There's little in life that's better than the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
Clarke gives a happy sigh as the scent fills her lungs. She stands before the oven as the microwave timer counts down, and wastes no time in pulling the cookies out the moment the timer sounds. She likes to underbake them, just a bit. Good cookies should be a bit gooey.
She slips the aluminum foil the cookies are on over to another plate and then carries it out of the kitchen and down the hall, into the office where Lexa has spent most of the morning, scowling at her computer screen.
"Is work giving you a headache today?" Clarke clucks her tongue in sympathy, setting the cookies down on the large oak desk and bending to brush a kiss to the top of Lexa's head.
"Yes and no," Lexa grumbles, absently hooking an arm around Clarke's waist to hold her close. "I haven't been working."
"Oh." Clarke looks down at her in surprise, then glances at the computer. "What are you doing, then?"
"Wattpad."
"Wattpad?" Clarke wrinkles her nose. "Who even uses that?"
"Apparently thieves, mostly." Lexa's voice is flat, but her eyes are flinty as she glares at the computer screen. "So many fics on Wattpad are stolen from ao3. This is the latest ridiculous drama, are you ready? Some asshole is stealing works off ao3 and passing them off as their own."
"Your work?"
"Yeah, my work's been stolen before but not by this person. They've stolen some of my friends' fics."
"Well that's shitty. How pathetic do they have to be to need attention that much?"
Lexa shrugs, face stony. "Clearly they don't get enough attention in their real lives so they have to trick people into giving it to them online. You wanna know what's really shitty, though?"
Clarke brushes a hand through Lexa's hair, trying to soothe her. "What?"
"My friends reached out to this person and asked them to take their work down, since they stole it from ao3 and were passing it off as their own. I mean, the proof is literally there, the fics were on ao3 years ago. But rather than apologize and take down the fics, this person just blocks them. And then makes up this insane story about a falling out with their ex-best-friends and all this other bullshit." Lexa scoffs. "My friends don't even know this person! They didn't know they existed until seeing their stolen fic. Now I think the person is making the stories private and still claiming them as their own. How fucking deranged do you have to be to do that?"
"What the fuck," Clarke shakes her head, disgusted. "That's so shitty and pathetic. Can't they write their own fic? What a loser."
"I know. Instead they choose to steal and pass it off as their own. Then they probably turn around and wonder why the fandom is dwindling and less and less people are writing fic. This is why!" Lexa throws her hands up. "Idiots like this who steal and post bullshit. Total jackass!"
"I'm sorry baby." Clarke presses another kiss to Lexa's head. "Maybe you should write a fic and put it on Wattpad. Maybe people will read it and learn the truth so they aren't manipulated by this weirdo spreading lies for attention. If the story is taken down, you can just share more and more. This person stealing fic is a small fry amateur, but you and your friends are well known through the fandom. Between you all, you have thousands and thousands of followers. You can get them involved, if you need to. Even if this story is taken down you can just repost it again and again and again, for as long as you need. You should share the links to the fics too, so people can see the proof that these fics were stolen."
"Oh that's no problem. I actually have the links here." Lexa scrolls up on the page and Clarke squints to see the text.
Unexpected: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23224450/chapters/55603420
Jigsaw Girl: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122192/chapters/18618781
More Women than Warriors: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6327778/chapters/14498920
Anytime I Want: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4937239/chapters/11329975
"There's the proof that these works were stolen, because they were already long on ao3. You could also check the author's tumblrs to find further proof since they've spent years talking about their fics." Lexa raises her voice a little. "It's important that people read these fics on ao3 and support the authors. It's not cool to read stolen work, it also discourages the author from continuing to write and share. Thieves are thieves, they're posting stolen stories and passing them off as their own, and when they run out of those they have nothing left because they can't write themselves. The original authors continue writing as long as they feel safe to do so and they're supported."
Clarke nods. "Yep. People should go read and leave feedback on the original fics on ao3. Don't support scumbag thieves!"
Lexa turns her head, nuzzling against Clarke's stomach before tilting her head up and pursing her lips expectantly. Clarke smiles, bending down to kiss her. After a moment they break apart, and Lexa nudges their nose together before sighing.
"Can I have one of these delicious cookies now please?"
Clarke smirks, reaching over to grab one, twisting so it doesn't fall apart. It's perfectly warm, and she brings it to Lexa's lips. "Eat up, babe."
