The Group Collaboration Following the Debut Stream
A group collaboration following a debut stream—It was a broadcasting pattern commonly followed by corporate VTubers, a tradition so deeply rooted that it had become an unwritten rule.
Each member introduced themselves through their debut streams, making their names and faces known.
Then, through the group collaboration, they would show the audience, This is our group.
The same went for Star Record, the company hailed as the reigning king of domestic VTuber agencies.
By cleverly benchmarking successful VTuber corporations overseas, Star Record had meticulously followed their formula for success.
From the first generation to the second, and now to the newly debuted third generation—
There had been countless ups and downs, moments of doubt and times when giving up seemed like the only option.
But in the end, they had made it this far.
For Si-eun, the one who had grown this company from a small local business into a giant in the VTuber industry, the occasion was deeply emotional.
That was why she had come to monitor the third generation’s group collaboration.
To witness, with her own eyes, the clear upward trend in statistics compared to the previous first and second generations.
Of course, there was also another reason—The existence of an irregular, someone who had been on her mind.
“President, you’re here.”
Hye-jin, the manager overseeing the third generation members as they prepared for the stream, greeted Si-eun with a slight bow.
“The stream hasn’t started yet, has it?”
“No, we were just about to begin.”
The stream was in standby mode—nothing was being broadcast to the viewers yet.
On the screen, the members’ avatars were displayed as they moved around, testing their mics and making final adjustments.
All that remained was to switch the screen and turn on the audio.
Then, the broadcast would go live.
Yet, even before the official start, Si-eun couldn’t help but be impressed.
“The viewer count is already…?”
[OPEN THE DOOR!]
[Hurry up and show us Sera, damn it…]
[Let’s gooo, group collab time!]
[Came from the VTuber forums!]
[Is this the place with the sexy VTuber onee-san who vapes?]
[They’re late… At this rate, I’m gonna become a grandpa waiting.]
[Where is everyone?]
[If you make me wait ten more minutes, I swear I’ll shit my pants.]
The stream hadn’t even properly started yet.
The screen was merely on standby, and already the viewership wasn’t decreasing—in fact, it was climbing.
The current live viewer count was at ten thousand.
That was twice the average viewership of the individual debut streams.
Even considering that this was a group collaboration, this number was far beyond expectations.
After analyzing the debut streams, Star Record had estimated the third generation’s audience pool to be between 2,000 and 5,000 viewers at best.
That prediction had been based on data collected from the first and second generations’ performances, as well as an assessment of each third-gen member’s debut numbers.
“The estimate was completely off…”
The sudden surge in viewers meant their calculations had been incorrect.
It was a good mistake to make, but still—Si-eun was the kind of person who needed to understand why.
Streaming was an unpredictable field, but that was precisely why thorough analysis was necessary.
Understanding the reasons behind growth, giving feedback, and directing the company toward even better results—That was Star Record’s job.
But what was the reason for this sudden explosion in viewers?
Si-eun didn’t have to think long.
The answer was obvious.
“It’s because of Sera.”
A superstar.
Someone whose very existence drew people in.
Si-eun had experienced this phenomenon before.
“Just like those ones.”
There had been similar members in the first and second generations.
Thanks to their talent and popularity, Star Record had been able to grow into what it was today.
Of course, none of them had received this much attention right from debut, but the essence was the same.
“They call her the queen of third-gen, huh?”
That was what the online communities had been saying.
Back then, Si-eun had thought they were being dramatic.
Crowning a queen already?
Isn’t it too early for that?
But now, seeing the current numbers…
It was hard to deny.
Unless something major happened, the third generation would naturally revolve around Sera.
The first wave of momentum was the most important.
“Looks like my instincts haven’t dulled after all.”
Another outstanding talent had emerged.
Si-eun glanced toward the opposite booth, where Sera was shaking her white-haired avatar excitedly, and let out a satisfied smile.
“Ready?”
The manager, Hye-jin, signaled the start.
The screen transitioned, and the eldest member, Da-in, was the first to raise her voice.
“Two, three!”
“Hello! We are Star Record’s third generation!”
“Hana!”
“Quri!”
“…Uriel.”
“Sera here! Waaaah!”
As each member called out their names, their avatars appeared on screen.
It was as if the audience’s cheers could be heard through the screen.
Technology has really come a long way.
Something like this would’ve been unimaginable when Si-eun first started streaming.
[Hello ^^]
[I can smell them from here, hehehe…]
[Did they introduce themselves by age order? Is Hana the oldest?]
There was no official script for this group collab.
Just like in individual streams, everyone was free to speak whenever they found the right moment.
Reading the chat about their ages, Sera immediately chimed in.
“Age-wise, I think I’m the oldest? I mean, I am 600 years old, after all.”
“I’m 450 years old!”
“I’m 300 years old!”
“What about you, Hana?”
Noticing that Dain seemed to be struggling to find the right moment to join in, I turned toward her and asked.
It seemed like she caught on to my signal because, after some hesitation, she finally answered.
“U-uh, I’m… 27….”
Ah, so Dain was just using her real age.
Unlike the rest of us, it seemed like her roleplay wasn’t too deep into a character concept.
While I was a water spirit, Saeun was an oni, and Suyeon was an angel, Dain was just… human.
Naturally, that meant our ages flipped, making her the youngest among us.
And in turn, I ended up being the eldest.
Hmm, yes.
This is how the world should be.
Technically speaking, I was the oldest anyway.
I reached out and tapped Dain’s shoulder in real life so that my avatar mirrored the action on screen.
With a smug tone, I spoke.
“Call me unnie, Hana.”
“W-wha…?”
Dain’s eyes widened as she let out a startled squeak.
She even let her voice crack a little—she must’ve been really flustered.
I guess having someone six years younger suddenly start treating her like the younger one had really caught her off guard.
But that kind of pure reaction only seemed to make the viewers enjoy the moment even more.
[Aren’t they meeting for the first time today? LOL]
[So technically, Hana is the real unnie?]
[Hana is stupidly adorable wtf]
[How can a 27-year-old be this cute?]
[She already lost to her dongsaeng LOL]
[Hana looked so soft even in her solo stream]
[Sera’s already establishing dominance, huh]
[Wait… was Sera an iljin???]
[So much for the innocent concept lol]
[Bro stop breaking RP, let me immerse!!]
[So the moment they go live, the age hierarchy flips?]
“…If you’re 600 years old, shouldn’t you be a grandma instead of an unnie?”
“W-what.”
Right on cue, Suyeon cut in.
As expected from someone playing the cold, cynical, and disinterested angel character, she delivered the fact bomb without hesitation.
Actually…
the more I saw her, the more I started to wonder if this was just her real personality.
“You’re getting cocky for someone who’s only 300. I’ve lived twice your lifetime.”
“600 years old or whatever, it’s all the same. Sounds kinda like something an old-timer would say.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Hey.”
At that point, Saeun decided to step in and put a stop to our bickering.
“Alright, alright. How about we introduce ourselves properly first? This is our first group stream, so the viewers probably don’t even know whose voice is whose yet. Come on, let’s focus.”
Huh.
Surprisingly enough, nobody was talking over each other despite this being a group collab.
Was everyone already experienced in streaming?
It was going smoother than I expected.
After we wrapped up our brief introductions, I took the lead as the oldest one and moved things along.
“Alright then, why don’t we start with some first impressions? Since this is our first time meeting each other, we’ll write down a word that sums up our first impression of each person.”
“Wow, so rude for a first meeting. Grandma.”
“G-grandma?!”
[LMAO, 300-year-olds do see 600-year-olds as grandmas, I guess]
[Sera’s not a noona but a halmoni…]
[600 years old is beyond a chicken coop, that’s ancient]
[Uriel is completely schooling Sera LOL]
[Uriel’s the real bully here. Sera’s just playing a character.]
[Wait, is it true that you get roasted if you go to Uriel’s stream?]
[Cold beauty characters are terrifying…]
So this was Suyeon’s role—
The one who constantly argued with me and stirred up banter.
Though…
I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some real hostility mixed in there.
Oh well.
Anyway, back to the first impression game.
This was something we had agreed on beforehand.
The stream outline was pretty much nonexistent, but one thing was written down: Start with first impressions.
Each member would write down three words to describe one other member.
Hmm…
What should I write?
“Alright, is everyone done?”
“Yep!”
“Then let’s randomly pick someone to go first.”
A roulette spin on screen determined the first person to reveal their impressions.
Sera.
“Ah, it’s me!”
“It’s Sera, it’s Sera!”
Saeun clapped excitedly next to me.
“Alright, let’s see what people wrote about me… drumroll please.”
Why was I feeling nervous?
…Or maybe a little excited?
And then, the revealed words were:
Surprisingly harmless
Idiot…?
Old-timer
“…Huh?”
This…
was not what I was expecting at all.