the only thing i have to say about opalapparition is the same thing i have to say about james somerton (and cassandra claire): this entire messy business could've been a lot more pleasant if they hadn't engaged in encouraging their fans to harass anyone accusing them of doing what they actually did.
remember, guys: any creator who asks you to enact their agenda by harassing someone has made the jump from creative to cult of personality.
whether they become cassandra claire or james somerton is 100% about how much they are able to make people continue enacting their agenda after they are caught.
plagiarists don't stop stealing after they are caught, they just get better at hiding it. if they were willing to do the actual creative hard work they would've just done it in the first place. if they had intellectual honesty they would've admitted it at the first instead of doubling down.
not only was opalapparaition getting fandom attention, but they also got an agent and a manuscript deal on our fucking backs. because of our attention.
an apology is nice, admitting it is nice, but in the end it doesn't change anything for me.
she was willing to capitalize on fandom attention to achieve real-world benefits while also not sharing any of those benefits with friends close enough to beta her to-be published work for free. while also not even finishing the story for fans.
don't let her become another cassandra claire when james somerton's path is the one she's earned.
