I Love You Just the Way You Are (Book 1- Rock Canyon Series)

Chapter 17 - Maddie

Chapter 17 – Maddie

"So, we know West Time Town is dead. That's a big hint. Eliminates a lot of checks."

After an uneventful rest of the week, I'm back streaming and I'm playing my favorite game: The Legend of Esmerelda: Lenora's Mask. I'm playing a randomized version of the game, with all the stuff you need to beat it shuffled throughout Revalda.

Tonight I felt cute enough to wear my cosplay outfit of the main character Lane. It's just a little green tunic that probably doesn't cover enough of my legs and basically a hat that looks like Santa's but is green. Oh and I mustn't forget the little felt boots that go with it, but unfortunately nobody can really see that on stream.

The chat is a little slow tonight, with only thirty or so viewers. People chime in here and there, as we find more pieces of the puzzle, but most are in lurk mode, content to sit back and enjoy quietly. That's fine with me.

A quick check of my inventory told me that I've found enough items to beat Wide Bay Dungeon so I made my way in that direction. I heard the chat ding and checked it.

MangaGuy06: "Hi, I'm new here. Are those elf ears that you're wearing?"

I swung my sword at a giant dinosaur-looking creature and rushed to collect the gems that he left behind.

"Hi, Manga. Welcome to my stream! So, these ears are Rylian ears, which are like the humans in The Legend of Esmerelda. I like to play this game in cosplay as Lane, the main character. Are you familiar with the Esmerelda games at all?"

MangaGuy06: "Omg, duh. I'm silly. I was 11 when Cry of the Wild came out and I played that game almost non-stop for three months. I should have known what those ears were. They look really cute on you, and I guess I just wasn't thinking straight."

I hustled my character through a mostly empty green field with a smattering of trees and stone pillars spread throughout. At the time the game was made, my dad was still a cool skater kid in college, and my mom was living up in Sedona, waking up every morning to chant Om at the sun. So, this game was freaking ancient. The overworld was probably considered awesome when it came out but compared to today's games it's pretty empty.

I heard the chat ding and checked it.

"Yes, exactly! I was 11 when Cry came out, too. I love that game, but I prefer the older Esmerelda's. Especially Lenora's Mask. We play that a lot here. I hope you enjoy it!"

I always liked having a new follower stop in and chat. Almost every stream brought in at least one new person. My stream was still up and coming, and although I had gained a lot of followers since I started playing in more competitive Minecraft tournaments, I was nowhere near the big leagues. I tried not to get too excited, but I thought if I could just get big enough in the next couple of years, maybe I could make this my full-time job.

I scratched the tip of my nose as I wondered about MangaGuy06. It was the internet, so you could never be sure, but it seemed like he was my age. He said I was cute and liked manga. I started to imagine what he looked like. I'd love to meet a guy in real life who was attractive and shared similar interests.

MangaGuy06: "I've never seen it. It looks like a lot of fun. And not to be a complete idiot, but what exactly is a randomizer? I'm sorry, I don't play many video games."

ToryisCute05: "@MangaGuy06 a randomizer takes the original game but shuffles all the important items around, and sometimes other things, like dungeon entrances, so that each time you play it's like a new experience."