Game Plan

David sat on the worn-down chair in his cramped apartment, the glow of the second-hand laptop illuminating his face.

It had been a week since he got his job at McDonald's, and he had spent the days figuring out his quirk—[Projection].

His quirk allowed him to make illusions from bending light in different ways and influencing minds.

It was like a fusion between psychic and emitter type quirk since he emmited a sort of green light like loki when he did the projections.

A week of learning or re-learning how to bend light and subtly influence the minds of those around him.

Nothing too strong, but enough to give him an edge in this world.

His quirk wasn't flashy in the comventional sense, and while illusions were useful, it didn't scream "unstoppable."

Still, it was better than most quirks in the world, at least he wasn't a shampoo bottle, and he'd find a way to make it work.

For now, though, he had a more immediate problem: how to become a streamer in a world where entertainment was dominated by pro heroes and their corporate agencies.

He opened up his laptop and searched for games that were popular in this era, hoping to find something that could help him gain those elusive 100 viewers.

"Cheap Wi-Fi, high-spec laptops, and ridiculously advanced graphics," David muttered as he read through gaming forums. "Seems like the tech's evolved a lot since my old world."

He had managed to get a decent Wi-Fi connection for next to nothing—one of the few perks of living in a tech-driven society like this.

It felt almost surreal that the same speed and power that cost a fortune in his old world were now so dirt cheap.

It made starting his streaming career just a bit easier.

The problem was finding a game that would keep people entertained.

Most of the popular ones were way more demanding than his second-hand laptop could handle.

Even if it was better than any laptop from his era.

Scrolling through a list of recommendations, his eyes landed on something intriguing: UA Stars.

It was a game based on the heroes and teachers from U.A. packed with familiar faces like Midnight, Eraserhead and Vlad King.

Reviews said the graphics were okay-ish.

He booted it up, waiting as his laptop immediately began to heat up, the fans working overtime to keep things running.

He sweated a little at his dilemma.

"Alright, let's see what this is all about," David muttered, leaning forward.

The menu screen offered two choices to start: Midnight and Vlad King.

Without hesitation, David picked Midnight for the "Smaller hitbox,"

Definitely not because the outfit was customizable to a .... "Pleasing" degree, Definitely not.

As the game loaded, he found himself amazed at how realistic it looked.

Midnight moved with fluid grace, her "costume" realistically moving along her motions.

Not that there was much there to be called a costume.

[IMAGE]

The level of detail was almost too much, making him momentarily forget he was sitting in a dingy room with a laptop that sounded like it was about to take off.

For the first hour, he was genuinely impressed.

The graphics, the fluidity, and the hero abilities kept him engaged.

He managed to pull off a few cool moves, keeping his illusion quirk in mind as he toyed with Midnight's special abilities.

But after the initial excitement wore off, David found himself getting bored.

The game was designed more for quick dopamine hits, focusing heavily on hero battles and flashy moves but lacking any real story.

It was offline too, which meant no multiplayer action to spice things up.

"Well, this feels… shallow," David muttered after an hour. "Cool graphics, but not much to enjoy here."

He leaned back in his chair, cracking his neck. "Guess it's time to start thinking bigger. If I want to gain viewers, I can't just rely on playing games like this." He closed the game and opened up a notepad on his laptop, typing out some ideas.

Maybe he could use his quirk, [Projection], in his streams somehow.

Create illusions that would mess with people's minds, make them question what was real and what wasn't.

He could lean into the mystery of it, become a streamer that offered something no one else could.

But he'd need to build a following first.

And for that he'll need to start grinding now!

After setting up the necessary programs, David decided to wash up to look more presentable but quickly stopped as he realised that he could simply use his illusions for that since he only needed to look the part for the streams.

"Alright," he said to himself, "time to start."

Since Youtube, Twitch and Instagram as well as Discord and Reddit were now combined into single apps in this world the only real feasible platfroms to start his journey were predetermined.

Hero tube, the name was as unorginal and bland as it gets.

He had set up a Herp tube account, created a profile, and slapped together a title for his first stream: "UA Stars First Playthrough - Let's See What This Game's Got!"

It wasn't flashy, but it'd do for now.

He took a deep breath, staring at the "Go Live" button for a second before clicking it.

The screen transitioned, and he saw himself, his reflection ever so slighlty slightly pixelated due to the extremely low-quality webcam.

"Alright, here we go," he muttered, forcing a smile. "First stream, let's see how this goes."

The game loaded up on his screen, the sleek graphics of UA Stars shining once more.

David played as Midnight , darting across the city, taking down enemy villains, and performing combos.

He kept up a steady commentary, something he figured all streamers did.

"Man, the graphics are amazing. Look at the lighting on her costume!" He grinned, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Okay, let's hit them with the Sleep Quirk. Boom! Easy win."

Three hours passed, with David playing the game.

But no matter how many times he checked the view counter, the result was the same: 0 viewers.

"Well… this isn't exactly going according to plan," David muttered to himself, his enthusiasm faltering. He glanced at the clock.

It had been three hours, and not a single soul had clicked on his stream. "Guess I gotta change things up. Maybe switch to another game or—"

Suddenly, a soft DING echoed in his head.

———————

SYSTEM TIP

There are millions of streamers with the same content, demeanor, and attractive face as you.

To attract an audience, you must add more uniqueness to your stream.

Make a reason to be watched.

———————

David paused, his finger hovering over the game's menu as he temporarily paused the stream. "Make a reason to be watched, huh?" He leaned back in his chair, letting the words sink in.

The system was right.

Why would anyone watch him? He was just another guy playing a popular game, with nothing unique about him compared to the thousands of other streamers doing the same thing.

If he wanted to get people to notice him, he'd have to give them a reason. Something different.

Then he went back to one of his plans.

His quirk—[Projection].

He could use it to create something no other streamer could.

A slow grin spread across his face. "Alright, System. I think I'm liking the idea."

=========================

Stones and Reviews please