A lot of the Hololive ships are just played for fun for the audience, like Okayu/Korone or previously Calli/Kiara.
Now Shiranui Flare & Shirogane Noel, however? I think they're legit. I remember that one anecdote where Pekora asked Noel (off-stream) if her & Flare were actually a thing and Noel simply answered "What, you can't tell?", only leaving poor Pekora more confused.
There was also that time Flare made a post about how she was unhappy about always being portrayed as the man in the relationship and she emphasized that they're both girls, and suddenly thousands of gamers across the globe understood what heteronormativity is and why it's bad.
Also: Hakui Koyori.
Like one day after her debut she told an anecdote about making out with another girl in a closet during a school trip and I'm convinced she's doing the customary Hololive joke-flirting to "haha jk... unless?" her way into actually getting laid.
The difficulty with Hololive is that they sometimes hide the real with just the bait so I don't really like to take too much to heart because they could be playing it up. Ame and Gura have a seemingly great friendship and good chemistry on stream but they also kinda play up the shipping bait because the fans like it and it sorta comes with the idea of a "safe" kind of romance because they're still technically pure and open. I'm not saying they're doing it cynically, but there Japanese culture where a lot of this is coming from does kinda have that "it doesn't count if it's a girl" type stuff and that girls messing with each other can be just a simple part of growing up where you then learn your place and settle down with a man.
Personally I feel like some of Calli's stories have had some genuine queer energy to them like her story of her having a crush on her one friend that she eventually found making out with someone at a party. There was that entire arc where Noel was outed as an ahijo to Subaru in person where people played up the romance stuff in that but I would honestly be super happy that if her and Flare were actually dating that they eventually outright said it. There was also a moment not too long ago where Fauna made the joke that Minecraft was made by Hatsune Miku which though I don't read too much into, it is neat to see someone just lightheartedly not bring up Notch like so many Minecraft youtubers that to this day treat him like the god of Minecraft.
But then you also have Haachama's recent prank series where she sent out a bunch of confessions which seems kinda weird but also on point for what Haachama does in general.
About that: I've noticed that Noel & Flare used to be a lot less open about their whole relationship thing but they've slowly noticed that no matter what, people won't take it seriously so now you get clips like Flare saying "I love Noel and want to spend my life with her" and the fans still think their waifu is available.
Natsuiro Matsuri is definitely gay.
A lot of the Hololive ships are just played for fun for the audience, like Okayu/Korone or previously Calli/Kiara.
Now Shiranui Flare & Shirogane Noel, however? I think they're legit. I remember that one anecdote where Pekora asked Noel (off-stream) if her & Flare were actually a thing and Noel simply answered "What, you can't tell?", only leaving poor Pekora more confused. There was also that time Flare made a post about how she was unhappy about always being portrayed as the man in the relationship and she emphasized that they're both girls, and suddenly thousands of gamers across the globe understood what heteronormativity is and why it's bad.
Also: Hakui Koyori. Like one day after her debut she told an anecdote about making out with another girl in a closet during a school trip and I'm convinced she's doing the customary Hololive joke-flirting to "haha jk... unless?" her way into actually getting laid.
I have too many opinions on this topic.
The difficulty with Hololive is that they sometimes hide the real with just the bait so I don't really like to take too much to heart because they could be playing it up. Ame and Gura have a seemingly great friendship and good chemistry on stream but they also kinda play up the shipping bait because the fans like it and it sorta comes with the idea of a "safe" kind of romance because they're still technically pure and open. I'm not saying they're doing it cynically, but there Japanese culture where a lot of this is coming from does kinda have that "it doesn't count if it's a girl" type stuff and that girls messing with each other can be just a simple part of growing up where you then learn your place and settle down with a man.
Personally I feel like some of Calli's stories have had some genuine queer energy to them like her story of her having a crush on her one friend that she eventually found making out with someone at a party. There was that entire arc where Noel was outed as an ahijo to Subaru in person where people played up the romance stuff in that but I would honestly be super happy that if her and Flare were actually dating that they eventually outright said it. There was also a moment not too long ago where Fauna made the joke that Minecraft was made by Hatsune Miku which though I don't read too much into, it is neat to see someone just lightheartedly not bring up Notch like so many Minecraft youtubers that to this day treat him like the god of Minecraft.
But then you also have Haachama's recent prank series where she sent out a bunch of confessions which seems kinda weird but also on point for what Haachama does in general.
About that: I've noticed that Noel & Flare used to be a lot less open about their whole relationship thing but they've slowly noticed that no matter what, people won't take it seriously so now you get clips like Flare saying "I love Noel and want to spend my life with her" and the fans still think their waifu is available.