I got plagiarized!

[zara_zee]

So about ten years ago I wrote my first fanfic and only ever posted it on Fanfiction.net. It was called Sons and Brothers and it was a Supernatural/Sons of Anarchy gen crossover. I still get the ocasional comment on it and I've been meaning forever to post it on my A03, but somehow never seem to get around to it. Anyway, today I got a message from

Comments

[blackrabbit42]

I'm your first follower!!

:)

[zara_zee]

On Twitter? What is your user name over there?

[blackrabbit42]

j_J_francis, I believe.

:)

[amberdreams]

I wish y'all would live somewhere else... 😭😭😭

[amberdreams]

Yikes! Wattpad is notorious for people stealing fics - honestly I don't know why they bother. I wouldn't have thought they'd get lots of attention there... That aside - a SOA crossover? Point me to it! (Preferably after you upload to AO3 though LOL)

I don't know how people who work in care homes are coping right now, it's a hard job at the best of times and now it's massively harder. More power to your elbow, Mrs!

PS I'm on twitter but hate the place so I venture there as infrequently as possible. It's much too easy to get sucked into black holes of hate on Twitter. i much prefer talking to friends here (or on our lovely Discord - did I ever send you an invite to it?)

[zara_zee]

I know nothing about Wattpad. I had to join today to see what was going on and...I really didn't like it. It's not terribly intuitive and I really hate its browsing function. Give me A03 any day. So much better.

I think I found you on Twitter. I have followed you. I think it's you anyway. I had it for four years and barely used it, but I reactivated it early in the year to keep up with this crazy world, I check it most days, but don't engage too much. I honestly don't remember if you sent me a discord invite. Maybe? Are there many people there? How does it all work? I don't really know much about it.

[amberdreams]

Discord is a thing set up for gamers, apparently, but lots of bangs etc are using it so participants can talk to each other. The main server I'm in is called the Saloon and it's run by sweetheartdean and quickreaver. There are a few members who rarely join us, but there's a lovely core group and we can talk about anything really - in private. Which is where it wins over twitter - that and you can set up different topic threads so we can keep spoilers separate from politics from sharing fic links etc.
You'd recognise most of the people there I think - runedgirl, laughablelament, amypond45, ameliacareful, themegalasaurus, monicawoe to name a few. blackrabbit42is also a member but sadly doesn't join us (tagging Jen as a big hint 😁)
If you think you'd like to join, let me know and I can get quickreaver to send you a link.

[blackrabbit42]

I waaaaaaaaaaaant to write more. I'm just so totally exhausted at the end of the day. I neeeeeeeed to write more. HALP

[amypond45]

I’m so sorry you had that happen. What a drag! Long hours in PPE doesn’t sound fun, either. I complain whenever I get called in for an 8-hour shift but I know y’all have it so much worse.

I’m @ejanfan on twitter, where I mostly reblog other people’s posts lol. Discord is a fun platform. The Saloon is my favorite place to hang out at the moment, although I still check twitter and tumblr off and on (and here!) I waste too much time on SM that I should be spending writing, but that’s the way it is.

[zara_zee]

The Saloon does sound fun. I'll have to check it out!

There's a lot about 2020 that is NOT fun, but that's life, I guess.

Myself, I've found it really hard to focus on writing this year. I've not only struggled to find the time to write, but the muse also tends to pack her bags and go on vacation pretty often this year (at least one of us can travel--we're in lockdown except for essential services where I live!)

[amypond45]

I get you *hugs*. It’s a tough year. I find that writing actually helps me not to drown in the awful, but that’s just me. I hope we get out of this horrible time soon.

[jj1564]

That's awful, thank goodness a kind person let you know. I hope it gets taken down without too much hassle. And pretty please post it on AO3 so I can read it! I can imagine how stressful your work is right now, and having to wear PPE all day must be horrible. I hope things return to some sort of normal as soon as it's safe for you. "But honestly, with Supernatural ending, we really should have expected an apocalypse, right?" EXACTLY!!!

[zara_zee]

I was o grateful to the kind soul who let me know. By late last night my time the story seemed to have been taken down and this morning when I checked I can no longer find the person either. Hopefully that means they've deleted their account and not just 'hidden' it, which apparently you can do on Wattpad.

Wearing Full PPE for long shifts is NOT fun, but I'm far happier now that we're doing it. I was terrified of accidentally giving the virus to one of our very elderly or immunocompromised residents-with a 14 day incubation period and so many people being asymptomatic it would be so easy to work with no idea you were infectious--but now we're in full PPE it would be very difficult to infect anyone. It gets VERY hot though. Still, I'm trying to look for silver linings--it's like our own personal mini sauna, right? We're all gonna lose weight and get glowing healthy skin!!! :D

[jj1564]

I'm pleased the story has been taken down, I can't believe the cheek of some people!

My son has to wear mask and gloves at the home he works in, and has to have a Covid test weekly, so I know how difficult it is but also how necessary. Better safe than sorry - and you have your own personal mini sauna!!

[zara_zee]

We're wearing mask, gloves, gown and face shield for the whole shift, have to change after every resident, so everything takes so much longer! But yes, we have the reassurance that we're unlikely to be infecting anyone, so that's a relief. We're having regular Covid tests now too -- I had my fifth one just today!!! Does your son work in aged care too?

[borgmama1of5]

That stinks that for someone to steal another person's story! I hope they respond and take it down.

[zara_zee]

It's pretty low, isn't it? I can't even imagine having the audacity to take someone else's entire completed and posted story and trying to pass it off as my own!! I think it's gone now. I can't even find the 'author' any more, so I think (hope) they've gone and won't just start up again with a new name!