VasterEmpires
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vasterempires.bsky.social
VasterEmpires
@vasterempires.bsky.social
50 followers 96 following 140 posts
Greetings, it's me! New to bsky/ao3/heartstopper/and all that. 💚

Read my HS work at https://archiveofourown.org/users/VasterEmpires
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vasterempires.bsky.social
My second contribution to the Nick's Research collaborative drabble (drabblaborative?) series is up! A canon twist - Charlie tells Nick something while they're in the shower 🚿

archiveofourown.org/works/73036366
October 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
The rumors are true - my first-ever E-rated HS fic is up! 😳 Chapter 1 (of 3) of Out on a Limb features Nick hiking with friends, meeting a trail guide, and learning about tick safety in a sexy way. (I promise it's better than that summary makes it sound! 😆) 🌲🌲🌲

archiveofourown.org/works/726474...
Text reading "Nick and his friends have signed up for a three-day reunion hiking trek through the late-autumn hills of Vermont. What he didn't sign up for, though, was for their stunning trail guide to have the most luxurious legs he's ever laid eyes on. Prompted by the need to check for ticks, Nick has some realizations about what he's into, learns a surprising amount about geology, and has a much more fun time than he could have expected."
October 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Well, I've been missing while off having yet another woods adventure! Had a wonderful time connecting with nature, and got a bunch of brainstorming/writing done while I was at it.

Here are some photos I took that will be inspiring my writing-focused October! Hope you all have been well #heartsky 💚
A floating dock on a lake with mountains in the distance and a clear blue sky. Branches frame one side of the photo, with a mix of red and green leaves. A view from a mountainside overlooking a lake surrounded by forests. Pine trees and rocky ground in the foreground. A beach of large rocks and boulders, the sea and pine trees beyond. A large rock formation on a beach, with small, windswept evergreen trees, the sea and cloud-shrouded sun.
September 29, 2025 at 11:49 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Oh and I also went apple picking for the first time 🍎🍏 Still early in the season so not many varieties ready yet, but the trees were full of fruit & the walk through the orchard was gorgeous!
A view down a grassy path with apple trees along the sides A tree full of ripe apples A wizened tree with apples on its branches A view of tall trees just starting to turn yellow in autumn
September 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Heya #heartsky! I'm back from my wonderful woods adventure weekend! Lots of photos & writing inspiration - I'm feeling ready to work on the next fic this week 🏞️💚
A forested landscape photo with fluffy clouds A distant landscape view from atop a rocky mountaintop Distant forested hills with a rock cairn in the foreground A rock cairn on a rocky surface with woods and clouds in the distance
September 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Things get both a little romantic and a little angsty in this latest chapter of Raccoon Love 🫣 entitled "The Escape." Enjoy!

And also enjoy this adorable raccoon with its tongue out 🦝

archiveofourown.org/works/697924...
A raccoon sticking its tongue out
September 2, 2025 at 5:43 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Chapter 2 of Raccoon Love is here! Chrrlhi makes contact with Nnskhlss, and offers him some options... Enjoy! 🦝💚

archiveofourown.org/works/697924...
Text that reads: He stops running and looks out the window. I see the yellow reflectivity in his eyes, and I know he's spotted me. "It's you," he says, quietly. "Of course," I reply. "Don't think just because you're in there that you're off the hook." "The hook?" "You're in my territory. I can see you're in a predicament. But if you want to stay, you have to play by my rules."
August 27, 2025 at 7:14 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
First chapter of my next #heartstopper #fic will be out tomorrow. It's a weird one - I think it counts as "crack taken seriously" - so if you liked Taste the Feeling you might like it too. Here's the first couple paragraphs as a taste! (A sniff?) 🦝💚
Text that reads: I: The Scent I can smell something different. Something new. Not a rare occurrence in this neighborhood, the one with the good trash. One house clearly belongs to an amateur baker, her rejected pastries and croissants providing many a hearty feast for a discerning palate like mine. The kind of meals that made it all worth the venture across the thoroughfare, from my old haunts, to reach it. Once you get onto the quiet streets, there's no risk of the big cars zipping their way towards you, headlights flashing. But this scent isn't coming from her direction. No, it's from the small old house at the end of the lane, the one that had been boarded up for a couple years.
August 24, 2025 at 4:56 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
This "walk"-heavy snippet is from chapter 4 of my next heartstopper fic. I tried to make the excerpt short enough not to be spoilery, but instead it just comes across... well... (I promise it's rated T! 😅) If you can figure out what's going on, I'll be impressed! #wordgamewednesday
"I saw you today." I give him a sly smile. "You did? Out on the walk?" It strikes me every time, how he calls it a walk, since he can't walk around anytime he wants. Walking is a special occasion to him. "Yeah, with the little harness on. Very fetching." I wink.
August 13, 2025 at 10:29 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
This one is a classic! (CW: Gun violence??)
Hey guys! I have good news and bad news. Good news first: I got shot, so now I can describe it realistically in writing! Yay. Bad news: I got shot. In my shoulder. So writing this chapter took a while. Sorry about that hahah. (not to mention now I gotta make sure one of your favorite characters gets shot oooopsie)
August 8, 2025 at 8:10 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Well, sometimes the inspiration strikes... New #heartstopper #fic , crack-taken-seriously, based on this photo (thanks to limegreenfrog on discord!) Nick and Charlie are Coke bottles in a fridge. It's short, fluffy & fun, I promise - enjoy!

Taste the Feeling: archiveofourown.org/works/68783901
Two Coke Zero bottles in a convenience store fridge, labeled "Nick" and "Charlie". Text over the photo says "They really do find each other in every universe 😭".
August 6, 2025 at 1:57 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Next chapter of "Hang the Bouncer" will be out tomorrow! Nick meets with an old friend and a new foe, and his missed connection from that darn app continues to haunt him. Here's a snippet! #fic
Text that says "While she stepped to the counter, Nick looked at his phone. He was tempted to open Compatibility Checker, purely out of force of habit. He checked it so many times a day, for that little rush of possibility-induced adrenaline, followed by the inevitable crush of disappointment. It was an addicting cycle, the way it rewired your brain chemistry off the power of hope. He scrolled instagram for a few instead."
July 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
It's up! Hang the Bouncer, a Black Mirror-inspired nightclub AU, is here. In chapter one, Nick's Compatibility Checker app finds him his perfect match... or does it?

Enjoy! #heartstopper #fic

archiveofourown.org/works/679399...
Text that says "Summary: Nick is back home, working as a bouncer, and kind of addicted to the latest dating app craze, Compatibility Checker. It gives you a match percent with anyone who walks by you, making bouncer the ideal job for an enthusiast. But his percentages are always very, very low... until a certain someone arrives in the nightclub line. Has he found his perfect match, or will everything go wrong? (Hint: Everything goes wrong) A Nick POV Black Mirror-inspired enemies-to-lovers dating-app-critique could-be-read-as-soulmates nightclub AU (though only like, a quarter of it happens in the nightclub)"
July 22, 2025 at 12:16 AM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Writing update: I wrote two chapters today, but the total length also expanded by a chapter. Looking at my travel + work schedule, if I make good progress tomorrow, I think I might start posting Monday 👀

Have a snippet from the first chapter - it's a meet but not quite a meet-cute... #heartsky #fic
Text that reads "A person in line was already dancing in a head-to-toe electric rainbow getup, arms above their mulleted head. Next to them, their friend briefly locked eyes with Nick, stunning black eyeliner and cheekbone highlight set to kill. Black shirt with a white abstract cartoon pattern, and black skinny jeans that clung to him in a way Nick couldn't let his gaze linger on. He and his kaleidoscopic companion seemed to hail from different universes. Nick looked back down at the next patron. You're on the clock, Nelson, he thought, no thirsting."
July 20, 2025 at 1:59 AM
vasterempires.bsky.social
From the first chapter of my next fic! It's about half-written, hoping to be on the editing phase & start posting by the end of July...
Once back home, Nick changed into his pyjamas, tossing his slacks into the dryer for a short cycle. His mum was asleep, but she never woke from his late-night laundry. Sarah was amazing, and not just for being a heavy sleeper. She never complained about having her full-grown son, back in his childhood bedroom after almost six years of uni and rugby league, and on a not-mother-friendly sleep schedule to boot.
July 16, 2025 at 9:16 PM
vasterempires.bsky.social
Idk if any other #fanfic writers do this, but my wordcounter has a "density of keyword phrases" tool. It's fascinating to see what words I use over and over, and kinda reads like a found poem, or like the world's shortest summary of my fic. Here's the one for AitW 🌙🌲
A block of text reading "Keyword Density: next new moon / nick could see / two years ago / nick looked down / looked tori nick / nick took deep / took deep breath / after new moon / looked back nick / one more question"
June 29, 2025 at 2:38 PM