Chapter 18 : Broadcast Angle

4:00 PM.

I started the broadcast earlier than the time I mentioned with Sayo.

I believe it’s essential to start the stream earlier when there’s content planned, to casually interact with viewers and set a comfortable mood.

There’s content scheduled for 5 o’clock, but turning on the stream at 4:50 and rushing in a flurry ends up being chaotic not only for me but also for the viewers.

That kind of behavior should definitely be avoided.

Just my personal opinion.

Fun content can attract passing viewers, but it’s the communication that creates regulars.

Even something short… Simple or trivial topics are fine too.

In a society filled with indifference and coldness toward each other, a single warm word to someone who’s exhausted can seep deeply into their heart.

That was why I became drawn to Lucy’s streams.

At first, it was her singing and voice, but later it was the warm atmosphere, like a friend… or even like family, that pulled me in.

The “Panbergal” guys often call this kind of process “boiling broth,” but aside from the slang, it’s a necessary skill for female streamers to acquire.

“Seoa-Is-An-Angel-nim, I have something I want to say. Can I?”— Yep! Go ahead.

“Why is the nickname showing now different from the one in your channel? Are you using a subscription nickname? Do you call yourself ‘Seoa-Is-An-Angel’ here, but use someone else’s name in another female streamer’s channel?”

On PangeaTV, if you subscribe, you can use a special subscription nickname for that particular channel.

When I jokingly called that out, the chat blew up.

• Weeeiiiiird!
• Ugh… I feel like I’ve experienced something like this before
• Seoa, I’m sorry! I swear I wasn’t cheating! You’re the only one for me!

“You guys are all kissless virgins but suddenly pretending you’ve had girlfriends? No way. Typical Seoa fans overreacting.”

• Kk? You trying to start something now?
• Starting today, Seoa’s fans are going on an indefinite hunger strike

[User “SeoaPantyThief” has donated 10 candies.]

• They hit first, so fulfilling the nickname is justified, right?

[User “SeoaPantyThief” has been forcibly removed.]

While I was bonding with fans through that playful chaos, a cuckoo arrived.

• Seoa, Sayo is going around checking out virtual streamers. She might stop by here soon.

“Cuckoo” refers to someone who brings news from other streams.

It can be useful, but sometimes it ruins the flow with irrelevant updates, so opinions are split.

“Sayo? Oh, I know her. She’s the one who plays a lot of variety games, right?”

• Wow~ You know Sayo!
• She is famous. He’s got a lot of connections too
• But what’s Sayo doing right now? Is that… Yojjang? Ugh! I saw something cursed.

PangeaTV allows up to three streams open at once, so after the cuckoo message, viewers who tuned into Sayo’s stream reacted oddly.

“Hm? What’s going on? Is Sayo doing something weird? Let me see…”

I casually entered Sayo’s stream and projected it on my own broadcast.

“Hi. I’m a virtual streamer named Yojjang who debuted today. I’m lonely by myself, so I’m looking for a friend to play with. What’s your name?”

“Uh… ah, hello. I’m Saedalkom.”

“Pfft! What kind of name is Saedalkom for a person?! Look at me, Yojjang. Isn’t that a cool name?”

“Ahaha…”

Sayo was going over-the-top trying to create a “broadcast moment.”

But Saedalkom, today’s guest, didn’t seem used to this kind of roleplaying talk and laughed awkwardly.

‘Not a bad avatar. Probably a seasoned virtual streamer. Maybe that’s why?’

The eyes and face shape were a bit off, and facial expressions were lacking, but by 2022 standards, it wasn’t a bad “ddu-tta.”

Huh? What’s a “ddu-tta”?

Originally, it’s a term used for opening a computer case to modify it, but in this industry, it means modifying an avatar.

The process is simple.

You take an avatar from a booth and modify it with your own charm or signature traits.

But the outcome varies wildly depending on the artist’s skill.

When the virtual boom hit hard, skilled artists were booked out for up to six months, making it impossible to hire them.

So people often had to settle for unknown artists, and the poor results would break the streamer’s spirit and get them mocked on forums.

Whew… Lucy was one of those cases.

Looking back, it’s a bittersweet memory.

• Hmm;; This one’s kinda…

[User “YudongIsTheFuture” has donated 5 candies.]
—Ugh, this is so boring. Switching to another virtual streamer lol

[User “YujjongIsTheFuture” has been forcibly removed.]

• Ugh.. the toxic trolls are swarming in
• Let’s keep the chat respectful, people

Because this involved a virtual streamer and a popular figure like Sayo, the viewer count reached 9,000.

But as expected with high viewership, managing the chat became difficult due to toxic trolls.

Sensing that through donation messages, Sayo tried to change the mood by asking Saedalkom to dance—something she was known for.

“Uh, okay… I’ll give it a try.”

It took a little time, but she logged into VRChat smoothly.

Meanwhile, maybe a cuckoo came in again, but Saedalkom seemed stiff, conscious of the 9,000 viewers.

Back at RabbitTV, her average viewership was about 30 to 40, right?

Of course she’d be nervous.

♬♪ A familiar BGM starts playing.

The Zero Two dance that swept through 2021.

In the midst of viewers’ expectant gazes, Saedalkom’s avatar began to dance.

With both arms wrapped behind the neck, the waist swayed gently to the rhythm of the song.

An addictive melody and repetitive movements.

The viewers’ reactions varied widely.

There were those who, having only ever seen human streamers do the Zero Two dance, found the virtual avatar’s dance novel and fascinating.

Then there were those who had somewhat adjusted to the avatar, but felt a strange discomfort the moment it danced, sensing something not quite human.

To be honest, even that kind of reaction was relatively mild.

If I’m being honest myself, I had criticized Lucy the first time she did a broadcast using a virtual avatar.

Should I call it the “uncanny valley”?

There was something unsettling about how it resembled a human too awkwardly.

Well… knowing it was Lucy inside, I forced myself to watch, and eventually I did get used to it.

• Ah damn lol I can’t watch this
• Let’s just go watch a girl cam, what even is this
• Is it true that weebs get off to this stuff??

Having felt the same way once, I can understand the discomfort.

But expressing that discomfort violently was an unacceptable act of reckless freedom.

Thankfully, Sayo, with extensive broadcasting experience, was a reliable moderator in that regard.

In an instant, the group responsible for the toxic chat was swept out of the stream.

“Hah… Haah… W-was that okay?”

Meanwhile, having just finished the Zero Two dance, Saedalkom asked Sayo with slightly labored breathing.

In response, Sayo hyped up and clapped enthusiastically.

It was a desperate act to keep the stream’s atmosphere alive.

Since the host was pulling off such a clown act, nearly half the viewers—those considered part of Sayo’s fandom—joined in, praising her performance in chat.

But I could see it.

They were only typing because of Sayo; there was no soul in their messages.

The reason was simple.

Of course, the unfamiliarity with virtual dancing played a part, but above all else…

“She’s not doing the Zero Two dance correctly.”

• Gasp?!
• Seoa, what do you mean by that?
• Since yesterday she’s been shading new streamers in her titles, savage lol
• You really calling her out like that? Cuckoo flying straight into Sayo’s stream!
• Damn lol, does this mean we get to see Seoa dance now? Don’t tell me you’re backing out like last time.

Suddenly, my chat window went completely berserk.

And the moment I saw it, I realized I’d messed up.

Damn it. I meant to think it, but it slipped out.

Maybe 20 seconds had passed?

Before I could smooth things over, I suddenly heard Sayo’s voice calling for me.

She couldn’t resist—someone had already flown over to tattle.

Perhaps tired of clowning alone, Sayo’s voice was filled with unwavering determination not to miss this chance.

In the end, for the smooth continuation of the stream, I, Sayo, and Saedalkom all joined a Discord call.

After brief greetings, Sayo tried to confirm the authenticity of what the “cuckoo” had reported.

“…I heard it. Is it true?”

It was too late to hide.

Just from my stream alone, 500 viewers had heard the comment directly.

A clip might already be up on the community forums.

But it wouldn’t be fun to just admit it.

To keep the content spicy, I exaggerated my voice just a bit and said,

“Yeah, I was baiting.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that…”

“So what are you going to do about it? What can you even do, huh?”

“Huh?”

“All you can do is gather like a bunch of nerds and ask me if it’s true like losers—”

“Wanna shut your stream down?”

“Sorry. I’ll get my Zero Two ready right now.”

And just like that, the broadcast content took a sharp turn.