Work Text:
_ _ _
Webcam?
“Check!”
Cute Background?
“Check!”
Even Cuter Outfit?
“Check Check!”
Tohru finished setting everything up for tonight's stream; all she needed now was to get into character! Everyone knows cute girls on the internet tend to pull in hundreds of viewers, even if many of them use virtual models. Tohru likes to believe that presenting her true self in front of an audience makes her stand out, and hey, it definitely does, as she is one of the more popular streamers to tune into now and then. Never mind that, it’s almost 7, she has to start soon!
Tohru twirls around, reaches for her iconic cat-eared headphones, and turns on the monitor. She watches as the stream slowly connects, her cute waiting screen before her as hundreds of chatters spam excitedly, waiting for her appearance.
“Good evening, everyone! I hope you’re all having a great day!”
| ‘TOHRU!!! >⩊< ’
| ‘OUR QUEEN APPEARS ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ ’
| ‘KYAAA STREAM STARTING ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵) ’
“Sorry to keep you guys waiting, hehe!” Tohru knocks her fist atop her head.
Tohru had adopted an anime girl persona long ago, as she realized that the most rewatched parts of her game reviews were always the ones where she ironically acted out clichéd anime tropes. As much as she felt silly doing so, it’s what the people yearn for. At least acting is something she picked up from all those rehearsals she attended (even if she isn’t actually on stage that much). Something she’s never told Chat is that the only reason she got into watching anime was to adopt the mannerisms better, but that’ll be a secret she takes to the grave. Although that didn’t matter really, since her chat is known for making her drop her persona at one point or another. For now, she had an audience to entertain.
She clears her throat, “I hope you all know tonight is a special stream!” She claps her hands together, “It’s officially been one year since I started streaming!!”
On cue, the party poppers and confetti cannons she had set up prior exploded at once!
| ‘✧｡◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜✧*｡
| ‘CONGRATSSS’
| ‘A WHOLE YEAR OF SUPPORTING OUR GIRLIE <333333’
She won’t lie, seeing everyone excited like that made her blush a bit.
“Thank you, thank you! You all are the reason I do this!! Thank you for supporting me and my hobbies, without y'all, I wouldn’t be able to yap about videogames all the time!”
Letting chat finish getting sentimental, she was finally able to get back into the swing of things.
“Okay, we’ve had our sappy moments done, it’s time to vote on the games we’re gonna play today.”
_ _ _
Of all the games she thought would win the vote, Stomp Stomp Institution was not the one she was counting on, nor hoping for. Had it been a platformer like Cactus McCoy or a strategy game like Jacksmith, she would ace it immediately, but a rhythm game? She was practically begging to be flamed by chat. Worse of all, it wasn’t even a keyboard rhythm game; it just had to be an actual dancing game where you had to get up and move. Tohru was already on the verge of death in gym class; lord knows Roy would have to carry her through dodgeball games.
Tohru follows along to the song; she twirls, hits the nay nay or whatever it's called, and swings her arms, all while stepping on the arrows to the beat.
Nonetheless, she was giving it her all, and yet…
| ‘Girl… (≖_≖ )’
| ‘Tohru moving like an Inflatable Arm Waving Tubeman.’
| ‘Go, Kylie, Go! You’re doing Amazing, Sweetie ❤️❤️❤️’
“CHAT SHUT UP! YOU GUYS TRY TO DANCE AND LOOK CUTE AT THE SAME TIME”
| ‘You’re supposed to be looking cute Rn???’
| ‘Ofc girl (╥﹏╥)’
| ‘🤨🤨🤨’
“Mods, can we ban everyone who disagrees, actually?”
After a torturous 45 minutes, Tohru finally collapses back on her chair, sweating bullets.
“Chat, I’m changing the game, I can’t, I don’t have rhythm, bro.”
While Chat continues flaming her, she begins looking through her Steam Library to find an easier game to play. Unfortunately, Tohru was so locked in that she didn’t hear someone coming up the stairs to her bedroom.
“Tohru!!-” A familiar sound of a helpless fool getting something thrown at him was heard. Tohru hadn’t thought at all. She just grabbed the closest object (A 30 Chapter Book) and threw it at the newfound intruder.
| ‘YOOOOOOOO (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞’
| ‘OH MY GOD????’
| ‘TOHRU’S GETTING ROBBED AGAIN???’
| ‘DO WE CALL THE POLICE (⊙_⊙)???’
| ‘(˶°ㅁ°) !!’
Tohru calmed her breathing before recognizing the pathetic man lying on her carpet.
“False alarm chat!! It’s just Moe.” She sighs before turning to help her cousin off her floor.
Picking him up off her floor, she quickly berates him, “By now, you’d think you’d understand to knock.”
He let out a chuckle, “Well, I apologize for coming to celebrate my baby cousin’s first streaming anniversary!”
Tohru turned back to her screen before the visible flush appeared on her face; she was feeling rather embarrassed, so she turned to address chat again.
“Chat, I’m sure you remember Moe, say hi to chat Moe!”
“Hi Chat!” Sure, he didn’t understand how the whole streaming thing happened, but he just goes along with whatever Tohru says.
As she goes to read chat, she is left horrified.
| ‘Smash. Next question’
| ‘(⸝⸝0⸝⸝0⸝⸝)’
| ‘ZOO WEE MAMA, HELLO!’
| ‘( ꩜///꩜;) WHY HIS VOICE KINDA???’
| ‘HELLO SAILOR.’
| ‘HEAR ME OUT!!!!’
“CHAT SHUT UP!!!” Horrified, Tohru attempts to hide her face behind her hands. Yet Chat continues thirsting over a pleasantly confused Moe.
| ‘TOHRU HAS ATTRACTIVE FAMILY MEMBERS???’
| ‘(,,>﹏<,,)👉👈’
| ‘Good lord, the things I’d do for a guy like that.’
| ‘Can we have an hour of him just talking hahah (⸝⸝ ♡﹏♡⸝⸝)’
| ‘IM DROOLING ❤️🔥’
| ‘(⁄ ⁄°⁄口⁄°⁄ ⁄) WOAHHHH’
“Ah- You’re chat seems to like me.” He pats Tohru’s shoulder. If there was any moment to kill herself on stream, it was then. That’s when the worst of it occurred:
“JOY, GET OUT OF MY CHAT!” She stands up in embarrassment, “Thank you for the donation! GET OUT.”
She looks to Moe, whose face is completely red, “I apologize, I do have a beautiful girlfriend, who I am completely loyal to.” He places his hands on his heart.
“OH MY GOD, DON’T START FLIRTING THROUGH MY STREAM????” She begins to push Moe out the door. “Say bye to Chat!”
Despite the request, he is unable to say his goodbyes before being thrown out of the room.
“Okay! Sorry about the interruption, let’s get back on topic.”
_ _ _
Shooters were always a bit more her style. It had just the amount of difficulty to be challenging, but enough casualness for her to converse with Chat (no matter how embarrassed she was of them)
| ‘L Loser.’
| ‘Did you listen to the new Scarlett and the Shakers Song?’
| ' at least hit your shots…’
“Of course I heard it! Certified banger, actually.” She snipes an enemy from far away. “Chat who’s yall’s favorite member, personally mine is the drummer, Clover, she’s actually so cool and gorgeous.”
Honestly, she did this to herself.
| ‘Ayo????’
| ‘❤️🧡💛💚💙💜’
| ‘TOHRU’S A QUEER???’
| ‘❤️🧡🤍🩷💜❤️🧡🤍🩷💜❤️🧡🤍🩷💜’
| ‘I know what you are.’
| ‘📸📸📸🤨’
“I'M NOT GAY CHAT!!!”
Tohru tries to return to concentration, despite all of the gay allegations filling her chat.
| ‘It all makes sense, actually, I mean, just look at Tohru 🤨’
“WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???” She drops the controller, “CHAT HOW MANY OF YOU THINK I LOOK GAY?!”
Yeah. She didn’t even have to wait long before everyone stated that Tohru’s appearance made her appear like a woman-liker.
“I hate all of you.”
_ _ _
Tohru had long been focused on her online racing game; her audience both attempted to distract and cheer her on as she destroyed her competition. The amount of (gross) thirst for her cousin wasn’t enough to stop her.
The third lap arrived, and she began cutting corners, saving her mushrooms for the exact shortcuts, and using her competitors as shields against the various items being thrown her way. She was too locked in, well, that was until…
The controller falls to the floor. She sits there, not with a face of disgust or agreement, but simply in bewilderment. Now she was fine with smash or pass questions from her viewers, as it’s not like it's real, but this one just took the cake in a request she had no response to.
She watches as the rest of the competition flies past her. The ranking screen appears in front of her before she finally comes back to her senses.
“...Thank you for the donation, Number One Sarge Fan…”
_ _ _
“Honestly, Chat, some of you need to be put down. Tell me why multiple of you have asked for a maid outfit stream???”
| ‘WHAT???’
| ‘NAHHH WHO’S ASKING FOR THAT???’
| ‘(ಠ ⌓ ಠ)’
She reclined in her chair, “Okay, so to any of you that don’t know.” Tohru takes a deep sigh.
“I’m a minor chat, and like even if I wasn’t, y’all are some freaks.”
| ‘Do we ask for a Moe Maid Outfit stream instead?
“...Yup, you’re banned.”
_ _ _
She had decided the best way to round out her stream was by playing a horror game! A classic stream staple. To make it extra spooky for herself, she turned off the lights in her room, only illuminated by the neon lights around her PC.
“Chat, I already rewound the music box, stop playing with me!”
| ‘DUDE, DID YOU SEE THAT?!’
| ‘LOOK’
| ‘TOHRU LOOK.’
Too focused on her game, she thought maybe she missed an easter egg like a shadow animatronic, but chat continued.
| ‘TOHRU YOUR WINDOW.’
| ‘GIRL, THERE WAS SOMETHING IN YOUR WINDOW.’
| ‘THIS IS SO SCARY 😰😰😰.’
| ‘TOHRU CALL THE POLICE.’
| ‘LEGIT THERE WAS SOMETHING THERE.’
“Chat, stop trying to scare me.” She lets outs out a shaky breath. Yet chat continues screaming.
She’s on the second floor, she thought to herself, there’s a small patio connected to the side of her room, but there’s no way someone got up there.
Tohru carefully takes a peek at the window, seeing if she can see something out there. Deciding there’s nothing, she makes her way back over to her desk.
“See, Chat, nothing to wor-”
*CRASH*
Suddenly, the sound of two individuals crashing through Tohru’s window, completely leaving it broken. Tohru falls over in shock, heart pounding in her ear, until she recognizes the two stupid idiots on her floor.
“DYNAMOE, YOU IDIOTIC FOOL, YOU SHOT US THROUGH A HOUSE?!”
“WELL, I WOULDN’T HAVE AIMED INCORRECTLY IF YOU WEREN’T PULLING ON MY HAIR, STUPID.”
The stupid duo sat on Tohru’s floor arguing, not realizing whose room they’d bust into. (She was so making Moe pay for her wall.)
Annoyed, she grabs the broom in the corner of her room and starts swatting at the adults in costumes.
Dynamoe lets out a yelp, “OW! TOH-” He quickly corrects himself, “ I mean, random citizen, what gives?!”
“Shoo! Out!” She continues swatting at the pair.
Ninjoy sighs, “Dear, we can’t get off your floor if you keep swatting us with that- ow- broom.”
Tohru stops to let the two crawl off her floor, “Okay, now shoo! I’m in the middle of something!”
Ninjoy and Dynamoe awkwardly go out the way they came in, and Tohru was not impressed as she watched Dynamoe recalibrating his grappling hook and grab onto Ninjoy before they shot away (out of camera range, of course.)
As they flew into the night, Tohru shouted, “You guys better pay for my window!!”
She mutters under her breath and returns to her stream, feeling colder than before.
“Sorry about that rude interruption, Chat.”
| ‘WHAT JUST HAPPENED????’
| ‘HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD?????’
| ‘...Hear me out on Dynamoe.’
| ‘Guys Ninjoy Lowkey 👉👈’
| ‘THAT HAD TO BE STAGED WHAT???’
Ah, she supposed that whole interaction looked strange to anyone who didn’t have to deal with those two daily. It was times like these that her little lawyer game would help her come up with the perfect excuse.
“Uhm- They’re… Fans of mine.”
And of course, she never did learn to lie believably when convenient.
_ _ _
“Chat, thank you so much for tuning in today. No matter how freaky you guys are, I love all of you so much. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”
Chat all begins to shout goodbyes, and Tohru couldn’t help but blush a bit as the stream ended. She took a step backwards, cleaning up a bit before slamming herself onto her bed, reaching for as many plushies as she possibly could hold onto as hard as she could. All she felt in that moment was pure happiness, as if she were alone in the world with the warmth she felt inside her chest. She was happy, and that was the best way to fall asleep.
Well, that was until she remembered the giant hole in her wall.
“Crap.”
Tohru ended up passing out on her living room couch, slightly less warm than she was before, but still warm regardless.