#cloakstone69

[callie-ariane]

AO3 – series vs chapters

So, further to my earlier post about the problems I find in downloading AO3 stories which are put into a series instead of a single multi-chapter document, my thanks go to the people who have told me their own experiences and thoughts on the issue.  In case it’s useful to others, I thought I would do a round-up here:

@cloakstone69: Yes, I can absolutely see this.  When each story is going to be fairly stand-alone, or will come to a natural stopping point, and when the author intends to add new stories in the series only as-and-when they get inspired, a series does make more sense and reduces the expectation/demand from its readers. And we’ve all experienced the disappointment of a multi-chaptered WIP where the author eventually stopped updating before the end!

@sarahthecoat​: Oh, I’m all in favour of being able to kudos the author each time they add a new section! (I comment later about re-numbering downloads.)

@melmey-fanfics: I didn’t know this was possible but looked into it and there are free PDF combiners available so you don’t have to buy Adobe Acrobat DC.  It wouldn’t help me at work – which is where I mostly save fic from AO3 before emailing it to Kindle – because I would be prevented from downloading the combiner, but I might try it on my home laptop.

@emeraldscholar​: I just tried this again in case the protocols had changed.  MOBI files can’t be re-named – well, I can rename the file when I save it to my computer but when I then send it to Amazon Kindle it reverts to its original title. I tried again with a PDF version and that does keep its new title.  However, I’m reluctant to save AO3 fic as PDF because I often find that it doesn’t convert nicely, frequently running two or three words together with no spaces, and it does this enough times to be frustratingly annoying.  I might try PDF again if I want to save a series, because at least I could put a number at the front of each section for easier access when reading.

Alternatively, if I want to save a series, I might find it easier in the long run to copy/paste each section into a Word document and send that to the Kindle.

And yes, obviously it'll be lovely if AO3 eventually come up with a way of downloading an entire series, but I doubt that’s high on their list of priorities, nor should it be.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who read my whiny first world problems!

[sassy1121]

cloakstone69 replied to your photo: aziraphale-is-ace: might fuck around and...

Is that Captain Douglas Richardson, or Captain Herc Shipwright?

This is an excellent question, and just going by the photo, having not seen the show, I’m gonna have to go with Herc. 

[madlori]

Do you ever think about how Jack came to visit Bitty in Georgia within a week of gay marriage being legalized in the US? I DO.

WELL I DO NOW.

[hugealienpie]

cloakstone69 replied to your post: “kent-parsons-cowlick: Shitty Knight running for president: KNIGHT...”:

Well, at least we'd find out his first name...

What? You don't think Americans would vote for President Shitty? lol

[vex-verlain]

Thank you for tagging me, @anthonyjawncrowley!  (I am strongly in support of watching A Single Man five times a month. 💜)

Rules: Tag 9 people you’d like to know better/catch up with.

Last Song: Something from the 2001 remaster of the album Please by the Pet Shop Boys.

Last Movie: I have no idea. The most recent movies we watched that we hadn't seen before were Gemini Man (yes x1000 to Will Smith, plus a competent female character, but dammit [redacted] deserved so much better!) and Capone (after watching that, I am convinced that Tom Hardy can do anything).

Currently Watching:  Wentworth.  Well, my partner is watching it.  I've been in and out but mostly know what's going on.  Bawled my eyes out when [redacted] died.  Almost lost my shit when I thought they drowned [redacted] in the van.

Currently Reading:  Fan fiction.  'Cause I usually read nonfiction books and I can't deal with reality right now.

Currently Craving:  Some semblance of sanity would be wonderful!

Tagging: If they're interested, @between-charmed-and-cursed @goddessdel @itseasydarling  @llamas--and--tea @cloakstone69 @shibarifan01 @nourann3 @celestialwarzone @rainbowcolored7 and anyone else who wants to play!

[mag200]

25 is a great question! (one I have struggled with my whole life, tbh)

25. how do you determine if you want to be them or be with someone?that is a great question!! i do not know!! this is a constant struggle for me as well. i think over time it can become obvious, but i haven’t figured out the early signs yet. if anyone has tips on this lemme know lmao

send me gay asks!

[beeesworld]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bram Greenfeld/Simon Spier Characters: Bram Greenfeld, Simon Spier Additional Tags: Canon, Becky Albertalli, not mine, extracanonical text, Easter Egg Summary:

On June 11th, 2015, Becky Albertalli supported a fundraiser for Pride by providing a reward to those who donated to or shared the following Reading Wishes blog: http://readingwishes.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/simons-most-holy-awesome-pride-month_8.html?m=1

Anyone who bought a t-shirt, donated to one of the listed organizations, or simply shared the link above, would be able to email Becky and receive the following extra-canonical email exchange in response. This email was shared again this past Valentine's Day on Twitter (those who emailed Simon's fictional email would get an autoreply back).

Note: This is NOT my writing. This is a gift to fans from an extraordinarily generous, kind, and talented Author Goddess. I am merely sharing this here because some fans might never come across it otherwise.

[knightedrogue]

strongerpheromones reblogged your post and added: “kershawk: cloakstone69: dublubby314: My mother says that...”

Your mother has never obviously read New Hope,...

Hear, hear!

[callie-ariane]

Sherlock – I found the 221B speech in Season 4

Ages ago someone (I apologise that I don’t know who *) pointed out that the two farewell speeches between John and Sherlock – i.e. the phonecall at Bart’s and the conversation at the airfield – each add up to 221 words.

(* @cloakstone69 may have found the 221 in HLV; if the discoverer of the 221 in TRF lets me know, I’ll credit them!)

I remember thinking that if Mofftiss came up with not only a 221-word speech or conversation but a 221B for Season 4 it would be the best Easter Egg ever, but I didn’t see anything which immediately stood out.  The obvious place would have been to extend Mary’s voiceover at the end of the final episode from 138 to 221 words and reverse the last two sentences so that it ended, “Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. My Baker Street boys,” and it would have been a perfect 221B (and yes, I know the last line had to be ‘Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson’ to match the end of A Study in Pink).

But I think I found it.  Not only 221 words, but ending with a word starting with ‘b.’

Just text her. Phone her. Do something while there’s still a chance, because that chance doesn’t last forever. Trust me, Sherlock: it’s gone before you know it. Before you know it. She was wrong about me. She thought that if you put yourself in harm’s way I’d ... I’d rescue you or something. But I didn’t – not ’til she told me to. And that’s how this works. That’s what you’re missing. She taught me to be the man she already thought I was. Get yourself a piece of that.

I cheated on her. No clever comeback? I cheated on you, Mary. There was a woman on the bus, and I had a plastic daisy in my hair. I’d been playing with Rosie. And this girl just smiled at me. That’s all it was; it was a smile. We texted constantly. You wanna know when? Every time you left the room, that’s when. When you were feeding our daughter; when you were stopping her from crying – that’s when. That’s all it was, just texting. But I wanted more. And d’you know something? I still do. I’m not the man you thought I was; I’m not that guy. I never could be. But that’s the point. That’s the whole point. Who you thought I was is the man who I want to be.

For anyone wanting to cut and paste the dialogue from Reichenbach or Vow to do the word count for yourself, they’re under the cut.

The Reichenbach Fall John. Hey, Sherlock, you okay? Turn around and walk back the way you came now. No, I’m coming in. Just do as I ask. Please. Where? Stop there. Sherlock? Okay, look up. I’m on the rooftop. Oh God. I can’t come down, so we’ll just have to do it like this. What’s going on? An apology. It’s all true. Wh-what? Everything they said about me. I invented Moriarty. Why are you saying this? I’m a fake. Sherlock. The newspapers were right all along. I want you to tell Lestrade; I want you to tell Mrs Hudson, and Molly – in fact, tell anyone who will listen to you that I created Moriarty for my own purposes. Okay, shut up, Sherlock, shut up. The first time we met – the first time we met, you knew all about my sister, right? Nobody could be that clever. You could. I researched you. Before we met I discovered everything that I could to impress you. It’s a trick. Just a magic trick. No. All right, stop it now. No, stay exactly where you are. Don’t move. All right. Keep your eyes fixed on me. Please, will you do this for me? Do what? This phone call – it’s, er, it’s my note. It’s what people do, don’t they – leave a note? Leave a note when? Goodbye, John. His Last Vow So, here we are. William Sherlock Scott Holmes. Sorry? That’s the whole of it – if you’re looking for baby names. No, we’ve had a scan. We’re pretty sure it’s a girl. Oh. Okay. Yeah. Actually, I can’t think of a single thing to say. No, neither can I. The game is over. The game is never over, John, but there may be some new players now. It’s okay. The East Wind takes us all in the end. What’s that? It’s a story my brother told me when we were kids. The East Wind – this terrifying force that lays waste to all in its path. It seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the Earth. That was generally me. Nice(!) He was a rubbish big brother. So what about you, then? Where are you actually going now? Oh, some undercover work in Eastern Europe. For how long? Six months, my brother estimates. He’s never wrong. And then what? Who knows? John, there’s something I should say; I-I’ve meant to say always and then never have. Since it’s unlikely we’ll ever meet again, I might as well say it now. Sherlock is actually a girl’s name. It’s not. It was worth a try. We’re not naming our daughter after you. I think it could work. To the very best of times, John.

[sassy1121]

You can ask, but the robot has no answers.

[madlori]

yDid the zoo get any new animals this year? And were they born there, or transferred from other zoos?

Yes! Tons! That’s more or less a constant. Most zoos of the size of ours have at least one animal transfer per week (incoming or outgoing). Of course some of those are like...a couple of fish, and we’d never know. But in the last 12 months, we’ve had born: one gorilla, three polar bears, a wildebeest, several dama gazelles, a bonobo, some flamingoes, a silvered langur, I think an okapi, a Humboldt penguin (well, he hatched), and probably a bunch of birds and stuff that I can’t enumerate. And the zoo has acquired through transfers several baby cheetah (I seriously cannot keep track of the cheetah we have so many), a pair of baby leopard brothers, two orphaned black bear cubs, two new giraffes, two new Asian elephants, a sloth bear, I think a Grand Cayman iguana, four new orphan manatees, some owls, a Japanese sea eagle...that’s all I can think of although I am certain there are more.

There is always a lot of flux in any zoo’s population, through birth and death and transfer of animals.

[cupidford]

I’m missing so many people and I don’t know wtf happened to the resolution but I also haven’t slept but now sounds good and I love you all. 💛 💚 💙 💜

@theanisplanet @fanfromhungary @theconsultingtranslator @theviciouslily @handbasketofdreams @waitedforgarridebs @thepineapplering @therealmartinsgrrrl @cloakstone69 @iamjohnlocked4life @itsallblogtome @artfulkindoforder @sussexbound @glassofgaytea @cakepopsforeveryone @hudders-and-hiddles @hotsmugstache @softelesbians @miadifferent @sidryan @pukajen @weeesi @ewebie @hubblegleeflower @ladymacphisto @vanetti @inevitably-johnlocked @eiswolfzero @elskudani @librarylock @watsonshoneybee @mollydobby @welovethebeekeeper @just--elope @futureofthemasses @swoopyswish @heimishtheidealhusband @toxicsemicolon @twocandles @bimartin @thepurplecarbuncle @ishaveforsherl @madnina @alexxphoenix42

[waitedforgarridebs]

Why do you think they're releasing the S1 scripts now? We waited six years for these, and now I dont even want to read them :( Is it because it doesnt matter anymore?

Making amends? (Or, trying to.)

But honestly, I feel the same, I kinda want to read them, but then I’m like, why even bother... but I probably will. Maybe tonight.

[vex-verlain]

Rules: Tag 10 people you want to know better. (I was tagged by @plinkitee--thank you! 💜)

Relationship Status: Me and this girl (also known as the love of my life) will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this year!

Favorite Color: Greens and blues, for the most part.

Three Favorite Foods: In no particular order, these come to mind: 1.) the Ghost Burger at the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, Nevada. 2.) the garlicky french onion soup from our local bistro, 3.) fresh bread.

Song Stuck In My Head: I don’t have one currently, but I believe the last one was “Lullaby” by Shawn Mullins.

Last Song I Listened To: "Don't Let Your Enemies Become Friends" by The Spill Canvas.

Last Thing I Googled: I had to look, but it was: lyrics “the morning after the night before.”  Because someone said it on television and it had a beat to it in my head, but I couldn’t place it.  (It ended up being from “I Get Along” by the Pet Shop Boys.)

Time: 12:03 AM

Dream Trip:  Greece.  Same as when I was 12.  Although, given the pandemic, my dream trip is one I usually take for granted: get me to the Mojave Desert, please.

Anything I Really Want: I would absolutely love it if responsible, functioning adults could run my country’s government.  That would be fantastic.

Tagging the following (if they want to do it), as well as anyone else who’s interested!  @cloakstone69 @ineffablefishcakes @llamas--and--tea @mojoflower @thatrandomdarkness

[mandysimo13]

Chapter 11 - Where is My Galant Knight

Here it is folks! The last chapter to my series “Attend the Tale of John Watson”, Chapter 11 of “Where is My Galant Knight”. I am thrilled to have finished this piece and don’t worry, part two is not far behind! Enjoy my lovelies and remember to leave me lots of love at the end of it! - Also on AO3 (X)

John awoke to something he had been so sure he had lost forever just one day prior: Sherlock curled up snugly his arms. Knowing how close he had come to never knowing that his love for Sherlock was returned, knowing how much further they had to go in order to keep themselves together, turned his thoughts sour. Looking down at the soft, sleeping face of the real love of his life a roiling mixture of fondness, fear, determination, and admiration bubbled inside him.

The pale sunlight of the rising dawn bathed them both in light. Where it touched Sherlock’s skin it turned him into watered honey; shimmery, ethereal, a hint of gold but fleeting. He almost looked fae in the dawn and John contemplated going back to sleep just so they could have a few more moments of rest to savor together. But necessity kept him awake. He had a mission and it required planning.

His plan of attack was, in theory, simple. He would request a private audience with Mycroft and Sherlock to request a place in the quest and, upon successful completion, Sherlock’s hand in marriage. Normally, he wouldn’t have a chance in hell of being allowed to marry a prince but in the face of fate and true love, Mycroft had to see reason didn’t he? And if what Sherlock told him was true, that Irene wasn’t keen on marriage either, then maybe they had a real shot of nullifying the betrothal.

It was mad. A complete nutter of a plan, but John had to try. How could he let another person he loved walk out of his life to marry another? And not just any person, but his true love! God, how many times could he think about the cliche of “true love” before it lost all meaning? Hopefully never, he answered himself silently.

While he silently rehearsed his grand words, Sherlock stirred against him. His nose scrunched, his eyelashes fluttered, and his muscles stretched and curled against John’s body as Sherlock slowly wakened. It was not unlike the unfurling of a butterfly after hibernation. John watched, rapt, sure that he could watch the man forever. He sighed gently against John’s neck, kissing it once before saying groggily, “that’s really creepy, you know?”

John chuckled softly, kissing Sherlock’s disheveled curls. “Pot calling kettle.”

Sherlock scoffed, burrowing into John’s neck. “Of the two of us, you’ve spent more time staring than I.”

“Can you blame me? You are very stare-worthy.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Sherlock said, muffled against his neck as he was.

“Is that so?”

“Mhmm.”

“In that case,” John said smiling as he trailed kisses across the top of Sherlock’s head. “I better not tell you how gorgeous you are right now.” He dropped kisses against the shell of Sherlock’s ear, his ear lobe, the soft spot beneath it. “How unfair it is that, as rumpled as you are-”

“Rumpled?-”

“-you still look absolutely edible.” To prove his point, John nibbled the top of Sherlock’s shoulder, smiling at the small squirm he received in return. “In fact, it’s your bedraggled tresses, the smell of our love from last night,”John continued, trailing his nose across Sherlock’s shoulder and down past his armpit. Sherlock giggled lightly, allowing himself to be turned onto his back. John settled himself between his thighs and continued his praising, “that makes you irresistible.”

“You, Sir John Watson, are a menace,” Sherlock said, smile evident in his voice. His hand found it’s way into John’s hair, fondly petting him. John’s eyes flicked up to see that the man had yet to open his eyes but there was plenty color in his cheeks and John was encouraged to continue.

“Never said I wasn’t, my love.” He dropped light kisses across Sherlock’s collarbones. Sherlock’s breathing was even but coming quicker than its sleepy pace from a moment before. The stirrings of morning wood against John’s stomach encouraged him further. “But since flattery will get me nowhere, perhaps I shouldn’t mention how gone I am over you. How your voice turns my insides to quivering, your gaze sets my heart to beating like a battle drum.” He ran his hand up Sherlock’s side, grazing over his nipple to land just over Sherlock’s heart. He mimicked a drum beat with his hand, “buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.”

Sherlock twitched with the attention, biting his lip against any noises he wanted to make. Swallowing thickly he asked, “is that so?”

“Oh yes. But why mention it? Or mention how your kisses melt me completely like honey from a comb? Or how your sighs set my loins afire-”

“Perhaps you should see a doctor about that,” Sherlock said, interrupting with a giggle.

John laughed at that and made to get up. “Perhaps you’re right, perhaps I should ask him about my burning loins.”

He pushed himself up, making to crawl away but Sherlock was having none of it. His eyes snapped open and a predatory grin took over his face as he held fast to John, pulling him back in. “Don’t you dare move.”

“I thought flattery would get me nowhere?”

“It won’t,” Sherlock said, kissing him. “I don’t know why you bother.”

John kissed him back, uncaring about the sleep sourness of Sherlock’s mouth as he licked into it. “Clearly, I’m barking up the wrong tree.”

“Absolutely.” Sherlock kissed him harder, letting his hands slide down John’s back towards his backside.

“You’re so gorgeous,” John said into his mouth between kisses. “Brilliant, amazing, mad as a hatter, and I love every bit of you, you great, preening bird.”

Finally, Sherlock couldn’t take the saccharine sweet praise any longer and pulled back to cover his face against the blush creeping up his neck and cheeks. “Jaaawn!”

“Yes, love?”

He peeked between his fingers and said, “you are absolutely ridiculous and I love you too.”

Tags under the cut                                                            Continued on AO3 (X)

@sweeter-than-cynicism@beadmaven@readermagnifique@conversationswithjohnlock@lawyermargo@sundayduck@cloakstone69@ellipsicalelle@salve-regina-mills@cannibalcuisine@thedownfaller@soldierjhwatson @fuck-off-watson@littlethingwithfeathers@benedictgingerbatch00 @missmuffin221

As always, if you want to be tagged and I didn’t tag you, let me know. And if you don’t want to be tagged let me know. You guys rock! Thanks for reading!

[may-shepard]

@cloakstone69 thank you so much for this comment!