Veiled Ice

“Man… which part of the lighting here is too flat?” you grumble, fingers digging into your hair as you play with the editing software, trying to adjust it according to Minjeong’s criticisms. The dorm room is quiet except for your mumbling and the hum of the room’s warmer, which is trying its best to keep your fingers from stiffening due to the winter chill.

You're staring at the screen of your PC, adjusting the shadows and contrast, trying to bring more emotions and make it less ‘safe’. It does look better than before, but something still feels off. No matter how many tweaks you make, Minjeong’s voice lingers in your head, echoing and reverberating off the inner walls of your fragile skull.

If there's one thing you've learnt from the brief heated exchange with Minjeong and teachings from your professor, it seems that it's not only the image itself that carries meaning — the viewer’s state of mind also has to be right. Can't be feeling happy watching Penny nonchalantly taking Sheldon’s spot when all that is in your head is Minjeong’s rejection.

You toss the stylus onto the table with utmost care and lean back in your chair, rubbing your eyes. The cake you'd left on her desk flashes in your mind. Her quietly eating it. The harsh critique. Her last text “Please stop” with a period. You sigh and minimise the editing software, the silence suddenly becoming loud.

How ironic.

You need noise. Something mindless to drown out the eternal loop of rejection. So? So you open a new tab and start scrolling through recommended gaming streams, hoping to find something you can chill and vibe to while finishing your edits.

Nothing seems to interest you. One channel has a screaming guy playing Outlast while being chased by a maniac surgeon (you need noise, not scares). Another one features an egirl dressing up Kent in an indie Barbie game (what the fuck, why are there even people watching this?). The list of either too boring or too chaotic streams goes on.

Fuck it.

You click to your favourites — well, you only have one saved — and load aerinator’s channel.

It is Giselle’s stream.

Yep, “I ❤️ STUDYING” is a complete utter lie, of course. She is a part time streamer. You've watched her a handful of times before, enough to recognize her chaotic but skilled playstyle. But you've never told her you watched, though. Wouldn't it be weird to admit to your friend that you watch them clown around in games? Plus, wouldn't it be weird if you know your friend watches you stream games?

Tonight, Giselle, or aerinator, is deep into Bloons TD6, her towers popping bloons at lightning speed. Her face is on full camera, bright smile and expressive gestures filling the screen as she's already past round 130, inching towards the infamous round 140.

“Chat, I’m really good at popping things, y’know~” she smirks, leaning forward with an eyebrow raised.

The chat instantly fills with lewd comments, some suggesting for her to pop their cherry. You look at her screen and shake your head. Not even a single Paragon or True Sun God tower in sight, and she's just barely surviving each round with the usual generic tier 5 towers.

131 comes and goes, and somehow, she manages to survive because of the 0-2-5 Permaspike tower at the end of the map.

“YES! That’s what I’m talking about! Permaspike saves the day.”

You smile despite yourself. On stream, Giselle is completely different from the nonchalant friend you know in real life. Here, she's clearly a pro. She banters with chat effortlessly, hyping herself up with every good play, sprinkling a bit of sultry teases here and there.

But you cannot help yourself.

Fingers itching, you tap on the buttons of your keyboard and send a comment in chat:

photographyexpert2001: why are you not getting a paragon? that permaspike aint gonna save you on 140 lmao

Giselle’s eyes flicks to the chat box, grin widening the moment she sees your username and comment.

“Oh? Look who decided to show up tonight?” she says playfully. “Everyone, say hi to Mr Backseating Photography Expert 2001~ My dear friend here thinks he knows better than a literal pro.”

Your fingers fly again from the taunt.

photographyexpert2001: you do know that no matter how many spikes the permaspike produces, its not gonna be enuf to pop 2 reinforced BADs right?

“Don't worry, Mr Helpful Backseating Photography Expert 2001, I’m trying to min-max over here. You see this 5-0-2 Archmage here? That's gonna be a Paragon in a few rounds. I'm farming pops and money, my guy~ You know nothing about optimal strats, my casual player friend, and so you definitely shouldn't try to backseat me.”

The chat explodes with laughing emojis and spam. You have to save your dignity.

photographyexpert2001: im just trying to help…

“Help? How sweet~” she purrs flirtatiously. Babe, you're cute, but you're also wrong. Watch and learn ❤️”

She proceeds to explain in great detail and with exaggerated patience exactly why her current placement was optimal, complete with income calculations and tower type. You're awed. Not awed by the fact that she's so passionate, but by the fact that she's so passionate.

photographyexpert2001: dont you have to study or something? why are you playing games all the time?

“Well Mr You're Not My Daddy,” she bends forward into the camera, flaunting her enticing cleavage for all to see. “I've already finished all my homework. So just lemme play.” Round 139 arrives and she finally clicks on the button, dumping most of her remaining money into the upgrade. Wizard towers scattered around the map get turned into purple balls of light before surging towards the 5-0-2 archmage tower.

“There, a degree 99 Wizard Paragon. Round 140? A cake in the park. A cake in the walk. A walk in the park. Whatever. You get what I mean.” She builds a few more support towers and is left with exactly zero cash, taking min-max to a whole new level and looks into the camera. “Watch now, photographyexpert2001~”

The round begins and the first BAD bloon appears. Within a few seconds, it's popped by the magic that the wizard paragon rains down upon it, deleting it along with the countless bloons that spawn from its defeat. The second one appears, and it is obliterated in a similar fashion.

Once done, she smirks at the camera, or more like at you. “See? This is why you should stick to taking pretty pictures instead of telling pros how to play,” she teases, still smiling. “Though I do appreciate the attention~”

The banter continues on for a while as she plays past round 140, light and fun. Her chat loves it. You find yourself grinning at your screen, typing a few more defensive replies that only fuels her teasing.

Then, someone asks her about her relationship status.

“Oh I do have someone I like. But he’s head over heels for someone else so, here I am, fucking with games instead!”

hotguywithabs: aww if you like I’d like a chance with you

aerisimpforlife: if you want some fucking, im available

Giselle clicks her tongue in playful disgust at the lusting chat and giggles, ignoring them as she continues to blaze through the rounds. Well, that's something you learnt about her today, at least. She has someone she's interested in. Eventually, Giselle wraps up the game at round 200 with her usual flair, stretching dramatically in her chair.

“Alright, that’s it for Aerinator tonight. Thanks for hanging out, chat. I’ll be back here tomorrow playing PvZ, so come join me as well.” She leans back before adding a playful wink.

The chat groans in unison, some saying they want to see her play more, mostly teasing that they want to see more of her body.

“Awww, but there are so many other hotter girls out there… like me~”

With that, she stands up, shrugs off her oversized hoodie, and shakes her voluptuous chest playfully for the camera. She then turns slightly and twerks her curvy ass with a cheeky little wiggle.

The chat goes absolutely wild — tips and donations flooding in, begging for more.

Giselle giggles brightly. “Sorry guys, stream ends today. I have stuff to do~ Maybe next time!”

She blows a kiss to the camera, then announces, “I’ll direct you guys off to another beautiful girl’s stream. She just started her session and her after-show is always nice. See you guys next time!”

Within a few seconds, Giselle ends hers and you're brought to the stream she recommended.

winter_kitsune

The stream is already mid-game and the streamer is deep into a Slay the Spire run. She is playing as the Defect, in the final few rounds right before facing the Heart boss. You lean forward slightly, visibly impressed by two things.