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“Oh, wow,” Dakota says, laughing gorgeously. “I suppose with a name likeThe Real Creator, I should expect some… let’s call it confidence, eh?” She winks at the camera. “Thank you for your generous donation, Creator. Really. But I don’t think you’re going to change my mind about the Cove.”

A moment later, a private message pops up on my screen.

DakkyDuck: Go ahead, Mr. Creator, but if you say anything silly, I WILL be sharing it. You’ve been warned.

I’m impressed by her ability to continue playing the game and interacting with her chat as she types this out, then sends it.

My head feels full of steam. Mind flashing with the countless hours spent working on the Cove. The disappointment I felt when no one seemed toget it.

TheRealCreator: There are five enemy varieties in some caves. FIVE. That’s more than any other area. Plus, they all have unique skillsets. That was one of the main criticisms for a long time: limited skillsets.

She continues playing, but somehow—perhaps typing fragments of messages between gameplay—she replies. And her response swells my respect for her even as it pours ice-cold water on my ego.

DakkyDuck: That’s true, but I would argue this is a negative. Players have been clamoring for more variety, so Halcyon loads all this hard work into one specific end-game area? Meaning, levelling players don’t get to experience it, and high-level players will get annoyed by constantly being killed by different abilities when they’re trying to farm materials for the late game. Halcyon should have spread out these enemies and made the Cove a straight farming zone.

I massage my head. Fucking hell. Is she right?

TheRealCreator: Just because you know how to play the game, it doesn’t mean you know how to program one.

She doesn’t reply right away. Giving me time to look at my message and realize I’m being petty. But that doesn’t stop the tension from twisting through me.

DakkyDuck: Are you going to get nasty now, Creator? Your donation was very generous, which is why I’m messaging you. But you sound triggered.

Because Iamtriggered. She’s talking about my baby here.

TheRealCreator: I’m not one of those goddamn weirdos. I’m not going to simp for you or pretend not to want you while I sniff your digital panties. I saw, earlier, the way you handled one of them. All smiles. All confidence. But your eyes creased like you wanted to scream. As if you were sick of this shit. I don’t blame you.

For a moment, on camera, she looks stunned. Her cheeks flush. She twists her hair around her finger and bites her lip. Then her eyes flit to the camera, and it’s like she wakes up, realizing she’s lapsed.

Her chat is full of messages, all asking if something is wrong.

CHAPTER 3

DAKOTA

Iquickly snap back to reality, realizing I’ve been quiet for almost ten seconds. Which, in streaming terms, is a lifetime. I drag Creator’s message to the edge of my screen, deciding to reply to it later. But then he adds another message.

TheRealCreator: Did I cut too close to the bone there, Dakota?

There’s something in his tone that sets him apart from the others. Maybe it was that he noticed my discomfort, a fleeting moment that even I didn’t fully acknowledge. But he saw it. Does that matter as much as it feels like it does?

I keep streaming for another thirty minutes. Then I type out a response to his message.

DakkyDuck: You have no idea how I felt in that moment or any other, stranger.

TheRealCreator: You felt sorry for that commenter. But also afraid of him. Watching your stream, I think you exist in that place quite often. In between fear and pity.

Okay, what the heck? It’s like he’s reaching into my mind and plucking at my thoughts. I’ve got moderators who have watched thousands of hours of my streams and have never picked up on anything like this.

I shift in my seat and press my legs together.

I’m not…obviouslynot going to get all hot and bothered over a message from a stranger that has nothing sexual in it. I’ve been on camera so, so many times, but this is a whole new kind ofseen.

DakkyDuck: You should lay off the psychology books.

TheRealCreator: Too real?

I ignore the message for a while. I have to, when there’s wave after wave of zombie destroyers charging at me. Once the battle is done, I use my auto-loot macro and, as my character picks up stuff on-screen, return to the chat window.