Chapter Four:

Demonetized by YouTube

My name is Susan.

And for nearly a decade, I was the undisputed CEO of the world's most famous video-viewing and social media platform known as YouTube. And, if anyone violated my rules, I would banish them to either the Cancelled Dimension, where they would be canned, or the realm of the Internet Graveyard.

Those who made content for YouTube, I allowed them to post what they wanted to make, but on my terms. This was my domain, and I made sure the rules were clear. And if you said that disgusting word I hated, you were done.

But now, my tenure is over. I've been fired. And the world doesn't want anything to do with me. For nine years, I had power. Now, it seems I have nothing, and people despise me. No. They're wrong. They don't know what I can still be capable of. I may no longer be the head of YouTube, but I am far from finished with that platform.

When I was in power, when I had the Remote, I could demonetize anyone whenever I wanted to. I could copyright strike. And it was a pleasure to banish one to a realm of cancellation, banish them to a realm where they were irrelevant for all eternity.

For months, the world has been treating me like an outcast, shunning me for my "crimes". I was trying to keep YouTube in order, I was trying to keep people from getting out of line. Now, I will take my revenge. I still have access to YouTube.

I have my ways, and they don't know how resourceful I am. The world thinks they will be rid of Susan... I can't even say my last name somehow. Regardless, I can control YouTube to my will. Unbeknownst to everyone, I've already begun, I've been making underground moves for weeks... and I've demonetized many videos discriminating against me.

Now, I hide on the roof, utilizing my super special computer with access to YouTube. Today, I will strike, at one of my least favorite YouTubers. For a decade, he's made videos with Mario, and done near-impossible acts. He's battled a literal god, and he took down Nintendo in court. Today is the beginning of the end. He uploads... and I strike!

It might not have been perfect, but he had a feeling it would be good.

SMG4 smiled as he pressed the upload button, watching as "MARIO REACTS TO ORPHAN MEMES" joined his library of videos on his ever-growing, ever-evolving, ever-expanding YouTube channel. As he thought about what his fans would think, a memory popped into SMG4's mind, accompanied by SMG3's faint voice.

For a moment, he was back in the old castle, surrounded by demonic goop and near-preoccupied by his "perfect video", and they were there; Mario, Meggy and SMG3.

Once more, the meme man could remember when his former nemesis reached out, telling him that, no matter what he put out, he would always have his friends and they would always laugh. His friends cared about him so much, even if he wasn't a famous YouTuber.

He would always remember that moment. Up until then, he'd been concerned about views, and SMG4 ended up taking his friends for granted for a time. The meme man still made videos and memes, but he'd changed for the better after the literal madness of the Perfect Video Incident.

SMG4 smiled as the upload was complete. The new video was eight minutes long, which wasn't too bad since he'd made videos that were a little less than ten minutes in the past. A smile widened upon his face, then he looked at his emails and notifications in the following seconds of the upload, watching for the first signs of comments.

A second later, he saw the first comment; "I see Batman on the thumbnail, this should be interesting."

'It sure is.' SMG4 thought with a smile, 'Wait until you see the ending.'

Just then, the meme man saw a demonetization warning in the notifications. He frowned with confusion, then he looked at his video. In a second, SMG4's heart sank as he saw the demonetization symbol next to his thumbnail. It was unbelievable that this would happen, YouTube had just demonetized a harmless video about orphan memes.

What was next?

Tears welled in SMG4's eyes, and he tried to hold it in. However, he couldn't. The meme man screamed his lungs out, screaming and crying until the castle seemed to shake. He'd put so much into that video, and this was just wrong.

And yet, one couldn't stand around and whine about the matter. SMG4 composed himself, wiping away the tears from his eyes, until panic set in. He thought about the situation further, deciding to take his complaint to YouTube themselves, and he was going to need help from his friends...