AN: The opposite sides of the Q&A's will be in the next chapter. I entirely made up this challenge thing, I'm sure it's in no way how VidCon works, but this is a fic. If there is any misgendering or other incorrect things, please let me know so I can correct them asap.
Enjoy!
When she entered and received the information on who she was going to be doing the VidCon YouTuber Challenge with, Laura was already loving this. She'd heard a lot about these YouTubers, but never actually spoken to them or really watched their videos. Carmilla (who'd never revealed her surname online, but then again, her first name wasn't exactly common) seemed surly and unsocial, but the rest would probably be alright. Danny Lawrence was really outspoken about feminism, so they could definitely bond over that. Brody Kirsch, not so much. The Zetas were known for dating women to the right and left, and that wasn't very good propaganda in Laura's eyes. But besides that, Kirsch seemed friendly. Lola Perry was basically the queen of DIY videos, but never said anything about herself, so Laura was excited to see what she was like in real life. Then there was LaFontaine, half of the unofficial-science-side-of-Tumblr duo. They only ever talked about science as far as Laura knew, so that should be interesting as well.
She was waiting in their designated room for the rest of them. She really needed to calm her nerves, but she didn't want to leave in case one of them arrived. She was deep into a mental rant about why the wizarding world should be more accepting towards centaurs when the door opened and Danny Lawrence came inside.
Laura's jaw dropped a little. The other girl looked even more gorgeous in person, and she was looking at Laura with an amused expression. Laura hurried to close her mouth and string together a greeting. Or something.
"H-hi! You're Danny, right?"
"I am, and you're Laura."
Beautiful girl knows your name, Hollis, alert the authorities! "I, yeah, that's right. I am. It's so nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too." Danny said with a smile and sat down opposite to her. "Heard anything about the others?"
Laura shook her head. "No, I'm pretty new to all of this, so I don't really know anyone. Do you?"
"Know them? Not really, but I have involuntarily spent time with some of them."
Laura let out a small laugh. "That sounds… interesting. How?"
"Well, you know the Summer-Zeta rivalry, right?"
Laura nodded. Who didn't know about that?
"Yeah, so I've met Kirsch. You know, in the battlefield. And I don't think they talk about it much, but Carmilla is Will Luce's sister. Seen her a few times, never talked. And obviously Will's twin is dating LaFontaine, so they've been present for some attacks."
"Oh, right! Cool. So, attacks, huh? You guys are… serious!"
Danny laughed. Breathe, Hollis. "Yeah, but it's a traditional thing, really. I mean, in my opinion the Zetas are disgusting dudebros who I wouldn't be seen with anyway, but the attacks aren't everything we do. The Summers are a Society first."
Danny just wished they still felt and acted like one.
It took ages for the rest of them to get there. And into the same spot.
It began awkwardly.
"Well," Perry started, "why don't we start by seeing how much we know about each other? Do any of us watch the others' videos?"
Laura piped up immediately. "Yeah, sure! I'm not actually subscribed to any of you, but sometimes I watch your tips-and-tricks videos, Perry. They're totally helpful!"
Perry smiled warmly at Laura. "Thank you! I sometimes watch the Summer Society videos for tips on healthy eating."
Danny found it a bit amusing that this uptight woman sometimes watched her videos, but she thanked her anyway. "It's a Summer's thing, but we have to watch a bit of the Zetas for the sake of the rivalry."
Kirsch grinned widely. "You totally like our videos."
"Do not."
"So do!"
"I said do not!"
"Children, please," LaFontaine interrupted. "Off-track much?"
"Right, okay," Kirsch nodded. "I don't actually watch any of your videos, except for that one video where JP brought Will in for some sorta twin experiment."
LaF rolled their eyes. They'd known the Zetas for years, through JP of course, and they weren't surprised that Kirsch had never looked closer at his best friend's brother's work. "Of course. Well, I have been forced to watch the Twin Tag they did on the Zeta channel, but other than that, I've only seen some of their videos in the making and Carmilla's reviews of Frankenstein and Dr Moreau's Island."
Carmilla seemed pretty bummed out to have to be a part of this conversation. "None." LaF knew that wasn't true, but they decided not to comment.
"Right!" Laura said loudly. "We're supposed to get out of our comfort zones, so let's see what we've got! I just talk about shows and my own stuff, which is not what the rest of you do. Most of you don't talk much about yourselves – I mean, LaFontaine does information mostly, Perry shows people how to do stuff, Carmilla talks about the books… Danny, you're pretty much the same as Perry, right? And Kirsch try out things but there's not a lot of talking going on. Have any of you even done a Q&A?"
"Nope."
"No."
"…nah."
"Nuh-uh."
"No."
"Just what I thought! We should totally mash things up and do one. I mean, several, since there's a few of us and all of that in one video would just be complicated. We could do like, 'unlikely couples', you know? The two people the fans will the least expect to make a video, should do it. Interview slash Q and A each other."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Cool!"
"Sure."
"Whatever."
"Great idea."
After Laura pulled twenty questions for them to answer from Tumblr, they divided into three pairs. Laura ended up with Carmilla, which again, she was excited about, because she knew just about nothing about the dark haired woman.
"Okay, are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be. How personal are we getting?"
"Pretty varying. This is Tumblr we're talking about."
"…so that's promising."
"You don't have to answer really private ones."
"Great, can I leave?"
"No. I'm turning the camera on, smile."
Carmilla scoffed but sat down in her spot, carefully arranging her features into incredibly bored-mode as Laura sat down next to her and started introducing the video. "Hello everyone! The first video of the big VidCon YouTuber Challenge this year is me Q&A-ing Carmilla here! You'll know her from her channel HeyCarmilla where she reviews classics, am I right?"
"Yeah."
"Are you ready to start? How are you feeling?" Laura asked excitedly, playing the part of the host with enthusiasm.
"I'm not a big people person, so can we just get this over with?"
Laura rolled her eyes a little at that. "Alright, then. The first question is, what made you start YouTube?"
Carmilla had, in her mind, resided to short answers – mostly honest, because Laura was very cute. "People needed to know why these books are classics, because most of them never figure it out. Or why some of them shouldn't be."
"That's harsh", Laura remarked.
"Have you seen my videos, Cupcake?"
"Oh, I – you're right, nevermind. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?"
"Not gonna talk about that."
"Alright, that's fine. It is a very personal question. If you could have any other type of YouTube channel, what would it be?"
"I wouldn't."
Laura huffed. "What is your dream job?"
"I'd like to sleep all day."
"Carmilla, that's not a real answer."
"Real enough for me."
"Ugh, fine. Do you have any phobias?"
"None that need to be shared for the whole internet to see."
"You're being very unhelpful. Do you see yourself getting married someday?"
"Not really."
"No? Why not?"
"White dress, walking down a church aisle – do I seem like that kind of person to you?"
"I guess not. But there are outdoor-weddings in tuxes."
"So do I strike you as the kind of person who does well with others?"
"But if you met the right person…"
"Sure, Creampuff."
"I have a name, and it's Laura. How can you be that pessimistic?"
"Not that hard, Cutie."
Laura huffed loudly. "What is your spirit animal?"
"A black cat."
"Dogs or cats?"
"Cats."
"Sex or food?"
"Sex."
"Soup or salad?"
"Don't care."
"Any fetishes?"
"…."
"Fine, there's no need to answer that. Are you taken?"
"No."
"Sexuality?"
Carmilla sighed. "Gay."
"Oh, I didn't know that!"
"That's because my channel isn't about revealing deep truths about myself, Buttercup."
Of course she wouldn't talk nicely about anything at all. Fine. "Favourite TV-show?"
"Hannibal."
"That's disgusting!"
"You say disgusting, I say intriguing."
"Weirdest or most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?"
"The blood of my enemies."
"Ew!"
Carmilla laughed.
"Tell us something nobody knows about you."
"There's a reason nobody knows."
"Favourite food?"
"Don't have one."
"Favourite alcoholic drink?"
"Doesn't matter as long as there's alcohol in it."
Danny was so not okay with ending up with Kirsch. She knew it was because of the Summer-Zeta thing, and that was why she was going to be paired up with him for whatever else this challenge included, but they couldn't make her be nice to him when he asked her things.
He had a seriously annoying smile on his face. "What made you start YouTube?"
"It was the Society's idea."
"If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?"
"None of your business."
"If you could have any other type of YouTube channel, what would it be?"
She hadn't put any thought into that. "Don't know."
"What is your dream job?"
"A PT or a police officer."
"Do you have any phobias?"
"Dudebros."
"Hey!" he didn't look offended – just pouty.
"Not gonna apologize. Keep going."
"What is your worst nightmare?"
"Dudebros."
"Dann-y!" he whined. She just grinned, and he shot her another question as she kept up her short answers. "Do you see yourself getting married someday?"
"Maybe."
"What is your spirit animal?"
"A Valkyrie." She waited for him to realise that Valkyries weren't animals, but the penny didn't drop.
"Dogs or cats?"
"Dogs."
"Sex or food?"
"Uhm. Not a relevant question in any way."
"I'm just reading them! Soup or salad?"
"Salad."
"Seriously, bro? Salad's like, rabbit-food!"
"What are you, five?"
"Hey!"
"Just finish the questions, popped collar."
"Any fetishes?"
"Again, not. Relevant."
"Are you taken?"
"As am I in a relationship? No."
"Sexuality?"
"I like girls."
"Favourite TV-show?"
"Orphan Black."
"Weirdest or most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?"
"Dirt. As a dare."
"You ate dirt?"
"Like I said, it was a dare. Move on, Kirsch."
"Tell me something nobody knows about you."
"Not with you in the room."
"Rude!"
She shrugged.
"What's your favourite food?"
"I like risotto."
"Favourite alcoholic drink?
"Alcohol is really bad for you and I don't condone it."
"Boring."
"Shut up, frat boy. It's your turn."
LaFontaine was relieved they'd ended up with someone who wasn't Carmilla. Or Danny Lawrence, for that matter. While they weren't in any way affiliated with the Zetas, they'd spent enough time around JP – and therefore Will – to see the bad side of the Summer Sisters. (Treating Will Luce for some bruised ribs due to an impromptu "attack" from the Summers? Not their idea of a good time.) Besides, even if Lola Perry talked a lot, it filled the pauses, and most of the time, her rambles were adorable.
"What made you start YouTube?"
"Oh! I saw a video of somebody showing ways to clean the bathroom easily, and I tried them and realised that knew some ways that I thought worked even better. So I thought it would be a good idea to share!"
"Okay, cool. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?"
"Oh, uhm… I don't actually know, now that I think about it. But that's probably a good thing. Isn't it?"
"Right." They smiled at her. "If you could have any other type of YouTube channel, what would it be?"
"I wouldn't, really. I like my channel."
"What is your dream job?"
"Oh, that's a hard question. Maybe a teacher."
Of course. "I'm sure you'd make a great teacher. Do you have any phobias?"
"Thank you! Can I say dirt? Dust and grime and all – it's not a phobia, but I sort of treat them like they are."
"What is your worst nightmare?"
"I can't say, really."
"Not dirt, then?"
Lola laughed and stuck her tongue out at them.
"Do you see yourself getting married someday?"
"If I find the right person, yes."
"What is your spirit animal?"
"I haven't thought about it…"
"Dogs or cats?
"…cats are easier to clean up after, but dogs are less grumpy."
"Sex or food?"
"That is a dumb question."
"I know, right? Soup or salad?"
"Soup is great when you're sick. Salad's nice when you want to eat healthy."
Apparently she wasn't going to answer the questions, but rationalize them. "Any fetishes?"
"If I had, they would definitely not be the internet's business."
"Are you taken?"
"I am not."
"Sexuality?"
She looked uncomfortable. "Inconclusive."
"Favourite TV-show?"
"You Are What You Eat."
"Weirdest or most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?"
"Nothing I can think of."
"Tell me something nobody knows about you."
"Oh, I… I used to flatten my hair every day in high school. I mean, those who went to my high school knows that, but my audience doesn't."
"Favourite food?"
"Brownies!"
"Alcoholic drink?"
"I'm not that into alcohol, but Tequila."
"I can't believe you missed the opportunity to say Ginger Snaps."
"Oh, I was leaving that to you."
"Mine's Ginger Ale, but thanks for thinking of me."
