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【Virtual VTuber Gallery】
[General] Did the collab stream drop?
【Collab】 A stream where Anna and Inagika become friends 【Shiroki Anna/Inagika/Aurora】
It dropped.
[Comments]
- ?
- At this hour?
- What kind of collab is this at dawn? lolol
- I have work tomorrow, dammit.
- Why do I feel like I missed the announcement?
ㄴ (Author) Because it’s a guerilla.
ㄴ A guerilla collab stream at 2 a.m.? Insane...
===
"A collab with Inagika?"
Anna tilted her head at my suggestion.
"Why Inagika?"
"How many people do you think are awake at this hour?"
"Well, that’s true… but couldn’t we just do it tomorrow during the day?"
"Isn’t it urgent by even an hour?"
"Ugh…"
Anna closed her mouth at my words.
Her point wasn’t entirely wrong. After some sleep, we could invite someone else in a more stable frame of mind.
"But I don’t think there’s a better partner than Inagika."
"Really...? In what way?"
"That you’re not very close with her."
I said it just like that.
A blind date is, after all, about winning the favor of someone you’re meeting for the first time, isn’t it?
In that sense, I know what Anna likes, and Anna knows what I like. If the two of us practiced a blind date scenario, it wouldn’t mean anything.
So, the best thing to do is to pair her up with someone she’s not close with.
For example, Sora is a bit ambiguous.
Anna seems to harbor a one-sided jealousy toward Sora, but from what I see, the two are fairly close.
In contrast, I know that Anna isn’t close with Inagika at all.
To my knowledge, the only time Anna and Inagika ever interacted was during the “Aurora’s Never-Ending Karaoke Until She Becomes a Master” project.
That was probably the first and last time they met, and even then, I don’t recall seeing them become friends.
Come to think of it, it’s natural.
Inagika tends to shrink back when there are a lot of people around.
And Anna isn’t the type to approach someone first, either.
There simply wasn’t an opportunity for them to become close.
"Now that you mention it... You’re right. I’m not close with Inagika, so it might be good practice."
After hearing my explanation, Anna nodded as if she understood.
──Of course, it was all just an excuse.
It wasn’t a lie, but my real objective lay elsewhere.
‘Wouldn’t it be possible to give Inagika more exposure here and there?’
Eventually, when the 6th gen does a live, all of us 6th gen members will need to receive 3D models. For that to happen, we first need to raise awareness of our generation.
For Sora and me, our 3D models were already scheduled, so it wasn’t an issue. But for Chel and Inagika, it was a different story.
Chel was at least a participant in the "Aurora Battle Royale," so she was somewhat better off. But Inagika wasn’t even that.
That’s why I thought it’d be good to have her appear on Anna’s stream for now.
***
【Myamori has donated 1,000 won.】
【Phew, unemployed life saves me.】
【Shen has donated 1,000 won.】
【A broadcast that blatantly mocks working people.】
【Tanbul Yakchim Gobun has donated 1,000 won.】
【Had a night shift, this is gold lol.】
As the donation messages appeared one after another, Inagika thought to herself. ...How did this even happen?
She retraced her memories.
Suddenly, a message came from Laura in the 6th gen Discord server.
Aurora:
[I’ll invite you to my My Room, so log into VR.]
Laura’s instructions were, as always, brief.
A collab at this hour? Why…?
‘C-Could it be that Laura wants to hang out with me?’
Inagika thought.
Laura was currently streaming Dungeon Seeker at this hour.
She was doing it with Kaga Mero, a fairly popular VTuber in the industry.
But Mero seemed to have gone home recently, as she’d been posting food photos on SNS.
So Laura must’ve been playing Dungeon Seeker alone.
Or maybe she was doing Aseosal solo?
As she was pondering, she suddenly got called out.
And then, she was told to prepare for a collab. …No matter how you look at it, doesn’t this mean she wants to hang out?
‘Am I just being treated as a stand-in for Sora or Mero...?’
She couldn’t help but think that maybe Laura called her because there was no one else to call at this late hour.
It felt a bit like a certain playboy saying, "I’ve got no one else to call, so let’s just call her, lol."
Still, Inagika decided to accept it.
…Being someone’s number one is no easy feat, after all.
Laura may not consider me her closest friend, but to be called out at this late hour, I must be at least her third closest friend... right?
It’s disappointing not to be her number one, but being third is good enough for me...
Because I’m still her friend... right?
Thinking that, she joined the VR session as Laura instructed, only to find Anna in front of her.
"......"
"........."
A heavy silence passed between Anna and Inagika.
The setting was VR My Room.
The place resembled a classy café with classical music playing in the background.
The interior was quite elegant, though, of course, it wasn’t designed by Laura herself.
Laura designing architecture? No way.
It was obviously a free My Room preset from the store.
These days, even free presets are quite decent, so they’re commonly used across various streams.
The downside, however, is that other VTubers and streamers use the same presets, making the setting feel less original.
Still, Inagika felt no sense of familiarity here.
She sat with her hands clasped on her lap… shrinking into herself.
Her head wasn’t completely bowed, just slightly lowered to stare at the table.
Raising her head felt terrifying.
There was a chance their eyes might meet.
...People who are outgoing wouldn’t understand how nerve-wracking it is to make eye contact.
Sometimes, extroverts joke, "I’ve been eating alone lately, so I must be an introvert, haha." Ridiculous. That level of isolation doesn’t even come close to real introversion.
Mustered by 10,000 years’ worth of courage, Inagika cautiously raised her gaze just a little.
She managed to glimpse Anna’s condition.
Fortunately, their eyes didn’t meet.
Anna, who seemed unable to hide her discomfort, avoided her gaze and sat silently, her lips pressed tightly together.
- Oh, this is suffocating.
- Is this a freeze frame?
- The frame drop is insane.
- What even is this collab? lolol
Such comments were popping up in the chat.
Inagika wondered again. ...How did it come to this?
“Anna, aren’t you going to start the stream?”
And then, the host of this collab ── Laura ── spoke confidently, arms crossed and legs folded.
Though she had invited the two of them to the collab, she made it clear that this was a conversation between Anna and Inagika.
Her attitude radiated composure and arrogance, as if asserting her authority over the situation.
Seeing Laura’s demeanor, Inagika thought... there was no way she could’ve refused this collab.
If she had the courage to reject Laura, she wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.
“L-Laura-chan, can’t you lead the stream...? You’re the host after all...”
Anna finally spoke, albeit with difficulty.
Though the stream was happening on Anna’s channel, she was effectively trying to shove the responsibility onto the guest.
With a resigned air, Laura replied.
“Anna, you’re a 5th gen, aren’t you?”
“Uh... that’s true?”
"And Inagika and I are 6th gen members. If you compare it to the military, you and I could be considered direct seniors and juniors in rank, don’t you think?"
- It's not wrong, but why compare it to the military lololol
- The rumor about being ex-special forces was true?
- Anna is the senior?
- Excuse me, but I think that’s already been decided.
"And seniors and juniors in the military are generally people who see each other often and live together for a long time. That’s why it’s beneficial to get close to those in nearby cohorts."
"…There’s so much to critique in that statement, but for starters, I think the VTuber office isn’t the military..."
"That’s true. Still, the closer the cohorts are, the easier it is to rely on one another."
"That’s true."
Seeing Anna nod, Inagika also nodded along.
…Inagika hadn’t managed to say a single word up until now, so she was trying to at least show that she was participating in the stream in some way.
In any case, Laura’s point wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
While the boundary between seniors and juniors is thin in the VTuber world, there’s still respect based on debut dates.
For instance, Laura is still in her first year since debut.
However, she’s practically friends with Rinco, who’s about to hit her fifth year, and she even speaks casually with Louis, who’s going on eight years soon.
On the other hand, Sora, who debuted at the same time as Laura, is more cautious around Louis and Rinco.
In truth, Sora’s approach is more normal. It’s not easy for someone who just debuted to casually approach a senior like Louis.
‘And Sora is fairly close to Senior Anna…’
Even from Inagika’s perspective, Sora didn’t seem to find Anna intimidating.
For one, their cohort gap wasn’t that wide.
And to be honest… among the seniors at EYEAI, Anna was the most approachable.
If Sora were ever in trouble, she’d likely turn to Anna rather than Rinco.
In that sense, it wasn’t a bad idea for Inagika to get closer to Anna as well.
"Um… So, uh, hello?"
Anna mustered up the courage to speak to Inagika.
Startled, Inagika scrambled to respond.
"Uh, well… Hello…"
"I’m Shiroki Anna, a 5th gen member…"
"Ah, yes… I know…"
- "I know" lolol
- Gasp! I thought she wouldn’t know!
- They sang a duet at karaoke last time; why are they so awkward now lololol
- Are they on a blind date?
"So… Can I call you Inagika-chan?"
"Ah… Uh, yes… That sounds fine, I think…"
- "I think" lololol
- Doesn’t seem fine, though? lolol
- What’s with the "I think"?
- Stop bullying your junior lolol
"……."
"………."
This is so uncomfortable...
Wasn’t Senior Anna supposed to be an extrovert?
At karaoke, she barged in like it was nothing. Why isn’t she leading the conversation now...?
Sometimes people misunderstand. They think introverts avoid extroverts and that if introverts gather, they’ll naturally get along.
That’s only half true.
Yes, introverts do avoid extroverts.
But there’s no guarantee that introverts will click just because they’re together…!
It’s not like introverts suddenly gain the ability to lead a conversation.
In fact, introverts are often incapable of even giving proper answers.
Inagika suddenly recalled a memory from her university days when her cousin had said, "I’ve set up a booth at a fan convention. Could you help out as a sales assistant?"
She had gone to help but ended up at a BBQ restaurant with the booth team afterward. Her cousin ditched her to hang out with other team members, leaving Inagika at a table with four other painfully shy people.
Inagika quietly grilled meat, the others silently ate, the rest of the restaurant buzzed with lively conversations, and her table? Everyone stared at their phones in complete silence, unfamiliar with each other and unable to speak.
Inagika eventually slipped out of the restaurant early, resolved never to help her cousin again, and decided to steer clear of fan conventions altogether.
What introverts need isn’t another introvert in the same boat.
They need an extrovert who can lead the conversation.
And even among extroverts, there are conditions.
An extrovert who says things like, "Haven’t you ever dated? Don’t you use makeup? Want me to recommend some?" isn’t going to work.
The only kind of extrovert who can truly save introverts is someone who understands them and shares some of their interests.
Having realized their mutual limitations, Inagika and Anna inevitably turned their attention to Laura.
P-please help us...
"Why are you asking for help after just exchanging a few words? Anna, as the senior, shouldn’t you be leading Inagika?"
"I just want to be Laura-chan’s junior… Wahhh…"
"It can’t be helped, then. Common ground."
"Excuse me?"
"The foundation of conversation is finding shared interests."
Laura said this with confidence.
It was such an obvious statement.
But does being obvious matter? Inagika and Anna couldn’t even manage that basic thing.
Of course, Laura was aware of this, so she added another comment.
"Anna, I think you once called yourself an introvert. Do you still believe that?"
"Of course. Isn’t it obvious? If I were an extrovert… would I be like this? I’m objectively an introvert."
"Then are you the biggest introvert at EYEAI?"
"Absolutely."
Anna said this decisively.
…What?
Just now.
Just now, did she say that in front of me?
Inagika unknowingly lifted her head.
"I don’t even keep in touch with any of my high school friends. I barely have any friends at all."
"'Barely'?"
Inagika instinctively asked.
I have none.
"Barely, you say?”
"Inagika, it seems like you have an opinion on this."
"Yes."
"Then how about this? Share your stories and try to empathize with each other."
"Sure."
Inagika’s expression turned blank.
She could tolerate being teased for being a loser. It was true, after all.
But she couldn’t stand someone claiming to be worse off than her.
How dare you call yourself an introvert?
You think you’re more of an introvert than me?
"Once upon a time, at a university, there was something called a freshman MT."
An introverted freshman went to the MT because everyone said freshmen always attended.
The introvert paid the fee, thinking they’d make friends there.
But once they arrived, all they did was drink alcohol, as college students do. Naturally, this was the introvert’s first drinking party.
Then, an annoying senior told the introvert to cook ramen. Due to the large number of people, the water ratio was off, and what they ended up with was essentially ramen soup.
No one touched the ramen.
Then, a drinking game began. The introvert lost and drank just one glass.
As soon as they did, everyone said, "You’re drunk. You should head to bed now."
It was just one glass. They were completely fine, fully conscious, yet everyone insisted.
The annoying senior escorted them to the dorm.
And as soon as they were outside, the senior said, "Damn it, this brat’s personality is so frustrating. Are you going to spend your college life like this? Do you really think you’ll make friends acting like this?"
"The introvert got into a taxi and went home alone."
Inagika recounted coldly.
For the sake of victory, Inagika carved out her emotions.
【ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won.】
【Stop it!!!】
Unfortunately,
The stream had only just begun.