Streaming Queen

By C.P. Perry

Edited by ExperiencedStoryteller

"And why not?" Gabby chuckled. "Come on. You can play video games, make funny commentary, interact with others. People will love you."

Emily shook her head, "I don't know. It just seems... a little self-absorbed. And they're always so obnoxious. I'd rather not."

Emily and Gabby were walking down the sidewalk to Emily's apartment. The two friends were dorm mates two years ago when they were freshmen in university. Now in their junior year, they remained close friends.

It was late in the evening; they had just gotten out of class. Students were flocking to the bars and the commons. Traffic had picked up both on the sidewalk and road. The two girls bobbed and weaved between packs of students going to and fro; everyone out to have a good evening.

But not Emily. Emily was off to do the same thing she did every evening; nothing. Nothing at all, except scroll through social media and play video games. She considered it something, but it made very few friends and offered her virtually no social time. Gabby dogged her weekly to join the others out for a house party or a trip to the bars. And, without fail, Emily would decline.

"Come on, it's better than just playing video games. And besides, you don't have to be like those cam girls. Just play games, get followers, make money!" Gabby argued. "You hear me? You'll be making money!"

Emily kept her eyes down to her feet. She never liked the idea of streaming. It seemed slimy to her: play video games while people watch you and send you money. She enjoyed playing games alone and didn't want the potential of hundreds to thousands of people watching her play. Nor did she want to have to interact with them so they would pay her. It all felt like a scam.

Besides, she felt like a girl had to be attractive to be a good streamer. Gabby always told Emily she was, in her words, "hot as hell." She stood at five feet, seven inches and had long curly brunette hair. She had a slim, athletic figure with sun-kissed skin, cute freckles across her button nose, and rosy cheeks. Gabby loved to point out that Emily had a nice bottom, much to Emily's embarrassment. "Juicy as hell," Gabby always said, "Nice and plump." Emily bashfully disagreed.

"Gabby," Emily sighed. She kept a smile on her face. She loved Gabby, but she was too pushy sometimes. "I don't want to be a streamer, ok? I'm fine. My parents help me pay for things and I am content with what I do."

"Whatever you say. Just know, it's literally free to change your mind."

"Yeah," Emily chuckled, "I guess so."

The first thing Emily did when she got to her apartment was to plop down onto her bed. She unlocked her phone and went straight to her social media, as she usually did. Weekends at college have always been boring. Getting home from class, spending thirty minutes to an hour scrolling through posts, timelines, and blogs was the norm for Emily. Then, after she got all caught up, she would hop on her PC and play video games.

Her parents recommended she get a job. Others suggested living off her parents for as long as possible to focus on classwork. Neither sounded like a particularly great solution. She wanted to be independent but not have to work -- a dilemma for any college student her age. Gabby's recommendation still echoed in her head: play games, make money. It couldn't be that easy, could it?

Emily finished her dive on the internet and moved to her computer. She scrolled through the digital library of games she had purchased over the years. She scrolled and scrolled, yet nothing appealed to her. She could play that one shooter for a while: the one where she needed thirty more headshots to unlock a character skin she always wanted. Or she could rethink her strategy on her favorite strategy game and conquer eighteenth-century Europe. She continued to search for a game to pique her interests, but everything just blended together after a while.

Why play, she thought, when she would just accomplish things with nothing to show for it? Who would care? No one, that's who.

Of course, she played games for herself, but lately, she had been down in the dumps about feeling useless. With classes taking up a good portion of her time, she just wanted to relax and play video games. Getting a job would net her some money, but work, as well as socializing, would eat up her time for gaming. She couldn't possibly do all three unless...

... she streamed.

Maybe Gabby had a point. She didn't have to be like the sleazy cam girls. No, she could be different. She could just be herself.

----

Emily adjusted the webcam's focus and made sure the streaming program was in place. She made the video window for herself rather small and down in the corner of the screen, and made sure the video game was large and easy for the viewers to watch. Then, she hit the red button to go live.

She waited. Her eyes routinely glanced at the user interface for the streaming program. The viewer count was at zero. "Alright," she told herself, "I've just started, be patient."

Emily was playing the shooter she had been into for a while now, working on getting the thirty headshots. She played match after match of online multiplayer; still, no one joined to watch her. She was doing alright for herself, routinely getting top three in the matches' leaderboards. Maybe, she thought, that would get people to watch her stream. She just needed to keep doing well in the game, and when that one random viewer pops in, they will stay.

An hour passed by. She was getting a little worried. Wouldn't a random viewer have popped in by now? She wondered. "Come on," she whispered to the streaming program, "someone join already." She continued to play to the best of her ability. She couldn't help but feel stupid. Playing a game and streaming with a viewer count of zero. She knew this was a mistake -- Gabby had talked her into a dumb plan. She knew she wouldn't have gotten any viewers. She must be sleazy and obnoxious like the cam girls. She would have to wear a dumb cat-eared headset and wear a stupid anime costume for viewers, she thought, and she would have to--

Emily's eyes caught movement on the program's user interface: the viewer count changed to one.

----

Throwing her shoes off, she locked the front door and went to her room. She had been thinking about it all day. Streaming wasn't anything like she had imagined. She couldn't believe how hard she was on the hobby. She had gained twelve regular viewers since she started streaming last week. A small number compared to most streamers, but it was a start. They commented and chatted in the stream's chatbox, and Emily conversed with them using her old headset. The viewers were kind and supportive, and now Emily looked forward to each evening of coming home and streaming video games.

She put away her things and sat down at the computer desk. She had a smile on her face as she thought about how she may get another viewer today -- how she may even break the fifty viewers count. She was hopeful, but she knew patience was key. It would be a slow start for a while, but it was fun, so Emily didn't mind.

Emily powered on her PC and launched the streaming program. She booted the shooter and prepared herself to go live. She adjusted her headset and hit the red button. Already five of the regulars were online and waiting.

"Hi!" She smiled and waved to the camera. "Hi, guys! Were you all waiting for me? Well, I guess you do know my schedule, huh?"

Emily still wasn't quite used to speaking at her camera. The viewers communicated to her via the chatbox, and she talked to them out loud. Her self-consciousness would creep from the back of her mind. She always imagined what she must look like to someone watching her.

In the chat window, the viewers were typing messages of affection and support. One commenter mentioned that her stream helped him relax after a rough day at school, and another said he liked to watch her play because she was so good.

"You guys!" A half-smile, half pout crossed her lips, and her eyes watered. "Aww, I don't even know what to say! You guys are awesome!"

More viewers started to join the stream. Five turned to six, six turned to eight, and eight eventually turned to twelve in a few hours. Then, to Emily's surprise, a thirteenth viewer tuned in to the stream. She became ecstatic.

"Hey there!" Emily smiled. She took a second from her game to look at the username of the new viewer. "Buttmaster42? Well, that's a silly name!" Whatever the name may be, hopefully, they would stay.

"Glad to see that you've joined us. We hope you--"

Buttmaster42 posted a link as well as a comment that said: "Hi, Emily! You're a great video game player and streamer! Check out this video, I think you'll like it." He left a winking emoji at the end of his comment.

Emil's skin crawled: her first creep. It wasn't the first time. Plenty of immature teens picked on her and sent her inappropriate messages in the past. She had never thought about having a creep join her stream and act weird. She planned to at least humor the person. If the video was something inappropriate, she wasn't going to hesitate to report and block him.

"Ok, since I'm waiting for a match to start," Emily started politely, "I'll check out the video for a second." She moved her mouse over to the chatbox and clicked the link.

The link took her to a blank web domain. In the center of the white screen, a window popped up. A video began to play in the window, a spiral of all colors. Red, blues, greens, purples, and every color imaginable spun slowly in a hypnotic spiral.

Emily scoffed, "Very funny."

She went to close the window, but she found herself unable to look away from the spiral. The beautiful colors were so vibrant -- they commanded her attention, to which Emily was unable to resist. It was just so beautiful. So magnificent. The colors spun around, and around, and around, and around.

----

Within four days, the stream's viewer count grew from thirteen to sixty-three. Emily found herself longing for the chance to get back on the stream every time she was away. She didn't care if she started to neglect her college coursework. The stream fulfilled her in a way she never knew possible. There were dedicated fans, people who dedicated each evening to watching her play, she wasn't about to let down.

Emily started the stream early. She had skipped her last class of the day, her yearning for entertaining her viewers had made her too anxious to ignore. It was only one time, no big deal, she thought.

Her viewers had requested that she wear something cute the next time she streamed. So, for the day's stream, she was wearing a white crop top with a plunging neckline. It showed more cleavage than Emily was normally comfortable with, but she was doing it for the viewers. She topped off the outfit with a black lace choker she bought yesterday from a viewer's recommendation. When she saw her image in the corner of the streaming program's UI, she knew the viewers would like what they saw.

"Hey everyone! Oh, my goodness, were you guys waiting for me? You shouldn't have!"

There were already thirty-two viewers logged and waiting for Emily to begin the stream. Emily's heart melted. "You guys, you are all so sweet. I love you all!"

Over the past few days, Emily started to socialize far more with her viewers than before. Her interactions came at the cost of performance in the game, but none of the viewers seemed to mind. They were all still very encouraging and supportive. She met their kindness with all the love from her heart.

Two hours into live streaming, Emily had gained quite the audience. Eighty-eighty viewers and slowly climbing. Each number higher than the last brought a smile to her face. A few weeks ago, she thought this was impossible -- she made a mental note to thank Gabby.

Then Buttmaster42 joined the stream as a viewer. He had been the most supportive follower Emily had. She regretted thinking he was a weirdo when he first joined her stream.

"Hey, Buttmaster42!" Emily giggled. "Good to see you again!"

Buttmaster42 typed his reply: "Hey, Emily! I am always happy to be here. You brighten up my day!"

"Aww, thank you! You're the sweetest!"

Buttmaster42 posted a link in the chatbox: "Hey, Emily, check out this video. I think you'll like it." Emily was in the middle of an online match. She couldn't pause the game, but she was going to make an exception. She remembered that Buttmaster42's previous video was an enjoyable watch -- the contents were lost on her, though.

"Ok, next time I--" Emily's video game avatar met a bloody end, "Oh, well, I died. I'll go ahead and give the video a quick watch!"

The link took Emily to a similar web domain as before. A window popped up in the center of the white screen, and a video of a stunning colorful swirl began to play. The second the bright, alluring colors hit Emily's eyes, Emily felt a sense of wonder come over her. The colors were so pretty. They spiraled so slowly, morphing into beautiful new colors of yellows, pinks, blues, and greens. Just so charming. A gleeful smile spread across Emily's lips as she focused on the beautiful spiral. She forgot about the stream, about the video game, about everything. She just watched all the pretty colors.

----

"So, you cut your hair short?" Gabby asked. The quizzical look on her face said it all.

"Yeah," Emily rolled her eyes with a giggle, "it's not that big of a deal. Yeah, I loved my long hair, but now I can wear whatever wigs I want. The viewers love it."

Gabby frowned. The two were sitting in a café a block from Emily's apartment. Gabby had grown concerned when Emily stopped showing up to her classes last week. So, she invited Emily out for a coffee shop intervention.

"Emily, this isn't good. You're skipping classes. Are you even doing your homework?"

Emily shrugged, "Don't worry about it. And so what? I'm actually making money now! I grew from zero viewers and followers to a little over one thousand in four weeks. I have a donation system set up and everything!"

"Didn't you say you didn't want to, you know, become like a cam girl?"

"I'm not. Besides, DIDN'T you say I should do this to make money?"

Gabby couldn't look at her friend. She rolled her tongue around her teeth, nothing was coming to her, and anything that did she knew wouldn't change Emily's mind.

"You have no reason to be worried. I'm making money and having fun. Doesn't that count for something?" Emily smiled.

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah."

Emily eased back into her chair. "Seriously, nothing to worry about. I haven't changed a bit. This," she gestured towards her hair, "is nothing. I haven't changed a bit."

Gabby looked her friend dead in the eye: "If you say so."

----

Getting back to her apartment, Emily got ready for her live stream. So many followers were itching to see her get back online. Never had she felt such a rush: each moment spent getting ready to stream was like a charging bolt of electricity building up and up. Each time she hit the button to go live in front of the camera, the charge would explode, and each time Emily's skin burned with excitement.

"Hi, guys!" Emily giggled. There were seven hundred viewers all waiting for her to get on. She told them she would be on today, despite having a class during this time.

"So, who's ready for some gaming, huh?"

Emily's eyes lit up as hundreds of viewers poured into the chatbox with words of praise. Comments ranged from heart emojis to small sentences and even multi-line replies. And, as usual, some comments drooled over her.

Emily knew what she was doing. She knew how to get her viewers riled up. It took her a little while to catch on, but she realized that people were here to see her and talk to her, not watch her play games. And she didn't mind that a bit. She made the window that showed her full screen and made the game window a tiny box in the corner.

"What's that?" Emily asked a viewer. "Am I wearing the outfit Buttmaster42 sent me? Why, yes. I am! It's the third outfit he has sent me! Isn't he amazing?"

She knew her fans would love this outfit, much like they did the ones before. She wore a black latex dress that showed an ample amount of cleavage. The glossy skintight material only served to accentuate every curve of her body. To top it all off, she wore a flirty wig of short wavy pink hair, made her mascara dark and heavy, and gave her lips a nice gleam of pink lip gloss.

"You guys, I am so excited to start gaming for you all. What game should I play?"

A viewer typed in the chatbox that she should show her tits to the camera, to which several viewers echoed.

"Nooo," Emily giggled, "We don't do that here. You guys behave!" She wiggled her index finger at the camera with childish glee. "Let's get serious! What shall we get into? Why don't I pick the game I played last stream?"

A comment popped up in the chatbox. It asked what color panties Emily was wearing. "I'm not! Buttmaster42 said panties would just ruin what the dress served to achieve. And God! He is so right!"

That instant, the chatbox was flooded with comments practically foaming at the mouth. Emily's cheeks turned red. She could feel the heat radiating from the comments. Fire spread throughout her as she watched her viewers shower her with want and attention.

Another comment asked her to make an ahegao face.

"What? You guys are such weirdos! Buut, I do love you guys sooo."

Emily faced the camera and stuck her tongue out, crossing her eyes to mimic the expression of being overwhelmed by pleasure. Her viewers went wild, like a pack of ravenous dogs barking and howling. They sent all sorts of messages saying how much they loved it. Emily herself loved doing it. Every time she pleased her viewers like that, a hot flame shot across her body, every nerve racked with heat.

Before Emily could ask how everyone felt about her performance, Buttmaster42 joined the live stream. He typed into the chatbox: "Hi, Emily! Wow, you look stunning! Do you like the dress?"

Her heart shuddered. Buttmaster42 was the sweetest guy she knew, so kind and supportive. She always loved having him as a viewer; she was encouraged by his very presence, even if he was nothing more than a username and text.

"I love it! I really do! You send the best gifts, and the other viewers love them, too."

"Great," Buttmaster42 replied with text in the chatbox, "I have another video for you, if you want to watch it. I think you'll enjoy it."

Buttmaster42 sent a link in the chatbox. Immediately, Emily opened the link. Her screen was overtaken by a blank white screen, a window popped up in the center. From the window a video began to play. Magnificent colors of every hue and shade dazzled about in a gentle spiral. Emily's eyes became transfixed upon the center of the spiral. Hypnotized, she gazed deeper into the colorful spiral. Her body felt relaxed, and her mind became blank.

She smiled as her entire body buzzed with warming bliss. Her eyes never left the center of the spiral; her attention never waned. A sudden pleasant idea came about her empty, blissful mind: she should show her tits to the stream.

----

"Hi guys, how is everyone today?" Emily was cheerful today. Her new room lights came, so now she could dim the lights behind her, so the camera wouldn't have such a hard time focusing on her. Ever since she moved from streaming on a monitor-mounted webcam to a camera mounted on a tripod, her camera was having a hard time focusing on her. Her room now resembled a studio set for a fashion shoot: sheets of large white cloth draped about the room, she recorded sitting on her bedroom floor, which she cleared out.