APRIL 2024 NEWS: Unpublishing of "The Big Leagues"
I have contemplated over this decision for a while after I learned that I was using original characters without consent.
At the time of writing, I was keen on internet artist courtesy, and have since learned to always credit whenever I show art. However, that is far different from interpreting them as your OWN CHARACTER, while using their physical appearance as reference.
On July 2023, hesos, the artist who created Hajime, refused the request years I sent years after I created the book. I read it earlier today. Now, honest mistakes will be honest mistakes (since I didn't know the weight of my actions back then), but I can't keep "The Big Leagues" published knowing I breached this misconduct.
Will I be rewriting "The Big Leagues" without the artists' original characters? I don't know. I have a lot of projects in mind, including real life stuff, so I am not confident I have the time nor energy to rewrite the entire plot.
Don't get me wrong. I treasure "The Big Leagues." It was literally my first fanfiction, AND the first I ever published. It will always stay special to me. But, for obvious reasons, I can't keep it published.
At the end of the day, I wrote other artists' characters, interpreted them as my own, without explicit permission. I hope you understand this decision was hard on me.
Thank you for reading, and have a good rest of your day, dear readers <3
- rouzuchan