The Editor Selection
"Half and half."
— The King's Return: Kayak's Solo Lane Mad Movie
— Late Night Drinking Talk
— Tournament Highlights Edit (Semifinals, Finals)
…
— Handcam Reaction Compilation
"She made a lot of these…"
The videos submitted by someone who'd applied to be my editor were substantial in number right from the start. I'd estimate at least five, easily surpassing that mark.
That's because I hadn't set any specific requirements for file size or format. Usually, people would specify something like "please make a ten-minute or so video" and even give you a theme to work with, but I hadn't thought that far ahead.
Well, it wasn't really a problem. Since I wasn't streaming right now, this was basically a break period anyway. I could just sit back and watch them one by one at my own pace, like before.
"Hmm…"
To get straight to the point, the editing style itself wasn't exactly the same as back in the day. It still carried some of that old flavor, but it was strangely different, if you know what I mean.
That was only natural. How much time had passed since that person had made my highlights as a "product of fan devotion"? Plenty, that's how much.
More than enough time for someone's editing style to evolve. Just as I had changed, this person had changed too.
Anyway, getting back on track—if I had to judge whether this person's editing was good or bad…
"It's good."
Without even needing to think about it, it was good. It felt evolved in every way compared to the old days.
I'd deliberately searched through various Vtube channels to find a good editor. I'd gone through every single Vtube channel belonging to streamers who used Abyss as their main content—not missing a single one. You could call it research.
And by my judgment, these videos weren't lacking at all compared to what you'd call the big corporations—the walking dinosaurs of the Vtube world.
There was nothing lacking, but there was one thing that puzzled me.
"What's this…?"
The video title: Handcam Reaction Compilation.
Why on earth would someone put on such grand, epic background music and edit a handcam reaction video with this much effort? The screen transitions and flashy effects made it feel like watching a full-blown highlight reel. Anyone watching would think I'd pulled off a 1v6 rampage as Camilla.
It was completely incomprehensible, but I'd heard talented people tend to have a bit of a quirky streak, so I decided to let it slide. Maybe they just wanted to burn with their own artistic soul.
"Out of everyone I've seen so far, this is the best."
To be honest, the fact that we had a past connection made me feel a bit nostalgic, but I kept my evaluation as objective as possible. Vtube—and by extension, money—wasn't something you could mess around with carelessly.
"Let's see, the nickname is…"
Siasia. I wrote that name down on my list of editor candidates and drew three stars next to it.
That meant a strong contender. If no one else who came after was more to my liking, this person would become my editor.
There were about three more applicants left. I wasn't holding my breath. After all, I'd just encountered an incredible candidate—white horses and heroes weren't exactly common.
There was no way another applicant who'd apply to be my editor would come along with skills as impressive as Siasia's, who had captured my heart completely.
"Huh?"
That's what I thought, at least.
But there was. Another editing monster.
***
"...So I turned it on. Simple, right?"
"This never ends no matter how many I block. I told you no sexual harassment."
I blocked another round of sexually harassing chat messages, though there was less of it than right after I'd turned the stream on. It was definitely quieter after repeatedly hammering down on it. But seeing these kinds of messages keep popping up, it felt like there was still a long way to go.
Anyway, that wasn't the important thing right now.
"You really need to choose carefully. I'm only doing this because you all kept asking me to make a Vtube. If you keep talking about my chest and not focusing, I'm not making the channel, okay?"
The tournament, and the minor incidents that had happened during it, had brought in a lot more people than usual.
Looking at the chat scrolling up at twice the normal speed made me a little dizzy. It wasn't because I couldn't read the messages. If anything, the problem was that I could read them too well.
I'd heard that experienced pro streamers barely pay attention to the chat even when they look at it. Now I understood why.
It was definitely a skill I needed to learn quickly. I couldn't keep getting swayed by a chat full of nonsense about my chest and everything else.
"I won't be reflecting it 100%, don't worry. I'm just using it for reference. The final decision is mine anyway."
I needed to lead my own stream. Just like I wasn't going to let viewer chat dictate everything, I shouldn't rely on them for major decisions like this either.
It was just part of communication. And I could use it as stream content on the side, too.
"Thankfully, a lot of people applied for the KayakTube editor position. I've carefully reviewed them and narrowed it down to two people. Please watch the videos and choose one of them."
"Alright, first up is candidate number one. You've all already seen this person's videos. They made the highlights during this tournament, and they happened to apply even though I'm not sure if they're still active."
I started playing Siasia's videos. Not many—just three. A short highlight, a video with the handcam, and one of me drinking and rambling on.
Decent praise. After confirming those evaluations, I immediately started playing the next candidate's videos.
"This person is also somewhat well-known. In their application, they said they run a fan Vtube for me…"
Noon Kayak. A fan Vtube with a somewhat radio-like name.
It wasn't from my very earliest broadcasts, but rather a channel that meticulously edited and uploaded every single one of my streams after I'd turned into a woman.
Usually they uploaded short clips between one and three minutes, but this time, wanting to show off their skills a bit, they'd also sent along a ten-minute Abyss editing video.
Good evaluations came in here too. Compared to Siasia's videos earlier, the reactions weren't falling behind at all.
Now that both sets of videos had been watched, there was only one thing left to do.
"Alright, let's do a vote. Don't feel pressured—just vote for the video you liked better."
About ten minutes of voting. Roughly 3,000 people participated. And the results…
"Wait, it came out like this?"
50 : 50.
A perfect tie.