The Return of Content Theft”

"The Return of Content Theft"

Zoe was minding her own business. She'd finally posted a wholesome vlog titled "Healing, Hustling & Hot Water Bottles", and it was doing numbers. Her analytics were climbing, her skin was glowing, and no one had set the toaster on fire for three days straight.

Life was suspiciously calm.

Too calm.

---

Then she got the DM.

From her old classmate, Velma The Visionary—the girl who once copied Zoe's Instagram captions word-for-word and claimed "they came to her in a dream."

"Hey girl. Just saw your latest vlog. Loved it! So inspiring. Super similar to mine tho! LOL. #twinsies"

Zoe squinted at the message like it was a mosquito in her tea.

She clicked Velma's profile.

Velma's latest video was titled:

"Healing, Hustling & Hot Soup (With A Parrot Who Judges You)."

---

Zoe's jaw dropped.

Pauline, reading over her shoulder, gasped. "She copied everything. Even the thumbnail pose!"

Zoe scrolled furiously. "She's got the same video structure. The same captions. She even used MY phrase—'my immune system filed for resignation'!"

Sir Squawksalot waddled up to her phone and hissed, "Imitation is NOT the sincerest form of flattery. It's war."

---

The worst part?

Velma's version was going viral too. People were praising her for being "relatable," "raw," and "the next big thing."

One commenter even wrote, "I love how original she is! Never seen anything like this."

Zoe screamed into a pillow.

Pauline patted her back. "Don't worry. We're going to handle this the only way we know how—with drama."

---

The next day, Zoe launched a plan.

She dressed in a robe, lit a candle, sat in front of the camera with Sir Squawksalot on her shoulder, and said:

"Welcome back to another episode of Content Chronicles: The Saga of the Copycats. Today, I want to tell you a story. It's about betrayal. Soup. And a girl named Velma."

It was the most cinematic vlog she'd ever posted—complete with flashbacks, reenactments (Pauline playing Velma with a mop wig), and dramatic violin music in the background.

---

Within 3 hours, it had 80,000 views.

Within 6 hours, it was on Twitter, where people were calling it "The YouTuber Roast of the Year."

Someone even made a meme of Velma's video next to Zoe's original with the caption:

"When you copy homework but try to make it look different."

Sir Squawksalot trended for a solid hour under the hashtag #JusticeForSquawks.

---

Then came Velma's response video.

Titled: "When Jealousy Flies Too Close to the Sun (Literally, There's a Bird Involved)."

Zoe rolled her eyes as Velma dramatically sipped herbal tea and claimed she was "being attacked for simply existing."

Sir Squawksalot narrowed his eyes. "She's begging for a beak slap."

---

But Zoe, shockingly, didn't clap back.

Instead, she dropped a new vlog titled: "Healing from Copycats: A Meditation with Bird Noises."

It was 10 minutes of her sipping tea in silence while Sir Squawksalot whispered petty affirmations like:

"You're iconic."

"They wish they were you."

"You invented hot soup therapy, and everyone knows it."

---

The internet went wild.

People started dueting it. There were remixes. A local producer made a lo-fi beat out of Sir Squawksalot's affirmations. Someone even made a T-shirt that said "Birds Before Betrayers."

Velma went radio silent.

Zoe leaned back on the couch, victorious. "I didn't even have to throw shade. The bird did all the work."

Sir Squawksalot nodded proudly. "You're welcome. I accept payment in crackers and royalty checks."

---

Pauline, sipping her wine, raised a toast. "To originality. And petty birds."

Zoe grinned. "And to never letting someone named Velma steal your soup-based healing arc."