=== Saturday afternoon, Desmond’s parent's house, POV Siana ===

 

"Here it is."

Sam and I were on our way to Desmond’s parent's house, and we met by chance on the way to see him.

Sam rang the bell, and we waited a moment before a slightly older version of Desmond opened the door.

“Oh, hey. You have to be Desmond’s friends. I'm his older brother Dean."

He gave me his hand first and then Sam.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Siana."

"Hi, I'm Sam."

We both introduced ourselves together with each other shaking hands.

"Where are my manners? Come in."

Dean winked at me as he made way for us.

We passed him, and he guided us into the living room.

"Please have a seat."

He pointed to the sofa when he entered the room behind us.

"Where's Desmond?"

Sam was a little impatient. Unlike me, he had worked out a plan for Desmond. This plan was for the eSports tournament. Apparently, Sam had already taken a closer look at Desmond's skills.

“He should be right back. He wanted to buy snacks for you. Shall I lead you to his room?"

"Ple-"

I grabbed Sam’s shoulder and cut him off.

“We will wait here. Dean, I heard from Desmond that you lived in your grandfather’s house. Is it still true?"

“Not anymore, my parents want to sell the house because the cost of the old house would not be worth it. I'm currently looking for an apartment and temporarily living in the guest room."

I heard the front door open.

"I'm back."

Desmond’s voice came from the direction of the front door.

"We're in the living room."

Dean called him. I heard the door slam, and Desmond walked over to us in the living room.

“Oh, you are already there! Here."

Desmond tossed something to Dean.

"Come on, let's go up."

Desmond waved that we should follow him. Sam got up immediately and followed him.

"See you."

I said goodbye to Dean and wanted to go after Desmond and Sam.

"Hey Siana, why are you hanging out with those two?"

Dean leaned against the wall next to the door and looked at me.

"That means?"

"Well, nerds."

Dean's face showed me that the statement sounded more extreme than he wanted.

“...Sorry, that sounded wrong. I'm still talking about my brother. I mean, you don't fit between them at all... you seem out of place."

"And you can only tell by looking?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well then, I'll go to those two."

I waved it off and followed Desmond and Sam, who had already disappeared up the stairs. I followed them up to the second floor, which was also the top floor.

“Ah, Siana, there you are. Come sit down. I've cleared the space especially for you."

Desmond's computer was at a long desk that could accommodate two computers. And right next to him, Sam had set up a laptop including an extra screen, mouse, and keyboard.

He was really quick to unpack.

Desmond pointed to a small table that looked more like a dining table for two. But it was the right height, and there was a real desk chair next to it, so the whole setup shouldn't be a problem.

I put my laptop down and connected the mouse and keyboard.

"Siana, do you want to join the matches straight away, or do you prefer Soloq?"

Sam asked me without looking up from the screen.

"I'm going to Soloq for now."

"All right."

And so began our Desmond training slash gamer weekend.

 

=== 9 p.m.

 

Desmond and Sam sat on the sofa while I sat next to them on the armchair. On the living room table were packaging for various snacks and empty pizza boxes.

"Siana, I wanted to ask you something."

Sam looked rather grave.

"Go ahead," I said as I turned my gaze from the television to him.

“I have two points. My first point is, why don't you just stream on Dwitch or elsewhere? You would become successful super quickly and could earn money with it."

I just shook my head.

"And the second point?"

“Yes, the second, why don't you make videos about your strength and upload them to the internet? Without showing your face, of course."

I had to laugh, but when I stopped, I answered him honestly.

"Well, because of the streaming ... I'm not a fan of streaming, female streamers are often reduced to their looks.¹Siana puts it in a single sentence, but this topic is far too deep to talk about it in a single chapter. It sounds stupid, but for the german readers, here is a video about it."

"But your skills are impeccable, and you can also be seen."

"And? Men, and yes, there are women too, that just want to see what they want to see, and that's exactly why I think it sucks. What do you think I would get streamer just as quickly if I didn't use a facecam?"

Sam looked thoughtful, so I turned to his second question.

“I don't know how many series or movies you've seen, but whenever someone gets some hidden power, some idiotic act reveals their true identity to the villain²Clearly a reference to spider-man's idiotic choices.. Any video could be a clue to the bad guys."

Desmond pressed pause on the film and joined the conversation.

“Just a second, but if you reveal yourself to the whole world, you could be a heroine! A superhero like Metal-man³Iron-man, no secret identity, no hiding!"

“And then I'll be prosecuted for vigilante justice? The problem is that even criminals I beat up can report me for assault, as long as they don't threaten me or I catch them doing a crime. The legal situation leaves no leeway for heroes."

“And incognito? Like Batknight⁴Hmm... Maybe that guy from Gotham... What was his name again. :-P?"

“So that I am on the wanted list of the police? Please, not! Besides, heroes are idiots who always die in the end."

“What if you had to choose? Radiant hero or rather an antihero/dark hero?"

"The latter, I have to tell you very clearly that I can't let a mass murderer alive."

"And what if you prevented his plan before the first murder?"

“Depending on the situation. In turn, I have to say that I respect every life and am against the death penalty⁵Sorry because this is not only Siana's but also my feelings about it. I am against every death penalty or torture.. That sounds contradictory from before, but the previous statement was about a moment of affect. If there is a showdown, I don't know if I could stop myself...

That's enough, let's keep watching the film."

Desmond let the film continue. We looked at the television in silence. Despite the silence, I couldn't concentrate on the movie for another minute.