“Oh fuck. Right. Gods, I am such a fucking mess today,” I hiss into the phone, picking up my pace further. I would outright start running but I’m not in the best shape for something like that.
“Plus, you better have remembered to get those cheese sticks I asked for. Also, Rodney is stealing my hoodies again for his living room nest!”
I let out a groan. “Why can’t he nest in his room? Why’s it always gotta be in the living room?”
“He said he doesn’t want his stream to ever see his nest.”
There’s a long pause before we both relent. “Yeah, that’s fair. I’m already on my way home. Tell Azaad I owe him. Again. See ya soon!”
My roommates are an interesting bunch. Kei and I met a few years ago through a mutual friend and hit it off right away. His dry humor and glare amuse me to no end. I’ll never admit it, but the guy issuchan asshole but in a way I’ve come to love. He’s an alpha cat shifter which I suppose explains some of his asshole tendencies.
He started streaming after I started, saying that I made the whole thing look fun. He usually streams whatever random ass game he’s currently hyperfixated on while yelling at his chat. I swear, his viewers must have some sort of humiliation kink with how often they say shit to piss Kei off.
Rodney on the other hand islovely. He’s a swan maiden. Though he hates that term which I totally get. He prefers to call himself a swelkie, also known as a swan selkie. Instead of a coat that allows him to transform into a seal, he has a feathered coat that transforms him into a swan. Hence the nesting.
He’s a ray of sunshine, a gay disaster like me, and wears his emotions on his sleeve. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who could look at Rodney and not like him. Though my following is much bigger than both Kei or Rodney, they never seem to mind and I’m always happy to use my influence to boost their numbers for them. I want to see my friends do well, however I can help.
Rodney mostly streams first person shooter games which I’m absolutely ass at. He’sreallyfucking good at them. He’s been invited to tournaments and is on the top leader board for more than one game worldwide.
And then there’s me, the token human with the barest traces of magic running through my veins who everyone loves to pick on. Somehow, I’m like the little brother no one wanted but is forced to hang out with so mother dearest won’t be mad.
I run into my house, calling out for Kei and Rodney. They meet me in the kitchen.
“Fuck,” I say, setting the bags down. “I hate to do this but can you unload while I jump into that call?”
“Go for it,” Rodney says with a grin, already digging through the bags.
Kei narrows his eyes at me. “You fucker! You forgot my cheese sticks!”
“Go suck a cheese dick,” I tell him, sticking out my tongue. He throws something at me, nailing me right in the forehead. “Ouch! What the fuck!”
“You’ve betrayed me in my time of need! You’re dead to me, Rin!”
I rub my forehead as I get to my room and close the door behind me. I jump into my computer chair and pull up Discord. I send a quick message to the developer, letting him know he can call me whenever. A moment later, my headphones play the call music. I take a deep breath and answer.
“Hi, everyone!”
There’s a chorus of greetings as I jump into a Discord call with my mods. I look down the list of names, noticing that Rodney and Kei are also here. Azaad is our head mod followed by Joker, Pally, Scout, Gladly, Squeak, and Vee. Rodney, Kei, and I also mod each other’s chats whenever we can. Not everyone can come to every stream but that’s why I have a handful of mods, especially because my chat is bigger and needs more moderation.
Rodney and Kei share Azaad with me but they have their own handful of mods just for their chats, people who understand their vibes and how they want their chats to behave. Despite the way Kei enjoys bullying his chat, he uses the ban button quite freely. Kei and Rodney like more order while my mods like it when chat bullies me.
“Glad you could finally join us,” Kei says, his voice unamused.
“Are you still mad?”
“Yes. I’m gonna stay mad.”
I let out a frustrated noise. “I’m sorry! My grocery run was really weird,” I say with a whine.
“How was it weird?” Squeak asks, actually sounding interested and not like he immediately wants to bully me. It’s a nice change.
“I ran into a fan?”
“Uh oh,” Rodney says with a chuckle. “That can be hit or miss.”
“For real,” I say, nodding my head even though no one can see me. “Okay, how about this? I’ll start the stream with a little storytime and y’all can be the judge of how it went.”
“Sure,” Azaad chimes in. Azaad is our head mod. All three of us pay him for his time and because he’s so much more than just our mod. He’s like our personal assistant. He edits clips, keeps up with current trends, and schedules sponsors for us. We would be lost without him.
