Since I Became a Woman, I’ll Do Cosplay

“Umm… Hmm…”

Lunch break.

This week is the period when first-year students eat lunch first.

So, Hayoon finished her lunch early and crossed over to the east to start scribbling rough sketches on her tablet.

It’s not a commissioned piece for anyone in particular.

The VTuber thumbnails for Utaite Scarlet were already completed up until September, and due to the NSFW nature of Patreon work, it’s better done at home anyway.

Thus, the work Hayoon is doing now is purely for her own sake.

To be more precise…

“Custom characters only need to be decent. It’s better to give emphasis through costumes or accessories for a character design that doesn’t divide opinions into likes and dislikes.”

She was in the process of seriously designing a custom character to use in her streams.

Initially, she considered broadcasting for special events without a custom character, thinking that it would fit a mysterious-concept theme better.

However, the plans changed slightly.

Hong Seohyun was showing signs of being uneasy about streaming, so Hayoon began considering a collab with her. Since it’s generally better to have a custom character when collaborating with VTubers, Hayoon also thought it would be a good idea for herself to have one properly.

I mean, in Japan…

Famous VTubers in the industry always have their custom characters.

Some even develop full virtual personas beyond just the basic character design.

“Trend-following. That’s what it is.”

Hayoon intended to hop onto this trend and ride the wave of the VTuber craze that was soon to hit domestically.

Of course, some might question whether someone who’s following the trend can get away with choosing a non-controversial custom character design.

But Hayoon had a different opinion.

“Primarily, fanbases thrive when there’s active derivative works.”

Why did the famous Red Archive sweep through Japan?

Because the designs were simple, likable, and had memorable qualities that encouraged fan content.

VTubers wouldn’t be much different.

It would be best to have a basic design that encourages derivative works and accentuate it with unique costumes.

If the base design is unassuming enough to accommodate various fan arts, viewers can comfortably draw their custom character dressed however they like.

In fact, the audience isn’t exactly a priority.

Hayoon plans to mass-produce the fan art herself.

Just like Hong Seohyun’s Scarlet being a professor with red hair and glasses as a point of interest, Hayoon’s ‘Haru’ will likely be a black-haired and black-eyed avatar with a few hairpins.

Instead, Hayoon is aiming to mass-produce all kinds of fan arts involving these two simple custom characters.

The fan art Hayoon produces will naturally spread across fan cafés and streaming communities. This process will naturally lead to entries on Scarlet and Haru’s Pixiv page, creating a cycle.

“Even without much initial exposure, this lays a solid foundation for attracting attention.”

Mama Haru drawing Scarlet’s fan art.

A stream where Scarlet views the fan art created by Haru.

Then Haru draws more fan art for Scarlet.

And Scarlet views it again.

Since they know each other personally, it’ll create a natural viral cycle that draws in viewers to their broadcasts and collaborations.

Then by the time Hong Seohyun is ready, they can take advantage of a collab opportunity…

“Probably around October, this can act as a way to avoid backlash from people who think we’re too quick with collaborations.”

Hayoon’s current plan wasn’t bad at all.

“Three white hairpins as highlights seem to be appropriate…”

Even though Hayoon is starting to design a custom character more than half a year after starting her broadcasting, she understands the psychology of the otaku community well enough that it isn’t too difficult.

There’s always the theory that any lacking appeal can be compensated by breast size.

Since an ample chest can be an attraction in itself, even if the face is simple.

“The question is who’ll do the rigging…”

Ideally, she’d like to hand it over to Arin and even pay her, but unfortunately, Arin is already busy with the rigging work for Hong Seohyun’s Scarlet.

This point isn’t a major problem and can easily be outsourced. With her character concept roughly settled, Hayoon started looking for a VTuber rigging expert on Twitter.

#

“Will someone like this be appropriate…?”

The rigging expert Hayoon chose was fortunately Korean.

She was initially worried she might have to find someone from Japan or China…

But avoiding that worst-case scenario was definitely a relief.

To be honest, outsourcing to Japan or China could easily cost hundreds of dollars if something goes wrong.

“Judging by the reviews, they aren’t bad, and it seems this person has worked with clients overseas, so it doesn’t seem like they’ll be scamming.”

After following the rigging expert’s account, Hayoon leaned back on her desk, looking a bit exhausted.

“Oof, I’m tired.”

Immediately after eating lunch, Hayoon had been setting the framework for her custom character design and also found an external contractor for the rigging work. Now the fatigue was rushing at her all at once.

“I’ll properly contact the rigging outsource when I go home. Next, what should I do…?”

This is the problem when one gets too absorbed in work.

You lose touch with what you’re living for.

Although she can manage routine tasks easily, her mind blanks out when looking for new things to do.

“Hmm…”

Hayoon genuinely debated collapsing her head on the desk and sighing deeply when…

“Hey, have you eaten?”

“Ah, Oppa.”

Reacting immediately to the sight of Arin entering the classroom—it’s clear Hayoon tends to become a bit stiff with people even slightly older than her.

Let’s call it maintaining decorum.

Anyway…

“Are things going well with your work?”

Walking over naturally to sit beside Arin—now that she herself was quite exhausted—Hayoon asked about the progress.

Since she’s already too fatigued to focus on her own work any more, she wanted to at least check on the progress of Arin’s rigging work.

“Take a look? It’s going pretty well.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course. I work enough so I don’t feel embarrassed charging for my services.”

With a cheeky grin, Arin showed Hayoon the figure of Scarlet in a missing blouse design drawn by Hayoon. The screen displayed hundreds, even thousands, of dots all over it.

“Woah, man…”

This was the first time Hayoon had seen the rigging work in this form. Imagining Arin spending countless hours placing those hundreds of tiny dots and meticulously observing their reactions made Hayoon’s eyes well up.

“You’ve worked hard.”

She felt so sorry she was almost about to cry. Hayoon gave Arin a light pat on the back, which Arin perceived as a form of praise, and responded with another sly smile as she pulled out the facial capture device for virtual characters.

After setting it up, she said…

“Somewhat like this? Is the recognition working properly?”

Arin alternately smiled and frowned in front of the facial capture device, re-examining the rigging’s accuracy. Meanwhile, Hayoon was carefully checking the movements of Scarlet, shown on the laptop used for the work.

“Wow, this is solid…”

The immediate reaction was pure admiration. Although Hayoon had an animation background, Arin’s rigging completion was impressive even accounting for that baseline.

Facial capture is working well too. The occasional broken frames due to facial expressions are minor issues that can be patched up within the remaining month.

“Good job? You could be a professional in this field.”

“I already am, aren’t I? You’re a professional if you make money.”

When Hayoon showed signs of satisfaction with the results, Arin grinned more than usual.

That feeling of getting approval.

It gave Arin a renewed boost of energy.

In terms of pure numerical ability, Hayoon clearly outclasses her, a fact that Arin herself knows best—but the ability to genuinely accept and appreciate feedback from someone better is one of Arin’s strengths.

If Hayoon compliments her cosplay, Arin simply giggles happily. If Hayoon compliments her animation work, Arin doesn’t know what to do with herself.

On top of that, Hayoon always pays her fairly, so it’s only natural that Hayoon acts as Arin’s energy battery.

“Ah, Oppa.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

After being silent for a while, Hayoon asked a question.

That question was…

“I’m thinking of outsourcing the rigging to this person. What do you think? Would they be decent enough?”

It was the portfolio of the rigging freelancer that Hayoon had chosen a little earlier.

And after watching the portfolio attentively, Arin…

“Hmm…”

Pouted, looking slightly uncomfortable.

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