Comic Queen's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Comic Queen refreshed her channel page again. Four views on the second video. Three comments. The first two were from her subscribers, still arguing about cake versus cookies. The third comment stopped her hand mid-scroll. The username was tagmeme67. The comment said: "hey sis, mom told me to check this out. pretty cool idea." Comic Queen's stomach dropped. She hadn't told anyone in her family about the channel yet. She typed a reply and deleted it twice. Her little sister finding the channel felt like someone walking into her room without knocking. But tagmeme67 had subscribed. That meant five subscribers now. Comic Queen opened the game and started building, setting up a small cottage with pink flowers out front for her sister's character. A notification popped up mid-build. New comment from ham+cheese=best: "tagmeme67 is a baby and her ideas are garbage. Listen to ME or this channel dies." She stared at the screen. Her older brother had found it too. Comic Queen recorded herself placing a tall tower with a crown on top across from the cottage. She explained both structures in the video without picking a side. "You're both here now. You both get space. Tell me what happens next." She uploaded it before she could think about what her brother would say at dinner. The comment section filled up in minutes. Her two original subscribers had picked sides. Strangers jumped in. The view count hit twenty. She placed a statue between the tower and cottage in the next build, an angel and a shadowy figure locked together. Her hands shook as she recorded the voiceover. "This is what you're making. Keep going." When she posted it, her brother left three angry comments in a row. Her sister posted a single heart emoji. Comic Queen closed the laptop and sat with her back against the bed. The channel wasn't private anymore. Her family was in it now, and so were people she'd never meet. She couldn't unsee that. The six-month deadline felt different when it involved her brother's voice in her comments.