Judging people based on looks is totally outdated, if you ask any opinionated adult living in 2020.
Think of all those posts on social media where people claim to have found happiness and fulfillment regardless of their appearance. Think of those street interviews where every single interviewee says the same thing: Personality matters so much more than looks.
They’re not saying it just to appear cool. To them, they really believe it’s true. That’s just reality. Actually, these days, when it comes to finding someone to date, it’s pretty common not to fuss too much over a handsome or pretty face.
Instead, we log in to the popular battle royale FPS online game EPEX and meet someone on there. We DM the other person and start to get to know each other a little better… That’s how it goes in the world of those who’ve grown up in the digital age. Dating apps? Those are for the scammers.
Still, at the tender age of eighteen, I, Gakuto Ikebukuro, adrift in the midst of such an era, simply can’t believe the words of the self-proclaimed It’s What’s Inside That Counts brigade.
I mean, hear me out.
“You people… Your profile pics show only handsome guys and pretty girls…”
Selfies. Anime-style drawings. It’s clear that whichever one they go for, they’re just trying to present themselves as someone “cool.”
They want to be seen as cool by other people. And of course they want that.
Fools, all of ’em, I thought, narrowing my eyes at the hot male player (or their avatar) before me and using all the 9 mm Parabellum bullets in my arsenal to shoot them in the face.
As the victory text flashed on the screen, I unmuted my Wizcode (an app that lets you voice chat with other players) and congratulated my ally on a good fight well fought.
“That was a splendid shot there at the end, Gaku-Gaku.”
“Thank you very much, Zeke.”
“Seems like they’re some hot name streamer, but they logged off, red-faced, the second they lost. The youth these days don’t know online etiquette.”
“They have zero shame.”
“Truly quite shameless.”
Gaku-Gaku was my online name. Gakuto Ikebukuro becomes Gaku-Gaku. An appropriate name.
I was chatting with Zeke, my friend in the world of online games. All I knew about him was that his voice was deep and cool—and that he worked with computers.
He had this old-fashioned way of speaking that seemed to be influenced by some anime character or other, and I thought it was a little weird. But if you just considered it part of his personality, it wasn’t anything important to get hung up on.
“Incidentally, have you heard it yet? Seeker’s new I Tried Singing…video? It was uploaded the day before yesterday.”
“You mean ‘Laughter at the Bottom of the Ocean’?”
“Indeed, indeed.”
Zeke laughed, clearly in a good mood.
“It is, truly, a delight for the ears, the juxtaposition of those soothing, deep-ocean-sinking sounds and that crystal clear singing voice. I have been having a terrible bout of insomnia as of late, but that song has been helpful, as it’s very soothing.”
“That song’s specially designed for soothing and relaxation. It really seems to resonate with an exhausted generation of young people, doesn’t it?”
Seeker is an ordinary person who makes videos of herself singing and posts them on the internet.
She had eighty thousand subscribers on WayTube, a video-hosting platform. Her channel was still small if you take into account that the criteria for a big channel was to have something between one hundred thousand and a million subscribers, and that was for both traditional celebrities and noncelebrities alike. But the original songs and cover videos that Seeker posted were high quality, and she got a pretty impressive number of views and “GOOD” ratings on each upload.
A cult favorite. Niche fame. Underground popularity. She’d be introduced with phrases like that if she was ever featured in mainstream media. An up-and-coming female singer. That’s Seeker.
“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Heh-heh-heh.”
My voice was tinged with joy.
Well, why wouldn’t it be? There’s no need to hide it. I was the one who recommended Seeker to him, after all. It always felt great to hear someone say nice things about the stuff I liked.
“I was a bit doubtful when you sang the praises of her channel, but I must admit I have become quite addicted.”
“It’s reasonable to have reservations when you hear the words unknown singer, I guess.”
“Ha-ha-ha. But one should try new things, is that not so? As reserved a gentleman as I may be… Oh, but there was one thing I thought was quite a shame.”
“Oh, what might that be?”
Darn it, his quirk of using an old-fashioned way of speaking was rubbing off on me. Talking with Zeke was fun, but his way of speaking was infectious and a little annoying.
“She does not show her face in her videos.”
“Well… It’s a V channel.”
V…meaning virtual. People who hide their true faces on WayTube, and instead use avatars that look like anime characters, are known as Vtubers, abbreviated as V.
Within the V sphere, there are further subcategories, like video creators and live streamers. Similar to Seeker, creators who mostly upload singing videos are sometimes called Vsingers, or virtual singers.
“But this means that she is, no doubt…a dog.”
“I’ll beat your a**!”
Unconsciously, an inappropriate expression escaped my mouth.
It was my policy to remain polite to anyone I chatted with online, no matter how close we might have been, but if someone tried to start trouble with me, then all bets were off. Like a proud country that refuses to negotiate with terrorists, I will mercilessly retaliate if anyone lobs verbal bombs at me.
“But she hides her true face because she lacks confidence, no? The only explanation can be that she is ugly, yes?”
“Some people value their privacy.”
As I spoke, I swiftly unfollowed him on Twoitter.
“I heard it was better to have a little meat on the bones to produce a cute singing voice. She might be a bit fat, then?”
“Please recant that statement; it is extremely rude. Also, there are plenty of people out there who have cute voices and cute faces to match.”