AutumnXd
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CHAPTER 2
🕑 Added 2025-05-08 09:23:44 +0000 UTCOn "StreamVerse," the #1 platform for voice talent.
Donnie Yin's Channel.
The moment Alex tuned into the stream, he heard Donnie Yin's voice.
"Maybe one day, folks, the 'Donnie Yin Academy for Aspiring Streamers' will open its doors! We'll take everyone!"
"Fresh-faced college grads, folks between jobs, even your cool aunts and uncles in their 40s and 50s!"
"From basic training to going live, we'll teach you everything you need to know, guaranteed!"
"Think of me as your personal success coach, lighting up your path to internet stardom!"
"Boom! Just like that, you're a sensation!"
"…"
As Donnie continued his 'streamer coaching' parody, he delved into the nitty-gritty, explaining things like:
How to roll out the red carpet when a 'whale' (a big spender) enters your chat.
What to do if a whale drops a huge donation when you're not even in a tournament or pushing for a sub goal.
How to react when a long-lost whale suddenly makes a comeback.
The proper etiquette for acknowledging gifts from a brand-new whale.
What to rally your viewers with during team events or charity drives.
The annual platform awards are coming up, and you're aiming for the top?
Honestly, the main point Donnie was trying to get across with this whole routine was a thinly veiled critique of how some streams on certain platforms were all style and no substance, relying entirely on a 'cash-grab ecosystem' that felt more like a shakedown than entertainment.
The live chat was absolutely losing it.
[LMAO! 40s and 50s! Dude's inclusive!]
[From college to unemployment, a masterclass in milking your audience, guaranteed to kill your channel. XD]
[Is this 'Whale Psychology 101'?]
[ROFL, I can't breathe!]
[No cap, some streamers are exactly like this. It's uncanny!]
Alex found himself watching Donnie's stream, and an hour flew by without him even noticing.
Right then, Donnie's 'coaching' segment was winding down, focusing on the 'annual awards are here, and you want to make a splash' scenario.
"For the Storm Brigade!" Donnie roared.
"Listen up, my Storm Troopers!"
"Once you join the Storm Brigade, you're with us for life, and you'll be a Storm Brigade legend even in the great beyond!"
"Yeah!"
"Yeah!"
"Those hype emotes in your arsenal, why aren't they flooding the chat right now?!"
"Those emotes, those channel subs, that donation money in your accounts!"
"And you, yeah you! What happened to all those platform tokens you were saving up?!"
"Get it, people? It's relentless! One fundraising pitch after another, all circling the same drain, designed to empty your pockets."
"Like, say the annual awards are coming up. I go live, camera on, but I just sit there in silence…"
"Start heaving these dramatic sighs…"
"And then, the viewers in chat will be all like, 'Yo, Donnie, what's up? Why the long face? You good, man?'"
The viewers in the chat played their part to perfection.
[What's wrong? What's wrong? Donnie, talk to us!]
[Why so quiet, man?]
[We got you, bro!]
[What's going on?]
Donnie put on a masterclass in mock despair. "I… I can't talk about it. Honestly, I wasn't even going to stream today, but I felt I owed it to you… to my crew… to tell you… I might… I might have to quit streaming…"
"And then the chat explodes, right? 'What happened? Tell us, Donnie! What's the real reason?'"
[This dude's acting is S-tier, hahaha!]
[What's wrong?]
[Seriously, what's the deal? Why?]
[Man, I'm actually getting a bit choked up. LOL]
"The annual awards!" Donnie finally wailed.
"I… I might not be able to even enter the annual awards!"
"And I just feel, like, personally, if I enter and don't even place… it's like… a massive failure in my streaming career. I just… I can't. It's too much pressure, too much…"
"Ever since I joined the Storm Brigade, this awesome stream team, all these years I've poured my heart and soul into it…"
"And that's when the chat floods with 'We're with you, Donnie!' and you drop some super emotional, uplifting music about friendship and loyalty."
"Then, BAM! Out of nowhere, another mega-whale drops a huge donation…"
Alex had been watching the whole spectacle. Earlier, when Donnie was deep in his parody, some actual whales had been playing along, dropping joke donations. Thinking he'd need Donnie's help to promote his game on StreamVerse down the line, Alex saw his opening as the skit was ending and the big donors had quieted down. He winced internally but dug into his dwindling savings. Using his newly renamed account, he jumped in.
['Platinum Theatre' has gifted 10 Channel Banners!] (A large, visible donation equivalent)
Donnie, seeing that someone was still rolling with his act and had dropped a hefty ten Banners, did a slight double-take.
Then, like a pro, he instantly switched gears. The background music swelled, and flashy graphics erupted on screen.
"Whoa! Massive shout-out to Big Spender Platinum Theatre for the TEN BANNERS! You legend!"
"Let me tell you something…"
"Let me tell YOU something, Platinum Theatre! If you're gonna support me like that… then say no more! I'M IN IT TO WIN IT!"
"Who cares if I lose? So I lose a little street cred? Big deal!"
The audience was whiplashed by Donnie's lightning-fast transformation from 'sobbing mess' to 'hype-fueled gratitude machine.'
[SHEEEESH! 66666!]
[Oh no, did Platinum Theatre just join? Bro walked right into that one! LMAO]
[Hahahaha, that was a full-on personality switch! Dude's a chameleon!]
[Platinum Theatre, you absolute madlad!]
"And that, my friends," Donnie said, calming down a bit, "is how you get the entire chat fired up."
"Alright, alright, kidding aside, folks. That was all in good fun. But hey, it's also a legit way some streamers run their channels. It's not necessarily cringey or embarrassing for them. They're probably normal people off-stream, but when the camera's on, they gotta play the part, you know? It's the environment."
"Okay, thanks for tuning into 'Donnie's Daily Dose of Drama' today, everyone!"
"Appreciate all the love and the gifts. Now, it's time to actually play some games."
"My agent, Leo, just sent me a link to a new one."
"Let's check it out together."
As he spoke, Donnie logged into the DMM platform – a site he hadn't visited in ages – and searched for Kuroko's Basketball VR: Middle School Arc.
[A VR basketball game? Interesting…]
[Man, VR sports games are usually so janky. The motion tracking tech is there, but most sports titles just don't use it right.]
[Hold up, the title's in English, but is this a Western-developed game or from overseas?]
[Uh oh, red flags are waving. Sketchy sports genre, and if it's a low-budget indie… yikes.]
The moment the game's title appeared, the chat immediately went into full-on critique mode.
Donnie chuckled. "Easy there, chat. My agent Leo's been with me for years; he's got a decent nose for interesting games. Let's at least see what it's about before we roast it into oblivion, yeah?"
With that, he scrolled down the search results, fully displaying the store page for Kuroko's Basketball VR: Middle School Arc for the stream to see.
The cover art depicted a gritty, urban basketball court. Seven figures were on it. Six of them were teenagers with wildly different, brightly colored hair, each frozen in a dynamic basketball pose. The weird part? Each one was glowing with some kind of vibrant, almost supernatural aura.
And right in the center, head bowed, stood a black-haired youth.
Donnie squinted at it. "This cover art… it's pretty slick, actually. Definitely not in-game footage, though, right?"
The chat exploded again.
[LOL, no way that's gameplay. Since when do basketball players shoot energy beams from their hands?]
[Hey, you never know these days…]
[Peep the tags, people! It literally says 'Sci-Fi'! What the heck?]
[This dev knows the indie playbook: flashy promo art, probably janky AF gameplay.]
[Yo! Hold the phone! The price is ZERO!]
[It's a free-to-play game?]
