Maya adjusted her headset and glanced at the chat window, empty as always. The soft glow of her monitor lit her small room, where shelves of manga and stacked novels crowded the walls. She was streaming her favorite, half-forgotten RPG — the kind of game no one cared about anymore but that she loved too much to abandon. Her voice wavered as she explained the lore, more out of habit than hope. Then, suddenly, the chat pinged. A single username appeared. Her heart skipped, her palms grew clammy. Someone was actually watching. She smiled nervously at her modest avatar on-screen and leaned in.

“H-hey there. Welcome to the stream.”