The first livestream for Persona was now entering its final phase of preparation.
Once the script was finalized and sent over to the two guest voice actors, Hazuki led everyone in transforming the eting room to make it suitable for the broadcast.
Calling it a "transformation" was a bit of an overstatent—there actually wasn't much to do. The main task was having Kō design a Persona-thed poster, printing it out in a large size, and sticking it on the wall behind the seats.
As for everything else, it was just a matter of clearing out the unnecessary chairs to make room for the cara equipnt and computers.
After looking over the fully set-up eting room, Hazuki nodded in satisfaction. "OK, this'll do nicely!"
Kō stretched her arms, which were sore from holding the poster up so high, and rolled her neck before saying, "Only a few days left until the stream… let's hope nothing goes wrong."
"Relax, relax. We're just sharing so in-ga info and having a casual chat. What could possibly go wrong?" Hazuki said, trying to reassure her. Then she looked over with a mischievous grin. "But since you're so worried, how about this—let's swap spots for the livestream. You go on instead of ?"
"Eh? N-No thanks! I'm not doing that!"
Kō frantically shook her head. "The ga has so much attention now—I don't have nerves of steel like you. Going on stream, and with two voice actors no less? No way. Buuut… if we're talking Nana Mizuki or Rina Satou joining a future stream, I might reconsider."
"Oh?"
Hazuki squinted, scheming a little before saying, "That could work. Our plan is to eventually invite all the voice actors from the main cast. And aside from Ichin, the co-host spot will definitely rotate. I can't be the one up there every ti—I'll get worn out!"
"Wait… you're really going to rotate co-hosts?"
Hearing that, Kō panicked. She glanced around, then suddenly grabbed Aoba, who was sharing candy with the others.
"What about Aoba? She's super cute—she'd be perfect for livestreaming!"
Aoba chewed for a mont with a blank expression before swallowing and saying, "Kō-san, it's no use dragging into this. I'm pretty sure everyone's going to have a turn. Right, Hazuki-san?"
With a huge grin, Hazuki snapped her fingers. "Bingo~ Exactly right!"
It was a simple truth: both Ichin and Hazuki knew that the veteran mbers of the studio weren't just good-looking—they were also highly capable. Livestream events like these were perfect opportunities for them to get so experience. After all, each of them would eventually have to stand on their own in the spotlight.
Plus, it was a good way to help them break out of their mild cases of social anxiety.
Well… except for Hifumi.
The others might be nervous at first, but they'd warm up quickly. Hifumi, on the other hand, would probably struggle to even get a word out if she had to go on stream.
As Hazuki was thinking this, her gaze drifted toward Hifumi, who was standing next to Yun Iijima.
Feeling Hazuki's eyes on her, Hifumi visibly trembled and muttered in a panic, "I-I really can't do it…"
"Hahaha, don't worry, Hifumi! We'd never force you to join the stream," Hazuki said, waving her hand reassuringly. "Just help us out behind the scenes. No need to be on cara."
Only then did Hifumi finally relax.
In the afternoon, after school, Ichin arrived at the studio. After checking over the fully set-up livestream room, he nodded in satisfaction. "Very nice. This will do just fine. Oh, and before Friday—two of the sample figures we commissioned from the figure manufacturer are going to be finished. We can display them during Friday night's stream."
"Oh! They're finally ready?"
Shinoda was the first to rush over, eyes sparkling. "Which two is it?"
"The protagonist and his Persona—Arsène. Given how little ti we had from design to prototype, just getting these samples out is already impressive."
Ichin smiled. "I know what you're thinking. Don't worry—once preorders open, I'll send you a set. Everyone in the studio will get one."
"Yay!"
Gas like Hollow Knight and Slay the Spire weren't exactly ideal for figure rchandising, but Persona was a different story. It was perfect for a full line of rchandise.
Ichin and Hazuki had already reached out to a whole network of rch manufacturers. Everything from small items like keychains and mousepads to figures in various scales was either already in the design phase or in production.
Every mber of the main cast would have their own figure, and Arsène would be getting one too. As for additional figures, those were still under consideration.
Of course, the figures wouldn't be released all at once. They'd be rolled out gradually.
Even with strong ga sales, sustaining two studios wasn't easy. So the rchandise and all related side revenue needed to kick in and keep up.
---
The day before the livestream—Thursday—the figures arrived safely at the studio.
In the converted eting room, Ichin placed the two boxes on the table, then carefully opened the packaging, revealing the figures securely placed inside clear plastic molds.
Since these were early prototypes, there were still a few details in the paintwork that needed touch-ups and oversight. But as display pieces for the stream, they were already more than good enough—certainly better than showing off unpainted prototypes.
"Whoa!!! These look aweso!"
Shinoda leaned in close to the protagonist figure, examining it carefully before excitedly whipping out his phone and snapping pictures from every angle.
"Ichin-kun, do you think I could—"
Before he could even finish, Ichin cut him off. "Nope. This is the very first production piece. I plan to put it in our studio's figure display cabinet as a permanent keepsake."
"Ah, saving it, huh… Fair enough. It is the first one, after all."
After inspecting the two figures, Ichin gently placed them back into their boxes. They'd be brought out and set up again before the stream began the next day.
Back in his office, Ichin set the boxes down and picked up the event schedule for the next day's livestream. He went over the whole rundown with Hazuki to make sure everything was perfect.
Once the two guest voice actors arrived the next afternoon and they rehearsed together, everything would be locked in.
"Oh, right—Hazuki, can you book a nearby restaurant? Let's treat the two voice actors to dinner before the stream tomorrow night."
Hazuki smiled and gave an OK gesture. "No worries. I already made the reservation."
With Hazuki handling things, Ichin could truly rest easy.
He nodded, stretched, and started looking forward to tomorrow's livestream with growing anticipation.
...
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