I’m going to preface this post with something important. Do not send Lluvia hate, do not send Riri hate, do not send ANYONE INVOLVED hate. Move on. We’re better than this. I don’t like engaging with petty online drama, with anon hate or hate in general. Don’t send anyone anything negative or hateful. This should’ve been a private matter to begin with.
My design is not stolen. It never has been. Even Riri knew that, and Lluvia knows that. I made my design in early 2018 because I saw a picture Riri posted in the Spamano Server of a selfie of her in Prince Romano. I only saw her shoulders up. I didn’t know the extent of her design by this point. And I didn’t see her picture of her with the France cosplayer until way later, because I don’t like that ship, and have it blacklisted. I saw it AFTER this drama blew up. I had loved Prince Romano for a long time now, had several AUs with it and others’ AUs I liked, like one of my friends’, and decided I could cosplay it. I had just started getting back into cosplay at this point had a confidence boost in my cosplay, so I decided I really wanted to do this, as someone who really likes Royal AUs.
I was not going to copy Riri, never was. I was inspired by her to do a cosplay of my own. I can be inspired by someone to do something of my own, that does not mean I’m copying. Even this far back, Riri was not showing any signs of being upset about my separate Prince Romano. She showed some kind of enthusiasm in me making an ask blog?
This was my first design back then. I originally wanted it to be just a darker purple, but my friend said they were going to do their Prince Spain in purple, and suggested I do a red color so we weren’t the exact same. I compromised and did Wine Red, which is another color I had been considering, because if you have seen my art ever, I really like Romano in Wine Red. The color of my coat never had Riri in mind. Riri’s is more of a cherry red.
In October, Riri posted in the Spamano server that she was selling her Prince Romano. I was still trying to figure out how to make mine into a cosplay. I considered buying hers, even asked her about it, but decided I did not want it because it didn’t look like mine, and I still wanted to do my design, not hers. I told her this. She offered to do a commission for me of mine instead. She acknowledged mine as a separate design.
I told her I’d be down to do that. She gave me a price quote. I offered to redraw my design with more detail, which I had already been planning on doing. I’d recently drawn my friend a Princess design for Belgium, and saw my progress since my first design, so I wanted to redo it with better detail. I figured Riri would probably want something better than that shitty sketch to go off for a commission. She told me to do that.
I sent her my refs as I did this. I had, and have had, since my very first design, a pinterest board of references I was using. Of actual period clothing. Not anyone’s cosplay, not Riri’s especially, just Rococo period clothing.
I don’t even know what era Riri’s is meant to be, but it looks like a Baroque coat to me, it’s shorter, I think it reaches her hip or something, and is a cherry/brighter red color with white looking lace only on the front. That’s what I’m observing right now, and what I observed the first time, and everytime, I saw her coat. I never saw the rest of her outfit in full, I’d like to repeat. Just the top of the coat, and later, her coat and capelet. Which I didn’t see her capelet in full until my second redesign. I was referencing this image the first time:
And the second time, this image:
Admittedly, I did take away something from seeing Riri’s dressform picture she sent me. I realized I was stupid and didn’t draw the padding that the cape is attached to right. I though it was attached to t he shoulder, not on cording wrapping around the torso with a padded thingy(?) on the shoulder. So I decided to look at more pictures of capelets, which led met o the one above, which is the main inspiration for mine. Her capelet is satin, by the way, and mine is velvet. Figured that was worth mentioning.
Mine is a Rococo coat, reaches the knees, is burgundy almost purple, with golden lace wrapping around it, on the front, cuffs, collar, and braided golden trim. It’s different. You don’t own historical clothing, you don’t own the concept of Prince Romano, and neither do I. No one does. It’s an AU that’s popular in the fandom, I fell really in love with it because of my friend’s Prince/Servant fics, but I was already in love with Prince AUs because I have been a Disney fan since birth at this point. I love fantasy and historical fantasy. I just like royalty stuff. You don’t own that.
Riri, you spoke to me on multiple occasions about my design. I sent you progress pictures. You were supposed to sew it for me and send it to me. You stopped responding to my messages properly about the commission, and I was changing my mind about the commission for personal reasons, notthing related to you, just that I wanted my friedn to make it for me so it would b e easier than having you ship it out to me, especially since you told me your were busy with a project of your own. I needed it on a specific date and didn’t want to stress you out with a deadline if you were already stressed. I told you I couldn’t do it anymore and suddenly, in January, you dropped a callout post, never talking to me about this issues, never once mentioning them to me despite having ever opportunity. You could’ve told me when I sent my sketch, when I sent my lineart, when I sent my color palette, anything. You could’ve told me when I told you I still wanted to get a cosplay commission from you, but couldn’t right now. I tried to talk to you so much. Even after the callout post. And you never said anything. You wouldn’t even hold a mature conversation with me after the callout post. You made it public and never consulted me in private, which is the most shitty thing you can do to it a person. It’s immature to make things a public spectacle when you should talk to me in private about an issue as flimsy as feeling like our COAT DESIGNS are too similar.
My Prince design has even changed since then. I have made it more purple colored so it’s not close to your color, I have made the lace extremely detailed and independent of you. I added more details to it because it’s MY DESIGN, I have been thinking of this design for over a year now, improving it, and changing it. It was made independently, and remains that way. I never copied you, and I never will. I don’t copy.
I don’t see the similiarities here other than the fact that it’s a Prince, and it’s period clothing. Different periods, on that. I don’t have to prove myself for wanting to design an outfit for an AU I’ve had for nearly 3, maybe 4 years? The only credit that goes to Riri is that she inspired me to make my own cosplay for my version of Prince Romano. Perhaps I should’ve mentioned that more, in hindsight, but she never told me that she would’ve wanted that. And I apologize for not saying it more.
I really thought this one was dead because this was drama from when I was 15. Yea. Back in 2016. Where I was harassed by a bunch of adults, all of them 18+, for a Hetalia OC.
I will say this: I was 15, I idolized Jones very heavily, to me she was one of the biggest reasons I started digital art. I was 15, I was in a really bad place, I was not the best person, and I wanted to be like Jones. I had already wanted to make an Andalusia OC but initially did not because I didn’t want to steal her spotlight. A friend of mine encouraged me.
I admit that my design was similar. I wasn’t trying to do, but subconsciously, I wanted to be like Jones, and I think that influenced my early designs. But my early designs are no longer apart of me. I don’t use them, I scrapped them, and my Andalusia OC has changed heavily since then. I admit outright now, that yes, my Andalusia looked really similar. That’s why I changed her. Multiple times. And I am sorry for what my 15 year old self did in making an OC that looked so similar. But that did not warrant me being gaslit, manipulated, and slandered and humiliated publicly by a bunch of adults.
She posted a callout post on me after drawing my new OC, and when I begged her to please take it down, she blackmailed me and told me that if I got rid of my OC, she would.
And I was so scared of her hating me because I idolized her, so I did what she asked, everything she asked, and I tried so hard to please but it was never enough. Jones and he friends harassed me, lied about me, and stalking my profiles from August 2016 all the way to late 2017. They might still do it. I don’t know. But I stopped paying attention them to along time ago. I’m over it, as much as this entire situation traumatized me.
This is what my Andalusia OC looks like now:
I changed her a lot. I hardly even use my OCs anymore because of this situation. So I don’t know why they’re being brought up again.
Is mirrored. And edited. I don’t have the original because I deleted those files a long time ago, but I have this screenshot of the original callout posted by Jones and Aussie.
Idk why you mirrored my art to make it look more like Jone’s OC, or edited her head onto my headless dress drawing?? But I mean…….I Guess?
And if you’re curious where those DMs are from, they are from my old friend, Kamillyanna, who lied to me in saying she wouldn’t send Jones those screenshots and that she was just trying to help me fix my Andalusia design, and then turned around and sent them all to Jones. These were design IDEAS, not concrete ones. I admit they look similar. That’s why I CHANGED THEM. 3 YEARS AGO.
Back when me and Lluvia were still friends, I told her I liked her Pirate Spain hat, and because we were supposed to be doing Pirate/Prince together, I decided to incorporate part of her outfit into my art for the AU, which I really liked her hat, so I decided to do that — because we were friends, and I told her that I did this, and she told me she was happy about that, and we were going to cosplay this AU. What I incorporated was the flower, and I think the lace and the beads? I have since not drawn it in your name, and changed the hat. And I’ll change it even more if it makes it you that upset. I’m sorry. But decorating a pirate hat is very common, and you are not the only person I’ve drawn inspiration from the hat for.
I will change it again. You have my word on that.
I apologize if there are any grammar errors, I’m a little shaken up at the moment. Additionally, I’m sorry I only posted this now. I have been very upset about this situation, and it’s triggered a lot of my trauma from previous situations like this. I was afraid to address it, afraid to post my side of the story, because I didn’t want to continue to drama, and I didn’t want to continue this back and forth of sending hate and talking shit about people. I just wanted it to be over with.
And that’s my mistake for not posting my side of the story. I should’ve spoken up and addressed this sooner. That’s truly a decision I regret, was hiding and ignoring it. But I was incredibly anxious and scared, and everytime I tried to speak up about it, I backed down because I was too afraid of what the aftermath would be.
I don’t want to keep this fight going. I wanted it to be private from the start. So I’ll say it again. Please leave me, Lluvia, Riri, everyone involved, alone. Don’t continue this.
I never had any ill will towards Lluvia or Riri. I never sent anyone to attack them, or anyone at all. I never have asserted myself as better than them or better than anyone. I used to be an awful little shit when I was 14, but that was 4 years ago now, nearly 5. That’s not who I am now. I love this fandom, I love Spamano, and I love my friends and all the other creators here who help keep this fandom alive. I don’t want drama, and I never have.
I don’t want to address this further. I’d like to be the last I talk about this, because I’ve said my piece, and given my side, and that’s it. I just want this to be over with and move on. Can we all do that, please?
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