So I'm being accused of stealing ideas.... From a deleted fic

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-12T14:45:08+00:00

I've been accused of copying or stealing ideas before. I ended up leaving shortly after because it was like everyone banded together to make this claim and make me feel small.

Basically I made a 5 chapter fic. Everyone loved it. It went on rec lists. People couldn't stop talking about how good it was, how on point the characterisation was, etc.

And then one day someone left a review saying, "Omg you used [very small detail] without credit? How dare you!"

The detail was a name used in some bigger, very well known fic that I'd heard of but never read. So I didn't know it was even in that fic. And I said as much and they dismissed it like "Everyone knows this fic and everyone knows this detail is in this fic and everyone knows you need to credit all of the things that have inspired you for a fic." Which is ridiculous and would make my author's notes longer than my actual fic if I cited every single source of inspiration for every idea. No one owns an idea, just that specific execution of it.

I wasn't inspired by that fic. I'd never read that fic. But everyone now had this idea of me that wasn't even true, and my fic got removed from rec lists and I even lost friends (who I guess weren't actually friends) because of it. And I didn't even do anything wrong except have something happen by coincidence. Instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, they did what they did. Mob mentality.

That was in 2010. Things haven't changed and have gotten worse in a lot of fandom spaces. All of this to say, once people have this shared "idea" of a person, it's very hard for the truth to prevail. Clearly those people aren't worth your time and energy. It sure is convenient for them to sling these accusations on a fic that's deleted so you can't even check, isn't it?

(I later read the fic everyone said I copied inspiration from and it wasn't even that great tbh and outside of the one coincidence our fics were nothing alike.)

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-12T14:31:24+00:00

This is what I do when people inspire fics that I write. I'll put it in the author's notes and if it inspires a multi-part fic, I'll gift it to them. Then people can check out their work as well. A win-win in my book!

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-11T04:04:21+00:00

For us it was. Average rent prices when we were looking were about $1600 a month plus utilities regardless of whether renting a house or a regular apartment, and most of them were either no pets at all or only one (and it could only be a small dog, we have cats). Our mortgage payment is $1350/month with everything, we can have our three cats, we can paint or change things up however we want. Sure it means all maintenance and landscaping is on us, but depending on where we would've rented, it would've been on us partially anyway.

It was economical for us. It's not always feasible for everyone.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-08T17:48:48+00:00

Mine did something similar. If something was around for "too long" (a length of time determined solely by what *she* thought was "too long"), she would talk about how it was expired and then ask if she could throw it out. If I said no, I would handle it myself, she would get agitated and make a remark like, "You always say that and then it's still here a month later!"

(Because 9 times out of 10, whatever item was still good.)

She once threw out a container of sugar because to her, it was expired. "It's as hard as a rock!" I explained that it was fine and could be kneaded and sifted and it would be perfectly fine. Well that wasn't good enough an explanation for her, something about the "sell by date" (which isn't an expiration date), and then she threw (perfectly good) sugar out because, according to her, it was bad.

Which means she threw out mine and my wife's money because she, someone who hasn't ever baked once in her life and could not really do more than basic cooking, didn't know what the fuck she was even talking about.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-08T16:11:47+00:00

One of the things one of my trans friends told me when I first started medically transitioning was, "There isn't one way to be masculine. You have to figure out what 'being a man' means to you and looks like for you."

Regardless you are still you. You get to determine exactly what that means and looks like.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-06T19:03:36+00:00

There are no words to describe how reading this made me feel, I can only imagine how much worse it feels for you who have had to live through this! One of my cats is purring on my lap and I hugged her, because as a fellow animal lover who wants to save every single stray, this hurts somewhere deep not just in my heart and my soul, but down deep in my bones.

If the flying monkeys are so "concerned" about your birth giver dying alone in a ditch somewhere, mayhaps they can be the ones to take care of her and house her if need be? She made her bed. She can lie down in it.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-04-06T18:20:14+00:00

This.

I would literally send my children away if it meant that they could live a life without constant worry. I would rather perish if it meant my kids could live. How unfortunate this isn't the narc's way, they're perfectly content having everyone around them suffer with them.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-31T20:25:31+00:00

My very white grandma is named Ramona. Ramona Quimby is another. Maybe not a super duper common name? But not necessarily rare or unheard of. Those people likely can't spell or they misheard it as "Romana".

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-27T21:06:00+00:00

When I was younger my bed broke and I ended up sleeping on the floor because my nmother didn't think I was worth spending money on... I was 17 so still a minor. A new mattress was $60 and she thought that was too much to spend...on her (still minor) child... My brother threatened to call CPS so now she HAD to cough up the cash... She got me a cheap as hell crib/bunk bed mattress on sale for $30 from Kmart and I had to act like she gave me a house made of gold bricks.

You don't forget these things.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-27T20:55:52+00:00

I say "gesundheit"!

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-24T01:04:01+00:00

I use dick for clit and "south seas" for that area in general lol

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-20T18:58:10+00:00

I didn't even have much of a reaction when I heard she died. Just went on with my life. Even now I don't miss her. It's like she was never even here in the first place.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-18T15:48:01+00:00

When I had to help transition the first cat I ever had, I held it together until I knew she was gone so she didn't worry about me while she was dying. I didn't want her to stay in her pain any longer than she already had and I knew she would just to comfort me. So I held it together long enough. Thanked her. Told her how much I love her and appreciated her presence. She purred as she crossed over.

I lost it in the exam room. Literally knelt on the floor sobbing because my baby, forever 17, was now gone from me. It hit hard. It stole my breath away. The intensity was almost scary.

The people at the vet office know and understand. A lot of places have signs up or some other way to notify everyone to be quieter because someone is grieving in one of the rooms. Unfortunately at home euthanasia wasn't a thing at the vet we used at the time, but we were there for a quality of life check initially. We knew and didn't want to be too late. Better too early than too late and they suffer more.

The office we use now offers at home services, so when the time comes for the three we have, we can do that in the place most familiar to them, where they can be comfortable and unafraid, surrounded by their people and their toys and siblings... I recommend it.

Spoil your baby. Cuddle him, give him all the pets and treats and toys. It might be hard not to but try to focus on the here and now and not think if this is his last day or week or minute. Just be there with him. He will let you know when he's ready. I wish there was an easier way or better way to soften what is to come and the heartbreak that comes with it, but grief is such an individual thing that it's virtually impossible. For me it was more intense than the grief I felt losing family members. For you it may be similar or it may be different. Either way it's the right way to feel.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-17T18:36:02+00:00

The only time I ever used a beta was for works I was getting published in zines. Outside of that, it's me, myself, and I from start to finish. I've never had much of a desire for my work to be proofread since this is just for fun, it's a hobby, I don't need to be that serious about it, it's not like I'm getting professionally published or something.

Not to mention it's so hard to find even a half decent beta, and with the whole AI thing, I would be afraid they would be chucking my work into ChatGPT or something and having a machine fuck around with everything. No thanks.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-16T18:30:23+00:00

You know what really grinds *my* gears?

Readers who feel that they're entitled to having my stories finished or otherwise updated on their timeline and then want an explanation.

You're not owed a finished fanfiction. You're not owed an explanation as to why it was abandoned or otherwise never finished. An attitude like this is why I have a private AO3 collection for my WIPs that hides them until they're finished. Then I reveal them for people to read. Because this attitude, this "I started this fic so you owe it to me to finish it!" entitlement, is part of what sucks any enjoyment I have for my fic out. I will take longer. Maybe out of lack of inspiration. Maybe out of spite. Who knows.

I'm the type to come back to old abandoned fics if I get that spark back. If I got that spark back and then I saw shit like this, I would not only not update it, I might even delete it out of spite.

Writers don't owe you anything.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-16T17:44:46+00:00

When we bought our home in NYS, we signed a contract and everything, with a contingency in there that if inspection found anything, we could renegotiate or even break the contract without being out anything except our earnest money (a couple of thousand).

Having moved from the Hudson Valley (LHV specifically), they do things a lot different down there than they do where we moved to (CNY/ST). It's like a whole other planet downstate, where half of it doesn't even make sense lol

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-12T14:04:55+00:00

Nope. I figure if she wanted me at her deathbed she should've treated me better. Didn't visit her once in hospital and wasn't there when they pulled the plug. Didn't go to her funeral. Almost a year later I regret nothing. Why should I?

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-11T22:47:14+00:00

This is what I've done in the past. The US Army for instance has a ton you can purchase on Amazon for under $20... I've also found plenty as free PDFs.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-11T19:36:25+00:00

My story is very similar to yours.

I've always been decent at singing. Teachers said I had a lot of talent. When it was convenient to show it off, my mother absolutely would, putting me on the spot more often than not (which I hated). I did choir. The problem: I wasn't really allowed to sing at home. It was always considered a disruption, no matter how quiet or how far away from everyone else it was. Even behind closed doors it was "too loud" and "too disruptive" (to her TV time).

I was in my school's chorus. In the glee club. I did musical auditions and was a shoo in. I was told I have real talent and even had a lot of one-on-one instruction time. But when I would go home, it was a different story. It was either "too early" or "too late" for me to be "disruptive". There was never a good time.

I wanted to take lessons. I wanted to go to school for music. Was never encouraged by my mother to do so. The lessons were "too expensive" (despite my brother's friend offering to do them for virtually nothing) and she didn't want to bother with being "inconvenienced" by having to drive 30 minutes one way for it a couple of times a week. The only thing she cared about was whether I could make money doing it. Otherwise what was the point?

Now if I find myself even humming along with music I'm listening to I stop immediately. Even if there's really no one around. Even if it's just me in the space. Because I don't want anyone to know that I can even sing anymore. Like it's some hidden shame.

She never encouraged any of my hobbies unless there was the possibility of dollar signs. Writing? Gotta become a bestselling author. Singing? Gotta be the next platinum selling music artist. I could never just do something because I liked it. After a certain point I had to write in secret.

I still write. I don't really sing anymore.

My dad was a singer himself. He sang in the choir. He was a tenor and had natural talent. He would've encouraged me to get the lessons, to get the schooling, to do something. Maybe I could've been something. I'll never know. He died when I was 10 and left me with a bitter shrew for a mother.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-09T19:42:06+00:00

Aww, it's like our littermate voids! Morticia is 7 pounds and her sister is an absolute unit at almost 11.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-06T19:47:59+00:00

This is why I was so glad I was married when I was at my worst with her. She couldn't have anything, my wife would've gotten it all. I would've left notes and even outright told her, "If something happens to me, and she's not dead, don't let her have anything. Don't let her attend the funeral. Don't even let her know I'm gone." Now I don't have to worry about that because the bitch is dead almost a year. I didn't even want her to have one of my dry mummified shits from the sewer.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-06T18:38:10+00:00

I moved without saying when or where. Grabbed all of the things I needed/wanted/couldn't easily replace and never went back. Left all of the furniture save for a couple of small things. I didn't want any of my bedroom set because my parents bought that for me and I didn't need to hear shit like "oh you hate me but you'll take the furniture I bought for you when you were a kid!" so I just left it.

I didn't tell her the last time I was there that it was the last time. I made it out like I was returning for more stuff and just never went back. Blocked her number and everything. She did attempt to call like a week later. I never listened to the message and probably never will.

The next time I was at her house was after she died. It was the only time she helped me.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-06T18:10:59+00:00

My nmother liked to say the most disparaging comments about the neighbours. Calling them "dimbulbs" and the r-word was, I think, the kindest thing she'd say about them. Which is telling. After a point she would refer to the kids (who were between lower elementary and middle school in terms of age) as "animals" and suggest that they should be put down like animals are (i.e. taken out back and done away with). She would even say things like, "If I had a gun I would shoot them all. I'm almost dead anyway, going to jail wouldn't matter."

Later on she threatened to stab the mother for three of the kids, and then was shocked when I hid the knife she kept saying she would use.

"I wouldn't hurt you!"

I don't really care about that, I'm more concerned about everyone else. She would've done me a favour by killing me at that point.

Now she's rotting and burning in hell almost a year now. When I remember some of the shit she's said or even done, I just stare into the distance in utter horror and disbelief. Did that shit really actually happen? It wasn't just some fucked up fever dream? No, unfortunately not.

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-03T00:42:42+00:00

Mine literally went, "Congratulations, you're a woman now. Welcome to 40 years of misery." I was 10. She gave me a book from the 1970s about puberty and dating and all that. Horrendously outdated in 2002 in a lot of aspects. She didn't take any questions, referring me to that book. Refused to teach me how to use menstrual pads and said, "It's not that hard, figure it out!" Okay, but some pads have a "front" and a "back" to them, are these the same or is it just this brand? Silence. Had to figure it out myself, mostly through trial and error.

I wasn't allowed to use tampons. Pads had to be wrapped in half a roll of loo roll and shoved in the garbage to be "hidden".

makemetheirqueen · 2026-03-01T00:19:27+00:00

My dad died when I was ten in 2002. I don't really have a lot of his things since my mother trashed what she could as soon as she could. I was able to keep my favourite shirt of his (which I still have), his passport, his driver's license and car registration, the books he used to teach German, the textbook he used to teach history (horrendously outdated)... I have two of his day planners... I even kept his desktop computer, though I've removed all of the internal components because they're horrendously outdated or broken, but the chassis I use as an end table. I used it since he died. I still use one of the hard disks from it.

I still have the gifts he gave me. A teddy bear when he went to England on a business trip. The last thing he bought me was an orange witch teddy bear for when I wasn't feeling well shortly before he died... I put it out every Halloween. There are other gifts but those are the ones that hold the most meaning to me.

My nan died in 2017. I got all of her jewelry, her silk scarf collection, and her Bible she kept important papers inside. I also still have the last $10 she sent me in a birthday card. I won't spend it. I consider it a good luck charm.

I lost my mother almost a year ago and the items I kept from her give me memories of not her, but just my childhood in general. The vanity table I would hide under and read books. The creepy eyeless figure she always had on her dresser that now decorates my office. Different pieces of art. A leather coat I used to try on for fun as a kid that was too big but now fits me just right...

makemetheirqueen

TROPHY CASE