Lapis invited Lil Dusty to show off his skills with a Rubik's Cube on stream. Dusty was surprised when Lapis suggested to add an extra challenge.
Dusty did not realize how far Lapis would go to impress the audience.
Dusty had originally met Lapis when the two of them got their first class in school together. The two didn't talk much, but both took notice of one another. Lapis stood out for being extremely eccentric and out-going, constantly demanding attention from her classmates through various stunts she'd pull in class, like telling jokes, talking loudly, and generally acting strange. Dusty stood out as being the very first person in any of Lapis' classes to actually be shorter than she was. Lapis like that about Dusty.
The first real interaction the two ever had with each other was when Dusty brought a Rubik's Cube to class. Lapis, noticing the colourful object, approached the smaller boy and asked what he was holding. Dusty happily explained to Lapis what a Rubik's cube was and the challenge it presented to anyone who tried to solve it. Lapis didn't understand his explanation, so Dusty followed it with a demonstration. After a few minutes of fondling his toy, Dusty managed to make one of the cube's sides all a single colour.
Lapis was immediately impressed and amazed at what Dusty had done, not even beginning to understand how he did it. Dusty really enjoyed getting this kind of praise and attention from one of the girls in his class, especially a pretty one like Lapis, so he soaked it all in with a big grin on his face. Dusty, thinking he could get even more praise out of Lapis, mentioned how he could actually make all the sides of the cube a single colour... if he was given enough time.
Lapis was astonished by the thought. She immediately asked if Dusty would be willing to come by her house after school to demonstrate this feat on her live stream. Dusty was a bit hesitant by the unexpected offer, but he wasn't lying about his ability to solve the puzzle so he agreed.
= = = = = = = =
Dusty arrived at Lapis' home that Friday afternoon and was welcomed inside. Dusty was then brought to a section of the house that had been set-up for the stream with a camera, laptop, lights, and a chair.
"Wow, this is some set-up you've got here. How'd you manage to pay for all this stuff?" Dusty asked in bewilderment.
"Oh, all of this is funded by stream donations." Lapis explained as if it was no big deal.
"Stream donations?! How?! This equipment must cost hundreds of dollars!" Dusty said.
"I actually don't remember how much this all costed. I never really looked at the price. I just know I managed to pay for it all with the donations I made in a single stream." Lapis explained.
Dusty was truly impressed, but also confused. How could Lapis possibly be making this much money just by streaming?
"You must be really good at streaming to be making so much money off it." Dusty said.
"Thank you! And yes, I'm amazing at streaming. My secret is all in the spectacle," Lapis explained. "I know all the best ways to make even the most boring streams enjoyable."
"I see," Dusty said.
"Speaking of spectacle, I was actually thinking of spicing up your act a little bit." Lapis said.
"Wait, what? Are you saying you think my puzzle cube is boring?" Dusty asked, a little upset.
"No! Not at all! Your cube is so cool and colourful! But even the coolest activities can be improved with a little extra challenge." Lapis said.
"Challenge? What kind of challenge?" Dusty asked.
"Well, I looked online to learn more about that cube of yours and saw these videos that inspired me," Lapis stated. "I saw a bunch of really talented people doing stuff like solving cubes while juggling or solving the cubes with their feet. I want you to try that!"
Dusty knew about the videos Lapis was talking about, but he also knew there was no way he could solve the cube by juggling it. He thought for a moment and figured that he could probably manage to solve it with just his feet. It would take a little bit longer than if he was using his hands, but this stream would probably be going for a while and using his feet would definitely add some of that challenge Lapis was talking about.
"I mean, if you want me to try solving the cube with my feet then I could definitely try it." Dusty said.
"Great! I'm glad you and I are on the same page." Lapis said, giving Dusty a sudden hug.
"Oh, well, uh, anything for the spectacle. Right?" Dusty said, blushing.
"Yes! Though, there's just one more thing I want to add to make this challenge really exciting!"
= = = = = = = =
Today's stream started the same way all of Lapis' streams do. It opened with Lapis standing in front of the camera to welcome the viewers tuning in. Once she had a big enough audience, Lapis would introduce herself with her winning smile and explain the premise of today's stream.
Behind Lapis, sitting in the chair that had been prepared shortly beforehand, was Lil Dusty. Dusty had been tied to the chair using rope brought by Lapis. His hands were tied behind his back and his ankles had been roped together so he couldn't separate his legs. Small devices had been placed on his skin at various points around his body, including his chest, arms, and legs. Finally, stuck between Dusty's bound feet was his Rubik's Cube.
The premise of this stream was simple, Dusty had to try and solve the Rubik's Cube using only his feet. To prevent cheating, Dusty's hands were tied. To encourage him to solve it the puzzle quickly, the devices placed on his skin would go off every 5 minutes and send tiny volts of electricity throughout his body. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to cause his entire body to shiver all at once and feel extremely tingly.
Dusty had no idea where Lapis had even obtained machines like this. He was pretty sure they weren't legal.
Lapis finished talking to the audience and turned to introduce Dusty. Just as she did so, Dusty managed to lose his grip on the cube and it dropped to the floor. This had been the 7th time this had happened, and Dusty still hadn't managed to move a single piece of the cube. Turns out, holding something like a cube between his feet was really hard.
Lapis had to once again pick up the cube for her guest and place it between his feet again. She was starting to get annoyed she had to keep doing this, but she figured showing off Dusty's incredible puzzle solving skills would make up for it. Unfortunately, even after several minutes had went by, all Dusty managed to accomplish was to drop the cube another 6 times and make buzzing noises every time the zappers went off.
"Don't worry guys, I'm sure he'll solve it soon!" Lapis assured her audience.
The small streamer was starting to get upset at the fact that Dusty was making no progress. She feared that her audience was growing bored from not seeing anything happen. What made things worse was the fact that Lapis had to keep reaching down to pick up the cube because Dusty's grip kept getting looser and looser. Lapis figured she had to come up with some sort of solution to this issue.
Lapis decided to help Dusty with his biggest hurtle. Dusty was having trouble holding the cube, so Lapis would take care of that issue first.
Surely that's nothing a little duct tape can't fix, right?
