Because If It Gets Out, My Popularity Would Explode
Because if it got out, my popularity would go absolutely nuclear—!
The negotiations wrapped up faster than expected. They must've been glued to X-Net, because the moment I replied, they sent over detailed terms in a groveling, almost pathetic level of politeness. I almost felt bad receiving it.
"This is embarrassing."
She wasn't the type to act like that at all. Felt like she was overhyping me for no reason. A mix of awkwardness and pleasant surprise washed over me as I dove into the illustration work.
Those subscriber numbers are insane. I don't love black-and-white thinking, but objectively? They were mainstream. I was underground. And yeah, that made sense. Even someone like me, who barely cared about games, knew racking up 1.3 million subs on a red ocean like YouTube with game content wasn't easy.
I'd never heard the name before, but with numbers like that, Suihwa would probably know her. She streamed on Twis too, after all.
Gotta ask her later.
With that thought, I checked the video Seori had sent.
"Ah."
It clicked the second I saw it. Why she'd commissioned me.
A visual novel. Or dating sim, whatever. I'd never played one, but I knew they existed. Staple in Japanese manga. The protagonists diving into them popped up all the time, especially when you forgot about it. Hell, some series were straight-up set in one.
Anyway.
This video's pretty long. An hour. Compared to the usual 15-minute vids I watched, that was nuts.
Eh, no need to sweat it. I was just drawing the illust.
Shrugging it off, I hit play on Seori's video. A smooth, pleasant male voice filled my ears.
—Hey everyone, got a visual novel for today... Already hyped.
He had to be Seori. Voice was pro-level, like a voice actor. And damn.
"Chat speed's on another level."
As a sometime streamer myself, even as a hobbyist, that scroll rate was unreal. Way faster than Suihwa's, and hers was already wild.
As the video rolled, the heroines started showing up. Classic archetypes.
The short-haired cool type. Pink-haired airhead vibe. And finally, the blonde childhood friend who's all sweet to the protag.
"Hm..."
Super typical, but the game's art was top-tier, so it was easy on the eyes. Voice acting nailed the lines too. Personally? I dig short hair. Black hair's even better.
How long did I watch? It's over already.
The hour flew by. I'd been griping about the length before it started, but 1.3 million subs weren't for show.
Now, how to approach the illust? Seori had paid handsomely.
Didn't expect this much. With my followers climbing and shoutouts from Komai Rito and Kashio Yuu, industry rates had apparently jumped in their eyes. Unexpected windfall.
"Hmm."
Anyway. My motto: deliver as good as I get paid. Could I pull it off? First commission ever, so I was a bit tense. I'd only ever drawn for myself—what I wanted, when I wanted. Never for cash.
Mulling it over, I sketched out the image in my head. Short-hair on the left, pink-hair on the right. Blonde childhood friend in the middle. Protag crouched center, looking conflicted. Perfect.
Scribble-scribble. Roughs down, details in. Shading with extra care, scoured the net for heroine traits to weave in.
Seori hadn't asked for this level, but... might as well go all out. Four hours of wrist abuse later, perfection.
Perfectionist streak. Paid work gets max effort, plus unasked extras.
How much detail? "Done..."
Finally, a piece I loved. Wanted to slap it on X-Net, but nah. Contract's a contract. Steadying my shaky hands, I sent it to Seori.
No revision requests expected. Even I was thrilled with the quality. That's what they wanted from me.
Sent. Then...
Bored now.
Once you know streaming's dopamine hit, no going back. Pre-streaming me wouldn't get it, but now? Hooked.
So today too—
> Broadcast has started.
Like a trance, I fired it up.
"Ahem, hi everyone."
More folks piled in right at start than last time.
What? Twelve on launch?
"Glad you all came out. Gonna chat fun for two hours today."
"Over two hours and I get wiped. No point grinding myself that hard."
Dopamine's great, but routine matters more. Broken sleep schedules are hell to fix.
"Full-time? Nah... Total earnings so far: about eight bucks."
Even if cash rolled in, no full-time. I'm an artist at heart. Streaming's just casual chats now and then.
Anyway.
"Got something special today."
Prepped for this stream. Namely—
"Let's watch this together."
Anime watch-along. Didn't know it existed till Seori's vid. Quick search: streamers watch anime, chat reacts. Free content for them, fun for viewers.
Today's pick: Electric Man, Kashio Yuu's flagship. Protag wields metal weapons charged with electricity. The one she'd gifted me volumes of.
Man, wanna brag. No plans to out myself as Sino, but... subtle recognition would be nice.
Cuz if it got out, popularity nuclear.
Fantasizing Twis headlines: "That Hakko streamer? Turns out she's X-Net's 600k-follower Sino, shouted out by Komai Rito and Kashio Yuu!" Yeah. Continuing:
"Personally loved it, so I'm hyped."
She's my fave Japanese creator. Actual connection too.
"No overt Gold Cupping. I'd have to ban ya."
Not in platform rules, but I don't want that vibe. Light roasts with respect.
Setting up watch-along. Tag it, retitle:
Some chit-chat later—
What? Give me back my precious stream.