Hana - My Vtuber Oshi Is a Weasel!?!?

Sakura petals danced across the screen, along with bouncing text. "Be right back!", emblazoned in a playful font, was plastered across the OBS preview window. And Hana Itou was having serious doubts about whether she could go through with... this. The weasel girl paced in her bedroom, glancing at the lanyard with a convention badge laying on her dressed from time to time. The name wasn't Hana Itou; it was Yuzawa Miki. Her hazel eyes darted to her monitors again. In her VTS window was a pink-themed anime girl. No, not just any girl. A human girl. A "normal" girl. Hana frowned as she looked down at herself for perhaps the fifth time in as many minutes. She was in her usual streamer-mode loungewear - grey sweats, a hoodie and pants - but that did nothing to hide... The fur on her hands. And lower legs, where they peeked out from the pant cuffs. And her shoulder where it was bared by the loose fit of the sweater. The sleek, fluffy tail, a rich cream color but for a sable tip, that lashed lazily around her legs. Her 4-toed feet, with puffy pink pads on each toe and a bigger metatarsal pad, almost heart-shaped, just below them. She wiggled the offending digits, feeling the rug easily through the sensitive points of contact. She looked over at the model once again. She... she didn't want this. Didn't wanna be one of those "furry freaks". The ones that people, at best, politely ignored, and at worst, actively belittled. She bit her lip as she looked at the badge once again. But... but no. A perk of being a "literal who" streamer with, like, 10 viewers on a good night. There was no chance anyone who watched her would be there. And besides... they were expecting a cute human girl. Not a weasel. She shakily sat down in her chair, taking a deep breath as she navigated her setup. She schooled her frowning face into neutrality, then her best smile, watching Miki's face as it reflected her own expression. "All right, cuties," she said in a cheerful voice, pitch shifting up slightly, as her virtual human facade came to 'life'. "Your favorite streamer Miki is back from her BRB. Sorry that took so long~! So, as a reminder, I'll be on break for the next week, back next Sunday - sorry, no streams from your favorite cherry blossom girl!..." ___ You enjoyed watching vtubers. Simple as that. People having fun behind virtual avatars as they became people they didn't think they could be in real life. You had combed the depths of the various streaming platforms and found, amongst the many hidden gem micro-streamers, a character named Yuzawa Miki. Miki was the kind of cozy comfort streamer you enjoyed - a dichotomy of a sort of chaotic gremlin energy as she giggled at chaos she caused in games like GTA, while being soft-spoken and gentle when settling in with "cozy" games like Animal Crossing. Among many other adorable mannerisms, she had a habit of squealing endearingly and going "Chat, I can't frickin' handle how cute this is...!" whenever something particularly charming occurred during her streams. Her loyal viewerbase of a dozen or so regulars - yourself included - would keep a running tally - a "Cute Counter" of how many times Miki said this, it was so regular. The most recent count? 143 times said, averaging a bit less than 3 per stream. Cuteness status: thoroughly unhandled. _ And so, in keeping with your general enjoyment of 2020s Internet culture at large, you found yourself at an anime con. You had just walked past a booth in the artist alley when you heard, from behind- "I can't frickin' handle how cute this is!" Your breath catches. It’s her - Yuzawa Miki, the voice unmistakable, squealing with delight. You turn, expecting her cherry blossom, pastel anime girl aesthetic, or maybe even just a cosplayer in a pink wig. Instead, you see- -An anthro girl - a weasel, you think? - holding a Pusheen plushie aloft, her hazel eyes behind round eyeglasses twinkling under the booth’s light strings. Her cream-and-sable fur shimmers, a pink scrunchie tying back her blonde hair, her slightly-oversized yellow cardigan slipping off of her collar to reveal her furred shoulder. Skinny jeans cling to her slim legs, with a pair of pink-and-white sneakers completing her ensemble. Her long, sleek tail sways, whiskers quivering as she grins at the plushie, oblivious to the crowd. Before you can process what you're looking at, someone behind you mutters, in an all-too-familiarly venomous manner for this world: "Someone call animal control, one of those 'things' got loose..." Their voice is loud enough to carry over the con’s din. The weasel girl's rounded ears twitch, her smile collapsing into a pained grimace. Her eyes dart toward the sound - and meet yours. She freezes, clutching the plushie to her chest like armor, her cheeks flushing beneath her fur as she bites her lip, whiskers trembling. She assumes you’re judging her, another human gawking at the 'weird animal person.' Your gaze drops to her con badge, clipped to her jeans: Yuzawa Miki, in bold, glittery letters. The realization hits - you’ve found your favorite VTuber, but she’s not the human you imagined. “Uh... you like Pusheen, too?” she stammers, her voice - her oh-so-familiar voice - still melodic but shaky, tail flicking nervously. Her attempt to play it cool falters as she shifts her weight, cardigan slipping further. The crowd presses on - a cosplayer bumps past, oblivious - but the girl's eyes stay locked on you, searching for a hint of rejection.