112. Why Are You the Only One Donating!!!!
112. Why Are You the Only One Donating!!!!
***
—The people stuck in the Yeti Zone, seriously... if I could, I'd flick every single one of them hard on the forehead. It does make me want to climb faster, but... this is the first time I've ever played a game this boring, so I'm still not used to it.
Watching Serin speak in a sulky voice, Sua let out a small laugh.
"Come to think of it, this is your first time running into the Yetis, Serin."
Watching Serin openly show how disappointed she was without even trying to hide it felt strangely fascinating.
Maybe it was because she seemed unexpectedly human in moments like this. Serin normally handled even things that would make anyone angry with ease, yet here she was openly complaining that the level of ranked matchmaking was not good enough.
'Serin is kind of cute.'
While thinking that, Sua suddenly remembered a time when she, too, had been disappointed by the Yetis just like Serin was now. Unlike today, when she consistently maintained Challenger—and a high rank within it—there had been a period when she'd stayed down in Bronze for thousands of games. Looking back, those had been her newbie days, when she'd done almost nothing but grind ranked matches day after day.
Then, at some point, her skill had exploded and she'd shot straight up to Diamond in one go.
She still remembered the fluttering feeling of her expectations running high when she first reached the Diamond tier. But the disappointment she'd felt toward the players she met back then was truly... beyond words.
'...It's funny, really.'
Stats clearly held a pretty significant meaning for players, whether they realized it or not.
"It's all so pointless, though."
People who managed their stats to show off to others, for display.
Maybe the fact that they could flaunt their stats in communities or online played a surprisingly big role. Whenever things looked unfavorable or the power gap seemed too wide, there were so many people who gave up far too easily.
They rarely got demoted, and even if it was the bottom edge, it was still Diamond tier. A high enough tier, so in the end, they were people trying to at least manage their stats at that edge.
In a way, they were people who'd hit a "wall" where climbing further felt impossible, so they'd just sat down in place.
"Should I donate soon?"
Honestly, I usually kept up with Serin's streams anyway, but today I was watching while getting ready to make a special donation.
I'd received a lot of donations from Serin during my last solo stream, and considering our relationship, I figured it was only right that I donate to her too.
On top of that, I found myself remembering the message I'd sent on the day she donated, saying I was the first person she'd ever donated to.
'It's really not a big deal, but... it feels strangely nice. Serin really knows how to touch people's hearts.'
It was funny to make a distinction like a 'first donation'—to care that I'd received Serin's very first donation—but I couldn't help feeling good about it.
Just as I was mulling over what to donate, another donation went off.
—Ding!
『Priest_372 donated 50,000 won!!』
《When are you gonna break Rin's arena win streak? Hurry up and say thank you for my donation 'too!'》
—Hmm...? Won't there come a day when I lose eventually? Thank you for the donation, Priest.
The way Serin said that with a small laugh was genuinely arrogant... no, it almost felt haughty.
But strangely, it wasn't off-putting at all... It was the kind of line and composure only Serin could pull off.
No, Serin had this distinctive expression that was hard to put into words.
If I had to describe it, she looked full of confidence, but somehow really charming...?
It was clearly different from me, since I changed my attitude on stream as if I were putting on a mask and acting.
"Serin... you're kind of a natural."
Maybe that was why those words had just slipped out.
Actually, the most important factors for a streamer could be listed as a likable appearance, a comfortable stream atmosphere without profanity, playing games entertainingly, and various other things—but more than anything else, the biggest one was.
Not being "unlikable."
This was genuinely something people seemed to be born with, which made it hard to put into words at all. Serin clearly had traits that should have rubbed people the wrong way, yet somehow she never really felt off-putting.
A representative unlikable element, for example.
'A minimum donation amount of 50,000 won.'
Starting with this, it was genuinely absurd when you thought about other streamers. And yet, she did it so casually...
Ding-a-ling!!
『Ras404 donated 100,000 won!!』
《Smile for me once. Just felt like seeing Rin smile》
Because donations were going off like this.
—Ras, thank you for the 100,000 won donation. Asking me to suddenly smile... you ask for difficult things so casually, don't you?
If someone donated 100,000 won and asked her to smile, you'd think she'd just smile right away. But the way Serin spoke with that subtle expression was strangely mysterious.
Then Serin awkwardly tried to curl up the corners of her mouth on screen. Apparently deciding it still looked off, she eventually pushed the corners of her mouth upward with her fingers and made a weird smile.
"Pfft..."
Watching that, I couldn't help but laugh.
[No but for real lolololol]
[Rin, is that seriously your smile right now?]
[The fact that she actually does it when asked is so absurd it's funny lololol]
[No but she was smiling totally normally just now, what is this]
[Fr it's so absurd lololololol]
[But why is even that pretty?]
[That's just you...]
[The character is pretty fr, why do people watch virtual NewTubers? Just watch Rin's stream lol]
[Fr lol]
Serin's viewers must have felt the same way I did, because they all seemed baffled and delighted at the same time.
"Ah, I want to raise my minimum to 50,000 won too."
Then, suddenly, those words slipped out.
If every donation that went off was 50,000 won.
It wasn't like she was some kind of streamer royalty, but it seemed like it would feel incredible.
In a way, it was both a groundbreaking idea and sheer insanity, yet Serin was pulling it off like it was nothing.
Even donations with bizarre messages or painfully unfunny jokes came in far less often in Serin's stream.
Even trolls and toxic viewers trying to bait reactions didn't seem willing to spend 50,000 won just to do it. For a moment, I wondered if Serin had actually planned for that.
'Nah, no way.'
The 50,000 won minimum was tempting, though.
"Seriously... if I raised it to 50,000 won, I'd get so much hate."
I muttered to myself, but the idea stayed just that—an idea. Even thinking it over again, I couldn't bring myself to actually do it.
In fact, I knew of a streamer who'd tried copying Serin's 50,000 won minimum, only for their reputation to crater so badly that they were forced into a long hiatus.
"...What should I write in the donation message that Serin would like?"
—Donation account balance: 1,500,000 won.
I glanced at the balance I'd topped up and thought it over.
Plenty of safe donation messages came to mind right away, but those wouldn't be much fun. If I was going to donate anyway, I wanted to say something Serin would like.
"Saying she's pretty has gone off dozens of times just today, so that's out... saying she's good at the game feels kind of stale too..."
Serin had paused Arena matchmaking and was sitting on a rock in the Colosseum, chatting with her viewers. I watched her and kept thinking.
—Ding-ding-ding-ding!!!!
Suddenly, a donation alert so loud it made my ears ring went off.
『Yoo Eunha donated 1,000,000 won!!』
《Rin! If TSJ and G1 end up playing each other, which team will you root for?》
The flashy effect unique to a 1,000,000 won donation, along with the donation message filling the screen.
I couldn't help feeling envious of the huge donation, but more than that, I found it a little fascinating.
"Jeanne d'Arc. This person... was she always like this?"
The name Yoo Eunha was clearly the real name of the player widely known as Jeanne d'Arc. Her donation messages were strangely suggestive too, so I'd been unsure at first, but the more of them I saw, the more convinced I became that it really was Jeanne d'Arc herself.
That this person was Jeanne d'Arc.
The whisper showing interest in Serin a few days ago was one thing, but they had also met just yesterday. If that meeting was why she was donating like this now, it all made sense.
'...Just how much does she earn?'
Seven million won in a single day through donations alone.
Just how much did she earn to be able to donate like that so casually? Her personal wealth was astonishing.
And the funniest part was that none of the viewers in Serin's stream right now realized she was Jeanne d'Arc.
[Wtf who is this whale;]
[Donating 7 million won in a day... what kind of person is this???]
[The donation message is so evil fr lololol]
[Fr what's with this fanwar-bait donation lolol]
[Rin's obviously rooting for G1, no?]
[She has a scrim scheduled with G1, and last time after watching a G1 match she even donated to thank them]
[The donations that day went off insanely, for real]
[Looking at the nickname Yoo Eunha, seems like a Jeanne d'Arc fan yeah]
[Someone donate me just 100,000 won toooo]
[Yeah right, even if you went live, nobody would donate you 10,000 won lolol]
[Whale who donated 7 million won vs scrim + player donation lololol]
Thinking about that while watching chat made me laugh, but I was curious about Serin's answer too.
It was exactly the kind of donation that could kick off a fan war. The message might look harmless, but from a streamer's perspective it was incredibly annoying.
Because it was a donation about the two teams with the biggest fandoms among current ACK pro teams.
—Yoo Eunha has donated another 1,000,000 won... As for answering the question, I'll give a slightly different answer. If Jeanne d'Arc is there, I'd root for TSJ, and conversely, if Jeanne d'Arc isn't there, I'd root for G1. Personally, I've watched a few of Jeanne d'Arc's match videos, and she really leaves an impact.
[TSJ with Jeanne d'Arc is valid]
[I'd root for G1 too if Jeanne d'Arc wasn't there lololol]
[Valid valid]
[Jeanne d'Arc looked really pretty in that article yesterday?]
[Fr it looked like casual clothes, she was really well put together and genuinely pretty]
[Anyone could see she had celebrity vibes lolol]
[But who's the silver-haired woman in the photo with her?]
[She was mosaicked so you couldn't even tell]
[Is the mosaicked person definitely a woman? Jeanne d'Arc's smile looked like she had feelings]
As I stared blankly at the chat, I let out a sigh without meaning to.
"Serin... you've poked a hornet's nest."
There were a few representative keywords that streamers shouldn't mention.
Among them, the most representative was mentioning the player Jeanne d'Arc.
If you touched it, the chat would almost entirely devolve into Jeanne d'Arc-related content, to the point that even a fairly seasoned streamer couldn't handle it.
So I watched the screen, wondering how Serin would handle it.
Serin must have checked the chat too, because her expression soon tightened slightly before she began speaking in a calm voice.
—...I really hate it when my viewers pay more attention to other people than to me in my stream. I do think it's fair for you all to talk about Jeanne d'Arc. The topic right now is what it is, and the donation that went off was about that too. I think Jeanne d'Arc is a fine player myself.
Serin kept talking evenly, sounding calm.
Then, all of a sudden, Serin's in-game cam window rapidly expanded.
Not just a little—Serin's face grew until it filled the entire screen.
—But... everyone, just look at me.
I wondered what this was about, but I found myself watching the screen as if spellbound.
"...?"
—Viewers, keep your eyes... only on me. Okay? For now, just look at me. Talk only about me—about what I do. Talk only about the things I react to. I'm still looking only at all of you, after all.
She smiled softly as if conscious of the cam, continuing to speak gently, and watching it made me feel embarrassed for some reason.
'Serin... you knew how to say things like this?'
Serin had never so much as flinched at even the biggest donations before. But now she'd suddenly changed her attitude and was talking almost as if she were courting us, and I couldn't stop watching.
Then, naturally, my hand went to the donation button.
'How am I supposed to resist donating after seeing this!'
Tap-tap-tap.
I immediately typed in a comment for the donation and moved my hand to the donate button, when...
—Ding-ding-ding-ding!!!!
『Yoo Eunha donated 3,000,000 won!!』
《What was that expression and tone just now, Rin...? What on earth was that!?》
Faced with that overwhelming donation amount, I couldn't bring myself to press the donate button.
"No!! Yoo Eunha, do you have to be the only one donating? Seriouslyyyyy!!!!"