leaving a comment on a fic last updated more than a decade ago is always so hauntingly melancholic. like--they gave you this beautiful piece of writing that you chose to spend your time reading, and you're thankful for it. you go to tell them in their comments, even though it's likely they haven't opened their inbox in years. and they're probably never going to open it again, and no one but you and the others in the comments will ever know how long their writing has been and will be appreciated. you're never going to know if this person died or simply grew up, because the effect is the same.
Tim coughed harshly, tasting plaster and dust. He groaned and opened his eyes, hoping his mask's lenses were still intact enough to keep the debris from the explosion out of his eyes.
"Tim? Are you with me?"
Tim blinked, still not able to see anything. He wasn't sure who had spoken. He wasn't sure where he was.
He felt a hand on his back.
"Tim. Talk to me."
Tim's head swam, hearing becoming muffled momentarily. When it cleared again, he heard someone moving near him. He was able to tell that he was laying face down on… some kind of concrete floor?
"Timmy, please. Wake up."
"J-Jason?" He ground out.
He heard a sigh and felt his brother's hands on his shoulders before they carefully patted him down, checking for injuries.
"Stay with me, okay buddy?"
"Where are we?" Tim coughed again. He then winced and brought up a hand to clutch his head.
Something felt wet.
That wasn't good.
"The basement of Andre's Jewelers. Two-Face blew it up before we could get out. Does anything hurt?"
"Head. Think I'm bleeding."
Jason cursed and found his way to Tim's head. It only took a second for him to locate where the blood was coming from.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're bleeding. Just hang on. The others will be here soon."
Tim felt the weight of gauze pads being pressed to his scalp, and a large hand rubbing circles on his back.
"You okay?"
Jason breathed out a laugh. "Timmy, we've been buried alive. My comms aren't working so I don't know when help will be here, and you're…" he trailed off, the hand on Tim's back falling away. "You're… gonna be okay. I'm sorry for getting all 'Debbie Downer'. I just… I don't want to be here. I'm just trying to stay out of my own head."
"They'll be here soon." Tim felt around until his hand found his brother's. He gave what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
"Is your comm working?"
"No. 's quiet."
"Shit."
"Y'know…" Tim sighed and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. When it cleared, Jason's hand had released his and was on his neck, checking his pulse.
"Do I know what?"
"Just… kinda weird. You're here now. Telling me I'll be okay."
"Where else would I be?" Jason sounded distracted, like he was just trying to keep the conversation going. Or maybe he just wanted to keep Tim talking.
"'Mn. Don' know. Somewhere else."
"Tim?"
"You… used to hate me. Tried to kill me."
This time, both of Jason's hands vanished.
Tim felt the fresh, hot blood well up and ooze down his scalp again. He whimpered, feeling lightheaded.
"Sorry. Sorry." Jason reapplied pressure to Tim's head. He then took it away again. "Come here." He slipped his hands under Tim's arms and carefully pulled him into his lap.
Tim felt himself be gathered close to Jason's chest and, once again, the gauze was reapplied to his head.
"Tim… what happened back then… I wasn't…" He sighed and hugged Tim closer. "I never hated you." He finally whispered.
"Funny way of… showin' it." He was cold. He'd been cold before, but hadn't exactly noticed it until he'd been moved.
"I… I wanted to protect you. I wanted to make you quit. Bruce… I never thought he'd let me die. Being Robin, it was like a dream. I thought I was invincible most days. I thought he'd always be there to save me. But then I was killed, and he wasn't there."
Tim coughed and leaned closer to his brother's warmth.
"I thought he'd have at least learned his lesson. Kids don't belong in the field. But I came back and… there you were. In my suit. With my name. Like he just buried me and moved on. So I decided that, if he was okay with throwing another kid to the wolves, I'd remind him what had happened to his last one. And I'd show you in the process what being Robin actually meant. I'd show you… that Batman… wouldn't always save you."
"... He's comin' now, though. Don't worry."
"Thanks, kiddo."
"You were wrong."
"About what?" He asked almost absently, pulling the gauze away again.
Tim heard a wet splat as it was thrown to the side.
That… probably wasn't good.
He then felt as Jason shifted him and started searching his tool belt, trying to find where Tim kept his medical supplies.
"About what, Tim?" He found them and pressed the new pads against his cut.
"He did learn his lesson. He didn't want another Robin. He already tried to make me quit."
Jason stilled. "What?"
"He didn't want me. But Batman without Robin… he wasn't okay. He was losing it. I made him take me on as his new partner. He… he sent me away to be trained by assassins. I think he was hoping that would scare me off."
"He didn't recruit you? Didn't train you?"
Tim shook his head. "Didn't want me. He wanted you. You were his kid. I was just… there."
"You… you're wrong." Jason mumbled. He held Tim closer. "He loves you. He adopted you-,"
"He used to think I was you on bad nights. He'd get hurt, or overwork himself, and… if he wasn't thinking clearly…" Tim exhaled tiredly. He wasn't sure when he'd closed his eyes, but he was too exhausted to open them again.
"Tim!" Jason shook him.
"Yea. 'm up."
"Just… just keep talking. Okay kid?"
"... 'kay…"
Yyyyy
Tim was warm when he woke up.
And, whatever he was laying on was moving.
Like it was… breathing..?
"Mmn." He grunted and forced his eyes open.
"He's awake." Someone said.
"Shh. Easy, kid." Jason whispered, adjusting his hold on him.
They were in the backseat of the Batmobile. Jason was still holding him tight, while Nightwing was working on wrapping his head, and Batman and Robin were up front.
"Hey, buddy. We'll be home soon. Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?" Nightwing spoke softly.
"Three..?" Tim tried. He closed his eyes and sank back into Jason's shoulder.
"Hey, hey. No sleeping."
"J'son..?" He breathed, eyes already slipping shut.
“Maybe you could just, like, couch surf for a while? Just till you get fixed up. Or maybe even, uh, chair surf?" Stiles suggests, now tipping his head at the armchair sat in the corner of his bedroom while chewing on that rosebud lip of his again.
Derek looks at the armchair like it's the most confusing thing he has ever seen, and then back at Stiles as if he's changed his mind about that and it's actually the sixteen-year-old in front of him who is the true mystery.
"Offer's there, dude," Stiles shrugs.
"Don't—“
“Call you dude? Yeah, probably never gonna happen. Sorry, dude. I'd just try and get used to it if I were you."
Derek is a little horrified when he finds himself now considering this kid as not just Stiles: Scott's Idiot Best Friend, but as Stiles: Maybe-Friend of Derek.
When an image of Stiles's mouth pops up in his mind's eye, Derek also wonders exactly when it was he started looking at Stiles in that way.
OR
Oblivious!Derek and the epitome of the tags #Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things and #Stiles Stilinski is a Nice Thing
(don't mind me, I'm still just slooowly making posts with ao3 links to old fics for the sake of prosperity)
tags: Pete makes sex jokes but no smut, all fluff, confessions, reader is a stagehand for warped tour supposedly
You had always had a little crush on Patrick for a while now, and of course, only when you're working on a summer tour with them do these feelings arise again and catch the curious attention of your longtime best friend Pete.
Originally uploaded to AO3 04/12/2023, was requested on my old fan fic blog
word count: 1,658
You stood off in the wings of the stage, hidden by the dark curtain legs. Watching was primarily what you did for this job, mostly there to make sure none of the guys hurt each other. Of course, you did other things such as check on the instruments, but you weren't the stage manager so you had little to do with all that. A clipboard was held to your chest, the only paper occupying it was the setlist to make sure they were staying on track.
Currently, Patrick was belting out the lyrics to Grand Theft Autumn. You were always astonished by his range and ability to sing like an angel. To say you had a little crush on the lead singer would be an understatement, you were nearly head-to-toe flustered goop watching him on stage. But you knew that it was wrong to get into a relationship with him, he was practically your boss and work relationships never end well from what you've seen on TV. But still, you continued to stare at him, you would brush it off if anyone asked, making it out to be that you were just worried Pete was going to run into him.
Speaking of Pete he was busy dancing around, his motions caught your eye for a second as your gaze shifted over to him. You raised an eyebrow, hoping he wouldn't try to stage dive like he did last time or pull you onto the stage. Pete caught your eye contact for a second, sending a joking wink your way which you laughed at. You and Pete were always good friends, way before the band ever started. The two of you jokingly flirt a lot, with no real feelings behind it, and often either of you makes funny disgusted faces at the other for some of the shitty pickup lines said.
You came back to the present when you heard the music stop, the end of the song. The gaze that drifted away during your thoughts traveled back to Patrick, checking up on him. He was sweaty and tired looking, the summer heat was getting to him as it hit midday. You were fairly warm as well, your all-black crew clothes making you practically soak up the heat. Of course, some of the heat was coming from staring at a disheveled Patrick Stump but you would dispute any claims of that.
Patrick took one of the plastic water bottles from on top of one of the amps and chugged half of it. Suddenly as he screwed the cap back onto the bottle he turned to you and caught your stare. He blinked once then broke out in a grin that made your face heat up more. Your surprised look made Patrick laugh as he grabbed the mic again.
Hours had gone by since Patrick caught you staring at him. The show had ended a little while ago and another band was busy playing their set on the mainstage. A different stagehand had taken your place since you had been on standby for hours with other bands before Fall Out Boy played their gig. You were sitting inside FOB’s tour bus next to Pete, trying to cool down from the summer heat. As much as you loved touring, during the summer months, it was hell for everyone involved. Patrick was lying in his bunk, taking a nap. That as much was evident by his slight snoring behind the curtain divider for his bed.
“I saw you staring at ‘Trick out there.” Pete had snickered right next to your ear. You whipped your head around to give him a death glare.
“I was not, I was just making sure you weren’t going to run into him like last time, Pete.” The annoyance was evident in your voice as you drew out your best friend's name. He shook his head, his smirk somehow getting bigger than before.
“Nah, you were just staring at him. Haven’t shaken that crush like you thought, huh?” You sighed at Pete’s teasing then looked over at Patrick’s covered bed where he was lying just on the other side so you couldn’t see him.
“Fine, okay, yes I still have that stupid crush on him,” You rushed out in a whisper, not wanting to take any chances in case Trick was just pretending to be asleep. “But if you’re thinking I’m going to act on it or tell him, the answer is no. You guys are my bosses, not to mention if something happened it would be fucking awkward for the rest of the tour.” You leaned back into the sofa more at the thought. Dealing with that much awkwardness for the rest of the summer would make this tour even worse than it already was.
Pete shrugged at your response. “Alright, but I’m here if you need to know how to get with him." He looked smug as if he had some power over you with knowledge.
You scoffed at Pete’s suggestion, waving him off. “Even if I was going to "get with him" I’m not going to take your advice.” You smiled, still a little annoyed, at your friend who just grinned back and took a drink from his water bottle.
Pete set his water bottle back down on the table taking a moment to add suspense before saying, “Sure you won’t.” He was challenging you and doing this on purpose but something in your mind just set off anyways.
You started your rant, sitting on the edge of the sofa seat now and already louder than before; “No, now I’m not going to use your advice to get with Patrick! I bet you have no idea what he likes anyways!” You threw your hands up in the air in exasperation but Pete only laughed at you. That wasn’t the reaction you were expecting, he rarely laughed at you unless something ironic had happened and… You turned around in your seat to find a groggy and flustered Patrick staring at you. Your jaw dropped to the floor in shock, how the fuck were you supposed to explain the shit you just said.
Pete got up from his seat and walked out of the door, yelling back something about not having sex in the bus. You cringed at the shouted words, setting your hands into your lap and turning back to Patrick. “So uhm… How much of that whole thing did you hear?” An awkward smile was set while you spoke, trying not to look like you wanted to crawl out of your skin at that moment.
“Well enough to process you saying "Now I’m not going to use your advice to get with Patrick." He quoted what you said just a few minutes before. Your face must’ve been extremely flushed at this point, you felt like you were going to overheat. Trick sighed and sat next to you on the sofa. He didn’t look mad which made you hope that he would feel the same way. “Do you… Do you like me or are you just trying to get with me? I need to know before I say something stupid.”
You opened and closed your mouth a couple of times, not knowing exactly what to say. “I-I do like you, I mean like-like you. Wow, I sound like a middle schooler.” Your voice trailed off at the end, realizing how childish you sounded, what adult says like-like in a real sentence? "What I'm saying is I'm not just trying to get in your pants, I do want a relationship with you.." You didn't have the heart to look at Patrick, worried that you had said the wrong thing.
Laughter is not what you were expecting to hear from him, you turned to face Trick with a questioning look. "I thought you and Pete were together?" He grinned at you, raising an eyebrow. Even you started to laugh after that question.
"No! Nonono, me, and Pete are like siblings! We just jokingly flirt a lot, but uhm.. if it makes you uncomfortable we can stop" You smiled and tried not to sound too lovestruck over Patrick's laugh.
All he did was shake his head at your words though and waited a few moments before speaking, "No it's fine, I just thought that you were with Pete and I didn't have a chance with you because of that." You stared at him for a little bit, deciphering his every word.
"What do you mean by that, do you like-like me too, 'Trick?" You chuckled at your semi-joke and waited for an answer uncomfortably. Hoping you hadn't made a joke at the wrong time, you nearly breathed a sigh when you saw Patrick open his mouth to say something.
"Well yeah, I like-like you." He laughed as well then stopped after a little bit. Patrick awkwardly cleared his throat and then spoke up again. "Uhm... Can I kiss you? I'm sure I'm not the best at it but I wanna try.."
You cracked a smile and gently held Trick's face, giving him a small Peck on the lips. His stunned and flustered face made you giggle which he smiled at. "You're so amazing, Trick…" You leaned your forehead against his and closed your eyes, taking in the moment.
Someone stomping up the steps into the tour bus made you both jump away from each other, not quite sure if either of you were ready for people to know yet. Pete walked into the main room, an arm covering his eyes. "Sorry, forgot my wallet!" He nearly shouted which made both you and Patrick start laughing at him. He removed his arm from his face, realizing you two were fully dressed and not doing anything.
Pete smiled and grabbed his wallet and as he was walking out you could hear him yell back at you, "You two are adorable together!", which made both of your faces heat up with blush.
hi! i was wondering you guys had any percabeth fic recs, some like, old-fashioned fics from a while ago with their dynamic in BotL and TLO if that makes sense?
thanks!
Hey there! We've got some of these for you -- some of these are over 15 years old! Hard to believe the fandom's been around for so long!
Come Dawn by @artemisrae [mod note: they have many, many other percabeth fics from around this time period, and i'd recommend checking their Ao3 out for more!]
During a visit to her father, Annabeth realizes just how much her father cares, while Dr. Chase and Percy come to an understanding.
Saying Goodbye by @madness-and-brilliancee
As they look at each other in the light of the magma, the final line of the prophecy echoes in her mind.
Distractions [series] by @jodqriel
She's a little impressed by his strength, and all she wants to do right now is sink into that sea of green, so she's temporarily lost control of her mouth. "You drool when you sleep."
Percy Jackson is an Idiot by tvconnoisseur
Annabeth looks like she’s going to hit me again and this time she does. Super!Fluff.
It Wouldn't Happen to Homer by shihadchick
Percy finds he and Annabeth have to tackle a monster which cuts a little close to home.
We hope you enjoy! Leave kudos, leave a comment, and happy reading!
This started as a reply to @ruinsoftime's post looking for a specific fanfic, but I sort of trailed off as usual. I've been reading fic for about 20 years and yeah, at times in the past, I was obsessively looking for something (that may no longer exist) as well. So, when looking for an old fic, here's what I would check:
AO3: (I know you know but) sometimes the authors backup their fics there. They can submit it to the archive with the original publication date so you would find it at the very end of the tag.
secondary fanfiction archives: in FFN's heyday, there were more servers like that, hosting fanfiction. One is adult-fanfiction.net (AFF) which hosted NC-17/X-rated works after they were banished off FFN. But if I remember correctly, the work didn't actually have to be rated THAT to be posted there. The other was mediaminer.org, a smaller, but at one point lively server which also allowed X-rated fics. Some fics had their more raunchy versions posted there while the censored cut was published on FFN. Both servers are still online, so you may try your luck with the lost fic. There may have been more I am not familiar with. Also, if you're really desperate, and I hate to say this, but some of those scam fanfiction apps or mirror websites for FFN may use an older version of the database that still has the deleted fic. I probably wouldn't go as far as to check tho.
livejournal: Yeah, LJ lived and breathed fic but I still think most of them were just linked to FFN, not posted there directly. It's a feeble hope of finding the whole fic posted there.
personal website of the writer or a private fic archive: as you know, in the olden age of geocities and angelfire, people would build their own fansite or "shrine". For the work, for their fav character, even for their fic (honestly, goals, and something that inspired one of my blogs here). And sometimes, even for hosting the fics of other authors in the same fandom. I think this may probably the last chance of finding the fic if all else fails.
What you need is the URL (which may be difficult when you can't use the search engine, right?) and then a bit of luck with the waybackmachine. A good starting way of obtaining the URLs is the Escaflowne section at anipike (and then just going through the sites linked there and their links sections, etc.):
I remember one or two bigger of these Escaflowne fic archives, I used to go there for the fic that was deleted off FFN. It is actually quite often the writers who delete their FFN profiles and their fics. Not saying FFN may not have a hand in deleting others. Anyway, these forgotten sites may be the only traces left.
Also, if one of your favs was rewritten and you're interested in the old version, again, this might be your only chance to find the original version. Yeah, sometimes the "rewrite" is the actual death of the fic. Especially if it's like, "I'm too embarrassed by my old writing, let's delete this and start over". What they don't realize is that if it doesn't work out, there may be nothing where there was something before (or significantly less than it used to be). Of course, there are also people who want to actively wipe it off the face of the internet or not to have their handle associated with it.
Nevertheless, I would like to once again appeal to any fic writer who sees this:
Don't delete your old fics(!); there likely are still people who love them or would love to read them. Repost them on AO3 and orphan them if you don't want them associated with you.
Also, Esca fandom, wouldn't it be useful to make a repository of the working waybackmachine links to the old sites and shrines?
Child me was hilarious and I am tired of pretending like I was solely cringe. (#1?)
So, I was going through some old Shazam one-shot's that I had written around 5 years ago (jesus christ, the movie came out six years ago, I am so old). While a few of them should be posted somewhere there are quite a few that never saw the light of day. However, some of these passages are so freaking hilarious that I am just going to share them here.
Warning: These have been written by teen me and have not been updated ever since.
Context: Eugene just accidently uploaded his conscious to cyberspace and Freddy and Billy have to deal with the aftermath of their brother seemingly dying without reason while also having creepy glowing eyes.
“Okay, so when I say go you breath in his mouth and I shock his heart and then we hope he wakes up” Billy said while laying down Eugene’s body on the ground. “Dude, I am not going to kiss my brother. That is gross.”
“Your not kissing him, your saving his life!”
“Can’t I shock him? Kiss him yourself!”
“Your not kissing him, besides you have not been able to create more then a few watt! How do you want to preform CPR if you can’t even light a lightbulb!”
“CPR? Dude, you can’t think he is dead right. I mean, people don’t look like that when they die. Oh my god what are we going to tell M and V. We can’t just waltz in with a dead body in our hands and be like, oh yea sorry he died during all of this. By the way we have no idea why he looks like this but will figure it out.”
“And that is exactly why we are preforming CPR you empty brained idiot.”
As the two boys were arguing with each other the ICT guy walked over to the body of Eugene and felt his neck, where he luckily felt a pulse. “Uh guys?” he asked with a soft voice, but the two superhero’s kept arguing if kissing your brother was incest.
“Guys!” he screamed out loud. The two superhero’s turned around with annoyed faces asking “What?” like two annoyed teenagers. “he’s alive” the guy said while pointing to Eugene.
