Chapter Text
“What was that?”
Canari sat stunned when the closet door moved slightly. Gwynn bit her lip, knowing exactly what that meant. The streamer was taking a little too long to check on the closet, so when she finally did move, Gwynn braced herself for—
“&$%@!!”
—the impending jumpscare from Bloodmoon Sneasly. Gwynn felt a little bad for giggling when Canari was clearly taken by surprise.
“Piece of #^!=.”
Canari was streaming Five Turns at Lucas’s 4 for Gourgeist Day, Gwynn’s favorite in the series. Luckily for her, the stream started right when the Justice Dojo closed for the night. The streamer had alerts turned off to avoid unnecessary scares, but it wasn’t like she had a lot of viewers to give her donations. Gwynn looked at the stream’s view count, which had been sitting at a steady 10 the whole night — almost double the usual amount! With how quiet everything around was, Gwynn found herself thinking idly.
Canari was a small streamer Gwynn stumbled upon while scrolling through QuickAttack. She caught her eye with the stream’s title, saying she was playing through FTAL 3 for the first time. Her first thought upon joining the stream was how pretty the streamer was: her hair was a soft blonde and her eyes were blue like the sky, two light tones that contrasted beautifully with her tan skin, and while her mouth was covered by a black mask, it had its own charm. What truly made Gwynn stay was her charisma, with a persistent attitude and snarky comments that made her smile. It was hard for her to believe there were only 3 other people watching the stream. She followed her on QuickAttack and Chatter, the latter in which she’d post some tidbits of her personal life and cute Tynamo photos. For a few months, Gwynn lurked on her streams and watched her play all sorts of games; even with ones she wouldn’t usually engage with, Canari found a way to make them enjoyable. Besides her charisma, Gwynn liked how cozy the streams could be at times, without people filling the chat or excessive acting from the streamer. It was almost like spending time with a…
…
Gwynn always hated when that thought came to mind. She could never make friends growing up, so all she had was Ivor, who she felt more like the babysitter of, and her partner Pokémon, which was entirely different from having human friends. Canari felt like the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend, a QuickAttack streamer who didn’t even know she existed. Yet, whenever she thought about that, the word ‘parasocial’ bounced around in her head. She’d seen the lengths people online could go to when treating a streamer like a friend, and it was really depressing. But she wasn’t like that, was she? Regardless of how she felt, she understood Canari wasn’t her friend.
… but she couldn’t help wanting her to be.
“Wick!”
A surprised Gwynn turned to the source of the cry and smiled.
“Hey, Litwick. Did you want something?”
Litwick inched closer to her trainer, her flame bringing her a slight warmth. She tilted her body with a tinge of worry on her face. Gwynn’s eyes turned back to the stream as she wondered if anything in her expression concerned Litwick.
“Ah… I’m fine. Just thinking a little.”
Litwick waddled in front of her, watching the stream together with her trainer. Gwynn understood her Pokémon well and accepted the invitation for a hug, wrapping her arms around her while carefully keeping her head far from the flame. Having Litwick in her arms was usually all she needed to calm down, but in that moment, it just reminded her of how lonely she felt. She sighed, turning back to the game to get her mind off that. Canari was getting a better hang of the mechanics, even dealing with Bloodmoon Sneasly surprisingly well for her first time. Although, Gwynn couldn’t help but wonder if she had checked on—
“AHHH $#<@!! #^~!¥%=+<$;*!!”
… and that answered her question. Bloodmoon Lucas’s sudden jumpscare startled even Gwynn herself, though mostly because she wasn’t paying full attention.
“LUCAS URSALUFF YOU £•=+#>&!!”
Canari slumped in her chair in frustration as the main menu faded in. Gwynn felt her heart racing from the scare, something she hadn’t felt with FTAL in a long time. Litwick was obviously much calmer since only her trainer could hear the audio through the headphones, but she was clearly enjoying the thrill of the jumpscare. After taking a moment to breathe, Gwynn saw Canari looking at her other monitor and frowning a little. Glancing at the chat, she realized there wasn’t a single message other than a couple hellos from the start of the stream and couldn’t help but feel a pain in her heart. Canari sighed.
“Okay, then. Nothing to do but try—”
Suddenly, she stopped talking and took her headphones off, looking to her side. It sounded like someone was talking to her.
“!#€*… sorry, that’s my grandpa. Be right back.”
With the streamer gone, Gwynn wondered if anyone else had noticed how the lack of messages was bothering her. Growing a community from streaming seemed extremely hard, and she looked like she was getting frustrated after that last death. If only someone could leave an encouraging message in chat.
…
Almighty Arceus, why was it so hard?
“Litwick, do you think I should leave a message?” she asked, even though the answer was obvious. “What do I even say? Do I compliment her skills? Do I give her tips? Do I ask a question or—”
She stopped when she felt something touch her hand. Litwick was trying to comfort her, and though she didn’t understand her speaking, her expression said it all. “Don’t overthink this.” Gwynn slowly nodded and, with a deep breath, let go of her Pokémon to type.
[Lady_GVolt]: hey canari! ftal 4 is hard but you’re doing really good for your first time
When her finger was over the Enter key, she hesitated.
“Litwick, is this good? Should I take out the exclamation point or—”
As she was speaking, Litwick leaned over and tapped the key, and the trainer watched in slight horror as her message was displayed in chat.
“Litwick! I wasn’t ready!”
“Wi wiii…”
She sighed and shook her head, unable to stay mad at her Pokémon. Though she’d rather send it at her own pace, it did stop her from overthinking. Although, it also made her nervous about what she’d think when she read it. It was her first time talking in QuickAttack chat at all, and it was in a situation where her message was nearly guaranteed to be seen. But that was a good thing, wasn’t it? She’d be making Canari happy, after all.
Eventually, the streamer came back and quickly put her headphones on. “Sorry, I was yelling really loud and gramps was tired. Where were…” She trailed off when she saw the new message in chat, and Gwynn’s posture stiffened as she held Litwick again. Canari’s eyes widened before her expression softened, and even though her mouth was covered, Gwynn could still see some happiness through her eyes.
“Lady_GVolt, thanks! You really think so? I feel like I’m taking way longer with this one than with the other 3. But that’s great to hear, thanks again!”
…
Canari had talked to her.
“Litwick, why didn’t I do this sooner?”
“Liiit…”
She felt on top of the world for a moment, higher than Prism Tower and even the mountains around Kalos. However, she had to climb back down eventually. “Don’t make this weird, Gwynn!” Her gaze turned back to the game, paying full attention to what was happening. Canari seemed to be in a slightly better mood and to play a little better, and Gwynn wondered if her message had anything to do with that. Eventually, though, she closed a door at the wrong time when she thought she heard a sound.
“Ah, that’s ambience, she’s gonna die.”
And just as expected, as soon as the streamer flashed her light, Bloodmoon Cressia appeared before her with a loud scream.
“%#£@$^£=*>&§!!”
Canari immediately covered her mouth to stop herself from yelling so loud, earning a smile from her viewer.
“That wasn’t a robot sound?! In what world?! How am I supposed to know what’s a sound?!”
It was like Canari had called Gwynn’s very name with that question. She didn’t need to consult Litwick to decide if she should help her out.
[Lady_GVolt]: the ambience makes it hard to hear but the robots have their own sounds
[Lady_GVolt]: cressia sounds like twinkling and maggear sounds like gears turning
“But wasn’t that twinkling back there?” Canari asked back, a little calmer.
[Lady_GVolt]: there’s chimecho sounds in the ambience that kinda sound like her
[Lady_GVolt]: but hers are a bit lower pitched
“Oh my God, this game is actually evil.”
Gwynn giggled as Canari started the Turn again. And so, the rest of the night was spent with the streamer making steady progress, the viewer sometimes giving her tips when she asked. Gwynn thought back about her first time playing through FTAL 4 and how she had to find videos online to guide her. It felt poetic in a way to be the viewer helping the online creator this time. Whenever there was down time, she would catch herself looking at Canari’s facecam and smiling. It was such a unique feeling to talk to a person other than Ivor and those Fist of Justice girls. Even though there were other people watching, it felt intimate in a way she never had before. And to top it all off, Canari somehow looked prettier than usual that night, though she couldn’t tell exactly how. Maybe it was just in her head.
“Alright, guys,” she announced after narrowly finishing Turn 3, “it’s getting really late, so I’ll wrap it up here. Thank you to everyone who was here with me tonight! And a special thanks to Lady_GVolt for all the help!”
When her username was mentioned in a special thanks, Gwynn was taken by surprise. A dumb smile grew on her face as she felt a growing warmth on her cheeks. As Canari was saying her final thoughts, an idea came to her, and she typed an amount in chat with shaky hands.
[Lady_GVolt]: [👏100] good night canari!
“Thanks for the Helping Hand, Lady_GVolt! I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”
And with that, the stream was over. For a few minutes, the trainer sat in silence, staring blankly at the monitor. Litwick was the one to pull her out of it with a meek cry.
“Oh, Litwick… you worry too much about me.” She stood up with a deep sigh. “I just had the best night of my life is all.”
Gwynn practically threw herself in her bed, staring at the ceiling while smiling to herself. She had a conversation, an actual conversation with another person about one of her interests! And it was Canari! Her comfort streamer, who she admired so much! Her stomach was overtaken by a strange feeling of Vivillon fluttering about, as if celebrating her achievement together. Arceus, if only that night could last forever. The thought of going back to her boring life babysitting Ivor and helping manage the dojo didn’t sit right with her. If only she could stay a little longer. If only she could do a little more.
…
“Maybe I can.”
Leaping back to her computer, Gwynn opened Chatter and went into Canari’s DMs. While she was typing, the same feeling of apprehension from the first chat message came back. This was completely different from talking in a public QuickAttack chat. Was this going too far? What if she weirded her out? What if she ruined any chance at making a connection? The thoughts ran wild in her head, but one thing shone in the back and overtook them all. Canari’s happy eyes when reading her compliment. That was enough to clear all doubt. She finished the message and hit send.
[@ladygvolt479]: hi canari, it’s lady gvolt. just wanted to say that i really enjoyed today’s stream. i was having a pretty rough day so it really helped ^_^
Gwynn turned around on her chair with a satisfied sigh. She wondered if Canari would see the DM and when, and if she would respond or not. Anything could happen from that point, but what was done was done. By her side, Litwick looked happy for her. If things went south, she’d always have her to confide in, at least.
“Litwick… do you think I could be friends with someone like her? She’s so… cool, and funny, and… beautiful. And I… I’m just some boring girl.”
“Wiiick!”
The Pokémon vigorously shook her body, cheering her trainer up a little. She picked her up and held her close.
“Right. I’m gonna get nothing from self-deprecation. The rare good Ivor advice.”
Gwynn let out a yawn as she finished talking. No wonder, the day was so tiring. She could think about Canari all she wanted later, but now was the time to sleep. As she turned around to shut her PC off, however, her heart skipped a beat.
[@canaridyn4mo]: lady gvolt! hiii
[@canaridyn4mo]: thank u so much i had a great time too
[@canaridyn4mo]: hope to see u in the next stream xoxo
The feeling of Vivillon in her stomach came back. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at this after all. If Canari was up to it, this could be the start of a great friendship!
… Arceus, she hoped that wasn’t parasocial.