Kapitel 67: Chapter 67
Doing a livestream that focused on reacting was strange. Neither easy or hard, it required the streamer to often play up their emotion. When watching a show, if you were the silent type, then you had to break out of that silence. Silence wasn't content. Silence was just stealing. To react, to commentate, to laugh and smile and theorize; that was what made it transformative.
His webcam was shitty so his face was dark and semi-clear. A blurry mess of pixels that clicked in and out of place. He wasn't perfect for reacting by any means. He wasn't especially funny or emotive or informative. He was as plain as bread. Boring. Dull. Most of his views regarding the state of the internet itself ended with a shrug. It sucked because he did have ambition for streaming; he simply lacked passion for memes and funny clips. By himself, he smiled and chuckled like a normal person.
Being a streamer meant to transcend being normal. It meant to be aware that you were doing something for money and for yourself. For a potential where you could be famous and comfortable.
The more he thought about it, the more motivated he got.
He had to do this. He refused to stay the same. He refused to live like this.
The stream turned on. Owen wore a big smile. The recording software that captured his internet browser was on, as was his webcam.
Talking to himself in front of the camera got easier with time. However, that was only because no one was watching him. He would tense up slightly when someone joined the chat. Moreover, regardless of views, midway through the stream, his ears would burn.
The years of incessant streaming weren't for nothing though. He learned to develop his voice and do stuff while talking. The voice part was really important. Before, his voice would dry out in half an hour or so. He never expected himself to be so weak in the ways of speaking. But after years of trial and effort, he was able to talk for hours with controlled sips of water.
Purely by coincidence, while scrolling through the WuTube trending section, he found something. "Oh?" He raised a brow and clicked on it. "Oh shit, Josh dropped a diss track? Wait…on X? Nah, no way, this has got to be fake. There's no way Josh is that stupid."
He saw the view count on the diss track. Over a million views in five hours. Good god. Realizing that maybe people were going to be interested in an early reaction, Owen quickly changed the title of his stream. In all caps, the stream was called "REACTING TO JOSH'S DISS - HOT TAKE". The title wasn't exactly clickbait. He was definitely going to give a hot take. Back home, he was known for his stringent expectations for music.
"If a song is going to be played in a club that I'm at, then that shit better be really fucking good."
That was his logic. Honestly, even though he had deviated from the person he was back then, his taste was still stringent.
So he reacted. He gave his hot takes. His viewer count increased. Because he was reacting so early, people were trickling in.
Thirty views. Huh. He pretended not to smile too hard, keeping a frown on his face as he reacted. Fist to his cheek, elbow on the armrest, he looked like a king unamused with his jester.
"Did he just turn his insult into a compliment…? Nah, chat, I'm not going crazy, am I?"
Two people replied at once.
MArioLu: yeaahhhh lmaoooo
LeonidasTheGreat: Yep.
Thirty viewers became fifty. He wanted to stop and react to everyone coming in but honestly? The song was genuinely annoying him at this point. He was at a point between the chorus and the next set of lyrics. The beat drummed.
"This beat is…an interesting choice," Owen said, adjusting his headphones. "Not bad, not great either."
MArioLu: its asssss
LeonidasTheGreat: true
Plutotheplanetgod: lul
The diss track ended. He noticed one person leave.
"I'm going to listen to it again," Owen said, dragging the video back. "Maybe I'm going deaf but this was really bad. Josh usually isn't like this."
He listened. He reacted. His views plateaued at fifty views.
Plutotheplanetgod: nah he's always been trash you just seeing the light
MArioLu: omegalul play it again m8
By the end, he shook his head.
"Total ass." Owen shook his head. "Total ass. Did he really try to diss X with that? My guy was complimenting him on one line and insulting him in the next. Make it make sense."
He looked at the chat. Damn, he was gaining some traction. His heart fluttered.
Having responses, having people to talk to him like this, the loneliness that once plagued his heart slowly melted and became filled with an inexplicable desire to talk, to laugh, and to socialize. He wanted to be greedy. He wanted to say funny stuff and make people laugh.
The numbers. The comments. The agreements. Suddenly, he wanted it like never before.
MArioLu: what were they cooking in the studio????
"'What were they cooking in the studio?' Absolutely nothing. They didn't even burn the kitchen down, it's like they didn't turn anything on." He nodded, smiling, and kept up with the chat. With the balls of his feet, he went left and right on his chair. He was admittedly giddy.
LeonidasTheGreat: X JUST DROPPED
MArioLu: no wayyyyy
"Wait, huh!? Already!? But…Josh dropped his track like three hours ago." A big grin suddenly spread across his face. "I guess this beef has been brewing for years. Alright, I'm gonna take a listen to X's track then do some research."
MArioLu: bruh its true just checked
MArioLu: imma react with u
Owen went on X's official channel, clicked on his newest track—Three Idiots—and put a hand on his headphones. He listened. He gasped. He put a hand to his mouth. Owen had listened to plenty of diss tracks in his life. But this? This was something else. This was like watching history unfold.
"Jesus," Owen said. "That wasn't a diss track, that was an execution order."
MarioLu: he COOKED him
LeonidasTheGreat: my goat
A smile graced his lips. Having people actually talk to him gave him the lifeline he needed. He decided to dive deeper.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Balcho
Balcho "The events depicted in this webnovel are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein