Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Minor Gallery Strategy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Basically, the main viewer base for the Heavenly Realm Project passers consists of viewers drawn in by The Six's promotions.
In short, the members' viewer bases overlap a lot and circulate among each other.
However, there's just one exception.
Only I have community-originated viewers as my main audience.
As a result, the atmosphere is completely different from the others, and viewers flowing in from other members' streams naturally blend into this chat culture—truly living out the adage "those who mix with ink become black."
The company was aware of this issue even before I passed and suggested an audience purge.
I turned down the offer, but they passed me anyway, and now the big and small side effects are starting to show.
Here, I have two choices.
Clean up the viewers.
Or let it grow as is.
And obviously, I'm choosing the latter.
I've already rejected the former by refusing the company's proposal, haven't I?
Besides, some major corporations maintain similar vibes in their streams.
So it's not like growth is impossible.
This might even make it easier for other viewers to flow in.
It's simpler to step into a somewhat free street than a strictly regulated clean zone, but the problem is clashes with other fandoms.
Given the group's nature, we'll collab often and do plenty of joint projects, so fandom fights would be a hassle, wouldn't they? This calls for some traffic control.
So while streaming, I decided to briefly mention the issue and warn the viewers.
"So, got it? I'm not saying to get along with other fandoms—just don't fight."
-Yeah yeah lol
-But those ink bastards started it...
-Yes (entering the cafe)
Agh...
Why does it feel like this won't go down well?
Cracking down hard and creating pressure here is amateur hour.
Streamers sometimes misunderstand: streamers and viewers are never in a superior-inferior relationship.
If anything, it's a transactional partnership where the streamer gets money and fame, and viewers get fun and satisfaction.
Business partners, in other words.
So in cases like this, gently coax them first, then repeatedly emphasize step by step.
Going hard from the start just breeds backlash.
"Don't do that—let's do this right. Miro's stream is something we build and grow together, right?"
-Hmm... yeah...
-We're partners, so why do you take all the money?
-That much?
Ink bastards...
These sulky viewers won't listen, so time to switch topics like always.
"Anyway, how about League of Legends low-rank 5-stack for today's stream?"
-Nice lol
-Thank you
-Joining right now
"Alright, drop your nicknames. I'll randomly invite."
It was a one-off game anyway, so I planned to invite randos and play a few rounds.
But then—*ping*—a donation message arrived.
[Artisan Miro-nim, thank you for the 10,000 won donation!]
Are Miro-nim's eyes okay? Just worried, so asking. (LoL nick: Artisan Miro)
Seeing the out-of-nowhere eye-check donation, I reacted quick.
"Ah—thanks for the 10,000 won! My eyes were getting blurry, hard to read chat, but leaving voice note like this... this Shim Cheong doesn't know where to put herself..."
-lolololololol
-Me
-Lock
-Bullshit no
-Ah fuck
-Jotnaeno
-Damn, hangover guy's collecting tolls
"Haha... just kidding. Since you donated, inviting you first and taking applicants. Real fan from the LoL nick."
-But isn't that an abbreviation? lol
-Nursing home go board or something...
-Invite me pls
"Here you go, invited. Next... hold on... am I tired today? Eyes are blurry."
[Stationery Thief Miro-nim, thank you for the 5,000 won donation!]
Steel Heart Miro <- Invite this one, you punk
"Welcome aboard!"
-Eyes blurry, can't be helped lol
-Dropping oshi (oshi release).
-Charging up and coming back ffs..
"Hey now, last two from actual chat. Alright... this one and..."
Having added some fun, I then properly picked randos from chat, invited them, and started the game.
**
After the stream ended, I asked the Manager about the Fan Cafe issue.
[Oh, we were aware of that too.]
"Really? You knew?"
[Yep. Compared to other members, Miro-nim gets tons of community mentions and has a solid viewer base, but the cafe's unusually inactive. I was gonna bring it up sometime.]
"I see... Any idea how the company views this situation?"
[It's internal, but... we don't have a good fix. The obvious play is to bite the bullet and purge, but with you already passed and viewers locked in, it'd spark massive backlash. Plus, you don't want that anyway, right?]
"True... But if we keep going like this, it might bother the team, so I gotta be careful."
[Yeah, that's probably best. Company-wise, they're positive about you.]
"Oh, really?"
Honestly, I figured the company wouldn't like it, but they're cool with me?
[Yes. Not to bring it up now, but there was a lot of debate on passing you at first. But the composer praised you during songwork, and you lead collabs so well, don't you?]
"Y-Yeah?"
[Point is, don't worry about the company. You're contributing plenty to the team's growth. Just be more cautious about fandom clashes.]
I was impressed by the Manager's words.
Is this the same guy I could barely make eye contact with back then?
Speaking smoothly without a hitch—super helpful.
Didn't call for comfort, but it feels comforting.
No wonder the company trusts him with all six members.
[Anyway, you're growing well, so keep handling schedules like now. Good night.]
After hanging up, I blankly stared at the ceiling.
"...So the conclusion is just keep doing what I'm doing?"
Is that really okay?
Feeling a bit uneasy, I decided to ego-surf for the first time in ages.
Logged into an anonymous community site I rarely visit anymore to search my name, and there it was—top post with my name plastered on it.
[Miro Red Pill Dropped (19)]
"Huh? What?"
Red Pill.
Motif from that famous movie's red pill, meaning the truth about a VTuber's real identity.
So, a post about my personal info.
Freaking out about what dirt I had, I clicked—and bam, a huge photo.
[Miro Red Pill Dropped]
(Miro avatar extreme close-up face shot.jpg)
Boost for others to see lol
"Ah, fuck."
Top post had me panicking, but it was clickbait?
Comments showed they even botted it to top.
"This guy's a viewer of mine too, huh...?"
Is this the kind of crowd in my stream?
Maybe I should've purged after all? As I seriously pondered that, a sudden idea hit me.
"What if I just use this place like a Fan Cafe?"
Anonymous, galleries split by topics.
Subsections per gallery—cafe or here, what's the difference?
Core issue unsolved, but splitting up makes announcements easier, separates fandoms, reduces fights, right?
With that thought, I decided to create a Miro minor gallery right then.
Can't make without account, so signed up and opened a minor gallery.
Miro minor already exists, so applied for Song Queen Miro minor gallery.
But now worry creeps in.
Streamers hinting they check anonymous communities is bad.
Especially creating a gallery yourself—bound to stir controversy...
But your own gallery's different, right?
Even celebs post in their communities sometimes—as long as it doesn't muddy waters?
Thinking that, I applied for the gallery, sketched a rough plan, and called the Manager.
Late, but not past bedtime yet.
Thankfully, connected after a few rings.
[Hello? Miro-nim?]
"Manager-nim, sorry for the late hour, but I have something to ask."
[No worries. Go ahead.]
As he said to speak freely, I told him everything I'd thought and done so far.
[No way!]
Then he chewed me out till way past bedtime.
Yeah, figured it wouldn't fly.