17 The Fourth Stream (1)
"Mmmmm…" Kia mumbles, rousing from her sleep.
Getting an arm up and probing her bedside table for her phone, she takes it and looks at the time. "Damn… I slept more hours than usual, but I feel shittier."
"Hmm?" Kia notices the notifications… from YouTube!
"No way." Snapping out from her morning grogginess, she quickly goes into her previous streams saved as VODs.
There were around 100 views for each previous stream. A few people littered the comment section, new names Kia hadn't seen before.
Sure, there was likely only going to be an additional person or two that would maybe come to her stream whenever she was live, but since she originally had only one viewer that meant if she got three viewers, that'd be a 300% increase.
Finally, it seemed like all that effort wouldn't go to waste. "10 subscribers too… I'd better stream something then."
She knew she at least needed to get a mouse from that suspicious music store, but Kia also needed to capitalize on as much of her time on her day off to stream.
"Hmm… the obvious answer then! An IRL stream!" It would be perfect to try; Kia was also curious how her viewers would respond to a change in content.
It would take a while for her to find a gym to work out in, just as she had planned before. As well as get a mouse for once. And all the while, she'd be streaming the entire thing.
"Monetizing my life has never been easier!"
<>
Kia stood right outside her door, eyeing the 'go live' button right on her phone. With a deep breath, she finally pressed it.
No viewers immediately came, but Kia hoped that the people who saw her channel would participate sooner or later.
"Hey, guys, uh… this isn't a usual gaming stream since I have to do some errands, but I decided you guys could come along. I'll stream the entire day today, so don't worry about this stream being IRL only."
The good thing about the YouTube Twitch assimilation was that, while live, people could playback a section of the stream. Hooray for good corporate takeovers!
Walking around the city constantly looking at her phone was new to Kia. She had no idea how much confidence someone needed to actively point cameras toward themselves.
This was also Japan; people would look at her like she'd just killed someone if she started being obnoxious in public.
So, to circumvent that issue, Kia would just make sure to keep her phone close to her body.
While the viewers wouldn't see much, Kia could at least talk to them. Think of it like a phone call with a friend.
A few minutes later…
[1 Viewer]
[NotoriousReader: I have come.]
Kia was delightfully surprised; her first viewer in the stream wasn't her regular. "Uh… thanks? I don't know how to exactly respond to that."
[NotoriousReader: Is this your first IRL stream?]
"Welcome to the stream. Er… yeah, It's my first time being live outside my room."
[NotoriousReader: Aren't you worried about being doxed?]
Kia clutched her phone, anxious about the remark. "Oh… crap."
'Urgh… I guess impulsively streaming wasn't a good idea.' It wasn't the best solution, but Kia thought about something.
Didn't she have the perfect ability to counteract that risk?
Although Kia swore she wouldn't use her quirk much... but... what could be the harm in using just a bit of her powers to ensure her life wouldn't be in danger?
Tapping into her abilities, she stares at the screen with stern eyes. "You will all promise me not to try finding my location... don't you all love me?"
It took a few nerve-wracking moments for the new viewer to react.
[NotoriousReader: Yes.]
"Type one if you understand."
[NotoriousReader: One.]
'Wait, this doesn't tell me anything.' Kia realized.
How would she definitely know that a person was part of her collective? Sharing thoughts! Kia looked at something nearby, a car, and decided to act.
She covered her camera and asked. "Tell me a color."
'The color of this car specifically.' after feeling out one among the many minds she already captured, Kia coerced part of her thoughts and sent it. Then, she waited.
[NotoriousReader: A lighter shade of green. It has a slight dark tint with a color similar to lime.]
The car Kia was looking at was the same color, validating her assumptions. The comment was also specific, which reduced the likelihood that it was a random choice.
Kia deviously smiled. 'It worked! I'm pretty sure whatever I said will be imprinted on anyone who looks at my stream or likes me.'
Hopefully, she won't have to force her audience's minds to do anything else. Sure, it would be simple to have everyone donate, but that is the same as receiving handouts. Kia had to earn her audience's money through entertainment.
"Hmm… I'm getting close to the music store. I hope nobody minds me holding chat."
[2 Viewers]
Kia couldn't hide a wide grin after seeing another person enter.
[YoungPrinz: Hello.]
"Sup!" A new viewer was always welcome; Kia greeted the newcomer. "…I'm wondering, where'd you guys come from?"
[NotoriousReader: There is a thread on 4chan about you.]
[YoungPrinz: Don't look at it though.]
"I don't even want to know what you guys are talking about there."
Kia could theoretically read her viewers' minds to know. However, given the nature of 4chan, this would be a horrible idea. Who knows what people are saying about her on there?
"What made you guys think to watch me?" Kia wondered. "I haven't done anything too impressive."
[NotoriousReader: It's about potential. If you manage to follow through and play an obscure yet interesting game with a challenge, I'll bet that people would flock here.]
[YoungPrinz: Feet.]
Ah yes, the duality of man in a series of responses.
"...I'm glad you guys are honest but I'm going to wear socks if I ever get a dance pad to beat Minecraft. I assume that's what drew you in?"
[NotoriousReader: I'm not sure actually. Curiosity is the main thing. How far can you reach with just playing these old games? It's like an underdog story; I'd like to see where it goes.]
[YoungPrinz: Face.]
"For people coming from 4chan, I'm surprised that people can actually respond sensibly… at least one of you does — not that it's a bad thing chatting with only one word."
The chat continues to go by, either talking to Kia or talking to each other. The walk to the music store felt short since Kia had someone to talk to… even if she got a few wandering eyes looking at her along the way.
<>
"Here we are." Kia reached the front of the store and flipped the camera around. "This is where I'm going to buy stuff."
[NotoriousReader: I didn't know you liked music.]
"Er… this is where I'm going to buy the mouse." Kia paused, realizing she had to lie to cover up that she was buying stolen goods. "It's secondhand; I got a friend working here."
It was technically the truth.
"Hey, it's me again." Kia enters, finding comfort as she sees a recognizable face in the store.
The clerk looks up. "Oh, it's you again. Are you enjoying the—"
Kia quickly motions with her finger to zip her mouth and then points to her phone. "Um… do you have the mouse I wanted to buy? The secondhand one."
"...Ah! I almost forgot about it. How much do you have on you?"
Kia was glad the employee realized she was streaming and needed to carefully pick their words. "5,000 Yen, but I'm only looking for a simple mouse."
"Alright. Is the streaming going well?"
"Ah, yeah. Playing in front of people with just a trackpad is not enjoyable. I'll have to get a dance pad for the stream soon too."
The employee smiled. "What a coincidence, I also have a... secondhand dance pad."
'Wow, where the hell is she stealing all of these from? Is this store allowing her to sell stolen goods or is it just her, I wonder?' Kia thought. "How much are they going to be? I'm going to pay through an online wallet."
"Be right back, I'll let you take a look at what I have."
Kia looked at her chat, wanting to see their reactions. Thankfully, the two people in chat were just talking to each other and not minding the transaction.
After being shown the mouse with side buttons and a dance pad. Kia paid around 3,000 Yen for both.
<>
Kia exited and browsed Google Maps for the nearest gym where she could possibly work out after promising herself to get in shape.
"Hmm, there's a few around the area. I could maybe get into this one…" Kia tapped the display and saw the 4.7-star review and a few dozen remarks on the condition. "It's just a typical gym; I have to walk an hour there or just take the train. What do you guys think?"
[NotoriousReader: Gym stream? PogU.]
[YoungPrinz: Sweat. PogU]
Kia playfully rolled her eyes. "Not today, chat. I'm just going to look at it to see if it's good or not. Though, I'd really like to stream at home right now."
[NotoriousReader: Then save it for a later stream. You've gotten a dance pad already, so why not try practicing?]
[YoungPrinz: Agreed. It's up to you though.]
[NotoriousReader: Do you know how to code the dance pad to work with Minecraft?]
"Nope. I'm going to learn to; it's not that hard anyway. I skimmed a few videos last night."
[NotoriousReader: Nice. I can't wait for the challenge stream. Are you going to continue your previous world?]
"I'll do this challenge stream first. I need more exposure if I want to continue to grow."
[YoungPrinz: So when can we expect the gym stream?]
"Hey, I didn't say anything about streaming every time I go to the gym."
[YoungPrinz: D:]
"Unless… what if I set it as a sub-goal?" Kia abruptly stops and remembers that this isn't only Twitch anymore, and that subscription was free. "I mean a membership goal, I could do either."
[YoungPrinz: How many memberships?]
"I don't know… a hundred?" Kia guessed, confident it was a far enough goal. "Plus a thousand subscribers!"
[YoungPrinz: Easy.]
"Pft, you can't even get a hundred memberships today if you wanted to. I only have at max three people watching me and only ten subscribers."
With the pace Kia was going, she was expecting around twenty viewers at the end of the month. How could she possibly get hundreds of people to buy memberships in a short time?
"Anyway, I'm gonna listen to chat and head back home. I'm going to set up the dance pad and hook it up to Minecraft. Maybe a speedrun to the Ender Dragon would be a nice end."
[NotoriousReader: Sounds good to me.]
[YoungPrinz: Very nice.]
[3 Viewers]
[AdmiralRoux: Shit, I didn't see the notification. Did I miss anything?]
Kia smiled. "Nope, nothing too much. I'll switch to my laptop webcam later since I bought the mouse and dance pad for the Minecraft stream."
[AdmiralRoux: No way. Is it happening? PogU]
[NotoriousReader: K also mentioned a membership goal, 100 memberships for a gym stream.]
[AdmiralRoux: Easy.]
"Hey, don't forget about the one thousand subs!"
[YoungPrinz: Easy.]
[AdmiralRoux: Easy.]
[NotoriousReader: Easy.]
Little did Kia know how far people were willing to go for her weird streaming ideas. The deep cesspool of the internet's famous imageboard would be stirred…
Selling out to the whims of the chat has begun.
