Dean sat in his usual spot, his room dimly lit by the soft blue glow of his computer screen. His mind was running on autopilot, boredom sinking in as he scrolled through ReAL. He'd just finished up a voice recording session for TikTak, and with nothing else to do, he found himself randomly hopping from stream to stream, half-listening to the content. Fishing through the sea of users had become his pastime lately, a way to escape the dullness of reality.
Suddenly, something caught his eye—a small stream near the bottom of the page, its title written in cute cursive letters:
"Live Art & Chill | Drawing something random :)"
The streamer's name? Seraphine_Official.
Dean's thumb hovered over the screen for a moment before clicking on the stream. He remembered her from his own chat, a frequent visitor. He never really checked out her streams before, though. The screen flickered, and Seraphine's avatar appeared, a chibi-like character with oversized eyes and a beaming smile. The background showed an artist's virtual workspace, with various tools and a half-finished sketch of a character on the digital canvas.
"Welcome to the stream!" Seraphine's cheerful, high-pitched voice greeted her few viewers. "I'm just doodling for now. Feel free to chat or lurk—it's all good!"
Dean leaned back, curious. He didn't even realize he was still signed in as Epitaph. He rarely ever interacted with other streams unless they caught his attention, and something about Seraphine's lively, innocent energy did. The number of viewers was modest, just a handful, and the chat was quiet.
He glanced at the few comments trickling in:
@LovelyMoon: That's a cute sketch, Seraphine!
@DarkLuna: Nice work, girl! What's the theme for tonight?
Seraphine responded, her voice bright and friendly. "I'm just going for a cute, fantasy vibe! Maybe something inspired by some of the books I've read recently. Oh, and some games too! I'm thinking of doing some gameplay after this sketch."
Dean felt a smirk tug at his lips. Something about the contrast between her bubbly persona and the laid-back vibe of the stream intrigued him. Before he could stop himself, he typed in the chat:
@Epitaph: Fantasy, huh? Sounds like my kind of thing.
The message popped up, and for a second, there was a pause on the screen. Seraphine blinked, her chibi avatar freezing mid-motion.
"Wait—Epitaph?!" Her voice cracked slightly in surprise, clearly not expecting him to show up. "Whoa, um, hey there! Didn't think I'd ever see you in my stream!"
The chat lit up immediately:
@LovelyMoon: OMG! It's Epitaph!
@DarkLuna: Epitaph's here? For real?!
Dean chuckled, keeping his response light. "Was bored and saw the stream. Thought I'd check it out."
Seraphine fumbled slightly, her voice nervous but giddy. "W-Well, I'm glad you did! Uh, I hope I don't disappoint, hehe." She quickly focused back on her drawing, her nervousness showing as her digital brush wavered slightly. "I'm just doodling right now, but if you have any requests, feel free to let me know!"
Dean raised an eyebrow, considering it for a moment. "How about something dark? A fantasy character with a tragic backstory."
Seraphine's avatar blinked in response, her tone brightening at the challenge. "Ooh! That sounds cool. Let's see what I can come up with."
YOU ARE READING
Between Screens and Hearts
RomansaDean Rivero hides behind many masks: the quiet college student with trust issues, the mysterious TikTak voice actor known as 'Epitaph,' and the elusive writer 'Finale' who never finishes his stories. Living a life where his true self remains a secre...
