“Well, can’t you just stream sober?”
“Hmm...” I considered, skeptical.
“You’re funny as Shuwa-chan, but I kinda would like to see Awa-chan once in a while too.”
“Oh, you! If you’re going to butter me up like that, well, I guess I’ll just have to!”
“Aww, thanks! Then from now on, do regular sober streams, okay?”
“Okay!”
“Heh. Just as planned.”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
: she has her right in the palm of her hand lol
: the wise general mashiro!
: can't wait for when she's actually levelheaded
: Protecting her colleague's body from booze, AND laying the groundwork for incredible episodes... what an amazing play
: Hell yeah this means we get more wholesome streams!
“Look, Mashiron! Everyone is looking forward to me streaming sober!”
“Seems like it.”
“I knew everyone really loved me despite everything they say! You guys don’t have to be shy like that, you know!”
“Yes, you’re right about that. Why don’t we get to the next Castella?”
“Okay!”
Q: I’m worried about Awayuki-chan since she’s been drunk all the time lately. Are you okay? Here, you want a StroZero?
“Yes, please!”
“No.”
“Aahhhhhhh!”
: They're so in tune with each other XD
: Mashiron is scarily good at dealing with her lol
: could she be the second mom?
: if she's going to take after Shion, she's going to have to rein in this beast calling herself a streamer
: Didn't realize we were at the circus
: poor mom... F's in the chat for Shion
Q: What did you think of StroZero the first time you drank it?
“It was kinda, y’know, bitter, and kinda blech.”
“Oh, that’s surprising.”
“But... When we met again the day after... I simply couldn’t take my eyes off her.”
“We’re still talking about StroZero, right?”
Q: Is StroZero-chan your only love? You’re not cheating with other Strong products, are you?
“Actually, there were a few times when I thought about trying out other ones.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But, you know... Whenever I tried to buy one, her face would appear in my mind, and I wouldn’t be able to do it.”
“I see—the StroZero in your mind!”
: Please forgive us, Professor StroZero!
: Wow, you for real love StroZero
: This feeling—it must be love!
: Love?! (flustered)
Q: How did you actually feel when you realized you hadn’t turned off the stream? lol
Also, I like Awayuki-chan from before and Awayuki-chan now. You’ve come this far, now climb all the way to being the number-one VTuber of all time!!!
“Look, some warm words for you,” Mashiron said.
“Ohhhh...”
“Huh? Wait, why are you so ruffled? Aren’t you happy about it?”
“Well, I was super happy about it, and that’s why I’m here now, but I never got any of this straightforward encouragement before just recently, so I don’t know how to react...”
“You sound like a real entertainer. And wait, you never thought about your responses?”
“I was just so happy that I went with the first thing that came to mind and stopped thinking about it!”
“Just like a puppy...”
: Is Shuwa-chan embarrassed?!
: lol it's like you just got surprised by the Terminator acting like he's figured out how human emotions work
: Why do you sound so much like an entertainer anyway, lol
“Well, I mean, after I forgot to turn off the stream that one time, you know how many Castellas have been StroZero-related? Like ninety percent.”
: Ah whoops sry lol
: So you're the culprit! And so am I.
: then getting a non-StroZero question is the same chance as pulling a 5-star servant??? i can't even hope for it lol
: For Awa-chan, StroZero is like spinach for Popeye, or garlic for Wario! (or so i'm insisting)
“Hey, you still haven’t answered the actual question. How did you feel when you realized you hadn’t ended your stream?”
“Oh, right! Hmm... It felt kinda like I’d slept in way too long on the first day of high school, I guess!”
“I see. That particular hell is easy to imagine. I wouldn’t want to experience it.”
: Ahsdjfghasdjghaskgdj stop it you're opening old scars!!!
: LOL there's people who have experienced that in the comment section
Q: If you were going to mix StroZero, what would you put in it? Red Bull? Monster?
“I’d mix in a different flavor of StroZero.”
“Right.”
Q: If you had all the money in the world, what kind of alcohol would you buy?
“I’d buy StroZero.”
“Right.”
Q: What’s the strongest snack to eat with StroZero that makes you feel like as long as you have it, you could drink StroZero forever?
“StroZero.”
“Right, so StroZero is all the answers, thank you very much.”
: huh... (disturbed)
: StroZero, StroZero, then more StroZero, huh?
: And for that, StroZero, StroZero, and for after that, more StroZero...
: they're so freaking in sync i love it!!!
: She pushes StroZero so hard, but probably won't ever get a sponsorship since the way she drinks it is just too much like a junkie lol
: i mean she couldn't exactly say "nnnnnnghhhh feels so good!" in an official advertisement
: With a name like Shuwa-chan, wouldn't she be great in a commercial where she sinks into a pool of StroZero while giving a thumbs-up?
: She'd probably go down with a full smile on her face
: and then she'd drink the whole pool and come back to life
“Well, being serious here, I’m a NEET, so I have literally no money. I can’t buy any energy drinks or snacks to begin with. But anyway, now that I’m StroZero’s girl, I wouldn’t leave her side even if I had the money.”
“And here I am, my eyes boggling at how the person who needs monetization the most was doing one of those streams that get people banned immediately.”
“This is making me sad, so let’s go to the next Castella, woohoo!”
Q: I’m marrying this girl...
Why?! Why can’t I marry her?! She’s such a good girl!
Whenever something bad happens to me, she’s right at my side to make me forget it all! She’s so much fun to be around!
I can’t be apart from her any longer! If you don’t let me marry her, we’ll just elope!
And, so saying, she left, taking StroZero with her...
Q: StroZero: “I love you too. But I’m sorry. I love so many people that I can’t marry you and you alone! So please, think of me as only ever looking out for myself. I’ll continue to love you all in the future.”
“I couldn’t stop crying at these two Castellas that combined to make a sad story...” I sniffled.
“Hrm...wait, what?”
: omg someone sent an entire short story lol
: Why is a StroZero can talking?
: AHHHHHHHHHH IT TAAAAALKED!!! /spongebob
“Anyway, it’s pretty late, so why don’t we wrap things up?” Mashiron said.
“Oh, gotcha! Then as the perfect capstone to this stream, let’s go to the final Castella!”
Q: StroZero! StroZero!
StroZeroooooooooooowaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Aahhhhhhhhhhh... ahh... ahh-ahh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! StroZero StroZero StroZerooooowaahhhhhhh!!!
Ahhh *sniff sniff*! *sniff sniff*! *wheeze* *wheeze*! *wheeze* *wheeze*! Smells so good... *sniff sniff*
Ngh-ahh! I want to sniff StroZero-tan’s silver can! *sniff sniff!* Ahhhhh!!!
Wait, that’s not it! I want to pet it! Pet its fluffiness! Pet pet! Mofu mofu! Mofu mofu petting the can! Scratch scratch pet pet... squeeeeeeeze!!!
My first StroZero-tan was so delicious!!! Ahhhhh... ahhhh... ahh-ahhhhhhh!!! Hwaahhhhhhn!!!
My second one was good too, huh, StroZero-tan! Ahhhhhh! So adorable! Kawaii! Strozero-tan! Kawaii! Ah-ahhhhh!
I’m so happy the tall cans are on sale too—wait nooooooooo!!! Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Gaahhhhhhhh!!!
Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! I can’t drink the entire tall can?! Ah... Right after the first and second ones, if I think about it...
I CANNOT DRINK ALL THE STROZERO-CHANS? Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Noooooooooo!!! It can’t beeeeeeeeeeee!!! Haaaaaaaaaahhn! Japan-aaaaaaahhh!!!
God! Dammit! Fine, I’ll just quit! I’ll quit rea...lity...huh?! It’s... It’s watching me? StroZero-chan is watching me from the fridge?
The second StroZero-chan is speaking to me!!! Thank goodness... Not everything in this world has abandoned me just yet!
Yahooooooooooooo!!! I’ll always have StroZero-chan!!! We did it, Super Dry!!! I can do it all by myself!!!
Ah, no, tall StroZero-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Noooooooooooooooo!!!
Ahhn-ahh-ahhn-ahh, Green Label!!! P-Premium Malt’s!!! Nodogoshi Namaaaaaaa!!! Clear Asahiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!
Oooh-ooh-oohhhh!!! May my feelings reach StroZero!!! May they reach Japan’s StroZero!
After saving the biggest flood of laughter in the comment section until the very end, we wrapped up the stream. Ahhh, that was so much fun! I’m supposed to not drink for the next stream, right? Well, I’m sure that’ll be really easy for me!
“Oh, Shuwa-chan,” Mashiron said. “Before you hang up, I had something to show you. You got time?”
“Hm? What is it?” I opened the image file that Mashiron had sent me once the stream had ended. “Wait! This is...?!”
“Do you like it? Came out pretty good, huh?”
The file was a rough draft of a new illustration for my character, Awayuki Kokorone.