RHOV DECLARES WAR ON THIEF, MAY QUIT FANFICTION
I’m taking a moment to discuss something that is close to my heart, something that will decide if I continue to write fanfics next year.
Fanfic writers and fan artists work hard, hours dedicated to drawing, YEARS spent writing a fanfic. These are our stories, our art, our feelings put out for others to enjoy. I think we deserve at least the honor of deciding where our creations should be posted and how they should be used.
However, there are people out there who feel it is their RIGHT to post our work where we specifically say they can’t. They use excuses like “but you’re not on this site and the people here need to see this.” This is flawed logic, and it seriously hurts the writer/artist. I had to scour Wattpad, threaten a few lawsuits, and have many accounts deleted before I finally got rid of plagiarizers on that site. It was hard work and left me in tears of frustration. I then felt FORCED to join the site because I knew that otherwise, my stolen stories would be right back up.
Writers and artists should never feel forced to place their work anywhere!
One art thief in particular has been a thorn in the side of MANY Fairy Tail artists: lucy.dragneel1 of Instagram. This self-declared “professional reposter” steals art and then laughs viciously as the artists struggle to have their work removed from her page. She has mocked and even given death threats to artists who beg her to stop stealing. Worse, she currently has almost 5200 followers on Instagram. That’s way more than I have on Fanfiction.net!
Everyone, check your Instagram account. If you are one of those 5000, unfollow her immediately. No artists or writers should EVER be mocked and receive frigging DEATH THREATS just for trying to protect their own work.
She is a shame to the Fairy Tail fandom.
Follow the actual artists and writers, not those who steal and repost the work as if it is their own. NEVER reblog stolen, reposted work, since that perpetuates this vile disease of theft. People like lucy.dragneel1 must realize they are NOTHING without those of us who put in the time and effort which they steal and then mock us for protecting what is ours.
Unfollow her, right now! Tell your friends on Tumblr, DeviantArt, Facebook, and across the fandom, across ALL the fandoms, UNFOLLOW HER!
I’m throwing down my gauntlet and putting my reputation on the line. If she is not UNDER 5000 followers before the end of this year … I’m not even joking…
I will stop writing fanfiction throughout 2016.
I’m not setting an unreasonable goal. We’re talking a mere dint in her overall fanbase. I at first wanted to set this ultimatum at under 3000, at least drop her under the amount of followers I have on FFNet, but I have to be realistic; many of her followers may be in countries my followers do not reach. Still, if people simply stop following thieves who repost art they download from Tumblr or plagiarize fanfics they copy from AO3, this rampant lawlessness would STOP.
As an incentive, if she were to get under 1000 followers before January 1st, I will update my fics every frigging week just to celebrate, sleep be damned!
Believe me, I don’t want to boycott, I love writing fanfics, it’s my guilty pleasure, but the situation is that serious. People have said to me, “Well, I don’t really care who writes the story, just so long as I get to read it.”
You don’t care?
Let’s see if you care NOW!
REPOSTING ART AND FANFICS IS THEFT. People don’t listen to us when we beg them to stop, so maybe they need a shakeup. I’m not enough on my own, but I can’t expect others to join me. The fandom itself needs to go into action, NOT THOSE OF US TOO BUSY CREATING THESE THINGS FOR YOU TO ENJOY. It should not be purely up to us to chase down thieves, issue warnings, threaten lawsuits, shut down accounts, etc. This is the job of the entire fandom, all of us.
I stand by my fellow fan creators, be they artists or writers. WE MUST STAND UNITED AGAINST THIS THREAT! Upon my own pride, I must prove that fanartists and fanfic writers have more sway on the fandom than some childish thief mocking our love for the mangaka’s work.
So this is a battle between me and her now.
Who has more loyalty in this fandom? A “professional reposter” like lucy.dragneel1, or a professional writer like Wild Rhov?
Her 5200 followers versus my 3000 readers.
She has the advantage.
Let’s see who wins.
Wild Rhov has declared war on art thieves.