Is Wasting Talent a Hobby?
I decided to take a break tomorrow. You might ask if it makes sense to rest when I'm not even making proper money, but surely one day off is fine, right? There are a few things I need to think about. Well, when I posted the break notice on the gallery, all sorts of curses and reactions poured in, but I had no intention of changing my decision.
Thanks to that, the Lene Gallery started burning like crazy. If there are only twenty Lene fans, then at most fifteen of them would actually use the gallery, yet the firepower was on a level you couldn't believe came from just fifteen people. The gallery turned into complete chaos… but the moderators would handle that. That's what I appointed them for… unpaid slaves, after all.
“Hmm…”
Leaning back in my chair and staring at the ceiling, a sigh escaped me as countless thoughts came rushing in. The first thing that came to mind was, of course, money. I need to make money. A lot of it. I'm managing to get by for now, but I can't live on a monthly income of around 500,000 won forever. Now that I'm back in the modern world enjoying its conveniences, I don't want to live a life where I tremble at the thought of buying a single chicken or sigh every time I check my bank account.
But the problem is that I can't see the path forward. I have no idea how to escape my current situation. Most part-time jobs reject me at the resume stage, and even if I somehow make it to an interview, it doesn't matter. In the end, the only thing I can do right now is stream. So the number of viewers needs to increase, and for that to happen, I need to give viewers a reason to watch my stream. But how exactly do I create that reason?
Ever since I decided to start streaming, I've been checking out other streams whenever I had time. From the so-called major corporate streamers down to the small indie ones. And after watching them… honestly, I couldn't tell what made them different. Both the big-name streams and the small ones seemed plenty entertaining to me. So then why are they divided into major and indie? There must be a difference, but I just don't know what it is. I need to figure that out if I want my stream to grow.
…Well, at least today I learned one thing for certain. When doing a stream with no real content, just chatting with viewers—what they call “just chatting”—I need a proper screen to display. No matter what, I can't keep using a completely black screen. But how should I change it? The best option would obviously be using a webcam, but like I already said on stream, I have zero plans to turn on a cam anytime soon. Plenty of streamers don't use cams anyway, so there's no need for me to worry about it.
“Ugh…”
And those kinds of streams usually have some kind of image set up… Maybe I should do the same? If I do, what kind of image should I use? I noticed some of them have moving pictures…
…In times like this, there's only one solution.
1. When you have a question about internet broadcasting. [Inquisitor: Is Tyuni there?]
2. Call Tyuni. What a perfect solution.
[Tyuni: Sorry, I'm streaming right now. Can we talk later?]
[Inquisitor: Ah, got it.]
Failed…
…Well, I'm not a kid. If there's something I don't know, I can figure it out on my own. Thinking that, I started watching streams on Liming while gathering information from communities.
★
“…VTuber?”
After spending nearly two hours researching, it seems the “moving pictures” I saw are part of a genre called VTubing in internet broadcasting. It's a concept that started in Japan, where you give the character a setting and act according to it during the stream. In short, it's like playing an anime character on stream.
[Hic… I, Natchang. We clearly… hic. Every time something like this happens… ‘I swear I'll never play a horror game again!’ we promise… so why does it always, always end up like this…? Hic…]
[Th-that's not something you should ask me, you should ask Hikarling and Suzuha!]
[D-definitely… Hyaaaaaaaah?!]
[Kyaaaaaaaaah?!]
[Uwaaaah…!!!]
After watching videos of some of the most popular VTubers, I made up my mind. I'll become a VTuber. Well, these are Japanese VTuber videos, but when I searched for VTubers on OnTube, this was the first result that came up.
[Incoming call from Tyuni]
[📞 | ❌]
While I was thinking about that, a call came from Tyuni on Misscord, probably because her stream had ended.
“Ah, hello…”
[Yes. You contacted me, Lene? Sorry, I was streaming earlier.]
Honestly, when I messaged her earlier, I'd wondered if Tyuni was avoiding me, but thankfully there was no sign of that. …If Bora had seen that, she would've scolded me for having weird thoughts again. But since I'm the one who's always receiving help from Tyuni, I can't really blame her for thinking that way. Plus, Tyuni has actually met me in person… I'm naturally negative when it comes to human relationships, after all.
“Um… I'm the one who should apologize for contacting you without knowing you were streaming…”
[Ah, it's fine. I was the one who said you could contact me anytime.]
“Th-thank you… I, um, made a decision this time…”
[Ah, yes yes.]
“I was thinking… maybe I should try being a VTuber.”
[…A VTuber? You, Lene?]
“Ah, yes.”
Tyuni raised her voice in surprise at my words. That reaction felt strangely ominous.
“I-is there something wrong with that…?”
Maybe there's a reason for Tyuni's reaction. I only looked up the basics, so there might be something I don't know.
[Ah, no. It's not that at all… It's just surprising to hear you say you're going to try being a VTuber.]
“Huh? What is?”
What's so surprising? If anything, I think it suits me perfectly. My experiences are something ordinary people could never understand. That's why my actions, born from those experiences, seem strange to others. But if I frame it as a VTuber setting? It could actually work as content.
[Ah, no, it's nothing. So you're thinking of trying VTubing then…?]
“Yes. After looking into it a bit, it seemed pretty good.”
[…What the. Is wasting talent really a hobby…?]
“Sorry?”
[Ah, nothing. Hmm… Now that I think about it, it might actually work out. Your eccentric behavior could become content too.]
As expected of Tyuni. She understands exactly why I'm making this choice. Of course, there's one more reason besides that. And it's a very important one.
“Also, from what I researched, some male VTubers deliberately use female character art. If I use that, then even if I say I'm a guy now, it shouldn't be a problem anymore.”
That would definitely make my grand plan easier to achieve too.
[…You're still not giving up on that?]
“…No.”
Tyuni's tone sounded like she was calling me an idiot, and for a moment I felt deflated, but I stood my ground. Someday, Tyuni would definitely admit I was right. …She would, right?
[…Well, if that's what you want to do, I have no reason to stop you. Plus, VTubers tend to have quite a few dedicated viewers, so it could help grow your stream too.]
Hearing Tyuni say that, it really is the perfect plan…
[But there's one problem, Lene.]
“…Yes? What problem?”
[Lene, if you're going to be a VTuber, you'll obviously need an image to use on stream, right? An illustration?]
“Th-that's right?”
[They call it a “panel” in the industry… Do you know how much those panels cost?]
C-cost? I hadn't really thought about that part. But at most maybe 50,000 won…
[At least 500,000 won.]
“…Sorry?”
[To guarantee proper quality, it'll cost over a million won.]
“…Sorry?”
[And there's the Live2D technology that makes the illustration move. If you include that, it'll cost even more.]
After hearing Tyuni's words, I thought about the money currently in my bank account.
“…I'll give up.”
[That's probably for the best.]
“Yeah…”
I reached that conclusion calmly.