Cyberpunk is Meant to be Fiction
Opening the yellow package and seeing the lack of meat patty, I remember staring in confusion — trying to process what had happened. It didn’t help that I was dealing with existential dread earlier.
Honestly, opening up a cheeseburger to find out the order was messed up isn’t a big deal. Of all the things that happened in my life, getting laid off, trying to find my place in life, and dreams of the future — especially with my artwork — I know that the sadness over poor service was strange.
It might’ve even been odd to tweet about it.
A grain of sand on top of a heap — made worse by the corpo reply…
I admit that watching episodes of “Cyberpunk: Edgerunner” and seeing the nightmarish dystopian society has made it difficult to be optimistic about the future. There were plenty of scenes in the show where I had to walk away due to things feeling too real.
Watching the show made me think of my situation: meeting people who only saw me as a placeholder to relieve boredom, trying to fulfill the hopes of those close to me, and wondering if I honestly had anything to offer that was worth value.
For close to a decade, I’ve been an active artist trying to find a medium for me to express the thoughts going through my mind. Writing a story was how I tried to handle my negative thoughts during a moment of isolation. I even remember writing into a notepad a story — which I still have in my closet — while not knowing what would become of my future, away from home, in a dark stairwell.
A decade later, after surviving numerous events, I finally started a project that, to this day, is something I’m trying to grow into something bigger.
Despite being told I was doing a great job, I was fired…
After successfully finding a full-time job that I believed would be my future for a while in a field I wanted to be in, I found myself in an office where people told me that they felt my inability to thrive was unacceptable, and I was let go.
It was the first time I cried at my job, handing in my credentials and walking out of the buildings on a winter day.
I remember being on the phone with a close friend, trying to sort through my emotions.
I began a journey to write the longest story in history…
Something I learned to do whenever things felt like they were tough was to figure out a way to express them creatively.
Being reminded of past rejections, I decided to begin a series that I knew would be the main focus of my life.
Since 2017, my web novel series has grown to over a million words — even being the longest original web novel series narrated on YouTube.
Developing as an artist has also allowed me to meet new people and make friendships that I hope will last for decades.
I think about writing about the journey — my web novel series.
Having my life experience, I think it’s one of the motivating factors for doing things like creating publications connected to the vTuber community.
With the experiences I’ve been through, I’m empathetic toward the thousands of vTubers trying to build something where they can express who they are. It’s why I appreciate the friends I talk to that are vTubers.
I also think that — just like how I talk about my life experiences — the stories that vTubers have related to events they went through are of value to not just the community but also the overall art community.
Though I try not to be negative, sharing and being open about feeling sad is valuable. It may not be the best-written article, but I hope that people gain a little value.
