Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-25170312-20141224022710

''This is my attempt at a video game pasta. It was inspired by a character I made in Tomodachi Life for the 3DS, as well as the film 'Suicide Club'. I understand a lot of people will think this pasta is stupid, but I just wrote it out of nowhere and thought I'd see what people had to say about it.''

"So did you get Smash Bros.?" I asked my friend, Owen. He paused before answering to take a drag on a cigarette.

"I got Tomodachi Life."

"What? I thought you were gonna get Smash Bros.? I got it thinking we were gonna play together."

"I know. But then I watched these hilarious youtube videos of Tomodachi characters singing songs. You can change the lyrics to anything you want. It's friggin' awesome."

"That does sound awesome, but I wish you had told me. I would have just gotten it too."

"Sorry, dude."

"Oh well. Smash Bros. should be fun anyway."

Owen took another drag before saying, "I gotta go back to work. I'll call you later and tell you how it is."

"Okay. I'll just play Smash Bros. 'till then. Bye."

"Bye. And watch the videos."

"Okay. Bye."

I went to youtube and searched "Tomodachi Life funny songs". Needless to say, people making their own lyrics to songs being sung by video game characters is as funny as you would think it is.

"Damn. Now I want this game."

That evening, Owen called to tell me how the game was.

"Dude. You would love this game. I made the most messed up looking people. I can't wait for them to have babies."

"They have babies? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, and they're a combination of the parents. So if the parents look all crazy then the baby will be like extra super crazy."

"Damn. Smash Bros. is fun. I did a few online battles, but I don't know what I'm doing yet."

"It's weird, though. I didn't get to make my own character."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. There was already a character there. I wanted to import my Mii, but it just jumped over that part. I know because I watched a video on youtube showing someone starting the game for the first time. I tried to edit it, but it won't save."

"That's weird. So you're forced to be someone else?"

"Well, not really. I mean, I just made another character that looks like me, and I'm pretending he's the main guy. It's just weird because the Miis talk about him all the time like he's the mayor or whatever, not me."

"Hey wait, did you get a used copy?"

"Ohhh, that must be it. They usually erase the games before they resell them. I guess they didn't this time."

"Are you gonna restart?"

"Eh. There's no point, really. Besides, the character is awesome. His name is Mr. Happy Death Death. He's even got a song."

"A song? Do other people get songs?"

"Yeah, but his is fucking awesome. It's called 'Dying Happy'."

"Ha ha, that's awesome. I wanna hear it."

"Yeah, maybe I can find a way to put it on the internet or something."

"Oh wait, lemme show you the lyrics."

"Okay."

Owen turned on his 3DS and loaded up Tomodachi Life. He quickly brought up Mr. Happy's techno song 'Dying Happy'.

"Okay, listen. Well, first it says in a robot voice, 'everybody's dying happy'."

"That's awesome."

"Yeah, then it goes, 'It's so awesome whenever people die. They are not alive anymore. It makes me happy. I've never been so happy. Let's all die. Holds hands. Jump to our deaths. Haaaappy. Death is so cool. Let's all commit suicide." He started laughing towards the end, and I busted out in hysterics.

"It's even better when you hear it," Owen explained. "I have to find a way to show you. I've listened to it like a hundred times. But you have to see the way they dance, too. The song alone isn't enough."

"Well, you need to get Smash Bros. so we can play that together."

"I will. I gotta go, though. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

But he didn't call. And the day after that, he didn't call. I tried calling him, but it just went to voice mail. It wasn't unusual that we wouldn't talk for a few days if he was working a lot, so I didn't think anything of it. A week later, I finally got a call from Owen's number.

"What's up?" I said as I usually did when Owen called.

"This is Jenny."

"Oh, what's up?"

"Something horrible happened."

"What?"

"It's about Owen."

Her voice was shaking, and I could tell she had been crying. I didn't know what to think, but I knew if Owen's wife was calling me that there was something seriously wrong. I assumed he had left her, but I wasn't sure why she would call to tell me when Owen could just do it himself.

"Just tell me what happened. It's okay."

"Owen... is no longer with us."

I didn't understand the meaning of those words. My best friend wouldn't die and leave me alone; not when we were both doing so well. I had been on a new medication for a year and a half that helped fix a lot of my issues, and he had quit drinking and gotten a good job. He couldn't die now, when everything was going our way for a change. After a long silence, I spoke again.

"How did it happen?"

"He... jumped off an overpass."

"What? He jumped? He didn't fall?" I refused to believe he would kill himself.

"He definitely jumped. He... smiled... at me... before he jumped." By the end of her statement she began crying and could no longer speak properly.

I was speechless. There wasn't any reason I could imagine why he would do something like that. We were so close that if he was really going to kill himself, he would tell me. He would at least send me an e-mail telling me the reasons, or saying goodbye. I felt ripped off; abandoned. I was more angry than sad. But later, when I was alone in the dark, I cried for a while. It had been a long time.

A few weeks later, I decided to purchase Tomodachi Life so I could feel some connection to Owen. He was really enjoying the game when I talked to him last, so I would always remember him being happy whenever playing the game. He was right about it being hilarious. I made a bunch of crazy looking Miis, but I also made one that looked like Owen, and of course myself. I pampered his Mii a lot, and made sure he married the most charming girl on the island.

One day, I was shocked to recieve an e-mail from Owen's address. I opened it, assuming it was from Jenny, and I was surprised at what I saw. It was a video file. Why would Jenny send me a video? I thought it might be some kind of memorial video about Owen, but that's not what it was.

I clicked on the video and was immediately confused. It was nearly black and white, and pretty blurry. It looked like someone recorded a video game with a webcam; a crappy one. Then I saw the words: "Dying Happy" starring Mr. Happy.

Without thinking, I stopped the video right there. My whole body went numb. I sat there for a few minutes, wondering if I should press play. Who could have sent this to me? Did Owen send it before he died, and it just showed up now? I didn't recall his webcam being so bad. Eventually, my curiosity overtook my fear, and I continued the video.

Just as Owen had told me, the song began with a robot voice saying, "Everybody's dying happy." Then Mr. Happy descended, revealing his spooky face. He had no hair, his eyes were just two black holes, and his mouth -- a black oval. He resembled that painting, 'The Scream'. Then he began to sing.

The music was upbeat, but the lyrics were just as Owen had recited them to me. They were funny then, but now they were incredibly disturbing knowing that my best friend killed himself. I realized then that there could be a connection. I just didn't know who sent me the video.

I tried to forget about Mr. Happy, but for some reason I found myself watching the video again. In fact, I watched in dozens of times. Each time, I became less afraid and more accepting of the lyrics. Perhaps Mr. Happy had a point. Dying happy does seem like something everyone would want to do. After all, everyone dies some time. Why die sad? Owen wasn't sad when he died; he was smiling. Though, a smile doesn't always mean that someone's happy. They could be hiding their true feelings. Was Owen hiding his?

When I went back to Tomodachi Life, I was greeted by an unwelcome face. Somehow, Mr. Happy had moved in. Same name, same face, even the same song. It was impossible. My niece and nephew hadn't been over for a while, so I knew there was no one else playing. Even if they were, they wouldn't know about Mr. Happy. I shut off the system, put it down, and sat there with a stupid look on my face. I didn't move for hours.

I couldn't help myself. If Mr. Happy had anything to do with Owen's suicide, I had to investigate. I decided to continue playing Tomodachi Life, with Mr. Happy.

Everything seemed fine when I returned to my little island. Mr. Happy was just like the other residents, even with his strange catch phrases like, "Death feels good." I tried to change them but they would just change back the next day. I even changed the lyrics to his song, but they reverted back as well. Even stranger, Mr. Happy became the most charming male on the island, and every female was in love with him.

I couldn't figure out how Mr. Happy could be involved in Owen's death. He was just a video game character. If he was in Owen's game, and my game too, then he must have been put there by the programmers. Perhaps he appeared later in my game because I needed to unlock him or something. At least, that's what I thought at the time, until the Miis started dying.

"[name of Mii] has committed suicide."

That's the message I got when I looked at one of the Mii's apartments. They would never put suicide in a family friendly game like Tomodachi Life. It was beyond unsettling. Did this happen in Owen's game, too? I wondered.

The next day, the dead Mii's apartment was gone, and another Mii had committed suicide. It didn't affect me quite the same way as the first one, but it was still unnerving. It continued to happen that way as the days went by. Every time I played, the Mii who killed themself the previous day was erased entirely, and another Mii was lying dead in their apartment. I felt less and less affected by what was happening each day. In fact, it started to make me a little happy when the Miis would kill themselves. I knew that one would die each day, and the anticipation became entertaining. Owen's death became further and further from my mind, and I began to feel happier than I did before he died.

After thirty-two Miis were gone, there was just one more lying dead, Mr. Happy, Owen, and myself. The suicides would happen in descending order according to the apartment layout, so the order of the next suicides would be Owen, myself, and then Mr. Happy. But Mr. Happy can't die. He has to be there to help others be happy. Without him, I never would have realized that we should all die happy. I know now that the reason why Owen killed himself was because he was happier than he had ever been. He wanted to die happy. He wanted to die free. I want to do the same.

The following morning, I got up early to play Tomodachi Life. I smiled inside and out when I saw Owen's Mii lying on the floor of his virtual apartment. Mr. Happy's song started playing by itself. I danced around the room, though I didn't know how to dance.

Just one more day, and it will be my turn. My Mii will die, and so will I. I will die happy. It's something everyone should do. Why would we want our last moments to be painful? Don't we want our families and friends to remember us smiling? Tommorrow, I will jump to my death. But first, I will smile at someone I love. Thank you, Mr. Happy.

 