A Gift for Blueby
On stream, it looked like we'd dropped all formalities and gotten comfortable with each other — but all of that was business. The moment the cameras went off, the awkwardness crept right back in. That was just how the streaming world worked.
Of course, once you built up a more personal friendship, you could stay close both on stream and off. But charging in too aggressively from the start only made the other person uncomfortable.
Leave the occasional Discord message so I don't get forgotten, keep crossing paths on stream, and eventually the relationship will warm up.
Then someday I'd reap the benefits of knowing Oh-ha — who was well on her way to becoming a solid mid-tier streamer — and Park Na-na, who had rock-solid connections on the virtual side of things.
Not that I meant to use them one-sidedly, of course. Unbalanced relationships never lasted long. Mutual benefit was the only way.
The buzz around this content had been truly incredible. Part of it was the pure entertainment value, but Decrescendo and V-Live fans had also been aggressively spreading the word, pumping out popular post after popular post.
Honestly, when Dal-da had hosted the first episode of PUBG Kindergarten before us, the response had been pretty lukewarm. Just Rena Universe fans and a handful of virtual streamer enthusiasts showing up, that kind of energy.
That much had been unavoidable. The first episode had been weaker on pure entertainment value, it hadn't had the emotional beats of the congratulatory song or Oh-ha's tears that the second episode delivered, and above all, Rena Universe simply wasn't at its peak right now.
Rena-ttang, fresh off her fight with Yume, had now started battling her own agency. A sensitive issue involving company shares. With the crew's center of gravity shaken like that, neither the affiliated streamers nor their fans could keep their heads on straight.
Decrescendo and V-Live, on the other hand, were riding a rocket ship straight up — so of course their momentum was on another level entirely.
This one's wrapped up nicely. Time to start prepping for what's next.
November had less than two weeks left. December 2nd was the start date for Rena World. There was a lot to get ready in advance.
Actually, there's one massive event before that. And if luck's on my side, I might just land a clean hit on that annoying little pest this time around.
My memories reached back a few days.
A crew meeting held on one of my off days. I'd spoken seriously about the future of our crew.
"Our crew's future is Minecraft first, Minecraft second, and Minecraft third!"
"Mayo's fourth, so can Mayo skip out then?"
"Mayo. Unnie is being serious right now, so how about you read the room?"
"Ugh... boomer. Nobody even says that anymore."
"You little—!"
After subduing the smart-mouthed Mayo, Miho and Lucy's questions followed. From their perspective, it must have seemed strange. On Pangea TV, Minecraft was just as barren a wasteland as virtual streaming had once been.
"I think I mentioned this before, but I've got a source. Word is a Minecraft server is going to open."
"Yeah? But even if a server opens, will it actually catch on? This is Pangea TV we're talking about. Maybe on Rabbit TV, sure."
Miho's concern was entirely reasonable. Minecraft was generally seen as a one-trick content mill for farming views off kids on YouTube.
But starting with Rena World, everything changed. It went beyond just being a game — by layering in the "visible radio" style that Pangea TV ate up, it became an absolute smash hit. Viewers, Candy donations, YouTube views — every single metric went through the roof. The aftershocks were so massive they triggered a full-scale tectonic shift across Pangea TV.
The old Pangea TV had a cycle. League of Legends, PUBG, StarCraft, FIFA — trends rotated through those games on a set schedule. Three months of LoL popularity, then three months of StarCraft, then PUBG, and so on. That was how you kept viewers from getting sick of the same visuals on repeat.
But after Rena World, that cycle on Pangea TV completely fell apart. The moment one Minecraft server shut down, the next one was already lining up right behind it. A Minecraft golden age that put even the StarCraft golden age to shame.
Knowing that future and still not playing Minecraft would have been pure idiocy.
Rena World especially. It was the most popular server of them all, and more servers would keep opening after it. If you didn't build name recognition during that window, you wouldn't even have a seat at the table.
Minecraft servers weren't places just anyone could join because they felt like it. Without connections to the server admin, or without ranking high enough on the platform, you could want to play all you wanted and still end up staring from the sidelines.
How many small-time streamers had made a racket just begging for a single shot at a Minecraft server? It got so common that people would throw Candy donations as bribes on the admin's stream and pledge themselves as broadcast slaves during server interviews.
Hard to believe that in the early days, they accepted pretty much anyone who applied. Talk about a complete reversal of fortunes.
In the end, timing was everything. And knowing that future, I had no choice but to hammer the Minecraft point home to my crew all over again.
"Just trust me on this. Did anyone think virtual streaming would even be possible on Pangea TV? I was the first one to do it."
"But Minecraft is boring. LoL is still the best."
This damn LoL-obsessed brat. Still, Mayo at least had Minecraft experience, so she wasn't a real concern.
"I've never played it."
"Me neither. I've seen videos in passing on YouTube, but that's it."
Miho and Lucy's voices shrank, sounding unsure of themselves. But that was fine. Rena World wasn't an RPG server anyway — it was more of a visible-radio experience where the ability to write a story mattered most. Knowing the basic controls was more than enough.
I walked both of them through that slowly, making sure they understood.
"Really? Then that's a relief. We'll start practicing a little from now on."
"Unnie, then let's practice together."
Good. With that, I'd successfully convinced the whole crew. But today's business wasn't finished yet.
I sent the other two off first and quietly kept Lucy behind.
"What's up? You've got something just for me?"
"Ah, unnie. So, here's the thing."
I racked my brain hard. I hadn't exactly taken any real damage so far, but how many times had I been led around by the nose according to Blueby's designs? It was about time I delivered a proper warning.
So I'd waited for my chance, and at last the right moment had arrived. Setting a trap for someone as suspicious as Blueby, though, was no easy task. If I brought it up myself, she'd play dumb and start digging into the background first thing.
That's why I need Lucy. At the very least, she'll believe whatever Lucy tells her.
I felt a twinge of guilt about using Lucy, but it couldn't be helped. Ultimately, this was a way of protecting her.
"So... you know. About Blueby. You mentioned you talked to her about Minecraft last time, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. When you said Minecraft was going to be super important, I passed it along. Figured it'd be good for Blueby to start prepping early too."
I couldn't exactly put a gag order on Lucy right then and there. From her perspective, Blueby was a close friend, and she still believed Blueby and I were on good terms. A little advice like that would seem perfectly natural to share.
What mattered here was a shift in thinking. Lucy's goodwill, sharing information to help Blueby out. But what if that information was wrong? Even someone as wary and careful as Blueby would never doubt Lucy's pure-hearted sincerity.
That sucker punch the other day was pretty good. But I'm not the type to go down that easy.
I'd pay it back with interest.
I finished running through the scenario in my head and opened my mouth toward Lucy.
"Actually, according to the info I've got, it looks like not one but two Minecraft servers are going to open. I figured it'd be nice for Blueby to have more options. You know, if you're only thinking about one and then miss out on a better opportunity."
"Huh? Really? But what about Miho unnie and Mayo?"
"Ahh. Honestly, I want our crew locked into the server I'm planning to join, no questions asked. I've got a personal connection with the staff over there. But that kind of talk is sensitive, you know? So I'm only telling you because I trust you."
"Ah... I see."
"Yeah. So keep that part a secret from Blueby too. I mean, I trust her, but mistakes happen and you can't always control them. Especially slip-ups when talking."
"That's true. Got it. I'll leave that part out when I tell her. But wow, that's amazing. Two whole Minecraft servers opening on Pangea TV. Do they have names yet?"
"Hm? Ahh, the names. Not sure about the first one yet, but the second one's pretty much decided. Make sure you recommend it to Blueby properly."
I hastily choked back the laugh that was trying to escape as I spoke.
"It's called the Poco Server. I think it's going to be a really fun one."
A gift for Blueby, wrapped up with all my heart.