Geeky Turn On!

Anime and gaming: the formula for a perfect evening

  7 PM on a Wednesday; time for me and Jolie to hop onto Rabbit and watch some anime! I logged onto Rabbit, and sure enough, Jolie's already on. I immediately opted to chat her up...

Jolie: "Hiiii! Atashi am ready! Is Daisy-chan ready?"

Me: "Hell to the yeah; what's on tonight?"

Jolie: "How about Hunter x Hunter?"

Me: "Ya know I never seen it? Let's go!"

And so Jolie and I started watching Hunter x Hunter. Great series, I loved it. By the time we reached episode 8, Jolie told me she was too tired to go on. I told her good night, and she fell asleep. I do enjoy our Wednesday anime showings.

So with nothing to do and too much pep in me, I decided to check out my email. I noticed that Paige had emailed me! I opened it to read:

Dear Daisy:

Hope you're feeling better today. Hey, I could use a girl's perspective; I've got a guy who's crushing on me. He's pretty big in his community, and I kinda like him back. Think I should go for it?

I sighed to myself; I knew she was straight. Oh well. I decided to write back to her.

You answered your own question: you like him back. Why not date him, see how it goes? I mean, what's the harm?

And so I clicked send. I decided to check the rest of my emails, see if anything was going on. I noticed Gabe sent me something...

Dorkwinkle:

Star Wars Marathon at Gatekeeper this weekend. Prequels on Friday, OT on Saturday, Sequels on Sunday.

And I just about DIED! I flipping LOVE the Prequels, but I couldn't go this weekend because I had a sex date with April! AUUUUUUUUGH!!!

After having a (fake) cry, I decided to let Gabe know I wouldn't be showing up for the Prequels, as I had a date. A minute after hitting Send, he chats me up.

Gabe: "Date with Pinkie?"

Me: "Yup."

Gabe: "What happened to Blondie McHottie?"

Me: "She's straight."

Gabe: "Dorkwinkle, your gaydar is non-existent. I know straight girls; she wasn't straight."

Me: "She's into this guy."

Gabe: "So she's Bi. Big whoop. You screwed up."

Me: "I never had a shot; you said so yourself."

Gabe took a whole ten minutes to respond to me. He finally did.

Gabe: "Well, too late for regrets. Pinkie's cute, but she doesn't compare."

Me: "Yeah? She looks great naked!"

Gabe: "TMI."

TMI stands for too much information. Basically I grossed him out.

Me: "Man, I can't believe I'm gonna miss the Prequels."

Gabe: "Not like ya ain't ever seen them before."

Me: "Yeah, but I LOVE Star Wars Watch Parties."

Gabe: "LOL yeah, they and gaming tournaments are the only times you ever socialize."

Me: "STFU."

STFU means shut the (CENSORED) up.

Gabe: "Anyway, at least your romantic life is picking up. You might be a cradle robber, but at least she's legal."

Me: "Yeah..."

I sighed. I was tempted to write to him about my "episode" this afternoon, but...I didn't want to bother him. As far as he knows, my last "episode" happened ten years ago. I'd rather keep it that way.

Only DragonLord666 knows they've been happening ever since. And I'd rather not bother him, either.

Speaking of, I decided to open up LoL and see if he's on. He wasn't. Not even a message; guess he's still out on that vacation with his family. I sighed.

I could feel a dark place creeping up on me. I thought about playing some Persona 4, but I noticed I got a new email; Paige had written me back. I opened up the email...

This is his YouTube channel.

I clicked the link; my eyes widened. It was the Nerd Culture Detective, a particularly good looking guy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a nice pair of glasses. His glasses looked hip and happening, unlike my coke bottle glasses.

"Hello, I'm Paul Jones, and this is Nerd Culture Detective," he said in his video. "Today, we're looking into the misogyny of the hit TV show, The Big Bang Theory."

I really hated that show; I've always felt it tried too hard to appear nerdy while at the same time appealing to a non-nerdy audience. Like in this one episode I saw, where the characters were playing ping pong and the bowl haired guy was naming a bunch of stuff and apparently the audience was laughing. Like what the flying FLIP where they laughing at? He just named a bunch of stuff; where's the joke? HOW THE HELL IS THAT FUNNY!?

Anyway, The Nerd Culture Detective, or Paul Jones as he's called, went on to make the point that the show was sexist against women. He pointed out how characters like that dude with the bowl cut never experience consequences for being creepy towards women, and how the show validates that old stereotype of "wearing women down" till you conquer them by having the gal played by Kaley Cuoco hook up with the nerdy guy with glasses. I sighed; I'm all too aware that stuff like that isn't how it goes in real life.

"This is emblematic of the misogyny of Nerd Culture as a whole," he continued. "These guys are all inspired by general Nerd Archetypes. You might have met them in real life: the creepy guys who stare at girls, make them feel uncomfortable in places like comics stores or video game tournaments. They have turned what was once a Safe Haven for society's rejects into a Boy's Only club that is outwardly and shamelessly hostile towards women who only want to share their passion."

I sighed; I've been on the receiving end of that. Gabe taught me how to take it in stride and not give a crap what gatekeepers think, though. And Todd's helped me feel welcomed in the spaces he frequents.

"Tune in next week, when I bring a special guest onto the show to talk about love in Nerd Culture," said Paul Jones, smiling. "That's right, Doctor Geeky Romance will be here on this show next week on a LIVE stream! Don't miss it!"

I couldn't believe I watched a whole half hour of some dude talking about misogyny in a show I've always hated. Damn...

That's when it hit me. No wonder Paige likes him: he's smart, good looking, has over a quarter million subscribers on YouTube; he's got it all! I never stood a chance if she can pull guys like that!

No, I never stood a chance with her. I mean, why would I? I'm...

I'm heading to a dark place again. No, no, no, I don't wanna go there. I need gaming, yeah. Persona 4, here I come!