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Electronic Communication (Nanako)
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Post by Nanako Uehara on Jul 20, 2017 18:30:03 GMT
Okay, this worked. ThePunIsher was agreeing with her, and while someone more socially aware might have seen the begrudging tone even through the filter of text chat, Nanako was satisfied with that answer.
Her answer to ThreadsofFate's next question came quickly:
From ThreadsofFate: I've been playing The Master Trials in BotW. From ThreadsofFate: Have you played that?
Nanako had long held firm on not mixing her online and personal lives. She usually didn't like discussing other people's lives, either, but she'd made an exception to make sure her teammate wasn't sick or anything like that, and even then, she was more than happy to let the conversation go back to the game. She didn't talk about her life since it wasn't nearly as exciting as what she did in her games, and she avoided hearing about other people's lives because... well, they were probably so much more interesting than her life of sitting inside all day, playing video games, watching TV, and sewing when she wasn't watching online lectures or doing homework. So when people asked how she was doing, she always talked about her achievements in games or how she'd enjoy the latest show she'd been watching. Sometimes, she sprinkled in details on her sewing, but that was the closest she ever got to mixing her real self with her virtual self.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Aug 13, 2017 2:38:14 GMT
ThreadsofFate's answer to how she was been was to say which video game she was playing. It was kind of odd, honestly. If that was her answer to what she was up to lately he'd totally get that. He had been spending more of his days than he had liked lazing out and playing video games in the aftermath of Isaac's departure. But when that was her go-to response for how she was doing? Either she was skipping several steps in the conversation, or she was trying to avoid that part. Weird. At least the game of her choice was interesting.
From ThePunIsher: No. I don't have a WiiU. From ThePunIsher: How is it?
He thought for a bit, wondering if he should add to that statement with his earlier concerns or not. Maybe just a slight, subtle probe, to let ThreadsofFate know that he had noticed the discrepancy. Or maybe just some genuine well wishes. After all, it was important that people were at least having a better day than he was, right?
From ThePunIsher: Hopefully you're doing well today.
Beyond that, what could he even really do but keep going with the rest of the raid's flow? He'd have time for how he felt when he didn't need to be useful for people. Then he could let the weight of it all fall back on his shoulders. For now there was a different weight settled there, and he was not in the proper frame of mind to be dealing with both burdens at once. There was a reason why each longing look at the microphone was shrugged off, a shake of the head and a sigh of focus all that remained of such an idea.
Ugh, where they seriously going after this boss next? There was an atrocious amount of trash in his room to clear first. At least that meant he'd have a lot of time to talk instead of actually focusing. Maybe that would be both a blessing and a curse today.
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Post by Nanako Uehara on Aug 29, 2017 0:48:22 GMT
Nanako's eyes widened, and her jaw fell a little as she read ThePunIsher's messages. He hadn't played Breath of the Wild--no, worse, he couldn't because he didn't even have a WiiU! (She assumed he didn't have a Switch, either, otherwise he definitely would have played the game by now. It was too good not to play.) Her fingers sat frozen on the keyboard. On the one hand, she wanted to launch into a full-blown rant about the game and how great it was and how much he was missing. On the other, if she did that, she'd be spoiling the experience for him, and that would make her the worst kind of person on the internet! But what if he never got a chance to play? Then she had to tell him so he'd know just what an amazing experience it was!
There was only one solution to this dilemma: make like a game trailer and sell it without spoiling it!
Normally, Nanako used big trash pulls like these to watch some anime or YouTube on her other screen, but this time around, she used it to send quick messages about everything great about Breath of the Wild: its huge open world, its survival system, its variety of weapons, the fact that it let you explore as you wished while still giving your quests if you wanted or needed guidance (and, conversely, how you could go fight the final boss right away if you were crazy enough)... She briefly saw ThePunIsher's last message before starting on her spiel but didn't think much of it, leaving more room for thinking of how to heap praise onto the game.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Aug 29, 2017 17:45:41 GMT
Don't worry, Nanako. Elliot already knew a lot about Breath of the Wild. He was a really avid gamer, even if he didn't always have enough money to jump on the newest hits. Sure, his dad had World of Warcraft covered for him, but beyond that it was mostly him, his 3DS, and the Wii against the world. For that reason Elliot tended to dwell in arcades often. At least there he'd be able to get his hands on some of the newer releases, if only for 25 cents at a time.
For that reason, he wasn't exactly convinced by the massive blocks of text that Nanako was now dropping into his chat. The deluge continued all throughout the room's massive trash pulls, even extended into the part where the raid leader started repeating mechanics. This fight was a headache and a half, after all, and a disorganized group tended to make it even moreso. At this point the guild basically skipped the guy on a regular basis, only giving him a pity visit due to the next raid coming out just next week. Poor Elliot found himself having to scroll through all of the chat, making sure to read important fight warnings that were buried in the sheer mass of praise being heaped onto Breath of the Wild.
Still, Elliot made sure to at least be polite about reading it all, waiting until Nanako had presumably paused to take a breath before writing out his response.
From ThePunIsher: I'll see about it when I can afford it one of these days. From ThePunIsher: Thank you for telling me though.
Maybe soon the WiiU would hit that generational price drop. It seemed the product's current owners were holding onto it jealously, judging by how the price had barely budged. Maybe that was what low production runs and low sales did to a console. Would it be better to just go for a Switch, when 3DS games inevitably stopped being produced too? Decisions, decisions . . .
As much as Nanako's rambling was a bit headache-inducing, at least it gave Elliot a temporary distraction from his own glumness. Maybe she was doing a better job at this than either of them thought.
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Post by Nanako Uehara on Sept 21, 2017 4:18:36 GMT
Nanako wasn't exactly the best at looking at situations from others' perspectives. Sure, she was just as familiar with the phrase "Walk a mile in the other person's shoes" as anyone else who'd learned it in elementary school--and she was also familiar with the meme that went along with it: "That way, you're a mile away from them, and you have their shoes." But if she was aware of this flaw of hers, it wasn't something she really thought about, which was why she'd just assumed that ThePunIsher was listening to the voice chat just like she was when she'd sent her flood of text. Thanks to that, Nanako didn't have much trouble with the mob mechanics despite her incessant typing.
ThreadsofFate: Yeah! : D ThreadsofFate: It' sworth it.
Okay, so maybe she made a few tiny typos here and there, but still, she got her point across without dying, so that was a definite victory in her book. And it was way more entertaining than silently dragging herself through this pity raid.
The other problem with not being in ThePunIsher's theoretical shoes was that when he said "when I can afford it one of these days," she thought that meant soon. Like his family was just like hers, with a dad (or maybe even both parents) who had a good job and could give a steady allowance that, with enough saving, could eventually buy the newest consoles or better computer parts. In Nanako's case, she even had plush commissions to pad her income on occasion, though she knew that she was a bit of an outlier in that regard. Still, she rarely thought about families who couldn't afford luxuries like that, much less consider that her guildmate was part of one. Instead, she just let her focus go back to the battle at hand while she waited for any reply.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Oct 15, 2017 3:59:19 GMT
Elliot wasn't surprised that it was worth it. The game had only been talked up by basically every major and minor games outlet that he had heard about. Heck, even ones that Elliot hadn't heard about were showering the game in accolades. It was pretty much agreed to be the best Legend of Zelda release in recent history, if not in the entirety of the series. It was a gaming sensation in the most true sense of the word, and yet it was something Elliot likely wouldn't be able to get onto the ground floor of in a while. The fact that he had only recently moved to Japan really wasn't helping matters.
Neither was the fact that Isaac was gone. He didn't make much money at the butler and maid cafe, but what he didn't spend on gifts for Maia was a surprisingly large help for the household. Also, not to beat a dead horse, but Elliot dearly missed him. He blinked back a tear that was starting to form, getting back to the subject at hand.
From ThePunIsher: I'm sure it is. Maybe one day.
He didn't include typing "seriously, I can't afford it." Surely Nanako would understand what he meant by now, right? If the point was drilled in any further, it'd be hard not to feel a little bit left out. Would the game even still be considered good by the time he could get his hands on any of the recent Nintendo consoles? Public opinion turned on Zelda games surprisingly quickly, even if Breath of the Wild seemed legit good enough to capture that appeal for longer.
Maybe it'd be best if he changed the topic before Nanako could continue reminding him of that fact.
From ThePunIsher: Any other games recently?
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Post by Nanako Uehara on Nov 13, 2017 0:49:06 GMT
Nanako worried her bottom lip between her teeth, her mind split between thinking about other games and focusing on what was in front of her (or her character, at least). This year was supposed to be a really good one for games, but all the ones she was really looking forward to weren't out just yet: Sonic Mania, Splatoon 2, Cuphead, Super Mario Odyssey, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon... The list probably went on, and that didn't even include the ones she was bound to come across on Steam or something without even knowing about them. So she'd mostly been playing more Breath of the Wild and, of course, good old World of Warcraft while she waited for the really good new stuff. She'd poked through some of her older games, sure, but she hadn't really wanted to start anything new with so many awesome releases coming up soon.
ThreadsofFate: Do you play mobile games?
The sentence was on the screen before Nanako had even registered typing it.
ThreadsofFate: Sometimes I play FE Heroes when I
Her pinky finger grazed the Enter key just a little too hard in her haste to explain herself. Mobile games were kind of hit and miss with most people. Nanako liked them, but she knew plenty of gamers who thought they were for "filthy casuals" and all that, and she wasn't too keen on getting labeled. Again.
ThreadsofFate: *I'm watching TV.
There. Hopefully, that made it look like more of a casual interest than it actually was for her and her army of five-star favorites...
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Nov 14, 2017 3:42:41 GMT
Mobile games, huh? Sadly, those just never stuck well for Elliot. They always had fun openings, but once they slowed down they slowed to a crawl. He always tried to get into them, but they never really ended up working out. Maybe if he didn't perpetually have his 3DS glued to his person, he'd have more need to tap at his phone. Unfortunately, he did, so he always bit into those games instead.
From ThePunIsher: Don't really have the patience for those, sorry. From ThePunIsher: But it's cool that you do!
That said, at least Nanako picked a very good one to get invested in. Or, rather, to coolly play off her investment in. Fire Emblem was always one of Elliot's favorite franchises, and probably one of the first that he had gotten into. Even if some of the games were infuriatingly rare now, and the series was probably hopping to the Switch soon, he had played pretty much all of the ones that had released stateside up to this point. Now that he was in Japan, he could even play the ones that didn't! That would be a learning experience for sure.
From ThePunIsher: I really like Fire Emblem too. From ThePunIsher: Which game's your favorite?
Maybe this would be nice. A conversation they could both fairly participate in, and one that wouldn't remind him of the huge, horrible burden currently weighing him down. It'd be a fun chance to get to know Nanako a bit better, at least. She seemed distracted sometimes, and could certainly go on a tangent, but she was sweet. And while he refused to admit what was weighing on him, it still meant so much that at least somebody checked.
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Post by Nanako Uehara on Nov 27, 2017 19:03:49 GMT
The word "cool" on her screen gave Nanako pause. "Cool." Nobody ever called her or anything she did "cool." She could almost feel her brain short-circuiting as she tried to process that simple word. ThePunIsher was either into the same kind of stuff she was... or he was getting set up to mock her. She sort of doubted it was the latter, given ThePunIsher's normal disposition, but she was still on guard. It had happened before, after all, shortly before she'd stopped going to regular school.
Lost in her thoughts, Nanako didn't have time to respond before ThePunIsher's next messages came in. It didn't take much thinking for her to come up with her answer, but the rest of her messages came after short pauses for further thought and whatever required her attention in-game:
From ThreadsofFate: I really liked Awakening. From ThreadsofFate: Fates was good, too. From ThreadsofFate: Oh, and I've been playing Echoes! From ThreadsofFate: I know it's a remake, but idk, I like seeing what remakes do.
She decided not to elaborate further lest she somehow sound even nerdier than she already was. She wasn't one of those people who proclaimed that retro games were the only good games, but she still liked playing older games when she could get her hands on them just to see what they were like, and seeing good remakes of those was always fun. Especially since a lot of older games could be... clunky, to put it one way.
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