#7 days of kastle

[skylessknights]

Oooo I haven't done one of these is a while! Thanks for tagging me @sainteda 🥰️💖

1. How many works do you have on ao3 (or masterlist)? - Gosh I just looked and I have 66!!

2. What’s your total ao3 word count? - 175,399k!! That's insaneeeeee

3. What fandoms do you write for? - You know what I don't really write for specific fandoms, it really just depends on my hyper fixations or my otp list. But my main ones are:

9-1-1 (it's been a while)

The Bear

Lord of the Rings

4. Top five fics by kudos - I just looked and...it's literally all my 9-1-1/Buddie fics (I'm not even proud of these ones)😭

Answer Truthfully 

One Step Closer

Morning Surprise

I Miss You, Honey 

Thinking Of You

5. Do you respond to comments? - OF COURSE! I love reading comments, they are the source of my happiness and motivation! 💖

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? - You know what ? It has to be the 4x13 speculation fic I wrote for Buddie: Grief Is The Price We Pay For Love (Major death and a whole lot of angst!)

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? - There's so many to choose from!! But I'll pick my Sydcarmy fic called Love is not our enemy because they kiss at the end!

8. Do you get hate on fics? - Erm...no?? I don't think I have.

9. Do you write smut? - I may write fics with sexual tension and implied sexual content but I never venture into smut.

10. Craziest crossover? - I'm glad you asked! It's not a fic but it's quick edit I did based on a Hannibal x The Bear AU I had in mind. May I'll actually write the fic one day...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? - Noooo, like I didn't even know this was a thing??? People do this???

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? - I can't remember honestly 😅

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? - No, I don't think I would want to tbh.

14. All time favorite ship? - Gosh that's too hard!! I'll give you my top 3:

SydCarmy (Sydney x Carmy - The Bear)

Kastle (Karen x Frank - Daredevil/The Punisher)

Buddie (Buck x Eddie - 911)

5. What’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? - Gosh there's so many!!! I won't answer this because I will eventually get to them...hopefully...one day...

16. What are your writing strengths? - I would say my poetic style?? I just love using metaphors and allegories to describe characters, worlds and all sorts. I thank The Song of Achilles for inspiring this tbh.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? - I think dialogue and my poetic style, because sometimes I can go overboard and just miss the mark 😅

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? - LOVE IT!! Any chance I get I will use it!

19. First fandom you wrote in? - I thought it would be Disney's Descendants because that was how I got introduced to Tumblr. But it was actually 9-1-1!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? - I'm going to be biased and say the one that I'm writing right now which is called: The Final Bow

It's a Feyd Rautha x OC multi fic and I'm having so much fun! 💖

Tagging: @drrav3nb, @matan4il, @lemonzestywrites, @tabbytabbytabby, @cinematicnomad

[piratefalls]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Game

i wasn't directly tagged but i have put off the open tag from @ejunkiet long enough and i'm also bored, so since i'm sure a ton of people have already done this i won't tag anyone, but if you do it i want to see it!

1 - How many works do you have on AO3?

an even 40.

2 - What's your total AO3 word count?

just shy of 170k, which absolutely blows my mind because it doesn't seem like that's possible.

3 - What fandoms do you write for?

previously hawaii five-0 and teen wolf, but i'm currently attempting to write for red, white and royal blue.

4 - What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

all are teen wolf except one, but in order: (Waiting) Until the Sky Falls Down on Me; Today and Every Day; I'm Gonna Give All My Secrets Away; Man, Interrupted; and it's my (pants) party and i'll cry if i want to. this gives a pretty comprehensive idea of what i'm about lol.

5 - Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i'm usually very good about it but they used to build up and i get anxious thinking about responding to all of them lol. but i love responding to them when i can!

6 - What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i don't really do angsty endings? i just went back and checked every ending and if it's not entirely happy it's at least hopeful lmao. i don't think it's in me to do angsty endings.

7 -What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i've got a lot of happy endings but i'm gonna have to go with The Comedy (Is That It's Serious) because that fic was really just me dealing with my mom having and then beating cancer and that kind of feels like the happiest ending.

8 - Do you get hate on fics?

i never gotten hate, but i did get someone telling me to make changes now that we knew what happened in canon (i speculated about sibling names) and it was just a weird thing to suggest.

9 - Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have, but it's not my most favorite thing to do? i have to be in a very specific mood and it has to be necessary. i don't think i can write pwp lol. i don't think i've written smut that wasn't some form of connection/expression of love.

10 - Do you write crossovers?

i don't. i do enjoy a good crossover though!

11 - Have you ever had a fic stolen?

one was posted to goodreads during that whole fiasco and i had it taken down, but man did the comments on that hurt lol. i don't write because i think i'm particularly good at it, i do it for fun. so yeah that kind of sucked but occasionally i was like "yeah that's fair lol"

12 - Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my knowledge, but i'd love it!

13 - Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i haven't! i'd love to someday. i think i do my best when i can collaborate/bounce ideas off someone.

14 - What's your all time favorite ship?

i mean in terms of bookmarks, 1000% sterek. firstprince is very much up there. kastle is my all time favorite het ship and i'll never forgive the fact that we didn't get them outright confessing their feelings. never. mcdanno is there too. (i made a lot of friends from the mcdanno fandom.) once upon a time i'd have said destiel but that fandom really tainted that for me.

15 - What's a WIP that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

hahahahahaha i talk about this one on a semi-regular basis, but i have like 13k of a post-series Person of Interest fic that i'm probably never gonna finish but it's got some really good shit in it. i've thought about reworking it to make it an au for another fandom but it's so deeply reese and finch that i'd have to rewrite every piece of dialogue. and it would require people having seen the show because it won't make any damn sense without it. (i'd consider sharing it though.)

16 - What are your writing strengths?

introspection and character analysis, for sure. i love just kind of flaying a character open and digging into their thoughts and feelings and what motivates them. the most fun. also writing really off the wall shit. it hasn't failed me yet lol.

17 - What are your writing weaknesses?

any kind of worldbuilding. i also don't think i'm particularly good at smut but i'm also not using cringe euphemisms (the worst one i've ever read was "chocolate star" and i'll let you imagine what that was describing, if i have to know it so do you) so i'll say my smut is at least passable lol.

18 - Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i mean, it's fine? i don't really think about it much except when i have to go all the way down to the notes section to figure out what's being said and then jump back to where i left off. whatever happened to doing that thing where you hover over the phrase and the translation pops up above it?

19 - First fandom you wrote for?

first fandom i ever published for was teen wolf. first attempt at anything was criminal minds. it didn't go well.

20 - Favorite fic you've written?

so going back to 16, the things i had the most fun writing were, for introspection, definitely Written in the Scars on Our Hearts (about all the ways a person can be touched either physically or emotionally), and for off the wall, Got Your Body On My Mind (I Want It Bad) because that venn diagram joke is some of my best work. the comments section was so great lol.

[imashybear]

9 People You Want to Get to Know Better

Tagged by @hopesapowerfulthing - thanks, dude! 💕

1. Three Ships

- Zutara, Reylo, Kastle. What can I say; I love a good redemption arc & watching hot people fight.

2. First Ever Ship

- Ichabbie. Anyone remember that one? It was so wholesome while it lasted.

3. Last Song

- In honor of Valentine’s Day, I blasted “What Is Love” by Haddaway while wearing a unicorn sweatshirt & galloping around my partner’s kitchen. He thought it was…somewhat…funny. So, mission accomplished!

4. Last Movie

- The Banshees of Inisherin. Good watch! Lots of interesting symbolism paired with pure Irish mulishness. The Colin Farrell renaissance continues.

5. Currently Reading

- Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. I love true crime and, having come from a conservative religious background, I’m fascinated by the dark underbelly of a life of “purity.”

6. Currently Watching

- Sobbing my way through The Last of Us, like everyone else. I love the games so much and I thought I was ready, but the show is throwing some curveballs that my tear ducts were not prepared for.

7. Currently Consuming

- I am in the season of carbs right now, it seems. It’s been a couple weeks of daily bread. Or pasta. Or PB&J’s.

8. Currently Craving

- Honestly? I wish I hadn’t eaten my last garlic parmesan breadstick a couple hours ago. They are as thick & fluffy as tempur-pedic pillows, but they slide down my gullet faster than hot dogs down a hallway. Now I’ll have to find a time to surreptitiously make more.

Tagging @saltysatellite804 @witchingtime @thisisartbylexie @carry-the-sky @kayurka @painted-maypole @bartagnanz … I wanna know more about you!

[quirksofartstuff]

💖 BROOCHIE OF THE DAY💖 @mdinstagram1 is wearing our “Hollygagger” brooch designed by @jparkerdesign . Use code: BROOCHIE at www.Kinksandquirks.com to save $10 on this piece while supplies last! Tag us @lipstickandchrome to be featured. The BROOCHIE of the Day will get $10 off their next order! #brooch #brooches #handmadebrooch #broochie #broochlover #broochlovers #broochlove #broochaddict #pinupstyle #pinup #lipstickandchrome #broochieoftheday #kitschmas #kitschychristmas #vintagechristmas #blackcat • 7 Days of Brookemas, Day 4: I heard you liked candy canes, so I put a candy cane on your candy cane! . I made this skirt and bought this amazing sweater last year, but never did find the energy to do a full Brookemas entry with both pieces. So excited to put it on today! And of course any excuse to feature that amazing Mickey bag, a gift from a friend during the depths of the panini when everything seemed so bleak. I keep it on my dresser all year long to bring me a smile every day. Happy Holidays everyone! . Sweater: Fun (dot) com Skirt: Me-made with fabric by Cloud 9 Necklace: ancient Amazon Cat and Snowman brooch: Lipstick & Chrome via Kinks and Quirks Bow belt: Anna Kastle via Amazon Peppermint Candy Cane Christmas Bag: Loungefly via Disneyworld thanks to the lovely Allison Glasses: Vooglam Shoes: Alegria, refurbed and dyed by me . #laidofffashionparade #ootd #ootdfashion #plussizefashion #plussizestyle #whatfatgirlsactuallywear #dopaminedressing #alegrianation #sharewithalegrianation #vooglam #wearwhatyouwant #lipstickandchrome #candycanefashion #candycanechristmas #kinksandquirks (at Quirks & www.kinksandquirks.com) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmhTkufOygO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[your-dietician]

Over 50% of CEOs say they’re considering cutting jobs over the next 6 months — and remote workers may be the first to go

New Post has been published on https://medianwire.com/over-50-of-ceos-say-theyre-considering-cutting-jobs-over-the-next-6-months-and-remote-workers-may-be-the-first-to-go/

Over 50% of CEOs say they’re considering cutting jobs over the next 6 months — and remote workers may be the first to go

Alarm sirens from the C-Suite about a looming recession are gaining volume in America and elsewhere, but calls back to the office for full-time work are a lot softer.

Most CEOs across the globe shared the view that a recession is on the horizon and coming sooner than later, according to a Tuesday report from KPMG on business-leader outlooks.

Nine in ten CEOs in the U.S. (91%) believe a recession will arrive in the coming 12 months, while 86% of CEOs globally feel the same way, according to the findings from the international audit, tax and advisory firm.

That echoes the foreboding predictions coming from big name Wall Street investors like Stanley Druckenmiller.

In America, half of the CEOs (51%) say they’re considering workforce reductions during the next six months — and in the global survey overall, eight in ten CEOs say the same.

“More than half of the CEOs in the U.S. say they’re considering workforce reductions during the next six months.”

— KPMG report on business-leader outlooks.

One caveat for people who like working from home: Remote workers may find it in their best interest to show their faces in the office as their job security becomes more uncertain.

It is “likely” and/or “extremely likely” that remote workers will be laid off first, according to a majority (60%) of 3,000 managers polled by beautiful.ai, a presentation software provider. Another 20% were undecided, and the remaining 20% said it wasn’t likely.

When asked how they foresaw their company’s working arrangements in three years for jobs traditionally in an office, nearly half of U.S. CEOs (45%) said it would be a hybrid mix of in-person and remote work. One-third (34%) said the jobs would still be in-office, and 20% said it was fully remote.

CEOs across the globe sounded more keen on in-person work. Two-thirds (65%) said in-office work was the ideal, while 28% said hybrid would be the way and 7% said it would be fully remote. The global findings pulled from U.S. business leaders, but also from CEOs in Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan and certain European Union countries and the United Kingdom.

Workers feel emboldened

“It’s difficult to know why the global numbers are so different from the U.S., and they are very different,” Paul Knopp, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO, told MarketWatch. “In the U.S., we certainly have a hybrid environment as our predominant model going forward for the future.”

The tight job market is one reason for the hybrid-work dynamic, Knopp noted. But so are the fresh memories in recent years, highlighting just how much companies need their employees, he said.

The slew of initial layoffs to deal with the short, sharp recession during COVID-19’s early stages soon morphed into attempts to staff up. Many workers weighed career choices — and saw the jobs market suddenly tip in their favor. “Employers in the U.S. very much recognize people as their greatest asset,” Knopp said, adding, “so, employees are receiving a bit more agency about where they work in the future.”

Other research suggests there’s no full-time torrent of workers back to the office. Through late September, average office occupancy across 10 major cities remained below 50%, according to the security technology provider Kastle Systems. The swipe data showed a rise in recent weeks to roughly 47%, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays typically being the busiest office days.

“‘In the U.S., we certainly have a hybrid environment as our predominant model going forward for the future.’”

— Paul Knopp, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO

Microsoft MSFT, -2.13% researchers recently warned of ‘productivity paranoia’ among managers about their hybrid workforce. Many bosses appear skeptical that their staff is being productive, even if hybrid workers are scheduling meetings, tapping out emails and corresponding with colleagues at a furious pace.

Other labor-market data released Tuesday hinted at a cooling job market. There were roughly one million fewer job openings in August compared to July, Labor Department data showed. Job openings also fell below 11 million for the first time last November.

Fine tuning the nature of work after the worst days of the pandemic is an ongoing process, Knopp said. Another question for management will be where to cut jobs in the face of a recession, Knopp added. “Business leaders in general are going be cautious about how deep they cut,” he said.

Read the full article here

[darlingshane]

7 Days of Kastle

Day 7: The Consultant

Pairing: Frank Castle/Karen Page

Other Characters: Sarah Lieberman

Content: Romantic Comedy AU*

Warnings: Language. Absurdity.

Word Count: 1,190

Summary: Karen is off to a great start in her new job at Castle Motors.

Prompt: Free Day

*A/N: Though this is neither romantic or comedic, that was my initial thought when I started working on this one. I didn't have time to finish it, so I'm only sharing the beginning, hoping to post this fully as a separate fic one day.

– Everything in here is most likely wrong cause I don't know anything about companies and how they work. Just enjoy the read I guess.

– My last contribution for @daredevilexchange​‘s Fan Week, thank you for hosting this!

It's a classic misunderstanding of biblical proportions, kind of. The one you see on those films, wrongfully labeled as chick flicks for the absurdity of the situations presented. Yes, arguably most of them are but that is what makes them so comforting and fun to watch just to disconnect for a couple of hours.

Karen is running late on her third day to her new job as a marketing consultant at a fairly new, slow growing automobile company– Castle Motors. She anticipated the traffic, the weather and the almost hour commute, but no matter how early she's up, every day has been a new challenge on the road. Today specifically, a truck was blocking her car in the parking space. It took her 15 minutes to find the owner and when she did, she was confronted with nothing but rudeness.

When she arrives at Castle Motors, she quickly grabs a coffee to-go from the café next to it and dashes inside, scans her credentials, and sprints in record time at the sight of the elevator doors that are about to shut.

“Wait!” She utters as the longer strap of her bag gets loose.

A man inside holds a hand up to the sensor motion to stop the doors from closing until she’s inside. Unfortunately, she trips awkwardly at the very last second with that loose strap. She doesn’t fall but half her coffee ends up spilled on the floor, and the other half all over the man’s bottom half, jeans and boots ruined.

"Oh God, shit, I'm so sorry," she grimaces, as the elevator ascends, quickly dropping to her knees to clean his pants and shoes without realizing that it's Frank Castle himself, CEO of Castle Motors, and never minding her own skirt and pantyhose that quickly absorb the spillage off the floor.

"It's okay. It's just coffee, ma'am."

"No, I got it, I got it," Karen hastily starts pulling pairs of tissues from a kleenex pack, dabbing his jeans and wiping his boots until they run out.

It's then that she looks up and recognizes the face and mind behind the company, and lets out a long defeated sigh, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Castle."

"You can call me Frank," he scoffs, seemingly amused, "don't worry I have other clothes in my office. It wouldn't be the first coffee spill here… or the last."

"I'm usually not much of a klutz but I was getting late… and you're supposed to be in the meeting today…"

"Oh, you're the new consultant… Page, right?"

She nods, lips curving up softly at the corners, "Karen. Again, I'm so sorry."

"Well, I guess we'll both be late, Karen."

He extends his hand to her to help her up but before she can take it, the elevator doors suddenly slide open to a new floor and a few people are standing by, staring at them, dumbfounded at the puzzling scene of Karen on her knees, surrounded by discarded tissues in front of her boss, plainly facing his crotch.

Absurdity level achieved.

Mortified, her face turns ten different shades of red as she quickly gets herself up, slinging her bag to her shoulder.

Frank clears his throat before explaining, "it's okay, people, nothing to see here, it's just coffee."

Anyone with half a brain who works at Castle Motors, and knows Frank, wouldn't dare to even question that what they saw is anything other than that, a giant misunderstanding, no matter how bad that looked like. Castle is a decent man, and a great boss according to everyone Karen has talked to since the interview.

"You don't have to do that, we'll get someone to clean it," he tells her when Karen squats again to pick up the mess she left on the floor, "go clean yourself, I'll see you in the meeting, okay?"

"Okay," she struts out to the hallway, and quickly finds the bathroom.

Great start, Page. She uses some water to clean up the coffee off her skirt and dries it as much as she can. Luckily, the dark color of the fabric helps mask most of it.

She takes a few deep breaths before going back out and into the conference room. She's either actually on time, or the rest of the people are running late. There’s only one person in the room, Sarah, Frank’s right hand and the person who hired her, going over some papers.

"Good morning," Karen clears her throat, "are the seats assigned?"

"Morning, Karen. Oh, no, just sit anywhere. We're not that formal."

She nods and places her coat on one of the chairs near the window before pulling out her tablet and notebook as a backup with a couple of pens on the table.

"I really liked your ideas by the way. I’m looking forward to your full assessment," says Sarah.

"Thank you."

"I know this is unusual but I thought you might wanna sit through this so you can see for yourself what we’re working on right now, and how Castle works because he can be a little…"

"Unorthodox?" Karen suggests.

"I was going to say old-fashioned but that works too. He has Amy, the receptionist, managing all the social accounts cause he refuses to put the time and money on building our own in-house department."

Karen clears her throat, collecting her thoughts for a beat, as people start arriving, casually greeting good morning to both.

“Yeah, if you keep growing, it’s gonna be inevitable to have your own team managing the brand. Not just socials. I honestly have been driving one of the first models for 5 years and it was a recommendation from the dealer… I didn't think I'd ever heard or seen anything about you until last year.”

"See? Thank you. I knew you're going to be a good fit, none of the other consultants ever said something like that. They kept pushing for Facebook advertising and insta branding or whatever, but they didn't understand that isn't what this company needs."

"Who even uses Facebook anymore?"

"Exactly!" Sarah interjects.

"If you wanna know my opinion… Castle vehicles are classic, efficient, and sustainable and they deserve more than a little facebook ad that nobody is going to click on. You need a proper branding plan if you're hoping to get more investors."

"The Castle Classic, I like that," Frank appears behind the door wearing clean jeans and carrying two mugs of coffee, customized with the logo of the company, "I should write it down."

"Thanks for joining us Mr. Castle. I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience for you this morning," Sarah utters ironically as Frank offers Karen one of the mugs.

"Thanks, you didn't have to," Karen nods, taking the mug out of his hand.  

"Yeah, thank you for bringing coffee for all of us," Sarah keeps messing with him.

"I owed Miss Page here… see, I knocked her cup right out her hand a few minutes ago in the elevator. And you know how I feel about coffee, Lieberman."

"A coffee a day keeps the grumpy away. We know. Should we start now? We're late already."

"Yeah, go ahead."

[goddamnitkastle]

THERE IS A SECRET THAT         WE KEEP

#KastleRadio Week  Day 7: The Secret’s In The Telling by Dashboard Confessional

[sincerelydayyy]

When you pass by a billboard and get an amusing au in mind.

[travllingbunny]

Thank you for the tag, @ryder616!

This tag game has unexpectedly led to an interesting discussion about what exactly an “Endgame Ship” means... which seems to be largely open to interpretation. I’m still not sure how I see that term, but for the purposes of this post, but to narrow it down and not mention way too many ships, I’ll take Endgame in two different meanings: for “Favorite Ship(s) That’s Endgame”, I’ll take it to mean pairings that were together and in a happy relationship at the end of the story. But for “Ship(s) You Wish Had Been Endgame”, I will take “Not Endgame” to mean that the ship was not treated as these characters’ main romance at the end of the show, or at least there was a lot of ambiguity and/or a rival ship for one or both characters was instead the current one at the end of the story. (A lot of my favorite ships have the tendency to end up unhappily in spite of being portrayed as the main romance of the story..)

Warning: this post contains spoilers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Agents of SHIELD, The Hunger Games, The Leftovers, The Americans and The 100 (though if you’ve spent any time on my blog, you’ve certainly already been spoiled for the ending of The 100) and .

1. First Ship - When I was about 4 or 5, I was obsessed with Lady and the Tramp (I had a book version with a few pictures and it fell apart from how much I was reading it - it may have been my first book that wasn’t mostly a picture book), so I guess my first ship was two dogs (which is really appropriate, since I love dogs). If we’re talking TV, again going back to my childhood, before puberty and before I even knew what “shipping” was, I remember being pleasantly surprised when Raquel first appeared on Only Fools and Horses as a love interest for Del Boy - the show was an episodic comedy where the two brothers, in the early years, usually didn’t have a serious love interest. I thought “oh, he really is in love with her! And she feels the same, and they are so cute together.” I hoped she’d come back and wouldn’t just be a one episode character but a long-term LI. And then I was so happy when that very much did happen. I guess this can be considered the start of my TV shipping (and also an early sign of my love for contuinity and longer arcs on TV).

2. First OTP - Ignoring pre-puberty: at the age of 12, I was really obsessed with Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff and Cathy and read the book who knows how mny times. Regarding TV, I’ve shipped over the years, but I guess the first TV ship I would really call my OTP was in This Life, a 1990s UK drama about a bunch of 20-somethings in London, which I watched on TV in 2001. which now sadly seems almost forgotten. Anna and Miles had an on-off, love-hate relationship throughout - they were sexy, snarky, and it was painfully obvious that they were in love, but these idiots had trouble admitting it to themselves and even more to each other. If it had been a romcom, they would’ve been certain to end up together, but it was a realistic drama.

3. Current Favorite Ship - Bellarke - oh, what an OTP of all OTPs that was before it was stupidly destroyed out of spite. Over the last couple of years, Dark (season 3 mostly) made me really love Jonas and Martha (the first pairing I’ve made gifsets about), and most recently (last month!), I binged Halt and Catch Fire and fell in love with the show and with Joe and Cameron’s relationship (which, I just realized now, shows that my taste in OTPs hasn’t changed in 20 years).

If we’re talking current as in, in current shows rather than finished ones, then  Kanej (Shadow and Bone), Harlivy (Harley Quinn), Gereon and Charlotte (Babylon Berlin) and  Roy and Keeley (Ted Lasso).

4. Your ship since the first minute - I really rarely ship anything from the first minute (unless we’re talking Morticia and Gomez, who are of course already a perfect couple and nothing ever changes there). It usually takes time for me to fall for a ship. A rare exception is Roy and Keeley - their first one-on-one scene in S1 already had huge OTP vibes. 

5. Ship(s) You Wish Had Been Endgame - Do I even have to say it? BELLARKE. A hundred times Bellarke, who were portrayed as endgame before the showrunner decided to retcon and ruin them together with the show overall.

Others: Jessica and Luke in Netfix Narvel shows, May and Andrew on AoS, Willow and Oz; or, depending on how you interpret Endgame, Willow/Tara (some argue that it is Endgame as Tara is definitely portrayed as the love of Willow’s life regardless of everything else). Spuffy (again, there are different opinions as to its status as both the show and the comics ended ambiguously and tried not to have a clear Endgame pairing for Buffy’s character), Xander/Anya (if you take comics into account).

6. Ship You Wish Was Canon - Some would say Bellarke, again, but I tend to consider it canon. It’s debatable, for sure (if you only consider making out/sex and/or “I love you” as markers of canon, it is not canon; if it is enough for the show to make it so blatant in the first 6 seasons that you have to actively search for ways to deny it to make it sound platonic, and for actors to confirm it was portrayed as romantic- than it is.)

So my answer would be: Kastle (Netflix Marvel shows), QuakeRider (AoS), and Octavia and Diyoza (The 100) and maybe Faith and Buffy (mostly in the sense that canon could have explored the nature of Faith’s feelings for Buffy a bit more and a bit more openly).

7. Ship that Most of the Fandom Hates, but You Love - Angel and Darla, May and Andrew, Coulson and Rosalind (hated how it ended though). Miller and Bryan (because they were more interesting than Mackson, and Bryan had a personality), Though “ships that most of the fandom ignores” would be a more apt term. The one that most of the fandom does hate and I like it is Octavia/Ilian - I liked it for what it was, two damaged people finding comfort together in what could have grown into something more - instead of the “we’re ve just met and talked to each other once and we’re already IN LOVE!” trope that the writers of The 100 were so fond of.

8. You Don’t Even Watch the Show, but You Ship It - Why would I ship something from a show I don’t watch?

9. Ship That You Wish Had A Different Storyline -  BELLARKE (duh - the ending). Veronica and Logan (the ending, again). Coulson/Rosalind - they had such an interesting and fun dynamic that could have been explored much more; instead, the writers opted for one of the worst tropes there are, and I hated that entire plotline for so many reasons. Tyrol and Boomer on Battlestar Galactica - what they did with Boomer was crap. Baltar and Caprica - all the bad writing in season 4. This is a weird example of a ship that I shipped so hard for 3 seasons and that was given Endgame in every sense of the word, but, by that point, I barely cared anymore, because the writers forgot about their relationship throughout the final season and made it seem like they didn’t even remember each other, and then slapped a last minute happy ending. Plus they retconed/explained their connection in such a stupid and anticlimactic way that ruined it retroactively.

10. Favorite Ship(s) That’s Endgame - Everlark, Nora and Kevin (The Leftovers), Philip and Elizabeth (The Americans), and Josh and Della on Night and Day (a really obscure early 2000s UK show that was watched by maybe 100 people.) Some others worth mentioning: FitzSimmons, Niles and Daphne, Tim and Dawn (original UK The Office), Jake and Amy, Memori (the only bright spot in a rubbish ending). And of course, there’s Morticia and Gomez, though they are less Endgame and more AlwaysGame.

Tagging: @jeanie205 @kizo2703 @poppykru @sheigarche @weareagentsofnothing @sometimesrosy @misskittyspuffy @otp-armada @carrieeve @sexy-zeitreise-detektiv @jonaskanwalds @immortalpramheda @ladyofthefrostfangs @tennyo-elf @fandomkru @natassakar @hadrianvonpaulus @sillier-things @angearia @thekawaiislartibartfast @foolishnymeria @erikiara80 @heartbellamy and anyone else who sees this - sorry I didn’t tag you and please consider yourself tagged. :)

[cyberdragoninfinity]

ryou bakura >:)c

LET'S GOOOOOO

First impression: both when i first watched ygo as a kid AND when i started rewatching in february of this year i had the exact same impression which is “man regular bakura is fucking boring” <-- *about to be smited by god*

Impression now: I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. MY ICY HEART MELTED. I SEWED A PLUSH OF THIS GUY. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH the realization that he would be Very Funny with a few personally relatable headcanons just absolutely rewired me. never in a million years did i think i would be on a first name basis with bakura yugioh. hes simultaneously the most boring little saltine of a boy and an absolutely bonkers human being. endlessly ceaselessly fond of this guy. my little purse dog.

Favorite moment: really just. All of him in duelist kingdom. he’s such Peak Dork Teenage Loser in season 1. guy who has to walk behind all his friends on the sidewalk because there’s no room to walk next to them. He says the most banal shit. I WISH he’d been in season 4 and was just like that still. i can dream.

Idea for a story: one day I will write the Kanine Kastle story, about my postcanon AU where Ryou and Joey work at a doggy daycare together the summer after graduating. Kaiba’s husky Obelisk the Tormentor Kaiba is there. It’s like 90 degrees out and Ryou is stuck in the teacup yard being barked at by 7 yorkies.

Unpopular opinion: his dub voice is great and hilarious and also I think people have a bad habit of making out to be the most Sober Emo Mopey Depressed Guy in the World. it don’t make no sense!!! in spite of all the bullshit that happens to him he’s still a pretty chipper guy. he’s taking it in stride all things considered. oh also i dont like t*ndershipping LOL

Favorite relationship: i never thought i’d be hyper invested in ryou and yami bakura’s disastrous relationship but. here i am. endlessly thinking about them. endlessly thinking of timelines where they could have been friends.... brothers. for now they are simply bickering and grumbling and ryou is getting his life ruined. c’est la vie u_u

Favorite headcanon: i will fight like a wild dog for celiac!bakura. this kid has so many ailments it will make your head spin. the Bakura Soul Room looks like an abandoned K-mart. he likes nickelback. He keeps a thing of floss in his gay little bag. And so on

[edourado]

Another tag game. Featuring the things that consumes us all: ships 🛳

Hell yeah. Thanks dear @portia77 ❤️

1.First ship you remember: Way to make me remember I’m old btw. But I think that the first fictional couple that ever got me thinking was Wendy and Peter Pan, when I was an itty bitty girl;

2.Your newest ship: Oof. I had to think about this one. Fleabag and the Priest??? Why am I shipping a priest? Because of Andrew Scott, that’s why. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s writing helps A LOT;

3. Favourite ship ever: Kastle. The sheer volume of writing I dedicated for them speaks for itself;

4.Favourite m/f ship: Kastle and Kalagang;

5.Favourite m/m ship: It’s between Lito and Hernando, from Sense8 and Omar and Ander from Elite;

6.Favourite f/f ship: Nomi Marks and Amanita Caplan ALL DAY EVERYDAY;

7.Most fluffy ship: Huh. Maybe Tim and Mary, from About Time? Perfect example that you do not need conflict to have a GOOD ship;

8.Most angsty ship: DEFINITELY KASTLE ARE YOU KIDDING;

9. Most smutty ship: The whole of the Sense8 cluster;

10. Ship that you would never have wanted in canon but like in fanworks: Hmm. I don’t know. I think I can only indulge in fandom shipping if I can see it in canon;

11.Character that you can only imagine in one ship: I’m almost afraid to type this, but Ross and Rachel. None of that Joey nonsense. None of that. Please don’t hurt me;

12.Most shippable character: Even though I walked away from TVD a long time ago, and even though im still firm on Klaroline, miss Caroline Forbes. Girl has chemistry with everything and everyone;

13.Character that you can’t imagine in any ship: …Groot?;

14.Favourite poly ship: I had a strong Kastledevil phase. Also, again, the Sense8 cluster;

15.Characters that you kinda ship but prefer as brotp: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes;

16.Characters that you ship and can’t imagine to be friends: Karen Page and Frank Castle. Have you seen the looks? Have you seen the TENSION? Have you seen the dedication and devotion? The ANGST?! The sweetness? I’ve gotten carried away;

17.Favourite ship for hurt-comfort: I don’t know if I have one for that. Most of my ships have an angsty angle, but idk if any of them qualify as strictly hurt-comfort. Maybe Outlaw Queen;

18.Ship that you never expected to ship: Natasha and Banner, from the Avangers?! I know y’all love to hate on them but I was ON BOARD;

19.Ship that you liked but don’t anymore: Bella and Edward. My Twilight phase lasted until that last book, and then I started thinking about it. But, to be fair, even then I leaned towards Team Jacob;

20.Ship that one day you were thinking of and thought “wait, when did I start shipping it?”: Klaroline. I was never about the villains, but one day I was fawning about the word “love” and “I fancy you”s. Also Nina and Matthias from Shadow and Bone;

21.Ship that you immediately fell in love with after one scene despite not considering it before: Richonne. ONE LOOK through the prison gates and I was like “OH!”,

22.Poly ship that you ship despite not shipping some of the characters in it outside of poly ship: One more time, say it with me: Sense8 cluster. Tbh it’s less about shipping and more about chemistry and trust and the occasional orgy, ok?;

23.Biggest notp: Snape and Hermione???? Like ????no????;

24.Favourite crossover ship: Oh, I know I know! Elsa Queen of Arendelle and Jack Frost. Can you imagine? (Even though she’s definitely a lesbian);

25.Ship that you have a kinda love/hate relationship with: Matt Murdock and Karen Page, aka Karedevil. All Matt’s fault. Also Frank for showing up and sweeping me and Karen off our feet.

Ha! I love this. Tagging @ejunkiet @carry-the-sky @ninzied @devilbunnyking and whoever wants to join.

[redbelles]

author interview

tagged by: @littlelindentree 💖

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

i’ve got 43 works there, and assorted others scattered across other now defunct platforms

2. what’s your total AO3 word count?

206,530

3. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the dreadful need in the devotee (star wars | reylo | explicit)

and my body found the wind (shadow and bone | darklina | explicit)

stuck in colder weather (star wars | reylo | explicit)

all the love you need (shadow and bone | darklina | expilcit)

with the wild wolves around you (game of thrones | jonsa | teen)

4. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

yes! i treasure every comment, it just takes me forever and a day to reply sometimes because [gestures vaguely] life

5. what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

lmao despite being a Known Angst Goblin™ most of my fics actually end on fairly happy notes. the angstiest one is probably the clouds will form a crown— i stuck with the canon ending and boy that canon ending sucks

6. what’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

probably with the wild wolves around you, since it’s all about sansa getting to heal and be happy at winterfell

7. do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

nope! sometimes it’s fun to sketch out how they would work, though

8. have you ever received hate on a fic?

nope

9. do you write smut? if so what kind?

lmao yeah that’s apparently a thing i do. typically very explicit—though it ranges from vanilla to fairly kinky—and it’s always emotionally charged

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope, not that i’m aware of

11. have you ever had a fic translated?

i’ve had offers of translation, but they’ve all been “i’d like translate and post it somewhere else,” which i’m not cool with

12. have you ever co-written a fic before?

yep! keep calling me home is the result of really fun round robin challenge hosted by @thereylowritingden

13. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

an impossible question. reylo, jonsa, kastle, and zutara are all up there, though

14. what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

15. what are your writing strengths?

i think my strengths are definitely imagery, emotion, and characterization. i also have a particular flare of extended metaphor/literary symmetry (listen i am nothing if not a parody of myself)

16. what are your writing weaknesses?

p l o t. i also consistently underestimate how long a fic will be, but readers keep insisting that’s really only a “““problem””” for me

17. what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

man, if you don’t speak the language it gets real dicey real fast. i personally avoid it unless it’s a canonical term/phrase, like all the faux-russian nonsense in the grisha trilogy

18. what was the first fandom you wrote for?

[redacted] back in [redacted]

19. what’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

so many! i really want to write some fic for tamora pierce’s tortall universe, along with dom/letty from the fast and the furious, jax/tara from sons of anarchy, and someday i’ll write fic for the witcher 

20. what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

oof, that’s a tough question. i love all of the fics i’ve posted. i have a special fondness for build a ladder to the stars because it was such a labor of love, but i’m very proud of what i accomplished in the clouds will form a crown and in the violence of our dreams, and our hands are cold, the moon sets low is so creepy and dreamy and weird— it’s so much fun to work on

tagging: @ninzied​ @carry-the-sky​ @twentythrees​ @mygutsforgarters​ @mamsellefreeman @it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined @niennathegrey @linearla​ and anyone else who wants a go ✨

[sevenbulletsavior]

please do not put kastle on my dash without giving me at least 5-7 business days to fully prepare myself. now i’m majorly feels triggered and am about to go down a hole i can not escape from. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 rude.

YOU ARE THE REASON THIS HAS BEEN STUCK IN MY HEAD LIA.

SUFFER WITH ME.

[carry-the-sky]

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). see if there are any patterns. choose your favorite opening line. then tag some of your favorite authors!

tagged by the fabulous @mego42  ♡ ♡

1. The next time she sees him, he’s bleeding (and monsters call it love)

2. Curtis knows how to compartmentalize. (you were a kindness when i was a stranger)

3. Karen is used to waking up with the sun. (you fill my head with you)

4. Curt brings it up, the next time they all grab a beer. (been waiting on a touch to save me)

5. The day after the cops almost find Boomer’s body, Annie suggests they take the night off, just the three of them. (your tongue told me every lie)

6. Welcome! Everything is fine! (somewhere in the middle)

7. He’s gone when she wakes up. (we drew a map to a better place, sequel to these heavy words, your open heart)

8. He’s everywhere, at first. (these heavy words, your open heart)

9.  Haines is—different. (he could build a city)

10. do you believe in fate? (reylo ficlet)

11. This is the stupidest thing she’s ever done. (so delicate the bones)

12. The bells are ringing. (got fix-it dany ficlet)

13. It takes some time. All he can do is drive, at first, miles sliding past and the thin line of horizon just above the dash. (now i’m following you out to the coast)

14. This is a bad idea. (got some bad damn intensions)

15. She takes a cab home from the hospital. (tumblr prompt: kastle + trepverter; a witty response or comeback you think of only after it’s too late to use, the words you come up with ‘on your way out.’)

16. This is happening, she has to remind herself. She’s got one hand on the wheel and the other glances against the breeze, halfway out the window. (built this town on shaky ground)

17. He doesn’t kiss her. (we are for each other)

18. catra doesn’t dream. she remembers. (catradora ficlet)

19. her dad was the religious one. sun or snow or anything in between, her ass was in a pew, every weekend from when she was nine until the summer before she left home. (kastle prompt: frank rocking up at that church and straight up murdering bullseye in 0.2 seconds)

20.  She’s had a bag packed since Fisk moved out of prison and into the penthouse. All she has to do is use it. (every bit of beating heart)

things i learned!

i apparently enjoy starting fics off with a time element?? (when, the next time, the day after, etc.)

my fave is the opening to #13, now i’m following you out to the coast. this was a rare fic that just poured out of my brain and into the google doc with very little difficulty (and exactly how i pictured it?? what is this witchcraft and how can i conjure it again), and for that reason i am quite fond of it. :)

tagging (no pressure!!): @ninzied, @myletternevercame, @heidiamalia, @ejunkiet, @evilbunnyking, @edourado, @the-restless-brook, @fortysevenswrites, @captainkilly, @gracenm, @152glasslippers and anyone else who wants to play!

[it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined]

First Lines Meme

Tagged by @evilbunnyking @zetaaa , @albatrossisland , @eryiscrye and @seethemflying - thank you!!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

1.   There's an envelope waiting for her at the front desk when she checks in this time. (we used to wait, JB)

2. Ten days after she calls the wedding off, Brienne locks the door of the house they shared for the last time and drives away with her dog, and a car full of the other things she actually couldn't bear to part with. (down the edges of the distant sky, JB)

3. "So what do we do now?" (the patience of ordinary things, JB)

4. It takes six long days before she can do more than strap a shitty old version of her arm back on and have the girls help drag her into appropriately reassuring positions around the Citadel. (on the sixth day, Mad Max: Fury Road)

5. It takes time, to not leave Winterfell. (and grace is just the measure of a fall, JB)

6. "You know, we do actually have to get some sleep tonight." Brienne shifts her feet, draped over the side of the tub, and the bathwater lurches precariously closer to overflowing again. (and it feels like yesterday was a year ago, JB)

7. Dinah Madani calls on her way out of the country, like Karen is someone she just says goodbye to, like they're friends. (we know how the light works, The Punisher - Frank/Karen)

8. Karen pulls off the highway mid-afternoon, winding through the series of roads that get smaller and steeper and less maintained, until the sun is streaking gold across the dusty windshield, and the GPS signal stutters off her phone for a moment every time she rounds a curve. (the ghosts of wolves and passerines (crying down the valley) TP - Frank/Karen)

9. "She's hateful. And so am I" (as though it were your own vanishing song, JB)

10. She finds Brienne almost as soon as she begins to look for her; not entirely sure, exactly, what she expects to find. (Reparations, JB)

11. It's December twentieth, and Karen has a gaudy poinsettia sitting on a table by the window that could theoretically be visible from outside, and two sets of bookcases draped in fairy lights she honestly hasn't bothered to switch on for three days now. (the only one whose broken heart still has broken parts - TP, Frank/Karen)

12. It's not until he's standing by the door of Karen Page's apartment building that the enormity of what he's doing really sets in for David. (there’s blood in my mouth cause i’ve been biting my tongue all week - TP, Frank/Karen)

13. Anderson blows past the paramedics on a white hot wave of indignation, intent on nothing so much as getting as far away from the clusterfuck of Peachtrees as fast as she can. (Sideways - Dredd)

Patterns: I do absolutely nothing consistently, including fic :)  I think I’ve only started using dialogue for a first line since I’ve been writing JB (and now I’m judging past me for quoting the bloody courtyard scene, of all things)? But mostly it’s just tonal differences between fandoms - the kastle fics always mention Karen in the first line, and the JB fics tend to mention Brienne..!

Favourite:  There are a few I’m quite fond of - grace is kind of a mission statement, and felt like it built up around that first line as a tone (and then that fic proceeded to torture me entirely for a year and a half, so I don’t love it as much now!).  I jumped through a lot of hoops to keep the prologue for we used to wait because I liked the first line so much, and as much as I like the first line of distant sky, it’s a very obvious steal from the essay the fic is based on. 

Ironically the first line is one of the least interesting bits of blood in my mouth, which always amuses me because probably some of my favourite lines ever are in that fic. I kind of love all my kastle first lines, because they set the tone for the fic?

The one that totally suckers me every time though is still the only one whose broken heart - the first fic I ever posted (also the longest fic I’ve ever finished), and I think I wrote it during one of my first Christmases living on my own? I was kind of heartsick, and it hadn’t occurred to me that I could actually just.. write fic how I wanted to write it until then, and oh wow so much angst to mine? Those were literally my bookcases draped in fairy lights making me sad, and that was my poinsettia in the window.

Tagging: I’m super late, and I’m pretty sure everyone’s done this one!

[darlingshane]

7 Days of Kastle

Day 4: His Keeper

Pairing: Frank Castle/Karen Page

Content: Angst.

Warnings: Frank’s in a coma.

Word Count: 780

Summary: Karen guards Frank while he’s in a coma.

Prompts: Fragile (from the free prompts list)

Karen refuses to leave Frank's side while he's in a coma. She settles for sleeping on a cot they've set up for her in the corner. There aren’t comfortable couches or chairs in this off-the-grid location as someone would find in a semi decent hospital. This is just a room with a bed, a window, and a little bathroom, and that's enough. The only thing that matters is that he has the best care possible.

He was helping Dinah when he took a really bad beating, and that’s putting it lightly. He’s survived worse things than this, maybe this is just his body telling him that he’s not immortal, and this way of living is just catching up with him.

He’s not going to die, he can't, Karen thinks, he’s too damn stubborn to do so. Even so, she looks at the fragility of his body, how badly banged up it is, and how small he looks in that bed and she can’t help but sob.

She’s lost too many people and can’t have him die, not yet, she won’t. They were just getting started, he’d found some resemblance of peace living with her in the past few months and she was just getting used to having him that close all the time. He was there every morning when she woke up and every night when she went to bed. There are now many weekends in her memory that made up for every time he’s left. He’d hold her hand unexpectedly, search for her kiss, longed for her skin more often than not, and now all that might go with him.

Time seems to freeze in this place. Everyday is a repetition of the previous one, but at least he’s not getting worse. It's a challenge to keep her mind occupied with reading or anything else but she tries. There are long empty hallways that she paces two or three times a day to stay active. The few times she’s away from him is when she goes to the cafeteria for lunchtime. Most of the time she just watches over Frank, soundly asleep as the parade of doctors and nurses come in and out to check on him several times a day. She often helps one of the nurses wash his body until she starts doing it alone with care and love, hoping he knows she’s there with him, always. God, he'd hate all of this if he knew. He'd say he doesn't wanna be a burden to anyone, but especially to her.

Sleep doesn't come easy. She’s set her mind on being his keeper. It's like being awake during a flight so you can root or pray for the plane not to crash. As long as her eyes are on him, he can't die on her watch.

Karen drags the cot closer to the bed and sits there for hours just holding his hand. Sometimes she talks to him without even realizing. He has some reflexes, his fingers would twitch once in a while when she does. They tell her it's not uncommon for someone in his state but she needs to believe he’s hearing her somehow, that he’s responding to her voice.

There's one particular night that she loses her shit, going into a full meltdown, wondering if Frank is still there. If he's feeling anything at all.

Her whole body shakes, including her watery voice telling him that it is okay if he wants to check out, that he doesn't have to protect her anymore. That if there's a beyond and by some chance happens to find Maria and the kids, he should run to them. No matter how much she’d miss him, he deserves peace and love, and not this; he wouldn't want to live tied to machines.

She cries herself to sleep, attached to his hand, hiding her face in the crook of her arm. And the next morning, as she gradually awakens, she feels his hand squeezing her fingers ever so slightly, just for a second.

“Come back to me, Frank.” Karen brings the back of his palm to her lips, wishing him good morning.

A few more days pass by and he remains stable, with noticeable improvements. The bruising has mostly faded, but most importantly his lungs are quickly recovering, it’s the head trauma that’s most worrying right now.

The constant beeping is something she’s grown used to, it doesn’t bother her anymore. It's peaceful to hear Frank’s heart beat so steady. It’s when it suddenly changes what startles her...

It races as his hand clenches around hers like it’s never done before.

She looks at Frank and suddenly– his eyes are open.

A/N:  This is part of a drabble collection that I wrote for @daredevilexchange​'s Fan Week  featuring different alternate universes and situations with Frank and  Karen that I've always wanted to write. I'll be posting one a day until  January 9 :)