Lulu Has No Luck
"Lulu high! Lulu hiiiigh!"
Today's stream kicked off with Lulu's usual boundless energy, just like always.
I munched on my snacks while watching her broadcast.
Crunch!
The Choco Sandy that Lua brought me was the best. Seriously, the absolute pinnacle of flavor. Nothing could top this.
"So good."
Yeah, insanely delicious. Not sure if it was because it came with a full collection of my oshi's photocard, but it tasted twice as good.
Decision made. Choco Sandy and Cream Sandy are now my favorite snacks. No one can say a word against it. These are my faves.
As I scarfed down the snacks and watched Lulu's stream, sure enough—she'd prepped another collab, as expected.
"Today's another collab~! And the people joining me today are, of course...!"
"It's Aris~"
"It's May~"
Sweet Mare collab. Even though they're in the same group, they collab twice a week, and honestly, at first I thought it was like they were sucking Lulu dry.
Lulu started off with a pretty big viewer count compared to the other two.
But when these three team up, their charms really shine through in the best way.
Lulu with her cute yet punchy hits, Aris who's killer at games, and the soft-spoken May mediating between them.
Their collabs create this amazing synergy with their back-and-forth banter, and after a few rounds, they became my absolute favorite.
So, today's content from Lulu and Sweet Mare was...
"Today! We're playing our Marvel!"
...Totally out of left field.
Our Marvel is basically a Monopoly-style board game set on Earth.
Roll the dice, move that many spaces, and whatever's on the land dictates your play.
Empty plot? Build on it. Someone else's land? Pay toll. You can buy it too, of course.
Land on special effect spaces, and you trigger whatever play that calls for.
Win by bankrupting opponents or having the most cash after a set number of turns.
Strategy mixed with pure luck, basically.
"Everyone's using basic characters!"
Balance patch in effect, too. Characters have wildly varying power levels, which some say kills the fun.
Whether they noticed that or not, Lulu and Sweet Mare were sticking strictly to basics, no premium stuff.
"Alright, let's get started~"
"Go go!"
"Let's have fun, girls~"
The game started off all wholesome...
...Fifteen minutes later.
"Whyyyiiiieee!!! Why only me! Why only me!! Why not meeee!!!"
Lulu was getting royally screwed by RNG, while the other two played normally.
Yeah, standard collab fare.
Clumsy Lulu versus the pros—peak content.
*
The game kicked off, and Lulu went first.
"Roll roll, yay!"
With her adorable sound effects, Lulu rolled a 5 and a 3.
Her piece advanced 8 spaces...
...straight into Unmanned Island.
"...Huh?"
"Lulu's on Unmanned Island~"
"Lulu fighting?"
"Whyyyiiiie! Why Unmanned Island right from the start! Whyyyy!!"
Unmanned Island traps you until you roll doubles or three turns pass. No escape otherwise.
You could buy an escape pass in-game or with cash, but everyone was on basics with no external items.
And since the game just started, no in-game passes yet either.
So Lulu was in the worst spot imaginable from turn one.
"Lulu dummy Lulu dummy~"
"Not dummy!"
"Aris, come on~ She's just unlucky."
"Uuuu...!"
Couldn't even argue with May's "just unlucky," so Lulu just pouted.
But even that was adorable. Getting hit by May's zero-malice jabs, her lips puffing out—irresistibly cute.
While Lulu was stuck, the other two steadily expanded their empires, leaving her sucking her thumb on the island.
One turn passed. Lulu's second go.
"Hyah...!"
She rolled again.
-Roll roll roll roll -Clack
The dice settled on 5 and 6.
Great in normal play, but not here.
The failure popped up, and Lulu started venting.
"Aaaaaah! Whyyyy!!"
"Lulu, that's why you should've been nicer all this time."
"I am nice! Nice!"
"Nuuuuhpe~ You're mean~"
"Am nooooot!!"
Lulu flailing back at Aris's pokes—this dynamic is gold.
Meanwhile, Aris rolled again and hit Festival space.
Festival lets you pay to inflate tolls in your area.
Aris, naturally, shelled out and threw a bash, jacking up tolls right in front of Lulu's turf.
"Aris, you did that on purpoooose!?"
"Nuuuuhpe~ Totally not on purpose~ It's just my priciest land~"
Infuriating tone, but... surprisingly true.
Aris's most expensive spot was indeed there. Logical choice.
May played steady, turn passed. Back to Lulu.
"Lulu, wouldn't it be better to just pay to get out?"
May genuinely suggested paying up.
Escape options: pay or roll doubles.
But Lulu refused. Why?
"It'll work next time!!"
Clinging to that pointless optimism.
-Roll roll roll -Clack
1 and 4. Fail again.
"Aaaaaaaaah! Whyyyy! Why can't I escape, whyyyy!!!"
Third turn wasted on the island. The duo played on, eyeing her.
"Lulu, I told you to pay."
"Unnie, let her be. Lulu's too dumb to get it."
"Lulu not dummy! Not dummy eeee!!"
Other VTubers have charm, but why is Lulu this cute? Pondered it—it's just Lulu being Lulu, inherently adorable.
The person inside that model has gotta be a total cutie too.
One thing I'm sure of: if Lulu graduated from Sweet Mare to indie, most fans would follow her.
Her personal appeal is that strong.
Anyway, Lulu's turn again. She prayed desperately.
"Pwease, pwease let me escape... Pweeease...!"
"...Lulu, just pay already?"
"Odds of failing all three are 125/216! Almost fifty-fifty! Half the time you escape at least once!"
Thanks to stats class, I clocked where that number came from.
Lulu spouting it off too—girl's sharp.
But uh, not quite fifty-fifty. More like 60% fail rate if picky.
My tsukkomi went unheard...
-Roll roll roll -Clack
2 and 5.
"Aaaaaaaaack!!!"
Three turns trapped. Others lapped the board.
Lulu finally freed, ready to play for real...
-Clang!
Now Aris hit Jail.
"Aris dummy~ Aris dummy~"
"Luck, okay?"
Lulu seized the chance to troll back—but karma's a bitch.
-Roll roll roll roll -Clack
Aris rolled doubles next turn and busted out instantly.
"This is me! This is Aris!"
Aris strutting while Lulu...
"Whyyyiiiieee!!! Why only me! Why only me!! Why not meeee!!!"
...lost it completely.
Aris even landed back on her spot and built two skyscrapers. Luck real?
Game rolled on...
"Whyyyiiiie! I quit! I quit!! Lulu not playing thiiiis!!!"
...and Lulu bankrupted soon after.
"Oh my, Lulu. Good job~"
...To May, who'd snagged two prime plots and slapped a landmark on 'em.
Landmarks? Toll hell, can't buy 'em off. Land there, you're toast.
Game's about May's style: quiet, steady grinding. That's the key. Yup yup.