In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that streamers are becoming a new breed of celebrities, but even celebrities are affected by the world they live in. Fans of one prominent Final Fantasy 14streamer, the Ukraine-based Zepla, recently got some chilling news about her future. It appears that rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine have led Zepla to start preparing to flee the country.
Apparently, Zepla originated from Louisiana in the United States, but she has been living in Ukraine for about eight years and currently lives in Kyiv. However, the presence of an increasing number of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border and rising tensions between the two countries mean that Zepla may not be staying in Ukraine much longer. At the end of January, the streamer took a break from talking about Final Fantasy 14 to touch on her personal situation.
According to Zepla, she has already begun making preparations to leave Ukraine with her pets and return to the US. Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as it may sound--Ukraine is considered a high-risk country for rabies, meaning that Zepla needs to jump through a number of hoops to get her dog out and back to the US. She did confirm that if and when she leaves, she will continue streaming Final Fantasy 14 throughout her journey.
Zepla also spoke to VICE Waypoint on the subject of her impending flight from Ukraine, where she reported that the normalcy surrounding her situation has been the most unsettling part. Everyone is still going about their business as usual even though there's a very real possibility of invasion in the near future. She has confirmed that her current plan is to leave the country and head west as soon as she's legally able to. The streamer also noted that she recently got her COVID booster shot, so that she won't get COVID while fleeing the war.
She stated that she will be stopping at hotels and Airbnbs during her journey and will be streaming the whole way. As Zepla has been streaming all sorts of things related to Final Fantasy 14 for the past five years, this may be reassuring to hear. The streamer has gathered over 300,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and 200,000 followers on Twitch, many of which may be inclined to follow her flight from Ukraine. She also noted that she might need to rely on her community for help in the future.
Source: PCGamer
