The Return of the Confessional
Before I knew it, it had already been half a year since I started streaming.
At this point, I feel like I could finally shed the "beginner streamer" title, don't you think?
Even though I was forced into streaming because of the Shining Stars, it turned out to be a job that suited my aptitude quite well. Well, I suppose that’s only natural—before I became a Fervent Follower, I spent my entire day at home just watching Vtuber streams. It would have been weirder if I wasn't good at it.
It’s not just about aptitude, though.
Streaming has now become a part of my hobby life. I’m not joking—even if the first duty of a Fervent Follower—"You must stream once a day"—were to disappear tomorrow, I would probably continue to stream every single day.
Why? Because it’s fun!
I only streamed out of a sense of duty for the first three months. After that, I started enjoying it myself, which led me to bring in more diverse and proactive content.
The reason I could get so hooked on streaming was, of course, thanks to the grace of the Shining Stars, but my followers played a huge role as well.
Even if I had the talent of an Ayase Mitsuko, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy streaming if the viewership wasn't there. To be blunt, if I had been slamming my head against my desk every single day with only ten viewers, I wouldn't have felt this level of interest in streaming.
I have a lot of gratitude for the followers who watch my broadcasts. I’m not just saying this to pander to the audience—it’s the honest truth, really.
With that in mind:
"I’m thinking of running a little event."
Hmm. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I should call this an "event." But since it’s for the viewers, I suppose the word "event" is appropriate enough.
"It’s time for the Confessional. Everyone, take your seats."
As I spoke, the chat went wild.
They were skeptical, and rightfully so. The "Confessional" content is actually carried by the viewers, not me. In fact, the reason I was able to grow my channel so quickly was because of this very segment—specifically, the story from that one net-kama (a man pretending to be a woman online).
That story became such a huge topic that it hit the trending posts on every community, regardless of age or gender. I can safely say that it really put my name on the map.
[User_OO donated 10,000 won]: Confessional is fine, but why is this a viewer event?
[HolyJia donated 10,000 won]: Honestly, I don't think any story will ever top the net-kama one, so it's a bit of a shame lol
"I agree. That person was the GOAT."
Even if I stream for the next ten years, I have a feeling I’ll never hear a story that surpasses that one. Starting as a net-kama and actually falling in love with the other person? How could you ever top that level of dopamine? That wasn't just a story; it was a light novel or a movie script.
Content is consumable. No matter how fun it is, you eventually get tired of it if you do it too often. I hadn't done a Confessional in months, so the cooldown was definitely ready, but I wanted to do something a bit different this time to keep things fresh.
"Today, I’ve brought a slightly different kind of Confessional."
"It’s a time for you, my followers, to be forgiven for the sins you’ve committed against me."
"To put it simply... today isn't Liberation Day, but it's time to release those who have been locked in the prison of my ban list."
"It’s a Ban Lift event."
The domestic Vtuber gallery is an abyss. By its very nature, it’s a place where you can anonymously spew whatever you want, so it’s fundamentally an abyss. Despite that, it isn't usually treated as a "malicious gallery" because the moderators manage it with an iron fist.
Vtuber trolling, infighting, comparisons between cam-streamers and Vtubers—any problematic or potentially misleading posts are deleted within a minute of being uploaded.
Looking at it this way, you might think it’s a very clean gallery for one hidden behind the mask of anonymity, but...
[Title: Breaking News) Lee Jia announces ban lift]
[Title: F***, it's time]
[Title: I had 10 accounts banned, requested a lift for all of them lol]
...Well, let's just say the titles of the popular posts are a bit far from the word "clean."
The content was even more ridiculous. One user, "VtuberGallery35," claimed they were unfairly banned for a "creative" joke involving a middle-aged man's tone of voice, which resulted in a flood of comments calling them a freak and a spy.
As you can see, the regulars of the Vtuber gallery aren't necessarily "malicious," but they have a mischievous streak. Once I announced the ban lift event, everyone started posting about their requests.
The sheer volume was... more than I could handle.
"There are conditions. First, the sin must be something I can at least somewhat understand. Second, you must write a sincere letter of apology."
The number of people who requested a ban lift? Ten thousand.
Not one thousand. Not five thousand. Ten thousand.
Is this even a real number? Anyone looking would think I’ve been a professional streamer for ten years. Why are there so many banned people?
Even Ayase had run a ban lift event before, but the number was only around 500. Yet, in my stream, which has a lower average viewership than Ayase's, the number of requests was 20 times higher.
The term "Shin-pyeong" (a play on "faith level") really comes to mind. And my manager, who swung the ban hammer on all these people? They’re incredible. They really do their job well.
I felt like I should meet them in real life soon and buy them a meal. Now that I’ve received the requests:
"Everyone who requested a ban lift, go post your apologies on the fan cafe."