It looked precarious, but fortunately, no problems cropped up right away.
There was no way a gun fired without proper aim would hit the boss, so they died quickly and got game over.
If even one piece of equipment broke, I'd be approving expense reports over McMornings, Dora would have to write an incident report, and the stream would explode.
You might think expensive gear wouldn't break that easily, but even a smartphone costing over a million won can shatter if you drop it unluckily. Electronics are fragile like that.
So if Dora kept swinging her blind fists like this, it wouldn't be strange if something broke anytime—honestly, the mouse cable seemed like the first to go.
Unaware of any of this, I whispered softly into Dora's ear as she panted away.
"Hang on, say you're going to the bathroom and mute your mic."
"Huu... huuuu.... I wanna go to the bathroooom.... Hng...."
— Go ahead
— Hurry back
— I'm grabbing a drink too
— Nearly choked on my food lol
— How does her aim glitch out like that lmao
— Legendary stream again lol
:: Anonymous Sponsor sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: No dental insurance here ㅠㅠㅠ ::
Leaving the chat buzzing behind, I confirmed the mic was muted and spoke to Dora.
"I figured out why issues pop up during horror games that don't happen otherwise."
She wiped her damp eyes with her sleeve, then blew her nose into a nearby tissue.
"Why's that...?"
"Your habits while gaming are the problem."
"My habits...?"
I showed her the footage I'd recorded earlier.
In the video, Dora shook her head side to side while wildly swiping her right hand across the desk like she was scrubbing with a rag.
Seeing it, Dora muttered in disbelief.
"Do I really do that when I game?"
"Yep. Pretty epic, right?"
"Ugh... It's not epic!"
Anyway, we'd found the cause, so now it was time to fix it.
"...What are you doing?"
From behind her chair, I gripped her head firmly to keep her facing the screen straight.
"I noticed you kept looking away and flailing your arms. No reason for the mouse to go haywire if you do this."
Couldn't we just move the gear farther away? But it was already positioned way out of reach—too far, even.
After past incidents and repositioning everything multiple times, we'd settled on a spot where Dora wouldn't bump it, and it was easy for me to manage.
In other words, blocking her from extending her arms was the simplest, most straightforward fix over rearranging and causing a fuss.
"I can't play like this. It's scary, so scary!!"
"Scared? Then end the stream?"
"Eek. I can stream without this!"
"Then equipment issues happen again. This is the way."
"Ehhh...."
Dora's return was taking too long, and the chat was getting rowdy.
— Where'd she go lol
— She dipped?
— Sis?
— Knew she'd bail mid-pub game eventually lol
— Legend
— Abandoning the stream?
— Ditching the hatchling? Ditch your team?!
She glanced at the chat, frowned, and sighed.
"Fine, I'll try facing forward straight and not touching the gear...."
"You said it's scary. Won't it be tough alone?"
"W-Well, if you help in a slightly different way...?"
Dora glanced back and forth between the chat and my face, hesitating, then said,
"It might sound weird, but it's purely for a sense of security, not anything else. Can I put Gia on my lap...?"
I figured this was coming.
I'd just been waiting for the timing.
And hearing it brought something else to mind naturally.
Right.
No equipment issues when Komari was here, right?
That stream was old, and I'd been too stunned earlier to think of it.
"So you won't freak out like before?"
Dora pouted and nodded.
If that's what she wants, then that's what we'll do.
I don't like roundabout solutions when there's a simple one.
Sure, it'd feel weird being cradled like a sister or something.
But if it solves the issues.
"Alright, let's do it."
I hopped onto her lap as she sat in her chair, and she cautiously hugged me from behind.
This setup disabled upper body motion tracking, so we switched off Live2D entirely and went to still illustration mode.
Soon, viewers seemed to catch on, flooding the chat with laughs.
She'd barely cleared the game last time with Komari in this setup.
— The fusion combo is here at last
— This setup works great
— Cleared it with Komari like this lol
— At least we can glue broken teeth back together now
Dora turned her mic back on and dove into the game.
Her words alone made her sound like an awakened hero.
A cheer mission popped up for the voice change.
:: Mission ::
:: (New) Clear it and take the prize~ - 50,000 Clouds ::
"Whew, game on for real now! Thanks for the mission! Guys, am I rocking the gaming suit? Let's go all the way. We got this, totally possible."
— Sure, zero expectations~
— Betting she'll scream for help soon lol
— Intense? Game
Funny thing was, just me on her lap changed everything.
"Kyaaaaah!"
The total scaredy-cat was still a scaredy-cat.
But unlike her frantic fleeing earlier, she now faced the monitor straight and properly fought the monsters.
"Dieee! Kyaa, get away! Die!!"
Her aim was still sloppy, and she'd occasionally clip monsters with bullets for comic relief, but unlike before, she targeted enemies accurately and pushed forward.
— She's growing, growing, growing
— Screaming top-tier even now lol
— Angry or scared? lol
Of course, why my presence changed her so much was still a mystery.
She'd never mentioned it on stream.
But recalling our past chats, I could form a hypothesis from the Komari case and this one.
[Dora: Oh, today?]
[Dora: But with two of us, I feel a bit safer...]
[Dora: No idea myself lol]
The company doesn't meddle much in VTubers' real lives.
They want talents who stream smoothly without issues, and once they find the right ones, they invest fully to raise them to the top.
So what mattered was knowing support nearby lets Dora play horror games issue-free.
Komari would synergize better, but on days she's unavailable, I could fill in.
No big difference between on-duty at the office or watching from beside—versus perfectly preventing her horror stream mishaps.
Perfect.
Classic Magia thinking.
Lucky Vicky.
* * *
Midnight.
Dohee wrapped her short stream, leaving an end slate for tomorrow's prep.
"See you in two days, Mongmongs."
— Nooo ㅠㅠ
— Don't go
— Stayyy ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— Moba!
— Don't go (sob sob)
— moba!
— moba~
— Moba (kiss sob)
Right after ending, Dohee logged in on her alt and headed to Dora's stream.
[Kyaaak, kyaaaaak! Don't come! Don't come! No bullets! What do I do!!]
The ear-piercing scream hit as soon as it loaded.
Dohee winced and halved the volume.
[ (?Live) ] Too scary, call Chingu!! ] ?7,891
#Pandemic_Village #Parallel #TotalScaredyCat
This late, playing a game that had already peaked once despite being recent—yet nearly 8,000 viewers.
Dohee, with over 5x the YouTube subs, had just ended at 13k on a weekday dawn. Impressively high.
Assuming Dora's horror streams usually held 5-6k, that meant Gia brought in 1-2k.
Could be from fellow 1st Gen streams, Momo's, or even casual Battle Coliseum players skipping Parallel.
But clearly, Gia was building a fixed fanbase.
These 1-2k ditched other streams, tasks, games—just to watch her.
Considering 1st Gen averages 3-4k viewers, remarkable for someone with no still art who'd only shown her face twice.
If they fully integrated into Parallel fandom, Dohee couldn't be happier.
She was happy.
'But this is probably the limit.'
They were cyber ghosts, trend-chasers—drawn by the gimmick, gone anytime without it.
No fixed oshi, no fave channels, multiple subs but no consistent views.
Numbers that could drop to zero anytime.
To lock in over 2k, she needed the next weapon.
For cam streamers: fancy makeup and high-end cam setups.
For VTubers—or those blending in: attractive illustrations, i.e., still art.
'But hey, it's Gia, so what can you do.'
Still, Dohee didn't want to pressure Magia for 2k fans.
Having watched the VTuber scene long, she'd think: Debut time? seeing a commissioned still.
Magia, fiercely loyal, believed any investment in her demanded equal value creation.
Even malicious Magia Love Squad "gifts" would be rejected.
She'd say she's not allowed fans.
Anyway, as Dohee mulled this, Dora finished Chapter 2 and took her last break before the pivotal Chapter 3.
[Mongmongs, bathroom and water break.... Wait, why's this game so long? Insane length. Total rice cooker....]
— GOTY right?
— Deserves the awards
— 95% positive on Steam looks like bullshit? lol
— Honestly should've hit half Chapter 3 by now, but early wipes lol
Everyone thought she was heading to the bathroom.
Bzzzt.
[Dora: President]
[Dora: You asleep?]
[Dora: Figured your stream's over, so sending this]
Spot-on timing for Dohee's end.
She'd planned to watch 5 mins then sleep.
[Me: Not yet, what's up?]
[Dora: Can I draw some fanart of Gia?]
Out of nowhere?
[Me: Haven't drawn in ages]
[Dora: So grateful she came early and did everything I asked ㅠㅠㅠ]
[Dora: Without her, disaster today]
[Me: Got it, repaying the favor?]
Solid logic.
To Dora, Magia was an undeniable benefactor and backup today.
[Dora: But I got nothing much to give]
[Dora: Paying thanks feels weird]
[Dora: So wanna draw you a pic]
[Dora: I'm still good at drawing lol]
Sleepiness vanished from Dohee.
Pure curiosity bubbling.
...What happens when a VTuber offers tribute art to staff?
[Me: Ask Gia first, lemme know]
[Dora: Yes!]
Magia replied casually.
"Sure."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. No reason to say no."
As Dohee predicted, she'd refuse fan gifts.
Unworthy, she'd claim.
But Dora wasn't a fan.
Seemingly not, yet higher in hierarchy—and Dora could draw.
No time lately for polish, but she produced pro-level sellable illustrations.
How would her cuter 2D self look?
Honestly, curiosity piqued.
"I'll draw it super cute. So use it next stream appearance? Hehe."
But Dora was mid-stream; chat waits grew long, so Gia nodded quickly.
"Got it, now get back to streaming. Viewers are waiting."
"Oh, just one message...."
"No texting mid-stream."
"It's the president!"
[Dora: Gia says yes!]
[Dora: Super hyped lol]
[Dora: Use it next stream!]
[Dora: Gotta draw it adorable~]
Dohee blanked at the replies.
"She accepted?"
Secured the 2k fans' fate, but.
Anyway, she'd taken on extra work: stream appearances and VTuber support.
Hype from fans? Easy excuse to calm.
Industry norm: family/friends on VTuber streams get matching illustrations in-world.
But with still art now—and Gia agreeing to use it.
A major fork for Magia ahead.
Signal flare or staffie.
Her identity undecided between.
Meeting viewer hype shows star potential: debut.
Maintain stance: cemented as staff.
Currently leaning staff—likely ends there.
But flare potential exists.
D Rain's eerie likeness, Signal Flare's rising fame...
Not decided overnight.
Dohee prioritized Magia's will anyway.
"Yawn...."
No point overthinking now.
Dohee yawned hugely and drifted to sleep.