I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 121
And so, the official Parallel broadcast was about to begin.
Confident Cheon Dohui couldn’t help but be shocked by the explosive viewer enthusiasm, just ten minutes before the start.
Sure, she had pulled in 100,000 people for a personal concert, but gather this many viewers for a surprise announcement in less than 30 minutes? That was a first for her too.
[ (🔴Live) Surprise Announcement ] 👪35,559
#Parallel #???
With the first generation fans still not live, the maximum viewership that could be gathered from the entire Parallel fandom, excluding overlaps, was about 30,000.
Even so, there was no guarantee all those expected would show up…
But Majia pulled it off!
Considering Kkaemang’s average live viewer count was around 15,000, if we assume half of those came in, that means 28,000 showed up just from the Parallel fandom alone.
That means interest in Majia’s moves is sky-high among the entire Parallel fandom.
On top of that, new viewers kept rolling in.
Thanks to the occasional highlights in the chat room.
— 🗡Kkaemang: Thump thump, shake shake, wiggle wiggle
— No, seriously, it’s Kkaemang
— Hey dude, why aren’t you streaming? LOL
— 🗡Movgun: Ugh, what’s the point of watching this when it’s not even a confirmation of Majia’s debut?
— Hahaha!
— Movgungay…
— 🗡Movgun: And the date being April Fool’s Day? No one’s falling for this, right?
— Yeah, but I believe it
— April Fool’s is just a date made up by humans
— What I believe is the truth
— Why are there so many Dae Kkaemangs?
Usually, when streamers set VIPs, it highlights people from the same group or those they’re close to, but somehow one person had 3 million and another had 2 million.
Even though it was an announcement broadcast from Parallel’s official channel, perhaps due to speculation that it was Majia-related news, it was already circulating in the community titled ‘Connections of a VTuber that hasn’t even debuted yet’.
Then, just before the broadcast started at 8 PM…
[ (🔴Live) Surprise Announcement ] 👪40,559
Over 40,000 people!
Dohui gasped in disbelief.
“… Well, this is going to promote the new song really well.”
“True.”
She wondered if Majia was feeling nervous, but thankfully, she appeared calm.
No, rather, it seemed the sheer number of viewers encouraged her to spread the news about the collaboration between Parallel and CAT even further.
Still, not wanting to show any signs of tension, Dohui, taking responsibility for today’s broadcast, spoke confidently.
“Well, let’s do our best. I’ll be super tense, so just relax, okay?”
“Yeah.”
But what Dohui didn’t anticipate was just how much Majia, hearing the boss’s suggestion ‘go wild,’ could actually mess around.
— Moha
— Jahah
— Open the door!!!!!
— Hi hi
— Parallel Second Generation Majia
— Announcement! Announcement! Announcement!
— Hurry up and reveal!!!!
— It’s Majia’s debut, right? It’s her debut, right? It’s her debut, right? It’s her debut?!
As the waiting screen switched to the main broadcast screen…
Momo and Majia popped up, moving in a way that seemed oddly familiar.
Instead of Majia, Dohui introduced herself first wearing the Majia mask.
“Hello. Ahem. Everyone. I am Majia’s assistant. Ahem. Ahem.”
With a somewhat husky tone, Momo struggled to imitate Majia but quickly hit her limits, resulting in a series of awkward coughs.
Viewers immediately recognized who was being so clumsy and erupted in laughter.
— Hahaha!
— LOL, this is hilarious!
— Shirahoshi Jia, what’s going on?
— Get out!
— Majia, get out of there, you evil boss!
— Oh geez, hahaha!
— This is honestly the worst!
— If you’re going to imitate, at least do it right!
Up to this point, the viewers were not overly intense in their reactions.
It was April Fool’s Day, and the body-swapping streams were quite common during offline collaborations among VTubers in both Japan and Korea.
Besides, ad-hoc body-switching plans were supposed to be more fun the more awkward they got.
But now, it was time for Majia to introduce herself.
Someone who, instead of just pretending, had worked hard for hours to sound exactly like the real deal.
Moreover, if that real deal was someone Dohui had watched for five years, then even if it was an April Fool’s prank, there was no room for error.
“Hello, Wuldungies. I’m Shirahoshi Momo, the star that shines in the night sky of the Parallel World.”
— ?
— The real deal just showed up! LOL
— Why is this side the real deal?
— Wow, the impression is surprisingly spot on!
Some viewers were convinced that Momo was pulling off both roles.
But soon, a donation made it clear who was behind the Majia mask.
:: Anonymous Sponsor donated 10,000 Clouds! ::
:: I miss the boss who loves Diddburger! ::
“Hey, let me have some Diddburger!”
“Whoa, what are you doing?!”
Cheon Dohui immediately yelled, revealing the identity behind the mask, and Ji-a promptly shot back to keep the roleplay alive.
“Ji-a, did you just call the boss ‘hey’?”
— Hahaha!
— Oh man, this is too funny!
— Today, I’m the boss!!
— I was a slave working just for the boss, and now I’m the head of a black company in another world?!
— Hahaha!
— What’s this legal relaxation time?
From the start, things were getting quite spicy.
Ji-a wasn’t venting her feelings on Dohui for any reason.
She just wanted to create a scene that would be worth seeing, even if it pushed things a bit.
After all, it was an April Fool’s broadcast, and Dohui said she’d take responsibility.
The first thing was to unconditionally respond to viewers’ requests for cuteness, leaving countless clips behind.
:: Anonymous Sponsor donated 10,000 Clouds! ::
:: Boss, please do a facial test! Haha! ::
“Well, this is just for today. I’ll do it.”
“What are you saying… The audio wasn’t even prepared…”
[VTuber Facial Test Start ♪]
“What? When did you turn on the music?”
The VTuber facial test began.
It was a meme to check how well VTubers’ facial tracking (technology that recognizes expressions and reflects them in Live 2D illustrations or 3D models) worked…
With a casual performance of various expressions not typically shown.
— Hahaha!
— Great, great!
— It’s refreshing to see something other than that tired expression every day!
— Wow, this is fantastic!
— Boss Majia’s got amazing style!
— This is Momo! This is facial tracking!!
That must have been bewildering for Momo.
Showing expressions she had never revealed on her stream before, it was like she had been waiting for this day.
Knowing exactly how each key would align with which expression and perfectly controlling it, in that moment, she might have thought, “Hold on, is that my pre-boss self sitting there?”
[Ultimate Move!]
Even at the end of the facial test, Momo brought back the scene that used to happen when she brewed broth—with a cute pout.
— Hahaha!
— Come here!!!!
— Thank you, thank you, thank you!
“Thank you. And the facial test just now? No clips allowed. I’ll secretly save it and only watch it myself.”
— Waaaah!
— Dictator Momo, step down!
— Now you’re even controlling your own cute clips?!
— How are we supposed to live?!
Momo couldn’t quite understand why she became the dictator after Majia restricted the clips.
However, everything was going as originally intended.
Moreover, it was noteworthy that there was hardly any drop-off in newly joined viewers.
Perhaps this setup, where even viewers who weren’t familiar with VTubers could enjoy the relaxation time, created a strong connection from the start.
Thanks to that, even though Momo was in a somewhat painful situation, what could she do?
It was Majia who had told her to go wild.
If Majia could keep from crossing the line and reveal her transformation form at the right time, Momo would wrap up her tasks for the day before announcing the new song teaser.
And honestly, even though it was chaotic, it was still pretty normal.
Given her history of being mistreated, Cheon Dohui had built up some tolerance and was able to hold on.
… But did she know what was coming?
From now on, the real pressure of the fake Momo was about to hit her.
Majia’s second goal for the day hadn’t been fulfilled yet.
“But Ji-a, why are you so short on words today?”
“Ahem. I’m usually like this.”
“Nope. As a punishment for messing up, you have to say, ‘I’m super cute, bol-bang-bang, pu~’ once.”
“What?!”
“What? Did you just say ‘what’ to the boss? Do it twice.”
“…”
“How strange. Ji-a, you’re not acting like yourself today. Usually, you follow my commands really well.”
“When have I ever done that?! No, when have I done that?!”
Majia’s frame was produced with equal quality as the first generation, and of course, the facial tracking was excellent.
But just as Majia had thought when she first got the frame…
She still believed it was a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck.
It was only natural for a VTuber company employee to use the frame; she was grateful to have it, but…
Why did Majia seem to hardly show any changes in her emotions or expressions?
She always looked at the screen with half-closed eyes, and when she did smile, it was just her mouth moving in that state.
Even if she tried to force various emotions, it only felt awkward, so she couldn’t fully utilize the amazing frame she had.
However, Majia quite liked her frame.
She had thought since the first time she received it that someday she would like to find someone inside and ask them to perform various expressions for her.
…Oh wait, today, Cheon Dohui had been put inside her frame?
So how could Majia pass this opportunity by?
It was a legitimate chance to finally test all those expressions and functions she hadn’t been able to use.
And even better, it was the version she liked—Cheon Dohui.
“Ji-a, I’m feeling dizzy. Hurry up and do it.”
Ironically, as Majia gave the command, the viewers frantically followed suit.
— Majia, stand at attention!
— What are you doing?
— You’re not presenting yourself like a proper worker!
— Hurry up and do the bol-bang-bang!!!!!
— Quick, now!!
— Is this what a black company is?!
— Haah, are you not listening to the boss?
— Praise the supreme dictator Momo!
Earlier, they had said something about dictators, and now they were praising one; they really flipped like a switch.
But this was also proof that viewers were super curious about Majia’s varied expressions.
Why Cheon Dohui had to show them instead of Majia was a mystery, but she had committed to taking responsibility.
‘Well, now that this is happening, I need to show off the functions naturally while revealing the details.’
Moreover, if this flow continued, they could entirely make a facial test using Majia’s frame and create the transformation scene in a whimsical way at the ultimate move.
“Ji-a, does the boss’s command sound ridiculous to you? Are you stalling?”
While Majia demanded cuteness with a fire in her eyes, it was uncertain if Cheon Dohui could read her intentions.
Well, that was something they’d have to test out.
Taking a short breath, Dohui strained her vocal cords as much as she could, trying to imitate Majia’s tone.
“I, I’m, super, cute, bol-bang-bang… phew…”
A moment of silence fell.
— Ohhhhhh!
— Immersion!!! Immersion!!!
— A large-scale casualty alert!
— Cardiac arrest! Cardiac arrest!
— Someone has died here!!
The explosive reactions followed.
Majia showed an expression she had never once revealed before, and everyone went wild; Momo’s genuine reaction even as the frame’s owner was incredible too.
Astonishment, ultimate happiness, thrill.
That expression was captured perfectly on what had previously been a bland frame, and that itself was a huge delight for the viewers.
— What a face! Hahaha!
— LOL!
— Can’t believe I got shocked like this!
— Pure joy!
— Wide-eyed!
— Look at those big eyes, LOL!
— Wow, seriously shocked! Hahaha!
Right after, Majia proceeded with her next line.
“Thinking about it, two of the same is kinda boring. So, Ji-a, how about you do a facial test too?”
Surprisingly, the facial test Cheon Dohui wished for popped right out.
In that moment, Dohui felt an unexplainable satisfaction.
They hadn’t even discussed it, yet their intentions perfectly overlapped.
Dohui wasted no time in playing the facial test audio.
[VTuber Facial Test Start ♪]
Blinking her eyes.
Opening her mouth wide.
Winking, showing pride, joy, and sadness…
And then, onto the ultimate move.
Dohui tapped her fingers on the table to signal Majia, implying it was time to get ready for the reveal.
[Ultimate Move!]
The audio called for the ultimate move as Dohui triggered the transformation animation with a special control key.
Distant from the cute magical girl’s “sharara~,” dark clouds and deep blue particles burst against the clear glass panel like paint splattering.
— ?
— ??
— Huh?
Suddenly, a shotgun blast rang out from somewhere, shattering the screen and creating a massive hole.
Amidst the broken black glass debris, a g*n was aimed at the viewers outside the screen.
Striking a dramatic pose with a long double-barreled shotgun was none other than Majia.
Dressed in wide robes and a broad-brimmed hat, it was Witch Majia.
“Ultimate move… Transformation into a witch!”
With Momo awkwardly imitating Majia’s voice, everyone was at a loss for words.
Even though everyone sort of knew this was an April Fool’s prank as they watched, once they witnessed the transformation form, a strong thought surged through the viewers’ minds, one they had long speculated.
— What?
— ??
— Wait, is this actually her debut?
— ???
— Are they debuting for real?
— No way, right?!
— Is Majia actually a Second Generation member?
— This is something I never expected!
— What the heck, why is this real?!