The Orbit

The Orbit

I went to Gamescom LAN without being a gamer. Everyone noticed.

Speedruns, sleeping strangers, and one brief moment of competence at a table football tournament.

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Paula Smiri's avatar
The Orbit and Paula Smiri
Mar 26, 2026
∙ Paid

In my head everything made sense. I knew where to go, what to do, how to behave like a normal person who belongs there. I had already played through every possible scenario.

And still, nothing could have prepared me for this. Except a LAN party maybe, to be fair.

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