"I mean… that’s not what I was trying to say."

Hako scratched her cheek and continued.

"What I want to say is, even though we hide behind avatars when we stream, in the end it’s still person to person."

"Person to person…"

"Viewers are people too, right? Whether they’re viewers or Vtubers, everyone’s just someone chasing a dream."

Dreams, huh.

How long had it been since I last heard that word?

"I’m not saying don’t wear a mask though, okay? You can’t go out in front of people without makeup. We’re girls after all."

I flinched.

I’d never worn makeup once in my life.

If I ever did, it’d probably be when I was laid in a coffin.

"Even if you wear a mask, only wear half of it. People who put on masks that aren’t themselves end up getting swallowed by them. Like the stone mask."

"The stone mask?"

"You don’t know Jojo’s (the anime)?"

"No."

"Sorry."

Hako thought for a moment, then continued.

"So like, getting consumed by that mask monster from Yes Sir Company and losing yourself."

I’d seen that mask before.

A glimpse of it when Aka swallowed Kino.

Wasn’t it some kind of parasite?

"So that worn-out viewers always have somewhere to rest. Half of you should always be smiling."

"And the other half?"

"I said person to person, right?"

"Yeah."

"The other half should stay open so they can see your expressions, whether you’re smiling, crying, or struggling."

Hako looked straight at me as she continued.

"Honestly, there’s a lot you miss if you don’t face someone and read their expressions."

Hako’s smile looked strangely mature.

Even though it was just a virtual avatar.

Then she grabbed her hair and groaned.

"Ah, damn! Am I getting old? I totally went off on my own tangent! What I meant to say is Shiroring, you’re cute even without a mask, so you’ll probably succeed way faster than me!"

"Thank you."

"You didn’t hate hearing that? You just started being a Vtuber. It got heavy, right?"

"No. It helped a lot."

"You’re seriously sweet~ Shiroring~ You can drop honorifics! Say it unnie."

"I’m not there yet."

I pushed Hako away as she clung to me, replaying her words in my mind.

Maybe it was because we were drifting on a calm sea.

Or because she spoke face to face.

Her words fluttered around inside me like butterflies.

Her words were flowers.

The kind someone might trample as childish fantasy.

But she handed flowers to someone who’d only known how to chase butterflies with a net.

Butterflies aren’t caught like that.

Hold flowers and they come on their own.

The boat carrying us drifted toward the ending credits.

"Next time let’s stream the collab live, Shiroriiiing!"

"Yeah! That was fun!"

"I had fun too! Bye!"

* * *

I decided to loosen my shoulders a bit.

Show myself as I am.

Like this.

"So today I’m not playing games. Just chatting. Too tired."

?
Private collab LOL
At least bring clips

"Come on, how could I clip private conversations? Hako’s totally different normally ah."

I’d loosened my guard too much.

Almost exposed someone else’s privacy.

I clamped both hands over my mouth.

Oh
Secret talk of clipless small streamers.avi
Now I’m curious

"We said we’d collab next time. Watch that stream."

Whenwhenwhenwhen
Hako approved

I hadn’t realized everyone knew Hako.

She was way more famous than me.

"I’ll have to talk with Hako first. She has a schedule too."

Why casual speech
Older than Hako?
With that voice? lol

"I’m just not used to those titles. We agreed to drop formality."

That was fast
Both awkward nerds lol
Nerds bond fast

I’m not a nerd.

Wanna fight me?

…Though I’d probably lose in this body.

Might get views though.

Real 2D Vtuber vs viewer.

Real as in genuine, not loser. Important.

Not worth it though.

[Anonymous donated 1,000 won]

So why the title ‘Let’s Play’?

"Ah! Thanks for the—ah, not Anonymous."

Classic small streamer
What title
Explain

Ah right.

Calling Hako.

My internal alarm blared.

Too late.

"Ti-title? I don’t really—"

Explain
Explain

"Let’s play a game! Haha."

Explain

[Anonymous donated 1,000 won]

Please explain.

"Thanks, but calling you Anonymous feels weird. Guys?"

Make fan name
Go fan name

"Fan name?"

That’s what streamers call viewers.

Like Aka’s Heroes or Hako’s Pochi.

"Fun idea. Any suggestions?"

Shiroricon go

"MOD! BAN THAT GUY!"

No mods here

"Hmm."

No image came to mind.

Aka had her hero theme.

Hako had dog-ears.

Mine was vague.

Maybe Shiroricon wasn’t terrible…

No. Bad thought.

"Why do you watch me anyway?"

Dunno

Right.

I couldn’t leave everything to the viewers.

"My stream, my call. I’ll just say viewers."

Lame

[Anonymous donated 1,000 won]

How about oppa?

"Like I’d say that!"

[Anonymous donated 1,000 won]

Then unnie?

I froze.

This again.

"So persistent."

Not calling because you are cheap lol

"Hey! It’s not about money—"

[Shiroripop donated 10,000 won]

Then just today?

My mind blurred.

These hooligans are ganging up on me.

"F-fine! Which one?"

Anything

Oppa or unnie.

My heart shredded either way.

"O-oni! Oni, thank you!" [TL: Oni is used as a gender neutral version of unnie or oppa. (I think)]

Oni lol
Oni-sama

My ears burned.

"See you next time!"