Burntout- Techno Angst

1

Ever since he was little, Techno has known that he was different from the other kids. There were many things that set him apart from others, from his expressionless face, to his lack of understanding of social skills, to his oddly specific interests that just didn't excite the other kids the same way they excited him. He found that nobody understood him, not his teachers, his classmates, his parents, or, hell, even his own siblings. They saw the world in beautiful bursts of colors and luminescence, while Techno's vision was limited to black and white, what is real, and what is not.

And so, Techno grew used to being alone. It was fun, sometimes at least. When he was alone, the only one who could judge him was himself. It was rather unfortunate that he didn't have anyone to rely on, but he didn't really mind for much of his early years. The silence was comforting. It was home, and he was content with that.

For a while.

When Techno started to get older, he realized that his unusual behaviors were not accepted in whatever social hierarchy that had been implemented in his new high school. Techno could never keep up with the ever-changing cliques and often found himself overwhelmed at the thought of interacting with these strange people who talked shit about the friends they swore they loved. Techno did not like their condescending nature one bit, and stayed away as much as possible.

Of course, this action came with consequences. Once other students noticed Techno didn't fit in, they ridiculed him. Their unrelenting insults spun around Techno's head until he felt like he couldn't breathe and their hateful demeanor crushed any sport of spirit he may have had left. Defeated, Techno resorted to spending his lunch periods in the bathroom, alone. He sat in the back of class, alone. And he took the backstreets home, alone. In the span of just a few years, the silence had gone from Techno's one true home to hell on Earth.

Then, desperate to find something, anything, that could bring back some sort of reason to his life, techno discovered streaming. He remembered how much he enjoyed Minecraft as a child, and decided to give streaming a try. He streamed frequently and didn't even mind the low viewer count. Finally, he had an outlet. That was all that really mattered.

Within a few more years, Techno's fanbase grew exponentially. He had many streamer friends and thoroughly enjoyed uploading content. He believed that he had found his true calling in life, and was as happy as could be.

But then...

The schedule became too tight. He felt like he'd explored all that Minecraft had to offer. He felt unmotivated to stream at all. It had lost it's charm. Thus, Techno began to stream less... and less... and less... He wanted to stop altogether, but realized that he needed to pay his bills still. So, he persisted. He created low-effort content, and it showed. His fans were unhappy with him and demanded an explanation, but Techno chalked it up to having a bigger project in the making that was taking up all of his time.

'Great' thought Techno. 'Now I have to come up with a big project to present to them in a few months so I don't look like a liar.'

Techno sighed. How was he going to get out of this one?