Work Text:
“ Hm? Oh, I have heard of this game before. I think someone described it to me as… Chess with anime characters? Can I have a look? … Oh, I see how it is. Honestly, it seems simple enough. Must be pretty easy, all things considered. ”
To Lukanja this type of speech was nothing new. They had known Goro for long enough to know that he was running his own mouth dry sometimes. He just happens to be more direct about it, all things considered. Yet if there was one thing they didn't take lightly, it was having put the challenge of their favorite video game series into question, one they had loved for nearly a decade now.
‘ Must be pretty easy ’ – Sure, the one he saw them playing on their handheld device was actually one of the easier titles, believe it or not. Yet it could still be quite challenging to newcomers. And yet he just had to open his mouth like that. As if saying something like that would never bite him in the ass again or something. And oh boy, were they going to make him eat those words.
They had looked up at him, away from the screen and tilting their head up while sitting on the couch. “Oh really now? Wanna give it a try then?” They had asked him without hesitation, their face oddly neutral however. They wanted to lure him in after all.
Long story short, that’s how the duo ended up here, sitting right next to each other while Goro was holding Lukanja’s handheld device in his hands and trying to get through the maps of this ‘anime chess game’. And they were watching him, though smirking a little internally. After all, if it was so easy then why was he struggling so much?
They could already see it in his face to be completely honest, the frustration growing ever so slightly. The longer this went on the louder his grumbling got and the more his eyebrows twitched. And there was nothing more amusing than that, they had to admit. His eyes scanned the map carefully with the enemy units as well as his own, calculating the very next move he was going to make. Thus he positioned his characters ever so carefully… Only to be hit with a game over multiple times. He made it out of the Prologue safe and sound but that was just that, the Prologue. You would have to be a special kind of unlucky to not be able to clear that in any difficulty.
In any case, they knew that things weren’t so simple. The hardest difficulty should pose no issue, no threat, no challenge. After all, it was just some ‘anime chess game’, riiight? And Goro knew how to play chess so what makes this so difficult for his brain?
Well, Lukanja had no doubt that he would catch on with the mechanics really fast. They had to admit that he was quite capable and if he really put his mind to it he would learn things very quickly and catch up with them. But again, that is if he really wants to be good at something or could turn this into some type of competition. He really has a thing for those after all. But not even he could head dive into the hardest difficulty of this game, and not just because he had no basic understanding of the mechanics going on.
The hardest difficulty of this game they were playing was notorious for being absurdly difficult. And could one believe it that there was even a harder difficulty to unlock after this? Yeah, not even a veteran like them had dared to touch that one. The second hardest difficulty was already an rng–fest. The hardest one requires you to have very specific luck with enemy skills and character stats. Otherwise it was an instant reset of the map and you could do it all over again.
Anyways, Goro was really not prepared for the rng–fest coming his way. The skills of the enemies were already a little unfair yet also the difference in stats. Oh and then make it worse with the infamous low critical hits. Getting one shot by a 2% crit was the biggest humiliation one could face.
And that was all what Goro was experiencing first hand. All from that ‘one anime chess game’. It was somewhere around his fifth attempt by now, the first map, and Lukanja was just watching him from the sidelines, amused to see him trying so hard. Even with that annoyed yet pained expression on his face he didn’t even dare to glance over at them. ‘I have to do this… I have to show them!’ That was probably going on in his mind. It wouldn’t surprise them. And honestly? Yeah, it was beyond amusing.
In any case though, they dared to ask him out of the blue. “Want me to help you?”
They could already hear the grumble in his voice, the hesitation. He seemed to debate it for a moment at least before scoffing right then and there. “N… No. I can handle this myself, thank you very much.”
“You sure? This is still chapter 1.”
Oh he surely flinched when they pointed that out. Yet he stubbornly held his ground. “Y… Yes. I… Am just testing out stuff. That’s all.”
“Right, testing stuff out. If you say so Goro dear~”
“Are you mocking me?”
“Me? I’d never.”
He only rolled his eyes at that. “Whatever…” And yet the nonchalance was so forced out of his mouth. It was giggle worthy.
“Don’t let me distract you then. Go on, test things out. Or whatever it is you’re doing.”
“Just shut up and let me focus.”
“Yeees~”
They knew he was just saying that though. The frustration was written all over his face. He’d be stuck there for quite some time. Will he make it or will he eventually give in and ask his partner for help here?
In any case, this ‘mere anime chess game’ was defeating him. Something told them that this wasn’t the last time he was going to attempt playing this game.
After all, Goro hates being outdone, defeated by anyone or anything. That probably includes a game of anime chess. And honestly, that’s one of the most amusing things Lukanja has ever seen. He’s too stubborn for his own good.