i don't gatekeep so here are ways i find deleted fics:
-wayback machine: safest option. unfortunately not many fics are there. sometimes it seems like they are but when you actually access them you can't view the full work for numerous reasons
-r/deletedfics subreddit: search there, you'll find many fics. the subreddit has a list of writers who have explicitly said they don't want their fics shared. be aware that MANY dnf writers have added themselves on that list! so, before asking for a fic there, please check if you're requesting an author that is on that list. people won't share work of any writer on that list
-cached versions of URLs: before you do this, please be aware of internet safety. this warning shows up. do it at your own risk
you can use cached URLs from browsers like bing. this is how it works. search an author &/or work + ao3. there's a little arrow on the side, and that will take you to a cached old saved version of that URL
the most effective browser i found: yandex. here's how it works. you search once again whatever you want. click on the 3 dots > saved copy
this is how it looks. as you can see, it's an old version (the one with dnf), since this work was recently changed to original characters. so yeah it works. i do recommend saving an offline version, in case the brower saves a more recent version of the URL, at some point, and you'll lose the fic again
this is a lot of work, so truly what i recommend is download all your bookmarks ๐ญ๐ญ i think at this point we've learned our lesson. but i still hope this helps someone!
also, you can dm me if you need help finding one, there's a high chance i will have it somehow
!!!
edit: I am no longer accepting DMs/asks for finding fics, sorry!
