So I’ve noticed recently that there have been a lot of fics being stolen in the Five x Reader tag lately. This is the second time this week and it’s INFURIATING!
The first time was someone stealing a fic by @anapocalypseinmymind. Now one of my good friends on here @fiveisnumber1 has also gotten their fic stolen by user @pinkieumbrella. This is APPALLING!
As a creative, a person should understand the toil and emotional labor that goes into crafting a beautiful fic. To steal from someone else is so ethically wrong. Just because something exists in a freely accessible online community space doesn’t give you the right to plagiarize it!
Changing a few words, a few settings, a few circumstances and copying the rest of a piece of work word for word without credit IS plagiarism. It’s not “creating something new” of however the hell you want to justify it to yourself. Do you even realize how much time and effort and energy goes into producing an original work of art? A writer fights themselves over the tiniest details to get their work to perfection before publishing it! Writing is a piece of yourself that you willingly share and fic writing is the same thing done for FREE!
I know for a fact how much fiveisnumber1 works on her fic. She has created her own version of the TUA universe and has crafted it so meticulously over MONTHS in an effort to make it its own entity while respecting the original source material! It’s heartbreaking to see her so sad because someone stole their work! To taint a writer’s labor of love in such a way is so disrespectful! It’s downright VIOLATING! A writer puts a piece of themself into every work they create! In every sentence, in every word! You can’t just rip it off and claim ownership! That’s VILE and DISGUSTING!
If you’re going to steal another person’s work, then one writer to another: DON’T WRITE AT ALL! Fandom spaces are better off without your intellectual theft and toxic energy.
Write fic because fandom is a free space. Write fic because you CAN. I am a genuine believer that everyone is able to write with practice and that there is no such thing as “bad” writing to be embarrassed about. @pinkieumbrella I specifically remember I encouraged you to write after you posted your first chapter because I love supporting new writers. But stealing? That is definitely something to be ashamed of. I’m sorry I or anyone else encouraged you if this is your or anyone else’s definition of “writing”.
It doesn’t make you a writer to steal someone else’s ideas, make a small change here and there, and claim it as your own. It doesn’t make you a writer to spoil someone else’s effort and hurt their soul because they kindly shared their time and energy to tell us all a story for our entertainment which they had NO. OBLIGATION. TO. DO.
This goes for all writers who have recently plagiarized fics in this Fandom!
If you’re ashamed, you should apologize and take responsibility for this instead of denying it. And I hope you all are ashamed because this is not okay. Write fic! This is by no means an attempt to tell you to stop, but write your OWN fic! Stop stealing from another writer! If you’re only gonna do that then don’t write and just enjoy reading fics because by stealing you’re ruining the experience for everyone else ESPECIALLY the people you’re stealing from who don’t deserve this kind of bullshit after the time and effort they put into their work.
So after I stopped crying from having my work plagiarized, I became angry and frustrated, and I think for good reason given the situation. @pinkieumbrella I don’t think you understand how I upset I am nor do you understand how much work I put into this story.
Before even starting this fic, I researched molecules for 2 days to make sure that this power I gave the reader was not only viable but I could describe how it worked. I read countless scientific articles and took detailed notes about physics and chemistry just so I could accurately portray things. She doesn’t just become invisible or just walk through walls. I literally have some science behind it so it makes sense. There’s a reason she can blow a person’s head off but not repair Allison’s throat, it’s because it is easier to break molecules apart than put them back together.
And then when it comes to actually writing the story, that is so much work. I spend five days if not more just rewatching the episodes and scenes I think I might cover so I can study them. I study the scenes themselves, character mannerisms, body language, the way they say things, how they’re interacting with their environment. I have watched scenes in ten second intervals just so I can get things right, and that’s if I don’t go back because I think I missed something. I have to come up with a plan for how the next chapter will go.
And then I have to figure out how the reader gets thrown in the mix. I need to figure out what will she say, what will she do, how will she interact with the others, how do her experiences and connections influence what’s happening. It takes a lot to seamlessly blend her into the narrative and make her feel real. I work my butt off to make her feel like an actual person and not just a character. She has feelings, motivations and connections outside the main storyline.
And then a lot of the time I have to come up with my own scenes that are not a part of the show and that takes up a lot of time to create how they will flow and what people will say and do in them.
And then I can finally write and it takes me up to two weeks to put together a chapter. On average I write about 8000 words but typically more. I spend a significant amount of my free time pouring my blood, sweat and tears into this work. This story is like my child and you coming in and copying it is like you cutting out my child’s heart, shoving it into a corpse and calling it your child.
I don’t get paid to do this, I do this because I love this fandom and this story I created. So please stop copying my work, it’s rude and insults everything I’ve done to put this story together. I’d like an apology but you don’t have to nor do I really expect one but please stop plagiarizing me.
Also, I already left a message on my Wattpad where I also post Timeless that you are copying it there too, so don’t think you can get away with it on Wattpad. And the story is on AO3 so don’t try to go there either. Just stop plagiarizing.
