@heliocentric9 - Tumblr Blog

What’s a trope you thought you didn’t care about until you wrote/read the right version of it?

thanks for including me in your ask-a-thon :) definitely have a fair few. may not be recalling the first ones here, but memorable ones i enjoy are below. and as always, blanket recommendation for anything by the below authors, and feel free to add ones you like!

character x OC - this is back from my overwatch days, but Halcyon Days by @pentacass is an absolute masterpiece. Ana Amari and OFC, from pre-Omnic crisis to post canon.

age gap - really recent for me in Destiel. wear the hat by @vicsankles, your The Middle of course. prior and years ago, Overwatch had some great opportunities: Rode Hard, Put Away Wet by @xekstrin, i think Götze by silkinsilence or something other Anamercy was my start.

murder - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by @akaalaisabel gripped me all last summer. it's the closest i can probably get to murder husbands because dark/killer characters aren't my thing. their fic Incentive would probably fall into both this and previous too.

time travel - psalm 40:2 by unicornpoe and Crazy Diamonds by @pantheonofdiscord. i'm generally not huge on time travel in any medium besides doctor who, but these are phenomenal.

omegaverse - common thing for folks i see ha. i've come to love non-traditional a/b/o due to tiamatv (example fic Phalaenopsis). The Courtship of Combat by @bendingsignpost is also great.

wing fic - generally just not into anything with wings, but @northern-sparrow of course has amazing fics (You Can Keep Holding On may be my favorite and was my first, but i also love Under the Midnight Sun). dream in color by @sharkfish is the other i enjoy.

canonverse - so i near-exclusively read AU, specifically from @destiel-au, for at least the first two years of being into destiel. i still prefer AUs for most fic regardless of fandom. but there are some absolutely wonderful canonverse ones here. until the end and after by Philyra912, Assimilation by komodobits, take that history and other codas by @vaudelin

and as a bonus, there are tropes i absolutely love but am very particular about/rarely find fics i love in:

sports - For All You Young Hockey Players Out There, Pay Attention by @thursdaysfallenangel is possibly my all-time favorite due to when i found it/how much it's meant to me for over a decade, Playing Hard to Get by @salamitsunami1 i absolutely love how they build dean, cas, and dean+cas in every one of their stories and the art by @witchy-worm is gorgeous as always. Deep Edge by @akaalaisabel is an annual reread now, break the ice by @puppycastiel a fun and sweet oneshot.

medical - Apheresis by @bendingsignpost, for me no one does it better than @salamitsunami1 (most recent obsession was Heated Medicine which i forgot was HR inspired until the second chapter, just because i was so invested already), muscle ache by @gracefreakdean, What I Need by Jacqueline Albright-Beckett (xaandria).

academia and/or college - Chili Peppers by @justanothersong is another fic i have loved for more than 10 years, professor Dean and professor Cas.

military - In a Moment of War by @allmystars-i, All the Substance of His House by @aerlalaith, Gran fury. by orange_crushed, Moving Mountains by tiamatv. Pacific Rim AUs are my favorite of any media type and i've never seen the movies.

homeless and/or sex worker are the ones i'm the most particular about due to my life. do enjoy Twenty Dollars and A Winter's Tale by @northern-sparrow, Four Letter Word for Intercourse by @bendingsignpost, midnight cowboy by @gracefreakdean, like moses and batman and james dean by saltyfeathers, And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets may be my modern favorite fic.

le--soleil-et-la-lune

#found my original tumblr blog and the likes are public #so i'm having a phenomenal time going down memory lane #fandom #art

saricahjessicaparker

So remember that nonsensical Destiel AU that takes place in Paris in 1900?

Well, I’m writing a fic.

adventurerooms

#video games #art

prokyon

Remove AI garbage from your web browsing experience with the uBlockOrigin Huge AI Blocklist

https://github.com/laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-AI-Blocklist

A huge blocklist of manually curated sites that contain AI generated imagery for uBlock Origin & uBlacklist. - laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-A

Install this blocklist using the instructions on the GitHub page. For Firefox, you will need to install uBlockOrigin for this. Google Chrome no longer allows the uBlockOrigin extension, so I'm assuming you're at least primarily a Firefox user - or about to be (see browser alternatives below).

For Google Chrome or mobile browsers, this will work with uBlacklist. See the GitHub page for full details on compatibility.

Remove AI Widgets:

If you go to your uBlockOrigin Filter lists page, you can select to filter out AI Widgets - this should completely remove the 'AI Mode' widget/button from your Google search page, in addition to the work done by the Huge AI Blocklist.

Using the uBlockOrigin Huge AI Blocklist filter has made my Google searches look like they used to, and gives me genuine search results.

Look at this. It's beautiful. It's informative. It's not a heap of burning trash bloated with fake information made up by a hallucinating chat bot.

We can go even further: return to the old school search results.

Now, the above results are great and should be free of generative AI junk, but some people would rather not see any of the summary widgets or 'people also ask' box at all. Fear not! You can remove all that by using the 'Web' mode in the Google search bar. Click the 'More' drop down menu and select 'Web'.

Huzzah! Incredible. It's like a functional search engine again.

You can make this the default Google search mode in Google Chrome using Method 1 from this page (https://allthings.how/how-to-turn-off-ai-mode-in-google-chrome/). Unfortunately, I don't know if there's a way to do this in Firefox too. This is why for the most part I still use DuckDuckGo (see below) as my default search engine, and only use Google to supplement my searches on the rare occasion I'm just missing something.

Remember, if you clear your cookies, your search engine preferences will reset, including any settings you enabled/disabled to avoid AI. This applies to DuckDuckGo as well; check your settings every time you clear your browser!

Extra filters (optional):

I've also added four filters (their order doesn't matter) to the My Filters page. Full disclosure: I'm not sure they still work, or may only work on Chrome, but I'm keeping them anyway, just in case.

From https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/comments/1i7kg83/comment/m8lllwr/: see which solution in the list works for you, it seems to be different for everybody.

google.*##div[jscontroller]:not(:has(div[jscontroller].YzCcne)):has(.YzCcne)

From https://allthings.how/how-to-turn-off-ai-mode-in-google-chrome/:

www.google.com##.Beswgc

www.google.com##.olrp5b

www.google.com##.hdzaWe

Make sure you hit the apply changes button when you add filters.

Browser alternatives: escaping Google Chrome.

If you haven't jumped ship from Chrome yet, I'd recommend doing so. Sometimes Chrome outperforms Firefox for niche purposes or because a website doesn't bother to fully support non-Chrome browsers, but the days of Chrome being the superior browser are long gone — by about 10 years. If you're trying to escape Chromium browsers, beware that a lot of the popular Chrome alternatives are just Chrome in a different hat.

Firefox has been the most popular non-Chromium browser for years, and for good reason. However, the company running Mozilla Firefox has annoyed their users, me included, by refusing to take an anti- generative-ai stance, and even included AI features in the Mozilla Firefox browser. Most Firefox users specifically use it because they hate Google's enshittification and want a privacy-focused, clean browser that doesn't hog their RAM and CPU for no reason. So, you can imagine that Mozilla's attitude has pissed us all off recently. You can turn off the AI features in Firefox with the built-in settings, but the company has recently steered straight into the burning garbage heap by saying they want to make the browser based on AI.

Waterfox and LibreWolf:

There are really good alternatives based on Firefox (open-source) which are not affiliated with Mozilla (the company), if you don't like how it operates. Waterfox and LibreWolf are even more trimmed down and privacy-focused than Mozilla's Firefox, and don't use AI. Anti-ai statements: Waterfox and LibreWolf.

From this page: https://programming.dev/post/42546774

In short: LibreWolf is for those who want a “locked-down” fortress out of the box, while Waterfox is for those who want a privacy-conscious browser that still feels like a normal, convenient daily driver. Choose LibreWolf if: You want the highest level of privacy without having to manually edit config files, and you don’t mind occasionally “fixing” a broken website or re-logging into accounts. Choose Waterfox if: You want a privacy-respecting browser that supports Firefox Sync, has an Android counterpart, and handles streaming sites/logins without any extra friction (it supports WideWine out of the box, which lets you stream DRM protected content (netflix, hulu, disney, etc). — [email protected]

I've heard good things about both of these browsers and will investigate them further to decide whether to personally switch from Mozilla Firefox.

DuckDuckGo:

I would also recommend installing the DuckDuckGo extension to your browsers and setting it to be your default search engine.

I've had DuckDuckGo installed on my browsers, Chrome or Firefox, for like 10 years now. It is a good search engine, it's unobtrusive, and blocks trackers, cookies, and does not save any data about you. I've also used it as my default mobile browser for years, along with Firefox mobile, which you can add the AI Blocklist to (see again the GitHub page). I haven't tried the DuckDuckGo desktop browser yet, but I imagine it works just fine like the mobile version. I think DuckDuckGo's browser is also Chromium-based, at least indirectly. I use Firefox with the DuckDuckGo extension so I can have a widely-supported, non-Chromium browser, but include all of DuckDuckGo's anti-tracking features.

Note: DuckDuckGo has included AI in its browser product, however you can opt-out of all AI features with the built-in settings and they will not push it on you like Google does. I hope they remove AI features entirely in the future, but for now I am comfortable with the barriers in place to keep AI out of my face. Firefox also has AI features like Chrome does, which you can turn off with the built-in settings.

There's also noai.duckduckgo search, an alternative version of its normal search engine which removes AI-generated images and turns off AI results/assists by default. Even though DuckDuckGo's inclusion of any AI features annoys me, its policy to make these features 100% optional builds trust with this browser/extension/search engine.

You can always use Google search if you need to, but with uBlockOrigin and the AI Blocklist filter added on, at least you shouldn't have AI-altered search results or the AI overview anymore.

Other browsers exist, probably:

There are certainly more non-Chromium alternatives out there, but Firefox, Waterfox, and LibreWolf are the top three recommended to me. That link to alternatives, plus this ComputerCity page are the best lists I could find in a brief search. If you google "non-Chromium browsers" you'll get a lot of mixed results which require a bit of digging to realise they're not really recommending you what you looked for at all.

I've heard about Ecosia over the years, and while I like the idea of a search engine that plants a tree for each query, I don't think that's actually what happens — at least, that's what they used to be reputed to do, but I believe that's an unsustainable business model which has likely changed. In 2026, Ecosia says it uses 100% of its profits for the planet and runs its search engine off clean energy. That's cool! It's still Chromium-based. And it also uses generative AI for chat bots, so I don't trust its principles on environmentalism. I need to do more reading on this to form a stronger opinion about it.

I hope this post has helped at least some of you have a better experience browsing the web and googling your questions.

The Huge AI Blocklist really has been an amazing tool to keep my internet life free and clear of a lot of generative AI rubbish. I'm not a tech expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm savvy enough to understand what genAI is and does, and that the more I learn about it, it's even worse than I thought. I truly hate it, and I hate the enshittification of all our experiences, even those as simple and innocent as googling "snow leopard" or "how to cook pasta" or "what is a phascogale" (go ahead and test your freshly-cleaned search engines out with that one hehe).

I'm personally a fan of Waterfox. I switched to Firefox in 2022 and away in February 2025, immediately upon the ToS rewrite. Experimented with alternatives. Vivaldi, Brave, and a couple Firefox forks were quickly dismissed due to AI or missing features. Librewolf was just a bit too inconvenient and didn't sync as well between my two Windows PCs and Android phone. Waterfox ended up being a great middle ground for me, between Firefox and Librewolf.

Waterfox has a marginally better privacy footprint via my testing in Cover Your Tracks. I have to log into websites more often than Firefox, but not every time like Librewolf. My Firefox account is usable on Waterfox (thus all of my bookmarks and extensions). I usually use Startpage as my search engine with the AI features turned off. Startpage isn't a default option but only takes a moment to add (guide here). Hate Mojeek, Ecosia, Qwant, DuckDuckGo is okay but adds news and previews to search results.

I have Waterfox on my phone, Steam Deck, and PCs. I use Brave on my iPad just for the ad blocking. Waterfox syncs great and I have very minimal user issues. At the moment the Android application can be a little buggy with letting me upload files so I switch to Firefox.

I'm moderately tech-savvy, I'll sacrifice some convenience for a less obstructive or intrusive experience but don't have the knowledge nor will to dive deep. Waterfox has been a good easy switch. The DeGoogle Wiki is a great starting resource to find alternatives for all of your electronic needs.

When you get this, list 5 of your favorite songs, publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favorite mutuals!

Thank you and @mercurialkitty for the ask :) Music taste is a little varied so tried to pick across the range:

Big Back Yard - Barenaked Ladies

Loving Her was Easier - Kris Kristofferson

Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Elton John

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Stevie Nicks

Some bonus songs that always hit because I got veeeery carried away trying to pick just 5 (and here comes the wide taste):

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart

Timber - Pitbull and Ke$ha

Last Friday Night - Katy Perry

Your Love - The Outfield

Sister Golden Hair - America

Your Wildest Dreams - The Moody Blues

Someday - Steve Earle

Turn the Page - Bob Seger

Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy

Southern Cross - Crosby, Stills & Nash

Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell

Twilight Zone - Golden Earring

Eye in the Sky - The Alan Parsons Project

Wagon Wheel - Darius Rucker

Yellow River - Lobo

Faithfully - Journey

When My Time Comes - Dawes

Here's to Never Growing Up - Avril Lavigne

1985 - Bowling for Soup

Heaven - Bryan Adams

Surrender - Cheap Trick

Yesterday Once More - Carpenters

Handle with Care - The Traveling Wilburys

I'm in a Hurry - Alabama

The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

The Joker - Steve Miller Band

Gimme All Your Lovin' - ZZ Top

Drive (For Daddy Gene) - Alan Jackson

Rockstar - Nickleback

Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo

Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

And some instrumentals:

Peter Gunn theme (specifically the Quatar Philharmonic Orchestra's recording)

Arabian Dances - Roland Barrett

Military Escort - Henry Fillmore

El Capitan - John Philip Sousa

Fluffy - Himiko Kikuchi

Anything from the Professor Layton video game soundtrack

Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3 which samples Cantaloupe Island - Herbie Hancock

Teen Town - Weather Report

Chameleon - Herbie Hancock

Blue Rondo à la Turk - Dave Brubeck

Another Vibe - The Dolphins

Can't Stand your Funk - Mahavishnu Orchestra

Breezin' - George Benson

Mister Magic - Grover Washington Jr.

When you get this, list 5 of your favorite songs, publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favorite mutuals!

Thank you and @mercurialkitty for the ask :) Music taste is a little varied so tried to pick across the range:

Big Back Yard - Barenaked Ladies

Loving Her was Easier - Kris Kristofferson

Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Elton John

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Stevie Nicks

whoipretended2b

Art by @kirakkkchs

Last chapter of The Middle tomorrow.

When I started this fic, I said in the opening author’s note that it came out of a conversation where I said the fandom needed more emo Cas fic.

Well... I added at least one.

Spoilers below if you haven't read!

em-bitterred

Fic recs for a person who is spending 2+ hours traveling tomorrow??

It used to be reading material was the first thing I packed. Times change

whoipretended2b

Only the brave by stayawake just finished posting! And it’s long! Actors Dean and Cas.

Romancing the Exit Sign by anandroidinatutu is my favorite

Every Man's Got A Right by MollyC is first person Castiel pov. I don’t normally read first person, but I liked this one a lot. Endverse Cas ends up in the canon as timeline.

Also, did you finish the Destiel AU Reverse Big Bang fics?

even if you don't read these tomorrow you'll be richer for having read them at all. some phenomenal stories with low to no smut:

Deep Edge by @akaalaisabel

And This, Your Living Kiss by @asecretvice (i did cry though)

Chili Pepper 'Verse (9 fics in the same AU, 45.8k) by @justanothersong

And Then You Get Back Up Again by @hopelessheathen

For All You Young Hockey Players Out There, Pay Attention by @thursdaysfallenangel

some of my all-time favorite fics and i reread each at least once a year. safe travels!

medicatedmaniac

Ah, yes, the brainworm that refused to leave me alone for Restraintstiel Week Day 7 — Free. I wrote a fic which you can read here. Essentially the second part to this artwork.

After a quiet afternoon spent discovering that tying knots and untying knots are, in fact, different skill sets, Dean finds himself overwhelmed by a realisation: some things you never get used to, and some things only get better with time.

aphrostiel

spock³

inspired by this new favorite picture of mine

✨ ❤️ ☀️send this to ten people you’re happy to see every time they pop up on your dash/notif and wish them a good day🌟 🌻 💚(no need to spread this if you’d rather not, but you should know that you’re appreciated!!)

thank you for this! always enjoy seeing different bits of fandoms from you, and i can usually tell which other reblogs are yours 💓

thefriendlypigeon

Hey remember this script from a scene (that was never filmed) from the show where Dean buried Castiel near a windmill? I LOVE WINDMILLS so I had to draw this piece :D

Prints available here!

👉COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN👈

[my social media links]

deancity

yes post-canon human!cas is fun, but what about post-canon cas being restored to full power?

deancity

i want cas to have his wings fixed. i want to see him teleporting 5ft instead of walking just because he can. i want him bitching to dean that he's been waiting for hours because he blipped himself over to the town their case is in while dean drove the 6 hours.

i want to see him readjusting to his full strength and ripping the door off his truck by accident because he's forgotten how strong he used to be. i want him to explode all the bulbs in the bunker on a daily basis for the first week because he's not used to having to contain himself anymore. i want him to offer dean a hand to help him up but pull so hard that dean would have immediately face planted if cas hadn't been physically in his way to stop his momentum.

deancity

speaking of dean-the destiel angle of this is also fun. something about the comparatively all-powerful angel choosing to stick with the human man he's fallen in love with, despite getting what he'd lost back is so delicious to me.

because yes, to some degree, cas has always been a cosmic being that's on dean's metaphorical leash; he pulled dean from hell then betrayed heaven to help him. but full power, post confession cas is a creature that is operating on a completely different scale/reality compared to dean, who is choosing to stay with him simply because he loves him. he chooses to spend his time listening to dean tell him about all his favourite things and watching him work on his car because he wants to. he lets dean dress him up and sit him down for movies nights because he likes indulging him and seeing him happy. even after he gets almost everything he lost along the way back he still wants dean. the universe is open to him again and he just wants to stay in dean's orbit.

feredir

Vagabonds (DCBB 2017)

Author: chevrolangels | Artist: feredir

Dean is a sheriff in a tiny town in Colorado, restless and unsatisfied with his life. It’s not what he’s read about in the dime novels since he was little, capturing dangerous outlaws and being the last word of the law. More like tossing the town drunk in a cell to sober up when he gets a little too rowdy. But his chance comes when a thief rolls through their town. Dean pursues the thief, and that puts him right into the path of Emmanuel, a notorious outlaw. When he’s captured by the outlaw and his gang to be held for ransom, he starts off on a journey he could have never envisioned, and learns that perhaps there’s more to Emmanuel than meets the eye.

Read on AO3