MY WORK HAS BEEN PLAGIARIZED! SOMEONE HAS STOLEN ONE OF MY FICS AND PASSED IT OFF AS THEIR OWN! Honestly, my Initial D fic Lollipop was ripped off and put in the Beyblade section with barely any differences except for the names! I reviewed and said that I wanted the author in question to remove the fic they posted, and that if they didn't, I would report it. If anyone has any advice to offer I would appreciate it greatly as I have never been in the situation before when someone has stolen my work from me. If you want to look at the two stories and compare, the address for the ripped off one is on my profile, and the original is obviously in my profile (the address for the ripped off one might not come up until the bio updates though).
I can't say how shocked and disappointed I am that someone would do that. I can't believe how literally and almost word-for-word the copy is. The author of the ripped off one said at the bottom that they got the 'idea' for the fic from me. They neglected to mention that they took just about all of the text as well. I am sitting here fuming, because I am so utterly outraged at all this! They even called their fic 'Lollypop 2'! I don't think they meant any harm by it but I am totally incensed! Being as I am, a paranoid person, I think that because I was so snappy in my review they will probably complain and I will have my account closed, or some such. I am truly, truly angry, and I hope putting this here will alert other authors to the possibility of plagiarism. If my account IS removed, and I hope to God it isn't, I'll come back and I'll keep posting here despite the plagiarisers and the yaoi haters because I know that most people on this site are nice people who have no intention of causing other people trouble. It'll take a while to get all 64 fics back up, but I will!
There I go again, slippery sloping. It probably won't come to that at all, but I'm really angry and it's kind of late over here right now so yeah. You know, I'm really angry that I have THIS in my last chapter, but it has to be said and this is the only thing I'm really posting at the minute. Thanks for bothering to read this, the actual chapter isn't too far below.
On a better note, this is the last chapter! I'm glad I got this up before Thursday, because I have a Spanish exam then and instead of talking about my 'vida sana' I'd probably start talking about the merits of mpreg…somehow I can't see my Spanish teacher appreciating that!
Kiko cat: I'm sorry this reply wasn't in the last chapter, but I got your review just after I'd posted it. Kai didn't go mental, but he's pretty mental anyway, so it wouldn't really make a difference...
Platinum Rei: Glad you liked the chapter, I'm sorry to say that this is the last one!
Ellen: Bryan does panic, but not in an entirely bad way. And no, they didn't catch the people who beat up my brother. Bah. You get jumped on, you phone the police, they come ten minutes AFTER the stupid thugs have run away... my town sucks so bad... Heh, but I knew that already!
Helen: I guess I just like angst...seriously, I think that the best cuteness comes from angst, but this time I just couldn't do it! I've emotionally crippled Rei more times than enough, and I just couldn't kill off his kids, not this time. I felt mean enough making him -think- they were going to die, let alone actually killing them off...
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: Heh, I do kill them off a lot. But I bring them back to life again! There's a guy in my Chemistry class (where no-one does any work and FireFairy42 reads my fics) who just doesn't understand that fanfics aren't all part of the same story- I kill Tala one week and he wonders why he's killing himself again the next week! Mind you, I've never actually let him read any of my fics, so maybe that's why he doesn't understand...as if I would really let anyone at my school read my fics! I swear, my town is thug, idiot and homophobe capital.
Darkangelintheshadows: Nah, I couldn't kill them. Like I said before, that would have been cruel, even for me!
Kaei Kon: It -was- mean on Kai, but everything came good in the end!
Two days later, about ten minutes after Tala had gotten off the phone to Kai, he felt a sharp, agonising pain in his abdomen. "Oh...bastard. Bryan!" No reply. "BRYAN!" Bryan appeared, holding a glass of juice.
"What?"
"Bryan, I don't want you to freak out, but..." Tala winced. "I think she's coming..." The glass slid out from between Bryan's fingers to shatter on the floor. "Bryan, you're freaking! Stop it! Get me an ambulance!" Bryan stood there staring at him. Tala winced. "Nng, Bryan, get me an ambulance dammit!" He hissed with pain and started breathing heavily. Bryan ran for the phone and dialled the hospital.
"Ambulance...Tala...labour..." He stuttered. He was lucky the hospital was expecting them...
Kai ran into the room, almost bursting with excitement. "Rei, Tala's gone into labour!" Rei looked up from feeding Stefan with a bottle and smiled. It was about time...
"Are you okay? Does it hurt?"
"Bryan, I can't feel it. Of course it doesn't hurt."
They were in the operating theatre, and Tala had had his stomach numbed, and drapes put up. Bryan was there, in a weird green robe, and he was more panicked than Tala. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Bryan, I'm sure. Come here and give me a kiss." Bryan obliged, and Tala held him against his chest. "Is she beautiful, Bryan?" Bryan looked behind the curtain then looked back at Tala, tears in his eyes. "Tala...she's...she's..." There was the sound of a wail and a nurse appeared carrying a screaming bundle. Tala sighed with happiness and reached out. The nurse deposited the newly born baby in his arms and Tala held it tenderly.
"Oh Bryan..." His voice was low and choked. A tear trickled down his face as he held his daughter close to his chest. "I've thought of a Russian name for her..."
"What?"
"Katerina..."
"Katerina..." Bryan reached out and touched Katerina's tiny hand reverently. "Our little girl..."
"Just think Bryan...she could be anything...she could grow up to be anything at all...there are...endless possibilities..."
"Whatever she does...she'll be the best...she's so beautiful..."
The young girl leapt into the air and spun twice before landing back on the ice, taking the hand of the dark haired young man beside her. The music stopped, and the crowd went wild. The commentator gave his view on the scene, his voice blaring out across the loudspeaker. "And that was the Russian entry, Katerina Kuznetsov-Ivanov, and Stefan Kon-Hiwatari, very promising pair, I think we'll see great things from them in the future...ah, lets have a little background while we wait for the judges. Both of these young skaters were raised by gay men...some would say that this achievment of theirs is proof that more gay people should be allowed to adopt. Yes, if we zoom in there..." The camera zoomed in on the side of the stadium.
"Yes, there's Tala Ivanov and Bryan Kuznetsov, they're Katerina's parents, and Kai Hiwatari, already a rising figure in the business world, and Rei Kon, they're Stefan's parents. Actually, Stefan's twin sister Naoko is there- she's already been raised two years in school, and they say she's started studying for her A-levels...not bad for a fourteen year old, eh? Oh, and the judges are ready to give their scores...and...oh... They've done it! That's a gold medal for the Russian figure skaters, and how proud their parents look! This really is a momentous occasion...and...they're leaving now...I'm sure they'll have a lot to celebrate tonight!"
Tala looked up as the loudspeaker started booming. "Cheek. I'm going to go and show him my scar, and then we'll see who's been adopting!" Bryan shrugged.
"Does it really matter? Stop being so negative!" They both stopped talking as Katerina launched herself at them both, giggling. "We did it! We did it! Me and Stefan got the gold medal!"
"You were wonderful!" Bryan said happily. Tala sighed.
"You've made me so proud, my little Katerina..." He stroked her shock of red hair, sniffing emotionally, before Kai, Rei, Stefan and Naoko came over. Bryan eyed Stefan shiftily.
"I'm watching you, Stefan, and if your hands go below her waist I'll skin you!" Stefan blushed profusely.
"Yes Mr. Kuznetsov." Tala folded his arms.
"Well if 'Mr. Kuznetsov' doesn't shut his face he's not getting any for a month!" He went over and hugged Stefan warmly. "You were wonderful out there. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have skating with my little Katerina." Kai smiled and laid a hand on Tala's shoulder.
"Come on, lets go back to the hotel. Naoko, leave your book in your bag- tonight's a night for celebrating, not studying." Naoko nodded, her black hair flicking over her shoulders, and Kai continued. "You know, we have a lot to catch up on." The three children wandered away, and as they did so Rei pulled a face behind Kai's back. Tala spluttered with laughter. "What are you laughing at, Ivanov?"
"You!"
As Kai and Tala got into a pointless argument Bryan sighed and turned to Rei. "They haven't changed at all in the last fourteen years...they're still the same old bickering idiots..."
"Idiots? Bryan Kuznetsov I -heard- that!" Tala looked positively outraged, then he started laughing. "Come on. You can make it up to me later..." Bryan shook his head, smiling. Tala certainly hadn't changed...
They started walking out of the arena, exchanging gossip and stories. As they did, Bryan laid an arm around Tala's shoulders. "You know what I just remembered?"
"No. What?"
"I remembered what you said the day Katerina was born."
"What, 'Bryan, get me an ambulance dammit?'"
"Well yeah, I remember that, but when you held her...you said that there were endless possibilities..."
"And?"
"I don't know, I was just reminiscing!" Tala smirked and glanced over at Kai and Rei, who seemed to be conversing in much the same manner, and snuggled further up next to Bryan. "You want to know what I think?"
"You're going to tell me anyway, so yeah."
"I think...I'm waiting for the day they make gay marriages legal!" Bryan laughed.
"Tala, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well...nothing. But you didn't seem to be making much sense either, so I thought I'd join in!"
Bryan laughed loudly. "Come on, you make more sense when you're drunk!"
Much later, at the end of their party, Tala stood up. "Everyone...I'd just like to say something." The room fell silent. "The day Katerina was born, I said that there were endless possibilities for her in the world. And there were. She could have been anything. What I'm trying to say is that...what she and Stefan achieved today wasn't because of destiny or fate. It was because they worked hard and put all their time and effort into improving, and the same goes for Naoko. No matter what you're born, and no matter who you're born to, out of the endless possibilities you're born with, you have to make your own future. That's why I'm so proud of my daughter, and I'm proud of the children of my friends too.
"When I was pregnant, I once said Katerina was a nasty little thing- she kept kicking and I couldn't sleep at all- but here, and now, I know I'd go through it all again because the love I have for her is so deep that no amount of kicking would ever put me off being pregnant now that I know how wonderful it is to be the parent of someone so special. That's all I wanted to say." He sat down again, and found the other people at his table in tears. "Am I that bad at public speaking?" Katerina shook her head and crawled onto his lap, hugging him tightly as Bryan laid an arm around his shoulders once more. Tala ruffled Katerina's hair fondly and smiled. "You know, Stefan looks kind of lonely all by himself over there...perhaps he could use some company?" Katerina sniffed and nodded, moving off Tala and going over to where Stefan was standing.
Tala smiled and stood up, pulling Bryan with him. "Kai and Rei left the second I stopped speaking, so I figure...well...you've got all that making up to do...we may as well start now!"
"You know, Tala, I was right. You're the same as you always were." They started walking, hand in hand. After a few metres, when they were alone in the corridor, Bryan paused, looking over at Tala. "Don't ever change." Tala smiled and they carried on walking.
Fin.
Finished! Sorry for the rant up top, but I was really angry and I had to let it out somehow. Beware the plagiarizers, beware the yaoi haters, and have a nice day/night depending on where you are and what time it is. Review please, I really appreciate it when you do. And as I said before, if anyone has any advice about the plagiarism thing, please tell me. Heh, Daddy Bryan…I think this is going to be another one of my fic 'babies' (pardon the pun). Thanks to all those who've reviewed over the course of the fic, I'm sure I'll have another new one up before long.
NOTE: The plagiarism issue has been resolved- the fic no longer exists. If the author of that fic is reading this, I'd like to say thanks for being honest enough to remove the story that wasn't yours.