"Underground" Gaming | Anarchy4all | 1

{FIRST NAME} = Real first name
{LAST NAME} = Gamer Nickname

It's 10:50 at night and the arcade is about to close, which is a shame for most people, but you're not most people. Since he's alone, you walk up to Jerry, the guy who runs this place and works the last shift of every night, and say, "Jer, not too early is it?"

"Nah, I start admitting at 10:45, sure you don't want to play a little more though?" he asks as he unlocks the back door labeled, "Authorized Personal Only."

"I'm sure, I'd rather keep myself relaxed for the night ahead. If you hadn't noticed, I'd been playing driving games since 10:00, that should prove I'm relaxing my muscles."

"True," he says, "Okay, you know the rules, you touch the games before I say so, security throws you out."

"Yeah, yeah, don't tell me the rules, I'm not some rookie."

You head into the back and down the stairs behind the hidden door Jerry showed you last time he took you through the arcade. At the bottom, you see the already large crowd gathered and the waitresses in cocktail dresses. Everyone goes out and about their business as you take in the smell of adrenaline and smoke from weed and tobacco. Everyone is overwhelmed by exactly how huge Jerry's Arena really is the first time they see it, but this is your tenth time down here, so you're used to it. You can't believe you only started coming down here two months ago.

You always loved games, ever since you were 2, you actually learned you letters and numbers from a Mario preschooler game. By age 7, you were a gamer who spent his entire allowance at the arcade, and there was no stopping you by the time you were 10 and learned to bet on player vs. player games. Your betting got you in trouble sometimes, but you were usually very careful about it, and there was very little risk since you could shame almost anyone at that age, and you never hustled. In fact, at 12, you started taking money from the hustlers and were often asked to aid hustlers in one way or another, but you always turned them down, saying, "I bet so I can play more, you bet to put money in your pocket," and that's always been true, whatever you make off bets is used only for games, never for food, drink, or anything. You don't subscribed to online games with home consoles, you tried a few times, but find the users almost always use cheats or gang up on anyone who isn't part of their gang. That's why you love arcades, the games in here could only be won with talent. You're now 18, and your gaming skills have earned you the nickname "," but two months ago, there was something lacking.

Two months ago, you noticed, your motions were mechanical and there was no adrenaline, not to mention you couldn't get a challenger to bet you unless they were new to Jerry's or you went to a new arcade. You and Jerry became friends around the time you turned 14, when he noticed you came to his arcade immediately after school let out or would find you waiting for the arcade to open on the weekends and would stay until closing, only breaking this pattern when you had family or personal business. Initially, he would throw an extra quarter in for every dollar you exchanged with him personally, and before long, you became best friends or damn close to it. When he noticed you were bored with the games, he took you down the stair case you just came down and showed you the Arena he created for underground gaming.

In the Arena, the government's laws didn't apply, Jerry's word was the law down here. He allowed the use and sale of weed and all drugs that were already legal, for sale or medicinal purposes, there was no drinking age, and the environment was always exciting (in more ways than one). Another good thing about the Arena is that not only was betting allowed, the bets were always huge, you see people submitting hundreds and thousands of dollars, which took you a while to get used to since you never used to bet that kind of cash ("used to" being the keywords). But the best part, in your opinion, was the games he had down here. He had stolen prototypes of virtual reality games that replicate the feelings of the game perfectly, the fresh air, the scent of blood, pain, all of them. They worked perfectly, provided they got tuned up every night after the matches, and perfectly is the reason they're not on the market yet: the players could die if they lost.

As scary as it is, there are three very good reasons you start playing, and life becomes a fourth once the games start. First, the players are some of the best in the city, if not the best, so you've never had better challenges. Second, you get paid if you win, usually your purse is $1000, but it goes up or down depending on how much Jerry and his employees make, or don't make, off the bets. Third, you get dates: playing this game makes you a thrill seeker and a "warrior" as you're all called. Even if you didn't play, the environment made it a great hang out, and you could still get an easy fling who the warriors turned away and a ton of cash.

As you walk in, you hear a familiar voice call out, ", here to play, bet, or look for entertainment, of one kind or another?"

*Note to writers, the next thread should yield the character's sex and the sex of the voice's owner.*

Who calls out? What's your answer?

          Mary, and you're here for entertainment, and might bet (male character)

          Mary, and you're here to game (male character)

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