Chapter Text
In all his years of living as Kyryll Chudomirovich Flins (my, what a mouthful), he has never done more with social media other than the bare minimum of owning an account so he could view relevant content that is otherwise restricted only to members of the platform.
In all his years of living… how many are there now? 35? Or more. Perhaps more and even more. He likes to keep people guessing.
Nonetheless, it's not a secret that he handles technology like a 'boomer', as they say. Somehow it's become his main appeal as a Virtual YouTuber. He doesn't show his face. He just speaks into his headsets microphone while a software tracks his movements and transfers it to a virtual avatar… a model that is moving and breathing in sync with him. The avatar resembles him, to an extent, but also differs in terms of clothing and occupation. A knight who is fae was the character setting they went with.
What also seemed less likely but started to occur is how Flins started to play video games after several suggestions… courtesy of the interns who started at his firm only a matter of months ago. The one named Durin was pretty enthusiastic about a certain RPG called Simulanka, so Flins started with that game and went from there. He's gone through a vast variety of genres, but his specific niche are psychological horror, atmospheric horror, puzzle games, and the occasional story-rich RPG.
Flins never expected that this little hobby would become so successful. It was originally a way to pass time, but also gave him better insight on this side of the internet. He followed the tutorials dutifully, Durin had his older brother rig Flins a model, and Flins otherwise procured the proper equipment. It turns out becoming a streamer took a lot of investment, but it wasn't a bad way to make more money on the side. For Flins, though, it's more of a means to make life a little more interesting.
Regardless, Flins is now one of the top trending TevyTube streamer under the alias Lord Azur. As his popularity soared, fans criticized his lack of proper usage of social media, so that's when his coworker from the HR department, Lauma, opted to step in as his manager. It turns out that she has a knack for this that Flins wondered briefly how much experience she had, but didn't push further. He doesn't disrespect peoples' boundaries unless invited to do so. She handles his scheduled collaborations and other sponsored partnerships and promoting them and his schedule on social media. They split the profits and everyone's happy. It's not like he's particularly popular to the point of virality, but it's a comfortable place to be.
Tonight, he has one of those collaborations, one with his technical "sibling", The Wanderer. In other words, his model was designed and rigged by the same artist as him, Albedo. The Wanderer has been streaming for longer than him, almost a year of superiority over him, but has been friends with Durin and his older brother, Albedo, for longer. He's also very popular, so their collab has been highly anticipated to the point that a lot of their fans drew all sorts of thumbnails for them to use. It was fascinating, especially with the fact that they're only going to be playing Tetris in a competitive mode. Flins quite enjoys Tetris. It reminds him of his bone puzzles that he does in his spare time. He is actually very excited to reveal this fact today on stream. And perhaps that'll open him to the possibility of 'hand cam streams' he's heard so much about from his fellow streamers.
He then opens all the necessities on his end and prepares to hunker down for the upcoming stream. He gets a ping on his Discord, presumably from Lauma… and when he does open it, it surely is her.
Lauma
Is everything ready?
Lord Azur
Yes, it is. Should I ping Wanderer?
Lauma
Yes, you should also get on call with him.
Lord Azur
Understood.
Flins then clicks onto their shared server, one consisting of him, Lauma, Wanderer (who refuses to give his real name for whatever reason), Albedo, and Durin. Wanderer's manager, Nahida, is also in the server. As for the server's name… it has a crude drawing of Albedo (courtesy of Durin) and is aptly called Simulanka Enjoyers.
… Aptly, he said, but it's more arbitrary than anything. They're independent streamers, so it's fine.
He pings Wanderer and then enters the voice chat meant for collaborations.
Wanderer
5 min
Lord Azur
Okay.
Wanderer
10 min
Lord Azur
?
Wanderer
15 min
Lord Azur
Did something come up? We can reschedule.
Wanderer
No
Wanderer actually enters the voice chat then with his call entry voice clip playing with it. His call enter sound? Well, just some ominous and dreary music for whatever reason.
"I was messing with you." Wanderer says immediately, "Alright, old man. Let's hop on. I'm gonna beat your ass."
Flins hums, but does as Wanderer says. "I'm not that much older than you."
"It's about the energy." Wanderer shrugs, "I am eternally youthful by manner of being. Even when I get to your age, I'll still be like, 20 years old to these people."
"We'll see in another ten years, then." Flins remarks with a brief chuckle, but opens up the game of the hour. Tetris, versus mode. There's another game called PuyoPuyo Tetris that seems to combine it with a different type of game similar in nature to Tetris, but Wanderer had insisted on sticking to Tetris.
"Whatever. I'm gonna start streaming, okay?" Wanderer starts typing furiously from his end, drawing out a snicker on Flins's part. Flins is represented only by a lantern on Wanderer's POV stream.
Flins similarly starts up his own, having Wanderer's mascot, affectionately named "Scarameow", act as Wanderer's representation on his own POV. "Then I am as well."
They both mute themselves for the time being.
Flins checks one last time to make sure everything's in place, his model is working, the game's interface is accurately represented on OBS, and then he starts the stream.
He clears his throat, getting himself in character. It's not too difficult, especially considering how much his VTuber persona is loosely based on himself…
"Good evening. I thank you all for coming to accompany this humble fae tonight." He speaks smoothly, "Tonight, I will be playing Tetris with The Wanderer. If you're curious, he is also streaming his POV. We'll begin in a moment."
The chat already starts coming in on his screen, most of his viewers spamming blue hearts and emojis of his character. There are also some 'good evenings' and other similar greetings in the running chat. Others remark how excited they are to see him collab with Wanderer again. Some comments rib on him and pity Wanderer. It's sentiments like, "poor Wanderer is going to have a headache again lol" or something of similar meaning.
Flins just laughs. "I hope not to be a hindrance to Mr. Wanderer. He is my senior, after all."
The stream starts officially with the two of them introducing each other and beginning their banter.
Illuga's at his wit's end. He still couldn't quite nail the last move of their choreography, so he opting to stay behind at the practice studio for longer. Lohen's still lingering back with him, leaning against the studio wall, gnashing on chewing gum.
"Think you should call it a night?" Lohen suggests, elongating his words with a mischievous smile. "Want one?" He holds out his pack of his gum like he's offering cigarettes.
Illuga pauses, looking up from his chair and reaches up for a piece. He unwraps it and pops it in his mouth. "Lohen, you already learned all of the choreo. How?"
"I'm just that good." Lohen shrugs.
Illuga frowns.
"Joking! I do some practice and study when I'm bored." Lohen is kinda fibbing at this point and Illuga knows it. "… hahaha, sorry. That's a lie. I don't."
Illuga sighs as he chews on his minty gum. "It's okay, you don't have to try to comfort me… It's just too bad. I think I'm… distracted or something."
Lohen hums thoughtfully, "Wellll, that's even more the reason to call it a night. You're always getting too up in your head, y'know? The live isn't even for another two weeks! You got plenty of time to perfect it." And he shrugs. "And again, I always got you covered in case you forget a step or two."
Illuga huffs, crossing his arms. "I don't want you to always be improvising because I can't do it perfectly. I don't want to hold you back, Lohen…"
Lohen scoffs, "When you have the voice of an angel? C'mon. We're supposed to watch each other's back anyway. So, I think you need to get outta here for the night and chill at home. Maybe stare at the ceiling and dissociate until you pass out."
"I can't do that." Illuga shakes his head. "That's when I start thinking…"
Lohen tilts his head. "Ahh, right. Can't even leave you alone with your thoughts, huh? How about you start getting yourself on some real cocomelon…"
"The baby show?" Illuga frowns. "I don't think I can learn anything from there."
"What?" Lohen bursts into laughter. "Don't be silly. I just meant as in like… watching TevyTube videos or something. There's a bunch of those streamers too. It's good for stress relief to watch someone else suffer."
Illuga blinks. "I don't know about watching others suffer…" He doesn't remark on why the hell cocomelon is suddenly the colloquial term for anything on TevyTube.
"It's not that deep. They're just playing video games. Unless you want the alphabet wood block soup sensory videos? How about some ASMR?" Lohen then blows a bubble, letting it pop over his lips. "Mmm. Anyway, I'm outta here. Give it some thought, okay? I can send a streamer your way too if you need a suggestion."
"I'm not into ASMR, but that might be helpful so I know what you mean." Illuga sighs, leaning over and letting his shoulders and arms droop. "Good night, Lohen. Get back home safe."
"Anyone who tries to attack me will regret it, hahahaha. I got my knife on me, my taser, and poison too." Lohen grins, shaking his lanyard. "See, I attached my favorite pocket knife here. It's got several different blades."
"Never mind. It's not you who I should be worried about." Illuga can't believe this guy is an idol. He can't believe he's in the same unit as him as his sole partner, too. Lohen really lives up to his devil persona, he supposes… "Text me when you get home."
Lohen makes a show of swooning, "Our charming and angelic prince, Illuga… kyaaaa… I'm over heels!" He stops abruptly and flashes him a finger salute. "Later. I'll send over the stream when I get back then."
Illuga frowns, but nods as he quietly watches Lohen throw his stuff on and leave the dance studio. The building goes silent then, nothing but the vacant sound of light frequencies emitting. Illuga takes another minute to catch his breath and drink some more water before he gets back to practice.
He finds the instrumental music file on his music player app, setting it to play as he gets ready to run through it one more time to identify what he's struggling with right now. The music blares from his phone's speakers, but he is at least swift enough to jump into the choreography. It's only a manner of sliding into the beat, especially with Lohen taking the limelight for the first half of the song. It's alright. He just has to focus and not let his nerves get to him.
That's easier said than done, especially when it comes to performances. In his years of training and previous lives, Illuga has come a long way from where he was, now garnering a dedicated fan base. Of course, Illuga isn't ignorant to the fandom's preferences, knowing they all fancy the idea of him and Lohen being together…
Unfortunately for them, they aren't in a relationship. They're just best friends, but Lohen does like to give them plenty of fan service, but Illuga has long become used to it that it basically doesn't affect him anymore.
Well, anyway. Lohen's love life isn’t his business. The music stops abruptly, interrupted by a text notification. And speak of the devil…
Lohen
as promised this guy is streaming rn. well wanderer is the more popular one but I think this other guy you would 🤔👉👌
Illuga
This is an anime boy ???? Can you be serious
Lohen
Omg relax just watch it if ur bored hes just playing tetris
Illuga
You're the one who started it…
Lohen
Nighty night brother
Illuga
Sleep well
Lohen always is so quick to change subjects whenever it's convenient for him. Whatever. With that, Illuga huffs as he decides to actually call it a night. Before he knew it, he's already on the commute home and waiting at the bus stop. Soon, he finds himself on his phone to pass the time on the bus.
Scrambling first to pop his earbuds in, he clicks on the link Lohen sent. He's met with… an anime boy on the screen with a dark and ominous backdrop. It looks like a cemetery? Perhaps that's his… persona, right. Persona. What catches Illuga's attention next is the swiftly moving chat. It's a lot… of emojis. Some of candles, some of blue hearts, and some that seem to be custom ones. Illuga, of course, has never done this before so he is ignoring the live chat. Although…
What happened to Tetris? This is supposed to be a collab too, so… Illuga scrolls up the chat for context, but there really isn't anything to work off of.
It would seen he truly is out of his depth here. He and Lohen have had small fan meetings, but nothing to the scale of this streamer.
Shaking his head, he just resigns himself to listening.
The streamer happens to have a nice voice, though. Really nice. It's like as smooth as… Smetana. Butter? Maybe butter is more accurate.
"Ahaha. Thank you for the super chat, LordAzurForeverLove69420. I appreciate it. Your question is…"
Illuga can't help but chuckle. Isn't that something how he manages to say it with a straight face still? He tunes back in.
"Ah, you want me to expand on why I find games like Tetris approachable? Hm, it is one of the basic types of games… even creatures like myself are familiar despite how otherwise confusing technology can be. The rules are simple and it makes use of… spacial cognition? Yes. That's it."
Illuga continues watching, eyes peeking over at Lord Azur's animated model and observing the changes in the model. It's fascinating how well animation has become that it can map a person's movements in real time. Illuga doesn't know anything about how this technology works, he usually leaves it to the experts or Jahoda who happens to have a better handle on technology because of her prosthetic and her girlfriend.
As for now, Illuga simply watches idly, the stories Lord Azur weaves for his viewers becoming a little more intriguing by the minute. Maybe this is why streamers are so popular… it just gives you some company and makes sure you don't feel as alone. It's almost similar to the job of an idol.
Illuga smiles at the thought, finding himself mouthing 'good night' when the streamer says it before he logs off for the day. The stream's feed shortly turns into a loading animation of Lord Azur transforming into a more portable form, that of becoming a lantern…
How interesting. Illuga minimizes the video, and then hits the subscribe button.
It wouldn't be bad for background noise... it's better than letting his thoughts overtake him. That's all. It's not like subscribing to someone on TevyTube is a soul-sealing pact or anything like that.
"It'll be a pleasure collaborating with you, Mr. Flins! Thanks for treating me today." The peach-haired girl chirps as she polishes off her plate of cake. "I know we're just going to be playing ShovelForge, so it might be good to have something to talk about."
Lauma hums in agreement, already jotting down her notes with the quill pen Flins got for her birthday.
Flins nods, "I also look forward to it, Miss Linnea. Your avatar is also a fae, is that right? An augury bird?" According to Lauma, their collaboration has been a demand from their fans for a while now. Linnea's another VTuber under the alias of Lumielle, mostly known for her 'study with me' streams and other comparable educational content. There's honestly quite a bit even Flins could learn from her, and as he expected, they were able to get along fairly quickly. She's darling and wears her heart on her sleeve.
"Yes! They have prophetic dreams, so that's what my character has to deal with, but she's determined to challenge her fate and learn about all of the possibilities." She hums with delight. "Honestly, the lore setting isn't super important when it comes down to it, but it is sure fun to play around with! Your Lord Azur is the legendary lantern fae, the only one of its kind among fae… I like the sound of that. You're like a light in the night!"
"Exactly that." Flins returns with a chuckle, eyes traveling to watch Lauma still working on her notes. "Lauma?"
Lauma glances up from her notes, stopping and sets her pen down. "I just got inspired. We can align more scheduling details on discord later. Miss Linnea, do you have a manager?"
Linnea nods. "I'm with the Adventurer's Guild. My manager is Sarin!"
Lauma purses her lips at the name. "Are they affiliated with the Voynich Guild?"
"Oh, no. That company is the one that has the musicians and performers!" Linnea explains with a wave of her hands. "They sound pretty similar because Tevyat really likes committing to the guilds thing. That's the impression I got, anyway."
"You seem troubled by a possible affiliation with Voynich?" Flins raises an eyebrow. "I may have heard of it in passing… well, it wouldn't concern us since we are independent."
Lauma smiles and shakes her head. "No, it's not important. I just have an old acquaintance who is an executive there. I mistakenly assumed that they were related."
Linnea lets out a hefty sigh, stretching herself out over the table. "I wish we were, sometimes… the Adventurer's Guild is an international company, sure, but I'd kill to have a chance to meet Illuga in person!"
"Illuga?" Flins tests the name on his tongue. He's interested who captivated Linnea to this extent. "A singer?"
"Yes!" Linnea gushes, "Ah, give me a moment. I actually have my oshi journal with me!"
Flins glances over at Lauma who just shrugs. They're so out of the loop that they don't know any of these terms… they certainly don't belong in Hyperborean texts.
Linnea suddenly puts her red-framed glasses on. "Oh! Oshi… don't you know? It's a loan term from Inazuma. We use it in the VTubing world too, you know? Like how the candle emoji is your oshi mark, Mr. Flins!" And perhaps overly excited to talk about her 'oshi' business, she quickly pulls her backpack up on her lap and digs inside it, pulling out a translucent six ring binder with a plastic cover and stars on it. She unzips it, putting it on the table in front of Flins.
Flins sees a beautiful young man. Hm… certainly, the idol industry is filled with handsome men. This one catches his eye, perhaps more than he should. He looks akin to a knight, and perhaps he's staring a bit too closely because Linnea has to wave a hand in front of him.
"Ah. Do continue." Flins dips his head in a terrible attempt at an apology.
Linnea huffs, but crosses her arms. "Like I was saying, Illuga is in a duo idol unit with another guy named Lohen. The idol unit is called AFTERward! They have this angel and devil concept going on, but it works really well! They're also a prince and a knight and both contrast each other so well! They have such gorgeous performances. And I promise you that Illuga has the voice of an angel!"
She flips from one page to the next, displaying different photo cards of this Illuga boy, and then the next page is filled with autographed memorabilia. There are also acrylic standees kept in here, concert tickets, and then the occasional interview cut-outs. Linnea is very dedicated, if nothing else…
Lauma simply smiles, taking another sip of her water. "Well, I see that you two must've found your topic for the next stream."
"You're interested, right?" Linnea clasps her hands together. "Mr. Flins, do you still have time after this? Ah, I won't keep you Ms. Lauma… but! They're having a concert next weekend, but I have all of their stuff recorded if you want to get into them!"
Flins blinks, glancing over at Lauma for approval. Lauma says nothing at first, only giggling.
"Well, I admit Voynich does know how to produce their stars." She says finally with a small smile. "I am a fan of The Damselette, myself. Perhaps not on par with Miss Linnea…"
Linnea shakes her head vigorously. "Oh, no! That's totally fine! Everyone supports their favorites in their very own way. I understand, though, The Damselette has such a gorgeous voice…" She sighs, almost dreamily, continuing to talk on for another ten to twenty minutes about this idol unit with a strange name.
Linnea asks Flins to come over to her place and they can binge all of the content, but since he is a gentleman and not wanting to put Linnea in a worrisome situation, even if she lives alone, he declined. It'll have to wait for another time, preferably in the day. Linnea accepts this, but only on the condition that Flins does his assigned 'homework' and view all of the uploaded music videos and watch some of their concert recordings.
Flins is almost impressed by her zealousness, but he entertains it since he has little else to do besides looking at his gem collection for the 10th time on the weekends.
His first impressions of the unit is that he's taken quite the liking to Illuga. The way he carries himself is reminiscent of a young noble… or rather, they'd be called a 'rich kid' these days? Maybe it'd be more accurate to call him a prince. Lohen brings a more youthful energy, but Linnea happily informed him that the two are around her age, meaning mid to late twenties. It's impressive how young they look. Lohen usually teases Illuga a lot and has more of a penchant for being brusque and even violent… it's a huge draw for some girls, Linnea has explained. Their fans like them together as a duo, or either of them individually.
They certainly are going to be an interesting duo to watch out for. Flins finds himself a bit interested in the stars as people, but he has to remind himself that a mere streamer on TevyTube is unfortunately not of the same relevance as a pop idol unit.
… not yet, anyway.