The Awkwardness of Speaking in Casual Register Amidst a Backlash
.."
I had been doing the broadcast in a polite, kind tone whenever I tried to come off as decent and friendly, and at the time I thought it was a bit bothersome and clumsy. But now that I was finally going to drop that and just speak casually, something felt off about it. The words weren't flowing naturally at all. Just earlier, the one person who had started something with me, it had come out easily. But now I had to talk to a few hundred people watching my stream right now.
I wiggled my mouth around but... uh...
"Ah, it's like... when I actually try to do casual speech... uh..."
-
-You're embarrassed?
-Cute
-Whoa, a kid?
"What kind of kid... I'm almost thirty..."
Ah, was age-baiting really a thing? And I'm not even an idol, so picking on my age? That's weird, right?
"I guess it's not so much embarrassment as awkwardness... what do I call it... uh..."
-You should just swear. You swear so well
-Treat them like subordinates
"Treating them like subordinates? That's easy. 'Tch, look at their barracks lives, you bastards. Open the window and get some air in here, and if your laundry's dry, hurry up and fold it, you damn morons...' Like that? But I only did it back in basic training for the squad... so nowadays they say you shouldn't just act like that..."
I guess back then there was that saying about not being able to treat people however you want. I didn't really know.
But if you're an officer, shouldn't you be able to get a little closer and treat the soldiers nicely?
-
-Ah shit...
-You're the real deal?
-I thought you were just wearing the uniform
"I wasn't in the military for long, but I did spend a bit as an NCO before I got out... uh. Did I? Yeah, I did."
Ah... no matter what, casual speech just isn't something I can get used to yet. But maybe with practice...
"Uh, yeah. Anyway, I have to pay for the donations. Casual speech! I'll try my best. No, I'll do my best? Or should I say I'll strive? Wait, what do I say?"
The chat window suddenly flooded with messages. At first glance it seemed like mostly positive reactions, which was good. Honestly, it was kind of funny to watch.
But I really didn't know how to say it...
「Anonymous donated 1,000 Jeollyeok.
With the earlier controversy dying down, mind telling us how you felt about the earlier outburst?」
"How I felt? Well... it was what it was..."
-
-
-Whoa
--
Oh crap, did I sound too raw and honest?
But people seemed to like it more than I thought, so maybe it's fine...
"No... honestly, I know what it's like to read the room. I get why they did it, but why come to my stream... I'm grateful they filled the slot, though..."
I had noticed some people were suddenly swarming in from other places where they were fighting each other. I just didn't know their trigger buttons, so I was being careful with what I said. But anyway, it's Twitch. It's content for otaku, and otaku get super heated over the slightest things.
The same thing happened with the 2ch types before I went to Heinzel, so it probably won't be that different now.
But speaking casually like I'm talking to Doni makes it feel natural. It's like a one-on-one conversation.
"Ah, but now I think I get how to do it. Talking to Doni makes it easy. So... you guys want me to throw some Doni your way?"
-?
-Um?
-What the heck is Doni
-Doni is trustworthy lol
"No... don't hold back, just say it straight... I've been streaming almost for free until now, so now it's time to start getting paid..."
After I said that, I glanced at the chat. It wasn't as bad as I feared. And at the same time I realized something obvious.
As expected... it's best to be pretty and have big breasts.
Honestly I thought that line was too much, but the visuals made it work. It still came off cute, and they forgave me, with all sorts of teasing comments pouring in.
But even though I already said I was almost thirty, they still called me cute... My inner common sense was cracking. Or are those people older than me? No way...
"Anyway, since I got a ton of money, I'll handle it properly without worrying about the room."
-Why is one shot at life so precious
"As for the story I was telling... first of all, I was panicking when I saw the question mark pop up in the chat out of nowhere, and then when they suddenly swarmed in and started raging, I panicked even more. I was shaking like a leaf."
-
The chat was bursting with laughter, but I wasn't cracking jokes to be funny. I was genuinely terrified that my stream was about to crash.
My stream isn't just a way to make money. It's something way more important.
"Of course I understand that the people involved might be pissed off. But I was clueless, so I was being careful, and why wasn't the Twitch ban applied? 'Ban that guy, ban that one'... it was just chaos. I mean, how was I supposed to know that 'bitch' was a hate expression?!"
-Your stomach's gonna explode~
"And even some idiots were mixing up the word for 'bitch' with the donation spam and flooding the chat, and not letting the mods do their job. Unbelievable, they had no shame..."
As I was simmering, I spotted a particularly annoying chat message.
-Excuse me, but can I ask about your breast size?
-Open the lights in the room
"Excuse me, but can I ask about your breast size? Are you serious? You think just being polite means they'll tell you? What's with that pretty username and asking about breast size? Your nickname's off the charts."
-
-Madman lol
-Funny as hell
「Anonymous donated 1,000 Jeollyeek.
You said your nickname isn't pretty, so does that mean you're admitting your content is pretty?」
"That's right... uh... um. Come check out my content~"
-
-Of course the person themselves saying it... yeah
So, if a pretty woman doesn't know she's pretty?
I moved on from that. I did the World Cup. Before we could even start anything proper, drama and chaos piled up and the stream was all over the place, but we had to keep going.
After that the broadcast flowed smoothly. Casual speech was one thing, and I was still being respectful to other streamers, so no matter who came out I pointed out their design strengths and points, and sometimes compared them to characters.
Fundamentally, the way you say the same thing changes how the audience takes it. With a little packaging it didn't cause any big backlash in the chat, and it went okay.
And there it was, the final match.
"So the last one is... Tsukinomiya Ruruna from Luminaria and Zapina from Children of Paradise... ah, this is tough..."
-
-Hmm...
-Get ready
"What do you mean get ready? It's just a preference."
Of course, reaching the finals meant they both had designs I liked a lot and some strong kicks, so it was tough to choose.
First was Tsukinomiya Ruruna. Tsuki and Luna. So many moon references in the name, and the design had a nice mix of moon symbols and accessories. The color palette was unified in a soft lavender to ivory tone that I liked. It had that anime-like elegant and fleeting vibe of someone who won't live long, like a transcendent or a timer running out.
Second was Zapina. Her name sounded super fierce, but when I asked the chat to read it backwards they said Na Pizza. Na Pizza. Fitting that name, there were pizza elements all over. But it was weirdly funny, cute, and suited her perfectly.
"They're so different in vibe that it's hard to pick... tough, so tough. But I have to choose. Today's World Cup winner is~"
-
-Indeed
- The monitor light reflection on your face is hilarious
"The winner is... Tsukinomiya Ruruna! Congratulations~ Give her a round of applause!"
Of course, when comparing cute and pretty, you have to go with the latter. It was close, though. Hard to pick.
While watching the chat explode with clapping emojis, I checked the time. Before we even started the content there had been so much noise, and I thought it would fly by quickly. But it took forever.
One by one they gave opinions, praise, and reacted to TMI in the chat, and the broadcast uptime had already passed six hours. That was... pretty long, wasn't it?
The viewer count had dropped from almost a thousand to just about three hundred, but if I assumed everyone who just came to throw money left, it wasn't a big deal. If anything, it was a win. Those who came just to stir up trouble got pulled into my stream and ended up following. The followers skyrocketed...
Today's stream wasn't bad at all. Mmhm.
...
...
...
As Lim Ttidue, Seo Yuna, was about to wrap up her personal-feeling broadcast, the VerchGal was unfolding something completely different.
[Breaking News) Ttihuang Ruruna Wins lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol]
[Pizza Ham Tttaa!! Winners Gooo the Nakta Dogs from before are gone lol]
[Chicken Bros, if you get pissed then what? You gonna bully the cam dragon because of disability?]
[Cute = when you have no other female way to compliment. And Ttidue... here it ends]
[Yeah, Naga's done for, they even get disrespected by this kind of person lol]
[Ttidue got the ass ban? Luminaria is generally ranked higher]
[But isn't it funny that they said 'pretty' when they saw the Ruruna pic? No taste]
People who had been watching the stream out of curiosity or because Seo Yuna's visuals were awesome were now watching the real-time Gal stream about the Luminaria vs Children of Paradise finals where Luminaria won. They kept poking at the Eve fans of Naga, and the Eve were directing that anger at Ttidue, who had just been a tool and a means to an end. Even those who hadn't watched the stream live were convinced the Gal stream was truth, or they wanted to believe it. That Ttidue had ignored Naga, that she was a Luminaria fan, that she knew the hate comments against Naga but didn't ban them, that she was just lurking the VerchGal...
No matter what, the things were slowly happening in places Seo Yuna didn't know about.