- Unb0und BR
- |
- Honorable Member
This will be long. You will be inclined to stop reading half way through, call me a troll, make fun of me, whatever. Say what you must. But hear me out.
Halo 3 is, in the eyes of many, a game played by people with "no life", "losers", etc...we have heard all the cliches. And I suppose you all as the playerbase just ignore such judgements...such has been so true for me.
Allow me to tell my story:
I started playing Halo 3 in 2007 at the age 12. I loved it. At first I played with my older brother sometimes, but he stopped playing pretty quickly cause he got pretty busy with school. So I continued on alone, gaining ranks, getting armor sets, running Team Doubles, whatever.
Flash forward three years to 2010 and the release of Halo Reach. Now, you have to understand that as I got older, I became more addicted, and got into Halo Reach pretty hardcore. Snipers, doubles, arenas, you name it, I did it every night. My bedtime was 10, but I would stay up till eleven doing some business before getting back onto the xbox 360 at 11 and getting ready for my team's 11:30 games. For the last months of school leading up to winter break, I had done a great job of this without getting in trouble with my parents. But this all changed one night in December, 2006 I guess it was. I communicating with my microphone and we were in and about to snipe some hoes. I as the best player was in charge of killing the enemies. But my finger slipped, I killed my teammate, and we lost. Our team leader said "WHAT THE -blam!- WAS THAT DOOMFACE?" He started yelling at me and everyone else was sighing/giving me crap. "I'm...really sorry guys." I rarely spoke because I didn't want to wake up my parents or let them know how young I was. So we spawned and went in again, same thing, except this time I was so afraid to shoot that I lost couldn't get a single shot on an enemy. We lost. I sighed relief that it wasn't my fault, but I hear "Doomface.........you're out. Sorry buddy." Next thing you know I'm off their friends list without explanation. I started cursing and crying in party chat but no one could hear me.
I just sat there crying with my headphones still on when my dad came in. "Joseph, what the hell are you doin?" I explained the whole situation and while he felt bad, he grounded me for being up late...and that meant no Halo for winter break.
So I went on break, it sucked, but I thought I could wait.
When I got back on I was just warming up. But then my teammate's friend invited me to a party. "Hey Joseph, how are you sweetie?" I blushed. I guess she was just being motherly but I was still a little taken aback cause she was always so nice to me (so I had told her my first name). I played it cool. "I'm chillin, Swat awesome? How's the Destruction of Noobs ( my old team's name)" "Well, they are okay...not as good without you." My heart skipped a beat. I know this all seems really weird if you are reading but you have to understand I was not popular at school. I was that nerd kid, bullied, swirled (in toilets full of diarrhea, no less)...so any attention from a woman was big...even virtual. She played a really cute female gnome and I had certainly.........done some of my business while looking at a screenshot of me and her dancing. I responded by saying, "Hey...you want to go out on a date sometime?" I had no idea what I even meant. "Well gosh Joseph...um, you mean in game?" "....uh, yeah!" I said lying, but knowing that was only thing that would make since. So I made a private chat and on Valentines day 2011 (Wednesday night) we met. I dressed up much to my parents concern, and brought flowers to my desk. I took a picture of the flowers using the webcam. "Hey Wendy...um, I have something I want to show you, can I have your email?" "Sure!...I can't see the harm in that." She gave it to me and I sent the photo. She responded over chat that she thought it was beautiful. She then sent me a picture of herself, an older looking woman but kinda pretty nonetheless. "Wow, you are beautiful!" She paused. "Thank you." Keep in mind I am paraphrasing cause this was almost a year ago. We started walking through a custom game, admiring all the pretty stuff in there. She then said..."Hey Joseph, how old are you? Can I have a picture?" I paused...surely she knew I was young, I sounded so young over chat. "Sure I said...I awkwardly spiked my hair up and took a permanent marker to color in a slight beard. I sent it to her. Waited, nervous. Next thing I know she's out of chat and I get a message saying "You -blam!- pervert little kid...you are like 13...(I was 16)...you made me feel like such a pervert never talk to me again." Our old team leader messaged me and said "stop creeping on my friends you -blam!- freak." I -blam!- punched my wall right then, I have never been so pissed. My parents came in, but weren't mad - they knew I had been planning the date and allowed me to stay up late.
That was a low moment for me. But these were merely social issued within the game...still being addicted as I was I cared. So I played Halo, heartbroken. Life went on, middle school sucked, but the worst was yet to come.
High school was a step up middle school, if only because I made a new nerd friend, we'll call him Charlie. I'm 16 now, a bit smarter, developing, urges, all that. So long story short cause this is getting too long...I started feeling -blam!- for Charlie in real life. I texted him too much, and when we played together I would often flirt with him. I pretended to be a girl on party chat and one day we passed each other in the hallway. A bully...well, one of them...he had gone to middle school with me and had made fun of me relentlessly for Halo. He stopped us both in the hallway, put us up against the lockers, and said in front of all the kids going to their new classes. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE WE HAVE TWO -blam!-S WHO PLAY HALO." I started freaking out, shaking, about to cry. "AND SINCE THEY ARE SO -blam!- FOR EACH OTHER, LET'S SEE HOW
THEY REACT TO EACH OTHER." Next thing I know this guy is pulling my shorts down and Charlies shorts down...and then...if it couldn't get any worse...I got a hard on seeing Charlie naked and I....messed myself...if you know what I mean. Everyone gasped, howled, laughed, and I started crying. Bully kicked me in the balls, I ran out crying...
I don't know if anyone here has ever been so embarassed that it seems that they could literally never live life. I have never been suicidal. I just live life...its not that bad...but this.......wow. The bully got suspended for two weeks...but...Joseph moved schools never talked to me again.
I am now a sophomore at the same school. I have few friends. And I look back to 2007 and think, what if my brother had never suggested I play Halo...maybe, it would be all different. I have a 2.2 GPA and will be lucky to get into my town's local community college.
Thanks for reading. Life goes on. But.
My question to you all...
How do you deal with all the social issues Halo has caused you...and what do I do? What do I do to become cool...or like...cooler than I am now.