Following his convictions, Luke continued using the lightweight number 6 ball. It was his secret meme tech!
Unfortunately, he couldn't quite deliver the desired results. His accuracy gradually improved as he got used to the ball, but somehow his ball still lacked power no matter how hard he hurled it.
"I believe you're throwing it too far in," Vincent commented. "Hurling the ball might look cool, but it hampers the ball's inertia."
"Yeah, it sure feels wack." Luke shook his head. "Alrighty, I'mma fix that. Basically, you're saying I just gotta roll it nice, right?"
"Indeed. It should transition naturally from your hand to the lane without landing hard."
"Gotcha, I'mma try that," Luke said. "Any more advice? I bet you're knowledgeable about this sport as well, so asking just in case, heh."
"Admittedly, I'm not as knowledgeable about bowling as I am about other sports," Vincent said. "However, I do know the basics. You should 'hook' the ball so it curves toward the center, that's the winning strategy."
"Welp, that sounds too advanced for my current level, and too meta. So, I'll start by practicing normal rolls." WHISH! He unleashed another ball!
Even though he tried to roll the ball all nice and easy, he still ended up tossing it a bit too far. BAM! It landed loudly and rolled with reduced speed.
"Geh, this shit ain't easy to control. It just flies too far, man!"
"I think it would be in your best interest to switch to a heavier ball."
"Nah, I'm a number 6 main! Gonna master this meme!"
"As expected from the Meme Jedi!" Vincent nodded. "Even in bowling, you pursue victory on your own terms! I'm certain this determination will make you stronger than if you used number 7 or 8!"
"Heck yeah!"
Following Vincent's tip, Luke focused on fixing his rolling posture. He stopped tossing the ball and instead made sure it rolled nice and clean across the lane.
It took him a couple of frames to get the hang of it, but the results were much better than before. Finally, he felt like he was actually competing in the game for real!.
But, even then, he was no match for Lars. Bruh finished the first game with 174 points while Luke was severely lagging behind with 62. Even Vincent passed him over time, ending with 96. Shit was brutal.
"Damn," Luke said. "Are you, like, good at every sport that exists?"
"Totally, yo!" Lars asserted confidently. "You give me a sport with a ball and I'mma ace it ez!"
"Quite amazing," Vincent said. "It appears your Gungnir Sniper ability is largely transferable between different sports."
"Yep, I've got that 200% accuracy, yo!"
"We'd lose against your lead even if we were to combine our points." Vincent smiled wryly. "It's quite the conundrum."
"Bro owned us for real." Luke laughed dryly.
"In light of that," Vincent continued. "I'd like to propose a special rule, if you don't mind. How about we all use a number 6 ball?"
"Number 6?" Lars cocked his head. "Dude, that's almost half of what I'm using right now."
"You can think of it as a handicap," Vincent explained. "We know heavier balls are generally superior, so what if we were to rebel against that meta!?"
"Sounds cool, yo!" Lars grinned. "Okay, let's give it a shot!"
"Wait, so now everybody's a memer?" Luke cracked a laugh. "Alright, then I'mma teach you newbies how a real No. 6 main plays!"
"Please do, sensei!"
Luke regained a spark of motivation now that everybody was on the same memeing playground. He had to be the veteran to school these newbs!
I got my ass handed to me in the previous round, but it was all leading up to this moment! Luke smirked. I now know how to handle No. 6 better than anybody, so it's time to show them my final form! Time to use that 'Meme Force' as Vincent calls it!
BAM! Luke was the first to launch his attack, deleting three pins at once! It was his best shot yet!
"Sick, yo!" Lars exclaimed. "Okay, then I'mma knock four!" He dashed toward the foul line and swung his arm!
"W-Whoa!" He somehow sent the ball flying! Rather than bowling, it's more like he was sniping the pins from across the lane! This No. 6 ball was way too light, yooooooo!
"Oh dang!" Lars exclaimed as the ball landed in the middle of the lane. It failed to gain momentum and even strayed aside. It was a terrible shot, no matter how anybody looked at it.
"Nuuuuuu! My 200% accuracy!" Lars held his head. "How do ya even roll this thing, dude!?"
"Huehue." Luke lifted his chin. "Experience, kid."
Unlike Lars, Vincent had little trouble adapting to No. 6. He used No. 8 before and struggled with it a fair bit, so No. 6 was almost like an upgrade in his case.
Still, it took him a couple of rolls to get used to the weight difference and stop overcompensating for it. In the meantime, Luke was having a field day. All his rolls were sharp and clean, usually hitting multiple pins at once. Stonks!
Hey, I'm actually in the lead! Luke grinned. This is the power of memes!
In total contrast, the former champion was struggling with his rolls. Lars learned that tossing the ball with the same strength as No. 10 was a terrible idea, so he started toning down his strength and speed. But that was easier said than done.
"Yo, this is some Nightmare difficulty mode!" Lars exclaimed. "If I loosen up, I can roll it hella accurate, but it hits like a wet noodle. And, if I try to roll harder, it flies to the sides! What is dis!?"
"Heh. Surprised? You shouldn't be." Luke lifted his chin. "While you meta-slaved, I was studying the memes. I'm like five parallel universes ahead of you right now!"
"Gah!" Lars exclaimed. "I ain't gonna let you win that easily, yoooooo!"
And so, Lars continued wrestling with the lighter ball. It was amusing to see him struggle so much while Luke was owning it.
Heh, dude is so deep into the meta he can't wrap his head ahead my memes! Luke snickered as he continued dominating the competition.
But, in the end, Lars was still Lars. The lightness of the ball threw him off for a while, but he quickly adapted. His balancing of power and control was getting better and better with each roll, threatening to catch up to Luke's Meme Force!
Welp, it's not like I had that much time to practice No. 6 either. Luke shrugged. But, I still plan to win this one!
In the end, the game ended with Luke in the lead, holding 87 points. However, Lars was already breathing down his neck with 79 points. The guy managed to close the gap in the last few frames by scoring spares. Dang this guy's superhuman accuracy!
Meanwhile, Vincent finished last again at 72 points. Funnily enough, he actually improved between the two games despite having to adjust to a new ball. Maybe he was a closet No. 6 main all along!
"Gah! 2nd place!" Lars held his head. "I can't believe it! You're like a master with that No. 6, dude!"
"Heh, this isn't even my final form!" Luke proclaimed. "If I had more time to practice with it, I'd even be able to take on the world champion!"
"Totally, yo!"
"Indeed!" Vincent affirmed. "With sufficient dedication, your Meme Force will let you trample any obstacle!"
"Yep, I'mma run over anybody! Yeah, anybody..." Luke's grin grew dimmer until it became a hollow smile. His pumped fists lost strength and slowly fell down.
Triumph over anybody? With memes? Really? Fat chance.
Why am I even getting so carried away here? Luke wondered. I just barely won here, and only because Lars wasn't used to the ball yet. I'm sure he'll clap me at this pace.
This reminded him of how excited he got after beating the Leopards with his DK. For a while, he felt like the most awesome player in the world! Only for that illusion to shatter soon after.
Memes are called memes because they usually can't win. Luke rationalized. No matter how good I become with them, I'll still be a B-grade or C-grade player...
What "Meme Jedi"? What "Meme Force"? Vincent just threw random hype around without backing it up with anything. All that hyperventilated positive talk was detached from reality.
"Well, that was fun," Luke forced himself to say. "Let's check out some other games next."
"Wait, are ya really gonna leave this at a 1-1!?" Lars asked. "We need a tiebreaker, dude!"
"Nah, my hand's tired after all this rolling. I went all out in this round, haha."
"Yeah, I guess I'm also a bit tired." Lars rotated his left arm. "Okay, let's do something else then!"
"I suggest taking a short break to charge ourselves up," Vincent said. "Perhaps we can hit one of the restaurants."
"I'm in!" Lars nodded. "Totally feeling some burgers right now."
"Same," Luke agreed and sighed in relief. Phew, dodged this one. I didn't have a chance to win again.
Lars was way too good. The guy was about to overtake Luke with his own meme!
Gotta say tho, I feel kinda disgusted feeling relieved about this. Lame af. Luke spat a sigh as he followed the others outside. Seriously, I have this kind of flaccid attitude and I'm expecting to win games. The gall.
Did Luke even really enjoy memeing? Or was it just a coping mechanism for dealing with the frustration that came with losing? He couldn't tell...