First Collab with Tsupi (2): The Hero and Spirit's First Encounter
I'd set the stream title as #The First Meeting of the Hero and the Spirit, but honestly, I wasn't thrilled with it.
'It looks way too childish.'
It felt like something only kids would go for, and it really bugged me. But what could I do? Maerchen was all about fairy tales from the get-go. No matter how I thought about it, I regretted picking this company.
"Ah, Tsupi? Can you hear me?"
> [Yeah. Hold on a sec, still tweaking some settings.]
"Take your time. We've got plenty."
I waited for Tsupi to finish settings while watching the chat flood in. Since it was her first collab in ages, she said she needed to update her old setup. And that outfit of hers... I drew it. It was pretty dated too.
"Ah! Settings done!"
"Great. Everyone, can you see us okay? Tsupi's avatar."
"I'm dropping it starting now. Right, Tsupi?"
"Uwar?"
My bad, my bad. It just slipped into formal mode. I'll ease into it from here. Anyway, since this was our first collab with Tsupi, I needed to introduce her properly—even if those in the know already knew her.
"Now that we're all set, shall I introduce the spirit to my right?"
"Hello, everyone! I'm Tsupi, Queen of the Spirit Kingdom! I'm thrilled to be the ally on Hero Uwar's adventure!"
"What? I'm going on an adventure?"
"You weren't planning to just lounge like a shut-in hero, right?"
"Spirits know everything. You sure you're my ally?"
"Finally dropping formal. Tough hero."
I'd dropped formal first, but I still wasn't sure if that was the right call. The reactions from Tsupi and viewers were positive, though, so we'd roll with it. She'd been waiting forever for me to loosen up anyway.
"So, what's next? You're my ally, so give me a quest."
"I'm not a status window or anything? My goal's hero training to begin with."
"I saved the world, and now training?"
A shadow fell over Uwar's avatar. Her eyebrows twitched up, her expression screaming I'm offended.
"Hey now. Relax those eyes, baby hero Uwar."
"Fine..."
Either way, Tsupi—as the senior in real life and stream—had enough authority to rein me in. I softened my eyes and went back to normal.
"Don't get too down. It's training for building relationships with people."
"You're a spirit."
"Uwar has no friends."
*Sniffle.*
"Joking, joking! Don't cry... okay? Sis is sorry."
"Sneaking in 'sis' there."
"Tch."
So. When does our stream actually start? I glanced at Tsupi with that question in my eyes, and she took the lead seamlessly. I'd streamed solo for a week, but I had zero collab data. No big worries, though—I'd watched debut gens' first collabs. Watching and doing are different, sure.
"Alright! We've dragged on long enough. Uwar's adventure starts now, so follow along tight?"
"Being a spirit sounds exhausting."
"Hush, baby hero."
Tsupi's hosting was way smoother than mine. It was basically hero training, but she made it fun, RP-fitting, and lore-consistent. Like explaining future party members' personalities, which comprehensive games (adventures) were easy or hard. Today: village exploration from the starting village. She spent a full hour on it.
"Okay. Got it, Hero Uwar?"
"I wanna ask why village exploration tho."
"First step in classic fantasy?"
"Don't break the fourth wall like that."
"Uwar seems to get it, so let's leave the inn!"
"We can leave here?"
"Gotta equip VR, duh?"
"Understood."
Of course they wouldn't know. Why drop this map now? Because I made it. Well, post-first-round acceptance, I'd been building it bit by bit. No real plan—just figured Maerchen might buy it someday. Didn't expect to use it myself. Now they were even supporting it, speeding up updates.
Monster company.
Anyway, the map—once just trees, flat ground, and rocks—now had a village and monsters. Killing them leveled you up, quality was top-tier, and other gens would use it too. Part of my Maerchen contract.
Me and Tsupi switched from 2D to 3D—into the virtual world. VR gear for the win. Company support, of course. Stream connected fine.
In VR, I looked around the inn room. Realistic size, about 300 sq ft, matching my stream background exactly.
"Alright, let's head out?"
Then I turned at the voice beside me—Tsupi. The culprit who bought and greenlit this map. How far did her influence reach? I nodded, thinking that.
"Before we go, lemme check the room real quick."
"Sure. Plenty of time."
Hero's Maerchen. Unprecedented massive map, constantly updated, with stage transitions. No storage worries.
