I know I'm not who you expected, we don't really do this sort of thing. We're not the kind for pity support groups... but even so. I had to see you, to see if it was true. I could hardly recognize you; so much taller and beautiful. I never once thought that would be a word to describe you.
When you saw me, your eyes widened for an instant. Almost surprised to see another of your kind; the forgotten ones. Rage replaced that surprise almost instantly, like this had happened before. I wasn't the first to see how you've changed.
Your demeanor softened when I asked if you'd like to get coffee. Of course, I said, I'd pay. I'd never say it to your face but I doubt you could afford a new shirt from a dollar store, let alone overpriced hipster brew.
You watched me through narrowed eyes, holding your drink close. Still trying to work out if I was planning something against you. Unable to take the awkward silence, I sighed and cut to the chase. No, I wasn't here to ruin your day. Yes, part of the reason was to see if the rumors were true.
Why had it taken me so long? You try spiraling into a deep depression where success and fame only made things worse. . . I'm sorry. Please don't cry, I didn't mean it that way. W-Wait, don't leave. At least let me explain before you go.
I don't know how much you know. I doubt you've ever cared about me, so not much. My parents died when I was young; my whole family died, really. I don't really like to talk about it, but... I only survived because I was an angsty teenager that didn't want to spend time with the family. Stayed home when they elected to go out. Their car was hit by a drunk driver and. . . yeah.
While my parents left me with nothing but debt in their name, my uncle left me with billions of dollars. No one had known how rich he was until then.
I stayed at home all the time. I cried non-stop for years, television my only escape. I had no friends, no family, and no one to help me. Those that I met after the deaths were only after the money...
Like Crystal Dynamics. They came knocking, asking if I wanted to be the star of a video game. Didn't make sense at the time why they would choose me; at least not until I found they were broke. Or so they claimed. If I would just fund the development of the game, well... I could be the star and they'd do the rest.
The first game did well enough. They let me ad-lib my own lines and come up with things as I went, which. . . was really nice, honestly. Knowing that I was the hero and actually worth something at least in the span of the game. I could wake up for once with the comfort that things would play differently.
People looked at me differently. They saw a hero, or at least someone that wasn’t a pathetic kid crying his heart out every day. That feeling helped when the sequels came around, at least for a little while...
I don't remember much about them... the high of the first game faded as fast as it had come. When the credits rolled, and all was said and done, nothing changed. I was still home alone at night, with only the glow of the television to keep me company. The tears still came just as easy, and there was no one to share anything with.
And.. as all pathetic bastards do; alcohol became my only, and best, friend. That pushed me through the next two games, but by the time the third ended I didn't care. I was so numb to it all that I openly embraced the poison that took my family away from me.
All I remember from those games is that Crystal Dynamics had a huge interspecies kink and tried to sneak it into the series whenever possible. It was a really weird time...
After the third game, I'd had enough. The misery was only getting worse the more I worked with them, and I just couldn't take it. So while they started work on a fourth game, I left. For a time I'm fairly sure I single handedly kept the alcohol industry alive. I worked one last time in 2005; I landed a small gig as the voice actor for Kuromori in Shadow of the Colossus. I was so drunk... I just roared and yelled in the sound booth until they shoved me out the door.
I only sobered up recently, realizing what I'd done for the past decade and a half of my life. The world is a lot different than it was in the 90s, and you're the shining example of that.
As to why I'm here... I'm just.. I'm sorry. After Bubsy 3D, when the whole world was against you. . . I know how much having even one person there for you would have helped. I always watched from the sidelines, telling myself it wasn't right. Telling myself I should be there for you, if no one else would. Just after one more beer.. and then another... and.. you get the point.
Everyone makes mistakes and you shouldn't have suffered over one. Especially not with the way that ass-clown Sonic handled things. I still have a few contacts from the industry... the stuff he has to do to get in Smash Bros. If that got out, he'd be done.
Sorry.. I just.. if you ever want to talk or do... something... no, no-- not that. I meant a movie or dinner-- heh. I-I-I, I didn't mean it that way... if you haven’t noticed I’m.. I-I’m not quite the sterling wordsmith I pretended to be back in the day.
Look, I-I.. I'm sorry, I should go. I.. I have something for you, it's in the envelope on the table. That's a months worth of rent money, you should take some time off for yourself.
Just... just don't say Gex has never done anything for you.
[ sulkysadbobcat -- Kind of a lengthy post, but your sad tale inspired me to write this. I haven’t written in over a year and I’m very sure that shows in this. Definitely out of the norm for the gecko but I hope it seems plausible.]
