Chapter 14: Tourists at the Gate
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Bandresnatch
Gege Akutami's Zestiest Disciple
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- Aug 13, 2015
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It'd been four days since the meeting, four days since the drama channels set their sight on us, four days since I've tried to dream to no avail.
'Absolutely scandalous! Small corpo vtuber exchanged inappropriate images and text messages with male vtubers for collab opportunities! Fellow genmate gone missing, could it all be related?! And another keeping her distance too?!??!'
'Clout chasing and its consequences. The rise and fall of Kirara Hoshizora.'
'Kirara is a 100% fucked… at a convention center near you!'
El and Burb-san told me that the drama would die down if enough time had passed. That the drama channels and their ilk would find something else to farm. That the general Internet users would forget about it and move on to the next big thing.
But none of that happened.
Four days of nonstop content farming took place instead.
And I was stuck as Zofia, powerless to help my friend when she needed me.
In this dimly lit underground cave, in my blankety cocoon, I watched as the Internet at large tore into Kirara through the glowing screen of my phone.
'Man, I feel bad for her fans. They must be devastated that their oshi is such a horrible person.'
'dumb e-girl couldn't keep it in her pants lmao. get what you deserve, you simps.'
'lol this is stupid. it's just some girl flirting with dudes, who cares?'
'ikr? this is a nothingburger. but considering that she comes from a small agency, you think this is them manufacturing rage to get eyes on them? i wouldn't put it past any corpo to not do it.'
'This is just my two cents, but the company should really fire this woman. This is not how a content creator behaves. If they don't, well, they are complicit in this woman's sexual escapades. #BegoneFox'
'@trog, is this true?'
Since Kirara's channel was under lockdown and heavily moderated, Z was flooded with disparaging messages about her. The popularity of the hashtag being used against her had propelled the drama out of the stratosphere, even the normies and flesh streamers were expressing their opinions on things they knew nothing about. The likes of commentary channels and talking head streamers filled both Rayna's and my private MiTube's For You page to the brim with hate and expose videos about my friend.
I watched some of them, to see why they could make such vitriolic statements against her.
"...yeah, if this continues, she should become a Fansesh titty streamer. She would probably do really well with her model, I can see a bunch of dudes jerking off to it. Go get that bag, hoe!"
"The vtuber community has to take a stance against this. This is unacceptable!"
"–SEE I TOLD YOU ANIME IS A PLAGUE ON WESTERN CIVILIZATION. MUCH LIKE HOW THE ROMAN EMPIRE FELL, WE'LL FALL TOO BECAUSE OF THESE DIGITAL HARLOTS–"
"Rayna Klus remains missing, could her impromptu hiatus have something to do with her genmate's misdemeanors? Did she know what was about to happen and leave the sinking ship when she still could?"
It was pointless. They didn't care. They just wanted to cash in while the trend was hot. More contents for the harvest. Even used me to push a false narrative.
I wished they would stop pumping out these low-effort, poorly-researched clickbait videos that fed into the hate campaign, but that was just wishful thinking.
They were going to run their mouths for as long as possible and make money at the expense of my friend, and there was nothing I could do about it.
"...Why are people like this?"
What was wrong with these drama channels? Why couldn't they make actual good content that took effort and leave my friend alone?! And why do people watch this kind of crap? It's nothing but gossip!! Don't they have something better to do with their precious time!!!
Gripping my hair in frustration, I let out a growl. I turned to the wall scrolls hanging above, pleading with the still image of Eden for an answer to this madness.
All I got was dead silence.
"Of course, she can't say anything, stupid. She's just a picture on a wall."
I rolled to my side and grabbed one of my pony plushies. Hugging it close to my chest, I laid my head on my arm. Strands of my greasy, disheveled hair obscured the corners of my vision. Still looking into my phone, I swiped close the MiTube tab and opened up XChan.
Thread after thread on the vtuber board said the exact things about my friend as the litany of drama channels on MiTube.
But unlike the bandwagoners on the more socially acceptable sites, these guys were a lot more vulgar and crass with their so-called critiques.
For one thing, the board was nothing but anti-Kirara and bait threads. Each of which was a toxic landfill perfect for festering cockroaches to make a nest in there. They were so radioactive, just looking at them made the sore spot on my forehead throb.
And even worse, someone kept spamming DreamLink's general thread /dlg/ to high heaven with an edited fanart of Kirara. The content of which was entirely inappropriate to describe and would disgust my friend to her core. Worst of all, the site's mods weren't doing anything about it.
They let that anonymous jerk get away with it, purposefully stoking the flame of hatred and feeding the drama through that side of the Internet.
What a load of baloney!
Janny hate!!!
Were I afflicted with the conspiracy brainrot, I would've thought the mods were out to get my friend. But it was more likely they were joining the dogpile for the love of the game, with no other ulterior motive to their heinous actions.
They would do anything to get their next fix, as drama was like a drug for these lowly cretins.
…That was what Kirara said about XChan anyway, she didn't like this site in the slightest. And I couldn't fault her, it could get out of hand at times.
Like, right now.
'Still supporting your grifter whore, Glizzcucks? You guys must really like watching other men have their ways with your oshi.'
'That pick-me got what's coming her way. That bitch should've known better than to try seducing my sweet sons.'
'cope and seethe, cope and seethe, lol'
'AHHHH NOT AGAIN I'M GETTING FLASHBACKS TO THE CANVASPRO MANAGEMENT NTR ARC'
'Hey Burb-man, I know you're reading this, fire that low-effort sloptuber out of a cannon. Her reputation is going to kill your fucking company. One of your talents is on her way out because of her. Do something before it's too late. None of them deserve this. Especially not Rayna.'
'And neither is Hisui. Get this whoring fox away from the oni oshi! She deserves far better than this trash.'
'Huh, now that you said it, I haven't seen those two collab together in like five months. What's up with that?'
'she must have known'
'i frogibe kirara if hse shwo bobs and vagene'
'lmao she still has her chat on follower-only mode and her Z account on private, what a coward'
'JUSTICE IS COMING FOR YOU, VILE VIXEN. COUNT YOUR DAYS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND PURGE GOD'S GREEN EARTH OF YOUR–"
Okay, that was enough browsing on XChan for the day.
Exiting out of that tab, I flopped onto my back and stared into the empty ceiling above. Though I'd wade into the pool of hatred, I'd barely gone past my ankle. By my estimate, this was only a miniscule fraction of a fraction of the harassment Kirara was receiving. She was neck deep, and the water level was rising. There was no lifeline nor raft I could throw her way, nothing I could do to stop the endless deluge.
Absolutely nothing I could do as Zofia to protect my friend.
This entire situation was completely unfair. These drama channels could say whatever they wanted without any scrutiny and set up any narratives they desired, and there was nothing DreamLink could do to shut it down.
If I could just be Rayna again, be the knight of the AnaChronoclasts, be my very best self.
But reality was cruel and uncaring.
Which was why I had been laying around on my bed for the past four days. If the dream world could truly influence reality, then I had to become Rayna, that was the only way I could do anything to help Kirara. I hadn't done much on that side, but the fact that I started crossing over to there when Symphonia announced her intention to graduate had to mean something. I didn't know if it was fate or what, the only thing that mattered was I had a mean to make a change, and it was up to me to do it.
So, once again, I wrapped myself into a big burrito and closed my eyes, praying that sleep would take me.
Praying that I would go to the other side this time.
.
..
…
….Knock knock
I immediately jolted awake in my bed.
"FiFi, it's time for your bandage change." Dad's voice called out from beyond the door.
Looking down over myself, I raised my bandaged arms. Right, they needed to be changed before they started smelling funky from all the sweat and potentially from germs I've been cultivating in my blanket.
…I really should get it washed soon.
"Are you on your phone again?" He sounded exasperated. "Doctor said to stay off social media to destress!"
"I'm not, I swear!" I replied, blushing. I quickly turned off my phone and hid it under my pillow. Dad had been going hard on me about it, harping about how I was rotting my brain by constantly reading social media nonstop. But he didn't understand, I needed to monitor the situation, to know which of these jerkfaces were badmouthing my friend.
As a vtuber, I had no choice but to take these Internet happenings as seriously as possible. Especially, when it concerned myself and my future as a content creator, directly or otherwise.
With the turn of the doorknob, he entered my room. When his gaze landed on me, his stern expression shifted to a look only a father could have when he caught his NEET daughter doomscrolling again on Z for the fiftieth time in the day.
"FiFi, silly girl, what did I tell you?" he said in a lecturing tone. "You're suffering from strange conditions, take your rest seriously."
"I-I don't know what you mean," I replied, turning away from him and refusing to meet his disappointed glare. "I'm just napping, how can I be on my phone?"
Even without seeing, I could feel the intensity of his stare. I was getting goosebumps on the back of my neck, so I wiggled deeper into my blankety cocoon.
"Then where is it?" he asked. "If you're not hiding it from me, it would be out in open view like on desk or nightstand. Phone is size of brick, old man like me can see it plainly."
I froze like a famous MiTuber getting caught in 4k doing something career-ending.
"Uhhh…" Quick, Zofia, think of something! Dad brought up some good points, but they were just circumstantial evidence. There was nothing solid to prove his hypothesis, I could still pull the wool over his eyes!
"FiFi, you have face of scheming fox," he said. "However, you're predictable as sun cresting over sky. You lack the ability to fool your father, man who raises you."
Nothing got past him, could it?
With a pout, I magnanimously accepted my defeat and pulled out the smartphone hidden under my pillow.
"You shouldn't hide such thing under there, silly girl." He took it, gave it a quick scan, and then placed it on my nightstand. Smirking, he continued. "Research shows that radiation wave and 5g signal messes with brain, bad for afflicted mind like yours."
"Bleh, that's just a whole load of hogwash." I stuck my tongue out at him. "You can't believe everything you read on Readtome, Dad."
"Hmph. It's better than mind poison on Z," he replied, nodding sagely to himself. "Which is something young girl with bright future ahead of her should know better than old relic of ages past."
I groaned in frustration. "It's my job, I've to do it whether or not I want to. I've got no choice but to use Z."
Dad shook his head. Stepping over to the end of my bed, he took a seat by my legs. "FiFi, both doctor and Michael said no to social media. You're on break, day offs from work. Your only job is to rest and recover." He twisted his torso to the side to face me, tossing the roll of bandages back and forth in his hands.
"I'm all fine now!" I untangled from my blanket and wiggled my arms and legs for him to see. Though some of the marks remained, my limbs were no longer aching nor sore. My skin was no longer stinging too, it was starting to peel. In other words, I was more or less healed.
"Yes, yes, you're strong as horse," he said. "But until doctor says so, you stay in bed. Without phone. Get your mind off brain poison."
"...I told you it's not that simple!" There was no excuse for me to stand by and watch as Kirara became the Internet's latest target anymore. I had to do something…!
"Oh, FiFi, you silly girl, I know that look on your face, you're being very stubborn like mule again," he said.
"Dad, this is serious!" I shot up from my bed. "I'm not doomscrolling on Z or whatever you think I'm doing. Something bad is happening on there, and it's not right that I'm the only one not doing anything!"
"Only thing you should be doing right now is to get better. No one is expecting sick girl to do much from her sick bed," Dad replied.
"That's…not the point!" I shouted at him. Why couldn't he get it?! "It doesn't matter if I'm bedridden or not, I've got to do something, or my friends will be in bigger trouble."
Dad stopped playing with the roll of bandages, raising an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"
"The people on Z are badmouthing Daisy for one thing," I answered dryly.
"Why would they do that? She is good, hardworking girl," he said before adding with a smile. "You can learn lots from her, FiFi."
I gave him a blank stare. Really, Dad, really?
"Ah, now you are like a small, confused puppy staring at camera." He chuckled in a low, rumbling voice.
Ughh…Come on, Dad, stop ruining the mood with bad memes you saw on ReadTome!
"Dad, please, this is serious…" I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. "People are leaking Daisy's private communications, and the gossip channels are farming her for content. It's just not right."
Dad hummed, cupping his chin. "Are they now? Vultures are vultures, no matter what screens they are on. I see why FiFi is upset."
"Yeah, so if you do get it, can you hand me my phone back–"
"But that doesn't mean FiFi should give herself ulcer at young age," he interrupted me. Getting up from my bed, he stepped over close to my side. "Internet things are illusions, easily dispelled by touching grass. Mind poison is cleansed by breath of fresh air."
"But they're not fake, they've tangible effects on Daisy! It's because of them, her career and everything she works so hard for are going to be ruined. Everyone is saying that we should ignore them, but that's obviously not working if they keep saying mean things about her!"
"Everyone being Michael and others?" Dad asked. "And give me your hand, your bandage stinks like used socks your mom finds at gym's locker rooms."
I gaped my mouth at him. I didn't smell that bad, how could he say that?! Dad…! Even though I was a NEET goblin, I was still a girl too, you know!
"FiFi, if you don't want to stink like horse in barn, I need your arm." He gestured impatiently at me.
The nerve of this man! If he weren't my father, I would…I would vent about him on a private ChaosComm server and get reassurance from like-minded individuals.
…Although, the bandages were starting to feel damp from the sweat I'd been working up. So, with great reluctance, I gave into his demand.
With a smirk, he began unwrapping the linen around my arm. I turned my nose away when the stench wafted over to my face.
Blehhh
"Well?" He looked at me expectantly as he applied lotion and scented moisturizer on my peeling skin.
I blinked. What was he–Oh, right, the company's tactic. Sighing, I answered, "yeah, Burb-san and El told us to just pretend it doesn't exist and go on about our day like normal, while Symmy is handling all of Kira–I mean–Daisy's social media accounts."
"Then that is end of it, isn't it?" Dad said, "Michael and your friends have situation handled, you no need to worry your silly head over it. Much like evening news, Internet drama comes and goes. Silly girl just has to wait it out."
"I told you, it's not working!" I inhaled a sharp breath and gave Dad a stern glare. "Ignoring them won't work, because now they got more people to talk about it and spew lies about Daisy. Every day, there's a new expose video made on her, it's getting out of hand, Dad. I can't be the only one on her break and watch as everything falls apart. I've to do something about it!"
"What can you do, FiFI?" he asked. "People are like waves in ocean. Unknowable and fierce, you can only ride it, not go against it. Michael has right of it, he is attempting to steer the boat to a safe shore on other side."
"But what if there's an angry mob with pitchforks and torches waiting at the pier?" I countered. The people harassing my friend for their sick kicks weren't going to be satisfied until they got their pound of flesh.
"Then, you simply go to another one," Dad answered sagely, "or, delay arrival until mob gets hungry and tired."
"Yeah, but what if the boat has holes and water is already leaking under the hold," I said, frowning. "And what if one of the crew members plans to jump overboard? The people left are screaming at each other and the captain's given up entirely. What if the only way to stop all these problems is to get to shore as soon as possible?"
The company was doomed to dissolve in six months. Symphonia's graduation would be announced soon, whenever she and Burb-san worked out the details for it. Kirara and Hisui were fighting despite the drama channels and their fans at the gate. My head hurt just thinking about how everything kept happening right after another, while nothing was getting done about any of these issues, and dreaming wasn't working–
"Take deep breath, silly girl. Boat no longer matters, metaphor sinks from holes being poked at it. Forget about it." I felt Dad's gentle, wrinkled hand on my head. "Stress hinders your mind, blinds you from Mount Tai."
I did as Dad told. But my heart was still beating loudly in my chest, and the bump on my head radiating pain again, I knew that I shouldn't be resting on my bed. I had to do something! Anything!!
"FiFi, you're doing it again." Dad's firm but kind voice pierced through the haze building in my mind. "That thing, what did kids on ReadTome say again?" He pulled his hand back and cupped his chin. "Yes, looping. Wonderful word, but yes, you're looping. Looping won't help your friends, it only worsens stress, strengthens mind poison."
"Then what?!" I screamed at him. I didn't need his platitudes right now! I had to get on Z and confront those haters and make them stop badmouthing Kirara!
"Getting on phone and arguing with strangers on Internet won't do anything. You know that," Dad said.
"I know! But I've told you, I can't–"
"Stand by and do nothing," Dad repeated. "Yes, yes, you said that." Walking around my bed, he stretched out the roll of bandage and took my other arm. "You break doctor's order, go on there, fight swarms of strange, angry men on Internet, and then what?"
"I…I'll show them that they're wrong about Daisy and that they were being stupid and mean for no reasons!"
"By putting yourself in line of fire, become more stressed and suffer more strange wounds, worry your mom and me, make your friends at company scared for you," he said. With a sigh, he shook his head. "That is not the way."
I glared at Dad, mustering every ounce of determination and anger coursing through my veins. He didn't budge a single inch as he continued with changing my bandages. Dad was just going to keep dismissing anything I said to him, so I gave up reasoning with him.
He was too old to understand how much this was affecting Daisy. He had no idea how the Internet and social media worked, this won't go away now that the drama channels turned her into content! No matter what El nor Burb-san said about it, keeping our heads down wasn't possible.
As I sat there on my bed, sulking at Dad, he unwrapped the old, soggy bandages around my leg. Without lifting his gaze, he struck the conversation up again.
"FiFi, you have good heart, you care deeply for friends." He handled my leg with a gentle touch as he applied the bandages around it. "Your mom and I are proud that we raise good, caring daughter. So very proud."
I clicked my tongue and looked away, ignoring the heat building up in my cheeks. "I'm not a very good, caring friend, if I can't do a single thing for them, am I?"
"Silly girl, if Daisy hears how much you think of her, she would be very happy girl," Dad said. "Sometimes, that's all she needs."
After saying his piece, he returned to his task in silence. Dad must be satisfied with himself, acting the wise father to his headstrong daughter. I could see that smug smile on his aging face from the side of my eyes.
Well, I wasn't going to let him have the last words on me!
"I'm going back to streaming," I declared.
…That didn't faze him at all. He continued wrapping the bandages around my leg like I hadn't just made my declaration against 'doctor's order' or whatever. Even stranger, he had this knowing look on his face.
"Yes, silly girl wants to be brave girl again. That's good."
"I thought you wanted me off the Internet," I said, turning to him fully. "Because, you know, to destress and stuff."
"Off social media, yes, away from mind poison," he replied. "You won't touch grass, stay cooped up in room all day instead. You'll drive yourself mad if you lay in bed and get on Z again."
I huffed and shot him a look of defiance. It washed off Dad like raindrops pelting the side of a barn.
"It's better for FiFi to do some things than nothing," he said.
"So, if I return from my hiatus but not engage with the drama channels and their fans, would you and Mom be okay with it?" I asked cautiously, gauging his reaction.
He merely nodded with a pleasant smile.
"Yes," he answered. As he finished wrapping me up, Dad turned to meet my narrowed gaze. "Daisy and other friends must miss silly girl dearly."
I blew raspberries at him. "You don't think I know that? Since neither you nor Burb-san want me to address anything directly, I'm gonna go and hang out with them and have tons of collabs to make up for the days I've been gone too."
His warm brown eyes sparkled in the fluorescent light. "That's good, that's good. FiFi escapes mind and opens eyes to world outside, " Dad paused and resumed in a more serious tone. "However, one more thing silly girl should do."
"What?"
"The thing brave girl says all the time." He glanced at the wall scrolls of Eden. "What was it again…?"
He really liked pulling a fast one on me, huh? Hmph, well, I wasn't going to let him have his sick kick that easily. Avoiding his gaze, I muttered my catchphrase in a small voice.
"What was that, silly girl? Old man's hearing is bad these days." He cupped his ear while wearing the most insufferable grin on his face.
"Shine on!" I shouted. "Gee, Dad, why are you like this?" Just because I was his NEET daughter didn't mean that he had carte blanche to tease me whenever he wanted!!
Dad laughed deeply at my expense. I grabbed the nearest pony plushie and threw it at his head. Though it hit its mark, it only intensified his laughter even more.
Grrr…
I quickly wrapped myself in my blanket, and hid my blushing face in the cotton cocoon. "I-If you're done, can you just go already?"
He took a moment to gather himself. I heard his heavy footsteps as he rounded the bed and made for the door. "Yes, yes, it's time for me to return to gym and help your mom run it. FiFi is full of energy, strong as horse. Time for brave girl to take stage again."
And with those parting words, he left my room and climbed up the stairs from the basement. I let myself relax from my guarded posture inside my warm and comfortable blanket. Snaking an arm through, I reached for where my nightstand would be and groped for my phone–
"Ah, one more thing, FiFi!" Dad's echoing voice nearly made me jumped out my safety cocoon. "Food in microwave, your favorite stir-fry udon with pork!"
"...Thanks, Dad," I muttered. It wasn't like he was going to hear it.
"You are very welcome!"
My shoulders startled at his loud confirmation. How did he know that?!?
In response, his laughter echoed through the basement before disappearing. I felt like I had lost ground on something I couldn't possibly fathom. Something like dignity and pride.
But how could I? Given what I was.
Those were something only Rayna would know of, not useless Zofia.
Anyway, pushing those trivialities aside, I reached for my phone and brought it up to my face. Its dim light filled the empty spaces inside my blanket. Without hesitation, I went on DreamLink's ChaosComm server and announced my intent to return to streaming in the private staff chatroom.
Immediately, I was bombarded with a bunch of messages concerned about my health from the mods and Burb-san.
'Rayna, it's okay. Take as much rest as you need to, don't stress yourself unnecessarily. Your health takes precedence over streaming.'
'Please don't push yourself too far.'
'Now isn't a good time to return. Would it be possible to delay your return?'
'yeah girl, stay in bed. take a nap and chill. we've got everything handled.'
The last post was from El. She was always active on ChaosComm no matter the time, except for meetings or whenever she was streaming.
The rest weren't on for a variety of reasons. Judging by the activity status under Hisui's icon in the members' list, she was streaming. And Symphonia was still at work, so she obviously couldn't reply until her next break or something.
As for Kirara…She was quiet. Probably at class or studying. Or maybe Symphonia was on it, and couldn't make a reply as mentioned before.
I took a deep, calming breath and typed out my reply. Told everyone that I was fine and that my parents were alright with me returning to streaming. Of course, I didn't say anything about whether or not the doctors approved of me coming back, not that they needed to know. I felt energetic and fine, my body wasn't aching like the first day I got these strange burn marks.
'uh huh, yeah right, as if. no way, i won't allow it. bossman you agree with me on this, don't you? tell rayna to get back to bed.'
I appreciated my aloof friend looking out for me, but I wasn't a baby that needed to be coddled! I was nineteen years old, for crying out loud!
While Burb-san was in the middle of typing, I sent my message first.
'No, I'm coming back to streaming. I'm tired of being stuck in my bed doing nothing all day and watching as those drama channels use me to hurt you guys. I can't stand it!'
El in turn was typing up a reply, but I tabbed out of the chatroom and went to my direct messages. I was on a mission, I wasn't going to let myself be talked down to compliance. Both Burb-san and El cared about me, I knew that, but right now, there was something I needed to do.
I tapped on Kirara's profile picture and entered our direct messages. While Symphonia was handling her social media accounts like Z and MiTube, Kirara still had access to her ChaosComm. So, it didn't matter in the end if my message either reached her or Symphonia first, she was going to see it anyway.
'Hey, Kirara, want to collab?'
…It wasn't the most subtle way to go about it, but who cared at this point?
I shot my shot, so it was only a matter of waiting. I glued my eyes on the screen, staring intently at the reply bar. Dad would absolutely bonk my head if he saw me doing this, but it was a good thing he was out of the house.
My heart nearly jumped out of my throat when I saw her typing. Or Symphonia, but that was unlikely, since work and all that. So, it could only be…
'wut r u doing rayna stay off the internet lol'
That was definitely Kirara, alright. Good, my day was getting better and better! Seeing her replying to me renewed my confidence, so much so that my fingers were a blur on the touchscreen.
'And leave you to deal with those drama vultures all alone? No way.'
'laying low is the only way so yes u dont have to do this theyll forget by next week just be patient'
Why were my friends so headstrong about me coming back from my hiatus? I would be flattered in any other instance, but this was a tad overboard, wasn't it?
'Well, since you don't use proper punctuation when you're typing, I can barely parse what you're telling me, so I assume you're okay with our collab? You said yes after all.'
There was a pause. Several seconds passed by until the next message.
'Rayna, can you stop acting like a petulant child? I'm saying this for your own good. Don't get involved. The last thing you need associated with your brand is mine. You'll be scrutinized by everyone the moment you appear next to me.'
Proper sentence structures and grammar. She was getting serious.
But so was I.
'Kirara, your problem is mine. It's already too late for me to back off of our association anyway. Not only are you my genmate, you're my friend, too. And friends don't leave friends out to dry. I'm going to hang out and collab with you, whether you like it or not.'
I could see her actively typing, as the status indication over the reply bar visually informed of it. But it kept disappearing for a few seconds, and then resuming again in another breath. Finally, after nearly a minute, she made her reply.
'You're so cheesy, it hurts reading that.'
I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Phew, it seemed like I got through to her, and it didn't take me as long as last time when we were face-to-face in real life.
'Have it your way. Let's collab.'
I felt a smile crept on my face. It must have looked creepy, going by the reflection on the screen. At least I was away from everyone, hidden from the public at large beneath my blanket cocoon.
'And let's bring in Hisui too.' I added.
'Hah, as if. Burb-san and Symmy would have a heart attack if they saw me streaming with that idiot too.'
Normally, I would agree with my CEO and Symphonia, but in this case, however…
'Yeah, but you'll have me to mediate you guys live on stream. I'm sure we can convince those two that the collab would be viable if it's the three of us, instead of just you and her.'
'That's not how that works, Rayna.'
Before I could rebuke her, she was typing up a storm. Rather than interrupting my friend, I waited patiently for her messages.
They came in waves.
'A single collab won't fix anything. My career is done. After all the work I've put into editing clips and videos, all the hours spent contacting other vtubers for collabs, all the effort to grow my channel and brand, everything's gone down the drain. My views, my fans, my reputation, they're gone. It doesn't fucking matter anymore.'
I didn't know where this bitter sense of defeat came from, but this was completely unlike the confident and fun-loving Kirara that I knew. The Kirara that helped me start my career in content creation. I wouldn't be where I was now without her suggestion to try out punishment streams.
Seeing her in this state only hardened my resolve.
'The drama gnome and his army of scum-sucking leeches got what they wanted out of me. Hanging out with you and Hisui won't change that. It won't bring us back together either, not the way we used to be. We've said too much shit about each other. Too much stuff we can't take back. The bridges have been burnt. There's absolutely nothing left to rebuild.'
Though I didn't know how to comfort my friend, I was sure of one thing.
Despite Kirara declaring that they were no longer friends, deep down she still believed otherwise. Because why would she hold Hisui's offer to collab so seriously?
'God fucking dammit, had I known I would become the town's laughingstock, I wouldn't have bother trying to climb Tiers so much. What was it all for? Fucking nothing, that's what.'
In the dream, those two remained friends. They covered each other's weaknesses and blindspots with unerring accuracy. They knew exactly what to do without even so much as uttering a single word to each other. They were in complete sync, not missing a single beat on what the other was doing.
They were the perfect duo in my eyes.
Even now, in reality, the way Hisui picked up on Kirara's growing distress in that previous call spelled it out for me.
So, without a single shred of doubt running in my mind, I typed my reply.
'It's not too late, Kirara.'
That put a stop to the gyaru foxgirl's self-deprecating rant. She merely typed one word.
'wat'
'Yeah, think about it. It's obvious she still sees you as a friend despite the status quo between you two.'
'That doesn't make sense, Rayna. There's no way that slut still thinks of me as her friend. You're out of your mind.'
…If you kept calling her that, then she might retract that olive branch.
Alright, if she refused to see the obvious, I had to beat her head in with facts and logic until she gave in.
'Okay, sure, you two hate each other so much that some people on XChan have noticed you guys being on bad terms. It's only a matter of time if the drama gnome and his people will see it too. Can't we at least do something to dispel that sentiment?'
'Rayna, stop listening to incels on anonymous image boards. They're even worse than the drama tourist crowd. They like to pretend they know shit behind the scenes, but they're just talking out of their ass. It's nothing but fucking make believe bullshits and rrats.'
I grinned wryly at her harsh words. That was the Kirara I knew and looked up to.
Although she didn't have to diss the fans hanging around on XChan like that, El did say they were our most diehard viewers, after all.
'But as much as I don't want to admit it, however. They may be right. If my fight with Hisui is noticed by some of the dumbest people on the Internet, the rest are sure to follow. I guess I've no choice but to pretend I'm still on good terms with that tramp. Ughh, this is going to suck.'
My eyes widened in surprise. Could this…could this really be the opportunity I was looking for this entire time?!
'Alright, I'll consider your proposal for us three to collab. But you're going to take responsibility for this, you hear? No backing out now, Rayna. I need you when Hisui becomes too insufferable for me to bear, blegh.'
It…It was! This was it, I couldn't afford to mess up! This was my only chance to have them reconnect and become friends again. So, before I could even process it fully, my fingers were already typing up a reply.
'Yeah, that sounds great! Let's do it, the three-way collab! We're going to have so much fun that El wishes she could join in too.'
'...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?'
I blinked. Huh? What was she talking about? I was just so happy that my friends were putting aside their beef with each other for a moment to present a united front against the drama gnome and his horde of tourists.
The bit with El might be an exaggeration, true. The fact that she was too aloof was also true, she really should interact more with our genmates.
'nvm ill go tell symmy and burb-san about this later gonna go back working on my paper cya later rayna'
'Yeah, see you too. It was nice seeing you doing well despite, well, everything.'
'heh yea takes more than that to keep me down lol'
As I was about to lay down my phone, I saw her still typing.
'thnx for checking up on me 'ppreciate it'
'No problem. You're my friend, after all.'
The small green circle on her profile picture that indicated her online status turned gray, signifying that she either logged off or closed off her machine, or appeared in invisible mode. Either or, the result was the same.
I turned off my phone and let myself flop on my bed. I felt giddy, finally because of progress in my mission to stop the dissolution of DreamLink. I had pushed the boulder up the mountain, just by a bit, but upward nonetheless.
With this small victory, I would love to take a nap. I deserved it after these draining conversations.
However, there was still something I had to do first before I could relish in my victory.
I needed to stream.
I had so much explanation to do.
AN: AHHHHHH THE PHASE INVADER KARAOKE RELAY GOT ME YEARNPOSTING IN THE GROUPCHAT
'Absolutely scandalous! Small corpo vtuber exchanged inappropriate images and text messages with male vtubers for collab opportunities! Fellow genmate gone missing, could it all be related?! And another keeping her distance too?!??!'
'Clout chasing and its consequences. The rise and fall of Kirara Hoshizora.'
'Kirara is a 100% fucked… at a convention center near you!'
El and Burb-san told me that the drama would die down if enough time had passed. That the drama channels and their ilk would find something else to farm. That the general Internet users would forget about it and move on to the next big thing.
But none of that happened.
Four days of nonstop content farming took place instead.
And I was stuck as Zofia, powerless to help my friend when she needed me.
In this dimly lit underground cave, in my blankety cocoon, I watched as the Internet at large tore into Kirara through the glowing screen of my phone.
'Man, I feel bad for her fans. They must be devastated that their oshi is such a horrible person.'
'dumb e-girl couldn't keep it in her pants lmao. get what you deserve, you simps.'
'lol this is stupid. it's just some girl flirting with dudes, who cares?'
'ikr? this is a nothingburger. but considering that she comes from a small agency, you think this is them manufacturing rage to get eyes on them? i wouldn't put it past any corpo to not do it.'
'This is just my two cents, but the company should really fire this woman. This is not how a content creator behaves. If they don't, well, they are complicit in this woman's sexual escapades. #BegoneFox'
'@trog, is this true?'
Since Kirara's channel was under lockdown and heavily moderated, Z was flooded with disparaging messages about her. The popularity of the hashtag being used against her had propelled the drama out of the stratosphere, even the normies and flesh streamers were expressing their opinions on things they knew nothing about. The likes of commentary channels and talking head streamers filled both Rayna's and my private MiTube's For You page to the brim with hate and expose videos about my friend.
I watched some of them, to see why they could make such vitriolic statements against her.
"...yeah, if this continues, she should become a Fansesh titty streamer. She would probably do really well with her model, I can see a bunch of dudes jerking off to it. Go get that bag, hoe!"
"The vtuber community has to take a stance against this. This is unacceptable!"
"–SEE I TOLD YOU ANIME IS A PLAGUE ON WESTERN CIVILIZATION. MUCH LIKE HOW THE ROMAN EMPIRE FELL, WE'LL FALL TOO BECAUSE OF THESE DIGITAL HARLOTS–"
"Rayna Klus remains missing, could her impromptu hiatus have something to do with her genmate's misdemeanors? Did she know what was about to happen and leave the sinking ship when she still could?"
It was pointless. They didn't care. They just wanted to cash in while the trend was hot. More contents for the harvest. Even used me to push a false narrative.
I wished they would stop pumping out these low-effort, poorly-researched clickbait videos that fed into the hate campaign, but that was just wishful thinking.
They were going to run their mouths for as long as possible and make money at the expense of my friend, and there was nothing I could do about it.
"...Why are people like this?"
What was wrong with these drama channels? Why couldn't they make actual good content that took effort and leave my friend alone?! And why do people watch this kind of crap? It's nothing but gossip!! Don't they have something better to do with their precious time!!!
Gripping my hair in frustration, I let out a growl. I turned to the wall scrolls hanging above, pleading with the still image of Eden for an answer to this madness.
All I got was dead silence.
"Of course, she can't say anything, stupid. She's just a picture on a wall."
I rolled to my side and grabbed one of my pony plushies. Hugging it close to my chest, I laid my head on my arm. Strands of my greasy, disheveled hair obscured the corners of my vision. Still looking into my phone, I swiped close the MiTube tab and opened up XChan.
Thread after thread on the vtuber board said the exact things about my friend as the litany of drama channels on MiTube.
But unlike the bandwagoners on the more socially acceptable sites, these guys were a lot more vulgar and crass with their so-called critiques.
For one thing, the board was nothing but anti-Kirara and bait threads. Each of which was a toxic landfill perfect for festering cockroaches to make a nest in there. They were so radioactive, just looking at them made the sore spot on my forehead throb.
And even worse, someone kept spamming DreamLink's general thread /dlg/ to high heaven with an edited fanart of Kirara. The content of which was entirely inappropriate to describe and would disgust my friend to her core. Worst of all, the site's mods weren't doing anything about it.
They let that anonymous jerk get away with it, purposefully stoking the flame of hatred and feeding the drama through that side of the Internet.
What a load of baloney!
Janny hate!!!
Were I afflicted with the conspiracy brainrot, I would've thought the mods were out to get my friend. But it was more likely they were joining the dogpile for the love of the game, with no other ulterior motive to their heinous actions.
They would do anything to get their next fix, as drama was like a drug for these lowly cretins.
…That was what Kirara said about XChan anyway, she didn't like this site in the slightest. And I couldn't fault her, it could get out of hand at times.
Like, right now.
'Still supporting your grifter whore, Glizzcucks? You guys must really like watching other men have their ways with your oshi.'
'That pick-me got what's coming her way. That bitch should've known better than to try seducing my sweet sons.'
'cope and seethe, cope and seethe, lol'
'AHHHH NOT AGAIN I'M GETTING FLASHBACKS TO THE CANVASPRO MANAGEMENT NTR ARC'
'Hey Burb-man, I know you're reading this, fire that low-effort sloptuber out of a cannon. Her reputation is going to kill your fucking company. One of your talents is on her way out because of her. Do something before it's too late. None of them deserve this. Especially not Rayna.'
'And neither is Hisui. Get this whoring fox away from the oni oshi! She deserves far better than this trash.'
'Huh, now that you said it, I haven't seen those two collab together in like five months. What's up with that?'
'she must have known'
'i frogibe kirara if hse shwo bobs and vagene'
'lmao she still has her chat on follower-only mode and her Z account on private, what a coward'
'JUSTICE IS COMING FOR YOU, VILE VIXEN. COUNT YOUR DAYS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND PURGE GOD'S GREEN EARTH OF YOUR–"
Okay, that was enough browsing on XChan for the day.
Exiting out of that tab, I flopped onto my back and stared into the empty ceiling above. Though I'd wade into the pool of hatred, I'd barely gone past my ankle. By my estimate, this was only a miniscule fraction of a fraction of the harassment Kirara was receiving. She was neck deep, and the water level was rising. There was no lifeline nor raft I could throw her way, nothing I could do to stop the endless deluge.
Absolutely nothing I could do as Zofia to protect my friend.
This entire situation was completely unfair. These drama channels could say whatever they wanted without any scrutiny and set up any narratives they desired, and there was nothing DreamLink could do to shut it down.
If I could just be Rayna again, be the knight of the AnaChronoclasts, be my very best self.
But reality was cruel and uncaring.
Which was why I had been laying around on my bed for the past four days. If the dream world could truly influence reality, then I had to become Rayna, that was the only way I could do anything to help Kirara. I hadn't done much on that side, but the fact that I started crossing over to there when Symphonia announced her intention to graduate had to mean something. I didn't know if it was fate or what, the only thing that mattered was I had a mean to make a change, and it was up to me to do it.
So, once again, I wrapped myself into a big burrito and closed my eyes, praying that sleep would take me.
Praying that I would go to the other side this time.
.
..
…
….Knock knock
I immediately jolted awake in my bed.
"FiFi, it's time for your bandage change." Dad's voice called out from beyond the door.
Looking down over myself, I raised my bandaged arms. Right, they needed to be changed before they started smelling funky from all the sweat and potentially from germs I've been cultivating in my blanket.
…I really should get it washed soon.
"Are you on your phone again?" He sounded exasperated. "Doctor said to stay off social media to destress!"
"I'm not, I swear!" I replied, blushing. I quickly turned off my phone and hid it under my pillow. Dad had been going hard on me about it, harping about how I was rotting my brain by constantly reading social media nonstop. But he didn't understand, I needed to monitor the situation, to know which of these jerkfaces were badmouthing my friend.
As a vtuber, I had no choice but to take these Internet happenings as seriously as possible. Especially, when it concerned myself and my future as a content creator, directly or otherwise.
With the turn of the doorknob, he entered my room. When his gaze landed on me, his stern expression shifted to a look only a father could have when he caught his NEET daughter doomscrolling again on Z for the fiftieth time in the day.
"FiFi, silly girl, what did I tell you?" he said in a lecturing tone. "You're suffering from strange conditions, take your rest seriously."
"I-I don't know what you mean," I replied, turning away from him and refusing to meet his disappointed glare. "I'm just napping, how can I be on my phone?"
Even without seeing, I could feel the intensity of his stare. I was getting goosebumps on the back of my neck, so I wiggled deeper into my blankety cocoon.
"Then where is it?" he asked. "If you're not hiding it from me, it would be out in open view like on desk or nightstand. Phone is size of brick, old man like me can see it plainly."
I froze like a famous MiTuber getting caught in 4k doing something career-ending.
"Uhhh…" Quick, Zofia, think of something! Dad brought up some good points, but they were just circumstantial evidence. There was nothing solid to prove his hypothesis, I could still pull the wool over his eyes!
"FiFi, you have face of scheming fox," he said. "However, you're predictable as sun cresting over sky. You lack the ability to fool your father, man who raises you."
Nothing got past him, could it?
With a pout, I magnanimously accepted my defeat and pulled out the smartphone hidden under my pillow.
"You shouldn't hide such thing under there, silly girl." He took it, gave it a quick scan, and then placed it on my nightstand. Smirking, he continued. "Research shows that radiation wave and 5g signal messes with brain, bad for afflicted mind like yours."
"Bleh, that's just a whole load of hogwash." I stuck my tongue out at him. "You can't believe everything you read on Readtome, Dad."
"Hmph. It's better than mind poison on Z," he replied, nodding sagely to himself. "Which is something young girl with bright future ahead of her should know better than old relic of ages past."
I groaned in frustration. "It's my job, I've to do it whether or not I want to. I've got no choice but to use Z."
Dad shook his head. Stepping over to the end of my bed, he took a seat by my legs. "FiFi, both doctor and Michael said no to social media. You're on break, day offs from work. Your only job is to rest and recover." He twisted his torso to the side to face me, tossing the roll of bandages back and forth in his hands.
"I'm all fine now!" I untangled from my blanket and wiggled my arms and legs for him to see. Though some of the marks remained, my limbs were no longer aching nor sore. My skin was no longer stinging too, it was starting to peel. In other words, I was more or less healed.
"Yes, yes, you're strong as horse," he said. "But until doctor says so, you stay in bed. Without phone. Get your mind off brain poison."
"...I told you it's not that simple!" There was no excuse for me to stand by and watch as Kirara became the Internet's latest target anymore. I had to do something…!
"Oh, FiFi, you silly girl, I know that look on your face, you're being very stubborn like mule again," he said.
"Dad, this is serious!" I shot up from my bed. "I'm not doomscrolling on Z or whatever you think I'm doing. Something bad is happening on there, and it's not right that I'm the only one not doing anything!"
"Only thing you should be doing right now is to get better. No one is expecting sick girl to do much from her sick bed," Dad replied.
"That's…not the point!" I shouted at him. Why couldn't he get it?! "It doesn't matter if I'm bedridden or not, I've got to do something, or my friends will be in bigger trouble."
Dad stopped playing with the roll of bandages, raising an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"
"The people on Z are badmouthing Daisy for one thing," I answered dryly.
"Why would they do that? She is good, hardworking girl," he said before adding with a smile. "You can learn lots from her, FiFi."
I gave him a blank stare. Really, Dad, really?
"Ah, now you are like a small, confused puppy staring at camera." He chuckled in a low, rumbling voice.
Ughh…Come on, Dad, stop ruining the mood with bad memes you saw on ReadTome!
"Dad, please, this is serious…" I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. "People are leaking Daisy's private communications, and the gossip channels are farming her for content. It's just not right."
Dad hummed, cupping his chin. "Are they now? Vultures are vultures, no matter what screens they are on. I see why FiFi is upset."
"Yeah, so if you do get it, can you hand me my phone back–"
"But that doesn't mean FiFi should give herself ulcer at young age," he interrupted me. Getting up from my bed, he stepped over close to my side. "Internet things are illusions, easily dispelled by touching grass. Mind poison is cleansed by breath of fresh air."
"But they're not fake, they've tangible effects on Daisy! It's because of them, her career and everything she works so hard for are going to be ruined. Everyone is saying that we should ignore them, but that's obviously not working if they keep saying mean things about her!"
"Everyone being Michael and others?" Dad asked. "And give me your hand, your bandage stinks like used socks your mom finds at gym's locker rooms."
I gaped my mouth at him. I didn't smell that bad, how could he say that?! Dad…! Even though I was a NEET goblin, I was still a girl too, you know!
"FiFi, if you don't want to stink like horse in barn, I need your arm." He gestured impatiently at me.
The nerve of this man! If he weren't my father, I would…I would vent about him on a private ChaosComm server and get reassurance from like-minded individuals.
…Although, the bandages were starting to feel damp from the sweat I'd been working up. So, with great reluctance, I gave into his demand.
With a smirk, he began unwrapping the linen around my arm. I turned my nose away when the stench wafted over to my face.
Blehhh
"Well?" He looked at me expectantly as he applied lotion and scented moisturizer on my peeling skin.
I blinked. What was he–Oh, right, the company's tactic. Sighing, I answered, "yeah, Burb-san and El told us to just pretend it doesn't exist and go on about our day like normal, while Symmy is handling all of Kira–I mean–Daisy's social media accounts."
"Then that is end of it, isn't it?" Dad said, "Michael and your friends have situation handled, you no need to worry your silly head over it. Much like evening news, Internet drama comes and goes. Silly girl just has to wait it out."
"I told you, it's not working!" I inhaled a sharp breath and gave Dad a stern glare. "Ignoring them won't work, because now they got more people to talk about it and spew lies about Daisy. Every day, there's a new expose video made on her, it's getting out of hand, Dad. I can't be the only one on her break and watch as everything falls apart. I've to do something about it!"
"What can you do, FiFI?" he asked. "People are like waves in ocean. Unknowable and fierce, you can only ride it, not go against it. Michael has right of it, he is attempting to steer the boat to a safe shore on other side."
"But what if there's an angry mob with pitchforks and torches waiting at the pier?" I countered. The people harassing my friend for their sick kicks weren't going to be satisfied until they got their pound of flesh.
"Then, you simply go to another one," Dad answered sagely, "or, delay arrival until mob gets hungry and tired."
"Yeah, but what if the boat has holes and water is already leaking under the hold," I said, frowning. "And what if one of the crew members plans to jump overboard? The people left are screaming at each other and the captain's given up entirely. What if the only way to stop all these problems is to get to shore as soon as possible?"
The company was doomed to dissolve in six months. Symphonia's graduation would be announced soon, whenever she and Burb-san worked out the details for it. Kirara and Hisui were fighting despite the drama channels and their fans at the gate. My head hurt just thinking about how everything kept happening right after another, while nothing was getting done about any of these issues, and dreaming wasn't working–
"Take deep breath, silly girl. Boat no longer matters, metaphor sinks from holes being poked at it. Forget about it." I felt Dad's gentle, wrinkled hand on my head. "Stress hinders your mind, blinds you from Mount Tai."
I did as Dad told. But my heart was still beating loudly in my chest, and the bump on my head radiating pain again, I knew that I shouldn't be resting on my bed. I had to do something! Anything!!
"FiFi, you're doing it again." Dad's firm but kind voice pierced through the haze building in my mind. "That thing, what did kids on ReadTome say again?" He pulled his hand back and cupped his chin. "Yes, looping. Wonderful word, but yes, you're looping. Looping won't help your friends, it only worsens stress, strengthens mind poison."
"Then what?!" I screamed at him. I didn't need his platitudes right now! I had to get on Z and confront those haters and make them stop badmouthing Kirara!
"Getting on phone and arguing with strangers on Internet won't do anything. You know that," Dad said.
"I know! But I've told you, I can't–"
"Stand by and do nothing," Dad repeated. "Yes, yes, you said that." Walking around my bed, he stretched out the roll of bandage and took my other arm. "You break doctor's order, go on there, fight swarms of strange, angry men on Internet, and then what?"
"I…I'll show them that they're wrong about Daisy and that they were being stupid and mean for no reasons!"
"By putting yourself in line of fire, become more stressed and suffer more strange wounds, worry your mom and me, make your friends at company scared for you," he said. With a sigh, he shook his head. "That is not the way."
I glared at Dad, mustering every ounce of determination and anger coursing through my veins. He didn't budge a single inch as he continued with changing my bandages. Dad was just going to keep dismissing anything I said to him, so I gave up reasoning with him.
He was too old to understand how much this was affecting Daisy. He had no idea how the Internet and social media worked, this won't go away now that the drama channels turned her into content! No matter what El nor Burb-san said about it, keeping our heads down wasn't possible.
As I sat there on my bed, sulking at Dad, he unwrapped the old, soggy bandages around my leg. Without lifting his gaze, he struck the conversation up again.
"FiFi, you have good heart, you care deeply for friends." He handled my leg with a gentle touch as he applied the bandages around it. "Your mom and I are proud that we raise good, caring daughter. So very proud."
I clicked my tongue and looked away, ignoring the heat building up in my cheeks. "I'm not a very good, caring friend, if I can't do a single thing for them, am I?"
"Silly girl, if Daisy hears how much you think of her, she would be very happy girl," Dad said. "Sometimes, that's all she needs."
After saying his piece, he returned to his task in silence. Dad must be satisfied with himself, acting the wise father to his headstrong daughter. I could see that smug smile on his aging face from the side of my eyes.
Well, I wasn't going to let him have the last words on me!
"I'm going back to streaming," I declared.
…That didn't faze him at all. He continued wrapping the bandages around my leg like I hadn't just made my declaration against 'doctor's order' or whatever. Even stranger, he had this knowing look on his face.
"Yes, silly girl wants to be brave girl again. That's good."
"I thought you wanted me off the Internet," I said, turning to him fully. "Because, you know, to destress and stuff."
"Off social media, yes, away from mind poison," he replied. "You won't touch grass, stay cooped up in room all day instead. You'll drive yourself mad if you lay in bed and get on Z again."
I huffed and shot him a look of defiance. It washed off Dad like raindrops pelting the side of a barn.
"It's better for FiFi to do some things than nothing," he said.
"So, if I return from my hiatus but not engage with the drama channels and their fans, would you and Mom be okay with it?" I asked cautiously, gauging his reaction.
He merely nodded with a pleasant smile.
"Yes," he answered. As he finished wrapping me up, Dad turned to meet my narrowed gaze. "Daisy and other friends must miss silly girl dearly."
I blew raspberries at him. "You don't think I know that? Since neither you nor Burb-san want me to address anything directly, I'm gonna go and hang out with them and have tons of collabs to make up for the days I've been gone too."
His warm brown eyes sparkled in the fluorescent light. "That's good, that's good. FiFi escapes mind and opens eyes to world outside, " Dad paused and resumed in a more serious tone. "However, one more thing silly girl should do."
"What?"
"The thing brave girl says all the time." He glanced at the wall scrolls of Eden. "What was it again…?"
He really liked pulling a fast one on me, huh? Hmph, well, I wasn't going to let him have his sick kick that easily. Avoiding his gaze, I muttered my catchphrase in a small voice.
"What was that, silly girl? Old man's hearing is bad these days." He cupped his ear while wearing the most insufferable grin on his face.
"Shine on!" I shouted. "Gee, Dad, why are you like this?" Just because I was his NEET daughter didn't mean that he had carte blanche to tease me whenever he wanted!!
Dad laughed deeply at my expense. I grabbed the nearest pony plushie and threw it at his head. Though it hit its mark, it only intensified his laughter even more.
Grrr…
I quickly wrapped myself in my blanket, and hid my blushing face in the cotton cocoon. "I-If you're done, can you just go already?"
He took a moment to gather himself. I heard his heavy footsteps as he rounded the bed and made for the door. "Yes, yes, it's time for me to return to gym and help your mom run it. FiFi is full of energy, strong as horse. Time for brave girl to take stage again."
And with those parting words, he left my room and climbed up the stairs from the basement. I let myself relax from my guarded posture inside my warm and comfortable blanket. Snaking an arm through, I reached for where my nightstand would be and groped for my phone–
"Ah, one more thing, FiFi!" Dad's echoing voice nearly made me jumped out my safety cocoon. "Food in microwave, your favorite stir-fry udon with pork!"
"...Thanks, Dad," I muttered. It wasn't like he was going to hear it.
"You are very welcome!"
My shoulders startled at his loud confirmation. How did he know that?!?
In response, his laughter echoed through the basement before disappearing. I felt like I had lost ground on something I couldn't possibly fathom. Something like dignity and pride.
But how could I? Given what I was.
Those were something only Rayna would know of, not useless Zofia.
Anyway, pushing those trivialities aside, I reached for my phone and brought it up to my face. Its dim light filled the empty spaces inside my blanket. Without hesitation, I went on DreamLink's ChaosComm server and announced my intent to return to streaming in the private staff chatroom.
Immediately, I was bombarded with a bunch of messages concerned about my health from the mods and Burb-san.
'Rayna, it's okay. Take as much rest as you need to, don't stress yourself unnecessarily. Your health takes precedence over streaming.'
'Please don't push yourself too far.'
'Now isn't a good time to return. Would it be possible to delay your return?'
'yeah girl, stay in bed. take a nap and chill. we've got everything handled.'
The last post was from El. She was always active on ChaosComm no matter the time, except for meetings or whenever she was streaming.
The rest weren't on for a variety of reasons. Judging by the activity status under Hisui's icon in the members' list, she was streaming. And Symphonia was still at work, so she obviously couldn't reply until her next break or something.
As for Kirara…She was quiet. Probably at class or studying. Or maybe Symphonia was on it, and couldn't make a reply as mentioned before.
I took a deep, calming breath and typed out my reply. Told everyone that I was fine and that my parents were alright with me returning to streaming. Of course, I didn't say anything about whether or not the doctors approved of me coming back, not that they needed to know. I felt energetic and fine, my body wasn't aching like the first day I got these strange burn marks.
'uh huh, yeah right, as if. no way, i won't allow it. bossman you agree with me on this, don't you? tell rayna to get back to bed.'
I appreciated my aloof friend looking out for me, but I wasn't a baby that needed to be coddled! I was nineteen years old, for crying out loud!
While Burb-san was in the middle of typing, I sent my message first.
'No, I'm coming back to streaming. I'm tired of being stuck in my bed doing nothing all day and watching as those drama channels use me to hurt you guys. I can't stand it!'
El in turn was typing up a reply, but I tabbed out of the chatroom and went to my direct messages. I was on a mission, I wasn't going to let myself be talked down to compliance. Both Burb-san and El cared about me, I knew that, but right now, there was something I needed to do.
I tapped on Kirara's profile picture and entered our direct messages. While Symphonia was handling her social media accounts like Z and MiTube, Kirara still had access to her ChaosComm. So, it didn't matter in the end if my message either reached her or Symphonia first, she was going to see it anyway.
'Hey, Kirara, want to collab?'
…It wasn't the most subtle way to go about it, but who cared at this point?
I shot my shot, so it was only a matter of waiting. I glued my eyes on the screen, staring intently at the reply bar. Dad would absolutely bonk my head if he saw me doing this, but it was a good thing he was out of the house.
My heart nearly jumped out of my throat when I saw her typing. Or Symphonia, but that was unlikely, since work and all that. So, it could only be…
'wut r u doing rayna stay off the internet lol'
That was definitely Kirara, alright. Good, my day was getting better and better! Seeing her replying to me renewed my confidence, so much so that my fingers were a blur on the touchscreen.
'And leave you to deal with those drama vultures all alone? No way.'
'laying low is the only way so yes u dont have to do this theyll forget by next week just be patient'
Why were my friends so headstrong about me coming back from my hiatus? I would be flattered in any other instance, but this was a tad overboard, wasn't it?
'Well, since you don't use proper punctuation when you're typing, I can barely parse what you're telling me, so I assume you're okay with our collab? You said yes after all.'
There was a pause. Several seconds passed by until the next message.
'Rayna, can you stop acting like a petulant child? I'm saying this for your own good. Don't get involved. The last thing you need associated with your brand is mine. You'll be scrutinized by everyone the moment you appear next to me.'
Proper sentence structures and grammar. She was getting serious.
But so was I.
'Kirara, your problem is mine. It's already too late for me to back off of our association anyway. Not only are you my genmate, you're my friend, too. And friends don't leave friends out to dry. I'm going to hang out and collab with you, whether you like it or not.'
I could see her actively typing, as the status indication over the reply bar visually informed of it. But it kept disappearing for a few seconds, and then resuming again in another breath. Finally, after nearly a minute, she made her reply.
'You're so cheesy, it hurts reading that.'
I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Phew, it seemed like I got through to her, and it didn't take me as long as last time when we were face-to-face in real life.
'Have it your way. Let's collab.'
I felt a smile crept on my face. It must have looked creepy, going by the reflection on the screen. At least I was away from everyone, hidden from the public at large beneath my blanket cocoon.
'And let's bring in Hisui too.' I added.
'Hah, as if. Burb-san and Symmy would have a heart attack if they saw me streaming with that idiot too.'
Normally, I would agree with my CEO and Symphonia, but in this case, however…
'Yeah, but you'll have me to mediate you guys live on stream. I'm sure we can convince those two that the collab would be viable if it's the three of us, instead of just you and her.'
'That's not how that works, Rayna.'
Before I could rebuke her, she was typing up a storm. Rather than interrupting my friend, I waited patiently for her messages.
They came in waves.
'A single collab won't fix anything. My career is done. After all the work I've put into editing clips and videos, all the hours spent contacting other vtubers for collabs, all the effort to grow my channel and brand, everything's gone down the drain. My views, my fans, my reputation, they're gone. It doesn't fucking matter anymore.'
I didn't know where this bitter sense of defeat came from, but this was completely unlike the confident and fun-loving Kirara that I knew. The Kirara that helped me start my career in content creation. I wouldn't be where I was now without her suggestion to try out punishment streams.
Seeing her in this state only hardened my resolve.
'The drama gnome and his army of scum-sucking leeches got what they wanted out of me. Hanging out with you and Hisui won't change that. It won't bring us back together either, not the way we used to be. We've said too much shit about each other. Too much stuff we can't take back. The bridges have been burnt. There's absolutely nothing left to rebuild.'
Though I didn't know how to comfort my friend, I was sure of one thing.
Despite Kirara declaring that they were no longer friends, deep down she still believed otherwise. Because why would she hold Hisui's offer to collab so seriously?
'God fucking dammit, had I known I would become the town's laughingstock, I wouldn't have bother trying to climb Tiers so much. What was it all for? Fucking nothing, that's what.'
In the dream, those two remained friends. They covered each other's weaknesses and blindspots with unerring accuracy. They knew exactly what to do without even so much as uttering a single word to each other. They were in complete sync, not missing a single beat on what the other was doing.
They were the perfect duo in my eyes.
Even now, in reality, the way Hisui picked up on Kirara's growing distress in that previous call spelled it out for me.
So, without a single shred of doubt running in my mind, I typed my reply.
'It's not too late, Kirara.'
That put a stop to the gyaru foxgirl's self-deprecating rant. She merely typed one word.
'wat'
'Yeah, think about it. It's obvious she still sees you as a friend despite the status quo between you two.'
'That doesn't make sense, Rayna. There's no way that slut still thinks of me as her friend. You're out of your mind.'
…If you kept calling her that, then she might retract that olive branch.
Alright, if she refused to see the obvious, I had to beat her head in with facts and logic until she gave in.
'Okay, sure, you two hate each other so much that some people on XChan have noticed you guys being on bad terms. It's only a matter of time if the drama gnome and his people will see it too. Can't we at least do something to dispel that sentiment?'
'Rayna, stop listening to incels on anonymous image boards. They're even worse than the drama tourist crowd. They like to pretend they know shit behind the scenes, but they're just talking out of their ass. It's nothing but fucking make believe bullshits and rrats.'
I grinned wryly at her harsh words. That was the Kirara I knew and looked up to.
Although she didn't have to diss the fans hanging around on XChan like that, El did say they were our most diehard viewers, after all.
'But as much as I don't want to admit it, however. They may be right. If my fight with Hisui is noticed by some of the dumbest people on the Internet, the rest are sure to follow. I guess I've no choice but to pretend I'm still on good terms with that tramp. Ughh, this is going to suck.'
My eyes widened in surprise. Could this…could this really be the opportunity I was looking for this entire time?!
'Alright, I'll consider your proposal for us three to collab. But you're going to take responsibility for this, you hear? No backing out now, Rayna. I need you when Hisui becomes too insufferable for me to bear, blegh.'
It…It was! This was it, I couldn't afford to mess up! This was my only chance to have them reconnect and become friends again. So, before I could even process it fully, my fingers were already typing up a reply.
'Yeah, that sounds great! Let's do it, the three-way collab! We're going to have so much fun that El wishes she could join in too.'
'...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?'
I blinked. Huh? What was she talking about? I was just so happy that my friends were putting aside their beef with each other for a moment to present a united front against the drama gnome and his horde of tourists.
The bit with El might be an exaggeration, true. The fact that she was too aloof was also true, she really should interact more with our genmates.
'nvm ill go tell symmy and burb-san about this later gonna go back working on my paper cya later rayna'
'Yeah, see you too. It was nice seeing you doing well despite, well, everything.'
'heh yea takes more than that to keep me down lol'
As I was about to lay down my phone, I saw her still typing.
'thnx for checking up on me 'ppreciate it'
'No problem. You're my friend, after all.'
The small green circle on her profile picture that indicated her online status turned gray, signifying that she either logged off or closed off her machine, or appeared in invisible mode. Either or, the result was the same.
I turned off my phone and let myself flop on my bed. I felt giddy, finally because of progress in my mission to stop the dissolution of DreamLink. I had pushed the boulder up the mountain, just by a bit, but upward nonetheless.
With this small victory, I would love to take a nap. I deserved it after these draining conversations.
However, there was still something I had to do first before I could relish in my victory.
I needed to stream.
I had so much explanation to do.
AN: AHHHHHH THE PHASE INVADER KARAOKE RELAY GOT ME YEARNPOSTING IN THE GROUPCHAT