#but having energy to scroll and having to draft any posts I want to reblog

[animalsandskyyy]

I will forever stand by the thought that simply “being online” and consuming or even posting content, takes a completely different amount of energy than messaging or interacting with others online does.

but that’s something I had to train myself to acknowledge and learn. because it used to hurt and make me overthink when i’d message someone and they wouldn’t respond, but would still be active or posting. like I wouldn’t say that to them, but it overtook my thoughts.

then somehow I just stopped and realized- maybe they’re just tired. or maybe they’re scrolling on the phone in their 5 minutes of free time. maybe they’re in the middle of 3 conversations and are trying their best. maybe they’re in the middle of making a post and didn’t see your message. maybe they’re deep into searching a topic and can’t be distracted. or maybe they just don’t want to talk to you rn, and that’s perfectly okay and valid.

all that to say- it can still hurt sometimes, but giving people grace and thinking the best of them and their intentions, and sincerely hoping they do the same for you, makes life so much more enjoyable, and I highly recommend ♡

[hotfuss]

Little big rant ahead:

I joined the fandom with the start of ww era after the previous i was in turned into a literal dumpster on fire. And while it was clear in hindsight that the golden era of the tk fandom was around 2012-2014 (maybe it can be stretched to 2015), ww era wasn't bad either. Yeah the majority of the old guard/bfn was inactive or waning their presence a lot and basically disappeared the moment the ww tour ended we still had:

- gif/edit/moodboard makers

- art makers (not a lot but a few at least!!!)

- people posting pics from other social media. Either band photos or encounters with fans. Like people were ''fighting'' to be the first to repost the band insta pics!!

- people who weren't content creators but that at least they reblogged with funny tags. No, i didn't mind seeing the same pic of brandon 7 times during my catch up scrolling if 4 of them put some kind of tags to read in them (funny/horny/roasting him), that was the enrichment!!

Then the tour ended and fandom activity shrunk to 1/10 of what it used to be. Ressurrected briefly for their appearance at glasto 2019.

Lol thais liked a post about me complaining about not wanting to post 2 gifsets i made bc the fandom was too dead and i didn't want to waste them. It's dated 3 years ago!!!

Then 2020 happened. The pandemic, their social media silence on the blm protests (the bar was literally on the floor... we only wanted a social media post giving support!!!! How come the bootlickers were all up brandon's ass about how difficult it was to rewrite a whole verse of land of the free to play on tv in 2 weeks but posting a black pic on insta tagged blm was too hard??? HOW?), the horrific situation of the roadie hazing happened in the past that resurfaced... like i don't blame anyone who didn't want to engage with the band afterwards (bc they are some good reasons!! I will never forget how they let us down! And while the hazing wasn't perpetrated by the band members it was still such a horrible situation that shouldn't have happened!)

But this was a complete mass extinction here on tumblr. Of all the fandom communities this seems the only one that died like this.

We are currently left with

- 3,5 gif makers

- maybe 2 art makers if i include myself

- maybe 2 people posting pics including myself

No consistent edit/moodboards/meme makers no consistent reposting of official pics from their socials. The like/reblog ratio on posts is 3:1 on good days and close to 4:1 or 5:1 on bad days. I wake to notes (when i get any) that are 80-90% likes. Most of the rare reblogs don't have any kind of commentary at all.

I could easily run my queue for 7-10 days just with posts i could find on my dash, almost zero effort bc i was fed content on my dash. Nowadays i need to spend hours on blogs/my drafts/my bookmarks to put something together, only for likes. It gets tiring easily with a soul and energy sucking job to do to survive only to barely get any reward (reblogs with tags to read). This community will never recover on people who refuse to use the reblog button

It's even harder to compare this fandom to the mcr one, yeah it's a quite unique situation bc having such a thriving fandom despite the band being broken up most of tumblr's life is INSANE but you can't help getting angry/sad at why did they survive but not us? I can reblog so much fanart on my sideblog!! People posting pics!! Many archivial blogs!! The gifsets!! It just feels so unfair!

[dandyshucks]

i have a whole rambling vent that I tossed into the garbage because I don't really feel like that'd be a good idea since I cannot tell if it's just attention/validation seeking on my part or if there's actually any productive point to me posting it

so I'll just say that I really do consistently wish I could interact with y'all more because I genuinely cherish the little circle of friends and mutuals I was lucky enough to stumble into here and I want to show that I appreciate you all so much, and I also struggle a lot with feeling like maybe I shouldn't post as much as I do since I do not often have the stars align to be able to interact with others the way that I want to so I don't feel "deserving" of interaction myself. there are several factors outside of my control that prevent me from interacting the way that I'd really like to, and that frustrates me very often.

if i miss reblogging your art or writing, I do genuinely apologize! I might have completely missed seeing it due to not being online at the right time and not scrolling your blog enough, or maybe I saw it and avoided reblogging because I have a very silly notion that I shouldn't reblog unless I have it in me to put together my words just the right way to properly cheer on your creative works (<- i am trying to kick that avoidance bc i think it's probably far better to rb with less eloquent cheering rather than not rb it at all. i've considered saving stuff to drafts or queue to rb when I have a clear head and energy but I don't want to make ppl nervous with ghost notes TwT).

I really REALLY appreciate that people self-rb because that means there's a better chance of me seeing it and rbing it !!! please do not be scared of self-rbing, I often wish ppl would do it more often (...hypocrite that i am LMAO I rarely self-rb bc i get too scared to jfdskl)

anyways !!! i am going to go find a dinner, i appreciate you all, and I'm desperately hoping that I haven't just stuck my foot in my mouth and fucked everything up somehow fdsjkl augh. As always, I am so very open to being corrected or told "hey man, that was kind of shitty" or anything along those lines !!!

[pathos-logical]

How to Keep Doing Descriptions (from someone who does a fuckton)

Plain text: How to Keep Doing Descriptions (from someone who does a fuckton)

This is a list aimed mostly at helping people who already write IDs; for guides at learning how to do them yourself, check my accessibility and image description tags! I write this with close to two years of experience with IDs and chronic pain :)

Get used to writing some IDs by using both your phone and your computer, if you can! I find it easier to type long-form on my laptop, so I set up videos and long comics on my phone, which I then prop up against my laptop screen so I can easily reference the post without constantly scrolling or turning my head

I will never stop plugging onlineocr.net. I use it to ID everything from six-word tags to screenshots of long posts to even comic dialogue! On that last note, convertcase.net can convert text between all-caps, lowercase, sentence case, and title case, which is super helpful

Limit the number of drafts/posts-to-be-described you save. No, seriously. I never go above 10 undescribed drafts on any of my four blogs. It doesn’t have to be that low, but this has done wonders (italics: wonders) for my productivity and willingness to write IDs. If I ever get above that limit, even if it’s two or three more, I immediately either describe the lowest-effort post or purge some, and if I can't do that then I stop saving things to drafts no matter what. No exceptions! Sticking to this will make your life so much easier and less stressful

My pinned post has a link to a community doc of meme description templates!

Ask! For! Help! Please welcome to the stage the People’s Accessibility Server! It’s full of lovely people and organized into channels where you can request/volunteer descriptions and ask/answer questions

I make great use of voice-to-text and glide typing on my phone to save my hands some effort!

Something is always better than nothing!!! A short two-sentence or one-sentence ID is better than no ID at all. Take it easy :)

If you feel guilty about being unable to reblog amazing but undescribed art, try getting into the habit of replying to OP’s post to let them know you liked it! This makes me feel less pressured to ID absolutely everything I see

This is a sillier one, but I tag posts I describe as "described" and "described by me." When saving to drafts, I never preemptively tag with "described by me," since for some reason that always makes me feel extra pressure and extra stress. Consider doing something similar for yourself if that applies!

I frequently find myself looking at pieces of art which feel like they need to be considered for a bit before I can write an ID for them, and those usually get thrown into drafts, where the dread for writing a comprehensive ID just builds. Don’t do that! Instead, try just staying in the reblog field for a bit and focus on the most relevant aspects of the piece. Marinate on them for a little; don’t rush, but don’t spend more than a handful of seconds either. I find after that the art becomes way easier to describe than it initially seemed!

On that note, look for shortcuts that make IDs less taxing for you to do! For example, I only ever describe clothes in art if they're relevant to the piece; not doing that every time saves a lot of time and energy for me personally

Building off of that, consider excusing yourself from a particular kind of ID if you want to. Give yourself a free pass for 4chan posts, or fanart by an artist who does really good but really complex comics, whatever. Let it be someone else's responsibility and feel twice as proud about the work that you can now allot more energy to!

As always, make an effort to find and follow fellow describers! It’s always encouraging to get described posts on your dash, and I find that sometimes I'm happier to ID an undescribed post when the person who put it on my dash is a friend who tagged it with "no ID"

TL;DR: To make ID-writing less stressful and more low-effort, use different devices and software like onlineocr.net and voice-to-text, limit the amount of work you expect yourself to do, and reach out to artists and other describers!

[yukidragon]

Our Life Snippet - Lazy Morning Intimacy

So, who’s ready for an extra long serving of shameless fluff from the first draft of my fan novelization of Our Life: Beginnings & Always? My philosophy in writing this is if I can add some more fluffy cuddly moments, I absolutely will, and the Step 3 moment Reflection offers one such opportunity right at the very start before, well, those of you who have played this moment know what happens later.

Spoilers for those who have not played the Step 3 DLC! If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read any further! If you don’t mind spoilery stuff, well, don’t let me stop you, but I highly, highly encourage you to play through the game before reading any of this.

As always, thanks go to @gb-patch for their wonderful game and their lovely feedback for my work, as well as everyone who likes, reblogs, and comments on these clips I’m posting here. You are all awesome.  💖

...

It wasn’t often that Jamie had the chance to enjoy breakfast at the Holden house. Ever since their parents decreed that they were ‘too old’ for sleepovers, she and Cove didn’t have many opportunities to enjoy that particular meal together, which made today a rare treat. It wasn’t especially fancy fare, but it was lovely to be able to spend time with her boyfriend almost as soon as she woke up. She was glad she impulsively asked if he wanted to have breakfast with her when they exchanged their usual good morning texts.

After a pleasant meal filled with light conversation and tasty food, Cove invited Jamie to retreat to his room to relax and let the lazy morning linger before any big activities began. That was, if they didn’t just decide to take it easy for the rest of the day. Neither of them had any plans in particular, with no prior commitments with friends, family, or work to distract them from just spending the day together. It wasn’t officially a date day, per say, or at least neither of them called it that yet. So far, they just decided to do whatever came to mind while enjoying each other’s company.

Of course, the first thing that came to Jamie’s mind was to cuddle with her boyfriend. When Cove sat down onto the bed, she didn’t hesitate to take a seat beside him, leaning into him. He hummed happily in approval and looped an arm around her to pull her in even closer.

A mischievous smile tugged at her lips as a new thought came to mind, and Jamie leaned in even closer. Cove raised an eyebrow at expression, only to yelp when she unexpectedly pushed her weight into him and tipped him back onto the bed. She fell along with him, giggling as they tumbled onto the mattress

Cove let out a chuckle of his own once he recovered from his surprise. “When I said we could relax, I didn’t mean going back to bed,” he said with a wry smile. Even still, he allowed her to nudge him gently back to the headboard so that they could both lounge comfortably on the bed properly with their heads resting on the pillows side by side. 

Jamie flashed Cove a satisfied grin before she snuggled up against his side, nuzzling her cheek against his as she basked in his gentle warmth. “You also said to make myself comfortable,” she teased, her eyes sparkling playfully as she rested her arm across his chest. “I’m very comfortable like this.”

Cove felt his heartbeat quicken, and he smiled back fondly at Jamie, nuzzling her cheek in return. “Me too,” he said softly.

Though maybe he was a little too comfortable.

Cove couldn’t help but be aware of the fact that they were both lying in his bed together. A prickling of nerves rose up that he quickly did his best to tamp down to not ruin the intimate moment they were sharing. It was fine, no big deal, he told himself. They were both fully dressed, on top of the sheets, and it was broad daylight. They cuddled plenty of times like this before on sofas and the ground. Heck, this was nothing compared to when they shared a bed when they were younger.

The flickering of nervousness didn’t escape Jamie’s notice. She softened her expression and reached up to gently run her fingers through her shy boyfriend’s hair. She had intended to steal a kiss or two and see where that would take them, but she decided that could wait until later. Just enjoying this moment with Cove was enough for her.

The touch was soothing, and Cove slowly started to relax as he leaned into Jamie. The anxious air that had threatened to pull him out of the moment gradually dissipated as her comforting warmth slowly settled in. Soon, he felt at ease enough to slip his arm back around her, which she happily used as her new pillow. He couldn’t help but smile at seeing the content expression on his partner’s face as she smiled softly back at him.

A comfortable silence washed over the pair as they simply enjoyed the quiet moment of intimacy. At some point, Jamie went from stroking Cove’s hair to toying with it. His ponytail limited her in how much she could card her fingers through his hair, but there were plenty of long locks to ripple between her fingers.

It wasn’t the first time Jamie got the impulse to play with her boyfriend’s hair. Even before he was officially - or even unofficially - her boyfriend, she couldn’t help but want to run her fingers through those pretty pale green strands. When they were younger, Cove would jokingly try to avoid her hands, but always ‘failed’ to escape in the end, allowing her to have her way. Sometimes she teased him back by pretending to give up, and he would always pout adorably, which she would immediately chase away with a satisfying ruffle of his hair.

Occasionally, Jamie would go beyond playing to actual styling. She was no professional, but it was fun to wind her boyfriend’s hair into a braid or two sometimes. Cove never minded, even if the braids rarely lasted that long after she was finished making them. It also didn’t escape her notice that he would sometimes shiver or let out an adorable pleasured little mumble when she raked her fingers along his scalp. It was an enjoyable experience for both of them, and sometimes she suspected that was one of the reasons why he let his hair grow as long as he did.

Jamie had no such grand designs now. Today she simply basked in the freedom to enjoy the feeling of his soft hair sliding between her fingers as she listened to the happy noises her partner occasionally let slip.

Although much more at ease, Cove couldn’t help the small traces of nervous energy that left him with the need to do something with his hands. He ran his thumb across her shoulder with the hand that was limited by Jamie resting on the upper part of his arm. With his freer hand, he decided to return the favor she paid to him and ran his fingers through her long deep blue hair, starting with stroking back her bangs before sliding his hand down along the entire length of her hair until he reached the ends at her hips. The feeling was soft and silky, and she sighed softly at the attention.

On impulse, Cove poked one of the small buns on top of his girlfriend’s head. Space buns were her preferred hairstyle of choice nowadays, and there was something satisfying about poking them that he couldn’t quite explain. Maybe it was the feel of them, or the way the bunched up hair bounced when poked that did it, but most likely it was because of the amused looks Jamie gave him whenever he did. She wore one such expression now, and he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit before giving her bun another playful poke.

Entertained, Jamie let Cove have her way with her buns, poking and prodding them as he pleased. The potential for innuendo wasn’t lost on her, but she let it go unsaid. As fun as it would be to make him flustered by suggesting that he might enjoy playing with a different set of buns she had even more, she didn’t want to interrupt the light, playful moment.

Jamie would just save that little bit of wordplay for later, preferably when the mood was good enough that Cove might take her up on the invitation.

Despite the steamy thoughts that skirted through her mind, Jamie did her best to focus on enjoying the lazy moment between them. It was lovely to just share such casual intimacy with Cove.

Jamie wasn’t alone in trying to ignore her more hormonal urges. As much as Cove enjoyed playing with her hair, focusing on touching her as he did made it impossible for him to stop thinking about the fact that they were both lying on his bed together. He was keenly aware of the gentle warmth of her body pressed against him, how soft and inviting her pink lips looked as she smiled at him.

Eventually, Cove realized he needed something else to occupy his hands if he didn’t want to risk disrupting the peaceful moment. Shifting about a bit, he fished his cell phone out of his pocket. Although Jamie raised an eyebrow at that and at being displaced from her cozy spot when he moved around, she held no objections as he turned his phone on and busied himself with it. Instead, she simply readjusted her position to get comfortable once he was settled again.

Sifting through missed texts and emails, Cove soon managed to distract himself from the urges that ruffled his nerves and relaxed back into the moment. He spotted a number of texts he missed from his dad, and for a moment he wondered if everything was okay until he realized Cliff just sent him a bunch of images last night.

A warm smile graced his face as Cove slowly scrolled his way through the photographs, nostalgia washing over him. Each photo brought him back to the moment it was taken, allowing him to lose himself in the priceless memories he shared with his friends, family, and especially the special person he held so comfortably close at that very moment.

Some photos brought back sweet memories, others a little more on the bitter side of sweet, and then there were the funnier ones. One such silly photo seized Cove’s attention, and he couldn’t help the burst of laughter that escaped him.

The sound immediately snapped Jamie out of her relaxed stupor and brought her back to the present. She raised an eyebrow at Cove, but he failed to notice her questioning look, too preoccupied by whatever was on his phone’s screen.

“What’s so funny?” Jamie asked as she propped herself up on her arm to get a better look at his face and catch a glimpse of the phone’s screen.

Cove finally turned to look at Jamie, his eyes crinkled with mirth and a smirk playing on his lips. “Dad scanned some old photos,” he chuckled. “You know…”

Now that Jamie was no longer using his arm as a pillow, Cove was free to use it to draw a rectangle in the air. “Printed out ones,” he explained, “back from when I was little.” He waved his phone a bit with his other hand. “He texted it all to me last night, I guess. I’ve been checking them out.”

Jamie sat up completely, her dark blue eyes flying open wide. “You were looking at your kiddie photos and didn’t tell me?!” she gasped, almost scandalized at missing out on something so priceless.

Cove barely resisted the urge to chuckle, offering Jamie a bent smile as his eyes narrowed playfully. “I was gonna show you.” His gaze then slid away to his phone as his expression turned a little more hesitant. “I just wanted to look at it first to make sure there was nothing super embarrassing. You never know with my dad.”

His mouth pulled into a grimace as Cove could easily imagine all sorts of horrors his dad might have captured on film to unintentionally humiliate him until the end of time. “I mean… what if there’s a photo of me getting potty trained or something?”

Although Jamie empathized with his worries, she couldn’t help but giggle at the fraught expression Cove wore. “Yeah, that sounds like something your dad would do.”

Cove could only respond by clearing his throat nervously, his eyes skirting away from Jamie as he sat up as well. While he hadn’t come across any particularly humiliating photo of himself, he couldn’t quite shake the fear of what his dad’s well-meaning actions might have left for him to deal with this time.

Jamie offered her boyfriend a sympathetic smile before adding a slight bent to it. “Hey, how about this - if you let me look at your embarrassing baby photos, I’ll show you just as many of mine. My moms have plenty of them.”

The offer was tempting. Cove couldn’t help but wonder what sort of photos Jamie had in mind, but the price was just too steep. He merely chuckled awkwardly and shook his head as he pointedly kept his phone tilted away from her. She huffed and puffed out her cheeks in a mock pout at him for holding out on her, which elicited a genuine bout of laughter from him.

Once Cove got his mirth under control, he smiled at Jamie. “Anyway, before we forget, I was laughing ‘cause I came across a Halloween one from when I was eight. The year I was a zombie, remember?”

Jamie dropped her faux pout and nodded, her eyes lighting up eagerly. Cove shook his head at her excitement, a wry grin gracing his face as he finally offered the phone to her.

As Cove watched Jamie eagerly turn to his phone, he couldn’t help but shake his head again, this time at his kid self. “I never even liked zombies!” he said, a little baffled that he ever was so enthusiastic for such a costume. “All I wanted was to show off my new scar. And I needed to be something scary. I couldn’t be a normal person who had a scar, according to my eight-year-old mind.”

The photo displayed on the screen showed Cove from ten years in the past, and a pleasant wave of nostalgia washed over Jamie as she saw him the way he looked when they first met, minus the pink cast and plus a fair amount of makeup and fake blood. Little Cove posed for the camera with his fingers hooked like claws, his mouth open as though letting out what was probably supposed to be a fierce roar. She could easily remember the noises he made that night as he pretended to be a zombie on the hunt for brains. His hair looked even more wild and disheveled than it did after the most energetic day of play, going well with the tattered and ‘blood’ stained button up shirt he wore. His face was painted in gray down to his neck, marred with an array of fake scars that couldn’t compare to the real one on his arm.

Cove looked from Jamie to the phone and chuckled softly at the face his younger self pulled for the camera. “I was a little dork.”

Jamie eyed Cove at such self-depreciation before poking him on the nose. “You were a little cutie,” she insisted. “And now you’re a big cutie.”

Cove blinked at the playful action before blushing at the compliment. He had no words to reply to it except for a quiet, flustered chuckle as he rubbed his nose.

Jamie grinned at that reaction before turning back to the photo. As much as she enjoyed how adorable Cove looked while pretending to be a fierce monster, it was impossible to ignore the scar displayed so predominantly on his arm at that time. Her smile softened at the edges at the sight of such a large, jagged line of fresh skin that was such a deep and angry shade of red. The scar was a pale memory in the present, but back then it looked so painful, and at the time she found it hard not to worry about him and his comfort after his cast came off.

Still, Jamie refused to let that put a damper on the story and focused instead on just how much fun little Cove was having posing for the camera and remembering the way they played around with their costumes that night. She could vividly recall how she pretended to run away from him when he playfully growled that he wanted to eat her brains, and the memory made her smile grow stronger.

“Dad really wanted to be useful, as usual,” Cove said, bringing Jamie’s attention back to him in the present. Though he noticed the flicker of sadness that crossed her face and realized the reason for it, he was glad to see her perk up again just as quickly. “He came up with the idea of being an undead person. It was pretty good, huh?”

Jamie chuckled softly and nodded. “You had the best Halloween costume that year, hands down,” she said playfully. “I remember you getting lots of extra candy when adults realized the scar was real.” Her smile widened as she remembered just how jealous Lizzie had been at how much candy Cove got that year, especially since he only offered to share some of that extra candy with Jamie. “It must have been your greatest Halloween haul ever.”

Cove couldn’t help but chuckle as well as he thought back to that legendary candy haul as well. It took him a month to finish it all even with Jamie’s help.

Still, the topic of his scar brought his gaze back to the picture. Cove couldn’t help but compare the way it looked in the photo to its current appearance on his left arm. “I can’t believe how much larger my scar used to be,” he said quietly.

Jamie watched as Cove turned his focus to his arm with a soft smile on his face. He traced his fingers along the jagged line of pale flesh that remained with him even ten years on. It was an action that she had seen him do countless times, but it felt more significant in that moment.

A soft sigh escaped Cove, but his eyes and tone were playful. “Look at how tiny it is now.” He gave Jamie a look with big, pathetic eyes. “How am I gonna pretend to be tough without a big scar?”

It was a struggle for Jamie not to laugh at the expression Cove wore. “You better not do anything stupid to get a new scar,” she joked with a faux disapproving frown as she wagged a finger at him. “No matter how much you like them!”

Cove grinned back at Jamie. “I won’t.”

“Good,” Jamie said with a satisfied nod. “You’ve already got the coolest scar, no matter how small it gets.”

Cove felt his cheeks grow warm and his smile turned bashful. “Thanks.” He ducked his head away from Jamie, pleased with their joking exchange. Once again, his eyes drifted down to his scar as he continued to trace it.

“I really do like having this,” he admitted in a soft, shy voice. “Even if it is kind of little these days.”

Jamie’s expression softened as well, feeling as though Cove was sharing a big secret with her. She couldn’t help but feel happy to hear that he liked his scar despite whatever pain it must have caused him to get it. It was always wonderful whenever he opened up to her like this.

Cove glanced up at Jamie, a gentle smile gracing his lips. “I like yours, too.”

The unexpected compliment caught Jamie off guard, and heat rose in her cheeks, turning them pink. She couldn’t help but smile as she felt her chest flutter with butterflies. He never failed to think of her as well, especially since he knew that she was self-conscious of her own scars.

Unthinkingly, Jamie brought her hand up to her upper arm and traced some of the countless jagged little white lines that marred her pale skin. There were matching scars in the same place on her other arm, as well as her thighs and her chest. Unlike Cove, these scars were not the result of an accident, but her skin not being able to keep up with her sudden growth during puberty.

Back during her early teenage years when the stretch marks were fresh and an angry purplish-red, Jamie always kept them hidden. Puberty had been rough on her, dealing a blow to her self-esteem as well as her body, and being covered in so many scars left her feeling ugly even though she never once thought of Cove’s scar like that.

It took time for Jamie to accept her scars, and she knew that Cove was a big part of why. Seeing the way he took such quiet pride in his scar always made her question how she thought of hers. More than that, he always made her feel beautiful, and he was always the first to remind her  whenever she needed it. That was why she was no longer afraid to wear clothes that exposed her scars like she did now.

Jamie scooted in closer to Cove as she smiled adoringly at him, placing her hand on top of his. “Thank you, Cove.”

Cove turned back to face Jamie fully. He finally let go of his scar so that he could take her hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. He felt at peace with his scar and was happy to see the same reflected on her face as well. Their scars held such meaning to them despite coming from unhappy sources.

Jamie squeezed his hand back as she drifted even closer. “Could I touch your scar?”

Cove blinked, taken aback by the request. Usually, Jamie wasn’t shy about touching him without asking first, particularly someplace as innocent as his arm. Still, he quickly realized why she might hesitate to do that now and smiled gently at her as he nodded easily. “Yeah, that’s okay.”

Jamie gave Cove’s hand one more squeeze before letting go of it. Lightly, she pressed her fingertips against the edges of his scar. With great care, she slowly ran her thumb along the entire length of it, following the jagged angles the old wound took. The pale flesh was rough when compared to the rest of his skin, which was soft, but with goosebumps rising quickly along his arm as she stroked his scar.

The touch, so delicate and gentle, left Cove feeling a bit lightheaded. Jamie’s touch always felt wonderful and often left him feeling butterflies, but somehow the feel of her paying such careful attention to his scar was particularly powerful. A choked breath escaped him and a wobbly smile played across his face as he lost himself in the feeling.

The dizzied smile Cove wore along with the light pink of his cheeks drew Jamie in with the urge to do more. She locked eyes with him, staring deep into his aquamarine eyes as she took a hold of his arm and raised it up towards her.

A quiet gasp escaped Cove when she realized what Jamie had in mind. He couldn’t look away from her dark blue eyes as she stared so intently into him even as she placed a soft kiss on the old wound that marked him. The feeling of her lips, warm and soft, pressed so tenderly against that particular place sent shivers up his spine, and he let out a tiny squeak.

Jamie smiled against Cove’s skin as she appreciated his adorable reaction, as well as the way he looked at her with overwhelming adoration. She kissed him again and again, tracing the entire length of his scar with her lips like she did with her fingers before.

It was impossible for Cove to stay still when Jamie was showing him such affection. He reached up with his free hand to touch her arm. With his thumb, he brushed aside the edge of her open sleeve, giving him better access to the countless little white lines marking her pale skin. The texture was interesting, feeling so similar yet so different from his own scar. Because of their size and number, he found his fingers constantly alternating between soft skin and rougher tissue. It was difficult to trace any one scar from start to finish like she did for him, so instead he sought out to touch every single one.

The touch was electric, and Jamie could feel her heartbeat speed up as Cove caressed her so lovingly. “Cove…”

Cove shivered again as Jamie murmured his name against his skin, setting off sparks that made his body burn pleasantly. It urged him to lean forward, his eyes gleaming with the fire she set ablaze inside him.

Jamie raised her head and instinctively matched his movement, drawing nearer to Cove as her eyes drifted closed. She felt his lips gently meet hers, and she melted into the tender kiss. She held a little more firmly onto his arm as she fell deeper into him, feeling like she might drown in the depths of her feelings for him.

Cove all too quickly lost himself in the moment and in Jamie. It felt so wonderful, so right to be her like this, to touch and kiss her. He loved her so much that it was almost overwhelming, but knowing that she loved him as well kept him grounded.

Eventually they finally drifted apart, breathless and dazed from the kiss, their faces flushed with heat. When Jamie opened her eyes, she saw Cove gazing back at her with his mesmerizing ocean blue eyes. The look he gave her was spellbinding, filled with so much love and adoration that made her heart hammer hard against her ribcage. It told her without words that the feelings he had for her were just as immense as hers were for him.

Cove leaned in again, this time resting his forehead gently against Jamie’s. With heavy lidded eyes, he simply enjoyed gazing deeply into her blue eyes that always reminded him of the night sky. No matter how many times he saw them, they always captivated him. He could lose himself in those beautiful eyes of hers.

The feeling of his warm breath tickling her skin made Jamie shiver a little, especially the way it brushed against her lips like the ghost of a kiss. With their heads touching, his hand on her arm and hers on his, she felt entirely entwined with Cove. It felt so right.

Time ceased to have any meaning in that moment as they gazed deeply into their partner’s eyes and drank in the closeness and warmth they shared. Seconds or minutes might have passed, but neither of them cared as they lost themselves in each other.

[pianostarinwonderland]

Why you dislike MalleYuu? Im just curious but I respect your opinion if you dont want to.

No worries! Honestly, this is kind of a vent so I’m putting this underneath a cut and not putting this into the main tag, so please feel free to scroll past if you don’t want to see me complaining.

Firstly, I dislike Malleyuu because of how fans always come proclaiming that One scene between them means endgame romance. I get that it can be in a joking manner, but also, since it’s the internet, it’s hard to tell. And it gets really tiring to see it over and over and over. 🤡

It’s also really funny because you have Ace going “hehe would you like sleeping in our room :)” but none of you are gonna go awooga over that? 😭 but then Yuu invites Malleus to VDC because hey why not, invite a friend right? And then everyone goes “AAAAAA ENDGAME SHIPPPPP”.

Now while that’s one main reason why I dislike the ship, it’s not The main reason.

My biggest peeve about the ship is that it feels invalidating to everyone else. So you’re all going to say all the Yuus that people made to ship with Malleus are the only ones good enough for validation? You’re just going to brush off every other sona shipped with other characters out there but hype up sonas with Malleus? The Malleyuu week that happened at one point in the year? In unfiltered words, it hurt. A lot. You guys will only celebrate Malleus stans? Really now?

As a blogger who really loves to talk about Octavinelle (especially Azul), it’s honestly demotivating when my inbox is always filled with Malleus and not Octavinelle and when my Malleus posts have much more clout than other posts that I put more time and energy on.

Character-wise, Malleus just doesn’t interest me. I’m not into the lonely boy trope. In fact, his grandma’s more interesting to me 😂 I can’t really think of any interesting theories for him aside from any UM possibilities, but even then, ehh? Him being so overpowered also doesn’t help. So when people keep sending me asks about him, I find myself feeling so tired that I either write a half-hearted response or delete altogether. And I really only write a response because I don’t want to be unfair to everyone 😭 but of course, I have my own limits too.

And when Malleus posts get so much more clout? Please, one of my top posts is just an anon submission about Malleus’ eyes and that got more popular than character posts I made? So what does this say? That people will ignore the posts I put my heart and soul into just because it’s not him? That I have to force myself to write about someone that I’m not interested in at all just for people to look at my blog and want more from me? That I won’t be as loved in the community as Malleus stans? Is that it? I have a number of long posts in my drafts, and each time, it gets unmotivating to do them because what if it’s going to be brushed aside after all that I’ve done?

It hurts, honestly. Even if I try not to show it, it hurts.

While irl will always be the first and foremost reason why I sometimes won’t be seen posting or reblogging, seeing Malleus getting the clout is also a reason why I lose the energy to even post something. Sometimes, I’d get the urge to just put up a second post asking you all to stop talking about Malleus for the time being because I’m tired of talking about him. But I try not to because I don’t want to be unfair again about who to talk about.

It also reaches the point that when people lovemail about him or him and Yuu, I get irritated or uncomfortable. I can ignore it in a server (and heck I’ll be likely to bulli), but when it’s lovemail in DMs, that’s when I feel blegh about it. And I can’t just ask people to not lovemail about him 🥲 because that’s just being mean, right?

So yeah anyway :’) congrats I guess if you read thisbto the end.

[junghelioseok]

check in tag!

tagged by: my lovely pals @propinqxity, @lcksndkys, @bendthekneetobangtan, @kpopfanfictrash, and @underthejoon!!! thank you, loves! 💕  i am doing this hella late, as usual. 

1. why did you choose your url?

it’s a (bad) pun with helios, the greek god of the sun, and jung hoseok, who is the actual real sun.

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them

this is actually a sideblog! part of me wishes i’d set this up as a main blog, so i could interact without confusing people, but for those who don’t know, i reply from my main which is @/whimsicalia. then there’s @/lia-recs, for fic recs. 

3. how long have you’ve been on tumblr?

hmm. 2012, maybe? but i created this blog and posted my first fic in december of 2017.

4. do you have a queue tag?

yes, queue never walk alone

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

i wanted to yell and write about bts, so here we are.

6. why did you choose your icon?

probably because hobi looks extra good with the black hair and forehead and hnnngh

7.why did you choose your header?

what even is my header right now? probably the same reasons as my icon, because hobi=hot

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

probably the rant post i made about stimulus checks a while back, but if we discount that fluke, catharsis. 

9. how many mutuals do you have?

fuck if i know! it’s a nonzero number. is there a way to check? 

10. how many followers do you have?

we’re getting close to 10k and i’m shocked about it, tbh. i post like, 3 fics a year. what are y’all doing here 🤣

11. how many people do you follow?

121

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

my entire existence is a shitpost probably! 

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

it depends on how busy i am irl! usually at least once in the morning and once before i go to bed. intermittently throughout the day, but by that i mean i scroll about five posts deep and then close the app, lmao. 🤷🏻‍♀️

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

i don’t have the time or energy to waste on drama, so no. 

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

ugh, no. please take the time to educate yourself before blindly believing and spreading things on the internet.

16. do you like tag games?

i do! but i also do them late every single time. i’m pretty sure i’ve got some buried in my drafts from like, a full year ago (if not longer)

17. do you like ask games?

again, yes! but again, i am bad at them!!!

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

what even is fame, really

19. do i have a crush on a mutual?

i have a crush on ALL of my mutuals, they are lovely and wonderful people!!!

tagging: whoever wants to do this!!! i am late and idk who’s already been tagged so please just have at it if you’d like!!!

[dvp95]

quiet on widow’s peak (2)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up tags: paranormal investigator, youtuber phil lester, dan howell is not a youtuber, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, trans character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.2k (this chapter), 6.4k (total) summary: Phil’s got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

"Do you remember the Wilkins place?"

"I'm well, thanks." Martyn's voice is dry, and Phil finds himself grinning at the wall despite himself. "How are you?"

"Good," says Phil. It's mostly true, although he could do without the piles of clothes he's sorting through. He holds his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he picks up a top of Sophie's and starts a whole new pile that he's calling delicates, aka things he's absolutely going to screw up somehow. "People think the Wilkins place is haunted."

There's a beat. Presumably, Phil's brother is trying to fit the name into adolescent memories to see where it slots in. "Oh, that wreck in Rusholme? It hasn't been condemned yet?"

"Apparently it's still a hot spot for binge-drinking teenagers," Phil says.

"Well, sure. But haunted? Really?"

"That's what I said!"

Phil feels a little vindicated by the skepticism in Martyn's voice, to be honest. His friends hadn't taken his weird feeling seriously at all.

"I mean, it's a dump," says Martyn. "More likely to be haunted by a bunch of rats than anything else. Why haven't we heard this before?"

"According to my sources," Phil says, only feeling a bit ridiculous about referring to a bunch of strangers on the internet as 'sources', "the activity only recently started. Which makes me think that someone's lying, or maybe one incident kickstarted everyone else's imaginations?"

"Both could be true. Why don't you ask Ian to go check it out?"

It's not exactly a sore spot, but something inside of Phil still twinges at the question. "He's a little busy, isn't he."

"So am I," Martyn says in that same dry, familiar tone that makes Phil feel as comforted as his mum's fretting or his dad's bad jokes do. "And yet here you are, on my phone."

"You don't have a toddler," Phil points out.

"I don't? Yet here you are..."

Phil snorts a laugh and drops all of the socks he's gathered into an empty basket. It's as good a place to start as any. "Shut up, Mar. I'm at least six."

There are, literally, enough dirty socks and pants between the four of them that Phil has a whole load of just underthings. He spares a moment to be grateful to Sophie for not including her bras, because he'd have no idea where to begin with those. He sighs and picks up the basket, fitting it against his hip with one hand so he can hold his phone with the other.

"Well, I can ask around," says Martyn. "I think my friends might be past the point of sneaking into abandoned houses to party, but maybe they've heard something from their annoying little brothers."

"Ha, ha," Phil says dryly. "Think I should contact some of the people making these claims?"

"Deffo," says Martyn. "If you can record them, it'd be best."

"Yeah, that way I can use them in the video," Phil hums, setting his basket on the washer and opening every cupboard to try to find the detergent. "I mean, if they're okay with that, obviously."

"I actually meant because your bullshit detector is dysfunctional, so me or Peej will have to tell you if someone's lying."

"Wow, rude. Whose fault is that?"

"Yours," Martyn informs him dryly. "Just because I told you Santa would pull you up through the chimney doesn't mean you had to believe me."

Phil rolls his eyes, but he's grinning. Maybe it's just a big brother thing, or maybe it's their personalities, but Martyn isn't wrong - Phil has a hard time telling when someone is lying to him. Martyn was always good at lying with a straight face and seeing right through Phil's outlandish stories.

"I still blame you," says Phil.

"Alright," says Martyn. "When are you coming to visit?"

"Probably not ‘til after this one," Phil says slowly, glancing at the kitten calendar on the fridge. They'd let one of their milder housemates pick this year's after everyone got tired of looking at Chris' previous choice of nude knitted puppets.

"Yeah? You gonna head up north for this one?"

In the very last cupboard he checks, Phil finds the detergent. He wants to be annoyed about it, but the truth is that Holly's habit of switching around the kitchen when she's anxious has saved many a pack of biscuits from expiring behind some flour. Phil has never once been useful to anybody when he's having a meltdown, so.

Phil absentmindedly loads the washer while he considers Martyn's question. Maybe it would be best to check the place out for himself, see if anything's really going on. He likes being on-site best, trusts his own gut more than he trusts strangers' eyes.

The problem, of course, is that Phil's childhood home is up for sale, he has no money for a hotel, and Ian's gone and got himself a child. The last thing Phil wants to do is impose or, like, get roped into babysitting. A trip to Manchester might be out of the question for him right now.

"Maybe," Phil says, noncommittal.

Martyn sees through him in an instant, like always. "Want me to ask Mum if they've got any viewings next weekend? I'm sure you know not to trash the place."

"Have I ever once trashed the place? Don't answer that," Phil adds, remembering the shaving cream incident.

A huff comes down the line, and Phil feels the same pride at making his brother laugh as he had when he was seven and making weird noises out the car window. Yeah, he definitely needs to go to London soon, the Isle afterwards - he hasn't seen his family in way too long.

"I'll let you know what's buzzing, if anything," says Martyn. "And I'll call Mum for you and all. I know you get weird about asking them for favours."

"I get weird about asking anyone for favours," Phil says instead of a thank you, because if he gets weird about asking for help, then Martyn gets twice as weird about reacting to gratitude.

"Except me."

Phil smiles, watching the rainbow of socks and pants spin. "Yeah. Except you."

--

Laundry does end up taking Phil most of the day, but he doesn't mind much. It's the least he can do when Chris always does the first draft edit for him, PJ reminds him to take his EMF meter and his meds when he's packing for an overnight, and Sophie sends him pages upon pages of research while she's at work. He's so fond of these people, and he appreciates all they do for him, but being in debt to them - and not in sole control of his projects - makes Phil feel like he's got ants crawling up his arms.

While he waits out the machine cycles, Phil starts putting feelers out into this story. He checks the sources linked to him again and shoots off a couple of direct messages and emails to see if any of the people posting about the Wilkins place are eager to chat one on one.

He's got his laptop set up at the kitchen table and he's on his third coffee of the day when it occurs to him that he's not out of the woods of owing favours just yet. He clicks back into the Tumblr submission that started this spiral.

He decides that he needs to thank this person, at the very least, and maybe offer to buy them a coffee or something when he's in town. They did so much of Phil's grunt work that it feels weird not to pay them back somehow.

"Well, I can't exactly do your laundry," Phil murmurs to the screen. He hopes none of his other housemates are milling around to hear him.

Another click, and he's on the blog. It's minimalist and monochrome in a way that makes things easy to read, but not very interesting to look at. Phil's eyes start to glaze over as he scrolls through, because it's entertaining enough but - well. It's a typical Tumblr blog. That familiar mixture of memes and rants about social issues and some gifs from shows that Phil doesn't have time to watch. There are a lot of familiar walls of text tagged as personal posts, but Phil still can't parse them without really trying.

They do reblog Phil's video posts, though. That makes him grin.

He scrolls back up to the top of the page to shoot them a message and immediately gets distracted by the bio.

winnie. 21. any pronouns.

For someone who sent Phil a wall of text that could be mistaken for copypasta at first glance, it's surprisingly succinct. Phil takes another swig of his coffee and tries not to get caught up on the last part of it.

Any pronouns? What does that mean, any pronouns? What if Phil uses the wrong ones? He isn't exactly a queer theory student, and as much as he supports everybody under his little rainbow umbrella, he's got to admit that a lot of things still go over his head.

He dithers for so long that his laptop screen goes black, and he makes a face at himself in its reflection. Surely he's overthinking this.

Hi!, Phil types, and then accidentally hits enter. He was just trying not to send the fan a paragraph back, but, fine. Oops. So I'm looking into the things you sent me on the Wilkins place and I'm really impressed by the amount of time you put into this? Like it makes MY job a lot easier haha. Is he a triple-texter? He's a triple-texter. The first one didn't count anyway. So thanks!!!!! I'll def give you credit in the video, but is there anything else I can do to pay you back?

Not literally, he wants to add right after he's sent it. Oh, well. He can't just keep spamming this poor person's chat. He hopes it's obvious that he'd offer monetary compensation if he had it.

Phil leaves the Tumblr tab open and works on editing for a little while. It's almost frustrating how bad this video is, how little effort and energy Phil has started putting into these, and he doesn't know how to fix it short of rethinking his entire career.

He could easily keep churning these out for as long as people watch them, but. He's not having fun anymore.

The Phil on his laptop screen is asking questions, wandering around a cemetery just to see if anything will happen, and Phil can't help comparing it to things he did last year, the year before that, the year before that - it feels like his content is declining as his enthusiasm for the topic does, or maybe vice versa.

Phil zones out for so long that the dryer chime goes off from the hallway, echoing through the old, creaky house. He'd given up on sorting the loads after the fifth shirt that could belong to any of them, so he just takes his own things out and folds his housemates' clothes into one basket.

They can figure it out, he's sure. There's only two bedrooms between the three of them, so there's only two closets, and Phil has gone so long without knowing who's officially sharing that it would be awkward to ask now.

Phil swaps the load over and goes back to his laptop, even though the very last thing he wants to do is continue editing and uploading this mediocre video.

The thing is, Phil doesn't need his content to be perfect. He's happy to post things that just make him laugh or have a nicely spooky vibe or whatever, he doesn't need to solve mysteries every month or two. It's just that. He can hear how little he cares about it, lately. It won't be long before people notice, if they haven't already.

Phil sighs and exits the project. Maybe this video is best left unposted. He's not happy with it at all.

Maybe, if this Wilkins place video doesn't pan out, Phil can start redirecting his energy into a different type of creative output. He's got so many stories bouncing around in his mind, he just needs to figure out how he wants to tell them.

It sounds like his father's voice inside his head, telling him you can't chase ghosts forever. He wishes he still had the gumption to disagree with it.

His laptop makes a little noise, and Phil blinks back to reality. He has to click on a few different tabs to figure out where it came from, but then he realises that he's gotten a response on Tumblr.

Phil smiles despite himself and gets ready for another difficult-to-read message.

Sure enough: UHHHHHH hi hello what the fuck i didnt expect you to say anything this is so weird i am being so weird right now um like no problem? i was procrastinating an essay and this was more fun to research so you dont have to thank me or pay me back whatever that means like i was just fucking around its fine but thank you?????

Phil thinks about the four word Tumblr bio again and snorts. Maybe Winnie wanted to seem as cool and minimalist as their theme itself was.

Procrastination or not, I appreciate it!, Phil replies. Would it be ok if I use you as a reference?

?????????????? i mean yeah but what the fuck, he gets back almost immediately.

It's nice to see you know some punctuation! Sorry if it's weird to reach out like this, I just wanted to like acknowledge the work you put in. I don't have to mention you in the video if you'd prefer!

The sound of the front door creaking open and slamming shut interrupts Phil's nervous typing. He freezes for a moment, fingers still on the keyboard, but then PJ comes in the kitchen with a little salute and several bags of craft supplies, and Phil can breathe again.

It isn't that the other people who live in this house are bad people. Far from it. It's just that, of the people Phil has opted to share this large space with for nearly two years, only three of them have made any kind of effort to understand Phil. The others are nice enough, he supposes, but sometimes they come and go and new people replace them and - Phil isn't exactly good with change, is the thing.

So he relaxes when he can talk to PJ instead of making small talk with someone who thinks he's weird and too messy. "Hey! How's your day?"

"Better than yours," PJ laughs. He drops all the bags on the table and starts puttering around the kitchen. "Hungry?"

"Please. And it wasn't so bad, I got some work done."

"Yeah? Any new info on the new haunt?"

It's incredible how genuinely interested PJ always is in Phil's work. Phil grins down at his keyboard and shrugs a bit. "Some. Mostly just poking around right now, though. Mar's asking his friends too. Oh, and I thanked the person who sent it in."

"That's good," PJ says. He's putting the kettle on, because that's what PJ does when he comes home. "How'd they react?"

"Mostly confusion," Phil laughs. He glances at his screen to see if Winnie has responded - they haven't - and chews on his lip a little bit. "Hey, Peej? If someone says any pronouns are fine, what does that mean?"

"Generally," PJ hums, "it seems like it would mean any pronouns are fine."

"Oh, shut up." Phil runs a hand through his hair, always anxious about getting stuff like this wrong.

"I'm not joking," PJ says, although his tone is still light.

"Oh. So it just... doesn't matter?"

"Not to some people, I guess." PJ leans against the counter as he waits for the water to boil. At least he's smiling, although Phil can't help but notice that it's a little patronizing. "You do know that I'm not a gender guru, right? I'm barely a gender novice. I failed gender out the gate, buddy."

Phil knows his cheeks are pinking up a bit, but he rolls his eyes. "Shut up," he repeats. "You still know way more than me."

The shrug he gets in response makes Phil huff a laugh. This isn't something they talk about, but Phil has been present for enough of Chris and PJ's conversations that he'd gotten the idea.

He wonders if PJ cares that he's bringing it up. Is he making PJ uncomfortable? They don't talk about this.

"Stop spiralling," PJ says easily. His smile is warmer, now. "I don't hate you, nobody hates you, and the fan who doesn't care about pronouns certainly doesn't hate you. If you're that worried about upsetting them, though, you can always ask."

Maybe he's known PJ too long. He's grateful for it, still, so relieved that he doesn't have to voice the swirling anxiety of doing something wrong when he only has the best intentions.

"I guess I could do that," Phil mutters, embarrassed by how easily he's been read.

Winnie's responded by the time Phil looks back at the chat window, a lmao yeah ofc thats fine i just cant believe you want to, im not trying to b weird ive just been a fan for a really long time?? (used a comma for you too) (and brackets) (youre welcome) that makes Phil smile.

Awesome! And are the name Winnie & they/them pronouns fine to talk about you with, or do you prefer something else for this?

no yeah thats good idc how you refer to me, is Winnie's immediate response. It's stupid how much of a load feels like it's been lifted off of Phil's shoulders at that easy reassurance.

"You were right," Phil informs PJ.

PJ nods, solemn, as he stirs his noodles. "I often am."

"You're annoying, also," says Phil. "Hey. D'you wanna come up north with me?"

"Phil," says PJ dramatically, holding the wooden spoon up to his heart. "Are you asking me to run away with you?"

"No, absolutely not, stop making that joke." There's no way in hell Phil is going to keep putting up with this from both of them, and PJ is more likely to listen to him than Chris is.

PJ laughs. "Yeah, yeah. You going to see the haunt?"

"If my parents are okay with us hanging out for the weekend, yeah."

"Oh, okay," says PJ. "We're just waiting on confirmation that Kath and Nigel want to spend time with you? Might as well pack now."

"Your stuff's folded," Phil says helpfully. PJ throws a noodle in his general direction. It flops onto the floor between them, a sad, wet spiral of a thing, and Phil touches his nose at the same time PJ does.

"Well, one of us has to pick it up," PJ says in his Reasonable Adult voice, as if he hadn't thrown it in the first place.

Phil looks at his laptop, valiantly pretending not to see the floor noodle, and blinks.

and i mean i havent seen any of this shit firsthand but if you need to ask me anything about the stuff thats gone down im always free. like literally always.

[theweefreewomen]

A Guide to Adding Image Descriptions

As my followers have probably noticed, I’ve recently been adding image descriptions to posts and reblogging things with image descriptions, and I thought it might be useful to write a guide based on my experience doing them for others who might want to start doing them as well.

Image descriptions are really important for accessibility; people who use screen readers need them because screen readers aren’t great at reading images. And since about 80% of tumblr is images, this means that image descriptions are really important accessibility tool.

(Image descriptions are also really useful for people using tumblr mobile and people with bad internet, but accessibility is really the main reason to have them.)

I’m not an expert or anything, I’m just a guy who started doing this about a month ago, so I recommend you check out this post, this post, and this post, as well as this page by @keplercryptids and this page from @taakitzweek for more advice. I’ve also linked to some ID blogs at the end so you can look at how other people structure their IDs. But anyway, here are my tips for doing image descriptions.

-For me, tweets were an easy way for me to get into doing IDs since they’re typically really short; you just write out the person’s name, handle, and tweet, like this. (Most of this applies to other social media posts; for example this post for facebook and this one for instagram comments.)

-When it’s a long series of tweets (or a large photoset/gifset), I personally find it easier to have the reblog page in a new tab and flip back and forth to copy the tweets out, rather than having to scroll up and down constantly.

-Short comics were another easy way to get into them. The way I tend to do them is by ‘Panel 1: [description]. Panel 2: [description]’ etc. (Like this, or this.)

-The way I do fanart is to first say who the characters are and what show they’re from, what they look like, what they’re wearing, etc, then I describe how they’re positioned, what’s around them, and mention the lighting/mood/angle/colour pallet if I feel it’s needed.

-Another general tip for describing art is start with what you notice first (like a character or the landscape), then describe what’s around it.

-(That’s how I do it, but if you have a way that works better for you then go it it! There’s no one way to describe art.)

-For gifsets or photosets of scenes from TV shows, I write what show it is, what characters are there and what they’re doing (for example, walking down a corridor, talking outside, etc) and transcribe any dialogue. Remember to include facial expressions and gestures, and angle if it’s important.

-Do ‘gif 1: [description], gif 2: [description] if it makes the post make more sense. (For example, like this or this.)

-For moodboards, say what the theme is and then briefly describe each of the pictures. (For example, this and this.)

-For photos, usually a quick description of the main focus and important background details will be okay, don’t worry about describing every little.

-Whenever I don’t have the time or energy to do a description, I’ll save the post in my drafts and come back to it later.

-It’s always worth checking the notes to see if someone has already done an image description and reblogging from them. (Although I get it’s really frustrating having to scroll through 30+ porn bots every time you go to check the notes.)

-Remember that your description doesn’t have to be perfect or super detailed, and that any description you add is better than none.

-Also, like with anything, it’s something you get better at the more you do, and you’ll find your own way of way of doing it.

Formatting Tips

-The square brackets used in most image descriptions are there to distinguish the ID from the rest of any post.

-Put [start image description/end image description] so that people using screen readers know when the description ends and where any commentary begins.

-It should be before any other commentary, and shouldn’t be under a read-more.

Other ID Blogs

@image-descriptions, @wolf953, @supine-aesthetic, @accessiblecoldtimes, @onecaptureddesign, @cripple-punk-presents, @musicalravencreates, @funzybee, @readyset-id, @angelictroublemaker, @richarclganscy, @friendlydinosaur, @aestheticcaptions, @theplantqueer, @doorfus, @weasels-king-henry, @rpgs-are-neat, @described-dogs, @captioned-cats, @accessible-animals, @inktober-described, @where-is-sneaky-pete, @watanuk-i, @pumpkino, @quakgrass, @heidraws, @cutiepatoodieart, @sagasofsundry, @the-collector-of-memories, @vlasdygoth, @captioned-daredevil, @tomeatstheworld, @amiafairyprincessyet, @accessiblehp, @ghostlytroubles, @positivedoodles, @sapphicrevan, @prettyjuno, @skullification, @accessibleundertale, @makingdanddaccssible, @goosegoblin, @punksanddraws, @ogrefairydoodles, @singing-circuitry, @vulpeculavolans

shoutout to wolf953 and oscarwildeboytoy for looking over this for me and giving feedback!

[dancingprayer]

Scrolling through my old tumblr really is… something.

Almost tangible reminders of that stage in my life. It’s crazy because it’s just a bunch of reblogs of pretty things, tv/movie gifs and text posts about depression, but I literally remember the feeling of each new post on my blog becoming one with my personality - I never felt so understood even though I wasn’t actually talking to anyone - and seeing it all again just takes me back so hard… Obviously it’s nostalgic but at the same time I feel confronted by this ~past personality~ and all the things that have changed and all the things that haven’t. I was already going through this huge life (and personality) change around the last time I was using tumblr.. but boy oh boy little did I know that I’d end up here right now, 5 years later, lying in bed with my 9 month old SON napping next to me. Like, never wanting kids was part of my identity back then, just like all those posts I reblogged that made me feel unique with thousands of other people I never talked to (and of all social media, tumblr always had that extra level of anonymity somehow). Now I feel so disassociated with that identity, and that blog just seems filled with media I don’t like anymore or even remember consuming, so many beliefs I no longer hold… Which is probably a normal thing that happens to a person during a span of five years but the imposter syndrome is the fucking constant thing!! I have moved and “started fresh” so many times in my life, and it used to be that that was to blame for the fact that I never truly belonged to my “current group of friends at the time” (doesn’t that sound ridiculous).. but recent events have shown me that nothing is enough to stop me from falling back into my old patterns. In fact I have probably fallen into them harder (thank you pandemic). I can count in one hand the number of people who knew I was pregnant, let alone the number of people I actually told. I know that’s insane, and trust that I paid the price for that when I gave birth; there was no other time when I longed for a tight-knit circle of family and friends that much my life. The guilt I felt, wondering how much of this energy my new baby felt... 

I don’t know what I am doing back here on tumblr. I spent SO much time here as a teenager but I was just as much as a wallflower here as I am in real life. I never made text posts like this. (God, I remember every time I got into a new TV show or movie, I would come here and look it up on the search bar just to read what people thought about it; to see if anyone had the same opinions as me, but I wouldn’t even engage in any conversation. That sounds sad, but it really was enough for me) But I guess tumblr was a place of comfort, and that is what I am looking for now. It really does feel like returning to a distant youth, the closest thing for me to going through old stuff in the “house I grew up in”. But also looking back at my old blog is a jarring reminder of how much time has passed; realising how much shit has happened, how many times I’ve “changed”… yet the core of my problems is still the same. How do I break this cycle? If not for myself, then for him?

This has been sitting in my drafts since yesterday, and I have been coming back over and over to edit and add to it, worrying if I sound stupid or if anything I said could be misconstrued, as if I’m actually speaking to anyone. I already know that no one is thinking about me as much as I am, but it’s still so hard not to worry about how I am perceived. Maybe posting this is a step towards the right direction? Is that why I am doing this?

I know the new year has already begun for everyone else, but I feel like my fresh start begins in a couple months; we’ll be in my home country where we’ll be celebrating my son’s first birthday and he’ll meet one of his grandparents for the first time.. I’ve had many fresh starts before, except this time everything I do, I do for my him. All I want is to give him the stability I never had.

[queerplatonicpositivity]

@keplercryptids has a bunch of great tips on eir blog, but here's some extra ones:

1. If it's an image set you created that explains something with a lot of text, you can take whatever text you wrote in the text layer and copy/paste it as part of the image description, so you don't have to type it all out twice. (Just be sure to either save a version where the layers aren't flattened into one, or copy the text into a draft before you flatten them.)

2. On my private blog, people have seen my image descriptions in the notes, and then gone to my private blog, found my personal post tag, and read through a bunch of my personal posts, which I find annoying and invasive. So, I have made a side blog just for image descriptions, and any time I want to add an image description for a post to my private blog, I'll add it to that side blog, and then queue it from there to my private blog. That way other people who see the image description are less likely to trawl through my private blog uninvited. And then of course for here, which is very public, I just put it right in when I reblog it.

3. Use multiple screens. One of the things that helps me write image descriptions is to get on my desktop (because I text SUPER slowly), where I have dual monitors, and then I duplicate the tab to show the image on one monitor and my reblog on the other monitor, so I can both type and view the image simultaneously. I know not everyone has dual monitors, but even if you have a computer and a smart phone, you can pull the image up on one and then use the other to write up the image description. It cuts down on scrolling back and forth.

I also want to add that the not having time or energy is REAL, and what it means for me on this blog is that I have something like 50+ posts saved in my drafts, that are waiting for image descriptions. Occasionally, I'll get a burst of energy, and I'll go through and add image descriptions to a few and move them from my drafts to my queue.

here's your regular reminder that if you create content, YOU are responsible for making that content accessible.

yes, that literally means you!

yes, that means all your content! anything and everything that is shared to an audience.

yes, that means art. podcasts. academic materials. memes. business posts. personal posts. all of it.

disabled people exist. we exist online, in your circles, whether or not you see us. we deserve access without question, without begging, without apology.

if you can't make all your content accessible, ask yourself why.

don't have time? make less content.

don't have energy? yeah, tell me about it. constantly asking and pleading for access is tiring, too!

if you need help making your content accessible, whether because you yourself are disabled or just because hey, we all need help sometimes: ASK. i promise you there are people who will help. (you could even start by joining the people's accessibility discord server, where tons of folks are volunteers for that very purpose.)

be proactive. be inclusive. be accessible.

[imagining-supernatural]

A few months ago, I stopped posting on Facebook. This was a big deal for me. I used to post at least once a day. Funny jokes, memes, just things to make people smile and laugh. I didn’t use Facebook to update people on my life, I used it to make people smile. That’s been my goal for over five years now. Before this year, the longest I’ve gone between posts was probably one week. Why? Because with all of the shit going on in the world and all of the drama on Facebook, I thought that people needed somewhere to go to have a laugh. To forget about it all. 

It got to the point that I got kind of Facebook famous in my hometown. Friends of friends would ask to be my friend, because I had numerous people tell me that they frequently Facebook-stalked me with their friends for a laugh. Every time I would go home, the first thing family friends would say to me is, “Oh, i just love what you post on Facebook!” And if I was ever introduced to someone new, my introduction would go something like, “This is Aubrey and she just posts the best things on Facebook.” It made me feel good. I was actually making a small difference in the world. I loved knowing that something I was doing gave everyone who was friends with me on Facebook and even some who weren’t a chance to smile. 

Then, one day, I just stopped. I didn’t make one of those “I’m deleting my Facebook account” posts that you see so often. I didn’t announce it, and I haven’t made a big deal about it since. I still like and comment on people’s posts every now and again, but I don’t post. 

And you know what? 

No one noticed. Or, if they have, they haven’t asked why. 

It’s been over three months, and I haven’t posted once. I could go into detail behind my reasons for not posting anymore, but I’m not going to. They’re very personal and not very healthy or whatnot, and that’s not the point of this post.

What, you may ask, is the point of this post then?

If it was that easy for me to stop making small posts, for copying and pasting memes, for getting into meme wars with my friends AND I had people frequently tell me that I was making a difference in their life, then how easy do you think it would be for me to just stop posting here?

Let me tell you, it would be so fucking easy. 

The effort it takes to maintain this blog is astronomical compared to the effort it took to make a dumb little post on Facebook. The feedback I got for my effort on Facebook was so much more reassuring than the feedback I get on this blog. Logically, it doesn’t make sense for me to keep this blog, but stop doing things on Facebook. 

I know you’ve seen a lot of these posts churning about on this website. My fellow fanfic authors practically begging for comments, screaming in their inbox, anything that shows that you give a damn. I thought I’d add my point of view.

You’ve heard it before, that we put our hearts and souls into our fics. We spend so much fucking time and lose so much fucking sleep to write things that you might want to read. Just for that, don’t you think that we deserve even a reblog with your comments in the tags?

But, here’s a point of view that you might not have thought of, and here is where my business school persona comes out. Yes, the writing takes a long time, and yes it takes a lot of emotional turmoil, and yes it’s a fucking drag sometimes. Just for that, we deserve something. But to actually post something we’ve written? Do you have any idea how much effort that takes?

Here’s an example: I’ve had at least 2 fics in my drafts all ready to go for at least a week. The writing and editing is all done. I’ve copy and pasted the words over. But they aren’t posted yet. Why?

Because posting a fic takes so much damn time. Maintaining a blog takes so much damn effort. You have to make sure the links are all working, you have to make the posts look nice and bold what you want bolded, italicize what you was italicized, find a good gif for some posts. You have to add page breaks and read mores. You have to add the tags so people can find your fic. If you have a taglist, you have to add all those tags and that takes a long time. You have to link parts of a series to the masterlist, and/or to the previous and next parts. There is so much fucking work that you don’t see that we do. 

Posting to a blog is so much more than just writing.

It’s exhausting. And if there isn’t anything to show for it, then why bother putting in the effort at all? 

I’m not threatening to delete my blog if I don’t get more feedback. I can almost guarantee that I won’t delete this blog. However, it’s very possible that I might just stop posting. And I’ll just fade away. I’m not delusional enough to think that if I stopped posting, anyone would notice or care for more than a few days. There are so many more great writers out there, writers with better plots than me, writers with better words and descriptions than me, writers who are just plain better than me. If I stopped posting, the world would keep turning. I’m not trying to make this into a dramatic ultimatum. I’m just saying it like it is. Just like when I stopped posting on Facebook, no one noticed.

I’m going through a really tough time right now. I don’t bring my personal life onto this blog often. And I know that you are not responsible for my mental health, and this is in no way supposed to make you feel guilty if you are the kind of person who might start feeling guilty. A few comments won’t make me suddenly all better and bright and bubbly and happy. 

However, I do have limited energy. I have limited motivation. And it seems like each day, I get less and less of both of those. I have to choose where to put my time and focus. I have to decide where I am best off using my skills. Because I can’t do it all. Not anymore. 

This might sound like me whining, but I promise it’s not. I will always write. That is just who I am. But posting to this blog? If there’s no payout for me, then there’s no point for me. It might hurt me a little to stop doing anything with this blog, but I have a life outside of this blog that will help me get over it. I know that many other authors on this website feel the same. We’re just human. we want to feel appreciated. And if we don’t feel appreciated here, then we’ll go somewhere else for the appreciation we deserve. 

I would love to keep updating this blog. In the two years since I’ve started this blog, I’ve learned so much and it’s done so much for me. But it’s been two years, and I’m only getting notes from 1% of my followers. That’s right. 1%. I get few reblogs and few comments (and to those who comment, I see you and I love you and you’re wonderful, and I wish I had to energy to keep posting things if only just for you, but I don’t and I’m so sorry for that). 

If you like something and you want more, then you have to let people know that you want more. Humans aren’t mind-readers. 

Likes are nice, but they really don’t do much. Reblogs and replies are great too. But if you really want to support your favorite fanfic authors on this website (including or excluding me) then reblogging the fic with a comment makes a huge difference. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve almost scrolled past a fic that I thought, “Eh. not really my thing” after reading the summary, only to see that someone commented how much they loved it, or how that plot twist killed them, or a million other things along with some incoherent screaming or cussing in the tags. Scrolling through tumblr and seeing an ask that an author answered that had someone yelling at them for a super fluffy or super angsty fic makes me excited to see what got someone so pumped.

It’s the comments that make me read new things that I might not have otherwise. 

It’s the comments that really show your support because it’s like you’ve printed out the fic and you’re standing in the middle of a busy mall handing out copies to passersby and shouting, “READ THIS FIC I LOVED IT IT ABSOLUTELY TORE MY HEART OUT AND I WANT YOU TO SUFFER TOO BECAUSE IT’S ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL” rather than sitting in a dark, dusty corner of a library reading the fic before setting it back on the shelf so no one ever knew that you read it in the first place.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. I write for me. I post for you. If I stop posting, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop writing. It just means that you won’t get to read it. So next time you read a fic and you don’t reply/reblog/or send an ask, think to yourself: Did I like this? Do I want more like this? If the answer is yes, then let the author know!! We aren’t mind readers. We’re human. And we like to know that we’re appreciated.

[afigureofspeech]

You were never in any danger: a Kastle rec post

Hey y’all. If you follow me already, you may not have realized that I’ve gained some fandoms recently since I’ve been too busy to do something as time-consuming as reblogging all the stuff I scroll past but yeah, I’ve currently got two other rec posts sitting patiently in my drafts, just waiting for me not to be destroyed by grad school. As you all may know though, The Punisher comes out today, so I really just couldn’t help myself.

I didn’t expect to be here. I get the sense that most people on this ship didn’t either? Cool, we’re all in this together. I haven’t even been here that long; I happened to see someone freaking out on my dash a few weeks ago about that part in the trailer where they’re on the floor and Frank touches Karen’s hair – you know the one – and, well, somehow I wound up rewatching all the Kastle scenes over and over and over… I was even planning on waiting until next week to binge the whole season, when I’m on break and recovering from minor surgery and all, but I’m way too hyped to wait so I’ll probably get to it this weekend instead.

In any case, this isn’t a full rec post cuz the series dropped and I just wanted to get it out. Please forgive the general messy and incompleteness, I’ll do an update later when I have the time. Now a full rec post! Tried to fit in as much as I could think of. Also, if anyone out there has some fics (or anything else) you want to rec, please do! Like I said I am new here and I haven’t had the chance to go through the whole AO3 tag (yet lol).

My other rec posts can be found here.

Hope you enjoy~

* = new

Update 12/19/17: So apparently there is a limit on how many links I can have in a post. In the interest of being able to add more fic, I have removed the extra sections for fanart, fanvids, etc. If you go to some of the kastle blogs I link to at the bottom though I am sure you can find plenty. Sorry about that!

→ FANFIC

alamorn

AKA Under Investigation AO3 Their first meeting after she told him he was dead to her doesn’t go exactly how he thought it would.

glove upon hand AO3 Frank Castle, metaphorically standing in his half dug grave, takes a literal hand to get out.  [Post-Punisher s1]

trouble in mind AO3 Frank didn’t like to ask for things. That wasn’t a surprise — she knew that about him before she knew almost anything else. That Frank Castle, he’s a monster, he’s a machine, he doesn’t know how to ask for help. It’s lucky for him that Karen has never waited to be asked. [Warning: explicit sexual content, femdom, pegging]

alchemistc 

after AO3 | Tumblr He presses his lips into her hair and breathes deep, chest expanding against her side, arm curled around her, and Karen thinks - Do we deserve this? [Punisher speculation]

can’t no preacher man AO3 | Tumblr She breathes a sigh of relief when she catches sight of the shape of her late night visitor, and then stifles a snort at herself. Only Karen Page would find the sight of Frank Castle relieving.  [Part 2 of the devil’s backbone series] 

hangman’s knot and three mouths to feed AO3 | Tumblr “Was in the neighborhood. Thought I’d drop in. ”She kinda wants to punch him in his stupid face, but she knows it wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t even land, unless he wanted it to. Besides, it’s not like she could make the bruises littering his skin any worse than they already are. Frank Castle, Walking Bruise. Somehow, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it as The Punisher. [Part 1 of the devil’s backbone series]

walk together with our hands up in the sky AO3 | Tumblr Frank and Karen in the aftermath.  [Post-Punisher s1]

you bear the scars AO3 | Tumblr “Men.” “Tell me about it,” Trish says, her voice somehow managing to convey both too-chipper energy and exasperation of the highest level. “I don’t know how much I can, actually.” Trish grins, tipping the plastic bottle in Karen’s direction. “The Punisher has taken you on as a pet project, you spend your days building up more enemies than even Jessica can manage on a bad day, and you’re totally attracted to a vigilante who prowls the streets at night killing people. Does that pretty much cover it?” “How did you - I am not - there is nothing going on between me and Frank!” [Part 3 of the devil’s backbone series] 

angel_deux

AKA Puzzle Pieces AO3 Jessica Jones is not an easy friend to have. And Karen’s not even really sure if she can call her a friend. But Jessica is a good person to have in your corner in a crisis, which is good, because one of Frank’s enemies makes a sudden reappearance.  [Part 2 of The Sinner and the Saint series] 

Between the Sinners and the Saints AO3 A new villain with killer aim nearly takes Frank out, and he makes the call to go to Karen for help. Karen, who hasn’t seen him in months, who has been wishing she could take back those words she said to him in the woods. She never thought she’d get the chance to repair what they both broke that night, so once he’s back in her life, she’s not going to let him disappear again so easily.  [Part 1 of The Sinner and the Saint series]

Tough Girl is What I Had to Be AO3 Lisa Castle survives the incident in Central Park, and Karen Page wants to take care of her. Set in an AU where Lisa survived but Frank had no knowledge of it until after the events of Season 2.  [Lisa lives AU; you didn’t know you wanted this but I’m here to tell you that you absolutely do]

carrythesky 

i started all the wars AO3 | Tumblr  (Turns out fighting’s easy, once you start. The problem is that he’s never learned how to stop.)  [Punisher speculation, all the angst]

It’s still heavy Tumblr  [Karen Page grows up pretending. She escapes to the broom closet downstairs, curls into the dark space and when she closes her eyes she’s an astronaut, a deep-sea explorer, a knight scaling tall towers to rescue damsels in distress.]

things you said in the dark Tumblr  [Sometimes, late at night when her eyes itch with exhaustion and the words on her screen become a jumbled blur, sometimes, she thinks of home. The most recent memories are transparent as glass but her childhood is a series of fragments, fuzzy at the edges - rain on the breeze, gingersnap crumbs, Kevin laughing over his shoulder and running ahead, always just ahead - And this, plucked from the haze: Penelope Page hunched over the kitchen table in the middle of the night, crying.]

untitled Tumblr  [q: what scares you? a: you have your good arm around her torso, barrel shoved up under her chin and the magazine is an arm’s length away but you’re still careful, careful. she is steel beneath you and that’s when it hits, that’s when you picture your twitchy finger slipping and a bullet going straight through her skull, in and out before you can blink. the elevator door slides shut and you can’t pull away fast enough. (you are the most dangerous thing her hands have touched.)] [How to pack a punch in 500 words or less holy sHIT]

edourado 

Bodies make it perfect AO3 | Tumblr Drunk Karen is a test to Frank's will power  [Companion piece/sequel to Second Night; warning: explicit sexual content]

Boss AO3 | Tumblr Tumblr prompt: "I need you to scream for me. You're Karen Page he's the Punisher, he will come for you." in which Karen hurt and taken by a villain and Frank is enraged."  [Established relationship; warning: explicit sexual content]

But you’re the truth AO3 | Tumblr Tumblr prompt: Frank patches Karen up after she's hurt because of a job and goes after the people who harmed her. Romantic-ish Special appearence: Max, the Pitbull [Companion piece/prequel to For I can’t help falling]

For I can’t help falling AO3 | Tumblr Tumblr prompt: After Frank leaves his hesitation aside, he gets skin hungy   [Companion piece/sequel to But you’re the truth] 

Have you seen my best friend? AO3 | Tumblr Karen finds a dinosaur toy in the subway.  [Everybody lives AU, feat. an adorable Lisa; warning: explicit sexual content]

Hungry AO3 | Tumblr She fought it. With everything she had, she fought it. Karen can only fight for so long.  [Companion piece/sequel to Never Had; warning: explicit sexual content]

Karen AO3 | Tumblr Prompt: someone hurts Karen and Frank hunts them down. As he is at it, he realizes his feelings for her  [Warning: off-screen attempted rape]

Never Had AO3 | Tumblr How can you mourn the loss of something - someone - that was never truly yours?  [Angsty Matt POV, one-sided Karedevil; companion piece/prequel to Hungry]

Not Pete AO3 | Tumblr * She doesn't like the new name  [Post-Punisher s1; warning: sexual content]

Ordinary People AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2, Deleted Scenes) Prompt: Best friends who are the Old Married Couple but fail to notice they're falling in love until is too late.  [AU]

Pour AO3 | Tumblr * She pulled his boots off him before they finished the first glass. They now sat under the couch, forgotten.  [Warning: sexual content]

Second Night AO3 | Tumblr Tumblr prompt: Frank shows up drunk at Karen's door, and she's on edge, because she has dated a few unpleasant-when-drunk men.  [Companion piece/prequel to Bodies make it perfect]

What do you want AO3 | Tumblr Tumblr promt: Karen accidentaly discovers Frank has a hair pulling kink. She sees an opportunity, she seizes it.  [Established relationship; warning: explicit sexual content]

Ejunkiet 

dilaudid AO3 This isn’t the first time Frank has shown up on her doorstep in the early hours of the morning, but this is the first time that he’d been extended an invitation. 

feel it still AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2) w/ evil bunny wolf (evil_bunny_king)  Karen’s legs are unsteady as she makes her way to the bathroom to knock on the door, fingers curling against the wood as she hears the water stop, before Frank’s voice croaks through the door. “What is it?” She has to swallow twice before she can get the words out. “Someone knows you’re here.” [Post-Defenders; WIP]

(in our bedroom) after the war AO3 When Karen had received the invitation from WNEX station to speak on Trish Talk, the most popular radio talk show in the city, her first instinct had been to say no. – “With all due respect ma’am, that’s bullshit. Most people, see, wouldn’t be so easy to let the other things” – murder and brutality, bodies littering the floor of the diner and blood on her hands and face – "go. They don’t seek to understand them. They get one good look, and get the hell away.”

meet me in the woods AO3 * Frank doesn’t wait for them to break the lock – he kicks the door open and slams into the first body he makes contact with behind it, lashing out in a blur of kicks and punches. The intruder falls back, face bloody, and then Frank’s gone, and Karen is left alone, crouched beneath her bed like a five year old hiding from the monsters in her closet, except that she’s no longer a child, and now she has a gun. -- Frank turns up on her doorstep on a Tuesday night and stays until Friday. [Part 1 of the corvidae & whiskey series]

elizma_c*

Flight from the City AO3 | Tumblr What are you doing, Karen? she thinks. He might not even be here. Would he even want to see her? What if – The door beside her suddenly swings open. Of course he senses her right away, even as she’s sort of hidden behind the door. He actually puts a hand to his lower back, and she realizes he’s carrying. Of course. “Jesus Christ,” he mumbles, but there’s surprise in his tone. “Karen.” Even with the questionably overloaded vital signs her body is displaying, she gets the sickest sense of pleasure that she’s gotten the jump on Frank Castle.

What You Know AO3 | Tumblr “When reality feels like its slipping away, hold on to those things that you know are true. You have to focus on what you know.” What did Karen know? Karen knows that she likes to read on the subway. She likes wearing heels that click on the sidewalk. Karen hates exercising but is apparently not a fan of therapy, so she goes running on Saturday mornings. She keeps a .380 in her purse and a pot of dying roses in her window. She has a track record for falling in love with the wrong people. She is fine. She repeats the list in her head each morning when she wakes up, until her hands stop shaking and the knots in her stomach go away.

evil bunny wolf (evil_bunny_king) / devilbunnyking

author our own disasters AO3 | Tumblr Frank Castle’s flesh is a litany to disaster. – Karen and Frank meet again for the first time since that final showdown on the rooftop. It doesn’t go as planned. [Part 2 of the you make me feel so criminal series] 

feel it still AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2) w/ Ejunkiet  Karen’s legs are unsteady as she makes her way to the bathroom to knock on the door, fingers curling against the wood as she hears the water stop, before Frank’s voice croaks through the door. "What is it?” She has to swallow twice before she can get the words out. “Someone knows you’re here.” [Post-Defenders; WIP]

Graves AO3 Frank Castle - had cared. He’d broken himself caring; he’d loved with a heart she’d only glimpsed beneath his darkness, broken and bleeding as it was. She refused to believe that that man could be gone. [Part 1 of the you make me feel so criminal series]

Pacific Swells AO3 | Tumblr It’s not morbid curiosity. She’d be easier to scare away, if it were – he could play the part, flog away another shred of his humanity to dangle before her and ask ‘is this what you wanted? This what you wanted to see?’  [WIP; part 3 of the you make me feel so criminal series]

Perihelion AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1) “I’ve had, I’ve had a hell of a week, but that, I think, might’ve been part of the worst of it.” She clears her throat, and then again, drawing her knees in. Her eyes shine a little in the lamplight. “Yeah. I was scared too. For you.” -- Frank visits Karen, after. [Post-Punisher s1]

Touch AO3 | Tumblr  “Why are you here?” he settles on, instead. Her hand moves to the marks on his neck, thumb grazing his adam’s apple. “Because I made a choice. And now I’m making another.” [Part 4 of the you make me feel so criminal series] 

The Twist AO3 | Tumblr Frank finds Karen trussed up in the back of a van in Queens.  [Kidnapping, protective!Frank]

glycerineclown* 

glutton for punishment AO3 | Tumblr If she wants it, it's not a punishment.  [Warning: explicit sexual content] 

Operation Spot AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2) A stocky grey pit bull peeks out from the mouth of the first alley that Karen passes. It's Frank, but she doesn't know it yet. [Shapeshifter AU]

Ordinary Citizens AO3 | Tumblr Rawlins’ fist had really done a number on Frank, and he has to get some teeth pulled a few days later. Karen takes him home, after, for rest and mothering. He stays longer than he has to—long enough to figure a few things out.  [Warning: explicit sexual content]

idekman / hipsterfrankcastle

around the world my body will roam (my soul’s in new york) AO3 | Tumblr She gets two blankets, one for each of them, and sits out there with him until the sun rises. Frank moves into Karen’s apartment. She dreams. [Punisher speculation]

my girl is tall with hard long eyes AO3 | Tumblr  He returns the book the next day. She’s asleep, curled up on her sofa, the window shut. She looks so small like this, fragile and vulnerable and not at all like the electric force of nature she is in waking. 

this is all I ever was AO3 | Tumblr  'I always thought you liked tulips.' Karen takes the pot of roses from him, places it gingerly back on the windowsill. He listens to her fiddle with it, twist it this way and that – finding the best spot for it in the sun, he realises. 'Maybe. Before.' - prompt: kastle through matt's eyes  [Post-Punisher s1]

jazzonia 

come upstairs but not to talk AO3 Frank comes to her straight from the firefight.  [Warning: explicit sexual content; part 1 of the we’re always alright series]

don’t care about your intentions AO3 Karen’s world is upended when Matt reveals his identity to her. Frank helps her right it again.  [Warning: explicit sexual content; part 2 of the we’re always alright series]

LaMorenaReina 

Ascendancy AO3  Karen Page's relationship with control becomes all the more tenuous as she explores a singular and inconclusive friendship with Frank Castle, wages her own war against Wilson Fisk, and has to start answering some unwanted questions about her past that lead to new conclusions about her identity. 

Re-Entry AO3 Frank shows up again and causes trouble because he’s Frank. Karen goes along with it because, well, she’s Karen. They have adult conversations because, honestly, they should.  [Punisher speculation]  

PurpleLex / shipsabound

bloodsport AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2) two-part tumblr prompt: "A baddie is threatening/hurting Karen in front of a tied up Frank. And he’s raging?” [Protective!Frank, h/c; warning: mature content, description of torture/violence]

during the dark and storming nights AO3 | Tumblr Frank POV retelling of “the space between dreams and reality”  The concrete columns echo again with the second gunshot and he stands there for a minute on shaky feet, disgust and satisfaction twisting and warring against each other within his gut. The satisfaction doesn’t last long, yanked from him harshly when he climbs back into his truck and hears the radio abuzz over a shooting at the tenement building on 47th. Two women sustain injuries — one Sophia Rossum, and one Karen Page. He forgets to breathe for a long minute. [Part 3 of the Dreams & Lasts series] 

fourteen weeks AO3 | Tumblr tumblr prompt: “something where Frank has a dog and because said dog has pretty much adopted Karen as his second owner, Karen often times takes care of the dog when he’s away/busier than usual. And it doesn’t take long for someone to start putting two and two together about who the dogs main owner is." 

leaving is my last option AO3 | Tumblr Kastle Week Prompt: Lasts Frank rakes his gaze over her entire form, like he’s trying to decipher her. She shifts. He has a way of making her feel like every inch of her soul is being seen, and it’s as much something she longs for as something she’s insecure about. “Sooner or later, you’re going to burn out,” he says, tone flat. “How are you going to take care of yourself then? Defend yourself?” A bitter smile curves her lips. “I could say the same thing about you.” [Part 2 of the Dreams & Lasts series] 

meet me in the woods AO3 | Tumblr tumblr prompt: "I would DIE if you wrote a couple of scenes where Karen army trains with Frank. I could TOTALLY see Frank being like, "You can’t get involved in the extra dangerous stuff unless you at least let me train you.” Imagine them running in the mornings??? Karen getting into crazy shape and the tension between them intensifying???“ 

shine a light through the distance AO3 | Tumblr “You sure about that?” He asks, incredulous, but she doesn’t give an inch. “You help me, you’ll only get blood on your hands.” “I already have blood on my hands.” She almost had his on hers half a year ago by force of a bullet. He put his blood on her hands just a month ago by force of a plea. “Doesn’t mean you need any more,” is all he says before opening the door. [Part 4 of the Dreams & Lasts series] 

the space between dreams and reality AO3 | Tumblr Kastle Week Prompt: Dreams He stands in her apartment, by the door, but it is closed this time, and no bullets are coming through her windows. Her gun is in her hand, though, gripped loose from where it hangs at her side. “Why?” She asks. It’s a whisper of a loaded question. He doesn’t respond, just stares at her, gaze too unreadable. Karen wakes with a frustrated sigh. [Part 1 of the Dreams & Lasts series]

untitled Tumblr  [Can you do a prompt where Micro yells at Karen and Frank gets the in his face. I literally be for protective!Frank 😂💕] [Punisher speculation]

PunkyNemo / thevampirecat

As days go by, the night’s on fire AO3 | Tumblr She’s lost him, she’s found him and she’s lost him again. And now he’s standing on her fire escape, holding out his hand and looking at her like she’s the only thing on Earth worth seeing.  [Canon-divergent AU; part 2 of the Ballads for a dead man series]

Be my saviour and I’ll be your downfall AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1) Once upon a time she derided herself for imagining they were a done deal on a collision course straight to her bedroom. But that’s all over now and he’s gone, hasn’t been back since he walked off her roof and disappeared into the night air. It’s not all bad though. She has friends, she has work and tonight she even has cause to celebrate. It is, after all, her birthday and there’s a chance the universe will be kind. It’s just a chance though. And not a very good one.  [Canon-divergent AU; warning: explicit sexual content; part 3 of the Ballads for a dead man series; WIP]

The bullet you never saw coming AO3 | FFN | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) There are days that he wonders if he’s the worst man on Earth. And then there are the days that he doesn’t need to wonder. But, worst man or not, she’s here, sitting on his couch and crying like the world is ending. And he has no idea how to feel about that. Except he does. He really does. [Canon-divergent AU; warning: explicit sexual content]

Can you wait while the world circles the sun? AO3  It’s hard when you can’t take her out - when you’re The Punisher and the world can’t know she’s your girl. But he can make it up to her, make it right … even if he’s not really sure what it is that he’s wanting.  [Warning: implied sexual content]

Could you crawl out of your perfect skin and climb into mine? AO3 | Tumblr * It's just a hug, so why does it feel like it's so much more?  [Frank POV, The Hug]

Love me back to life AO3 | FFN | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2) He can keep her safe. It’s the one thing he knows how to do, the only thing he can truly give her. So why does it feel like it’s not enough?

You’re a ghost town (and maybe I’m a ghost) AO3 | FFN | Tumblr Safe up in the mountains with Frank following a bloody showdown in Hell’s Kitchen, Karen wonders just how much more complicated things between them can get. She’s about to find out.  [Canon-divergent AU; part 1 of the Ballads for a dead man series; I cry about this series in the best way, it’s long and plotty and UST-y and so so great]

queensofthekastle / StellarRequiem & homesickblues 

For Whom There are No Words AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1) Originally inspired by the prompt “Frank protecting Karen after Fisk finds out she killed Wesley.” A dialogue-driven slow burn exploring their relationship through conversation, spaghetti dates, two incidents involving vodka, and a whole lot of back and forth between who Frank is, and what Frank does.  [Canon-divergent AU; protective!Frank, slow-burn]

Nowhere to Go but Everywhere AO3 * Karen has some emotional recovery to do, Frank is still working on "after," and all along the east-west interstate, someone has been abducting children and wiping all record of the disappearances. ** The roadtrip fic has arrived [Roadtrip AU; fake married, sharing a bed]

untitled Tumblr [based on the new trailer (which shook us to the core tbh)] [Punisher speculation]

untitled Tumblr [Kastle+forced to share a bed (best trope ever)]

untitled Tumblr [kastle prompt fill: “matt and frank having a conversation about karen”] [Canon-divergent AU]

untitled Tumblr [OOOH! What about holding their unconscious body WHILST sobbing into their shoulder/chest ] [Punisher speculation]

samssalvation / jonbernhthal 

one day Tumblr prompt: between the explosion and the elevator 

weak knees AO3 | Tumblr  prompt: karen tripping and falling into frank's arms

SecondFromTheRight 

All We Do Is Hide Away AO3  But when she opened the door to him that night with a “Frank”, her lip trembling as she stared at him – her eyes were already red from crying and she looked tired – he wondered how much that mattered. He knew what Karen Page looked like crying and breathing – or yelling – his name, he knew what she looked like with blood on her, but he didn’t know who Ben Urich was to her. He kind of hated himself for that. And for a man used to self-contempt, this dose noticeably burned.  [Post-Punisher s1]

The Sounds She Makes AO3 * Now, now that he’s had her, had this. Something good and something he feels part of it. Now that he’s remembered life and something he’s terrified could be love - he can go out with Karen on his lips, in his lungs, with her saying his name in his ear. He can go out swaying in this elevator with her, her forehead against his. The elevator scene goes a little differently (they have sex) [Warning: explicit sexual content]

watermelonp00fs 

shooting stars in a jar AO3 * Frank doesn’t visit Karen, after. Not really. But the flowers are there by her window — everyday, for weeks, months — until one day they aren’t. She’s stopped going to the river for a while now, too. Not that he blames her for it. Cut the threads loose, toss the baggage she’s carried all this time into the goddamn ocean — He’s alright with it, all of it. Then, one evening she goes home with a man he’s never laid eyes on, carefree laughs and cheeky smiles — and Frank should be, must be alright with this because God knows she deserves happiness that he cannot interfere with — Except he isn’t.

the world on its axis AO3  Inhale. Exhale. “I’m scared, Karen.” Rough. Guttural. He hated how weak he sounded. “I’m gonna forget her voice.” His shoulders sagged from the weight of his guilt. Frank Castle — the man who took a woman to bed and cried to that woman about his dead wife. What a joke. What a fucking joke. A low hum sounded in the back of Karen’s throat as she stroked the line of his back, gentle and understanding and oh he did not deserve her — “I know,” she murmured and kissed his shoulder. “I know.” Inhale. Exhale. [Part 2 of the like diamonds in the sky series]

Wynn / astreetcarnamedwynn

One Worth Knowing AO3 | FFN | Tumblr The message arrives in an innocuous envelope, a plain white one marked only with her name and the address of The Bulletin, the two scrawled on the front in thick black ink. Karen doesn’t even have to open it to know it’s from him, from Frank, though almost eight months have passed since she last saw him.  [UST; warning: adult content; part 1 of the One Worth series]

One Worth Trusting AO3 | Tumblr  Frank presses the first speed dial and, a couple seconds later, her phone rings in her purse. Karen doesn’t bother asking how he knew her number. She just stares at him instead, caught between irritation at his actions and understanding for the impulse behind them. And if that didn’t sum up her feelings for Frank Castle, the man a murderer but one she understood. The man in question watches her, his brow furrowed but his jaw set, Frank willing to throw down over this, his efforts to keep her safe.Sighing again, Karen points to the kitchenette behind him. “If you’re so willing to do things for me, why don’t you pour me a drink? I’m going to get changed.”His face softens, nearly into a smile. “Yes, ma’am.” A continuation of "One Worth Knowing." Frank accepts Karen's invitation to come by her apartment for a drink. All goes well until it doesn't, until truths are revealed and revelations made. [UST, kisses, & angst; part 2 of the One Worth series]

Yggdra / favrielle

Bluest Skies Of Mourning Light AO3 It’s Karen’s birthday. The Punisher is caught unaware by his own legacy.  [Fluff]

On Hallowed Ground I Stay AO3 He never says "I love you”, but whispers every word of it in all the spaces Karen Page leaves for him in her life.  [Fluff]

Paint Your Demons Red AO3 | Tumblr Frank Castle tries to keep Karen Page at arm’s length and out of danger. (Really, he does.) She has other ideas about what safety means. [Post-Defenders]

She Who Believeth In Me AO3 Her brightness touches everything he lays eyes on. And he can’t shake her no matter how hard he tries. [Part 1 of the all the devils series]

untitled Tumblr  [kastle prompt: after the explosion scene, frank takes karen back to his and micro’s hideout. possibly a shower scene (doesn’t have to be sexual) where frank is comforting karen because she took another life while looking out for frank as they were making their escape.] [Punisher speculation]

untitled Tumblr  [plllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllssssssssssss write a fic where Karen and Frank go back to his hideout to patch each other up after the explosion scenes 😙] [Punisher speculation]

Misc.

Been with the Devil in the Devil’s Resting Place AO3 by Amazing_E_ko  The development of Karen and Frank’s relationship from Matt’s perspective, as his own life goes slowly downhill.  [POV Matt, not exactly kind to him but in a fun, vindictive sort of way if you’re into that lol]

Heaven Sent the Saints Down (Hell Sent Them Up) AO3 | Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) by Ambrosia  But no, yes, the Punisher. In her apartment. Staring at her with an unfazed expression on his face. Even from the doorway, she can see the white skull painted on his chest-piece. And this is somehow so normal for her, at this stage of her life, that she honestly takes one look at Frank, at the bruises on his face, at all his gear spread around her apartment, and says, “Okay. It’s 11:07. I haven’t eaten yet. I’m going to order some dim sum from the corner and you are not going to get any of that gun oil on my bed.”

It is So Quite New a Thing AO3 by an_ardent_rain  He realizes, as he is about to order, that there is one other thing he has besides his grief and his anger and his never-ending war. That there is something that helps him remember, that reminds him who he used to be. He orders a second cup to go and writes “Page” in blocky letters on the side.  [WIP]

don’t fade away AO3 by consultingpathologist* As she unlatches the window to bring the flowers inside, she realizes the yellow is from a piece of paper wedged in between the stems.  [Episode tag]

When you drown, I'll drown AO3 by ebethjanna* His voice is gruff, "Not gonna point a loaded gun at you, Karen." (Two missing moments from 1x10.)

Better Natures AO3 by etirabys “Work with me here, Frank,” Karen snapped. “Make some sense here. Talk to me. We can’t figure out what our next move is until you explain why you’re so disgusted at the thought of my being attracted to you — an attraction which, by the way, I’ve never let interfere with our work or our friendship —“ “I’m not disgusted,” Frank said in a strained, calm voice. “You have ghastly taste, but I’m not disgusted. No. It’s just the feeling of having carried a torch for miles and miles in the dark and… having the sun come up.” [Zombie AU with a side of Fake Married feat. HellaBadass!Karen; warning: explicit sexual content of the dom/sub variety; this fic is everything to me READ IT]

loss like the sharp edges of a knife Tumblr (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) by fandammit* [The stillness of after is suffocating.] [Frank POV, post-Punisher; one of my current favorite fics]

moth and flame AO3 | Tumblr by freedomatsea  Liquid courage and exhaustion lead Frank to reach out to Karen after months of keeping away from her. Set post-finale about 6-8 months. Frank’s POV.  [Warning: explicit sexual content]

The Fall AO3 by ghoulsngunz  “I need a favor.” A favor? Karen crossed her arms over her chest. She had to be dreaming. There was no way that after three months of silence the Punisher would be standing in her kitchen asking for a favor. “What kind of favor?” Frank rubbed his temples. “I need you to help me find my dog.” [WIP]

Elevator Songs AO3 | Tumblr by Inaccessible Rail (strangetales)  A series of drabbles or shorter works that I've posted on Tumblr about my two trauma buds in probable love.  [WIP]

But I Wish It Was True AO3 by Ideal_Flower* The first time it happened, he was hit with white hot shame. But there was no bullet, no gunshot, no shattering of golden hair and spray of brain and blood and guilt on the wall, on the side of his face. Just her mouth on him, his hand on her, his fingers tangled through the cornsilk strands at the nape of her neck.  [Warning: explicit sexual content]

United We Purge AO3 | Tumblr by Jenye "Just remember all the good the purge does.” – Evil runs Hell’s Kitchen, but one night out of the year that evil is legal.  [Purge AU]

Come For You AO3 by larkingstock* Pretty much what the tags say. (I'm so sorry. I wanted it, I wrote it, and if I can figure out the rest I'm probably going to write that too.) (Also so so sorry for the title.) [Sex pollen fic; warning: explicit sexual content, WIP; honestly I am enjoying this fic so fucking much]

You Carry My Heart On Your Sleeve AO3 by Morrigan2345  The first thought that comes to mind when her door opens and she’s standing in front of him in what could only be the tightest black dress he’s ever seen is that she looks good. Really good. The second thought is that he shouldn’t have thought that. The third thought is that he couldn’t give less of a shit. [Warning: explicit sexual content]

the root of the root and the bud of the bud AO3 by nagia* There's a new drug in town, a warehouse full of dead shitbags (and newly empty of a strange, tropical-looking flower), and Karen Page has the kind of connections that might help him figure out what this shit is.  [Sex pollen fic; warning: explicit sexual content]

ain’t nothing but a monster AO3 by nighimpossible “Is this okay?” she asks, the question just a murmur in the dark.  “You’re already close enough to hurt me,” Frank says finally, after chewing on the thought for a long moment. “So hurt me.” [Warning: mature content]

hail, holy queen AO3 by peppermintcas  He kisses her and it’s like setting a building on fire: he knows it’s a bad idea, intellectually, but everything in him is pushing him to do it.  [Warning: explicit sexual content]

Strays AO3 by Ruby_Wren* Frank finds out what happened to his dog. 

The End of the Line AO3 by ruebellab  They say there’s a ghost - that he’s a dead man, but Miss Karen’s seen enough to know one thing. Dead men don’t feel, they don’t hurt, they don’t care - so if there’s a man out there, she knows he ain’t a ghost, he’s broken maybe but he’s not dead. [Western AU; WIP]

Fall On Your Knees AO3 by saltandbyrne* She keeps the flowers in her window for three days.  [Warning: explicit sexual content]

windowsill AO3 by shuofthewind  Eight weeks, three days. She's going to punch him in his fucking nose. The fic that fixes the lack of Karen at the end of The Punisher. [Post-Punisher s1; UST]

Of Gods and Monsters AO3 | Tumblr by silbecoo Frank is the God of the Underworld, quietly ushering honorable souls to the Elysian Fields while ensuring the evil ones start their time in Tartarus as soon as possible. He doesn’t want or need anyone to care about, until one day the beautiful Daughter of Demeter needs him. He can’t ignore his fate, and neither can she.  [Yup it’s the Hades&Persephone AU you were waiting for; WIP]

A Hard Rain AO3 by smolhombre* When he starts over this time, Frank tries to mean it. An after; for people who don't believe in them. [Warning: explicit sexual content; WIP]

the floodgates need repair AO3 by stainofmylove* Karen struggles to put the pieces back together again. Post “I’m already dead,” basically. 

moving on AO3 by thecoolestfreak* “I’m going to break the truth over Fisk’s head, sure. But I need the backup to do it. Capable parties.” She said it as she’d rehearsed it in her head, and she winced at how unsympathetic it sounded out loud. “Y’need canon fodder, that it?” he said, and she almost spit out the wine she’d nervously poured in her mouth. “God, no! Frank, that’s not— I’m—" He laughed, a small chuckle, but a laugh, and if he were here she would punch him in the arm.“I’ll do it, Karen. Where and when do you need me?” post the punisher s1 & the defenders s1 - the gang fights fisk, but its basically a kastle fic

elevator AO3 by thefudge 1x10. The elevator scene, but with a much needed addition. 

but shrapnel is shrapnel AO3 by theworthofhollin  It starts like this: Karen gets a dog.  [WIP]

to arm your fears like soldiers and slay them AO3 | FFN | Tumblr by viansian  Karen had gotten over the whole “soulmates” hype when she was thirteen years old, and she didn’t plan on getting swept up in that shitstorm again anytime soon. aka the soulmate fic you knew was coming. [Soulmates AU]

Sentimentality AO3 by writesometimes* She stood in front of the windows and scanned the darkening New York skyline. The dark concrete, steel and glass of tall buildings blending with the inky indigo sky. There was no way she'd spot him if he was out there somewhere, but Karen knew. Frank was alive. 

Ain’t about what I like AO3 | Tumblr by zombieboyband Before the diner, after the gunfire. City nights, late drives, looking for coffee with Frank. Karen is too tired for easy questions. “Pardon, ma'am?” He sounds so goddamn polite it’s incredible. “The meat hooks. The part where you killed people and put them on meat hooks.” [Missing scene]

→OTHER  

On tumblr: kastlelibrary, kastlenetwork, kastlesource, queensofthekastle, thecrimescenejunkie

People with good Kastle tags: afigureofspeech, carry-the-sky, frankcastle, hipsterfrankcastle, likcoln, mazikeene, shipsabound, theworthofhollin

On AO3: the Frank Castle/Karen Page tag

Updated 12/19/17

[archmage--khadgar]

RIP? (I dont know if i want this, but lets see how dramatic is going to be)

(*SIPS TEA* Very drafty, as always. I pretty much do the first draft and post ‘em up. Like all the writing draft prompts that aren’t starters, it is 100% okay to reblog them for other to read! Enjoy!)The rest of the council stood in patient irritation silently as they waited for Khadgar to show up. He was late, very late, but despite their annoyance, they all hoped that it was from getting lost in research and not because…They quickly pushed such thoughts out of their heads.A portal opened nearby and an exhausted-looking Khadgar stumbled out of it. A collective sigh of relief was heard from the others before they began to scold him for his tardiness. Khadgar grinned sheepishly as he apologized.“Forgive me! Business in Karazhan. I hadn’t expected it to keep me for so long.”“Again? Khadgar, why do you keep going back there? Its wealth of knowledge is vast, yes. But there are plenty of champions in training that could easily -”“No, no. Best I do it whenever I can. No one knows that place better than I. No use in risking others.”Kalec and Modera exchanged glances and then shrugs before going into Council business.

Khadgar restlessly wandered around the room, muttering comments to himself as the other members spoke. Every so often he’d engage but was largely ignoring the meeting.  Kalec’s ears perked up a little when Khadgar went by him - demonic. Khadgar was muttering things in demonic. Flecks of blue scales shimmered onto Kalec’s skin and he quickly turned towards the Archmage.“Khadgar, what are you DOING?”  He couldn’t shift fully since he wouldn’t fit, but he was willing to take the fight outside if need be. Modera and the others looked over in confusion. Kalec wasted no time in alerting them to what Khadgar had been muttering.Was it a joke? Had he finally gone mad? All they saw was an inhuman grin, and all they heard was a few utterings in demonic before everything….The chaos went by so quickly, and yet, felt like an eternity. Most of the tower was damaged or destroyed by the explosion, but some quick spell work saved most of the people inside. The council, at least, was safe. When the dust settled each member looked at the others to see who had been quick with their fingers.  Much to their surprise, none of them had cast the barrier that protected them all - including Khadgar from the blast. It didn’t take long to figure out who did once they realized it wasn’t one of them. And HIS presence was more of a surprise than Khadgar’s apparent betrayal.Lips pursed together to try and hide a smile and standing in between Khadgar and the Council, was Medivh. He wagged his finger back and forth at his “apprentice” disapprovingly. “Tsk. Sloppy work. You should have paid more attention to your surroundings.”Khadgar snorted. “It didn’t matter who was here as long as the council -”“I wasn’t talking to you.” Medivh glanced back at the four Archmages with a disappointed frown. “Please. I know my young trust is eccentric, but when was the last time you ever saw him act as such?” Modera flinched, scolding herself for not speaking up sooner when she had noticed. Kalec looked a bit uncomfortable as well, he should have detected the foul magic sooner.  Medivh brushed the front of his robes and turned his attention back to Khadgar.“Now. I’ve dealt with your aftermath a few times, and quite frankly. I am tired of you after this. I am insulted that you would take the appearance of an old friend and student, and sully the good image he tries so hard to maintain. Come, come now. Drop the disguise, you may not have killed anyone but you did manage to sneak in. Surely you feel the need to brag?”Kalec swore under his breath as a Dreadlord appeared in Khadgar’s place. At least it hadn’t had copied Jaina. The Demon opened his mouth to, indeed, brag about how easy it is to infiltrate Dalaran despite all the mages, but was cut off mid-sentence by the very, very angry former Guardian. It let out a howl as it was destroyed and had its soul sent back to the Twisting Nether. It would be back someday, but for now, it got to wallow in its failure.  The Aspect studied Medivh for a moment, pulling his thoughts together.“How long has Khadgar -”“Oh, just today. Don’t worry. I can assure you that every other day was indeed, my old apprentice.”“Where’s Khadgar?” Modera asked worriedly. Then she noticed it.Atiesh.Medivh had Atiesh.The Dreadlord’s staff had clearly been part of the illusion, but it was clear as day that what Medivh had was the real one. Voice shaking, she asked again as the others finally noticed as well, and looked on in horror, terrified of his answer.“Medivh….where is Khadgar.”

Earlier that day, Medivh had sensed trouble back in the halls of Karazhan. He didn’t want to return, figuring Khadgar would sense the same trouble and investigate himself. But when the feeling didn’t abate, curiosity got the better of him and he made the trip back to his old home. Upon returning, he sensed the presence of his old apprentice and contemplated leaving. But something was wrong, the aura was weak and there was the unmistakable signature of fel in the air. Not that, Karazhan wasn’t already crackling with various energies, but this was different. It was fresh. The Magus quickly investigated the rooms in halls in a silent panic, his main focus was to find Khadgar. And his heart broke when he did.Slumped up against a bookcase with a demonic blade through his chest and pinning him there, was Khadgar. Still alive, but barely. The fel corruption had ashened his complexion and was eating away at him. Atiesh was laying on the floor out of reach, and there was blood on the blade and his hands from his failed attempts to pull it out. Medivh quickly went to Khadgar’s side, who perked up at seeing his old Master.“Ah. I -told- you there was a demon in the Library.” Khadgar gently teased.Medivh couldn’t help but smile at the jab, remembering a moment many years ago when he ignored Khadgar’s insistence that he and Garona had dealt with such a beast. “So there was young trust. So there was. You still need to clean up the mess you made, however.” There was a brief moment of silence before either of them spoke again.“I’m sorry, Khadgar. I should have come sooner. The corruption has spread too much, there is nothing -”“I know. I know. I already tried everything I knew. It’s okay. To be honest. I could use the rest! There are new heroes on Azeroth now. Many don’t even know who I am aside from being that Archmage that asks for ridiculous amounts of items who also likes to party.”Another moment of silence.“I should….I will bring you to Dalaran while you still breathe. You should die at home, not here among cobwebs and dust.”“I am home.”“Dalaran is your home.”“Karazhan, is my home.” Khadgar insisted, giving his former master a stern, but soft expression. Holding in his emotions best he could, Medivh nodded, attempting to make Khadgar as comfortable as he possibly could. “Then welcome home, Young Trust. Welcome home.” He brushed some debris out of Khadgar’s hair with his hand.“You’ll need to come up with a new introduction,”  Moroes spoke up from the shadows. “If you’re not Khadgar from Dalaran.”Khadgar gave a pained laugh but nodded in agreement.“Khadgar, of Karazhan, the Young Trust, of Karazhan.” It was hard not to laugh.It was harder to hear his laughter stop.Modera waited patiently to hear Medivh’s answer. But his silence hurt the longer it lasted.Until eventually, there was no question.The realization hit the Council hard, with only four members it would be difficult to perform many of the tasks required of them. And of course, it was a huge loss to the effort against the legion and the loss of a friend.  They wanted to know how, when, and where was his body? There was little surprise when Medivh relayed Khadgar’s wish to die in Karazhan and not there, in Dalaran. After taking a brief moment to collect themselves, the Council quickly set out to alert the appropriate individuals. A proper, public mass service could be held after the war was over, but for now, anyone close to the Archmage who wish to pay their respects would be given the option. They had decided to bury him on the grounds of Karazhan as well, feeling that that was the most appropriate. There wasn’t much to say, not from the lack of words but because no one could bring themselves to speak. One by one, Khadgar’s closest friends left the fresh grave to return to their duties until Medivh was the last one.  Gripping Atiesh tightly, he knew he had to make a choice. The absence of Khadgar in this effort would be noticed, and a devastating strike to moral. He could easily leave again, be he was also the only one who could replace Khadgar in terms of skill, power, and knowledge.  He would give staying some thought, retiring inside to contemplate a formal return. Medivh entered the messy library lost in thought and was caught off guard by the specter he saw pulling a book off the shelf.It was Khadgar. Unmistakably Khadgar, Medivh had had his concerns that dying here would damn Khadgar’s spirit to wander these halls like so many others, but he quickly found peace when he further observed the ghost.There was no curse. Khadgar was young, unburdened by the visage of an old man that he had acquired upon freeing his master from the clutches of Sargeras.  The only white in his hair was the skunk stripe that his former apprentice already had had upon his arrival to Karazhan as a boy.  Death, ironically, had restored his youth and retained his curiosity and thirst for knowledge.  He seemed unaware of Medivh, reading a book eagerly on draconic. However, after a moment the eager boy turned and smiled up at his master.“Mag-…Medivh! This book is fascinating! Can you teach me how to say these words properly? If I ever meet a dragon, I wish to impress them! And maybe also…to be able to read any scrolls they may produce on magic….” He held the book out with eager anticipation. And with a warm smile, Medivh took the book.“Of course, my boy. Whatever you wish to know. I will teach you. We have all the time in the world now. My sickness is gone, I am well again, my apprentice. Any book, anytime, any day. Just bring it to me and I will teach you.” He placed a hand gently on Khadgar’s spectral cheek and felt his fingers chill with the ethereal static. The image seemed blissfully unaware of the emotion in Medivh’s voice as the man stroked his cheek with his thumb. “I’m proud of you, Khadgar. I am so, so very proud of you.”  Khadgar beamed, and a moment later, faded away.  Medivh grabbed at the air, not wanting him to leave. That settled it. He would stay.His apprentice needed him.Medivh didn’t always see Khadgar. But he noticed that the library was tidier, that sometimes his lab equipment had been used or there were scrying materials set out. And every so often, a book would find its way onto Medivh’s desk. Which he would always promptly read out loud as if giving a lecture to a curious, invisible student. And he would always find lecture notes and questions on his table after he finished. 

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Get To Know You

I was commanded, oh wait it said not like a command, by @welllpthisishappening, cuz I was actually getting to scroll slowly through tumblr today (It's friday, my boss can wait)

1. Why did you choose your url?

My husband and I danced to Ed Sheeran's "Thinking out loud" and I loved the lyrics and thus the name was born. My previous tumblr name was Gleefully-Finchel and then WalkingAnarchyofMonchele which were heavy on ships and I wanted something that wasn't ship related as I was burned out from Glee.

Take me into your loving arms Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars Place your head on my beating heart I'm thinking out loud Maybe we found love right where we are

2. Any side blogs?

Not anymore, I no longer RP so all my side blogs for that got shut down and I don't have the attention span to keep up with more than just this.

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

I joined tumblr in 2010. Good God that means I've been on here for over 10 years!!! I am a lot more quiet than I was ten years ago on here. I was a very vocal part of the Glee fandom and my opinions flowed freely. I found my original intro of myself that I kept on my blog there and OMG it still holds up (though the age has definitely changed)

And because I get asked this at least once a week, I am 38 years old. Do not think this is a reason to send me a message telling me I'm too old or blah blah blah because trust me, I've heard it all. It's boring. Old people are on tumblr, we're taking over and we're here to stay.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

I barely know how to put things in draft, after 10 years I still don't know how to queue.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I was in love with Finn Hudson/Cory Monteith and needed somewhere to channel that energy. I was in a sad lonely marriage (to my ex husband), and had no real life friends. I met so many people through that fandom, peeps I still talk to today from all over and some who live in my town. I was able to channel my energy into my tumblr, get my frustrations out on a super frustrating show, and learn to be creative with my art and starting to write fan fiction. It was glorious.

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

It was hard to choose, this blog has rotated around from being a Reylo theme, to a Romanogers them, now to CS theme. I'm all about the aesthetics and color and they have so many beautiful pics to choose but I just loved this kiss more than anything so there it is!

7. Why did you choose your header?

Again, aesthetics and theme, it was a cuddle pic, it was beautiful, and it embodied how I see them. So the icon is modern and the header is not. That was on purpose to show both sides.

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

I have no idea how to find that BUT in the last month it says it was my memorial day update of my 3 WIPS that got the most notes. I don't usually pay attention to any of that.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Um, is there an internal way to know that. LOL I guess everyone on the CSMM discord chat would be my mutuals, because no one else talks to me through tumblr really that isn't there.

10. How many followers do you have?

199

11. How many people do you follow?

340

12. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

My personal laptop sits next to me while I work on my company laptop all day, I mindlessly scroll through and post beautiful things to distract me from the stress of work throughout the day, even if I don't really get to pay attention to what I'm posting til after work. Let's not talk about how often I'm on after work.

13. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Not under this username, but I've been going back and re-reading my posts from my gleefully-finchel blog and that girl...that girl was a spit fire and didn't back down from no one. So yes, back then, I got in a few scruffs with people in my own fandom (especially after Lea and Cory started dating in real life and after Season 4 which took a big shit in the middle of my floor) But most of my fights were with anti's and alternate ships (puckleberry, faberry, fuinn) that just couldn't keep themselves out of my ask box.

14. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Nope.

15. Do you like tag games?

I like anything that lets me play along.

16. Do you like ask games?

I do but I don't get asks very often so I don't usually post them.

17. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

Probably @elizabeethan or @hollyethecurious, but I say that because they were the ones that I first found in the fandom because of their amazing fics that I lurked on and then it just went from there until @kmomof4 started talking to me.

18. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

I'm a married woman dammit. But these women are all super amazing women who run hot damn amazing blogs.

For anyone reading this, please feel free to consider yourself tagged, its always fun to get to know each other.