After returning home, I contacted my part-time job to change shifts and spent the rest of my time learning about VTubers and the basics of streaming. I also practiced streaming to myself.
As someone who doesn’t usually talk to themselves much, I finally realized how difficult it is to keep talking into a microphone alone. Seriously, streamers are amazing…
Then, I meticulously prepared the self-introduction slides and script for my debut stream. Of course, it was quite a struggle to write it all out. I cursed myself for not taking writing seriously until now.
…And the next day. I had a call with my manager who was supporting me, and while learning how to use Twitter, I posted my first greetings and gathered questions under the account “Rui”.
Then, within a few minutes, I gained thousands of followers and hundreds of responses filled with questions. The abnormal pace at which the numbers increased scared me immensely… but somehow, I managed to persevere and pick out the questions by the end of the day.
👻👻👻
───And so, the day of my debut stream arrived.
“…I can’t stop shaking.” (Rui)
In front of my computer, I was extremely nervous. The current time was just past 7 PM… which was also the time that Yunagi Lily, the VTuber before me, started her debut stream.
I peeked a little at Lily’s stream… but seeing her passionately singing an acapella to an audience of fifty thousand viewers, I quickly closed the page. It’s not that I saw Lily as a rival… I was just overwhelmed by her confidence and how passionate she was.
“……Haa.” (Rui)
But doing nothing made me feel so nervous I might throw up… What should I do while waiting… Maybe I should read through the script one more time. Yeah, let’s do that. Just as I reached for the crumpled script on my desk…
“…Hm?” (Rui)
I heard the sound of a notification arriving on my phone. When I checked it…
“(Good luck on your first stream! I’m rooting for you!)” (Ayaka)
…a message with stamps attached, sent from Ayaka. Reflexively, I… called Ayaka. And she answered right away.
“(Hello, Rui? Is there something you don’t understand?)” (Ayaka)
“No, it’s not that…” (Rui)
“(Then why? …Oh, maybe you just wanted to hear my voice?)” (Ayaka)
“…” (Rui)
“(…Um, it’s kind of scary when you go silent like that. Just give me a usual retort.)”
Ayaka was bewildered. But, since she was right on the mark, I couldn’t deny it.
“…Sorry. I’m nervous. But I don’t have any VTuber friends yet, the only other person I know is streaming and I’ve only talked to my manager once…” (Rui)
“(So, you called me?)” (Ayaka)
“…Yeah.” (Rui)
Then, a “Nfufu~!” could be heard, and Ayaka responded with genuine delight.
“(I see, I see! So, Rui has finally decided to rely on me! …But I guess this isn’t the time to say that. You seem really troubled.)” (Ayaka)
“Yeah, I’m in a bind right now.” (Rui)
I said, almost clinging to her words. Ayaka found it amusing and laughed again.
“(Hehe. Alright, as your senpai, I’ll give you some advice… First, you need to act confidently! It’s okay to be nervous, but don’t let it show! Because for an hour, you will become the sorcerer, Rui Astica!)” (Ayaka)
“I see… I need to fully become the character.” (Rui)
“(Not just become the character, you are the character!)” (Ayaka)
Ayaka said that, but didn’t her real self come out quite a bit during our stream together?
“Well… I get it. Anything else?” (Rui)
“(Let’s see… Since it’s your first stream, people will be expecting a lot, so it might be good to have something to show off. You’re good at voice imitations, right, Rui?)” (Ayaka)
“I’m not at a level where it’s good enough to show the world… Besides, if I did that, wouldn’t it ruin Rui’s cool character?” (Rui)
“(Oh… Right. Rui was supposed to be the strongest sorcerer in school… Oh wow, this might be popular with female fans…)” (Ayaka)
“Why do you sound displeased?” (Rui)
When I asked that, Ayaka loudly denied it.
“(I-It’s not like I’m displeased or anything! …Well, anyways, I think everyone would be more captivated if your cool character showed some dere or cute sides gradually.)” (Ayaka)
“Your advice is surprisingly serious…” (Rui)
I was slightly surprised that Ayaka had put so much thought into this. Maybe Ayaka is unexpectedly good at strategizing…?
“(…Oh, looks like Yunagi Lily’s stream is about to end.)” (Ayaka)
Ayaka had apparently been watching Lily’s stream in the background and informed me that it was about to finish. If Lily’s stream was ending… that meant we couldn’t continue our call any longer.
“…Thanks, Ayaka.” (Rui)
“(No problem. I was happy you relied on me after a long time!)” (Ayaka)
“I see. Well, see you.” (Rui)
“(Yeah, I’m rooting for you, Rui!)” (Ayaka)
Ayaka’s words felt like they were directed at both versions of “Rui”.
…And then, somehow managing to calm my nerves, I ended the call and began preparing for the stream—setting up the model, BGM, and other elements. After reading through the script for a while and waiting… the moment the time arrived, I turned on the microphone. In a voice befitting Rui, I spoke.
“…Fuu. Nice to meet all of you. I’m Rui Astica, a sorcerer affiliated with [Sky Sunriver]. Pleased to meet you.” (Rui)
👻👻👻
As I spoke, the comments, which had been leisurely filled with phrases like “waiting” and “looking forward to it”, suddenly changed to more excited messages like “Oh!” “No way!” and “It’s hereee!”
“I never expected so many people to be here for my first stream… I’m really grateful.” (Rui)
Comments:『Nice voice』
Comments:『Great voice』
Comments:『Good luck』
Comments:『Your welcome!』
“And… actually, I think there are some people here who aren’t meeting me for the first time.” (Rui)
Comments:『Huh?』
Comments:『What do you mean?』
Comments:『Could it be that Rui…』
Comments:『Isn’t he the guy who appeared on Rei-chan’s stream?』
Comments:『I thought they sounded similar, but is it really true!?』
My words stirred up excitement in the comments. Some people had already seen my name and illustration announced before the stream, so they had been speculating about my true identity. However, since my voice hadn’t been revealed, they hadn’t been entirely certain.
“Yes, it was about three months ago, I think. Apparently, I appeared on my friend Rei’s stream. I don’t know much about it, though.” (Rui)
Comments:『What do you mean, ‘apparently’?』
Comments:『You don’t remember?』
Comments:『Isn’t your voice and personality different?』
“My voice and personality are different…? Well, at that time, Rei seemed to have used some kind of black magic to manipulate my spirit and create a replica of me for her stream.” (Rui)
At this point, I decided to use Rei’s setup as a sorcerer to explain that the me who appeared in the initial stream wasn’t the real me. I think this might help dispel some of the impressions people had about me back then…
Comments:『I see.』
Comments:『That’s an interesting setup lol』
Comments:『So, you’re friends with Rei-chan?』
Comments:『Speaking of which, Rei is a dark mage, right?』
Comments:『I haven’t forgotten about that instant death combo!!』
“Well… on a separate note, Rei got in trouble because she streamed with someone who wasn’t affiliated with [SkySun] without permission. She didn’t even tell me about it.” (Rui)
Comments:『LOL』
Comments:『That makes sense.』
Comments:『She didn’t say anything to management?』
Comments:『That stream was hilarious, though…!』
“But thanks to that, or at least, I’m not sure if that’s the right way to put it… because of that stream, I was noticed by someone important at [SkySun], scouted, and now I’m here. So, I guess I’m grateful to Rei… even though I don’t really know what exactly happened.”
Comments:『Thank you, Rei-chan!』
Comments:『Rei is the best!』
Comments:『A saint for being able to thank someone after being cursed by black magic!』
Comments:『So [SkySun] had more open slots, huh?』
“Well, let’s leave the Rei talk at that. I want to introduce myself. I’m Rui Astica, sixteen years old. Just a student attending [Owen’s Magic School]. I’m proficient in almost all types of magic.” (Rui)
Comments:『All of them!?』
Comments:『We got a cheat character hereeeee!』
Comments:『If you had to choose one, what magic would you say you’re best at?』
“Hmm… if I had to pick one, it would be dark magic… but if I say that, I might steal someone’s identity.” (Rui)
Comments:『Oh!』
Comments:『I wonder who they’re talking about…?』
Comments:『Hey, don’t talk smack about Azuril-chan!』
Comments:『This guy is just too obsessed with Rei-chan.』
…Well, it’s not so much that I’m obsessed with Rei, but more that the management kind of aligned my character background with hers.
“So, my gender is male, and my height is 163 centimeters. Probably a bit short… but I’m still growing so I’ll be fine.” (Rui)
Comments:『You’re just trying to act tough.』
Comments:『Cute.』
Comments:『Cute.』
“I’m not cute. Anyway, next, I’d like to introduce my outfit.” (Rui)
Then, I displayed the documents containing information about my outfit that I had received beforehand on the screen.
“This is my outfit. The big pointy hat on my head is a distinctive feature. I also like this black coat. I won’t take it off unless something really special happens… I don’t really like to show too much skin.” (Rui)
Comments:『Hmm, sounds sexy…』
Comments:『That’s so cool!』
Comments:『Whoa!』
“Also, I’m proud of these orange eyes. My right eye is actually a sealed demonic eye… maybe.” (Rui)
Comments:『Which one is it?』
Comments:『Demonic eye!』
Comments:『That’s cool…』
Comments:『I’m starting to feel embarrassed…』
What a coincidence. I’m starting to feel a bit embarrassed too… But I’m Rui Astica. I shouldn’t be embarrassed about something like this.
“…Alright. So, moving on, let’s talk about my backstory. As I mentioned earlier, I’m just a regular student attending a magic school. The reason I started streaming is because a friend encouraged me… Alright, next.” (Rui)
Comments:『Wow, you skipped through that fast.』
Comments:『Are you blushing?』
Comments:『Is the friend you mentioned Rei-chan!?』
Deciding that I couldn’t handle these comments well, I decided to just ignore them for now… and advanced to the next slide.
“And ta-da! It’s time to reveal the tags. Actually, I had no idea about the culture of deciding tags at all. I just came up with them myself.” (Rui)
Comments:『Cute.』
Comments:『Cute.』
Comments:『Your way of saying things is so calculated.』
Comments:『Hey, why don’t we decide on them together?』
“Deciding them together seemed like it would take too long, so I decided on my own. Sorry about that. I’ll keep going… The tag for streams is ‘#RuiRuiLive’.” (Rui)
Comments:『Huh?』
Comments:『LOL』
Comments:『Cute.』
Comments:『Did I mishear something?』
Comments:『Why is it repeated?』
Comments:『Is that the kind of character Rui is1?』
Comments:『Why is ‘live (らいぶ)’ written in hiragana?』
“I repeated ‘Rui’ twice to differentiate from other people with the same name. And ‘live’ is written in hiragana to make it look less formal since everything else is in katakana.” (Rui)
Comments:『At least there was some thought put into it.』
Comments:『But it still seems kinda girly.』
Comments:『Maybe he was mistaken for a boy.』
Comments:『Switch appearances with Lily.』
“The tag for fan art is ‘#RuiRuiArt’. I’m thinking of calling fans ‘RuiMin’. What do you think, RuiMins?” (Rui)
Comments:『Well, um…』
Comments:『We don’t have a veto power, do we?』
Comments:『Change it to RuiBoy.』
Comments:『I think it’s cool!!』
“Hmm, I thought it was pretty good… Well, some comments are supportive, so I guess it’s okay. Alright, moving on!” (Rui)
With that, I went to the next slide.
“Ta-da! These are the things I want to do during streams. I think live game commentary will be the main focus, but once I get used to it, I’d like to do some ‘just chatting’ streams too. Well… I’m not confident in talking at all, though.” (Rui)
The slide titled ‘Things I Want to Do During the Streams’ listed several titles of games that I’m good at. At the bottom, ‘Just Chatting’ was written in small letters… Looking at it now, it’s really embarrassing. Is this even funny?
Comments:『Seems like it’s gonna be game-oriented.』
Comments:『Gaming sounds good. You know some good ones, so I’m already looking forward to it.』
Comments:『Why is ‘Just Chatting’ so small lol』
Comments:『Please collab with Rei-chan again!』
…Well, it seems like some people are laughing, so I guess it’s okay.
“…Alright. Lastly, I’ll answer some of the questions that have been asked. I picked them randomly, so I don’t think my answers will be that interesting, but please forgive me.” (Rui)
Comments:『I won’t forgive you.』
Comments:『I’ll forgive you…』
Comments:『Sorry, if you got mine lol』
“…Alright, first one: ‘What kind of games will you play?’ As I mentioned earlier, I often play games like [SmashFy] and [Mari-Ka], as well as games from the Nyantendo. I’m also interested in a game they recently released called [Splatune].” (Rui)
Comments:『Oh, nice!』
Comments:『Play against the viewers!』
Comments:『Please beat Rei-chan again!』
Comments:『Aren’t you going to play Apecx?』
(Apecx refers to… a free battle royale game that has exploded in popularity in recent years.)2
“Oh, of course I play Apecx too, but I’m not as good at it compared to other games. I’ve always played games alone, so I’m not very good at team-based games… Of course, I want to practice and get better.” (Rui)
Comments:『Playing solo, huh…』
Comments:『I get it, playing alone is more casual.』
Comments:『Splatune is a team-based game too, you know.』
Comments:『Play with Rei.』
“How much do you guys want me to play with Rei… Alright, next. ‘When is your birthday?’ Mine is on June 1st. It’s easy to remember because it’s Rui’s Day3.” (Rui)
Comments:『Wordplay?』
Comments:『Never heard of that day.』
Comments:『This is the first time I’ve heard of it.』
“Why can’t you guys just accept it straightforwardly… Alright, next. ‘Please tell us your impression of Lily-chan’. There sure are a lot of people asking this. Well, Lily is… incredibly eccentric. Isn’t that enough of a description?” (Rui)
Comments:『lol』
Comments:『Indeed, that’s true.』
Comments:『It’s surprising that the one with more common sense is over here.』
Comments:『To be honest, I feel soothed by Rui.』
From the comments, it seems like Lily went all out during her first stream. Well, if Lily keeps up her comedian role, I won’t have to try so hard to make people laugh, which would be a huge relief for me.
“So, next is ‘What kind of greetings do we use for the start and end of stream?’… Do we really need to decide on that?” (Rui)
Comments:『Yes』
Comments:『Definitely』
Comments:『It’s a necessity』
Comments:『Make it “KonRui”』
Comments:『How about “KonRei”?』
“Well, um… This feels like something that’ll naturally come about, so I won’t be the one to decide on it. Just throw out various greetings, and I’ll pick up from there.” (Rui)
Comments:『Seriously!?』
Comments:『Alright! Time to make ‘KonRui’ a thing!』
Comments:『Let’s make it ‘KonRuiNyanNyan’』
Comments:『How about ‘I won’t let anyone take Rei-chan!’』
The comments are quickly turning into a comedy show… I won’t be picking one from this bunch, though.
“Well… And this is the last question. ‘Do you have any goals?’… I did think about this, but I couldn’t really come up with anything. Honestly, I don’t know much about being a VTuber, and I’m not that interested in channel subscribers either… Of course, having them is better than not having any, but you know.” (Rui)
Comments:『Oh…』
Comments:『Isn’t that too honest?』
Comments:『Lily said she aims for 100 million subscribers』
“So, after thinking a while… the answer I came up with was ‘to enjoy’. Since I’ve come to this strange and new world, I want to do streams that make both myself and everyone watching smile… That’s what I’m aiming for. I still don’t have much confidence, but… it would make me happy if you could support someone like me, you know?” (Rui)
Comments:『That’s great』
Comments:『I cried』
Comments:『Is it okay to cry…?』
Comments:『Hey! Let me support you!! Hurry up and take my money!!』
“Looks like there are some nice guys with foul mouths here… Well then, that’s it. It might have been a bit boring compared to Lily’s stream, but thank you for watching this far. I really appreciate it.” (Rui)
Comments:『Thank you so much!』
Comments:『Is it over?』
Comments:『I love you, Rui』
Comments:『When is the next stream?』
“Well, the next stream… might be in three days or so. I’m thinking of playing some games, but the details and schedule might change, so I’ll tweet about it when the time comes… Well, thanks a lot, and goodbye!” (Rui)
Comments:『It was fun!』
Comments:『Good job!』
Comments:『Good job, Rei!』
Comments:『I’ve become a fan』
Comments:『Good job, Rui!』
Comments:『Did someone mix Rei in there lol』
And so, I thought I had successfully finished the stream…
…Before the stream, I practiced various things, but there was one thing I didn’t practice. That was ending the stream. Well, it’s not like you need to practice pressing the “End live stream” button, but… As expected, being inexperienced with streaming, I made such a basic mistake.
“…Oh, that was nerve-wrecking!” (Rui)
Comments:『Huh?』
Comments:『What’s that?』
Comments:『I hear something』
Comments:『Could it be…』
Comments:『Forgot to end it aaaaaaahhhhhhh』
Comments:『Help, Rei-chan!!』
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
As it turns out, you do need to practice hitting the “End live stream” button. Now that MC did the thing… Rei-chan, help!! You’re our only hope!
Although, I’m curious how much of his audience is male and how much of them is female.
Also, I 100% advocate for Nintendo to change their company name to Nyantendo.
P.S. I’m gonna use that square bracket for stream chat from now on. I think it looks neater. I used it in one of my previous series for a similar purpose but forgot about it until now.