so, this is a bit of a shot in the dark, but I'm looking for anyone that might have a way to contact a fic writer named exileandtrust.
They're best known for their Optimus/Reader fic called "Handprints", which has been through several iterations, and has been deleted from Ao3 and the internet at large multiple times. Sadly, it seems as though they've deleted it and themselves yet again.
While I wasn't familiar with this fic's latest iteration, I was familiar with it,(it brought back repressed PTSD memories. yay.) as were many of my close friends. It meant a lot to these people and functioned as a huge source of comfort during what is arguably the shittiest fucking time period on earth. I'm not going to try to guess why they felt the need to delete it again, or convince them to come back. But I am going to extend to offer to, should they be amicable to it, adopt the fic from them and finish it.
If you have a way of contacting them, I'd deeply appreciate you letting me know. I don't even need to contact them directly. We can do whatever sort of middleman fuckery everyone's comfortable with. I'd like to request the synopsis/notes/etc if they're willing to share. If they're not, that's also fine. I'll do my best to continue where they left off and pick the brains of those who were invested in it this time around to get the best idea of where it was going plot-wise.
IDK how the fuck I'm gonna do this w Bread and Hard Mercy also looming over my shoulders. God willing, if one or more of y'all wanted to make this a group effort and go in as co authors, that'd be fucking dope. But letting this holy relic disappear from the fandom isn't something I'm willing to let slide if I can help it, and no matter how fucking daunting this seems it also seems like the right thing to do, so I'm gonna try.
Thanks y'all.
