Virtual YouTubers, also known as VTubers, are entertainers who use two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated characters to create entertaining virtual content online. This article explores a group project called the “MetaBirthday,” in which VTubers and their followers collaborated to write lyrics, compose music, design stage outfits, and shoot a music video. Through semistructured interviews with the group’s participants and close reading of their published textual material, this article interrogates how VTubers harness virtual and physical spaces to create a sense of mutual benefit, inspiration, and satisfaction in tension with the everyday realities of these spaces.
