The next day, Jane woke up excited to stream again. It was Saturday, a prime day for streamers. Her usual schedule was to wake up at midday, have a late breakfast, get all the necessary house chores done, and have lunch, by five pm, when she started streaming. At ten, she had dinner, usually on stream, and then only said goodbye to her viewers at around three am. It was ten straight hours of streaming, full commitment, every day, except Wednesdays, her day off.
The previous night, after surviving the black dragon flames, she went back to the farmer to complete her first-ever quest and get her reward, a measly handful of gold coins. Jane and the guys took on a couple more quests and then called it a day at around three thirty am. By the end of the stream, Jane had broken her own record of 212 concurrent viewers, bringing it to a whopping 257 on just her first day with the Soulink, with a tally of 326 subs to boot.
She was already over the moon with her success, but little did she know what awaited her online the next day. Before the stream, Cynthie and her spent a few hours putting together a new setup. They talked it over and decided to set the real-life cameras aside, streaming directly from VR instead.
"So, we start at my VR apartment every time?" Jane asked Cynthie.
"Yeah," she confirmed, "we could pick a place, like the couch, and start the stream there. You greet everyone and then go to whichever game you're gonna play. The first few days, I think you should play one hour of each of the big games everyone is streaming and see which one works best for you. What do you think?"
"Good idea," she replied, "but I still think we could stream together, Blue Jane and Cynthetica."
"Jane, we've been over this," Cynthie argued, "I'm no good in front of the camera, I don't WANT to be in front of the camera. And I REALLY don't want people comparing me to my avatar all the time, my self-esteem is low enough as it is. Besides, I like my job, I like being your mod... and I want to get back into video editing too. If we're going to make this work, we need to get some Blue Jane clips on YouTube. Once we get this new setup up and running, I don't think I'll be joining you IVR anymore. I'll be right here, IRL, moderating comments, making suggestions, and clipping your streams... like I've always been. Yes, yesterday was awesome and I had a ton of fun, but, Jane, I didn't even bother looking at the chat. I simply couldn't play the game and keep up with it at the same time. I hope you realize we basically ignored the viewers through the whole session. I had to turn off the chat reader, just to make sure we wouldn't get banned over some clever troll. People always find a way to trick the AI into saying offensive shit."
"Yeah," Jane admitted, "I noticed, but we still got more viewers than ever... but I get it, it's not your thing. It's just that I had so much fun... Sorry, I'll stop pestering you. Right, so... we start the stream on the couch and then try out a bunch of games."
"I think it's ready," Cynthie informed her, "Log into Wonderscape, and let's do some tests."
Jane did so and found herself back in her apartment again. "We seriously need to give this place some color, some life. I can't start the stream like this."
"Agreed!" Cynthie said, "That's why I've put together a selection of images for you... some blue jay pics, some abstract shit in your blue, white, and black color scheme... You can put them in frames on the walls. I'm sending it to you now. But I think you'll need to buy some decorations to complement it."
Jane opened the file and looked through it. Cynthie had selected some cool pics. Then, she looked around at the stuff in her apartment. When she focussed on the wall, a menu appeared, with a selection of frames to purchase. She picked one of the cheaper ones, for only 10 tokens, and inserted a photo of a blue jay, with its wings opened. She placed a few other frames, with other shots of blue jays. Then, she focused on her couch and looked through the menu that popped up. There were many other couches, but she discovered she could just change the color of hers for only 5 tokens, making it dark blue. She changed the rug and the curtains to light blue and the table and chairs to black. Already, it was looking much better. "Okay, I think that's good enough for now," she decided, "It's almost five anyway, we better get the stream ready."
"Just tweaking a few last details," Cynthie reported, "The VR cams are set. Check it out, we're going to use two now. I can switch between them on the fly, to get different views of the action. They're both programmed to keep you in frame, which is nice. I don't have to manually control them at all times like with the drone."
"Cool," Jane praised her.
Cynthie continued, "The chat reader is up and running... I added a few extra filters, it should run better now... Oh, and I set up a VR monitor for you that you can pull up to check the stream."
Jane pulled it up and saw herself through the VR cam. "Looks good," she commented.
"I think that's it," Cynthie concluded, "I'm gonna start the stream."
Jane went and sat on the blue couch and waited, with the eyeball cams staring at her. She kept the virtual monitor at her side, watching as viewers began to pop up.
"Hi, guys," she greeted them, "What's up?"
"Mamasboi says: Yo, baby girl, good to see you."
"Yo, Mamasboi!" she cried cheerfully, "Good to see... Or rather, HEAR you too."
"Lionfart says: Hi, BJ. I subbed yesterday watching you kill that goblin shaman. You got some moves. And that black dragon was some crazy shit."
"Hi, thanks for the sub," she said happily, "Yeah, we barely survived that dragon."
"Sephymoth donated 10 tokens: Hi, Jane. So, what are we playing today?"
"Hi, Sephy," she replied happily, "Not sure yet, but I'm thinking of trying out some of the other games."
"Jacksplat says: I subbed yesterday too, even though you didn't check the chat at all. Someone in the chat said you had just gotten linked and were still figuring things out, so, I'll give it a pass. Luv your style tho."
"Oh, thanks," she replied, glancing at Cynthie in real life, "Yeah, sorry about the chat thing, and thanks for understanding. Yesterday was literally my first time streaming IVR. Cynthie and I have sorted it all out now and I won't ignore the chat anymore. Thanks for the sub by the way."
"Magneato says: Hey, BJ. We should play more Realms. The way you played yesterday, I think you could become one of the best Realm players in the world."
"Hi, Mags," she greeted him, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'm still just a noob. Besides, I want to try out some of the other games first. I did love Realms though, I'll play it again sometime for sure."
Cynthie sent Jane a private message that read, "We got over 200 viewers already. Let's give them something to watch!"
Jane looked at her in real life, surprised with the number, then nodded.
"FoxyGent says: Good afternoon, milady. I'm up for whatever you want to play."
"Hey, Foxy!" she said, "Okay, guys, I think we're ready to start. Here's what I think we'll do... I'll make a list of the most popular games, maybe the top ten, then, you guys vote which ones you want to see me try first and I'll spend about an hour in each one, to get a feel for them. What do you think?... Yeah... Okay, cool... I'm hoping to try out at least five different games today." She searched "ten most popular VR games in the world" on Google...
1. CUF - Courage Under Fire
- 512 million active players
- MMOFPS - Hyper-Realistic Combat Simulator
2. VFC - Virtual Fighting Championship
- 471 million active players
- Fighting - Semi-realistic
3. Realms - Realms of Power & Glory
- 379 million active players
- MMORPG - High Fantasy
4. MBA - Masters of the Battle Arena
- 361 million active players
- MOBA - High Fantasy
5. Cardmon - Card Monster Captors
- 305 million active players
- RPG - Monster Collector
6. Mycraft
- 241 million active players
- Sandbox - Voxel Builder
7. Star Tales
- 206 million active players
- MMO Action - Fantasy Space Opera
8. Star Faction
- 183 million active players
- MMOFPS - Sci-fi Simulator
9. Survivorz
- 127 million active players
- FPS - Zombie Apocalypse
10. ARC - Alpha Racer Championship
- 103 million active players
- Racing - Sci-Fi
"I'll leave Realms out," she told them, typing the voting options in, "So, there'll be nine options... There, I'll give you guys five minutes."
"Mamasboi says: It's CUF for me, baby girl, all the way!"
She chatted with her viewers, and then, when the time was up, she announced the results, "Looks like you're getting your wish, Mamasboi. We're playing CUF first. You guys can keep voting as I play. In about an hour, we'll see which game comes in second."
Getting up off her couch, she went to her VR apartment's window and inserted the destination "Courage Under Fire". The view changed from the plaza to a large bunker, full of double beds, just like the ones in boot camps. There was a mean-looking sergeant standing there, staring at her from the other side of the window. She stepped to the side, to see if his glare followed her around... it did. CUF was what they called a hyper-realistic combat simulator, meaning there was no added "style" to the game, it just had that typical real-life military look... maybe with a cinematic feel to it.
The sergeant's silent stare made her feel a bit uneasy, so she called for support, "Hey, Mamasboi. Wanna be on my team?" She sent him an invite.
To her relief, he instantly popped up in her apartment, next to her, in his blue-skinned avatar, crying, "Hell yeah, baby girl! Realms might be Foxy's area of expertise, but this here's mine, yo! Let's do this!"
"Cool," she celebrated, "Just one thing... Is that dude gonna yell at me, like in the movies? Cus' I, uh... I'm not great with that sort of thing."
"Yeah," he said meaningfully, "unfortunately, he's gonna scream like crazy, but don't sweat it, I got you. The rules are simple really, just follow my lead. Whenever anyone talks to you, just say, SIR YESSIR, real loud and clear. And only ask questions when they ask you if you have any questions. And try to speak clearly at all times... And that is it, basically. The rest will be explained to you as you go along... Oh, the only other thing is, it's better if we have two more guys with us before we head into the game, otherwise they'll pair us up with two randos. We play in FIRE TEAMS, that's a four-soldier team. So, yeah, you should call up two more guys."
"Oh, okay," she agreed, "Who else wants to join us? Cynthie will sort out two more players."
"Magneato says: I think I'll sit this one out, BJ, FPS is not my thing."
"No worries, Mags," she told him, "You can join us in the next game. I guess, if anyone who wants to join gets left out, they can form their own fire teams, right?" she asked Mamasboi, uncertain.
"For sure," he replied, "Just be sure to deploy to the same warzone, boys, we'll meet up there."
Of course, half the chat wanted to join in the fun, but Cynthie picked some of the older fans, the ones she was more confident wouldn't start trolling the moment things went sideways. She sent Jane the contacts so that she could invite them.
"Alright," Jane said, "Foxy and Sephy, get on over here, boys."
They both beamed in and greeted her. They all stepped through the portal window together and the sergeant came to life.
"ATTENTION, MAGGOTS!" he yelled, "I SEE SOME NEW FACES AS WELL AS OLD, BUT YOUR ALL INSECTS TO ME, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Mamasboi, Sephy, and Foxy all replied in unison, with surprisingly manly voices, "SIR YESSIR!"
Jane echoed them, a second later, "SIR YESSIR!"
She glanced fearfully at Mamasboi and was surprised to see he looked like a normal human, an older black guy, though with the same warm smile. Foxy looked like his normal blond human self, from Wonderscape, but she barely recognized Sephy. He had short black hair, black eyes... and looked kind of Asian... maybe mixed race. But she didn't have much time to wonder about their appearances.
The sergeant gave her a furious look, but didn't scold her just yet. Instead, he went on, "GET YOUR GEAR AND HEAD ON OUT! YOU'RE NEEDED AT THE BATTLEFRONT! NOW, DOUBLE TIME IT! MOVE-MOVE-MOVE!"
Mamasboi led them to a locker room, where they each had a locker. "This is where you can edit your avatar," he explained, "but don't bother, you look fine and there aren't many options anyway."
There was a large mirror on the inside of the locker door. Jane looked like her real self, except with no blue mesh in her hair, that was tied in a ponytail. She was also wearing a green military uniform, like the others.
Once she had checked herself out, she looked at Mamasboi. "Is that what you look like IRL?" she asked him, before she could stop herself.
But he just grinned kindly and answered, "Not quite... I made myself a bit younger and a bit taller... Disappointed?"
"No-no," she quickly reassured him, "I was just curious... so... you're, like, an older dude?" she noted, "I thought you were my age, like maybe a bit older, maybe 24 or something."
He laughed, pleased with what he heard, "I'm glad I seem so youthful to you, baby girl, but... Nah, I'm 36, yo. I have a little girl, 3 years old."
"Oh, wow!" Jane said, astonished, "You're a dad? That's awesome! I guess, now that I'm linked, we'll all get to know each other better, huh? You'll need to show me a pic of your little girl sometimes."
"Will do," he said, "Just not on the stream. You never know what kinda creep might be watching."
"Right, of course," she quickly understood. Then, she turned to the others, "What about you two?"
"I'd rather not talk about myself on the stream," Sephy said curtly.
But Foxy seemed more open about it, "I'm blonde, with blue eyes, but... well... let's just say I'm on a diet, that my girlfriend put me on, that I don't follow very strictly. Not that I'm huge or anything, I just have a bit of a gut. This is my real face though."
"Cool," she said, smiling at him, "I think you look rather handsome. I mean, FoxyGent suits you perfectly. Is your girlfriend a gamer too? You should bring her along the next time around."
"Oh, no, " he lamented, "no-no-no... Sadly, she's NOT a gamer AT ALL. She hates games. But what you gonna do, right? No one's perfect."
She smiled at him, feeling for him a bit, and then looked into the mirror again, "Well, I'm not changing anything, so... where to next?"
"Next," Mamasboi informed her, "we go to the command center and pick a warzone to deploy to."
He headed out of the locker room, out of the bunker, and led them to another building. Inside, were seven double doors, with hundreds of other players walking in and oi of them. Each set of doors had a huge video screen over it, illustrating what to expect beyond them. One had the title "JUNGALLA", and showed a jungle warzone, with helicopters flying overhead, gunshots being fired in the distance, and soldiers running through the palm trees. Another was entitled "DIRTWIND" and took place in an arid region, with tanks and more gunfire. A third one was "ARCTICA", with soldiers in white, heavy snow and naked trees.
Before Jane could check the others, Mamasboi suggested, "Dirtwind is the best one to start with, I think, no swamps or snow to slow you down and no thick vegetation blocking your vision."
"Sounds good," she accepted.
"Once we deploy," he continued, "I'm the highest-ranking soldier, so the game will make me team leader."
They walked through the door and went into a map room. Players stood around the map, choosing their deployment locations, and were being teleported in and out of the place.
"I'll pick us a quiet place to deploy to," he explained, "and we can take it slow... Things get hectic fast in this game though, so, be ready for anything. Here. This is a good place, you ready?"
"I'm ready," she replied nervously.
He pulled up a screen, focussing on the selected area, and tapped the "accept mission" button. Jane suddenly found herself in a helicopter, overlooking a vast rocky region. She was already wearing all the combat gear she could ever need... a helmet, protective visors, a bulletproof vest, a sidearm, a knife, combat gloves... and there was a heavy assault rifle in her hands.
"Whoa!" she cried, startled, looking at her rifle.
Mamasboi smiled at her.
Then, a voice came on the comms, "Fire Team Hawk 7, your mission is to take out an air defense silo, ten klicks to the west of your designated landing site, so that our birds can pass through the region safely. You will be accompanying eight other fire teams in assisting the operational leader, Fire Team Delta 1. You will not have air support until the silo is disabled. Good luck."
"Okay," Mamasboi yelled over the sounds of the chopper, "stick close and watch your six, boys," he turned to Jane specifically and added, "BJ, they're dropping us into an ongoing mission, meaning the battle's already started, but I picked a spot that's a little farther from the hot zone, just so you can catch your bearings, okay? We'll have to walk a bit, but it's not gonna take long for the other side to find us, so, stay sharp."
"Gotcha!" she replied, "Thanks!"
The helicopter dropped them off and flew away.
"BJ," Mamasboi said, "do you know the four rules of gun safety?"
"What?" she wondered, "Rules of gun safety? No..."
"They're real-life safety rules for handling guns," he explained, "but there's friendly fire in CUF, so they apply here too. Don't worry, it's easy, just keep your gun pointed in a safe direction, like at the ground, keep your finger off the trigger, unless you intend to shoot, and pay attention to what you're shooting at as well as what's behind it. Got it?"
"Gun down, finger off the trigger, watch what I shoot at," she repeated, "Got it! Wait... that was three rules. You said there were four."
"Treat every gun as if they are loaded," he informed her, "but all the guns here are loaded, so, yeah, just be careful not to shoot one of ours. Your safety is still on, by the way. It's this little switch right here." He pointed the one out on his rifle. "And when you shoot, shoot in quick bursts, just like in any old FPS."
"Oh," she realized, switching the safety off, "This is, like, real shit. I'm used to playing FPSs with a keyboard and mouse, I never held a real gun in my life. Maybe I should have stayed in boot camp and taken the time to learn all this stuff."
"Nah," he argued grinning at her, "this's still just a game, baby girl, no need to waste your time with all that boring shit. Come on."
They followed Mamasboi through the rocks towards their target. And, just as he had warmed them, enemy soldiers spotted them and began to close in. It was another fire team, from the opposing forces. PvP was about to start and Jane's heart was in her throat.
"Get behind those rocks!" he cried, pointing them in the right direction.
They took cover and waited for the enemy to come into range. Then, the shooting began... It was loud... and kind of scary. Bullets hit the rocks near Jane, sending puffs of dust all around.
For a moment, she just huddled up, too scared to expose herself and return fire. "Jesus!" she cried, as bits and pieces of rock bounced off her helmet and shoulders.
Mamasboi ran out to another rock, to keep the enemy from surrounding them, and Sephy was shooting at some guys on the other side. Foxy was next to Jane, shooting over the rock she was huddling behind.
Then he kneeled next to her and said, "Hey, come on, BJ, it's okay. It might look real, but it's just a game. It doesn't hurt if you get shot or anything."
For a second or two, she just sat there, staring at him. "Right, sorry," she said, snapping out of it and getting up. She took aim at the enemy soldiers, shot two quick bursts, and went back into cover... Then, she got up again to shoot some more... Slowly, she got into the rhythm of it.
Sephy shot one of the enemies down and Mamasboi shot the three others, he was really good at it. They had killed the opposing team, without any injuries on their part.
"See?" Mamasboi reassured Jane, "Easy-squeezy, baby girl."
"That was fucking intense," she admitted, "Kinda scary, to be honest. It's just so... I dunno... I think the word I'm looking for is REAL. Holy shit..." Whiping the VR sweat off her VR brow.
"And that was just 4v4," he pointed out, "Just wait till we get to the hot zone."