Chapter 15 - Eigo Jouzu!?

I really should be doing something productive. I mean—there's only a few days between now and my interview with Ironmouse. And yet here I am, lying on my bed for the past three hours listening to the twisting lore of my most recent obsession.

Fear and Hunger is a game made in RPGMaker, produced by a finnish developer by the name Miro Haverenin. And as many games that came from the alien world of Finland, the game is quite the psychotic experience. It's an extremely brutal game, unfair at times, but one where knowledge is greatly rewarded.

It started innocently enough. I was watching some of Ironmouse's older VODs to get to know her better when I came across that one stream when she played Fear and Hunger. Intrigued, I decided to give it a watch. I should've known then—that VOD would be the gateway to this new rabbit hole I've fallen into.

Beyond being brutally hard, the story of Fear and Hunger was just plain awesome. It's gruesome, and disgusting, and horribly tragic. I wish that every and all characters in the game can have happy lives, but the world of Fear and Hunger denies that.

Now, I want to play Fear and Hunger, but I've kinda spoiled the game. It's entirely my fault for watching hours of videos about the game, but I still want to play it. Maybe even stream it, since there's a mod that censors most of the NSFW materials.

Thankfully, during my video-watching marathon, I came across some truly wondrous news.

Fear and Hunger has a sequel! Fear and Hunger: Termina, it's called. People from the community mention that it's easier compared to the first game, but that's probably a good thing. I've never played a game as brutally hard as this before, and having it be easier will probably be more pleasant. For both me and my stream.

There's a problem however,

Fear and Hunger isn't that popular in Japan. And though I don't mind playing games my audience has never seen before, I really want some sort of interaction with people who're used to the world of Fear and Hunger.

I might have an idea though. Something radical that could push me to a wider audience. 

That, and it'll be a nice way to shock everyone. And I'm always down for a little trolling.

…

The stream goes live, and I grin. "Good evening, everyone."

Machigako: Aiko-chan!!i!!i!!

Neko11137: Aiko hewo

Lelolelolelo: Hello hello

Guruyugi: Hiiiii

I motion to my left, where the opening screen of Fear and Hunger: Termina can be seen. "So, uh, today should've been a game of Minecraft, but I recently found this game, and I can't help myself." I wink. "But I know that's not the thing everyone's confused about."

[500 JP¥] Neko11137: Super Secret?

"A superchat already, Neko-san?" I smile wryly. "But yes, this stream's going to be a little more special than normal."

I clear my throat, and with a grin, and I speak in perfect English. "{A lot of foreign viewers are excited for this it seems, so I'll join in on the fun.}"

Machigako: !?!?!?!?!?!?

Neko11137: Eigo???

Brigade_12: {Aiko-chan speaks English!?}

Pingya: EEeeeeeEEEeeeEEeeE???????

Snipermaster69: {What in the}

Suddenly, hundreds of English-speaking viewers who're normally lurking silently speak up at once. There's something incredibly nostalgic about seeing so many English comments, and I laugh. "{Surprised? I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that I can speak English once before.}"

I shrug. "{Of course, I'll be speaking both English and Japanese in this stream. Can't leave anyone out, y'know?}" I clear my throat and quickly repeat what I said in Japanese. 

I make a quick glance at my chat. Everyone looks quite excited, filling the chat with all sorts of colors via their superchats. And they're quite glad that I'll be speaking both English and Japanese.

I give my arms a stretch, and I smile. "{Alright, let's do this!}" A thought then enters my head, and I smile wryly. "{Oh, don't backseat too much, yeah? I don't mind some spoilers, but I want to see how far I can go on my own.}"

The game starts, and the chat is immediately split as we're met with the roster of eight characters we can play as. Some want me to play as the literal JoJo character. Some want me to play as the Journalist—because she's pretty. And others want me to play as the girl in the wheelchair because 'funny'.

I choose the JoJo character. Because he looks strong. And muscles.

It takes barely a minute before my character loses his left arm in a battle. Most of my japanese viewers are surprised at the gruesome mechanic. The few Fear and Hunger fans and I laugh at the absurdity.

Thankfully my limbs are returned after the intro, and I'm free to explore the town the game takes place in. 

And then I fall into an encounter with the Woodsman, and is immediately killed.

I laugh for an entire minute at everyone's shock. This is the Japanese viewers' first time seeing the world of Fear and Hunger, and it's certainly a first-time. And this isn't even the full experience, since I have a mod that censors the game to acceptable levels.

"As you can see, this isn't an easy game." I smile wryly. "There are no level ups in this game. No grinding either. The only way to progress is knowing how this game ticks. It's my kind of game, honestly." I quickly repeat what I said in English.

I grin. "{Alright, let's try again.}"

So once more I delve into the game. Pick the same character. Choose the same initial traits to bolster my survivability. And before long I'm once more dropped into the city of Prehevil—a city gone mad by the influence of the moon.

For the next hour, I crawl my way through the game, slowly getting better as I get to know the ins and outs of Termina. It's a lot of fun, and despite the general newness of how this game works compared to most JRPGs, it doesn't take long for my Japanese viewers to start getting in the groove as well.

My western viewers are split into two camps. One is those that are familiar with Fear and Hunger, and are both laughing and malding at my repeated failures. The other is just mainly surprised that I can speak so well, and is constantly bombarding my chat with a stream of 'Eigo Jouzu'.

Real funny, these guys.

Two hours go by in a flash. Then three. Then four. 

By this point, I've made it into the inner part of the city. It's the 'mid-game' part of Termina, and I just managed to save my progress. 

I'm still raring to go. If anything, my excitement has only grown. But I know I should probably end this stream soon. I've already streamed two hours longer than I normally would. I ponder over the decision for a good minute, before I decide to be smart. "{I think we'll end the stream here.}"

I give my arms a well-earned stretch as I shut down the game. "That was fun, wasn't it?" I grin. "I'll have to thank Ironmouse for playing this game's prequel. I would've never known about it otherwise." I clear my throat and repeat my words in English.

Itsyaboiiii: {Aiko knows Ironmouse?}

I smile. "{I mean, I play with Kson from time to time. It'd be weird if I didn't know who Ironmouse is.}" I hum. "{We've interacted a bit when I play on VShojo's Minecraft server as well.}"

Vivaest225: {Ooooo a chance for a collab??}

I struggle not to grin at the comment. "{Maybe.}" I say, as if I won't be meeting Ironmouse in person in a few days. "{But who knows?}"

A few minutes later, I bid my viewers goodbye as the stream goes offline. I sigh as I give my shoulders a roll. I didn't really feel it while I was playing, but being fairly still for four hours is not pleasant for my bones. 

[Today's Stream Rating: A+!]

[Tallying Stream Points:

+7 (Stream Rating: A+)

+4 (Stream Duration: +4 hours)

+4 (Added new 'Lore' to the Streamer's Character)

+1 (New Viewer)

+4 (10 New Viewers)

+8 (50 New Viewers)

+12 (100 New Viewers)

+10 (>1000 Concurrent Viewers!)

+20 (>5000 Concurrent Viewers!)

+5 (Streamer branched into new Community: Indie Game Fans)

+5 (Streamer branched into new Community: Fear and Hunger Fans)

+5 (Streamer branched into new Community: Russian Fans)

Total Stream Points: 85]

…Well, damn. That's one of the best streams I've done in a while. Seems like everyone enjoyed me playing through Termina.

Which is good, because I'm definitely playing it again.

Not anytime soon, though. Because I need to be an adult and actually prepare for my upcoming meeting with Ironmouse. No more procrastinating for me.

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Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update, everyone.

I...well, let's just say that Aiko's obsession with Fear and Hunger is inspired by a canon event. I too watched Ironmouse VODs, came across her playing Fear and Hunger, immediately bought the sequel, and everything went downhill from there.

That, and watching Connor play through Fear and Hunger. The man's just too funny (and stubborn) at times.