FAKESTAR/YUICA ~A Lie Told in Earnest Surpasses the Real Thing~

Free to read. No account, no paywall. Published with the author's permission; the English is machine-drafted, then corrected and read through before it goes out.

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Misaki Tanaka is thirty-six, works part-time at a publisher, and has never once had a boyfriend. Her parents are gone. Her younger sister Yui has just walked out of the house with a backpack, swearing she is done with VTubing forever. Alone in Yui's abandoned room, Misaki presses a large red button on her sister's streaming rig—and the chat starts moving. She is live. As YUICA. As a fake. The viewers ask for the usual things, and thirty-six years of swallowed anger finally comes up. "Shut up... you pigs..." For some reason, the chat goes wild. A story about a woman who had given up on her life, borrowing her sister's face, and climbing to the top while still being a fake.

Watch the anime adaptation on YouTube →