Ch.183178 – Online Parents

[I’ll translate this streaming content while following the glossary and streaming-specific guidelines]

“I think I’ve been doing pretty well these past couple days, but I wonder what mom would think. I’ll keep living boldly and confidently… so watch over me until the end. Today especially, I miss you so much, mom. I love you a lot.”

(SHORTS)

(540K views)

-This is just unfair crying

-Why does she say it so casually? crying

└ That’s why it’s even sadder…

-What kind of life has she lived?

-This human triumph is insane. I checked out NoName’s VTube and she already has 400K subscribers

-If that’s acting, I’ll give her credit

└ Who would lie about their parents? Don’t cross that line

-Not sure if NoName intended this, but “Today especially, I miss you so much” is almost identical to Isabella’s death line

└ I think you’re right? What the heck?

└ Chills

-Every time I rewatch this, I can’t stop crying. I regret not telling my mom I loved her when she was alive.

-How much she must miss her. I seriously bawled my eyes out…

-People who haven’t experienced that desperate, sad feeling don’t understand

-You can feel the emotion even through the avatar… that slight pause in her speech makes it even more heartbreaking…

NoName’s interview caused a sensation in just one day.

Especially for fans who had been watching her streams with affection for months, they couldn’t help but feel solemn.

[Drama scripts would get criticized for being this cliché][31]

A child born to a single-parent family, whose mother passed away, leaving them an orphan, turns out to be a genius who shocks the world?

Plus she’s only 14, no wait, she started last year so she was 13 when she survived by going to PC cafés alone and getting donations on Twissy?

This crosses the line.

[Comments]

-Wow, a rags-to-riches drama served up fresh

-I was jealous of NoName’s talent, but her life story is truly tragic

└ Being average with mediocre grades in a normal family would be much happier

-We are living in the era of NoName

-I’m so curious about her identity that I can’t sleep at night!!!

└ She’s going to reveal it after the finals lolol

└ One day left one day left one day left one day left one day left one day left one day left one day left one day left one day left

└ Why even have playoffs?! Just get to the finals already!!!

[Is NoName really going to reveal her face?][23]

That’s not easy for a virtual reality game streamer.

She really knows how to strike while the iron is hot!

Is this the grand plan of a genius?

[Comments]

-She’s the one who created the wave in the first place

└ Zhuge Liang’s superior version

└ Zhuge Liang is nothing lmao

└ LOLOL was it the southeast wind?

└ That guy just did a prayer meta with a fan, how dare you compare him to NoName

-Pretty girl? Pretty girl? Pretty girl? Pretty girl?

└ She’s 14, isn’t it hard to judge whether she’s pretty or not? She’s basically a baby, right?

└ Looking at Chena’s photos when she was 14, you’d call her a goddess

└ Chena was 172cm tall at that age

-Since NoName is basically going to be a public figure, it shouldn’t matter if she shows her face

-Is this also about her confidence in proving that math theorem?

-According to big data, kids who seem confident like NoName are often surprisingly short

└ Oh, how short?

└ Like 145cm?

└ That’s too short…

[NoName will stream today][17]

Good news for Name-dogs

She said she’s doing a personal stream instead of scrim today

(tgether announcement.jpg)

* * *

[Recording End 9:32]

Just under 10 minutes.

Sharing stories I’ve kept inside with others is truly embarrassing.

So I took a camcorder and went for a walk alone, but I regretted not staying inside when I realized how hot it was.

My morning shower was wasted as the inside of my hair was slightly damp with sweat. Several strands were sticking to my neck in clumps.

I cooled down the heat on my head with a quick face wash and changed into thin, breathable clothes.

I decided to enter the capsule, which now feels more comfortable than my bed, to connect to virtual reality.

My cat seems to have gone out again.

Plus, my private room now feels too spacious.

Like expanding your house and garden in farming games such as Ty*e Farm or Star*ew Valley, thanks to the in-game currency Adella has been earning diligently, the size has grown about four or five times larger than before.

The best thing about virtual reality is definitely the absence of bugs.

Due to the inherent limitations of human critical flicker fusion frequency and our not-so-great focus correction abilities, it’s difficult to track the movements of flying insects. Not to mention sensing their presence.

Plus, insects like centipedes evoke such disgust just by looking at them that I really feel like a woman in this regard.

I never want to experience the feeling of a centipede crawling on my body again. Really.

Perhaps because I spent the morning filming videos, old memories kept popping up.

Compared to when I lived as Estasha, so much has changed.

First of all, I definitely talk more now.

Maybe it’s the nature of being a streamer that makes you keep talking regardless of your personality.

I didn’t think I was that lonely in my past life, but looking back now, I wonder if that emptiness I felt was a kind of loneliness.

Or maybe not.

Anyway, this body seems to have a temperament that can’t stand loneliness or boredom.

Even now, sitting still makes me feel restless.

Simply put, I’m bored, and since I couldn’t find a reason to suppress this instinct, I started streaming again.

If I didn’t have the memories of “my past life,” what would “the current me” be doing if I had grown up normally?

There’s really no meaning or value in hypotheticals, but I had the idle thought that perhaps such contemplation is the most human act that only humans can do.

[Streaming starts: 0:01:31 – NoName]

“The weather was nice this morning, so I filmed a vlog.”

-?????????

-Why didn’t you do it live!

-Will this be uploaded to VTube?

-The weather was really nice today!

-A real-life vlog? Seriously?

-You went outside today?

“It’s very hot outside. Did you know that you should apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going out and reapply it every 2 hours?”

-Annoying but gotta apply it every 2 hours

-Real men don’t wear sunscreen

-Real men: Have staring contests with the sun

-That’s not being a real man lolol

-Weak men: Start arguing about details

-Wow thanks for the life tip!

-On days like today, UV rays are strong and long exposure will damage your skin!

“Something feels off about the chat.”

An inexplicable sense of discomfort rises within me.

What is it? What could it be?

The speed of the chat, the atmosphere, the way sentences end—everything was slightly off.

Nice weather my ass, it’s over 33 degrees outside.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

Only after asking did I understand their behavior.

“What’s the big deal? What’s wrong with not having a mom?”

-Nooo crying crying crying

-Please don’t say that crying crying crying

-crying crying crying

-NoName is our baby crying We really need to protect her

-You’re not still at a PC café, are you?

-Let’s raise more donations and buy her a house quickly

[‘neverworn’ donated 30,000 won!]

-Beef prices have gone up a lot lately, so please accept this and have a good dinner! You need to eat well to grow tall!

“Thanks for the 30,000 won. But do you know my height? What makes you think you can say that?”

-One thing’s for sure, she’s under 150cm

-Seeing how defensive you got, you must not be very tall!

-No, NoName will grow to 210cm

└ 210cm? What are you talking about lolol

-Are you really okay?

“I wasn’t planning to stream today, but I felt like time was just floating by, so I decided to turn it on. I’m not one to take initiative, but it’s not in my nature to spend time zoning out. So I’m thinking of doing a watch party later tonight for the teams participating in today’s playoffs. Oh right, I’ve noticed a lot of messages piling up lately, so let’s read through some of them.”

And so began the message reading.

In the past, I would have had plenty of time to check each one, but these days they pile up faster than I can read them, so I’ve ended up letting it go.

[LilySensei: Hello NoName. I’m a 19-year-old viewer who started subscribing 3 months ago. My mother passed away last year. I miss her so much every day and can’t go a single day without thinking about her. When I saw your interview yesterday, I cried my eyes out again. I can’t imagine how many tears you must have shed before being able to speak about it so casually…]

“So you’ve been a viewer since my first collab with Sunny. Well, what is death? More precisely, what’s the difference between death and separation?”

Ding dong-

The doorbell rang.

I picked up the streaming camera and opened the door to find not my runaway cat, but a honey badger with puffed cheeks and an annoyed expression.

“If you’re home, you should say something! Why start streaming right away? Did you wash your hands?”

“You were in the middle of a game too, sis. And is this your house? It’s our house. Oh, you’re streaming now, can I join and watch?”

“What’s going on? I’m curious! Kariri wants to see too!”

“Then say something comforting to the viewer whose mother passed away last year.”

“W-w-w-wait! What did you say? Is this a real situation? Whaaat?”

“Would I joke about something like that? It’s about parents after all…”

“No, that’s not what I meant…! Aaaaargh! Why put Kariri through such a trial!”

Why does the great Kariri have such a loose tongue?

* * *

I’ve heard a story like this before.

The protagonist’s very close friend boards a light-speed spaceship to fulfill their lifelong dream of exploring the solar system.

If they won’t return to Earth for 100 years, the protagonist will never see them again in their lifetime, but they decide to bless their friend’s future rather than be sad.

However, when the spaceship explodes in a terrible accident while passing through the atmosphere, the protagonist loses their friend and can’t hide their grief.

The former is eternal separation, the latter is death. What exactly is death that makes us inevitably sad?

Some explain that “death” takes away all the opportunities one could have enjoyed while living, but I thought a bit differently.

“Those of you who live independently might relate, but just because your parents are alive doesn’t mean you can see them every day. Some people only visit during holidays or occasionally. In the end, if you add up all that time, it’s not as much as you might think. Similarly, I don’t think my mom has disappeared from this world. I believe that I just won’t see her for a long time, and as long as I remember her, I’ll be able to meet her again someday.”

It’s just that the next holiday is a bit longer.

Just as general relativity states that gravity and inertial force cannot be distinguished, we cannot know what lies at the end of death.

For all we know, everyone might be reincarnated in another world like me.

If death and separation cannot be distinguished, then philosophically speaking, it’s not wrong to believe that mom didn’t pass away, but merely separated from me.

“So the point is to treat them well while they’re here. Did you all understand what I meant?”

-crying crying crying crying crying crying crying crying crying crying crying

-Called my parents right after seeing this

-Even though you gave birth to me like this… I still love you, mom!

-So sad from the beginning…

-Tears are blurring my vision, teacher crying crying crying crying crying crying

I quickly scanned through the messages sent to me while sitting on Kariri’s lap.

Like before, I shared some of the longer, more important messages on the broadcast.

As the end of the many messages of comfort and encouragement started to come into view, Kariri chimed in.

“What adoption! Our Name already lives in a super-rich house! And if you want to take her, you need to earn more money than me! Think you can do that?”

-But how can anyone handle NoName’s parents lolol

-Just like we have online friends and online cat parents, can’t we have online parents?

-Why should you be the only one enjoying this, you brat!

[‘ILikeCateMatesBest’ donated 300,000 won!]

-Everyone hurry up and pay this month’s child support! 300,000 won!

-Not friend fees but child fees? What’s that lolol

-Pay 300,000 won to be NoName’s parents vs Blow 300,000 won on pretty girl horse racing gacha games

-All in lolol

-Now that I think about it, 300,000 won seems worth it?

-The manager really picked this moment to collect money lolol

-Look at that leading by example

“Online parents, what the… *ahem* A-anyway! Nobody can take Name! I’m going to keep her forever!”

“Why would I be with you, sis…? Ah, I get it. Fine, let’s go with that.”

Kariri’s glaring eyes were really fierce just now.

-Why does Kariri keep calling NoName “Name”? lolol

-Name actually sounds pretty good

-Oh, is it “Name” because of her username? I thought it was from the LoL character Nami lolol

[‘TK justlovethis’ donated 1,000 won!]

-Kariri is stupid so she doesn’t know English stuff lolol

-For real lolol

-For real lolol

-Elementary school dropout despair edition

-Is it not just a concept but she really doesn’t know?

-No way lolol even Kariri wouldn’t be that bad

-These days Alpha generation kids are so used to translation magic they might not know English well

└ If that’s true it’s pretty serious;;

└ That’s like asking if Britain is an island lolol

“Umm… hey guys…? Should we talk about something else? Oh right, Name, I mean NoName, about tomorrow’s finals strategy-“

“Manager, please freeze the entire chat right now.”

The three managers who were connected quickly followed my command.

An ice age descended upon the world.

I scrolled all the way up to check the first chat that said “For real lolol.”

“From here to the bottom. Ban everyone who agreed with that donation for a week. Permanent ban for the donor.”

“Um…”

“Sis, stay quiet.”

“Heeeng…!”

The managers carried out the executions one by one without question.

After 86 people were banned, an interglacial period arrived, and the natives rejoiced in reclaiming their habitat.

-Oh, “name” is actually pronounced “na-me” right? lolol

-From now on, I won’t forgive anyone who makes fun of Kariri!

-Not NoName but NoName lolol

-Name-name~ Name-yo~ Name-nano-yo~

-This is the right way here lolol

-As long as it’s not meeeeeeeee~~~~~~!!!!!!

-Always be careful of kill angles

-So this was a kill angle;;

-Phew, that was close

-Wow, a week-long ban? That’s terrible lolol

[‘Wagrano’ donated 10,000 won!]

-I’m an alt account of the viewer who sent a message at the beginning of the stream, please unban me, I feel so wronged crying crying crying crying

-Not a chance, gay lolol

-Your heartwarming story has been replaced with a one-week ban.

-Couldn’t resist chatting and got artistically destroyed

-Let’s unban innocent people through chat autopsy

“Since we have time, let’s take a look at people who’ve been banned.”

[Nameless Prison]

[Current inmates: 641]

[‘LimeFlavor’ donated 2,000 won!]

-Wow that’s a lot lolol what the heck