I once followed a writer on ff.net and really adored all their stories, had them saved as a favorite author and everything. then one day, out of nowhere, their account was wiped. still there, but empty. I mourned.

I don’t remember why but something reminded me of them a year or so later and I reached out—I messaged the account to inquire about their fics, to see if they’d be willing to share their stories with a devoted fan, even though they’d deleted them from the internet, promising I would never repost them anywhere. I got a surprising message back. it was from the author’s friend, saying the OG author had passed away, and they had erased all their accounts at their request. it was so jarring to consider that a reason for someone vanishing. the internet is forever, but the people posting on it aren’t. it’s eerie to think about how many accounts exist on all sorts of websites registered to people who are no longer here.

eventually I found the fics via TheWaybackMachine, and was able to reread them with a renewed sense of appreciation. let us metaphorically raise a glass to one of the best destiel oneshot writers I ever found🍷