"The hell are you watching?"
Julius stopped beside the couch. Gabriel was sprawled out like a corpse, phone raised above his face and his eyes glued to the screen with disturbing focus.
On it, a pastel-colored anime girl with cat ears was screaming at a boss fight while her avatar bounced with exaggerated expressions.
"A VTuber," Gabriel replied, unbothered. "Her name's HikariMeow. She's doing a no-hit run."
Julius stared at the screen, then at Gabriel, then back at the screen.
"She's not real."
"And you're just a hater."
Julius sat down beside him and sighed. "You know, in Germany, we have actual human interaction."
Gabriel waved him off. "And in Japan, we have superior interaction."
On the screen, the VTuber giggled. A barrage of animated hearts flew across the chat.
"…Why does she do that?" Julius asked.
"Because she loves us."
"She loves your credit card."
"That's love."
"How much did you spend?"
"Not important."
"Gabriel."
"…Fifty euros."
"...."
