I did not plagairize so there...
First wank, I'm not even sure that this qualifies so bear with me. It's all so quiet and small. Yu Gi Oh! plagiarism wank!

First Stage: Not Wank. A week or two ago a couple of Big Name writers, Lomelindi and Pysche, in the Seto/Yami list started to post posts of warning of people copying scenes and dialogues from their fics. Several people start to agree and mildly disagree but it's all polite and all. The co-mod Shakster does his/her research and posts a notice about plagiarism, so far so good. Then the culprit Seto's Darkness owns up and says she hopes she still will remain in the group even after what she's done.

Second Stage: Elektra says onlist that Seto's Darkness copied this fic and turned it into a Seto/Yami fic by just changing the names.

Third Stage: Seto's Darkness leaves this wanky rant erasing all her fics from FF.N, not only the controversial ones.


From Seto's Darkness: IMPORTANT NOTES

hi! okay, what I'm going to say to you is good news or bad news - depending on your point of view. I have encountered some major problems and distractions in my fanfiction writing.

First off, I will admit this. This may sound lame or just as an excuse, but I will state this nevertheless.

I didn't really "copy" or "plagiarize" or "base" any of my fics or/and scenes on any other YGO fic. Before I had an account, I am already reading some other works from other animes/sites. That's why, I already now that there are some plagiarism/copying that are usually rampant in a "fandom", especially if there is one writer who is the "very best" - thus, they are copying him/her. I always do try to be original, and I always get ideas from other anime series - not fanfics - for my fics, in fear that someday, I would meet someone who wrote the same idea/scene/dialogue/concept before me - and therefore, no matter how original my work is, I WILL emerge as the "plagiarizer".

I guess from October 30, 2004, I had a really nice time writing and posting my written fics as Seto's Darkness. It was just around three months, but they have been most certainly fun. I didn't think that I would write something w/c was already written - because (duh) I know that plagiarizing is bad.

Just a minor insert: I won an essay writing contest about anti-plagiarism. I don't think I could even plagiarize even if I want to... I would be way too guilty.

So, I reread "The Marionette" w/c Lomelindi pointed out - and found out that indeed, I used "her" Hathor and Dendara. For me (you may think of this as a useless defense), I know and researched about the goddess Hathor. She was the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Love, and I think it is certainly fitting for someone who is blessed with someone to love (especially if it is a secret affair/relationship) to thank the Goddess for her "blessings" to them. I obviously didn't know that it is "her" idea that Yami should be paying tribute to a Goddess of Love. No offense, but I didn't think that she's the only one entitled to use Hathor and Yami paying tribute. I mean, I read the info on a book on our school library. (The book's title is Ancient Egyptian Mythology and Their Gods - if you're interested, by Simon Goodfellow; I am not quite sure about the author's surname)

Well, it may have been that similar to her concept - or dialogue - but I still haven't checked. Usually, before I post a fic, I always do make at least half of the story. That way, I could be sure that I won't catch the dreaded writer's block. Or, I write the whole fic - then type when I have time - and then edit/expound later, if I think the plot is too simple and plain.

SUDDEN NOTES: Pysche! Well, Soraki told me about it, but I probably won't notice/realize what did I "import" from your fic(s) if you don't tell it to me personally. I feel so bad that I ignored Lomelindi's and Pysche's constant long messages on the Palace, but believe me. I really didn't know.

Okay, back to the statements one paragraph ago. So, when I learned that I "plagiarized", my whole writing passion collapsed. I thought that if I work hard and write my fics in advance, maybe - just maybe - my whole "writing career in ff.net" would be fine. No, I don't wish to be the most popular writer, though it would be certainly pleasing.
Besides, next school year, I don't think I'll be able to write and post on a regular basis anymore. I got a 780 TOEFL, and I "earned" a scholarship in NUS (National University of Singapore) and Nanyang, Singapore - so I would probably be somewhere abroad. :cheers, GO ME:

Which brings me to move on to the second major thing. I think I cried when I read Soraki's email message. Well, because three of my classmates were reading her email - and they are all teasing me:wails: about the if I am bad in English - coz it's my second language - I "don't have to copy others' works" in order to be able to post something worthy for public viewing. It's such a degrading thing for me, coz... I am applying for Harvard, Seoul and MIT (Massachussets Institute of Technology) - and they are all really good English-speaking schools. OMG, it's MIT we're talking about here! I felt really bad after reading that - not to mention my boyfriend dumped me mere minutes before reading the email, and it was the day before the seniors' promenade! Haha, bad mood coming up!

I am really sorry for Soraki for being that "acting like a victim" in my reply - I really am in a seriously pissed off mood yesterday. I just didn't like the fact that because there is famous and great writer who is extremely good in English and grammar - and I happened to have a scene similar to his/hers - means that I - being the Filipina that I am, therefore, English is not my first language - have copied from him/her. Don't take me wrong. I mean - I admit that Lomelindi and Pysche are really good and great writers, but - it doesn't mean that I would copy them just because they are great and famous!

I am most certainly NOT desperate to post a fanfic.

But okay. I know that you are probably thinking/saying that I am just making a lame excuse to get away. So, to prove my point that I really didn't know about the "copying" thing - there are 27000+ fics in ff.net: YGO alone, for God's sake- I DELETED ALL of my fics - not just abandoned them - I repeat, I DELETED ALL OF THEM, EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE.

I called off my membership in "The Love of Yu-Gi-Oh!" (MSN groups: SetoYami), and unsubscribed from "The Pharaohs Palace II". I don't want to be scorned or flamed anymore. I don't want to be blamed and accused - so I will do my best to prevent it.

I am extremely sorry to those waiting for my other chapters - I don't think there are many - because I don't think I'll be finishing them anymore. Okay, I already finished them in my PC, but I won't get to finish posting them. I really didn't want some authors/authoressess to show up and tell me that I stole their plot/dialogue/scene. I know that I worked hard to finish ALL of those 33 SetoYami fanfics, but I don't think I could even write a not-so-good fanfic ever again. I will be too paranoid and I will be extra emotional.

I just don't have time to read all of those 27000+ YGO fanfics posted here and remember every single detail of them and also remember not to let them influence me/not to let myself use them unless I would like to remember the exact story and the author and then email the author for permission. I don't have that much time.

PS: To elektra-alpha, nope. I haven't read "The Taito Project" in any way or form. Never even heard of it. What anime is it anyway?

OKAY! Before I say really goodbye (I doubt anybody is still reading this), I would like to give out all of my secrets as Seto's Darkness!

I have typed ten Valentines Day One-Shots, but I am too sad and paranoid to even post one or even send it to my beta-reader(s). Ha... too bad for me, I guess. Well, deleting fanfics is an irreversible process so... and chapter 3-6 of "Greed Island" was finished too... :pouts:

SO! What's the point of all this long crap? Well, to summarize: I am not going to post any of my fanfics again. Not in ff.net, aff, or any other sites. I am too afraid of accusations anymore, because I know that they won't believe you if you say that you didn't intentionally "copy" their works. Even if I extremely love the pairing SetoYami, I really do - from the bottom of my heart.

And yes. I admitted to the whole Palace that I was the one those "plagiarism speeches" are talking about. I know that I most probably destroyed everybody's trust by now, but I would have liked it way better if you find some discrepancy in my fic and tell about it immediately - that way, the damage is not that bad (for me). BUT! What the heck! What's done's done!

And oh. The reason why my boyfriend dumped me? Because my token for him in the prom would be a copy of SetoYami doujinshi entitled "Desire". And he got angry coz he's a SetoJou and YamiYugi fan. He told me that I only care about SYY and almost all my thoughts and free time are spent in finishing off my Valentines Fics. The rest of our arguments emancipated from that simple argument about SetoYami VS SetoJou and YamiYugi. Ha. You can't have it all... but in my case, i lost ALL. I don't get to post my fics - and we have broken up. Sob.

Oh. And maybe drop me an email to tell me which fics had other copied scenes/dialogues from "Come What May" and some other Pysche's and Lomelindi's fics. Too bad again. And I finished writing chapters 5-6 of "Meteor Garden"!

If anybody is interested, where would I be - not to boast, or anything - but! I just came back from Singapore - and then, I am processing my applications for Harvard, MIT, NUS, Nanyang, Seoul, Tokyo Intern't'l Univ, Canberra, Wesleyan - and some other schools. :crosses fingers: i hope i could go to MIT or NUS!

Maybe, by now- if you're still reading - you would understand why I didn't take Soraki's comment about not being good in English lightly. I am actually good in English (99 grade?) - literature and grammar-wise. I just can't write a worthy essay or story without many grammatical errors.

Maybe she kicked me out as a staff member of Psychological Dependence already... T_T

BUT! I am a very loyal SYY fan and I will still advertise it - even if, err, some bad things had happened.

OH! And PLEASE READ THIS: We HAVE NO internet connection at home. YES. From the very beginning. That's why, every time I post something, I have to sneak out to the internet cafe, and tell my mom that it is something for a research project. That's also the reason why I can't post my chapters faster. I have to sneak out and make a lame excuse before I could go out. So, I save my fics/works in the PC and use a diskette/CD to bring them outside. And that is also the reason why I don't have any copy of any of anybody's fanfics at home - think of all the disk space it would consume! All the more reason I can't copy anyone's work exactly knowingly - because I don't have a copy to well, copy!

The reason why I stated the aforementioned statements above is because I want you all to know that I really take this writing stuff seriously. Not because i want to gather your sympathy. Why gather sympathy when I wouldn't post anything, anyway?

And that is all because of my readers/reviewers. Which leads me to say: Thanks to ALL of the members of the C2 Community - i hope you beat the target community- and the Palace for the lovely time and all those great fanfics. Thanks to firezone12, DJ Silence Yuy and Pysche for always pointing out the wrong grammars in my "mediocre" fics. Thanks to all of my reviewers, to all who put me in their author alert watch list and favorite authors and stories!

I am sorry to those I have offended. Sorry to Soraki for not being a responsible staff member. The reason is written above, 2 paragraphs ago. Sorry to all those who challenged me/requested some fics - esp amy johnson, if you read my bio, you would see that i intended to post your request on the second week of march. Sokra, I am afraid I can't post your story request/challenge. And sorry for making all of you read and suffer (while reading my long rant right now) and making you read all those "crappy English" and "mediocre fics" that I wrote.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate Soraki, Lomelindi or Pysche. I hate myself for letting such an irresponsible thing pass me - not matter how unintentional. I believe in atoning for my "sins" - again, unintentional and unintended "sins" - and I believe that if I quit posting fanfiction, i will do myself the favor of not being accused again of copying and plagiarizing.

And! Even if Lomelindi, Pysche and Soraki (and maybe everybody else) most probably hates me now, I still want to thank these three great and famous authoresses who put me in their favorites list - that's most like how most of the people knew me.

Advertisement Time!

Okay! Now, if you are a SetoYami fan, please subscribe to Soraki's C2 Community: Psychological Dependence! YAY! Or maybe, you would want to become a staff member! And! Please join the SYY yahoo!groups: The Pharaoh's Palace II!

Goodbye! Nope, nothing much to review... I don't care if you review or not, as long as you read the authoress' final ramblings - this is the last time I could contact you all.

Thanks to ALL those who bothered to read this whole authoress' last ramblings. I LOVE YOU ALL:hugs:

>>Seto's Darkness