hmm...
it is similar but tbh
it doesn't look stolen u o u just a similar design that could have been made tbh
the rest doesnt look like her?
But if you really think its stolen i would try to resolve the issue o n o

and if you could please send me the other pics of her! i may be able to tell better then ; v ;

I just dont want to say anything if it seems like nothing will be resolved in the end because then it would be a waste of effort and time yknow?

Sure!! I'll note it to you

I uh
actually wanted to make sure I wasn't
overthinking it (like just run it by someone else??) so
I showed my littlest sister (whos like 15 yo)
a diff pic of serenity and that one chicas oc side by side
and she actually recongized serenity
and she pointed to charlies
and was like
isn't that your oc?
and I JUST MADE THE MOST DISTRAUGHT NOISE EVER BECAUSE HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

sits on you and pets
i am so torn between making a move and just staying quiet HAHAHhh jumps off of stairs

Unfortunately these kinds of situations are incredibly difficult to handle, because even when someone copies an OC 98% as long as there are just enough minour changes, most people (especially admins) won't do anything about it because it could just be a 'coincidence' even though sometimes you know it's not.

I can't say personally whether it's a copy or not because you and your friends would obviously know the situation better and there's always more than one side to every story. At first glance, if I didn't know the situation, I would definitely agree that there are similarities but would not have considered it a copy at first look. However; like I said, there's always more to the story than just how something appears, so I can't be sure if there's motivation behind it or some other factors that could have led to this person copying.

The best thing to do in these situations are really only a couple of options. You can choose to ignore it and move on and not let it get to you (because at the end of the day, the drama and stress is certainly not worth it), or you can privately and maturely try to settle the matter with the user. Go to them calmly and just try to figure out what the situation is. Realize that it's very possible that they won't ever stop using the character that may/may not be a copy.

Finally you can go to the admins and give them your concerns and see if they will do something. I'm not familiar with DA's policies but it's entirely possible they will be unable to do anything without actual proof/admittance that they have stolen the character. It's also possible that even with this proof they still won't do anything. Sometimes that's just the way things are and you have to go back to your first resort of just taking a deep breath, exhaling, and continuing on with a shake of your head.

Either way, I hope you and your friend(s) can get peace from this in the end. I know how troublesome this situation can be (as I face it quite often unfortunately) and there is never really one set answer for every situation is different. Good luck! and sorry for the hugely long response. ♥

omg no pls dont apologize it was extremely helpful! ;v;

I'm trying to tell myself that maybe it's just a coincidence but with all that she's done with her I find it really difficult to continue trying to convince myself. It doesn't make much sense because she is super protective of her own babies?? You're absolutely right about either endings though. ;;;
yeah dA doesn't really care much about OC's *rolls around* .. do fA admins do anything about stolen characters? O:

Ah I'm sorry to hear that! 8( Someone as nice as you doesn't deserve that at all.

Well like I said, since I don't know all the finer details (which there always are lots of in these situations) I can't be a good judge of what's really going on but if you absolutely feel in your heart that she's copying than I definitely understand. I see this happen all to often (myself included) where people just take one side over the other without ever bothering to find out the whole story, or just plainly ignore the facts in front of them in favour of the whole 'nothing's original anymore!' thing.

Unfortunately as far as I know with FA, they're INCREDIBLY behind on tickets/reports and definitely don't care about OCs being copied. Even if there's a ton of proof they still don't like to do anything, especially not in a timely manner (hello taking over a year to settle some things that should have been taken care of in the beginning instead of escalating the problem over time).

I don't know but I feel like within the past year, and even few months, people have lost all respect for other artists and just do what they want anymore and use all the old arguments of 'well that's hardly original so it's not like I can't make the same thing' or 'there's nothing original out there, it's ALL been done before' as excuses to do whatever to whoever and get away with it and unfortunately more and more people are jumping on that boat when they see others doing it.

I've never once claimed to be the epitome of originality, because I like simple things and like everyone else gather inspiration from the world around me but that doesn't mean it's okay to copy something of mine just because it's not a sparkle dog. So I totally feel your pain despite the original design being 'simple', that doesn't mean it's NOT copied and doesn't mean it's okay to just make a slightly different character based on someone else's. It's unfair and people need to stop doing it.

I could see her being inspired, in a way, by the original, but I can't say it's a knock off.
I mean, both are already not hugely original to begin with. Skirt, long socks, jacket, pink color scheme, I've seen it all before, pretty much.
For the panda parts, IDK, if she has buns instead of ears (even with that one icon) they still don't look like panda ears.
IDK with human characters I just find it hard to call one a rip off or not unless there are 1-2 tinie tiny differences or they're exactly alike. Mostly because you can change their clothes/hair whenever so...IDK it's just hard for me to call rip offs on human characters yeah. =A=;

oh well I draw more human characters so it sort of does to me??? The pink-white polkadots on her top, buns and personality gives it away to me.
thanks for taking the time to read all that and leaving a response though! :')))

idk the outfits have a different feel to me, personally. I feel like the rip has more of a vintage, high top skirt and more of a cutesey top. The original looks more like a school girl outfit but worn in a cute sloppy way? Like extra long sleeves, tucked shirt, etc.
Also panda hair buns has been done so many times, I honestly wouldn't count that against her unless she turns them into legitimate pamda ears.
Really though, up to you guys, but who knows if she'll eventually change it or move onto a new character in the future.

Honestly, the only thing I see is the color scheme being somewhat a like. I have seen tons of OCs with designs like this, and even own some myself. It's just common. Plus one is human, one is kemonomimi. maybbeee if they were both the same I could see it.