Happiness || Shayne Topp

Prologue

Birdie Hanson's presence online was scarce at best. Despite having an internet famous cousin, and multiple internet famous friends, Birdie had managed to keep her anonymity while online. She never posted any pictures of herself online, opting to post photos of her friends or the places they all travelled to. However, Birdie still found herself to be somewhat internet famous, with a whopping 2.2 million followers in her instagram.

Due to her rising fame, many of her friends and YouTubers she hadn't met yet had requested to collaborate with the private girl. She politely declined every offer, exclusively appearing on her cousin's audio show Game Grumps. She claimed it was where she felt safest, knowing that her own cousin wouldn't put her face online for any reason.

However, as Birdie's fame grew she wanted to start stepping out of her comfort zone. She consulted with her cousin, going over pros and cons for collaborating with each YouTuber who requested to work with her. After a grueling few hours, she had come to the conclusion that she should first collaborate with the gaming side of YouTube, where a face cam was not required.

Her very first collab was with Karl Jacobs, Corpse Husband, Sapnap, Dream, and Georgenotfound. She meshed well with the group, having the time of her life behind her monitors. Karl had made her feel instantly comfortable, and Corpse refused to leave her out of the conversations the group was having. Birdie found herself giggling each time the Dream Team roasted one another, and even joined in on the banter. At the end of her very first collab, each boy had reached out to her privately to further a friendship.

After playing games without a face cam in an environment that wasn't in her cousin's office, Birdie decided she would branch out to other corners of YouTube. So, she accepted the next collab, which came from none other than Smosh Games. They offered to have her come to the office, but to play with them off camera. Birdie accepted, ready to step out of her comfort zone and meet new people.

Ian Hecox reached out to Birdie personally, ensuring that her collaboration with his employees would go smoothly. He promised to keep her anonymity, even offering to have his lawyers write something up to make sure she would be legally protected, but Birdie told him that it wouldn't be necessary. She was willing to put her full trust into a stranger, and Ian wouldn't take that lightly. He rallied up his company, expressing to each of them that Birdie's anonymity was their top priority. He refused to be the asshole who exposed the internet's new favorite personality.

By the time the collab rolled around, Birdie's fame had skyrocketed, raising her 2.2 million followers to 3 million followers on instagram. She had started posting slightly bolder pictures: her shadow throwing up a peace sign, her hand holding up a flower she'd picked on a walk, images of her snake wrapped around her neck- her face obviously cut off from the picture. This made her fans excited, but none of them pushed her for anything more than what she was willing to share. She appreciated the support her followers provided her.

Birdie prepared for the collab, dressing in a hoodie Corpse sent for her, as well as black leather shorts and ripped fishnet tights. She styled her black hair into two messy space buns, applying a red gloss to her lips and winged liner over her lids. She slipped on a comfortable pair of black platform boots, adding 3 inches to her short 5'0" frame. After snapping a picture of her outfit, ensuring no part of her face was visible, she posted it to her instagram story with Corpse's newest song POLTERGEIST! playing over it. She tagged Corpse and headed out the door.