6
Pandango

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world." The Buddha

"So erythrocytes are the most abundant type of cells found in the blood. They typically last about one hundred twenty days, with most of the iron being recycled but some of it must be replaced. Normally erythrocytes are highly flexible cells that transport oxygen and carbon dioxide. Sickle cell anemia, however, causes RBCs to be" bzzt "much less flexible, and causes them to get caught. The bone marrow is res—"

Confidential – Team Final Frontier Gaming
Tue, Oct 11, 2016, 12:03 (0 minutes ago)
Simon Penn penn
to me

Pandango,

Final Frontier Gaming is inviting you to be a member of our team to compete in the upcoming League of Legends North American series. We cannot give you the list of other people we have invited, but as of yet, two players have accepted our invitation. We are in need of a mid laner for the team, but of course roles can be swapped around if the need arises.

We have set aside a budget to pay for a player's travel, as well as a salary for at least three months. As you know Riot guarantees a stable salary for teams that qualify into the LCS, so making it there will be tougher than simply being on FFG.

Feel free to reply with any questions you may have or talk to me on Skype (contact information available at FFG's contact page). Please respond with an official answer by this Friday and we can discuss things in more depth.

Please try to keep this under wraps for the time being until we can make an official announcement. Try not to show things off on stream and try not to talk about or hint towards this on social media. I cannot stress enough how important this is to us.

Thanks, and game on.

Sincerely,
Simon "ShellShock" Penn
Founder, Final Frontier Gaming


"Jorge!"
"…what?"
"What is it in the blood that allows it to transport oxygen?"
"Oh. Hemoglobin."
"Yes. Hemoglobin is responsible for carrying—"
A once in a lifetime opportunity, a rare one, in the palm of my hands and I can respond in just a few seconds, and my future could change forever. In the palm of my hands.

Who could the other players be? Two of them accepted already, possibly new people, unlikely that already salaried and sponsored players would take a risk with a newly formed team. Maybe someone wasn't able to keep their mouth closed and some information was leaked…the internet detectives would know something by now if that were the case.

"Alright, so then I'll see you guys Friday. Email me if you have any questions."
God damn. Still one more class before calling it a day, but only three days to decide. Fuck it, I'll just have to get home 'sfast as possible and see if there's any news. Who could be the other two players who haven't decided yet? Maybe they're already in an LCS team and are negotiating for better deals?

Fuck, am I even good enough to compete at top tier? Can I play at the same level as the greatest of North American mid laners? Dasher? MissInk? Zoroichi? Who'm I missing? Phyros. Marlwolf. Do I have what it takes, or have I just gotten lucky up until now? That can't possibly be. I must be doing something right. Anything. I couldn't have gotten this far without having mitigated the mistakes I make while playing. Of course I can hang in top tier. If this works out, it'll be my job to mitigate mistakes. That I can do.

Who'll be on the team, though? Are they assholes who rage in solo queue? What if they just got lucky? That couldn't possibly be the case, could it? If I got this far by doing at least one thing right, they surely must have as well. And they can be anyone I play with on a daily basis.

What'll mom and dad think when I tell them about this? They'll probably want to see numbers or automatically think I'm getting scammed. Why are there still no eSports leagues in universities? I thought this was the place where we pioneer into the future, not stick to the same methods for decades. This'd all be far easier to explain and actualize if it weren't just a huge gambit raising red flags for everyone. Fuck.
Fuck!
Bzzt.
(12:22) Michelle: Yo where are you?
Shit…forgot again.
Call sender.
"Hey, Jorge, where are you?"

"Hey, Michelle, something came up during class. I'm going to have to skip next class and shit. Something important came up."
"…Jorge, something always comes up with you. At this point I don't even know if I want to keep trying with you."
"First of all, let me just say sorry. I know I haven't kept my word these past two or so weeks, but I've been finding it difficult to adjust to university. For this thing that's come up, I only have a few days to do some research on it, and maybe something big will come out of it. So if you're willing to put off one more day of my stupidity, I'll be all yours from here on."

"You know what? To be perfectly honest, I want to accept that offer. But I don't know if you're just going to keep doing the same thing day after day, week after week. Maybe I just need to set my expectations low and this relationship can work, but I really, really don't think that's what I want to do. Can you at least tell me what it is that's so important that we can't go to lunch as scheduled? You don't sound as ecstatic and kawaii as always. How serious is this?"

"…there's…there's this thing called eSports. It's…more or less it's competitive gaming, as…as a spectator sport. I was just invited to a team, and I have to let them know by Friday if I want in. I don't know if it's a reputable organization, though, so that's what I'm going to go find out for like the next two or three days. If you want to know why I'm going so far as to skip class and our planned lunch, I can show you a few videos and articles about what this is and why it's so important to me."

"So you're saying that some game is just going to—"
"It's, it's not just a game."
"Fine, okay. But you're saying this competitive gaming thing is more important than even going to your next class?"
"If you let me show you the videos of past events and tournaments I think you'd quickly see why I'm taking this so seriously."
"…I'll just…I'll talk to you later, then, if you're going to be busy doing stuff. I don't know how long I'll be willing to remain calm about this whole thing, though, so you're off the hook…for now."
"Alright, cool. I'll call you later tonight if I get the chance. And I'll let you know what happens with all this."
"…yeah."

She's fucking pissed at me. Damn it, Shellshock. Agh! The only thing that could make this day any worse is a Teemo shroom.
I know what my parents are going to say, already. Why am I even bothering trying to convince them? If I go for this, would they kick me out of the house? What would I have to do to make this shit work? How would I get them on board without severing ties?

Music bled into his mind while he worked his way off campus. Students rushed in every direction, some running, some at the pace of snails, others standing in groups talking and laughing and overall enjoying the best years of their lives.

Upon the grassy knolls stood the eldest trees on campus, towering above even some buildings. From time to time landscaping crews worked on the vantage point: they would pull the weeds and cut the thin, young vines eager to grow. They left the ancient, clunky roots growing out of the soil to absorb all the nutrients and all the sunlight, to provide further nourishment and wealth and health, and to preserve the prestige of the old guard.

He exited from the black gates of campus and walked to the bus stop. Vehicles flooded the streets, vehicles driven by people who had gone through the same educational system he was in, and they were people who would perpetually fill roles because it was what tradition had dictated. They had all been processed and developed and trained by the scholastic assembly line to complete tasks to certain expectations and then move on to the next task and the next and the next. They had all been rewarded with letters and numbers that would be forever attached to their résumés alongside their other lists of accomplishments, one after the other after the other, with no time to think any further and with no time to reflect or criticize—there, another task, do that! it must be done! it is as those before me have done! no time to improve on it! it must be done now! immediately! why isn't it done yet, do you not want more letters and numbers to add to your résumés?

And do not burden yourself with the worry of educational costs. If you follow in our footsteps we will ensure we set you up with internships and eventually you will begin to make profits, just like us. In the meantime, look at this grand oasis we have built to train your mind. The fauna and shrubbery are sure to keep your mind at peace, and look at all of these events we have for students, just like you—no, especially for you. I do not speak as a businessman—I speak as a friend, and an educator. Look at all of these people, they are just like you. Think of this, think of now; do not worry about the world outside the school or where we find the money for this. When the time is right you will earn a dollar, one by one. We are resolute in our structure, it has worked for us for centuries and there is no need to change it now. We have all of this down to a science—this is the safest way to make it through life. Listen to the politicians, they have it all figured out: the only way you could possibly fail is if you are too lazy to work. They, too, have gone through this system, and so it is to be trusted. You are in the right hands, always—just do as we say. Do not take unnecessary risks, do not step where there are no more footsteps to follow, only those with years of experience can do that. Stay where there is sure footing, there is no need for you to attempt to carve your own footprints into the cement with a plastic knife. If you fail, you will be laughed at, no one can handle being laughed at, especially not a young person like yourself who has not experienced the troubles and difficulties of life. Always consider what others think of you, for they keep you grounded in reality. We urge you to stay where it is safe, we will provide you with a future.

[37:52] Pompow (Nasus) has targeted AES Marlwolf – (Lux)
[38:13] Bls SaintSpark has slain AES MechaHive for a double kill!
[38:16] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): :(
[38:25] Pandango has slain Tahr for a double kill!
[38:13] Pandango has ended Tahr's killing spree! (Bounty: 500G)
[38:25] Pandango has slain JessThePinkMan for a triple kill!
[38:25] Pandango is unstoppable!
[38:25] Your team has scored an ace!
[38:29] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): real
[38:29] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): dat flash q
[38:34] [All] Pandango (Karthus): lol
[38:35] [All] Pandango (Karthus): wat r u talking about?
[38:36] [All] Pandango (Karthus): i didnt' flash
[38:37] [All] AES Marlwolf (Lux): long range skittles doe
[38:46] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): damn panda ur pr
[38:47] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): pretty good at lieing
[38:50] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): I know the perfecet job for oyu
[38:53] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): the governemtn
[38:54] [All] Pompow (Nasus): xD
[38:56] [All] AES Marlwolf (Lux): he's just kidding
[38:57] [All] AES Marlwolf (Lux): there are no jobs
[38:57] [All] Crescendo (Sona): :p
[38:59] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): rofl
[39:59] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): 4659 bar
[39:59] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu) has slain Baron Nashor!
[39:03] [All] Pandango (Karthus): lol wtf
[39:06] Pompow (Nasus): oshit u landed the smite
[39:10] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): lol
[39:10] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): stfu
[39:16] [All] Pandango (Karthus): will pentakill for monies
[39:18] [All] Pandango (Karthus): pls
[39:25] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted the Inner Turret
[39:26] Pompow (Nasus) is on the way
[39:26] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): too low im scared
[39:30] Crescendo (Sona): -_-
[39:42] Pompow (Nasus): drag soon
[39:46] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): Cresh pls b
[39:47] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): plssssssssssssss
[39:50] Crescendo (Sona): Either you help me take tower.
[39:50] Crescendo (Sona): And we keep pushing.
[39:52] Crescendo (Sona): Or I go alone, die, and we lose towers.
[39:53] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu) is on the way
[39:55] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): y u always take ur team hostage? qq
[39:57] Crescendo (Sona): Because win.
[40:00] UltimateBurrito (Lucian): Saint stop crying in jungle and man up
[40:03] UltimateBurrito (Lucian): ur crying so much I can see a river
[40:05] [All] Pandango (Karthus): saint won't stop crying in your jungle
[40:07] [All] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): qq
[40:10] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): i have a hug for him
[40:12] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): come to bot inhib
[40:20] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): I said bot not top
[40:27] Crescendo (Sona): B after.
[40:37] [All] AES Marlwolf (Lux): pls respond
[41:05] Crescendo (Sona) purchased Sight Ward!
[41:10] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu) purchased Sight Ward!
[41:23] Crescendo (Sona): TP/Karthus ult cd?
[41:30] Pompow (Nasus): 1min
[41:34] Crescendo (Sona): Pressure top while we take bot?
[41:35] Pompow (Nasus) is on the way
[41:40] UltimateBurrito (Lucian): all mia
[41:47] Crescendo (Sona): Want a ward in top jungle?
[41:50] Pompow (Nasus): i'm good
[42:18] Pandango (Karthus) signals that enemies are missing
[42:24] Crescendo (Sona): They're probably all going up towards you.
[42:26] Crescendo (Sona): We'll take bot if they do.
[42:48] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted the Inhibitor
[42:48] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted the Inhibitor
[42:49] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted the Inhibitor
[42:57] Pompow (Nasus): lol they sent 3
[43:10] Pompow (Nasus): have FH
[43:11] Pompow (Nasus): tanky as fuck
[43:15] Pompow (Nasus): they gonna iwsh they hadn't let the dogs our
[45:53] Crescendo (Sona) signals to be careful
[45:59] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): bar 1 min
[46:03] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): why you guys no come to me?
[46:07] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): I just want to give you cupcakes
[46:14] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): also
[46:14] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): saint
[46:14] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): cresencdo
[46:16] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): y u block minimap? :C
[46:21] [All] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): real
[46:26] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): everyone else
[46:28] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): y u no stream?
[46:32] [All] Pandango (Karthus): lol
[46:34] [All] Pandango (Karthus): I want you to tryhard, son
[46:35] Pompow (Nasus): 51:40 lux falsh
[46:36] [All] Pandango (Karthus): don't be so
[46:40] [All] Pandango (Karthus): ENTITLED
[46:43] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): D:
[46:43] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): k
[46:44] Crescendo (Sona) is on the way
[46:45] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu) is asking for assistance
[46:46] Pandango (Karthus) is on the way
[46:46] Pandango (Karthus) is on the way
[46:55] Crescendo (Sona) signals to be careful
[46:56] UltimateBurrito (Lucian) signals that enemies are missing
[46:57] Crescendo (Sona) signals to be careful
[46:59] Pandango (Karthus): we baiting or gettign?
[47:00] Pompow (Nasus): get
[47:03] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted AES MechaHive – (Volibear)
[47:03] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted Tahr – (Aatrox)
[47:07] UltimateBurrito (Lucian) is asking for assistance
[47:13] AES Marlwolf has ended Pandango's killing spree! (Bounty: 437G)
[47:15] UltimateBurrito (Lucian) has slain Baron Nashor!
[47:15] [All] Pompow (Nasus): these junglers doe
[47:16] [All] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): lol
[47:16] [All] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): saint is that you?
[47:16] [All] xNietzsche (Jinx): wooololoolol
[47:16] [All] Pandango (Karthus): pc
[47:16] Crescendo (Sona) has targeted AES Marlwolf – (Lux)
[47:17] UltimateBurrito (Lucian) has targeted xNietzsche – (Jinx)
[47:17] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): fkn sky lazrz
[47:18] Pandango has slain Tahr for a double kill!
[47:18] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): h4h4h4h4h oyur so funny
[47:18] Pandango has slain xNietzsche for a penta kill!
[47:19] Your team has scored an ace!
[47:20] UltimateBurrito (Lucian): lol gj
[47:20] Crescendo (Sona) is on the way
[47:20] Crescendo (Sona) is asking for assistance
[47:24] [All] AES MechaHive (Volibear): ggs
[47:24] Enemy team agreed to surrender with 4 votes for and 0 against!
[47:24] [All] AES Marlwolf (Lux): ggwp
[47:25] [All] UltimateBurrito (Lucian): gg
[47:25] Crescendo has started a surrender vote. Type /surrender or /nosurrender
[47:25] [All] Crescendo (Sona): GG ^u^
[47:26] [All] Pandango (Karthus): good agme duderinos :D
[47:26] [All] JessThePinkMan (Lulu): geeg
[47:27] Enemy team agreed to surrender with 5 votes for and 0 against!
[47:28] [All] Bls SaintSpark (Amumu): gg wp
Victory!

Alright, back to work. Let's see…Simon "Shellshock" Penn, played Counter-Strike for Collateral Gaming, from 2004 to 2007—aged seventeen to twenty at the time. That'd make him…two thousand seven, plus nine to sixteen, twenty-nine. After playing he coached for two years, then managed for another two. Damn. This guy knows what's up.

Founded Final Frontier Gaming after leaving Collateral on good terms. Hmm. FFG…guides, forums, contests, online tournaments. NeoTokyo: most popular streamer, he plays every role pretty well whenever we're in the same game. Currently offline. Hmm.
NeoTokyo…has been duoing with DeusRex for the last…every game. Tokyo: Shen, Renekton, Vlad, Shen, Aatrox, Yorick, Rumble, Rumble, Garen, Tee—Teemo. Such Teemo. My top laner—hello, Kyoto.
Rex: Bli—is that a…jungle Blitz? Elise, Zac, Hecarim, Alistar, Elise, Lee Sin, J4, Eve, Eve. My jungler—hello, Deus Ex Machina.
"Jorge, when did you get home?"
"Oh hey, ma. I got back about an hour ago. I came home early since I have to do some research on something important."
"You already have a big paper due?"
"It's not for school. Is…uh…is dad home?"
"He'll be around in a minute—he stepped out to pick up some things at the store."

"Well, since you're here I might as well explain it to you. There's this thing called eSports, it's people playing video games professionally, for money, for glory…fame, too, I guess. It's like sports, but for video games. Let me show you a video—so this was earlier this month, World Championship where only the two best teams from the world played. Neither was an American team partly because…well most Americans don't know what eSports is or how big it is, so there are very few ways for people to get anywhere near the top and onto a world stage."

"Wait, is that a stadium?"
"Yeah. Tens of thousands of people in attendance. With millions more watching online."
"Why online? Can't they put this on TV?"

"Well, it's been tried about a decade ago, but honestly there are a lot of conflicts, and established organizations that already distributed competitive gaming content just did it so much better. TV tried to make it too much like traditional sports, but gaming can't be exhibited the same way. There are some fundamentally different philosophies between the restrictions and time slots of television and the freedom and flexibility of online streaming."

"Are you trying to say you want to do something like this?"
"Sort of. Earlier today I got an email, and the founder of a gaming organization invited me to be a player. I may have to move, I'm not sure where yet but I'm guessing LA, New York, Chicago, Seattle, maybe."
"Wait, are you serious about all of this?"
"Yeah, look, I can show you the email. I've been looking up information on the sender, and it's definitely the founder. He has a long history in competitive gaming, so he knows how business works."
"Wow, well this is great! Will all of this happen after you graduate?"
"…that's the thing, ma. I've only got one chance. One opportunity, and that's right now."
"Are you saying you're going to have to drop out of school?"
"That's one way of doing it. But I'm thinking I can submit a request for a temporary leave. The email says I'll be paid for three months, so until the end of January. If nothing happens, I'll just continue next semester."
"This is definitely something we have to talk about with your father."
"Yeah, I know."

"No, absolutely not, this is silly."
"Dad, I've only got this one chance. Even at twenty I'm too old. I'm already late. If I were seventeen or eighteen I'd definitely have the natural reaction speed to play my best."
"I forbid you from doing this. There are always going to be people better than you no matter what. If this is your only chance and you're already past your prime, it's definitely not going to work out."

"You've told me countless times in the past that in life some opportunities are rare and that I should take them when I can. I can just do this for the three months and if it doesn't work out, I'll just continue with school normally and I won't pursue this anymore. Can we just do it that way?"

"Look, son, you're not thinking straight. Listen to yourself: you want to drop school for three months to play video games. Video games aren't going to get you anywhere in life. You're not going to be doing anything productive, and it'll probably lead you nowhere. This is extremely high-risk, and it's a risk you don't need to take. Just go through with school like everyone else. You can pursue video games when you're done with school and you'll have nothing but support from me."

"C'mon, don't you at least think you could believe in me just a little? Like, I'm sure you've taken risks in your life. Like all the fucking time."
"Like all the what time?"

"Sorry. But I'm sure you've had to make hard choices in your life, decisions you probably didn't want to make. And even then, if I fail at this, I can always just return to school easily. If I don't try, I'll never know. Isn't that how you met mom? You decided to go for it. You told me yourself that even you weren't sure if it would work out. You've always wanted me to give one hundred ten percent at everything, but now you're preventing me from even doing one hundred. I can't know if I'll fail if I don't try. What if you were born in a world where competitive video games were mainstream alongside football? You would have cheered on for your favorite team and I'd be sitting on the couch next to you cheering along. You would have raised me to practice football for an hour and then a video game for an hour. You would be urging me to take this chance—you'd probably be begging me to take it. And you'd be proud as fuck if you ever saw your son competing and winning at something he's good at and something he enjoys doing. You've said it over and over again: you've followed your heart all your life and it hasn't failed you. You've told me many times to follow mine, and right now, mine is here. In this, I want to be able to pioneer something for the future and actually make a difference. When you ask me what good came out of playing a lot of video games, right now the answer is, I could have almost been a professional player. I want to be able to say that all those hours led me to playing professionally, and maybe I still can. If I fail and if I make a mistake because of this, at least I'll know. And there's nothing worse than not knowing. This is my wager to lose, and yours to win. If I make a mistake, I will own up to it. I promise."

"How about you give me a few minutes to think this over again? We'll talk at dinner, son."
"Alright."
"I think you made very good points, Jorge. I'll talk to him some more."
"Thanks, ma."
What if he says no? He seemed pretty adamant in sticking to his no. If he says no…then fuck it. It's not his decision to make. He can't live my life for me. This is my life. I get to choose. Wolves don't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.
Bzzt.
(16:45) Michelle: You know what, I think I need some time to rethink this. Let's go our separate ways a bit. I'll let you know how I feel in a week.
This isn't his risk to take—this isn't his education and his future and his life on the line. They're mine! Even if he'll hate me for it, I'll do it.
Better start studying.
YouTube.
LoL coL vs Max 2016 NA LCS Summer Week 2 Day 2.
03:10
"—ecause this was a standard start with no aggressive wards placed, it was an optimal decision for Maxim to send two top rath—"
19:42
"—and at the end of the day Collateral just stood back and watched."

"And not only did they just kind of give up Dragon to Maxim, but MissInk made a run for that top lane. So she's immediately pushing the side of the map furthest from Dragon to punish them. It was a five v five that Maxim were daring Collateral to take, and since Collateral is a really smart team, even though Collateral could have contested Dragon and won that fight, it was a risk, and they weren't willing to take it."

"It does show a clear focus. They're more interested in towers than anything else right now. MissInk is taking a lot of tower hits, but she's facetanking it just to get her team their fifth tower of the game."

"And with five turrets to zero in favor of Collateral, that is exactly where all the gold difference comes from right now. The CS numbers are starting to normalize across the board, but Collateral is still six thousand gold ahead and it's stayed at that value for a pretty long time."

"Sorcerer's Shoes have been picked up by Zoroichi, he's really going to want that additional mobility now that the laning phase is over" bzzt "and do a bit more damage as he roams around the map and participates in teamfigh—"

(16:47) Mammy: Don't let him know i told you but he cried tears of joy. You're in the green. Your father is proud to have a passionate man like yourself for a son. Let us know how we can support you in all of this. :)

God fucking yes!