Nobina and Her Strange Journey Through Another World

The sounds of cars filled Nobina’s ears as she found herself awake. Despite the bed being warm, Nobina resisted staying the temptation of sleep and began to stand up and strech her arms. Her first instinct was to grab her glasses and put them on. Afterward, Nobina went to the mirror to fix her long, black hair a bit. During this, she couldn't help but be a bit critical about how plain she looked.

Nobina was pretty average in her mind. She didn’t think she had anything in particular that stood out. Her measurements were all normal in her mind. Her hair was pretty long and black, but she didn’t think it was special. Even her gentle expression seemed average. In her mind, she knew it was a bad habit to try to downplay yourself, but she couldn’t help it. In her own life, she felt average perfectly described her.

Looking at the time, she quickly began preparing to get ready to work. Living alone, she had to do everything herself. It wasn’t too hard, as she developed a rhythm and could be ready within 30 minutes of waking up.

As she was getting ready, she began thinking about the current story she was planning to write. A story about a future empress whose decisions were going to decide the fate of her space empire. Being the daughter of Emperor Alova Faux, who had not too long ago taken control of the empire after the previous rebellion, she knew that she had to do as much as she could. Not only for her father’s sake but also for the sake of the people she cared about. This was a story that Nobina felt would be great to write about, but it was still in its planning stage.

“Sigh… Like all the others, huh…”

Nobina wanted to call herself a writer but felt she had no right to do so. All her writings were personal, and she had never released any of them. Whether it was fear of it not being well received or being completed in general, she had many reasons not to release her work. Her dream was to eventually publish a book she could be proud of and join all the writers she admired throughout her life.

She didn’t have any other talents, but she was decent at more normal stuff. That was probably why she didn’t have trouble landing her current office job after college. Before she could let her worries overwhelm her, she focused on and finished getting ready for work.

Once she was done, she began her drive to work. It was a decent drive, so she turned to her favorite podcast, “The Virtual World,” which was a podcast by Vtubers. These were online entertainers who had digital bodies, yet real people behind them. Some played a character, while others were merely speaking through a virtual character, being basically themselves. In this case, the two people speaking were the latter, who spoke their minds and acted as themselves as far as she knew.

The podcast itself would be no different from any other podcast from your standard entertainers. Still, this one focused more on two people who covered the virtual world and talked about their experiences.

“So,” said Maria Lai, who had a porcupine model for her character. “Anything interesting happen yesterday at your debut Lu La?”

“Yeah. I just debuted with the new outfit for my model. It was a purple robe that really highlights the whole intelligence theme she has.”

Nobina was aware of what she was talking about as she was watching the debut of a new outfit. It was a nice, elegant purple robe that perfectly fit Lu La’s owl model. Nobina was in awe at how beautiful it looked, wondering what her own model would look like if she ever became a Vtuber.

“Probably just my normal outfit,” she chuckled.

To her, she wasn’t too creative in the art department. Writing about all sorts of things became easier and easier over time, but when she tried to apply that to the art medium, she fell short. Part of her told her that if she worked hard at it, she could become decently skilled at art, but she wanted to work on her main dream first. That being becoming a world-renowned author.

“That’s good to hear,” said Maria, bringing Nobina’s focus back to the road and out of her thoughts.

“It’s such a bad habit,” she shook her head, recognizing the danger of daydreaming while driving.

“So, are you excited for the upcoming convention? I know you plan to do a face-reveal in prep for it so your fans know who you are.”

Lu La chuckled, probably nodding in response.

“Oh for sure. So many people wanted to meet me, and I felt it was time to put myself in the spot light a bit. Of course, I request any of my fans hearing this to avoid spreading my image to help me keep my privacy. After all, you wouldn’t want your favorite owl to feel unsafe, right?”

“Of course,” Nobina found herself saying out loud.

She was a bit of a fan of Lu La, considering her character was all about knowledge, and being an owl certainly helped her appeal. Not only that, but Lu La was a very kind person who often treated her chat as respectfully as possible. From Nobina’s perspective, she was someone worthy of following, and ever since she followed her at the start of her journey one year ago, she’s listened to as much of her content as possible.

“I understand the feeling,” chuckled Maria. “Anyway, let’s get into the news…”

The two began talking about what was happening in the Vtubing world, with Nobina listening as she continued driving. Eventually, she got there and headed inside the office. She greeted the lady at the front desk, who also returned a kind smile. Eventually, she reached her cubical and began her work.

Typing away, Nobina found herself once again lost in thought. The story she was thinking about early on was for a game she played, a space game involving being a captain of a fleet. She did love strategy games, even if she wasn’t the most strategic person herself. She wasn’t picky either, but it was merely what she grew up with.

“Nobina,” came a voice from nearby.

She turned to see it was her co-worker, Len, who was looking at her curiously.

“Spreadsheets that interesting?”

“Huh? Oh no,” she replied, feeling embarrassed. “I was just thinking about something.”

“Your writing?” he asked, knowing the answer already.

“Yeah…”

Len gave a disappointed look as he looked at her.

“Nobina… You’ve worked here how long and yet you still haven’t released anything.”

She couldn’t deny it. It frustrated her, but after working there for four years, she hadn’t released anything. Len knew from the first year there that she wanted to be an author and that work was merely a means to an end. In fact, he had tried multiple times to help motivate her to focus on one story. However, time and time again, she let self-defeating thoughts stop her from doing anything. She had too many stories mid-way or even mostly done, yet never released.

“I know… I… I just can’t find motivation to finish those stories.”

“Nobina. Life’s too short to let fear get to you. If you don’t take your chances, then chances will be taken for you. I’m telling you this because I’m your friend and you’re so kind to everyone. You should gain courage and find the will to finish those unfished books. Else… Well… A dream will remain a dream.”

He began walking away, leaving her to look at her spreadsheets.

“I’m still young… I still got plenty of time.”

Another excuse.

Hours flew by easily as she swapped between daydreaming and working on her work. Soon, it was time to head home. Once in her car, she tuned in to her favorite streamer and began listening to them. She knew it was dangerous to actually watch while driving, so she only left it on audio only as she focused on the road. She enjoyed being able to laugh on the way home.

As she was driving, she found herself at a stoplight. Cars were zooming by, and she was listening in to La Lu’s words. Before she knew it, La Lu said something that gave her pause.

“You know… I’m glad I took the chance and started my career as a Vtuber guys. I’ve made so many friends, had so many experiences and… I’ve been able to live my dream. I’m so thankful for everything and hopefully we can have so many more experiences together.”

Nobina found herself shedding a tear for two reasons. The first was that her idol basically thanked all of them for being with her on her journey. She knew well that she had her own life problems, and that streaming was La Lu’s dream. Being able to support her this whole time made her the happiest person ever.

However, she also dug a dagger into her heart.

She talked about taking a chance and accomplishing her dream. For Nobina, she had never taken that chance, and it was eating at her.

“I should take my chance like her,” she told herself.

Empty words.

The light turned green, prompting her to drive forward. However, a loud noise came from her left, and she turned to a blinding light and horn.

Then… Darkness.