The stream started with a stutter.
Ts Danger sat in front of his old laptop, lit only by the flickering monitor and a cheap USB ring light he borrowed from a friend. OBS lagged every few seconds. His microphone—an old phone headset duct-taped to his desk—buzzed like static. And yet, he was live.
Viewers: 0.
He cleared his throat. "Yo. If anyone's watching, welcome to the grind."
Silence.
He opened CyberStrike 5 and queued into a match. His hands trembled slightly—not from fear, but from everything riding on this.
It wasn't just about winning anymore. It was about being seen.
First match. Loss. Teammates fed, and his audio cut out halfway through.
Second match. A little better—13 kills, 8 deaths. Still no viewers.
Third match. Midway through the second round, a message popped in chat:
xKillShotz69: "Yo. That you from NetZone?"xKillShotz69: "I saw the Rayzr match. You cracked, bro."
Ts blinked.
"Yeah," he muttered into the mic. "That was me."
Then another message popped up.
SilentScope92: "Turn down game audio. Can't hear you."
He fumbled with the settings.
Then:
ModemGod: "Bro's on a toaster and still popping off 😭"xKillShotz69: "TS DANGER GOATED 🔥"YourFirstFollower has followed.
His heart pounded louder than the keyboard. One follower. It was nothing to most people. But to him?
It was validation.
He ended the stream two hours later. Total stats:
Peak Viewers: 4
Followers: 2
Donations: 0
Lag Spikes: 11
Smiles: Countless
Ts leaned back in his chair. He hadn't gone viral. He hadn't earned anything. But he'd started something.
And the next morning, when he woke up, his phone buzzed with a DM:
@TeamRecoilOfficial:"Hey Ts Danger. We saw your clutch on Rayzr's stream. You interested in playing with a squad?"