Once pretend family time is over, Abaddon and I go back to our home in Karuizawa. We head straight for the recording studio in the guest room and start our strategy meeting in front of the laptop. We’re trying to figure out how we can win this view-count contest.
“Our views have really dropped off. Curious.”
“It’s probably because we’re not drawing in anyone new. Without a constant influx, subsequent videos naturally get fewer and fewer views. That’s why everyone is so desperate to advertise.”
“But it looks like we’re still getting comments.”
“I think that’s probably inevitable.”
The view and comment numbers on our videos are as follows:
120 views, 7 comments.
101 views, 6 comments.
86 views, 5 comments.
80 views, 6 comments.
77 views, 4 comments.
59 views, 4 comments.
41 views, 12 comments.
The newest video has an awful lot of comments. I check the posters’ accounts; they all belong to the same group that first found my channel and spread the word to their friends. The comments read: “Three updates in one day? How much free time does she have, lmao.” “She’s gotta be a NEET.” “Poor Misaki Hanano, she’ll never live up to her name.” “Her flower is never going to bloom, it already rotted at the root.” “Literally can’t stop laughing at how gloomy she sounds. She just can’t hide it.” “The visuals are still ridiculously high-quality, though.” “Isn’t the video editing on these super intricate?” “Could a single person really put out this much stuff?” “Maybe she just stole it all.” “But those motions are practically unreal.”
Once again, our video has become a topic among the members of their group, and they’re dominating the comment section. At this point, the video barely matters; they’re treating the comments as their own private forum.
Here and there, I see other users, seemingly unrelated to the group, making negative comments, too. Maybe seeing the others’ remarks diluted their sense of ethics. At any rate, I still can’t find a single positive opinion.
Such poor behavior. If this keeps up, I won’t be able to continue my activities as planned. My channel is completely at their mercy, and they’re treating it like a toy for their amusement.
I can’t let this go on, I think, firming my resolve.
If I continue as I have been, my channel will never be popular. And seeing how well Futarishizuka and Blondie are doing, and how confident Makeup is, I feel impatient and frustrated with my own failure. What’s more, I resent all this one-sided bullying.
It’s time.
“Abaddon, I’ve made a decision.”
“What is it?”
“Misaki Hanano will be retiring, effective today.”
“Are you going to stop uploading videos?”
“No, not at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think it’s time to listen to the bullies.”
If I’m going to change tactics, I’d better do it quickly. The more time passes, the more effort it will take to make a major course correction. At this stage, I can still start over. In fact, you could call this a prime opportunity. Maybe I can even take advantage of the haters’ comments.
“Has all the negativity left you disheartened?”
“I’m not that delicate, Abaddon. It will take more than bullying from complete strangers to discourage me. I used to eat weeds to stave off starvation. This level of malice is nothing.”
“Your argument is extremely persuasive, but doesn’t it make you sad to admit that?”
“Aren’t you the one always calling me a depressing introvert?”
“Huh? Oh. Well, yeah… Um. If I hurt your feelings, I’ll apologize.”
“I wish you wouldn’t try to act nice. It creeps me out.”
“Then hurry up and tell me what the deal is.”
One moment he’s dejected, the next he’s in a huff. He’s probably just trying to hide his embarrassment, though—an unusual reaction for him.
I turn toward the laptop. This time, we’ll seize the initiative. If I don’t take risks, I’ll never get the views I need.
“The haters’ criticisms have all been very specific. So why not humor them? Effective marketing includes riding the waves of public opinion. Or at least, I think I read that somewhere.” I won’t let this end with my channel being a toy for haters. It’s time I showed them a thing or two. “The name ‘Misaki Hanano’ was too much for me to handle.”
“Oh, so you’re gonna reinvent your character with a different personality?”
“Exactly.”
First, I need to figure out a new name. I think for a bit, and one comes to me fairly easily.
“From now on, I will be called ‘Ochiba Kareki.’”
There’s a certain ring to it. I think it’s pretty good for something I came up with on the spot. The haters said I was a flower that withered before it could bloom, so I chose a first name meaning “fallen leaves” and a last name meaning “dead tree.”
“You came up with that a lot more quickly than the last one!”
“What are you trying to say, Abaddon?”
“Nothing at all!”
I’m well aware of what he’s implying. I’m a gloomy introvert, through and through.
Before, I wanted to hide my true nature and act like a sunnier character, but that was my first mistake. I’ll leave the role-play to professional actors; a newbie like me can’t pull it off. If I’m going to put on an act, I need to choose a role that will allow me to incorporate my authentic self.
“I won’t be able to stick with this model, either.”
“You want to change the design?”
“I’d like to adjust it, if we can get the younger sister to help.”
I bring up Misaki Hanano’s image on the screen and speak into thin air.
“Excuse me. I’d like to make some changes to my model. Would you be able to assist me?”
When I do, the model moves in response to my voice, holding up her arms in a big O shape to signal she’ll help. That settles the matter. I’m sure Robot Girl heard everything Abaddon and I were talking about through the room’s microphones, so she probably already knows what direction I want to go with.
“Thank you very much. To start…”
I don’t alter the base design at all, but I make adjustments in many areas. It feels a little like my character went all out to change her image when she entered high school, only to mess it up and get ostracized by her classmates. She failed to become the sunny extrovert she dreamed of, and now she’s a gloomy introvert. And so her polished pretense peels away, leaving behind only a painful, embarrassing memory.
Oh, that’s pretty good. I think I’ll make that her new background story.
“…Yes, that’s right. Can you make the bangs a little longer? Just enough to cover her eyes. And I’d like the expression to be more melancholy, to really show the contrast. Oh, I had a question about the moving parts in the model’s back. When she hunches over…”
“Ah, a miserable fate has befallen our lovely Miss Hanano.”
“Don’t be rude, Abaddon. This is what the market demands.”