The Hostage Reveal Strategy
Ohhh!! It came out exactly how I wanted. As expected from the super capable Pyeong-nim. She makes everything happen. Just like that… make a wish. Yep!! I’ve reached the stage where I can just say that. She covered the face properly but left the signature twin braids visible. Those are the most important part of the hair, after all!
“Hmm… looks good.” I didn’t show the photo to everyone. I just opened it on the second monitor. This way, hehe. Curious, right? Super curious? In streaming terms, this is what we call “hostage.” I’ll keep dropping hints about when I’ll reveal it… and keep everyone watching. It’s Raming’s specialty. I’ve fallen for it a few times myself. She’ll say the announcement is at 8, keep talking and talking until 9 or 10, and by the time you hear it, the actual content is only five minutes long while she’s already milked everything else out of the stream.
“Ehehe. Curious?” Go on, be curious. But I’m keeping it hostage. Maybe I’ll show it near the very end? I’ll think about it.
I’ve learned a ton from watching other YouTubers. One thing that really resonated with me is how humans can’t help but show off when they have something to brag about. It came up in a conversation about VTuber “red pills”—once you have something worth showing off, you just can’t hide it. Look at Moddeok; her shoulders are ridiculous. Even in baggy clothes they still look big. She sneaks in the flex every chance she gets. Raming… has a really pretty voice. That’s why she does so much ASMR and talks about cosmetics all the time. Even during a mukbang she’d go on and on about skincare. I learned a lot from watching her.
Anyway, humans just can’t hold back when they want to brag. How are you supposed to keep it in when you’re proud? The fact that some people manage to hold back is actually impressive. The ones who can’t aren’t weird for it.
“Ehehe.” They’re begging me to show it and it’s hilarious. This… this is when I have to hold back. Hold it in, keep the hostage, and maintain viewer retention. I’ve grown so much that I can actually picture the broadcast flow in my head now.
“Ehehe.” It’s actually funny. The chat that was just yelling at me is now going “EHAHAHA!!” Today’s mood is a perfect 100 points. Super good. If you’re that curious, endure it!! Watch till the end!!
I kept drawing Seon-a. The cute Seon-a with her twin braids was bouncing along to the rhythm, dancing. Her face was mosaicked, but I knew the original. Those pretty eyes and slightly upturned mouth corners full of mischief. I drew her in an anime-character style. Arms crossed, fists lightly raised in time with the beat—like she was saying, “I did good, right?” How do I know? Because she actually thought and acted that way when we took the photo. She was so proud. Ehehe.
Next I tried the “eeng” pose—body slightly leaned forward, right arm bent and resting casually. But hidden inside was calculated allure and familiar ease. How do I know? Because that’s exactly what I was thinking. I looked up provocative poses on purpose. I’m not an idiot. I do think these things through!!
One thing I regret is not wearing the outfit Maru-nim bought me for the photo. The slightly wrinkled black T-shirt was a bit of a flaw.
“How is it? I’m doing a redraw right now. Does anyone have any feedback?”
“Ah, I have to think about that too? The virtual ones with the big eyes… oh. Right, that makes sense.” Once I said it out loud, it clicked. Of course. We’re creating something from nothing, so everything has to be handmade.
“Should I write them all down then?” I opened a notepad and started listing. Heart eyes were the most requested. Sticking out the tongue? Noted. Sad eyes. Scornful shadow… these people really know their stuff. Blush? Got it. A lot of people asked what I was going to do about the clothes. This one I could answer clearly.
“You can see it here, right? This black T-shirt I wear all the time. I’m going to use this for the outfit.”
“Hmm… then what should I make? I really didn’t know, that’s why I asked.” The backlash was so strong I had to back off. If I hadn’t experienced viewer pushback in past streams, I would’ve poured oil on the fire here. I don’t do that anymore. It only hurts me in the end. These people are more stubborn and fierce than I am. They’ll keep biting until either they die or the other person dies.
“Ah!! Do it according to RP? Ohhh!! Really?” I still don’t fully understand VTuber culture. What RP even is, why we do it, what’s good about it—I haven’t figured it out yet. I used to stream fine without it, so why does RP have to exist? More importantly, what even is my RP?
“But… what was my RP again?” I must have written something long and detailed back then, but I’ve completely forgotten. It wasn’t because I’m an idiot. My schedule was just way too packed. Collabs, collabs, and more collabs. Everything else got pushed down the priority list and naturally abandoned.
“Ah… I really don’t remember. Do you guys know?”
“Hmm…” I fiddled with my lips, thinking. It was genuinely fun back then. I used to daydream about it happily, but now nothing comes to mind.
“I don’t know. I’ll tell you if I remember later!! Let’s move on from RP for now. Clothes. Please recommend outfits first.”
I spent thirty minutes debating clothes with chat. The one that won unanimously was the black dress worn by vampire ladies. Next was sportswear—the kind you wear for yoga. That one stayed too. There were tons of suggestions, but I can’t make everything. I don’t know the details, but since they’ll all be custom-made, it’ll probably be expensive. Honestly, money… well, it’s fine. Viewers donate a lot, so I’ll just think of it as content expenses.
Even so, people in chat started fighting over it. Seriously arguing. I had no choice but to mediate and cool things down.
“Let’s stop here for now. I’ll pick the rest slowly. Post your ideas in the café!!” I never dreamed people would fight over something like this. Really.
Anyway, the draft was decided. I saved the drawing I made and the notepad full of viewer feedback and sent them to Pyeong-nim. From here on, she’ll handle everything.
“Then… RP. We skipped it earlier, so let’s think about it now.” It was definitely fun and happy in my head back then. What was it about? I’ve never said it out loud, but I hope someone remembers!! Please.
“Hmm…”
Ohhh!! As expected from the smart viewers. The memory is coming back faintly?! Ah!! That’s right. Maru Princess. Maru Princess. Yeah.
“That’s right!! But… she’s a goddess now. Why was she a princess back then?” I really can’t remember anything. Because of all the collabs and time passing, it’s gone. If I was going to do it, I should’ve done it quickly. I’m learning again. I’ve grown once more. If you’re going to do something, do it fast—speedrun style!!
“Uh… what was I back then?”
“Ooh… knight commander? Got it. I’ll look it up. I must have done something, right? Uh, what’s this?”
Someone suddenly dropped a YouTube link. At first I thought it was a hack, but it was from the 4th-ranked angel in the donation ranking, so I clicked it.
“Mine… ah!! Maru Princess and the Knight Commander rewatch. Ohhh. Thank you.” It was my own VOD. I watched it slowly, trying to recall the RP. The memories started coming back, hazy.
“Ah… back then. Ooh… I get it. Ah. Yeah. Hmm… I still don’t know.” I’ll have to think about this properly tonight. The way my voice sounded so happy and how Maru-nim responded made it obvious there was a script prepared. Me speaking so confidently? Definitely scripted. I know I couldn’t have ad-libbed that.
After that, I browsed the café for about thirty minutes.
“Then I’ll end the stream without gaming today!! Everyone!!” Normally I’d do low-effort chat for two or three hours then game, but today I only did chat for eight hours. From deciding on the break day, drawing, getting feedback, to deeply discussing what RP even is—time flew by.
“I’ll prepare a fun game for tomorrow!! Ah, wait, tomorrow’s a break day. Thank you. Then I’ll think about the RP and prepare a game too!!”
I almost ended without checking chat. The roulette had landed on a break day tomorrow!! Though calling it a break is funny when the content is already making my head explode. Ugh.