[PIN0: Release Jigeop-Diiiiiii! Ah! Ah!]
For a moment, Dohee was stunned, wondering if this person was part of the notorious mail gang. Still, she calmly replied.
[Me: You’re PIN0, right?]
[Me: You weren’t hacked, were you?]
[PIN0: I’m on my third can of Predator White. I have one project to finish today, another to wrap up this week, and three more due by next month. Save me. MiMax is trying to kill me.]
Judging by the way he spoke, he was still in his right mind—mostly.
Though clearly overwhelmed with work, his mental state hadn’t completely collapsed…
[Me: You’ve got debts to pay off, don’t you?]
[Me: You have to work hard. There’s no other choice.]
[PIN0: Kyaaaaaaah!]
[PIN0: It’s too much it’s too much it’s too much it’s toooooo muuuuuch!]
[Me: Calm down…]
Still, what made PIN0 remarkable was that even in such a mental state, his rigging quality didn’t falter.
While some say rigging becomes a simple, mechanical task once you reach a certain skill level, true artistry requires more than that. If you just slog through it like a mindless chore, you can’t add the subtle movements that match the character’s personality or unique traits.
The rig PIN0 sent for Magia was flawless, given the time he had spent on it.
The smirk with one corner of her mouth raised, the awkward smile, the shadow cast across her face as if she’d just seen something terrible—it was all there.
It was almost as if he’d seen Magia in real life, capturing her character so vividly.
…Though some of the cute expressions he included likely wouldn’t be used by Magia anyway.
[Me: I’ll send you the external work request form soon.]
[Me: You can take your time with the project.]
[PIN0: I’ll finish it in a week.]
[PIN0: Jigeop-Dii must come to life—that is my sole purpose!]
At that moment, Dohee became certain of one thing.
This guy had bet on the wrong coin. Again.
“This is really someone who shouldn’t invest….”
He’d already lost 45 million won in stock trading and 35 million won on cryptocurrency.
Thankfully, he managed to borrow from his family to repay the massive debt, but he still wasn’t living like a normal human being.
And now, of all things, the coin he decided to gamble on was Magia.
[Me: I’ll send the work request form first thing tomorrow.]
[PIN0: I’ll hold my breath until then. Gasp~]
Well, aside from his investment failures, he was otherwise a fairly decent person, and his eccentric tastes were limited to the 2D realm.
If their relationship developed well this time, it might even be easier to secure an outsourcing contract before the debut of the second-generation talents.
It was a complete reversal from when they were making the rig for Komari.
Really, the “Magia Magic” was astounding.
The only concern now was the escalating onslaught from the hardcore Magia fanatics.
Even just revealing the rigging board had brought in a thousand emails.
If they actually showcased a fully animated Magia?
They might have to hire someone just to sort through the email inbox.
“…I should probably start by finding a replacement for Jiya.”
Dohee had many ideas about how to utilize Jiya in the future.
But for now, it was crucial to hire someone to help reduce Magia’s workload as soon as possible.
* * *
No major event, like sharing a bed with Komari, which many fans might have anticipated, actually happened.
Komari strongly dislikes having someone fidgeting next to her while sleeping, and I also feel uncomfortable sharing a blanket with someone who’s like a younger sister to me.
Still, perhaps not wanting to sleep alone on the bed, she insisted on laying out a blanket on the floor and lying down there.
Then, after briefly talking about today’s stream and saying how amazing it was, she seemed like she was about to start some girl talk only to fall asleep mid-sentence.
Even I, who usually stayed up until 4 or 5 a.m., passed out by around 3 a.m.
I didn’t think participating in Moogun’s stream was a big deal.
But maybe I was more nervous than I realized.
So, around 10 a.m., I woke up, left the still-sleeping Komari behind, and hurried back home.
Of course, it was partly to get ready for work and catch up on the live broadcast I missed yesterday.
But more than that, I wanted to check on the gallery’s situation that I had fallen asleep while monitoring.
··· — Staff D Mini Gallery — — — — — — ···
[The one who took the shot at Moogun was definitely Staff D.]
The guy who took that shot said he’d reveal everything in 60 hours.
[Here’s my theory]
– Source: Moogun (Internet Streamer) Gallery
No matter how I think about it, the only one who can shoot that accurately in the middle of a smoke screen is Signal Flare.
This was just baiting attention before releasing the big reveal.
No counterarguments accepted.
[Comments]
– StaffD901: But don’t you think there’s no way they’ll debut?
ᄂ StaffD345: Take that back immediately.
ᄂ StaffD901: No, think about it.
ᄂ StaffD901: If they were planning to debut as a 1.5th generation trainee, they’d have done a proper presentation on a full-scale broadcast.
ᄂ StaffD901: This feels more like “Here’s a random platform; go figure it out” vibes.
ᄂ StaffD742: Hmm, now that you mention it…
ᄂ StaffD414: Oh, I figured it out.
ᄂ StaffD414: They’re putting Momo through a trial run right now.
ᄂ StaffD414: Everyone already knows about Staff D’s talent, right? Whether it’s rapping, impressions, or character voices.
ᄂ StaffD414: But if they just debut them directly, it’d cause a scandal over favoritism or nepotism.
ᄂ StaffD414: So they’re tossing them into the underground idol scene to grow their skills first, like a trial by fire.
ᄂ StaffD414: Then, when fans start demanding, “Why aren’t they debuting yet?” they can say, “Oh, well, if you insist~” and debut them.
ᄂ StaffD095: But if that’s the plan, why did they tell them not to pressure the trainee before?
ᄂ StaffD414: That’s the point.
ᄂ StaffD414: Reverse psychology if you tell them not to do it, it makes them want to do it even more. What’s it called again? The Streisand effect?
ᄂ StaffD002: The Streisand effect.
ᄂ StaffD735: What’s with this high-level debate?
ᄂ StaffD811: This doesn’t feel like the Mopyeong I knew.
··· — — — — — — — — — ···
··· — Staff D Mini Gallery — — — — — ···
[Wasting energy on pointless stuff again]
– Author: StaffD368
It’s so obvious from how Staff D talks.
They’re never going to debut.
It seems like waiting for the 2nd generation trainees to debut would be faster than waiting for Staff D to debut.
(Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 34)
[Comments]
– StaffD835: You’re definitely Staff D.
– StaffD921: Staff D caught posting anonymously from their own home. 😂
– 🟧 StaffD1: Hmmm…
··· — — — — — — — — — ···
Ever since the promotional stream, not only has the number of people searching for Staff D increased, but I’ve also ended up being misunderstood for no reason.
There’s no way I’d write something like that.
Sure, I’ve posted things like:
– “Momo’s Shower Special today 😂”
– “Momo says moe moe kyun!”
– “If she doesn’t stream tomorrow, I’m setting another gallery on fire!”
But those were all about the boss.
The point was to keep mentioning Momo so the meme cycle would continue.
Through this process, even the people who only hang around the gallery without watching the streams would eventually be drawn back in.
In other words, even if I were to throw in a comment about Staff D now, it would only lead to more people looking for me, so staying quiet is the best option.
Never forget: the power of noise marketing.
Of course, spammy or hateful posts risk getting banned, so those don’t count.
…Hmm. But just staying quiet feels a bit boring.
Maybe I’ll write something short.
··· — Staff D Mini Gallery — — — — — ···
[Guys, I found the spell to summon Staff D 😂]
(Author: StaffD369)
Step 1: Turn on any stream from the 1st gen trainees.
Step 2: Use the 1,000-won Punch feature to repeatedly send:
“I’m holding my breath until Staff D is summoned!!!”
If you punch like 1,000 times, Staff D will appear.
Guaranteed.
[Comments]
– StaffD301: Staff critique;
– StaffD500: No way someone’s actually going to try this, right?
– StaffD003: 😂😂😂
··· — — — — — — — — — ···
At first glance, this might seem like some random nonsense scribbled together, but it’s surprisingly effective at catching troublemakers.
When you set a trap, there are always people who’ll fall right into it.
If it were up to me, I’d love to dish out a full year ban, but since it’s a bit harsh, I just told the managers to go with a one-week ban.
* * *
A few days later, it was the day to go to the PC café with the boss. That’s when the first fool fell into the trap I’d set on the Staff D gallery.
[Komari Chat Manager 1: Someone sent the same 1,000-won punch message every 5 seconds, 30 times in a row, so we immediately gave them a one-week ban…]
[Komari Chat Manager 1: But it seems like they might be a well-known figure.]
[Komari Chat Manager 1: I’ll leave the rest of the handling to you.]
[Me: Got it.]
Sending a message every five seconds—30 times—is far from ordinary trolling.
A well-known figure?
If it were just a random person, I wouldn’t have thought twice. But knowing it might be someone famous, I couldn’t help but feel curious.
Click.
I logged in with the manager account.
I checked the ban list, and when I saw the username, I couldn’t stop blinking for a while.
[Global Ban (7 days) – pin0_live2d]
(Click to view banned channels.)
It could have been an impersonation, but usually, no one bothers to copy this specific rigger’s ID.
Unlike MAMA (the illustrator), who is more prominent among the public, this person is relatively under the radar. I couldn’t think of any significant benefit to impersonating them.
Could it really be the real deal?
To confirm, I went to the “Detention Center” board on the Parallel Integrated Fan Café.
And there it was—a freshly posted thread from earlier this morning.
The author’s ID?
pin0_live2d.
The fan café ID?
pin0_live2d.
Just to be sure, I checked another platform, Twitter.
PIN0☑ @pin0_live2d – 2 hours ago
“The world has stopped.”
I stared at the screen, feeling the same way.