Previously…..
Taking a deep breath, I weighed my options. I could stay in my comfort zone and play it safe or step outside my bubble and embrace the chaos. After all, what's life without a little adventure? With a hesitant but determined nod to myself, I replied, "Okay, I'm in. Let's do this!"
"Ima smoke you up! You have no gifters!" Gotholic screamed like a maniacJumping up and down from his gaming chair, Gotholic soaked in the attention as his faithful gifters showered him with gifts. He was leading with a whopping 230k points completely unfair. Meanwhile, there I was, my worry-ridden self sitting with (can you believe it) a pathetic 10 points. I know, it's embarrassing.
And those 10 points? Yeah, they came from a grand total of three people who "tapped" for me out of pity. My frustration bubbled up as I watched Gotholic's gifters pop into my stream, only to scamper back to his, probably laughing at my failure. It felt like being the underdog at a fight where the opponent was practically made of gold, and I was just… me.
All the while, I was inwardly calculating the worth of his coins. That was around four thousand dollars! He just made that off my defeat, right on my head. Ugh, that money… eeish, I needed to stop thinking like my problems. My eyes flicked pathetically to the screen, desperately hoping for some kind of miracle.
Only 20 seconds left. If I lost, Gotholic would definitely come up with some ridiculous, humiliating challenge to entertain his viewers. My stomach churned at the thought. This wasn't just a game anymore; it was a fight to keep even a shred of my dignity intact.
"Guys, let's go! Teamwork, we can do this!" Who was I kidding? Deep down, I knew I had no one coming to save me.
"Can you suck it?" a nameless viewer commented. Great. Just what I needed.
"No rude comments, please; I don't want to get flagged," I said, trying to brush it off stylishly while resisting the urge to roll my eyes. As if the universe wanted to pile it on, Gotholic's voice cut through my self-doubt like a chainsaw.
"Your viewers are really idiots! If I were you, I'd trade them for a pack of bubble gum!" he shouted, clearly in blissful arrogance. Ouch. Okay, that one actually stung and, to be honest, so did his voice. If he wasn't so ridiculously cute, his shouting would have made him a complete disaster. I was so tempted to mute him…
I looked at the screen desperately, noticing that my views had jumped to 30. Not supporters, unfortunately, but hey, at least the number was something.
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
Lost.
"Aha, you're not a challenge, you know, pretty girl," Gotholic sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance. "If the person I actually wanted to play with was online, I wouldn't waste my time on you. Now, get a bucket of water. I want you to splash it on yourself. On camera," he ordered.
I just stared at my screen in disbelief. Seriously?! My rug… my makeup… my everything. And to make matters worse, my viewers seemed to be in complete agreement (of course, they were mostly men).
"I can't do that, please. That's too brutal! It's freezing, and my rug will be ruined—" I tried to reason.
"That's none of my business, princess. If you don't comply, my people will be very angry," he said, raising a brow mockingly. "You don't want them angry, do you?"
I clenched my teeth, my frustration boiling. "I honestly couldn't care less what mood your viewers are in. That particular dare is too much." At this point, I was seething—he could go straight to hell for all I cared.
"You know, if you win which I doubt you can also punish me, right?" he said, leaning forward with a mocking grin on his face, adjusting himself in his sleek black gaming chair.
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I took a calming breath. "Fine. Let me change my shirt, and I'll get the bucket of water," I said, standing up from my seat, trying to maintain a semblance of composure.
"Ah, that's where you have it wrong, mon chéri," his voice boomed, stopping me in my tracks. I turned to look at him, and the smug look on his pale face made my blood run cold.
"What do you mean?" I asked, although deep down, I already knew I had walked into a trap.
"I want you to pour the water on your body in that very shirt you're wearing," he said, his eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement. "I quite like it, anyway so pink, so… feminine." His voice trailed off, and he licked his bottom lip in a way that made my skin crawl.
"What?! This shirt is skin-tight! It'll turn see-through if it gets wet. I'll get restricted!" I shouted, my anger boiling over.
At this point, my viewer count had shot up to 200, and the chat was exploding with comments egging me on. "Do it, Ana!" "We want a show!" Geez, people surely loved a bit of drama.
Money! You're doing it for the money, I reminded myself as I stumbled blindly into the kitchen. My hands were shaking as I grabbed a clear bucket and filled it at the sink. I was tempted to scream into the void but knew that'd get me nowhere.
With two gigantic towels under my arm, I made my way back to my room. If I was about to ruin my rug, I might as well do it right. Setting the towels strategically to absorb the impending flood, I took a deep breath, my heart thudding wildly.
"Alright," I muttered, trying to convince myself that this was fine, that all of this chaos would be worth it in the end. My pink shirt clung to me already, and the thought of it becoming transparent made my skin crawl with nerves. But the anticipation in the air was thick, and I could feel the pressure mounting from the hundreds of eager eyes glued to their screens.
I bit my lip, bracing myself for the show of a lifetime.
"We're waiting, princess," Gotholic drawled, inspecting his tattooed hands with a bored expression, as if this was just another day for him. Breathe, I told myself. It's just entertainment, right?
The bucket was heavy and cold in my trembling hands, held right in front of my chest. I could feel my heart pounding like a drum, each beat reminding me of the insane situation I was about to plunge into. Just as I mustered up the courage, a level 47 gifter swooped into my stream, but I barely registered the username before tipping the bucket over my head.
The shock of the icy water was bone-shattering. I let out a scream, the kind that came from pure, gut-wrenching panic. "OMG! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" I yelled, my voice shaking with a mix of rage and disbelief. Gotholic's evil laughter roared through the stream, echoing in my room.
I couldn't even open my eyes, water dripping down my face, soaking my now nearly transparent shirt. The chill clung to my skin like needles, and my hands flailed as I tried to wipe the freezing water off my face, shivering uncontrollably. The screen buzzed with delighted viewers, and I could only imagine the chaos unfolding in the chat.
"They look so pretty," Gotholic's voice echoed mockingly through the stream, and my eyes flew open. Horror crashed over me as I took in my reflection on the screen: my light pink, skin-tight shirt had gone completely transparent, making my brown nipples embarrassingly visible. My makeup had smeared into a ghostly mess, and my hair clung to my face in wet, limp strands. I looked like… Annabelle, the creepy doll.
And then I saw it—1,248 viewers. My jaw dropped. How did that happen? My stream had somehow exploded with onlookers, here to witness my humiliation. Mortified, I scrambled away from the phone, running to the bathroom as Gotholic's gleeful, mocking laughter filled the room. He was clearly reveling in my discomfort, bantering with his chat and gloating over his victory.
I quickly grabbed the soaked towels, trying to mop up the mess. The icy water had seeped into my rug, and I shivered, my embarrassment still fresh. Just as I started to regain a bit of composure, Gotholic's voice cut through. "We don't have all day, princess. Accept the next match," he said, swirling in his damn chair with a contented smile. He looked infuriatingly pleased with himself, and I clenched my fists, my blood boiling.
I tried to compose myself as I sat back down, now bundled in a warm hoodie and sweatpants, hoping I wouldn't catch a cold from the icy drenching. My cheeks flushed as I scrolled through the flood of comments, each one more humiliating than the last.
"You're so pretty" — DarkKnight
"You women would literally do anything, sigh" — GameOver
"Nice tits, baby" — Jules334
I cringed, realizing with dread that some of these pervs had probably screen-recorded the entire spectacle. The thought made me want to melt into the floor and disappear. Urrgh, could this get any worse?
Almost as if he sensed my discomfort, Gotholic or rather, Liam, as I knew his real name spoke up. His voice softened, trying to sound sympathetic, "Okay, princess. For this next round, even if I win, I'll make the punishment light."
Oh, gee, thanks, I thought, rolling my eyes internally. As if a "lighter" punishment would erase the fact that I'd already made a complete fool of myself in front of over a thousand people. The damage was done, and I couldn't shake the feeling that this would haunt me long after the stream ended.
As the next match kicked off, I felt a flicker of hope. Maybe this time would be different. I didn't even muster the energy to plead with my viewers to tap, but to my surprise, they started tapping anyway. My points climbed steadily, hitting 450 within the first 20 seconds.
"Gee, your broke viewers finally woke up, I see!" Liam taunted from his side of the stream. "Claraaa, show this broke lil shorty how it's done drop the lion, baby!"
The moment I heard his shout, my heart sank. Clara or whatever her name was must have been ready because she dropped a lion like it was nothing, sending Liam soaring ahead with a staggering 35,000 points. We had barely even started, and I was already feeling like I was back in the deep end, fighting for scraps.
I could feel the energy shift; the excitement of the competition, the pressure to perform, and the realization that this was just another round where I might end up embarrassed again. Great, I thought. Just what I needed.
But to my surprise, a Level 34 female with the screen name lisa22 started supporting me like a knight in shining armor. She dropped five baby lions at once, and I was left in shock. Even Liam paused, his confidence wavering as he realized I was actually becoming competitive for once.
"OMG, Lisa… it is Lissa! Yesss, Lisa22! OMG, thank you so much!" I screamed in disbelief, my points climbing to 35,000. For the first time in history, I felt like I had a fighting chance.
"I got you" I read her comment aloud, hoping to rally more support so Liam could hear it. He merely smirked, his gaze full of smugness.
"Tell Lisa that she's playing with fire. My people will crush her; tell her not to waste her savings," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. Almost immediately, he shot up to 100,000 points, and my heart sank. I knew then and there that Lisa wouldn't be able to keep up that's a lot of money.
My plan now was to disconnect him as soon as the match ended. No way was I going to humiliate myself again.
We were already close to the end of the match now, and my stomach twisted in knots.
"Get your ass ready for your next dare. I want you to hang your sexy ass on the wall with your head down on the ground," he demanded confidently, as if he were giving orders to a dog.
"Hellooo, Mr. The match hasn't ended yet!" I shot back, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.
"Little girl, you seriously believe that… what's her name again? Lina? Lisa? Yeah, whatever. You think that broke individual can help you beat me?" he sneered, puffed up with pride.
I felt embarrassed, not just for myself, but for Lisa too. His words were unnecessarily rude, and I didn't want her to feel bad for supporting me. "Geez, she was just helping! No need for the insults," I muttered under my breath, wishing I could somehow turn the tide of the match and prove him wrong.
And then I saw the badge. You know those level 40 gifters have a distinguished badge? Well, this one had a level 47 badge with the display name—MUTATIO. This person dropped a comment that made my heart race:
"Is that all he can pull up? Just 100k? LOL"
I read it aloud for Liam, and he merely smirked, his confidence unwavering. "He should give you the 100k then since he called it JUST. I hardly doubt it," he laughed, chatting with his followers, clearly unbothered.
I looked at my points: 37 thousand, while Liam was at 102 thousand, and I knew I was doomed.
"Three…"
"Two…"
"Get ready, baby girl!" Liam shouted. "Get ready to raise that ass up in the A…"
I wasn't looking at the screen, my hands covering my face in sheer embarrassment, but then I heard it.
WAIT. THAT SOUND WAS FAMILIAR.
"Together, together, together we are… TIKTOK UNIVERSE!"
It sounded again… and again… and AGAIN.
Liam fell silent, and I peeked at my screen, nearly fainting.
I WAS LEADING WITH ONE MILLION POINTS! HOLY SMOKING MACARONI!
LIAM WAS SHOCKED. My views skyrocketed to a whopping 10k. The person responsible for this unbelievable turn of events? MUTATIO.