NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5 - I Just Want to See Their Reactions
I’m going to have six Vtuber peers in her generation.
Since 【Arutema】 still has a small number of members, the company’s strategy is to debut a group of us together in one go during this period.
In about a year, the debut rush will calm down a bit, and debuts will transition to groups of three each, becoming more like a unit. But that time hasn’t come yet.
So, in essence, what I’m trying to say is this:
If you want to make friends during this debut period, you have to take action on your own.
“Kuroneko-san, let’s collaborate next time!”
“Huh? U-uh, a colla-collab…?”
“Yes, a collaboration!”
It all began with a single chat.
One of my peers, Natsunami Yui, messaged me on the voice app under the name of Kuroneko Sun, throwing a full-force bomb with “Let’s have a voice call right now.”
The connection between Natsunami Yui and me was very shallow. We had only exchanged words once during a voice check with all the peers before our debuts.
The words exchanged were something like “Nice to meet you,” at most.
There’s no way we were on such close terms as to suddenly suggest a collaboration together; it skips a few levels of familiarity.
“I watched your debut, Kuroneko-san, and I also thought I’d like to make friends because I’m socially awkward. So, I’d like to collaborate together and become friends!”
That’s a lie.
A true socially awkward person wouldn’t just suddenly send a chat like “Let’s have a voice call right now.”
Maybe in an anonymous relationship, but when dealing with someone you’ll have to interact with in the future, a socially awkward person becomes cautious.
To the extent that I would revise a greeting message at least five times and after writing it, I would let it sit for an hour, then revise it again.
It took me a whole week to finish greeting all the seniors.
Besides, there are way too many otaku who casually proclaim to be socially awkward while saying things like “Let’s have a call!” Real socially awkward people can’t be bothered with calls where they can’t read the other person’s facial expressions!
How can you judge someone based only on their voice tone during a call when you don’t even know what expression they’re making? It’s scary, and there’s no way you can do it!
However, you can’t keep saying that if you’re part of a company.
If this were a personal Vtuber, you could just resort to the ultimate excuse of “Oh, I fell asleep” and sweep it under the rug. But both myself and the other person are doing Vtuber work as a job.
So, avoiding voice calls isn’t an option! That’s what I confronted just a while ago.
Hearing the word “collaboration,” I’m currently regretting it intensely, thinking, “Oh, I should have pretended to be asleep…” My determination is softer than tofu.
“Would you like to collaborate…?”
“Uh…”
I can understand the other person’s expression without even seeing their face.
I can imagine them with teary eyes, looking up, doing the so-called “crying appeal” on the other side of the screen.
Are you telling me that someone who can easily imagine a crying appeal is socially awkward?… That’s going too far.
“What, um, what would we do for this collaboration…?”
“I want to gather prompts with marshmallows and have a casual chat!”
“A, a chat…”
Of all things, a casual chat?
That’s the kind of thing where you talk for an hour or two, right?
Sure, I’ve taken up chatting slots a few times since my debut, but that worked because the viewers were commenting without speaking.
But chatting for nearly an hour with a live person… just thinking about it made me nauseous with anxiety.
“Ho, how about a gaming stream?”
With a gaming stream, I could at least get away with not talking. “I was really into the game ☆,” I could say, and the viewers would surely laugh and forgive me.
Fortunately, my streaming equipment arrived yesterday, so I’m always ready for a gaming collaboration.
But still…
“A chat! Would you like to have a chat?”
“Ugh… Please give me some time to think…”
What’s up with this girl!
Is she intentionally behaving this way because she knows I’m socially awkward?
Could it be that she’s the type who talks a lot but can’t read the atmosphere at all!?
And without succumbing to my groaning, Natsunami Yui managed to (forcibly) secure a collaboration promise for three days later and left the voice call.
◆
【Twitter】
【Kuroneko Sun ＠ Arutema 2nd Gen / @kuroneko_altm】
I’ll be collaborating with the socially skilled Natsunami Yui in three days.
We’re planning to chat. To all my socially awkward folks out there, share some of that communication power with me!
#Kuroneko’sTime #HelpMeOut
【San Chamā / @xxxxxx】
@kuroneko_altm
Good luck with your first collaboration!
【Mark Zet / @xxxxxx】
@kuroneko_altm
Don’t cause trouble with a backlash.
【Natsunami Yui ＠ Arutema 2nd Gen / @natunami_yuiyui】
So, that’s how it is! I’ll be collaborating with Kuroneko-san!
We’re going to have a fun chat based on questions and prompts from marshmallows, so bring them on!
I’ll be streaming it on my channel, so check out the waiting room too!
#YuiLive
【TasoTaso Taoru / @xxxxxx】
@natunami_yuiyui
A holiday collaboration is a relief.
【Ritsuka / @xxxxxx】
@natunami_yuiyui
Good luck on taking the lead Kuroneko-san!