belt like I do? Three if you count the Digimon Universe expansion. I…I've had a good run in this business. And, hey, I might work for, I dunno…Konami or Square-Enix. I bet they could use me…
…Yeah, right, after I manage to make an entire company out and proud? Doesn't matter if I create the next Final Fantasy VII all alone and offer it to 'em for a hundred yen, Square-Enix or anyone else ain't gonna wanna touch me 'cause of this.
…I really hope Jianliang can get me a position at Hypnos, he said he'd do whatever he could for me. He just needs to get clearance from his superiors in the government to hire a "civilian programmer," but that's easier said than done.
Heh, Jianliang…We knew he'd get into computers with college but I thought he might write software or something, I never saw him as the head of some freaky government organization dedicated to the Internet and Digimon…I remember when I thought Digimon was just a freakin' game!
…Then again, I didn't like to treat games like just a freakin' game. I love 'em, I love video games. To call them just a game was an insult to my favorite games after a while, for all the work that goes into them. Especially when I got into RPGs, that was when I got really dedicated to games as more than just "fun," and realized just how much could go into some games! When the plot could be more than "Save the Princess."
Hell, Final Fantasy VII was my first "traditional" RPG...I knew nothing about it. I thought the plot was just gonna be "Save Aeris from ShinRa" and blow up all of Midgar's Reactors. And the Final Boss was gonna be President ShinRa. I didn't even know a game could ever be more than one disc, let alone three (FFVIII being four discs blew my mind!). I mean, I knew games could "be big," like Zelda but...Until then, I played for fun, I didn't even pay attention to the "plot" of anything at first (I was a kid, after all). Then came FFVII...
...I thought it'd be sorta like a cross between Mario and Sonic plot-wise: Save the Princess (Aeris), Beat up Eggman (President ShinRa) and his Henchmen (Those Robots watching the Reactors, The Turks and stuff). I mean, c'mon, that boss right before you meet Aeris was just like a Sonic Boss!
…Boy, was I wrong. Sephiroth and Jenova were not things I saw coming! I was amazed just leaving for Kalm!
Heh, and that's not even my favorite RPG, just my first! After that, RPGs and games like Sangoku Musou were my life. I wanted to make games for a living ever since I found out I could screw around with my PC and change a few files around to mod my computer games…
…And one time make Windows 95 collapse in on itself on the Family PC. Allegedly! Nothing was proven. Nothing!
But, yeah, games are my life and, until today, my livelihood.
I'm sure Hypnos won't be all bad…I mean, Jen asked me a few times to look over some programs with him. Like that one that lets him talk to Digimon, I even gave him some tips that might help when it comes to that massive internet slowdown it causes…
…And, bro? It's worse than you guys think, I mean, I've never seen an MMO lag like that! Hell, I even called up Jianliang while it was going on…
"Lianjie?"
"Hey, Bro. Who's talking to what Digimon?"
"Ke-Kenta and MarineAngemon…Why?"
"'Cause my avatar's about halfway done swinging a sword at an enemy and it's taken him five minutes to get this far!"
"O-Oh, so-sorry…"
"Heh, don't worry about it. Tell Kenta I said 'hi.' And tell MarineAngemon I said, 'Papipepopopipu-'
"I-I wouldn't, Lianjie. Last time I tried to mimic his speech…I-I don't know what I said but he didn't want to speak to me for a month."
"…Seriously?"
Heheheh…Jianliang even tells me, he would've never gotten into computers if it weren't for me…
I'll never forget that day…
Years Ago…
"Moooooooom! Moooooooom!"
Gods…Jianliang won't shut up! Ever since Xiaochun was born a couple months ago, he's been attention starved or something! He keeps screaming for Mom and Dad and driving them insane! Me and Jialing, too, with all the screaming he's been doing! I can't focus on my homework and I gotta get it done before I can play games…
"MOOOOOOOOM!"
…I got an SNES and a new copy of Super Mario Collection that's begging me to be played! But, noooooo, Dad says "no games 'til you finish your homework." Why?
…Okay, I might've lost track of time playing Kirby last month but…He-Hey, it's an addictive game! How was I supposed to know, like, twelve hours'd go by so fast! It felt like just "Ten Minutes" like I said when you went to bed…
"MOOOOM! MOOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOM!" Grrr… SHUT! UP! JIAN! LIANG!
…Then Dad walked into the room a little later and…
"Lianjie, when did you get up?"
"Ju-Just five more minutes, Dad, sorry! It's just this awesome level! I'm almost done!"
"Lianjie, you've…you've been playing that same game…all this time?"
"I-I know, it's just been, what? Half an hour since you and Mom went to bed? An hour?"
"…Lianjie, it's five-thirty in the morning."
"…Oh…Er…Dad, this is a really awesome level! I-I mean…OBVIOUSLY, since—"
"Turn it off. Now."
"MOOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOOM!" SOMEONE SHUT THAT KID UP!
…Yeah… Um…Dad's still kinda pissed about that. What really sucks is that this is the third day of Summer Break! And Dad won't let me play any games until I get all of my Summer break homework done! Even though I've got three weeks to do it all! Not fair, Dad! You can use your computer all you want and I know you play solitaire or minesweeper when you tell Mom you're 'working' sometimes! You do the same thing, Dad! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR—
"LIANJIE!"
—DAMN IT! He can read my mind, now! Er…And I just picked a bad word to realize that with...Sh—I mean…Crap…
"What?" I call from my room. My door opens, Dad's holding Jianliang's hand with his left hand, Jianliang's crying a little but at least he finally shut up! Yeesh…You're almost five Jianliang, stop crying so much!
Wait…
…Why's Dad got my SNES? I see it and the two controllers, still connected and dangling freely. The SNES is sitting under his shoulder, on the brown box holding all my games.
"…Dad?" I ask.
"You can play video games if you promise to do your homework for at least an hour a day." YES! YOU'RE THE BEST DAD ON EARTH! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK— "Jianliang just has to play with you." WHY DO YOU HATE ME?
"Jianliang? C-C'mon! He's…Dad, Jianliang—"
"Okay, games go back in the closet—"
"—Can have controller two!" I shout, quickly. Dad brings Jianliang into my room and drops my SNES off on my bed. Usually it's hooked up to the TV in the living room but I got a smaller TV in my room…
…Mom and Dad just don't trust me to do my homework if I can play games in my room. I… …Um…
…I wish I couldn't say I don't blame 'em. Heheheh…
"Jianliang, play games with your brother…PLEASE," Dad says, looking to Jianliang.
"…I wanna play with Mom…" Jianliang says.
"Mom's busy with the new baby…And tired enough. Just…Just play with Lianjie, okay?" Dad looks to me…Wow, he looks…desperate at this point. "I'm sure Lianjie would love to play games with you..." ...Dad, I'm the one who's supposed to make that 'pleasepleasepleeeaaase' look when I really want something, not you!
Then again, Jianliang's sorta been driving everyone insane lately...
I nod, scratching the back of my head, "Uh…Yeah…Jianliang, let's play games…"
"…Okay…" Jianliang wipes his eyes, letting out a whimper. Dad takes quick moment to thank the Gods and leaves, closing my door behind him. Jianliang looks to me, then the SNES on my bed. "…What do we do?"
"First I gotta hook it up," I say. Heh, Mom and Dad hate the fact I know how to do this, now. I've known for years, actually, they just didn't know 'til they caught me playing games from the disconnected SNES I wasn't supposed to know how to reconnect...Sucks they know, 'cause now whenever I can't play games they go in Mom and Dad's closet.
I go to my TV and hook up my SNES, turning it to channel three. "What game do you wanna play?"
"…Um…" Jianliang gives me a confused look, shrugging. "…Don't know."
"…I got one," I say. I forgot, Jianliang's never even touched a controller before. Mostly 'cause I play all the time and Jialing's the only one who ever complains – Usually 'cause she wants to watch TV. Jianliang's never even asked to play before, he watches only if he's really bored.
I go to box and pull out Super Mario Collection. This is awesome! It's a collection of all the NES Mario games and this one bonus game, this really weird "Super Mario Brothers 2 – American Version." They made this instead of playing our version, it's some weird game where Mario and the others pick up turnips or something and the Princess can fly…
…American games are weird.
I put the game in and turn on the SNES, the title screen loads and Jianliang sits next to me on my bed. I play the REAL Super Mario Brothers 2 for a little bit, Jianliang just watches like he sometimes does…
"…Can I play now?" Jianliang says, looking to me after Mario is killed by a bottomless pit.
"…All right, hold on," I reset the game and go back to the game selection menu. "Which one? Number Three's the best!"
"Okay!"
I pick Super Mario Brothers 3 (AKA Super The Princess Is In Another Castle Brothers 3: I HATE TOAD). I pass Jianliang the controller as it loads.
We stare at the start screen.
"…What do I do?"
"…Press the start button."
"What button?"
"The start button!" I say. I turn, Jianliang is looking over his controller…Jianliang, are you actually telling me you don't know what the START BUTTON IS?
The look on Jianliang's face tells me...No, he does not know which button is 'start.'
I groan, "Next to select."
"Um…"
"…In the middle of the controller…"
"Oh!" Jianliang finally presses start. We load the first world. "…Now what?"
"Directional button to move, this button to jump," I point to each button, going over the controls with Jianliang. Jianliang starts off pretty good for someone who doesn't know what a start button is...
...'Til Mario gets killed by a Koopa on a 'staircase' of "used" question mark boxes. "Uh, Jianliang, you can jump on those, too."
"I didn't wanna hurt the turtle…"
"…It's…Not a real turtle…And it's a bad-guy, turtle!"
Jianliang shakes his head. "Don't wanna hurt the turtle…"
"…Okay…We'll…find something turtle-friendly…" Man, if Koopas upset him this much, The Sky Chase Zone of Sonic 2'd kill him!
Seriously, Sonic? The one level turtles show up as freeable animals and you pick the one where they fall ten thousand feet and go SPLAT? I mean, the chickens can fly but…Turtles? …Even I have kind of a guilt trip when I play that level…Thank the GODS for the level select and all chaos emeralds cheat.
I turn off the SNES and pop in Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. "You'll like this one…" I pass Jianliang my controller as the game loads up...
…And after a full minute of staring at the start screen, I realize what's up again. "…Same button as Mario."
I hear the sound of a button being furiously mashed. I look. "…That's the B Button, Jianliang…"
"…Oh…"
Okay, I admit…I didn't think this was going to be any more fun than doing homework. Especially when Jianliang kept forgetting where the start button was and how to swing Link's sword and all that…
Jianliang…Okay, he's not a gamer like I am but I think he's getting the hang of it. I'm sorta keeping an eye on him, like the Ninja who watches over Link as he goes throughout Hyrule, invisibly and quietly defeating whatever dangers are too much for young Link…Except instead of throwing shuriken, it's me sayin' "Here, lemme show you" after Link dies the third time.
…But Jianliang's kinda getting the hang of it. In fact, we're pretty far into the game and he's the one who's done most of the playing!
"Jianliang! Lianjie! Dinner!" Dad calls. Crap…
I run to the door. "Dad, can we eat in my room?"
"Why?"
"'Cause Jianliang's just about to get the green pendant, he just needs to beat the boss at the third temple so we can get the Master Sword and—"
"Okay, okay, I get it, he's…winning, right?" Dad says, bringing over a pair of plates.
"Yeah!" I nod, quickly, taking the plates.
"Great, two video game players…" Dad rolls his eyes.
"We're Gamers, Dad!" I say. "Gamers for life!" I know I am, I hope Jianliang is, too…It's so much fun playing with him!
"I know, Lianjie. Gods help us all," Dad chuckles.
I close my door and take dinner to Jianliang. He justgot to the temple boss. "Okay, the trick here is…"
The present…
…Somehow, I think Jianliang playing games with me got me even more into games. That Zelda playthrough was some of the most fun I ever had with that game.
If I wasn't so sure I won't have an income after this, I'd go out and buy a re-release of that game for Takehiro and Liangji. I bet they'd love it just as much as Jianliang and I did.
My intercom goes off, I hear Kyouya speak quietly, "Li-san, Suzuki-san just called. They're ready to see you."
I press the intercom button. "Thanks. I'll head up there right now."
"I'll let him know you're on your way…And, Li-san?"
"Yeah."
"…It's been great working with you, sir. I-I'm sorry it's come to this."
"Thanks and…I hope my replacement knows what he's doing."
"I'll watch the game for you, sir. The guilds, too," Kyouya says. Yeah, he's fresh out of college and wanted to be a game designer, too. I've…kinda been showing him around, how things work around here and, actually, a few of his ideas I've put into the game for him and put him in the design credits. He's been fun to bounce ideas off of, too.
"Thanks, but…Don't get yourself fired, too," I'm gonna miss you, Kyouya-kun. I turn off the intercom and leave my office. Kyouya stands at his desk and bows low, I bow back and go to the door.
I step into the hallway and to the elevators. The Board Room is on the third floor, they're waiting for me there. To chew me out for this whole Odawara thing, outing their company and to fire me for refusing to censor gay players.
I go up to the third floor, down the hall and to the board room behind the double doors at the very end. It's your standard meeting room, y'know? The kind you see in all the movies and TV shows for those big-time execs.
Suzuki-san is at the head of the table, half a dozen others sitting around him. Odawara is even sitting on the right side of the table, at the end and closest to me. I bow my head to the group. "Hello, sirs."
"You don't seem surprised to see Odawara-san," Suzuki-san says.
"I heard a rumor he was rehired," I say. I look to Odawara…I keep my expression neutral, as much as I hate to admit it: I owe this guy for the publicity the game's gotten. As bad as it was, what he did saved my game…
…But I still can't stand what he said. If he takes it back, though…I might be able to forgive him.
Odawara bows his head. "…I want to apologize for my actions, Li-san," he says. "I should not have spoken for you the way I did. It was unprofessional." …And calling my brother and nephew's orientation a perversion wasn't?
…Okay, I will be pissed over the fact you keep your job at the end of this. I almost wonder if that apology was just him trying to save face.
I bow my head. "…I accept your apology," I say, keeping my head bowed to hide the pissed off look I know I have. It's gone when I lift my head up.
"You know why you're here, right?" One of the execs says.
"Yes," I say. "You want to discuss the content of Three Kingdoms: Yellow Scarves Chaos."
"We've told you, repeatedly, to put an end to those 'gay guilds,'" the same man says. "You've ignored us and even sent out a memo to your staff that directly contradicts the order. I have it right here…" He reaches into his suit, pulling out a piece of paper and reads it aloud, "'Listen up – No matter what anyone says, I do not condone the shutting down of gay guilds on the grounds of 'content.' Provided they follow the rules, all gay guilds are to remain active. Anyone discovered shutting down these guilds or banning openly gay players without a good reason will be terminated.'" He looks to me, setting the paper down. "Did you write this?"
"Yes, I did," I say.
"Why did you disobey our orders?" Suzuki-san asks.
"My brother is gay," I say. "I'm sure you have all read the email I sent to members of The Way of the Mauve Fist, the one that has been circulating on the MMO news sites?" I ask. They all nod, one even holds up a printed copy of the email, one of the papers they all have in front of them. "I refuse to shut down homosexual guilds or ban openly gay players, I disagree with the mentality in doing so. I would never betray my brother or his family."
"…Yes, I understand your brother has two sons and a…life partner," the executive says. "However, your brother does not work here, Rinchei, nor do you answer to him. You answer to us."
"My family is very important to me," I say. "Also, I would not want to betray the beta-players who have come to their 'Haven,' as many sites have labeled my game. I feel that would hurt our image," I say, glancing to Odawara. He looks away from me… …Maybe he does regret what he did…If I somehow manage to keep my job, I'll look into that…
…I admit, Odawara wasn't a bad guy, he knows his code and can figure out how to fix or work around a glitch pretty well.
"I understand but thanks to you, KameNoCha studios has more or less become a 'leader' in 'gay gaming,'" Another exec says. "Do you think that doesn't hurt our image?"
"The surge in pre-order sales and number of beta testers tells me it doesn't," I say. "Since news spread about The Way of The Mauve Fist, our pre-order sales have gone through the roof. And the number of public beta testers has exceeded even our highest expectations. We had to designate more servers to beta players due to the volume." That's the best defense I have and it's true! When I designated those initial servers as 'beta' servers, I was expecting the volume of Digimon Universe! So the fact I had to designate more is huge!
And I just can't turn down a fellow gamer, we don't turn down many beta requests. Applications are open until the end of the month and more are applying to get in at the last minute. I'm hoping we might have to designate another beta server!
"…I see," the executive lowers his head in thought.
I pass my sales figures to Odawara, he looks them over and passes them to the executive next to him. "These graphs show the number of pre-orders, both paid in full to our website as well as full and partial payment pre-orders collected from retailers. As well as beta-tester numbers since the 'incident.'"
The numbers finally get to Suzuki-san, looks them over, nodding. "…Very well. We're done here."
"Suzuki-san…?" The executives look to him. "That's it?"
"Yes. You can go, Li-san," Suzuki says.
…Game Over.
I bow my head. "…I appreciate my brief time working here." I say.
"What do you mean?" Suzuki-san says. "You're quitting?" What?
"Suzuki-san, I was under the impression I had two choices: Shut down gay guilds or be fired." I reply.
"Yes, but…" Suzuki-san sighs. "…Rinchei-san, I don't like my company suddenly being 'outted' as a 'Haven' for gay players without my knowledge. I don't appreciate someone who ignores direct orders. But…You did very well with Digimon Universe, that was one of our most successful games. And your current project currently has the highest number of full pre-orders for a massively multiplayer online game in our company history. Just promise me you'll be less…'festive' with future projects. That's all I ask."
I bow my head, smiling, "I will do so, sir. Sorry for causing you trouble."
"Good luck with you game, Li-san," Suzuki-san nods his head. I leave and walk straight back to the elevators…
…As soon as I step into the elevator I let out a long sigh, "Thank…the Gods…" I was so sure I was going to be fired. Thank. The. Gods.
I go back to my office, Kyouya stands. "Keep taking my calls, Kyouya, I'm staying." I grin.
Kyouya's eyes widen, he lets out a sigh of relief. "Th-Thank the Gods, Li-san!"
"Hell, do me a favor…Take an early lunch," I reach into my pocket and pull out some cash. "And come back with something we both like and a pint of plum ice cream for me, pint of whatever you want for you. My treat."
"Thank you, Li-san. I'll get your usual," Kyouya bows his head.
"Take you time and if you come back with change, I'll be pissed," I joke. I always let Kyouya keep the change when I send him out to buy lunch, sort of a payment, I guess. "Send word to the others, I'm still here!"
"I will! They'll be very relieved, Li-san."
"Glad to hear that!" I grin, stepping into my office. I reach for my phone, dialing Jianliang.
He answers on the second ring, must've been waiting for me. "…Lianjie? How'd it go? I did some checking and Hypnos can use a—"
"Jianliang, I got an important question for you. Seriously, it's life or death." I gotta ask this...
"Wh-What is it?"
…I just gotta ask this, so he knows…
"…Which button is 'start?'"
…I am still a GAMER FOR LIFE!
Ori's Notes:
First: Again, I want to give HUGE thanks to Ian R. Moros for the inspiration behind the revised "Lianjie and Odawara" plot. He gave me some advice based on the original draft that really helped out and helped me come up with this addition to the Lianjie's MMO sideplot. Check out his fics through Taiki's profile (Favorite Author\C2s) – They're awesome!
Regarding Lianji and Jianliang as kids – First, the game Lianjie's playing is known as "Super Mario All Stars" in the US and "Super Mario 2 – American Version" is a real game: The North American release of Super Mario Brothers 2 was another game modded to be a Mario game and the gameplay was radically different from the original Super Mario Brothers. Super Mario Brothers 2 (Japanese version) wasn't released in North America until All Stars.
Also, what Lianjie said about turtles and Sonic 2: This is sadly true. The Sky Chase Zone (where Sonic rides atop Tails' plane to get to the Death Egg as it launches into space) is the ONLY Zone to feature turtles as animals you free from robots (and the only Turtle-themed robots you see). And when you free them, they just…Fall… ..For miles…
So, we're faced with a moral conundrum: Which is worse for the turtle? An eternity of servitude to Eggman as a mindless robot? Or falling ten miles to their doom?
I asked Takato this very question and, after he was done eating some diced apples, we both came to the same conclusion…
…You SUCK, Sega!
Sega, you couldn't have at least given them little parachutes or something for an endgame laugh? I can't play Sonic 2 in good conscience, I just CAN'T!
Also, Jianliang not knowing which the start button is and refusing to kill Koopas was what I did when my cousin let me play his NES (I was, like, two or three at the time). I thought it'd be fun to toss that in for a laugh.
Oh and I gotta make a quick retcon: I'm pretty sure at some point in Kako Mo Yadda Yadda Yadda or one of the prequels, Lianjie says Jianliang has been playing games "since he was in diapers." Let's chalk that up to Lianjie exaggerating, not Jianliang still being in diapers at the age of four.
Finally, for anyone wondering: KameNoCha Studios' (the game studio Lianjie works for) name means "Turtle's Tea" or "Tea for Tortoise" Studios. Okama No Cha would mean "Gay Tea."
Taiki's Notes:
Awww, I love it when Ori does brother-to-brother moments! And I was relieved to see Lianjie keep his job, I was getting worried about how Ori's been taking the drama up a level in this fic.
And, once more, I second Ian's fics! Especially "The Fabulous Kenta Kitagawa," which has just gone up and looks wonderful so far! Drop off some reviews for him, too, please!
-Taiki Matsuki