" It’s nice to eat you—I mean, meet you!”
For our fourteenth edition of Spotlight on IRIAM: Meet The Streamer, we’re joined by Lamia Sanguina - a cute, funny, and freaky drow warlock! Become one of her loyal little imp familiars and descend into the Crungeon (Cringe Dungeon), where gaming, singing, cursed internet lore, questionable jokes, and all sorts of shenanigans await. There’s never a dull moment with this self-proclaimed Freaklock. Just don’t mind the sentient possessed hat… That’s just Giuseppe!
What inspired you to become a VTuber?
I’ve been watching VTubers since 2021. I became obsessed with Kiryu Coco, Akai Haato, Houshou Marine, and many other Hololive VTubers. I have also been a fan of J-pop since I was a little warlock, like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and CAPSULE, which led me from being a general J-pop fan to loving idols. There is a significant idol aspect to VTubing, so the two interests meshed well. Additionally, I’ve been hugely inspired by the rockstar attitude of various genres of rock music and alternative subcultures. Subcultures are where we can find meaning and positivity in a world that can be quite ugly and cruel, and VTubing is a subculture in and of itself. I believe in truly being yourself, even when it’s weird and crazy! I think we all need an emotional outlet, and VTubing is an art form that allows for that, both for viewers and VTubers. Besides all that, it’s probably also because I’m a nerdy dork who likes to be a purple drow warlock for fun.
What initially attracted you to IRIAM, and what made you want to continue your journey on the platform?
I was already involved in VTuber fan communities when IRIAM first reached out to me. It wasn’t even to ask me to stream on IRIAM at first, as some may assume. IRIAM staff were doing research on American otaku culture before they launched. They saw some of the VTuber fan activities I took part in and interviewed me just to get a feel for what American VTuber fans are like. To my surprise, an IRIAM staff member, Sohei, planned to visit United States anime conventions and asked to hang out with my friends and I! So, a few years ago, we spent a weekend enjoying a convention and partying together. After that, Sohei convinced me to become a Founding Streamer. I continue to stream on IRIAM because I love how interactive it is and my imps are so fun to spend time with!
“ It was a truly challenging yet rewarding experience bringing this event to life. ”
You've had opportunities to help organize events with IRIAM streamers at conventions such as OffKai. Can you talk about your experience with the opportunity and what it was like helping bring it to life?
Some other community organizers and I, mainly the organization Wota Sans Frontieres, which I’m a part of, wanted to do a VTuber emo night! It took place during OffKai, but was not an official OffKai event. We did it outdoors, outside of the convention center.
It was a truly challenging yet rewarding experience bringing this event to life. It took months of planning and collaboration. I worked with so many incredible other members of WSF, and other community members volunteered to help out too. It would have been impossible to do without all of us doing the behind-the-scenes work. Watching the crowd have fun and chant my name brought tears to my eyes and made it all worth it!
You have a very active community around you. What do you think has helped you develop such a strong connection with your viewers?
I’m not sure how to answer this without coming off as full of myself, but I’m just answering with what my imps (viewers) have told me before. They say that I’m funny, authentic, and they enjoy my singing. So I guess that’s why my imps love watching me! Besides that, my community’s Discord is pretty active, and my imps often have similar senses of humor to my own. So a lot of the time, I’m just acting the same way I would around good friends when hanging out with imps, with some extra spice and flavor added just for my imps’ entertainment!
What opportunity has surprised you the most during your time as a VTuber?
I was surprised by being able to produce It’s Not a Phase, as I mentioned earlier! It was so cool to invite my fellow IRIAM VTubers as performers and also have some talents from SVP join us as special guests! I was especially thrilled to have IRIAM sponsor it and have it put on by the very event production group I’m a part of, Wota Sans Frontieres. I was even more surprised by how many people showed up! At its peak, about 200 people were cheering for us, singing with us, and dancing!
What are some memorable moments or streams you've had on IRIAM?
Well, I think some of the most memorable moments happen both on and off stream because of the community I’ve found through streaming on IRIAM. For example, during a karaoke stream, several imps let me know that because of my music taste, they’ve started listening to music I’ve shown them. That just made me so happy! Since I practice singing on stream often, whenever I make a new breakthrough in improving my singing, it’s very special to have my imps there to experience that with me.
It also means so much when imps let me know that I inspire them, whether that be to be themselves, or embody a trait they see in me, or work hard to achieve their goals, or try something new. Recently, an imp attended their first-ever idol show since I talked about going to idol shows and working them with WSF. That was so incredibly meaningful to me. Funny enough, another imp and that imp ended up at the same big group dinner sitting side by side and didn’t even know til they introduced themselves to each other! I just love helping people connect.
“I’m hoping to keep doing new and exciting things!”
Looking a little further ahead, what would you love to accomplish over the next few years as a streamer? Are there any events, projects, collaborations, or new types of content you’d love to explore in the future?
I would love to one day have access to a high-quality 3D model and have the resources to do 3D concerts! I would also love to release original songs with music videos. I want to do more ASMR, especially roleplays. I’m hoping to keep doing new and exciting things!
Do you have any upcoming projects or events we can look forward to?
I am continuing to work with WSF to put on idol and VTuber events, so please support those and attend them! You’ll have fun, I promise! I am also going to continue my streaming activities and push myself to improve and try new things, so I hope to keep having fun with my imps more than anything else!
Editor: Meira
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