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I smile, loving that she calls it that. A private place just for us. A hidden corner of the internet.

TheRealCreator: I would if you weren’t so distracting.

I watch as she skillfully navigates a dungeon. Her character is primarily a healer, which feels intuitively right to me. I had no clue how cold and zombie-like I was until just looking at her healed something inside of me. Now, she’s taking a leap as a damage dealer, completely owning it.

She squeals and jumps up when an enemy surprise attacks her. Her breasts bounce gorgeously in her top. I watch as the chat lights up, multiple people commenting on it.

You don’t own her, I warn myself. Or try to.You can’t control what they say.

But the fact remains. I want to make the men in her audience pay for looking at her like that. Forthinkingabout her like that. I need to relax. Big time.

Later, thankfully, it’s just us again. I meet her in the Cove. When her elf appears, I let out a sigh of relief.

Her character walks over.

DakkyDuck: Sorry I’m late. Somebody recognized me from my stream at the diner down the street.

TheRealCreator: That’s amazing! You’re getting big, Dakota. What an incredible achievement.

She makes her character blush, then replies.

DakkyDuck: Thank you, Jack. Seriously. That hardly ever happens.

TheRealCreator: I hope the fan was polite.

I type the message, but don’t send it. I’m fishing. I want her to tell me whether it was a man or a woman. What he or she said. If it were a man, did he overstep the mark? Did he make comments about her figure?

I delete the message. For fuck’s sake. I don’t want to turn this from something fun into something ugly.

TheRealCreator: I’ve got something to show you. A fresh design.

DakkyDuck: Aren’t you going to make me sign an NDA first?

Her character giggles.

I grin tightly. Maybe it’s more of a teeth-clenching. Really, Ishouldbe making her sign one. This magnetic, beautiful stranger.

DakkyDuck: I’m not going to say anything. I promise.

TheRealCreator: I trust you.

I do trust her, which is crazy. It’s a sign of how convincing streamers can be. Or how much and how quickly I’ve lost my mind.

TheRealCreator: Follow me.

I lead her into a nearby cave. The inside is lit with fairy lights interwoven with seashells, and in the center of the cave, there’s a bed in the shape of an open clam, with a mattress in the middle.

Dakota guides her character over, then starts jumping up and down on the bed.

DakkyDuck: This is beautiful! The role players are going to love this.

I move to the edge of the bed. I wouldn’t have designed Empire’s Fall if I’d never had profound experiences in video games. But this is completely new. Wanting a woman, aching for her, when only her digital replacement is standing before me.

TheRealCreator: What about you? Do you love it?

She hops off the bed.

DakkyDuck: I’ve never been much of an RPer.