Since I Became a Woman, I’ll Do Cosplay

Hayoon first told Hong Seohyun that she needed to think about something and sent her off.

Afterward, she called in Arin and Jin Ho, who had briefly stepped out…

“Have you two ever heard of VTubers?”

“Huh.”

“What’s that?”

A prompt response came back.

Jin Ho seemed to know it well at a glance, so he continued speaking to Arin, who hardly knew anything about it.

“Let me explain as simply as possible… When you watch NTube, you know how some people display illustrations while broadcasting?”

“Oh, I know. Those who create their character avatars, display them, and broadcast.”

“Yes, people who do that often modify their avatar illustrations with variations for emotional expressions, right? That’s why a lot of people prefer edited clips over live broadcasts.”

“Isn’t that true? I subscribe to a few people whose videos I follow, but I don’t end up watching their live broadcasts.”

“Think of VTubers as characters from the NTube edited clips being live on broadcast all the time, which enhances viewer immersion.”

“Umm… Okay…?”

However, the comprehension process hit a snag.

Understanding and grasping VTubers based purely on theoretical knowledge is a challenging process, especially for someone who is closer to a non-professional.

Particularly, in a situation where there’s hardly any awareness of VTubers, it can feel rather mysterious.

“Does the character move? Why? Are they possessed by spirits?”

“Do you know what a cam broadcast is?”

At that moment, Jin Ho jumped in.

“Cam broadcast… Ah, the people who show their faces while broadcasting, right?”

“Exactly, like male or female cam casts. VTubers also broadcast live, but their appearance is filtered through animation. Let me explain the feel…”

Jin Ho pulled up an NTube app on his phone and found some VTubers currently live broadcasting.

And on that small screen…

– Hello, Friends~.

A highly fluent English-speaking anime character was interacting with the live chat with vibrant expressions.

‘But this person… they’re also a VTuber?’

Realizing that it wasn’t a usual greeting, Hayoon turned her gaze toward Arin.

“Ah, I get the feel of it. It’s like showing expressions but not revealing their face, right?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.”

“But why?”

“Well, why not…?”

Eventually, Arin managed to understand what a VTuber is, and the next question began.

There, it was Hayoon’s turn to explain.

“That Hong Seohyun senior? I just met her.”

“Huh, what about her?”

“She wants to become a UTaite NTube Vtuber.”

“What’s UTaite again?”

“Ah, right… So…”

After another brief commotion, within minutes, Arin was filled in on both VTubers and UTaite.

“So, specialized NTube channels that mainly post songs, right? Especially centered around JPOP.”

“That’s exactly it. It appears that Hong Seohyun wants to trade providing illustrations for wages.”

“Huh? Why?”

“She seems rather serious about becoming a UTaite NTube Vtuber, as you know illustrations don’t come cheap, right? UTaite NTube channels often require at least a couple of new concept illustrations per video.”

“Oh, I see…!”

“I get the gist.”

After exchanging a few more words, both Arin and Jin Ho grasped Hong Seohyun’s intent.

But.

“So, why bring up VTubers?”

Arin still didn’t understand the context surrounding VTubers.

And the explanation was:

“It’s probably to integrate.”

“Integrate?”

Jin Ho began explaining since he was more knowledgeable about this industry and seemed to have understood the kind of artwork that Hayoon draws.

“VTubers are usually selected from those who can sing well. With that, Hong Seohyun has met the first condition, and this person doesn’t particularly seem interested in school life anyway…”

“So, we’ll help produce her character avatar, model it as a VTuber, and stream live broadcasts. Since I have some experience in broadcasting, I can help with the setting as well.”

“You’ve also broadcasted?”

“Well, briefly for Patreon and game promotions…”

Though currently, even that is on a long-term hiatus.

“Anyways, if Hong Seohyun lacks the motivation for school life but wants to grow her UTaite NTube channel, our plan is to fully support her by having her do live streams.”

“Then use those established live streams and NTube channel weightage to promote Cosplayholic?”

“That’s precisely the plan.”

Jin Ho accurately deciphered Hayoon’s intentions, while Arin simply applauded.

“Of course, sister’s consent is required.”

“My consent?”

“Yes, because we can’t produce the virtual avatar with just regular Live2D technology. We also need to learn how to implement facial recognition…”

“Wait, does this mean we’ll need to implement facial expression recognition? That implies…”

Though unfamiliar with Rigging, due to years of experience in animation, she could roughly estimate the amount of work involved.

“At least two months dedicated to Rigging might be necessary, including study time.”

“Then, if I complete the original artwork by mid-July, can we work in tandem and finish by early October?”

“While slightly challenging, it’s feasible… Though realistically, achieving a perfect model will be difficult. We’ll probably have to keep doing updates until the end of the year.”

“Of course, we’ll compensate the senior fully.”

“Huaaaa… If you’re taking care of everything financially, then… I can’t run away from this, huh?”

While the sheer workload, estimated by rough calculation alone, left Arin’s eyes tightly shut, it was manageable since they were taking care of the finances. Moreover, there was plenty of time until the first deadline in early October.

Still, it seemed there were lingering doubts, as Arin threw in another question.

“The field has decent connections, so with just my effort, we’ll likely succeed somehow. But what will you do if the Rigging work is completed by October?”

“It’s already planned out. We’ll debut the VTuber around that time and naturally promote our game through her. We’ll launch a big promotional campaign for Cosplayholic using VTuber Seohyun Hong while also producing original songs.”

“Will that work though…?”

“It won’t?”

“Uh, well… It’s just…”

A VTuber’s debut event is one of the most important moments of showcasing them publicly.

The debut is the time when potential viewers are most drawn in.

However, having a VTuber promote a game made by an unknown company right after her debut could be a risky move.

Of course, Arin might not have thought that far…

“Isn’t it fine?”

On the contrary to Arin’s cautious response, Do Jin-ho, who was confident in his knowledge of this industry, was rather positive.

“If we release the game according to schedule before Halloween, producing an original song for Hong Seohyun less than a month after her debut…?”

“Right?”

“That alone provides enough justification. Mark the D-day for original song release, and even a passive answer to where the song comes from will be sufficient promotion. Plus…”

The critical reason why using Hong Seohyun for promotion wouldn’t irritate VTuber audiences was:

“It’s your artwork, right? The virtual avatar Hong Seohyun will use, the illustrations for her UTaite channel…”

“Ah, that’s true.”

“Who would dislike the promotion of a game created by the Mama?”

Due to “Mama” being an established concept in the industry—referring to the illustrator who creates original characters for VTubers, and the VTubers themselves often following them with a maternal respect—it’s within the accepted range to subtly promote Cosplayholic by incorporating original songs and featuring artwork by Min Hae-yun, Hong Seohyun’s Mama, shortly after her debut broadcast.

“Currently, Korea hardly has any proper VTubers. If a native VTuber emerges with two-way communication and releases an original song within a month along with promoting a related game…”

Disliking such moves would indicate someone is spoilt in the context of the barren Korean VTuber market of 2020.

“Hearing all this from the senior, I’m starting to feel more confident now. So, the promotional strategy itself doesn’t seem to have a major issue.”

“Isn’t this rather good? Let’s push forward with it.”

If Hong Seohyun continues to progress smoothly after her debut, it will effectively boost the ongoing promotional strategies of Cosplayholic after Hayoon enters her hiatus.

[Mission Occured!]

– The idea of making Hong Seohyun debut as a VTuber!

– Using Mama and her original songs to naturally market Cosplayholic!

– That’s skillful.

– Now, what about adding a cosplay book to this mix?

This rather extreme status window read:

– A virtual character becoming Hong Seohyun’s body.

– Min Hae-yun, you have to cosplay as that character!

– Your reward: A single draw from a random box!

– Please make your selection!

There’s no way she’s letting this opportunity slip by.

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