#there's no category on ffnet for this so this is the only version of this story that exists

[hepalien]

Ao3 Tips and Tricks

So I thought I would make a post about some cool stuff you can do with Ao3 and userscripts, and some tips I’ve learned from setting them up for myself! I promise it's not hard, though this is a lot of info. I'm happy to help if I can.

What You’ll Need:

First, you will need the Tampermonkey extension for your browser (depending on what browser you use, Greasemonkey is the equivalent). On Android, you can even run Chrome extensions on mobile with Kiwi Browser! It is easiest to configure the scripts on your desktop and then sync to mobile with Tampermonkey’s cloud sync feature or by exporting the configured scripts and importing in your mobile browser (I will explain how to do this later in the post). If you use any of the tweaks I outline below, be sure to backup your scripts in case your settings are lost.

Once you have Tampermonkey installed, you can get scripts from GreasyFork. The inimitable @flamebyrd also has some great scripts and bookmarklets and has been incredibly helpful while I figured all this out.

Find a script that looks interesting, click on it, and then click “install this script.” Pretty straightforward. Once you have it installed, you can go to Tampermonkey to configure it (only necessary for some scripts) by clicking on the Tampermonkey extension icon in your browser (under the three dot menu in Kiwi) and clicking “dashboard”, then clicking the edit icon next to the script you want to configure. When you’re done, click File->Save.

Scripts and instructions under the cut

Some of my favorites:

Flamebyrd’s Incomplete Works script - fades out WIPs on works listings, and displays the work stats (wordcount, chapters, etc) in red on single works to make it more obvious that they’re WIPs as you’re browsing:

Flamebyrd’s Ao3 to Pinboard bookmarklet/script - if you click the bookmarklet while on a work’s page, it opens the Pinboard save screen and prefills the title, tags, description, word count, etc, and adds ?view_full_work=true&view_adult=true to the URL so Pinboard’s archiver will archive the complete work and not the adult content warning screen (note that Pinboard still cannot correctly archive works locked to Ao3 users, so you may want to download them as a backup. I’ve asked him about fixing that.), based on your selections when configuring the bookmarklet on the linked page. If you use the userscript, it adds a button to the works listings page so you don’t even have to open the work to save it:

I tweaked this script so that it only grabs the first pairing tag, since I don’t typically care about secondary pairings and they were clogging up my Pinboard tags. It’s a simple fix (though I know nothing about coding so I had to do some googling and inspect-sourcing; kinda proud of myself tbh):

Just change this part of the script

if ( options.relationship_include ) {

- $(".relationships a.tag", $work).each(function () {

To this

if ( options.relationship_include ) {

- $(".relationships a.tag:first", $work).each(function () {

I also found this cool mobile-optimized Pinboard bookmarklet called Pincushion and combined it with Flamebyrd’s script. Everything works except the auto-tagging, but I’ve reached out on GitHub to see if he can help (according to Flamebyrd, there’s no tag field ID attribute to map to). However, this bookmarklet has tagging autocomplete features that make it easy to tag manually. For example, if you type “steve 21st” it will suggest “steverogersvsthe21stcentury” rather than having to type out “steverogersvs…” in order for it to autocomplete like it does on the regular Pinboard bookmarklet. I actually have two buttons set up (which you can see in the next screenshot) - Flamebyrd's to quickly grab the tags and close without me having to do anything, and then the Pincushion one to quickly edit the tags. If anyone's interested, I can explain how to do that.

To combine Pincushion with Flamebyrd’s script (so it works from the Ao3 works listings page as mentioned above), simply change this part of Flamebyrd’s script:

t = t.split(" ").join( options.space_replacement );

var pb_url = "https://pinboard.in/add?url=" + encodeURIComponent(q) + "&description=" + encodeURIComponent(d) + "&title=" + encodeURIComponent(p) + "&tags=" + encodeURIComponent(t);

void(open(pb_url, "Pinboard", "toolbar=no,width=700,height=350"));

To this

t = t.split(" ").join( options.space_replacement );

var pb_url = "https://rossshannon.github.io/pincushion/?user=YOURUSERNAME&token=YOURAPITOKEN&url=" + encodeURIComponent(q) + "&description=" + encodeURIComponent(d) + "&title=" + encodeURIComponent(p) + "&tags=" + encodeURIComponent(t);

void(open(pb_url, "Pinboard", "toolbar=yes,width=600,height=700,left=50,top=50"));

You’ll need to get your API Token from your Pinboard account and plug it in where it says YOURUSERNAME and YOURAPITOKEN (number part only) above.

FanFictionNavigator - mark fics as Like/Dislike/Mark/InLibrary, highlight with colors based on which option you select, hide/show based on category, like/dislike author and highlight with color. Only you will see how you've marked things.

You can tweak the colors for the highlighting by configuring the script (I find the default colors make the text hard to read because I use the Reversi skin on Ao3 for white-ish text on a gray background). I also changed it so that when I click “hide likes” it only hides liked fics and not liked authors (i.e. hides fics I’ve read, but not unread fics by authors I like), changed the color of the like/dislike/etc links to match the highlighting color and to show up better, and changed the way it highlights authors (I think the default is bold/strikethrough which doesn't really catch my eye. I changed it to highlight the author name in red/green):

Here are my configured scripts if you’d like to use them instead of tweaking yourself (you need to install both):

FanFictionNavigator

FanFictionNavigator - Colors

Note: Your settings for this script will sync via Tampermonkey but not your data (i.e. fics you’ve liked/marked/etc). If you ever switch between browsers, you’ll need to go to your Ao3 Dashboard and click FFNOptions, export your data, then go through the same process to import it into the new browser.

AO3: Kudosed and seen history - highlight or hide works you kudosed/bookmarked/marked as seen. If you want to use this with FanFictionNavigator, you’ll need to turn off “highlight bookmarks” from the settings under the “Seen Works” dropdown that gets added to your Ao3 navbar or FFN’s colors won’t show. Again, data doesn’t sync between browsers but you can copy it from the dropdown settings. However, it pulls your kudosed and bookmarked fics from Ao3 itself, so that will always show. It's just seen/skipped that doesn't sync:

Ao3 download buttons - adds a download button to the works listings page so you don’t have to open the fic to download it. However, it also doesn’t play nicely with FFN’s colors, so I’m using AO3 Review + Last Chapter Shortcut + Kudos-sortable Bookmarks script which also has a download button that works with FFN (a small down arrow next to the author name). The download button doesn’t work as-is from that link, so here’s my tweaked version based off of this comment. You can configure what format you want it to download by default in the script. There’s also a tweak in the comments to fix kudos-sorting, but it overloads Ao3 and you get a “retry later” error for a few minutes when you try to open Ao3, so I don’t recommend it. I don’t know if any of the other functionalities of the script work because I don’t use them, but it looks like there are tweak suggestions in other comments you can try:

I was using Ao3 Replace Words to replace words in fics that bug me but I realized it wasn’t working on mobile, so I’m using zensurf instead which is not Ao3-specific but works basically the same way. If you want to limit it to just Ao3 (so it doesn’t change words on non-fic sites), just add this

// @include http://archiveofourown.org/*

// @include https://archiveofourown.org/*

Above this line

// ==/UserScript==

(function() {

You can // @include other fic sites like ffnet that way too.

AO3: Links to Last Chapter and Entire Works does what it says on the tin, but the creator was kind enough to give me a code snippet to add that makes the “E” (for Entire Work) appear next to all works and add ?view_full_work=true&view_adult=true to the work URL so that I can easily right-click and share to Instapaper and have it be saved correctly (not just the first chapter but the whole work + not the content warning screen for NR/M/E works). Here is the script with this tweak applied:

I think those are the only ones that I’ve done special tweaks for. Here are some others that I find useful that either don’t require any configuration, or should be pretty straightforward to configure and are explained on the script page.

AO3 author+tags quick-search - doesn’t require configuration

Generates quick links from AO3 fics to more by the same author in the same fandom (or character/pairing/any other tag):

Remove leading spaces in AO3 - doesn’t require config

Removes the leading indents for paragraphs in AO3 works.

Ao3 Only Show Primary Pairing - you have to enter the pairings you want in the script, and you can change how early in the sequence they must appear before the work is hidden. Also works with character tags.

Hides works where specified pairing isn't the first listed. Hidden works show a placeholder that you can click to unhide:

AO3: highlight tags - have to enter the tags you want highlighted, as well as the color you want. It matches case so you may have to enter both “Dog” and “dog”, for example.

Configure tags to be highlighted with different colors. This makes a tag more obvious to your eye when browsing. I use it to highlight things I’m wary of in red so I don’t miss them and start reading a fic I might not want.

AO3: Tag Hider - configure how many tags you want to see before it hides them

Hide tags automatically when there are too many tags. Add hide/show tags button to browsing page and reading page.

AO3 Remove Double-Spacing - no config

Removes awkward double spaces between paragraphs on AO3. Doesn’t smush together paragraphs that have a single line break - it leaves those alone.

ao3 series collapser - no config

Collapse works that are later than part 1 of a series. Leaves a placeholder so you can uncollapse if you want to see it.

AO3 Blocker - no config, but you enter what you want to block from the added navbar dropdown in Ao3

Fork of ao3 savior; blocks works based on certain conditions. I find this simpler to use than Ao3 savior.

FYI there are also style scripts for Pinboard on greasyfork and userstyles.org (this site is slow af for some reason, so be patient while it loads). I use show unread bookmarks more clearly and Modern Pinboard Style (basically a dark mode). Neither require config unless you just want to tweak the settings to your liking. To install to Tampermonkey from userstyles, scroll down to “Install style as userscript”.

I also use these extensions in Kiwi:

Ao3rdr - Adds a star rating system (pictured in some of the screenshots above) to Ao3 works that only you can see. This one will sync your data between devices if you use the cloud sync option, which I recommend so you don’t lose your data if something happens to your device or browser.

Dark Reader - not really necessary for Ao3 if you use Reversi skin, but does make all browser pages dark mode if you want it on sites other than Ao3.

Speaking of Ao3 skins, I have another one set up in conjunction with Reversi that shows all the fandoms on a user’s profile, rather than having to click “expand”:

Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I found this. To set it up yourself, go to your Ao3 -> Dashboard -> Skins -> Create Site Skin, fill in the Title (has to be unique), and paste the code below in the CSS box:

#user-fandoms ol.index {

padding-bottom: 0;

text-align: center;

}

#user-fandoms ol.index li {

display: inline;

margin-right: .5em;

line-height: 2.15em;

}

#user-fandoms ol#fandom_full_list {

padding-top: 0;

padding-bottom: 1.5em;

display: block !important;

}

#user-fandoms p.actions {

display: none;

}

Then hit Submit -> Use. There are ways to hide or highlight various elements (ships, characters, blurbs, work stats, etc) on a works listing page using skins on Ao3. This is getting long so I’m not going to go into that, but I’m happy to help if you want to try it. It’s very easy.

Once you have everything configured on Tampermonkey on your desktop, you can migrate it to your mobile device in one of two ways:

Option 1: Go to Tampermonkey settings and change Config Mode to Advanced

Go down to Script Sync and select your preferred cloud service and save

It will ask you to log in to said cloud service

Install Tampermonkey in Kiwi and do the same thing

Wait for it to sync (this can be slow)

It should sync any changes you make moving forward, but again, it’s slow

Option 2: go to Utilities and check all 3 checkboxes under general (include script storage, include Tampermonkey settings, include external script resources)

Either export to your preferred cloud service or

Export as a zip file, move it to your mobile device, go to this same screen and import

I would recommend exporting as a zip for a backup even if you don’t use it to migrate your scripts

You can unzip and upload individual script files (.js) on this page if you ever need to reinstall a single script with your settings instead of all of them

Let me know if you run into any issues and I can try to help! The script writers are also super nice and helpful if you reach out to them. Yay fandom!

[hanasaku-shijin]

Ordinary Day

Series: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

Words: 2,868

Genres: Friendship-Romance, Hurt/Comfort

A/N: I just love these two so much. I had to write more for them. So I whipped up another fluff fic. I also have Valentine and Nightmare for these two idiots so far. 

Please reblog to help share the story, since there’s nowhere else to post it officially at this time!

 || Patreon || Commission info ||

-------------

Ordinary Day

For the most part, it's been another ordinary day in the Kobayashi household. 

Well, as ordinary as a day can get with a human who's living with two dragons in disguise, that is. 

But Kanna's had a good, easy day at school, and Tohru's done all of her chores and enjoyed an uneventful day at home without any unwanted visitors to interrupt everyone's personal space.

All in all, Kobayashi would've deemed today as a good day. 

She herself had gotten all of her work done, and she'd helped out several of her colleagues as well. She'd even gotten some of tomorrow's work done by some miracle, and the idea of having a little less pressure on her aching shoulders makes her smile now as she sits down at the kitchen table. 

“So, what's for dinner?” she asks, as per usual. 

Kanna scampers over and climbs up into her chair just as Tohru turns around with several plates full of food balanced on her arms, and a triumphant grin on her face.

“Tonight is a mini buffet! We have rice, pickled plums, and meat dumplings!” 

As she begins making her way to the table, the word 'meat' sets Kobayashi off immediately.

“What kind of meat is it?” She watches as Tohru's tail is revealed as she comes around the counter. Tohru instantly blushes and looks away.

“It isn't my tail this time,” she mumbles. 

Kobayashi narrows her eyes as she scans Tohru's green scales.

“Are you sure all of it's there? Even the tip?”

“It isn't my tail!” Tohru wails. “It's pork! Pork!” 

As she puffs out her cheeks in a pout, Kobayashi can't help but laugh.

“Sorry, sorry. I believe you.” 

Tohru pouts for a moment longer before she starts setting the food-filled plates onto the table.

“Here you go, Kanna.”

“Yaaay.” Though the little dragon's voice is monotone, she's genuinely excited for the food and starts digging in right away, though she still finds some difficulty in using chopsticks. 

Tohru makes her way around the table and places one dish in front of her mistress.

“And for you, Kobayashi-san~”

“Thanks. It looks good.” 

But as Tohru is putting down the plate,  a sudden jolt runs through her. The plate clatters noisily onto the table, and she nearly drops the third one she's holding as she stumbles slightly.

“Ah-” 

Her stomach knocks against the table, and if it isn't for Kobayashi's quick reaction to grab the table and steady it, the whole thing might've tipped over.

“W-Whoa!” Kobayashi drops her own chopsticks and reaches out with her free hand to grab Tohru's arm. “Tohru! What happened?” She can feeling her trembling now, just a little, but it’s enough to warrant concern. 

Tohru swallows, flashing a brief look to her, then away again.

“I-It's nothing. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no. It's fine.” 

Kobayashi still isn't too good with these sort of things. She's not sure what to do. If the other person says not to worry, she doesn't know if she should trust that they're being honest, or presume they're trying to hide something.

She assumes Tohru falls into the former category, however, considering she's typically honest to the point of it being flinch-worthy. 

Then again, she's usually honest about what makes her happy. Troubling things, she tends to conceal... 

But for the moment, Kobayashi instinctively lets her go. Tohru does her best to regain her composure and straighten herself out again.

“S-Silly me. I almost got food stains all over Kobayashi-san's work clothes. Then I might not have been able to stop myself from cleaning them with my mouth.”

“We have a washing machine,” Kobayashi reminds her. “But in any case, sit down and eat your food. If you're feeling dizzy, that should help.”

“Right.” Tohru puts her own plate down and takes her seat. 

Kobayashi keeps an eye on her as they begin eating, and for the most part, things seem to have gone back to normal. Kanna talks about the day she's had at school, and Kobayashi offers a few tidbits about her own day. 

But Tohru stays quiet and almost unresponsive throughout the conversations this evening. The usual bubbly brightness that had been radiating from her earlier when Kobayashi had come home has now faded. She picks at her food without gusto, as though she's forcing herself. 

Kobayashi can tell something's still bothering her. She's trying to think of a way to ask about it when Kanna pushes her chair back.

“Finished. Thanks for the meal. Kobayashi, can I watch TV?”

“Hm? Ah, sure. Just keep the volume down.”

“Yaaaay.” 

Kanna hops off her chair and heads into the living room. Figuratively, Tohru jumps at the chance to abandon her meal.

“I'll begin washing Kanna's dishes.” 

But before she can make a move to get up, Kobayashi makes a move to stop her.

“Tohru. You've barely touched your food. Are you all right?” 

The dragon girl doesn't look at her directly.

“Yes. I-I'm just not very hungry all of a sudden...”

“Toh-ru.” 

The maid freezes in her place as she stands, still refusing to look at her mistress directly. Kobayashi notices she's holding onto her stomach. Evidently, Tohru isn't the type to be completely honest when something's bothering her. 

Slowly, Tohru begins turning her face and looks in her direction, though her eyes are trained on the plates. Kobayashi stands as well.

“If you're not feeling well, you have to tell me,” she instructs. “You're my maid, so that means I have to take care of you if something's wrong.” 

She waits for Tohru's reaction, watching her swallow nervously.

“It's nothing. I'll wrap up the food I didn't finish and you can take it to work tomorrow for lunch. I should do the dishes-”

“Enough of that.” Kobayashi cuts her off. Stepping closer, she puts a hand on her maid's shoulder. Tohru gasps softly, and her grip on her stomach tightens.

“Are... Are you mad at me...?” 

Kobayashi hums.

“Mm, not particularly. But it would be best if you'd just be honest about stuff like this. Especially when I ask you directly.”

“I'm sorry...”

“It's fine.” 

Kobayashi keeps her hand on Tohru's shoulder, partially to convey the implied support behind the gesture, and to actually support Tohru. She still seems unbalanced, and her breathing is a little hard. 

Kobayashi can feel small, prickling pains creeping beneath her own skin, something she realizes she's only ever felt when she's worried about Tohru. 

“So?” she prompts her. “Wanna tell me what's wrong?” 

Tohru bites her lip, nails curling into her uniform over her stomach.

“It's just... this old wound again...” 

Kobayashi had a feeling it might've been something like that.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes...”

“Enough to make you lose your appetite?”

“...Yes...”

“That's no good. You've gotta eat. Especially since you're a dragon.”

“I-I tried,” Tohru whimpers. “I don't want... any of the food we've spent your money on going to waste. But I just...”

“It hurts that much, huh?” 

Tohru nods. 

Kobayashi sighs. 

“Then you don't have to worry about the food, Tohru. Worry about yourself.” 

Tohru finally lifts her gaze to meet Kobayashi's. And Kobayashi can tell this is still new to her, having her wellbeing come first. 

“Let me guess,” she begins. “In the dragon world, it's survival of the fittest. And since you're one of the strongest dragons there is, there's never been a reason for anyone else to be concerned about you. If you showed weakness, they'd probably try to kill you, right?” 

Tohru's eyes widen, and her jaw drops just a little bit.

“Y-Yes. That's exactly how it is.”

“I see. But, Tohru-” Kobayashi pats her shoulder again, and offers a smile. “You're in this world now, remember? Here, not everyone can be strong all the time. It's okay to show weakness from time to time. We take care of each other.” 

With that much said, she watches Tohru's reaction. Her sunset-colored eyes begin to water, and when she tries to speak, her voice cracks.

“K... Kobayashi...san...” 

Kobayashi puts her arm around the small of Tohru's back and helps ease her away from the table.

“Come on. If you can't eat, let's go sit somewhere comfortable.” 

Slowly, she guides Tohru into the living room, where Kanna is all but glued to the TV. 

Kobayashi leads Tohru to the couch on the other side of the room. She can still feel Tohru trembling a little, and the girl hasn't let go of her stomach and side. 

Kobayashi knows Tohru isn't just playing it up, either. There were times when she might've acted this way for attention, but when she's really in pain, Tohru does her best not to let it be known. 

Must be a pride complex among dragons... 

They reach the couch, and Kobayashi helps Tohru down before taking a seat beside her. Tohru leans back heavily against the cushions, still holding onto her sore side. She closes her eyes and tries to slow her breathing. Kobayashi can't help but feel a surge of guilt run through her.

“I wish I could take you to a doctor or something,” she comments. “But I think there are a few things they'd notice, and that could cause problems.”

“It's okay,” Tohru mumbles. “It should be fine...”

“I thought the last time I asked you about it, you’d said it didn't hurt anymore? So what happened? Did you run into something and make it sore again?” 

Tohru shakes her head, opening her eyes wearily.

“No. Usually... it will start to hurt again if the god who impaled me is angered... or if he is drawing nearer to my location...” 

Kobayashi stiffens.

“That doesn't sound good. Is he coming after you?” 

Tohru shakes her head.

“No. He thinks he killed me. But it seems... my body still reacts to his presence somehow...”

“Mmm... I guess that makes sense. Sorry it hurts so much.”

“It's okay. Hopefully it won't last long.”

“But if it does, you have to tell me,” Kobayashi demands. “If you're still in pain tomorrow morning, let me know. That's an order.”

“Y-Yes, ma'am.”

“Good.” 

Satisfied, Kobayashi reaches up to pat Tohru's head gently. 

The dragon makes a sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper, and leans into her touch. 

Kobayashi feels this is the least she can do for her. 

This, and perhaps one more thing.

 “I was worried, you know.”

“...Eh?” 

Blinking, Tohru looks to her, puzzled. Kobayashi reiterates.

“It scared me a little, seeing you like that. When you stumbled earlier, I didn't know what to think.” 

Obviously, she'd made it evident with her actions that she'd been worried about Tohru, and still is. But there's something oddly pleasant about being able to tell that person you’re worried about them.

 Clearly, Tohru is flustered by the confession.

“Y-You... were worried...?”

“Of course. You told me dragons can't get sick. So I thought something must be really wrong.”

“Oh... It's true that dragons can't contract bacterial illnesses and disease. But we aren't immune to food poisoning or the effects of an empty stomach. And there is... one sickness we are able to contract...”

“Oh? What's that?” 

Tohru dips her head, hiding her face in Kobayashi's shoulder.

“Lovesickness...” 

Kobayashi sighs heavily.

“Well, I guess that makes sense, though. Those aren't bacterial diseases, after all. It also makes sense that your body can still be negatively affected by something like an old wound being aggravated. That's only natural.”

“Yes...” 

Tohru doesn't move from her current position. She burrows her face into Kobayashi's shoulder more, her hand still gripping her side. Kobayashi smiles.

“In that case, lie down.”

“...Eh?”

“You heard me. Right here.”

 Tohru pulls herself away a little, so she can look up at her.

“B-But-”

“Your master gave you an order.”

“Y-Yes, ma'am!” 

With a bit of effort, Tohru draws her legs and tail up onto the couch, wincing whenever her injury bothers her. Kobayashi keeps a hand on her shoulder and helps her lie down, preventing her from rolling off the couch. 

Tohru is about to lie her head down on the couch's seat cushions. But Kobayashi gently stops her, and instead coaxes Tohru to rest her head in her lap instead. 

Naturally, Tohru turns red.

“K-Kobayashi-san! C-Can I-?”

“Just be quiet for a minute, would you? I told you to let me take care of you. Lie down.” 

A little nervously, Tohru does as she's told. She faces away from Kobayashi, being mindful of her horns, not wanting them to dig into her mistress' thighs. 

Kobayashi waits patiently for Tohru to adjust herself however is most comfortable for her, then rests a hand on the dragon girl's head.

“My mom always told me that lying down on your left side helps with stomach pains. Since your injury is on your right side, this works perfectly.” 

Tohru lets out a small breath.

“Your... mother told you that? How is it supposed to work...?”

“I dunno. It's probably just a placebo or something. But even when I got old enough to realize that, it still always seemed to work.”

“So... even mothers will lie to their own children to help them feel better?”

“Humans are strange, aren't we? But we do whatever we have to in order to take care of the ones we love.” 

After that, Tohru is silent for a long while. Kobayashi can't see her expression, but judging by the way her body has lost a bit of tension, she can assume Tohru is calming down.

“You should relax,” she advises her. “It won't help if you're stiff.”

“B-But... being in your lap like this-”

“Should make you feel calm, not anxious. I'm not gonna hurt you, Tohru.” 

She can hear Tohru whimper a little at that.

“I know...”

“Then relax.” 

To help, Kobayashi uses her left hand to continue patting Tohru's head, ruffling her bangs just a little bit. With her right hand, she reaches out to Tohru's injured side, and rests her palm lightly there. Tohru jolts a little, and a small gasp flies from her lips. 

Kobayashi berates herself. Shit!

“S-Sorry!” she says quickly. “I should've warned you first.”

“No... it's okay...”

“I thought massaging it could help,” Kobayashi reasoned. “But if it hurts, just tell me to stop.”

“Okay.” 

Once Tohru has gotten her bearings again, Kobayashi begins to rub her hand over her maid’s side. She kneads very lightly, running her fingers all around the sore area. She presses her palm in here and there, applying a very slight pressure, then eases off. She runs her hand down to Tohru's hip, then travels up as far as her ribs. 

All the while, she can feel Tohru gradually relaxing. Her breathing becomes slow and deep, and she doesn't flinch anymore. But just to be certain, Kobayashi wants to check.

“Tohru? Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes! It feels much better. Thank you, Kobayashi-san.”

“I'm glad.” 

Tohru does so much for her every day. The least Kobayashi can do is spoil her a little like this when she's hurt. 

So she doesn't stop her ministrations on Tohru, massaging her bad side with one hand and petting though her hair with the other. 

Kobayashi keeps her eyes on Kanna and on the TV ahead of her, and doesn't even notice until a while later that Tohru's fallen fast asleep in her lap. When she finally does notice, Kobayashi smiles.

“Guess she feels better. That's good.” 

She finally stops massaging Tohru, though she lets her hand rest on the dragon girl's side. There are times when Tohru grinds her teeth or tosses about in her sleep. But times like these, when her breathing is soft and her body is still, almost make her seem fragile. More like a human than a dragon. 

Kobayashi is content to sit here for a while longer, allowing Tohru the nap she deserves. 

She said dragons don't need to sleep. But I think living with me has made her want to. 

Evidently, Tohru isn't the only one. 

A moment later, Kanna abandons the TV, crawls across the floor, and climbs up onto the couch on Kobayashi's other side, nestling under her arm.

“Sleepy, sleepy...”

“Ah, well...” Kobayashi glances at the digital clock beneath the TV. “It's still a bit early. So a nap should be fine now, as long as we can all wake up later, brush our teeth and change, and then go to our bedrooms.”

“I can do it,” Kanna declares. “Nap now.” 

Kobayashi pats her head as well.

“Sure.”

“Kobayashi, nap too.”

“Well, I can't reach the remote, so I guess I might as well.” 

So Kanna cuddles up into her side, while Tohru continues to sleep peacefully, using her lap as a pillow. Kobayashi pulls them both in a little closer, ensuring neither of them will slip off. 

Damn... my legs are numb... 

But Tohru's sleeping far too deeply and peacefully for Kobayashi to even consider moving her. 

Ah, whatever. 

On her other side, Kanna's asleep in seconds. Kobayashi keeps an arm around her, then leans her head back against the cushions. She closes her eyes, and invites sleep to take her for a little while. 

I guess it was a pretty ordinary day...

[Fin]

[fogsrollingin]

📚   Link to my ficrecs catalogue!  📚   Now here’s some new & miscellaneous ficrecs 👍🤗 ✧ Category: Gen ✧ All I Needed to Hear by Weesta. Rated PG-13, Gen, 2k words. Summary: Sam has a migraine and Dean helps him feel better. Gen fic. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3757282/1/All-I-Needed-to-Hear I loved this fic just bc there were so many nice wholesome moments of inventive caretaking on Dean's part. Aromatherapy, heat packs, back rubs, aww. Dean’s the best brother ever. This fic has been sorted into my misc genfic reclist migraines h/c reclist ✧ It Sounded Like the Truth by Weesta. Rated PG-13, Gen, 2k words. Summary:  Dean is on a supply run and a sick Sam is alone when someone breaks into their motel room. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8859455/1/It-Sounded-Like-the-Truth I read this fic years ago and it still sticks with me as such a scarily realistic snapshot of Sam and Dean trying to just deal with sketchy motels and addled-junkie neighborhoods. Also there’s brother cuddles at the end 😁 Also just FYI this author is on AO3 at ao3.org/users/weesta but these fics haven’t been x-posted; they’re only available on FFnet afaik rn. This fic’s been sorted into my kidfic shmoop reclist ✧ Missing pieces by Mamapranayama. Rated PG-13, Gen, 32k words. Summary:  Preseries AU. Sam is seriously injured while saving a friend at Stanford and is left without a literal leg to stand on. Rated T for language. Complete https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7575286 A solid hurt!Sam fic that ‘fixes’ the estrangement of the Winchester family during the Stanford era. Sam has to get his leg amputated, he gets a touch of a Vicodin addiction, Bobby and Dean are there for him. There's John Winchester's A+ Parenting trope in this fic but there's reconciliation at the end that feels good. This fic doesn't go too deep and there’s a lot of time skips but I'd still say it definitely gets the job done for hurt!Sam & comforting!Dean fans! This fic’s been sorted into my misc genfic reclist ✧ Focus by vansenwest. Rated PG, Gen, 14k words. Summary:  His father is dead, but his brother is alive and he needs to focus. AU. Stanford. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6266701 This was such a fantastic interesting & emotional version of the pilot where Sam and Dean meet for the first time bc their dad’s died, not missing. Dramatic af but anchored by the skillful writing of numbed grief by the author. And there’s one part that follows Jess's perspective and it’s brutally sad 😭 This fic’s been sorted into my misc genfic reclist ✧ Of Beginnings by Aytheria. Rated PG-13, Gen, 19k words. Summary:  It’s the Apocalypse and the pagan gods aren’t just going to roll over and let the world end. One of them has a plan, something the angels and demons won’t see coming. Sam and Dean Winchester certainly don’t. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3727255 Influenced by Gaiman's American Gods, I think!!! Very clever and fun to read buildup on the why (Janus's perspective) and the how (the website) the boys become gods. I particularly adored the last parts of this story, Sam and Dean discovering/exploring their new powers (and accepting the offerings! 😂) This fic’s been sorted into my misc genfic reclist

✧ Category: Sam/Dean ✧ Polaris by dimeliora. Rated NC-17, Sam/Dean, 59k words. Summary: An intervention of pagan forces splits the brothers when they are young. Growing up apart and alone what will they do to be reunited, and how will they fight what is considered their destiny? https://archiveofourown.org/works/783632 Also probably inspired in part by Gaiman’s American Gods. Fascinating story with so many riveting parts to it, from their childhoods to Utre Dean's mother figure goddess, all the American Gods feel to it, then thwarting yellow eyes & going to save Utre in a labyrinth of her psyche. So well written and engaging! This fic was sorted into my miscellaneous sam/dean reclist ✧ Facta non verba by dimeliora. Rated NC-17, Dean/Sam, 14k words. Summary: Dean is ten when Sam stops speaking, and the rest is up to him. https://archiveofourown.org/works/686628 Really thoughtful and sweet hurt/comfort wincest with mute!Sam and fantastic sign language details. Even though there’s underage intimacy, Dean+Sam wait until they're both consenting adults which felt pretty wholesome. And it was actually less angsty than I thought. Overall, just a deeply pleasing fic to read. This fic was sorted into my miscellaneous sam/dean reclist ✧ Further and Further Out by Cottonmouth. Rated R, Sam/Dean, 42k words. Summary:  John never disappeared before the pilot episode, so Dean never went to Stanford to find Sam. Two months later and they discover the demon went after Sam after all… Alternate Reality, graphic wincest in later chapters https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3740163 Psychic!catatonic!Sam & devoted!stubborn!Dean finding him and taking care of him?! Uh YES PLEASE. There's a scene of metaphysical energy that totally reminds me of some of aceofhearts61s' fic and I loved it!  This fic was sorted into my miscellaneous sam/dean reclist

[backtothestart02]

Undeniably Deniable | westallen family fanfiction

A/N: So...I said I wasn’t able to write something for @westallenfun‘s Westallen Family Event, right? Just kiddiiiiiiiiing!!! Super late, but fully recovered from my flu, here it is! I hope you enjoy. I enjoyed writing it. ;)

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing!

...

Synopsis: Barry Allen tries to avoid treating Nora West-Allen like his child. Unfortunately for him, a father's instinct is hard to suppress.

...

It had been a long week. From dealing with the average meta to the new Big Bad on the street, everyone was so thoroughly exhausted that Cisco suggested they all get drinks at a bar to take the edge off. Barry then reminded him just how well that had worked out for him last time, and that Nora wouldn’t be able to take advantage of any buzz either Cisco – not that she should, he emphasized, which confused everyone else.

Despite her size, Nora had confirmed time and again that she was twenty-five, not a teenager. They all took her word for it – except for Barry, when it suited him.

The distance Nora had deliberately put between herself and Iris had started to dissipate after she’d finally been honest with her and Barry, and inevitably the team, about why she was so cold and reluctant to get to know the younger version of her mother. They weren’t as close as Iris would have preferred, but with time and patience, they were getting there. Iris was willing to see her daughter as a friend for the time being, since it was kind of bizarre having her there as an adult. But in her mind, Nora was her daughter, not just another speedster needing the help of team Flash.

For Barry, things were not so cut and dry. He recognized she was obviously his daughter thanks to a gut feeling about it, same as Iris. If he was being honest, he’d had a familial feeling about her both when she was posing as a caterer at his and Iris’ wedding and when she aided him in destroying the satellite after Devoe had been defeated. But after what Nora had told him about his future… regardless, if they would end up changing it or not, and the fact that her existence in 2018 threatened her existence in the time she’d come from, he was reluctant to get too close to her.

He understood her better than anyone, and he knew it. Devastating death of a parent, ability to travel through time, the answer is obvious: go back in time, save the parent, live happily ever after, anyone else’s advice – even strongly-worded – be damned. And he knew his absence in her life must’ve been terrible for her. It hurt him to know that he’d never have those years with her. But beyond that, everything about Iris getting pregnant, seeing the ultrasound, picking a name, all of that had been stolen from him; and Iris, of course, but she didn’t appear to be overly thrown by that. She was too eager to get to know their daughter in the now, despite what might happen in the future.

So, it was complicated. To make it less complicated, Barry pushed the obvious fact that she was his daughter out of his mind in his private thoughts; and instead thought of her as just another speedster, an equal, someone who needed assistance getting back to her time and perhaps some mentoring in regard to her speed as well.

That was just easier until he figured out a way to sort through everything else.

Unfortunately for him, some things were just ingrained. Once he knew she was his daughter, the father’s instinct that he liked to pretend didn’t exist between him and his daughter would spring to the forefront at the most unexpected times.

Tonight was one of those nights.

“No,” he said instantly. “No, no, no, no, no.”

Surprised by his strong rejection, Iris tried to soothe him, get him to see reason.

“Barry-”

“No.”

He turned to face her with wide eyes.

“She cannot go out dressed like that.”

Nora scoffed from the bottom of the stairs where she stood, decked out for their fun night at the club – an alternative to just a bar, since the speedsters could definitely enjoy themselves dancing. Iris held up a hand to silence her.

“Barry,” Iris warned, pulling him away from who he’d decided was a very scantily-clad Nora West-Allen.

Her attire wasn’t actually that bad, Iris thought. Sure, her skirt was short, and leather, as was her jacket, and her patterned almost see-through top beneath was cut low enough to show cleavage enhanced by a push-up bra. But, adding the high heels, daring make-up, and dangly earrings, it was obvious that it more than toed the line of what her husband deemed appropriate.

After pulling him half across the room into the kitchen, out of sight of their daughter, she turned his face towards hers firmly to get his attention and whispered heatedly.

“She’s an adult, Barry.”

“She’s-”

“And it’s a club. Not a formal event, not something where she needs to look professional. And dressing casual isn’t exactly appropriate attire for a nightclub.”

“Wha- you’re- I can’t-” he sputtered, trying to look towards his daughter around the corner unsuccessfully. “Are you taking her side?”

Iris raised her eyebrows, amused.

“You’re acting like an overprotective father, Barry,” she said in a sing-song voice, well aware that was the one thing he was pretending he wasn’t ever since Nora had shown up.

His jaw dropped. “I am not.”

She blinked innocently. “No? Then what are you?”

He pulled back from her. “A concerned citizen from 2018 who wants to make sure she doesn’t get assaulted for dressing the way she is.”

Iris sighed testily. “Don’t victim blame. And there will be many more scantily clad…citizens…at the club, I assure you.”

He remained unmoved.

“And look at me.” She let the light jacket fall off her shoulders to reveal the dress she wore, snug at the top and flowy from the waist downward. It wasn’t as revealing a look as her daughter’s, but it fell into the same category.

“E-Exactly,” Barry said, struggling to keep his eyes on her face when every fiber in his being wanted to zero in on her body, with his eyes and his hands. “I-If I’m feeling this way about you, just imagine what low-lifes will think about Nor-”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” she muttered and yanked him down to her, sealing his whining with a passionate kiss that made him melt around her.

“Irisss,” he slurred, and she smiled against his lips.

“Hush up about what Nora’s wearing, and I promise there will be more where that came from when we get home.”

Reluctantly he nodded and begrudgingly said, “Fine.”

“Are you guys ready, or…?” Nora called out.

Iris patted the side of Barry’s face and returned cheerfully, “Yep! All set.”

At the club, Barry spent half the night glaring at anyone who dared to leer at Nora in even the slightest way, which he decided was everyone not in their group. Except Ralph, who tried to flirt with her a bit, leading Iris to have to restrain Barry from going after him, reminding him it was harmless and that Nora clearly wasn’t interested because in her time he was like an uncle to her.

Still, only Iris pulling Barry onto the dance floor and mesmerizing him with her own moves got him to switch his attention away from his daughter being hit on by strangers. Besides, Nora held her own, pepper spray tucked safely away in her clutch and a dazzling smile followed by a stomp of high heels should they prove necessary. She took after her father in a lot of ways, but when it came to flirting she was like her mother; aware, indulgent, but inevitably dangerous in the face of unwanted persistence.

“Did you have a good time tonight, Nora?” Barry asked, still dizzy with the memory of how Iris had been pressed against him on the dance floor.

Iris sent her daughter a look, so her open mouth would be promptly shut.

“Yeah…I had a good time,” she assured.

“That’s great,” he said, smiling like a fool, and she laughed, turning to Cisco as they left the club. “Has he always been like this?”

Cisco looked back at Barry and Iris, caught up in each other as they left and smiled, amused.

“Your mother has always had a profound effect on your father,” he said, equally amused and barely holding back a snort.

Nora smiled to herself and bit her bottom lip. I’m glad.

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

[takaraphoenix]

In light of tumblr actually committing suicide, I’m feeling nostalgic and would like to tell you all about my first real online community experience. Because everybody always has their MySpace or LiveJournal stories... and I was never on either of those.

I want to tell you about a site that is called Animexx. And... it changed a lot since I was really active on it and it was by far never perfect, but at its skeletal structure, it’s something I am still seeking out and I genuinely don’t understand why such a type of site doesn’t exist in a broader, English context. Let me rephrase that to make it clearer: It’s a German site... well... there seems to be a .com version that’s actually English, but somehow everything still shows up in German so I don’t know about that. And, as the name might suggest, it is primarily focused on anime/manga/Jpop.

So, this is less of a recommendation and more of a... pitch of my dream online-experience, based on how that site worked, with some side-notes on upgrades. But, at its core, it’s essentially a mixture of DeviantArt, Fanfiction.Net, tumblr and then some more.

(I’ll be talking in past-tense because I haven’t really been on the site in 10 years so I genuinely don’t know what changed and what is still the same.)

Fanworks

Obviously. Only that the site had different partitions for different types of fanworks. Not like tumblr where everything is just one endless pit that you get lost in.

You had fanarts, that were sorted by TV show/movie/book/band/whatever so you could actually go and properly look for them. It’s one of the things I hate about DeviantArt; that you don’t have specific categories to post fanarts under in the same way you’d do it with fics on FFNet/AO3 so you can browse specifically for them. In my ideal world, we would also add a tagging-function like on AO3 for it, including things such as pairing tags and character tags so you could actually find shit easier.

You had fanfiction. WITH a tagging function - just like on AO3. AND you had ONE feature that I AM STILL DEARLY MISSING. Seriously, both FFNet and AO3 make me bemoan the loss of the Character Descriptions.

See, you’d click on the fic and firstly be presented with the fic’s main page. A list of all chapters, the tags, the summary and the stats. And above it are tags.

You can (still, as proven by fresh and new screenshot) upload character profiles, including a picture of the character and a chart with whatever information you want to give - name/age/whatever. Which, particularly in AUs is immensely practical. “Wait what magical creature was that again?”.

And not just that. The tab right next to “Characters”? “Illustrations”. Since the site itself hosts fanarts too, you could directly mark the art you upload as an illutration to a specific fic and they’d then be linked to connect with each other.

Now, granted, their fanfiction system is not perfect - there are a lot of rules/censoring. But this very system? The system of including additional character information and allowing a direct link between a fic and its illustrations? That is perfect. And I miss it very dearly.

And fanfiction and fanarts aren’t where fanworks end. It also had its own doujinshi - comic - site. Because that is also a thing I hate on DeviantArt. If you’re lucky, someone posting a comic will also include a link to the last page in the description. No. On here, comics worked just like fanfiction in that you have it all together. They too are separated into chapters, if the author so pleases, and you can just subscribe to a comic like you’d do to a fanfiction. Seriously, how has this function not reached DeviantArt yet...? This site has had it for literal eighteen years now...

Photos also had their separate sub-site, like cosplay photos and such.

Now, nowadays and with my experience here on tumblr, on an ideal website we would also add a separate GIF-site to it.

Community

For one, your profile is way more elaborate than on... any other site I’ve seen. Aside from many options on what to put on it - like multiple profile pics, multiple tabs on your biography (mostly used to linking to other things... that is actually why my FFNet profile looks the way it does, because that’s how I used to keep it in the olden days, only that I would actually be able to separate the timeline and the updating schedule onto different tags for easier access...).

You also had a guestbook, much like how you can publically comment on people’s profiles on DeviantArt.

It also had a direct link to your personal blog. Which, you don’t have to use obviously, but yeah. There’s also a blogging function.

Of course it also has a private messaging function. Only that it’s actually a good and proper one. I love that FFNet has one, but it sucks because it’s just all clogging up your inbox. No, this site has one that works essentially like your average e-mail account; you can create folders and sort your fucking mail like a civilized person.

Additonally to the private messaging function, there is also a chat on here.

There is also an RPG community. Not like on tumblr where just... everything is everywhere and whatever. It’s neatly separated, just like the fics and fanarts and comics and photos. Everything has its place. Seriously, why are American sites so fucking unorganized, it drives me crazy.

Now, the best part about the community were the Circles. That’s what they were called. They’re forums, really. Clubs, kinda.

You could start one about... whatever. Like, dedicated to a particular ship. And you, as the admin, could then proceed however you want. Public? Or only after applying, meaning that the admin had to let you in. Especially after meeting the phenomenon of antis, I miss this dearly, because... just imagining having a Circle for fans of your “problematic fave” and moderating who gets in - meaning only letting in actual fans of the character - so they can safely post about them there.

Each Circle included multiple forums, however many you want. Say, one generally talking about the ship, one about that chara, one about the other, another about gift exchanges, fic recommendations, or literally whatever you want.

And a Circle could directly link to its members’ fanfiction and fanarts - or well those relevant for the Circle at hand.

Those were really where the sense of community came from. You had your... yeah, your safe space to talk about whatever you loved with other people who also love it. No risk of publically posting about your fave and some dumbass hijacking the post or bullying you about it. You just had your forums inside the Circle and got to talk about what you love.

There is much more that the site had to offer - a direct shop where fanartists could sell merch and printed versions of their comics, an event page where you could easily find fan-events near you (or far away from you, depending on what you’re looking for), heck it even doubled as a dating site - but that just to sum up what I really miss about this site and how it worked.

And I just... I genuinely don’t understand why such a thing, in this day and age of fandom being so huge, doesn’t exist on a broader scale, in a mainly English-speaking context. A site that seamlessly unites the different aspects of fandom - fanarts, fanfiction, fan-comics, community and blogging.

Both DeviantArt and tumblr are a garbage mess, let’s be very clear on that, because they allow absolutely no way of properly and easily accessing only fanworks to one specific fandom. It’s not like sorting into fandoms is a new thing; fanfiction does it even on fucking Fanfiction.Net so why does it seem so wild for non-fanfiction sites to also include such a function...? Not to mention, when talking about those two examples, a proper and neat separation of the different types of fanworks. Yes, a rudimentary system exists, but... not a clear-cut and simple one, for some reason.

For me, who I come from a site that united all sides of fandom so easily and for free, it has always been absolutely beyond me that you need different accounts on different sites for your different fandom-experience - tumblr for blogging, DeviantArt for a half-way good system on fanarts, AO3/FFNet for fanfiction (and yes, I know many just post everything on tumblr, but with how it is indistinguishable when it comes to looking for specific things, this is clearly not what tumblr was really meant to do...).

I just want... one site to unite them all but also do it systematically and not in one hot-mess pile of EVERYTHING where you have to entirely rely on luck and tags, instead of sub-categories of a) types of fanwork and b) fandoms. Seriously, it can’t be that hard and it has literally been around for eighteen years now in Germany. Is it just because we Germans like to be organized, or what...?

And, to end this post: If you actually know such a site, drop me a link. If you feel inspired and make such a site, also drop me a link.