A Small-Timer's Solo Healing Server (1)
Himaru watches Sena's stream. Even with the volume cranked to max, it wasn't noisy at all, which was nice. Up until yesterday, she'd just been watching out of habit, but today there was a reason.
She was mulling over whether to casually invite her to a Minecraft collab without making it awkward, or if she should hold off a bit longer. That's how you raise small-timers. Keep transfusing viewers through collabs, and they grow. Why put in all this effort? It just felt good.
Even if people called her a total bore for propping up small-timers, or accused her of straight-up cat-momming them. Turning a small-timer into a mid-tier with her influence? That dopamine rush was insane.
That was the only reason. Himaru kept watching the stream, and a disbelieving chuckle slipped out.
She could tell Sena had prepared some kind of content, but it was all so half-baked. At first, Himaru thought it was some kind of staring contest.
Sena opened Paint and drew seven horizontal lines with the mouse, labeling them for the days of the week. Himaru had at least expected a tablet pen—talk about off the mark.
'Uh... now...'
The teasing had gone on long enough. Sena just needed to drop a "surprise!" and show off the real prep. But no. She was actually going to proceed like this. Himaru let out a scoff, flustered. Her eyelids drooped from sleepiness, then snapped wide open.
Himaru smirked. Sena looked totally thrown off. Not the reaction she'd hoped for—her pupils wouldn't stay centered. Panicking, she erased all the lines in Paint with the eraser, glancing around like a lost kid.
'Ah... no.'
Himaru was sleepy, but this was hilarious. Sena's antics were waking her up. Dragging her groggy body, she booted up her PC, hopped into Sena's stream, and poked at the chat with her index finger: tap tap, tap tap.
'Uh... no thanks! I'll make my own!'
Ah, shoulda asked before turning on the PC. She'd hauled her foggy self to sit here, but now she powered it down to sleep mode and flopped back into bed.
Himaru had slept like a rock last night and had the day off today, yet she was still exhausted, lying in bed watching the stream. Streaming five days a week from 6 PM to 3 or 4 AM wasn't humanly possible.
Himaru curled up with a groan, side-lying as she spectated. Her one joy on off days: scouting small-timer streams. If she found a fun one, she'd leave it on. Liked the voice? She'd chat. Good at reading chat? Whitelisted. Then she'd observe reactions nonstop.
She used a couple account for casual chatting. The thrill of her messages getting read—pure bliss only insiders knew.
Sena was on her phone, tablet as sub-account, two multitabs open. They were all similar enough that chat alone told if it was fun or not. When lol spam flooded, she'd unmute.
Main account viewing was her courtesy and quality control. She'd raised four small-timers already—she knew the drill. Weekday 3 AM small-timer streams? No faith those chatters were saints.
She could picture the malicious trolling. That was why she deployed.
Himaru wasn't scared of viewers, but she feared them. Their obsessive stalking could be chilling. Especially that one small-timer she'd lovingly nurtured to 700, then 1,000 steady viewers. Somehow they dug up she was a feminist and publicized it. Ironclad proof—Himaru teared up, slapped a no-mention ban, and cut ties.
She'd poured her heart into that one. Himaru remembered the VTuber's character.
Pink hair = psycho.
'Whoa! There, how's this?'
Sena had hooked up her tablet and whipped up a decent schedule.
Artists were stubborn about their style and taste. Sena? No such thing. Feedback in, changes made on the spot.
Himaru watched quietly, then got hit with shock. Blinked hard, rubbed her eyes, and stared holes into her phone.
"Seven... days a week?"
Streaming every single day? Unbelievable. Five days wrecked her—how could anyone plan seven straight?
Himaru wanted to drop to four days herself. Just a thought, of course. Voicing it would unleash every curse word imaginable. Obvious.
So caution was key. She got the excitement, but seven days? She wanted to dissuade her.
The response? Pure shock.
'Huh? I'm home all day with nothing to do anyway! If I don't stream, I do zilch!'
Homebody loner here~ Was that broth-speak for normal, or dead serious? Himaru couldn't tell.
'Hehe. Thank you...!'
Her laugh was crystal clear, tickling the ears with pure, childlike innocence.
Her effort was admirable. Himaru wanted to treat Sena even better. She felt like broth herself, just like the chat.
Himaru finally invited Sena to the Minecraft server.
Minecraft is the flower of collabs. When small-timers had nothing, they'd fire it up. Easiest, tons to do, great for bonding. I'd tried it once. Naturally, just chopped trees and mined stone till the end. Met people? Greeted, then everyone fended for themselves. "You can do it. You put in the work."
Over four days, I'd grown massively. Viewers stuck around daily, practicing that back-and-forth banter. Still rough, but I'd learned tons.
Secretly referenced Himaru's low-chat clips whenever clueless.
Practiced Minecraft controls to build skill. Low-chat peaks hit 50-55 viewers; Minecraft dropped to 25... 20... Used to it now.
Pushback every time, but grateful to those who stayed. Jump maps got missions and donations on clears.
Daily Minecraft: jump maps, fastest sapling types, quick diamond sets in mineshafts.
Nickname stuck: aspiring Minecraft pro gamer. Loved it, so I grinded harder—but no more jump maps needed. Got the notice yesterday: server access, time, members.
Me, Himaru, and Banana. Casual bonding healing server. Two weeks of wilderness chill, they said.
Main player: Banana, Himaru's bestie. Fellow VTuber; wiki said they'd met IRL too.
Checked her out. Chatty streams mostly, killer voice.
Gaming? Crushed Himaru. Rivals in nothing—leagues better.
Himaru still thought rival, though. Other VTubers? No big overlap with Himaru.
Point: two-week healing? Grinding = healing? Nah.
Collab servers. Tried one. Pure grind. How's that healing? Different definition?
Anyway. Server opens today. Thought Himaru opened at 6 PM—turns out someone else does.
Himaru's invited too. She invited me. Big corp power is no joke. Slot one in with authority, no complaints. Amazing...!
Pulled up Notepad checklist.
1. Don't overdo it. 2. Don't butt in. 3. Don't cause trouble.
Swallowed hard, memorized. Big corp and mid-tiers aboard—caution maxed.
Logged into Minecraft. Final jump map control practice. Five stages; six hours first try, now one-hour clears.
Effort never betrays. Through advice and harassment, conquered to the top.
"Phew..."
Deep breath, stream prep. Jotted feedback bits.
Biggest: amp up audio presence.
Not my call alone. Viewers demand it. Trying hard, but lacking. Chat barely moved before.
One chat per hour, or one-on-one convos max.
Now 30-60 in a minute bursts. Read and talk? My struggle.
Studying others, noting in pad.
All set. Reviewed today's plan and feedback—stream on. Weekend boost, sure, but growth felt real.
Still loading screen, viewers pouring in.
Spam greetings.
"Ah, hi everyone. Hope you're all good."
Tear ocean suddenly, but routine now. Every stream start. Famous named donor. Four days straight 10k won. Still no clue what to say.
"Thank you...!"
Just thanks.
Another named donor. Four days 5k won, threatens suicide over games.
Relatable chat. Still alive. All talk. Grateful anyway. Time to show pro-offer skills? They'll freak. Worked hard. Pro stage too soon, sure—better players out there. But no quit, meaningful results. I believe that. Logging into Minecraft server, executing practice. Trees, iron, diamonds. "Stream king go go! Full diamond set today." Time to flex, aspiring pro.