#sketch that stuff out my dudes and just slap it out

[crackedpumpkin]

ʙʟᴀɴᴋ ᴄᴀɴᴠᴀꜱ || ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɴɪɴᴇ ||

A/N: holy shit guys look its an update omg

[ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 ] | [ 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 ] | [ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ]

The bed is cold. Your phone sits on the nightstand just right next to it, its usual buzz absent. The sun is slowly rising, its gold-dipped rays slowly but surely shining through the open window of your room. 

You, however, are in the kitchen with your mother who’s fussing over the table filled with numerous potted plants of different sizes. Some almost slapped you in the face with their leaves, while some were the size of your hand. Having walked into this mess first thing in the morning is not the way you expected to start your day. 

“Tell me where you got these from again?” You push away a leaf that nearly pokes you in the eye, glaring at the plant. The audacity. You’re lucky that my mom’s here, or I’d leave you out in the street.

Your mother rolls her eyes with an exasperated sigh, a hand propped on her hip as she waters them. “It just slipped my mind that the delivery is coming today. Besides, I only ordered one. I don’t know how they delivered eleven. You should give some to your friends! It’s good feng shui.” She nods knowingly.

“They don’t believe in that stuff.” 

She shakes her head disapprovingly, moving some of the pots to the end of the dining table. “Oh? Do they open their umbrellas indoors too? Do they cut their toenails at night?”

“Only Michael from what I remember.” You recall, shuddering at the tiny detail your brain retained from the first day of school. 

“Don’t you have school today?” She asks as if only just remembering that her daughter is still a student. “What’re you still doing here? Go, go, go!”

“Calm down dude, we have a late day today. Only gotta be at school by eleven instead of eight.” You laugh, backing away slowly when she narrows her eyes at you. 

“I am not your ‘dude’, I’m your mother, young lady. Where did you learn how to be so impolite to your elders…” She sighs, shaking her head. 

“Jake taught me.” The mere mention of your brother’s name is enough to kill the easygoing atmosphere in the kitchen. You see her shoulders stiffen, though she pretends to continue organising the eleven potted plants. 

“Go take a shower, and get some breakfast outside. I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet.” Pretending that everything is okay is usually your parent’s default response, you’re not surprised by this in the least. 

“Sure,” You say breezily, making your way to the bathroom and swallowing the small lump in your throat. After emerging from your room and determining if you look presentable enough to be around society, you grab your bag and head to the door. 

On your way out, something catches your eye. You pause, eyeing the tiny bamboo succulent sitting on the dining table. “I’m taking this.” She nods in reply, too preoccupied with making a list of groceries to wave goodbye. 

"Peace offering," you murmur to yourself, a half-smile playing on your lips as you glance at the bamboo. The apartment door clicks shut behind you, leaving the atmosphere inside to the grocery list and the lingering traces of unresolved emotions.

Your pocket rustles as you move, shoving a hand in to take out the contract you had stuffed inside earlier. Staring down at the paper that pretty much holds both you and Miles together heightens your guilt for lying to him. 

Sure, maybe lying about your name isn’t a big deal to many, but he’d begun to actually bond with you -  you can tell that much. Furthermore, you’d mostly forgotten about the contract in hanging out with him during your sketching sessions, and it’d become almost a habit to refer to him as a friend in your mind.

But the betrayal on his face that day is more than enough to make you regret everything. Now though, is a chance to make it up to him. To apologise, and to make things right. That’s why you brought the contract along. You have to show him that you’re not a bad person. That you’re sorry.

And to do that, an olive branch is necessary in the form of caffeine. 

You pull out your phone and begin to text him. 

abuelita [ 10:15 AM ]: heya

abuelita [ 10:15 AM ]: are you free today? i have something to pass you

bug [ 10:30 AM ]: i have a couple mins after my evening patrol. 

bug [ 10:30 AM ]: ill be at the lion building rooftop

The rest of school fills you with nothing but nerves, anticipating your meetup with Miles. Even a study session at the library turns out to be unfruitful, to no one’s surprise. Nicole and Michael were initially concerned, but after a simple excuse of being on your period is made, no one else questions your mood.

You make your way to the meeting point, a coffee cup in hand. The hot liquid inside warms your hands in the cool evening breeze. It's a feeble attempt at mending the rift, a different kind of peace offering. The bamboo succulent rests in your hands, now neatly placed in a box. The lift doors open, revealing a lone unmasked superhero sitting down near the edge of the building. 

Upon hearing your footsteps, he turns and looks at you, barely acknowledging your presence with a nod. You wince internally, the lack of acknowledgement stinging more than you anticipated. As you approach the unmasked superhero watching the sunset, you can't shake off the unease settling in.

You sit down beside him. You sit down next to him, maintaining a careful distance. A subtle fidget in his posture hints at the underlying tension between you. He regards you with a mix of curiosity and wariness, taking in the objects in your hands.

“Peace offering,” you repeat, holding up the cup like a truce flag, a sheepish grin on your face as if you’re a five-year-old who got in trouble with their parents. However, Miles's expression remains stoic. He takes the cup from you, studying it with a discerning eye. You hold the gift out toward him, and he accepts it, placing it down beside him.

He takes a slow sip, and a moment of realisation crosses his features. "Is this an iced latte?" he asks, his tone more a statement than a question.

You nod, a playful twinkle in your eye. "Yeah, figured it's a classic. Universally accepted, right?"

Miles wrinkles his nose, pushing the cup away slightly. "I prefer my coffee hot."

Your grin falters, the awkwardness returning. "Right, noted. I'll remember for next time." Your words are cheerfully said, but there's an undeniable undertone of discomfort. “Can we talk?”

He hesitates, but his gaze flickers between the coffee cup in his hand, and the gift next to his bag. “Sure.” 

You sit down next to him, making sure to keep a distance between you both. Wouldn’t want to make him even more pissed than he is now, after all. The evening brings about serenity and peace as the sun begins to set, but a heavy weight hangs between you. You decide to address the elephant in the room. "Miles, I really am sorry. I messed up, and I want to make things right."

He looks at you, the seriousness in his eyes contrasting with the lighthearted atmosphere you tried to create. "Gifts and jokes won't change what happened."

The truth stings, but you nod, acknowledging his point. 

“But forgiveness isn’t fully out of reach, right?” You try once more with a hopeful grin, eyeing the mask next to him as you stand up, walking over to the edge of the building. He shrugs. 

“What makes you think I forgive everyone so easily?”

“Why wouldn’t you? You’re Spiderman.” You state simply, staring at the reflection of the glass opposite you. You look down at Miles who’s slowly standing up with wary eyes. The contract rustles as you pull it out of your pocket, watching his eyes grow wide. 

You stare at the signature on the bottom, a finger tracing the hurried scrawl of his name. The contract itself is the only thing tying you to him, the only reason he even still texts you. He’s the only reason why your art still has a motive - a point in each work. 

So, you rip the contract in half. The sound of torn paper fills the air, and you fold it before tearing it again. Again and again, until it’s torn to nothing but shreds on the ground. As the final piece of paper slips from your grasp, you raise your eyes to find Miles frozen in disbelief. His lips part in silent astonishment, fingers fumbling over words trapped on the tip of his tongue.

“Why?”

“Because,” You answer with a shrug, “You’re Spiderman.” A hesitant smile tugs at your lips, but beneath the surface, guilt gnaws at every fibre of your being. It's a battle, the conflicting emotions waging war within you. “You always save the day.” At that moment, you stare at the torn-up contract, bitterness rising in your throat. Underneath that though, is a genuine urge for forgiveness. 

Is this even enough for him to forgive you? 

Prove yourself. 

The back of your sneaker teeters on the edge, and you glance down at the ground below, gauging the distance. Breathing deeply, an idea occurs to you. A dangerous one.

His silence lingers, but an unexpected calm washes over you, a fragile serenity in the eye of the emotional storm. “You always save the day,” You repeat, “Even if I don’t deserve it.”

With that, you take a step back, watching horror dawn on his face as you fall. 

Miles stumbles forward, his voice caught in his throat. “No!” he shouts, reaching out as if he could defy gravity. His eyes widen, reflecting a mix of fear and realisation of the consequences of your impulsive act. 

The time taken to hurtle down a building toward the ground is much slower than you expect. You turn your head, watching the bright lights of various buildings cast a soft glow over the river nearby. The cityscape unfolds beneath you, a tapestry of shimmering lights that paint the skyscrapers with an ethereal glow. Despite the beauty, a profound sense of loneliness settles in, echoing the vastness of the city below.

It’s quiet.

The wind whistles past your ears, your hair whipping wildly around your face as you watch him dive down the side of the building, his mask back on his face as he holds out his arm desperately. 

A laugh bubbles past your lips, smiling as he reaches you, wrapping his arms around your waist and shooting a web, swinging you to safety. 

“Am I forgiven?” You whisper into his ear, arms on his shoulders as he continues to swing. 

“What?!” He answers loudly, bewilderment in his voice. “You jumped down just for that??”

“Yeah!” You lean back to take a proper look at him, adrenaline rushing through your bloodstream as if a hundred cans of Red Bull had been injected into you at once. “So am I?”

He doesn’t reply, shooting another web at a skyscraper. You smile brightly at him, waiting for an answer. His shoulders start to tremble, and he looks down at the streets below. You begin to hesitate, your smile falling. 

Is he mad? Was it too much?

Your questions are answered when he looks up, laughing his heart out. 

“You’re insane,” He huffs out with a shake of his head, the smile in his voice evident. He looks at you once more. “Yeah, you’re forgiven.”

With a relieved sigh, you press your forehead into his shoulder, closing your eyes. The tension releases from your shoulders, a silent acknowledgement of the emotional weight lifted. “...Can I still draw you?”

— — — — — 

The wind still echoes in your ears as Miles sets you down gently on the rooftop. Your sneakers meet the solid surface, and for a moment, you're both silent, catching your breath. The tension lingers in the air, but the overwhelming rush of adrenaline begins to subside.

Miles lowers his mask, revealing an expression caught between concern and bewilderment. You glance at him, a mixture of guilt and anticipation in your eyes. The cityscape stretches before you, a silent witness to the tumultuous emotions swirling between you two.

"Why didn’t you just say that you knew me?" he finally asks, his voice softer now, devoid of the superhero edge.

You wince, your gaze dropping to the ground.  “I didn’t mean to…In my defence, imagine being on the receiving end of a superhero’s wrath.” 

“I wasn’t wrath…ful.” He denies it, his hand over his heart with an offended look. This draws a chuckle out of you, shaking your head. “But I get it. Imagine being forced to sign a contract with someone who knows your real identity.”

You rub your arm uncomfortably. “You must’ve had a hard time," you admit, finally looking at him. "I’m sorry."

The weight of the apology hangs in the air, mingling with the echoes of your impulsive fall. Miles's eyes, once reflecting surprise and worry, soften as he meets your gaze.

The words feel inadequate, unable to fully capture exactly how regretful you feel, but your eyes convey the sincerity of your apology. However, it's too late for one. In this moment of vulnerability between you both, the full weight of your actions finally hits you. 

Miles' expression tightens, and a heavy silence hangs between you. The consequences of your deception weigh on the air, leaving an unspoken tension that neither of you can escape. His eyes flicker with a mix of frustration and concern. 

He struggles to find the right words, his clenched fists telling you all you need to know as his eyes dart away. “You don't understand. If my identity is exposed, it's not just about me. It puts everyone I care about in danger. I've seen what happens to heroes when their secret is out. Not everyone has the privilege of being safe.”

The weight of Miles' revelation settles heavily on your shoulders, a stark reminder of the unintended consequences of your actions. You’re at a loss for words, only capable of falling silent and staring at your fidgeting hands that have begun to peel the skin of your thumb. “I won’t tell anyone,” you promise, though you’re not entirely sure of how much it’d even matter to him. “I know I’m not exactly trustworthy-” The corner of his lips quirked up in faint amusement at the irony, “but I promise, I’ll never, ever, ever reveal your identity.”

You look up at him, hoping that your sincerity is conveyed through your words. 

Finally, he releases a breathy chuckle, looking down at his mask, and back up at the glowing lights below. For a moment, the gaping distance between you lessens. He glances at you with an accepting smile. 

“Okay.”

As you both settle onto the rooftop, the city sprawled beneath you, a newfound calm envelops the space. The laughter from earlier echoes, but it carries a different note now – one of shared understanding and the promise of a fresh start.

“Hey,” You turn, an idea taking root in your mind. “You’re smart, right?”

“Some might say so,” He agrees playfully with a nod.

At his response, you go on your knees, clasping your hands together in a sudden attempt to beg him. “Tutor me.” You begin to explain before he can react. “I got this huge test coming up, and I won’t be allowed to participate in my school’s art exhibit if I don’t pass. You gotta help me, dude!”

“What?” He’s taken aback by your sudden request, raising a brow. “Why me?”

“Because!” You point accusingly at him, “You go to that smart and fancy school, don’t you? Nicole already told me about how you won that scholarship and everything. Plus, you’re even doing all this Spiderman stuff on the side. Your time management skills are so much better than mine will ever be. Aren’t you a superhero? Don’t you have, like, super study skills or something?”

“Super study skills?” He says drily, and you realise exactly how stupid your words sound. However, you shake your head stubbornly, sticking to whatever you’ve said. “Well, since you’re clearly in need of help, and like you said - I’m a superhero, right? Guess I gotta rescue yet another helpless citizen.”

You smile excitedly, delighted that he’s agreed before what he says finally sinks in. “Did you just call me helpless?”

“So, what’s the test on?” He asks, ignoring your pointed glare. 

“Math and Science.” You decide to let it go because he did just save you from a rather dreadful demise. 

He purses his lips slightly, weighing his options. “Sure,” He nods, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, thank you! You won't regret it, I promise! I’ll even buy you tiramisu or whatever it is you wanna drink!” You exclaim happily, unable to stop yourself from hopping up and down from his agreement. 

He chuckles, readjusting his mask and shooting a web at the adjacent apartment building. “No problem. Just don’t tell anyone you have a superhero tutor, okay?”

“I solemnly swear.” You promise with a nod, watching him give you a two-fingered salute before gracefully swinging off, likely heading back home. You make your way back too, humming happily at the thought of future study sessions with your newfound superhero tutor and friend.

— — — — — 

As he enters his room after another day of swinging through the day as Brooklyn's one and only Spiderman, he tosses aside his mask and discards his suit. Another day, another citizen saved, as is the usual routine. Before he jumps into his bed, he pauses. 

He grabs his water bottle and pours some water onto the potted plant sitting on the windowsill, fingertips brushing against the delicate leaves that rustle with the breeze.

[hannahchronism]

End of the Year Art Roundup 2022

Favorite drawing from this year: Finishing this was really gratifying and I really like how Different it is from a lot of my usual stuff, the vibes rock, the clothing renders turned out super unexpectedly good, it was just in general a lot of fun and also I’m really happy with the end result and that just. Yeah this one slaps dude.

First drawing from this year: ok so. techically I started this one first,

but finished and posted this one

before I finished and posted the tarot inspired one. so like. I dunno, tossup on that one.

Favorite character you’ve drawn: I think my friend’s recast/redesign of Carina has been my favorite to draw she’s just so lovely and I want to draw her more

Favorite little detail in a drawing you did: man I guess it’s less a “little” detail and more like. the whole point of this one? but I kind of killed the render on all the little bits of this necklace honestly and I like. to stare at it ;sdlkfjg;sdlkfjg

Drawing that took the longest to finish: ohhhhhhhh that’s. hard because I don’t really time them? and i don’t typically do them in one sitting if it’s one of the really long ones. on a hunch, given that i spent a bunch of time and then put it down and then picked it back up and spent a bunch more time;

Most popular drawing: the internet likes it when I inflict pain, apparently

How many drawings did you complete this year: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh “complete” is really quite debatable but it was like 30, give or take having more than one sketch on a page and I maybe double counted things on accident because I have a bunch of duplicates of it saved

Any upcoming planned drawings?: I always have Concepts floating around but I don’t really. “plan”. I do want to finish this, though, it’s been a WIP for... a good while tbh

on a nearly identically similar note turning this sketch into a finished piece would also be fun i think

Favorite piece of art from someone else: Ohhhhhhhhh to be honest I haven’t been very immersed in art circles but @bevsi​ ‘s (super cute fairy) just hit different and rewired my brain idk

Favorite oc/sona drawing: this is technically more of a concept sketch than a drawing but this concept kid is living in my head so rent free and I love this sketch she’s so very very cute

...and also return of best girl did kind of give me lots of warm fuzzy feelings

What do you think you’ve improved on the most over the past year: ....Expressions? it doesn’t really show here but I’ve been playing with more than just neutral faces and closed mouth smiles and while smirks will probably forever be my comfort zone we’re starting to see some variety (and teeth!) & also I’ve done some ... very slow coloring improvement, I think? I should really do more studies

A little less pirate brain rot would probably also be a good thing for me to embrace lmfao

[polkadotsunshine]

this rules! i've always wanted subway stuff in my house.

When I was learning about perimeter and area in school, we had a project to sketch the floor plan of our dream house and calculate various properties about it. I made my dream house as extravagantly huge as I could imagine. I drew up a giant bedroom to house all my stuffed animals. The living room was big enough to fit a 60 inch plasma TV. There was a play room dedicated to all my toys. I had both a shower and a bathtub in the bathroom.

The whole house ended up being less than 2000 square feet.

My teachers expected something bigger. The mathy part of the assignment didn't work with so few rooms and such small numbers, so I went back to the drawing board. I gave myself a home office like my Dad's, I added bedrooms my friends could stay in, and I made each room larger.

It still wasn't enough.

I grew up in a big house in a neighborhood with somehow bigger homes, so I knew that my dream was small compared to the rest of suburban America. However, because the assignment was to make a place I wanted to live in, I only included things I wanted. A number of students in the class had the same problem.

Our teachers encouraged us to base our designs off of mansions from MTV. We should have an indoor pool or a private bowling alley. I supposed that it would be more convenient to have my own bowling alley rather than drive 45 minutes to the nearest place; in that moment, I took a big step towards believing the American dream. I completed the assignment by taking random places I could think of and stapling them to the side of my house. My favorite restaurant at the time was Subway, so I put one right next to my bedroom. I went to my teachers to hand it in.

It still wasn't enough.

Our teachers expected numbers magnitudes larger than anything anyone in the class was making. All of us ended up including an indoor ski slope, even though only one person in the class liked skiing, because it was an easy way to add a massive rectangle to the layout. Along with all the other nonsense I slapped onto my graph paper, I added a second Subway right next to my kitchen. For good measure.

This time, the teachers accepted it.

I haven't stopped thinking about putting 2 Subways in my house.

For reasons only kind-of related to money, I've always had a hard time getting myself to buy food. I fear that if I mismanage my money, I'll mess up and inevitably die. Any time I buy food, I think of how many days it will keep me alive per dollar. Any time I buy anything else, I think of how much food it's worth. I will jump at any opportunity for free or cheap food regardless of the quality, regardless of how it makes me feel, and—truthfully—regardless of the actual efficiency. I force myself to eat rotten food.

I know that I am not at risk of starving or becoming homeless; I make a big tech salary now. Yet, I think about it nonstop. Paradoxically, this fear of waste makes me eat 1 or less meals a day so I can "save" more. I have been unwinding this mindset for years now, but it takes time. The best way I’ve healed is by setting aside a food allowance and preventing it from stockpiling too much.

I clung to the idea of having 2 subways in my home because it represented stability in food and housing.

When I drew it in class, it was as silly as everything else, but people still went out of the way to ask me how it worked. Was it a regular part of the franchise that reported back to HQ? Did I hire staff to run the shop? I don’t fucking know dude; I just needed to pump up the area of the building. But maybe, what I really needed was a guarantee that every day I could eat food. A guarantee that it would be good food. I needed something to ease the weight of surviving.

Even as a kid I sort-of understood that these mansions were isolating themselves by personally owning what were usually public spaces. Yet, I couldn’t discern the subtle difference between a personal bowling alley and a personal Subway. The frog had been boiled; I was already used to kitchens personalizing cooking. The American dream strips us of our community, but seeing you take free furniture from Subway feels pretty damn good.

Particularly, seeing these Subway paintings in your home brings me immeasurable joy. Every time I set foot in a Subway I think about stealing those. Sure, it’s funny, but they represent a comfort I’ve been struggling so long to achieve. Your life isn’t a joke; having furnishings by any means is a fantastic victory.

It is with great pleasure for me to announce, to no one in particular, that yesterday I moved into a house. The kind with a mortgage and everything. Its square footage is smaller than my first sketch, but it’s all I need. And wouldn’t you know. There’s a Subway across the street.

my favorite work memory from this store will always be “hey remember when the subway inside the store closed down and they let me take a bunch of their shit for free and now it lives inside my house?”

my life is a joke

[nejackdaw]

1, 9, 20💕

Oh, someone actually asked alsnoanskw

✨ Ask Game ✨

Q1: Who was your first ever OC? Do you still "use" them? How have they evolved over time?

My first OC was Lancaster, who was just a dude I made in my head when I was like... 12? He wasn't made for anything, like a fandom, I just made him and then plopped him in a world so he could exist. He's like 8' tall, breathes fire, and he's a dragon knight (still peak design tbh. Dragons and knights are the coolest things ever.)

I honestly haven't done anything with him in YEARS. Like. Not a story blurb, not a sketch, nothing. For probably about... Five or six years now? I was still in high school lol. I have been thinking about drawing him again recently though! I used to draw him so. Much. I was going through old sketchbooks and he had some stuff in there, so why not?

Unfortunately, my memory is shot so I can't answer the last part very well! But I think that was kind of the point to him. He was a comfort character, so he evolved into whatever I needed. (I did scrap the dragon transformation bit though, lol. I remember that.) He went from a concept, to a feral, unhinged little guy, to more of a commander figure who's got his head on but can't stop looking at humans as snacks. Idk. He was important to me and got me through a lot, and I talked my friends ears off about him.

Q9: Favorite OC?

Uh, well. I've only got the one lmao. I've got DnD characters and Skyrim characters and other things, but those are specifically made for that media to be played as, so I don't fully count them as original. Probably not how that works! But like. The comparison is Lancaster, who's entirely original. So, excluding media-made characters, Lancaster by default, but if we do include everyone else: Moore, lmao, hands down.

He was a homebrew warlock (nothing OP, mostly very situational flavor abilities tbh) for the last DnD campaign I was in. It fizzled out--a chunk of the group left for personal reasons, someone else's character died and I don't think they got back into it, the DM wasn't happy with the work they'd done on it, etc etc--but we still had a great time while it was going on. He was, against his will, the life of the party. I want you to think of the most grudging, scowling, disapproving little antisocial alcoholic possible and then slap an unexpected redemption arc on him. He's like a shadow realm mom friend. Emotionally stunted except through necessity he's come to care at least about your general well-being and he'll yell at you about it.

Rambles. Rambles. If you get him going he won't shut up, and it eventually devolves into something nonsensical. The party LOVED IT when he got going just because of the lens he saw events through. Looks through a magic door and gets shot into some airless void full of demons trying to eat his soul? Nearly dies? Angrily rants at the local witch about how a bunch of ghosts were having a go like he's a buffet! Does he look like a five course meal to you? Ghosts! GHOSTS! He's sick and tired of ghosts! (The party was, at this point, unaware of the ghost inhabiting him, so this was out of left field.) He was so fun and somehow, I repeat, somehow, ended up being the voice of reason. Yeah. The disillusioned, grumpy, drunk little ghost guy who's got a problem with everything ended up being the logical one. (Yeah that was partially the ghost in his brain giving him magical powers and keeping him on track but like. Between a cannibal, Han Solo, a puddle, a skittish wild magic sorc, if Klee was in DnD, and an AA absentee, it's a miracle.)

One of my favorite moments that will live with me forever and was immortalized in a little drawing is the aforementioned cannibal (a blood hunter we met under unfortunate circumstances who needed blood to use his features and happened to be a shifter with big teef) cautiously warning against trusting the wizard we'd met because he doesn't trust magic users. Moore nodded, casually said he wouldn't trust himself either, and kept eating. The shifter, a little quieter, looked at him and said he trusts him. There was all of two seconds of silence before Moore started complaining that his dumbass decisions were rubbing off on everyone and they were all gonna die soon because no one here has a brain. (Yeah they ended up being gay together aodboana)

Q20: What story are you proudest of? Why?

(Side eyes my Google docs) UHHHHHHH

You know I was gonna go and sort through everything but that's, um, work. (Insert Hilda Goneril portrait.) So just off of "I actually remember writing it" I'm gonna have to go with what I've termed the Vampire Tyrik Fic. I wrote it like a year ago and at the time? Peak. I peaked. It is, naturally, an angst piece. It just is that's how I roll. But I got a lot of characterization in there and at the time it was genuinely, outside of academic work, the best I've ever done. Unfortunately now my writing has progressed to the point where I look at it and go "damn bitch, you write like that?" Anyway it was about the aftermath of my Dragonborn (Tyr) being turned into a vampire to enter the Soul Cairn and then being mortified he did it and coping with the morality of it. Erik was there. This was my Erik file. I like to choose a different follower per file to share the love but like. They're married. This was childhood friends to lovers + angst + emotional h/c. It will never see the light of day again. It's been buried respectfully.

Anyway, uh, I got a little jumpscared by someone actually asking, but it was nice! Ty anon 🌹

[kineticallyanywhere]

I am loving your Monkey's Paw comic so far! But gosh the fact that there's no other Ron makes me so sad/scared. What happened to other Ron?! D:

:333

I'm so glad people are enjoying it! it's been super fun to make. highly recommend letting yourself make comics without high cleanliness standards

[saffron-gold-stardust]

Lucid Dreams and Ceasless Nightmares….

Coming up with some forms/designs for Dream and Nightmare because fun >:3

Still pretty early on and workshopping these bit by bit, but I’m enjoying the ride. Sharing these now since I’m gonna have to rest my arm this week, my RSI flared up again pretty badly. Blegh! Anyway I’m gonna ramble about my ideas under the cut, maybe share a few concepts.

Dream and Nightmare belong to Jokublog

But these designs are mine, hee hoo

So yeah, going with “Lucid Dream” for our dude on the left. Lol. It started out as a pun, but the definition actually ended up working so nicely with my ideas; suffused with light, luminous, transluscent… plus the pun. Yep. Had to use it lol. I’ve been having fun painting some crystalline stuff related to these boys’ SOULs, may be considering making Lucid Dream’s outfit liquid-like, as if it was a high shine satin silk, or super-organza. Ok, if you’re wondering wtf any of that means, look up the Armani Privé Coture line from Fall 2021. The fabrics there are INSANEEEEE.

Anyway, hopefully it’s easy to tell from the visuals that this is more akin to a swap!Dream (tho i really dont know much about them aaa) than a corrupted/shattered variant. I’m a big fan of angel wings and all, I’ll slap em on most any chance I get, but honestly if Nightmare is a semi-eldritch horror, then why not Dream as well? Lol

Lucid is main-universe Dream, in that post-Underverse idea i have stewing in my noggin. He ends up in posession of a few extra golden apples through accidental timeline bullshittery. His hand is forced by Nightmare, and to protect his friends and re-balance the multiverse, he consumes them and assumes this form. His body takes it pretty hard, skull splitting completely on the left side from an old wound, and beginning to crack on the right. Everything weeps a liquid gold ooze. His cape-ribbons tear/transform into two smaller tendrils, while a larger set of four burst from his soul out the back and destroy the sun patch. Ouch.

In the midst of this brutal fight with Nightmare, he’s fighting to control the overwhelming nature of his new power, as it fights to take him over. While he generally remains—ha—lucid, he has moments where his control slips away, and a primal, ancient desire to fill the universe with light overtakes him. Somethin’ like that. Still kinda vague on the details. Less happy-crazy or full on stoic-coldness, and more like incomprehensible god energy lol. A little chaotic. Mainly tho, he remains Dream, just desperately trying to save his home and his friends and maybe his brother, if he can hang on long enough.

Here’s some expressions, notably the goopy eyes and phasing in and out of madness. :Db

Noot’s design isn’t a power-up, moreso a redesign for funsies. I wanted to give him something intimidating and regal, play around with how everything is made of goop, and off of Dream’s design elements too. It’s pretty messy atm, still trying to balance things. Here’s a few sketches of that :>

Hey if u got to the bottom I love you, have a slice of cake. It’s apple cake lol

[papascelus]

(Reblogging to answer but also talk about this with others at the same time)

After the split contains what I like to do when I REALLY want to make some art, but I can’t seem to get myself to do it for some unseen reason (lack of motivation or drive is completely different, and for that, I’d suggest not pushing yourself and resting. If you don’t like the idea of it, chances are you want to make stuff but just can’t.)

Hi, I have unmedicated autism and ADHD, and I crochet and draw digitally. I usually find my inability to do stuff usually stems from a fear of not doing enough of the thing or doing it wrong. That, or I have a project that’s ginormous, and I get overwhelmed because not only is it time consuming, but the two previous reasons also heavily contribute to it.

Crochet solution: just make little guys (can and totally will apply to drawing).

Seriously. Giant granny square projects are great for a lot of people, but small plushies are FANTASTIC. You get to look forward to making a little dude, and you shouldn’t worry much about making mistakes. The mistakes will just make them sillier and either more adorable or the most hilarious deformed dude you have ever made in your entire life. Just make little guys. Look up YouTube tutorials for new patterns if you want. Even just googling how to make a crochet ball and slapping some eyes on it would do. Bam. Little dude.

Drawing: Do sticky note doodles

Always hone in on your drawing skills so you can keep improving. Traditional artists have the luxury of actual sticky notes they can slap into a sketchbook when they’re done, but digital artists don’t (getting to that later). Traditional artists, y’all should know what makes sticky notes so fun to draw on: you just do literally whatever you want without a care in the world. It’s not expensive paper, no one’s gonna cry about it, not even your wallet. Have fun with it!

Digital artists, make your sticky notes by making a square canvas and do literally whatever you feel like doing. You can have the coolest character and an eldritch being on the exact same sticky note. Nobody cares. If you want to go simpler, try practicing simple animation (if you can) with stick figures, lip syncing, or just shapes moving about the canvas.

If you can’t animate, be it a program issue or you’re a traditional artist, practice one little thing: drawing faster, figure drawing, hands, feet, contortions of the torso, expressions, style experiments—the list is endless. Just do something to put enrichment in your digital enclosure.

Anything regarding huge projects you want to work on: take it one step at a time. Do some outlines, some shading, some lighting, or hell, even just getting your base sketch and your thumbnails out in one day is great. For crocheting, it’d be one row at a time or one piece of your project. You can sew it all together another day.

Cut yourselves some slack, babes

Ramble over. I will defo answer questions where and whenever possible. Hopefully this helps

artists/makers with adhd — how do you… do it. how do u get your shit done. bc some days i really cannot. like today

[mishoru]

Hi hello, you might know this drawing I did a bit ago of how Cas' true form could look like.

I'm passionate about this so I wanted to explain my thought process behind it a bit!

First off we have 3 sets of wings. Some people thought that meant I made him an archangel but the sources I found on angels actually described Seraphim as having 3 sets of wings, so I'm sorry to disappoint.

Then there are the strings of grace that are essentially his body. I based these on how grace is portrayed in the show, I liked the Idea of the angels not really having "body's". They are just wavelengths of celestial intent.

Now here is some interesting stuff, people always incorporate animal parts in their angel art. However I wanted to add plant based things, in my mind it made sense.

The hands and the spine are the human/animal component (I doubt that spine is even remotely human). I decided on depicting 3 arms but oh he has way more. Why? Isn't it kind of chilling? This huge creature (he is hunched over in my drawing) hands flickering in and out of view, eyes floating around it.

His face is another of my favorites. I was contemplating drawing many different heads but at this point I had been sketching for 3 hours and I couldn't be bothered, so originally I went with a blank slate. Then I thought about when this depiction of Cas would be set in the show.

So, this is some time after season 9. Cas is cracked. He has fallen every way imaginable. The eye like holes in his face symbolising him becoming more human-like as he goes on. The tear tracks-- well, despair mostly. He has come far from the blank faced soldier he once was.

Ah yes the enochian rings. Based on more biblical descriptions. I was planning on inscribing them with symbolic phrases or something related to Cas. However, again, I had been drawing for 10 hours at that point so I just slapped the inscriptions Cas carved into Sam and Dean's ribs on there, which in itself is kind of symbolic as well, isn't it?

Okay FINALLY, the part that started it all: Puppet Vessel. I kept thinking about this huge, being, packed into this tiny little Jimmy-Meatsuit, until I thought— what if he actually isn't inside his vessel, but simply puppeteering it? He is just moving it around, floating above it all, trying so hard to fit into his new found family, but he's more diffrent than any of them realize. Cas the quirky little dude is just a puppet, held up by the very being, that once was a puppet being held up by heaven. Well, trueform Cas cut his ties to heaven and now has to puppeteer his vessel and himself on his own.

[midasinc]

les amis and toxic traits (affectionate and derogatory):

-courfeyrac has a bad habit of being on his phone when he's with friends. he's mostly either just swiping through his dating app or texting someone on his dating app and he isn't aware that it's really rude. he's also really bad about borrowing money and not giving it back. if he asks for a couple euro for the metro, you will never get it back. he comes from a rich background and money is something that he forgets not everybody has. feuilly is the only one who holds him accountable for it because "i bought you a drink at the pub two weeks ago and you still owe me and i need to pay rent this week :/"

-enjolras is a pen clicker. oh. my god. he clicks pens at the speed of light and if someone asks him to stop, he'll apologize but then start again like thirty seconds later. it is so. fucking. annoying. also i love him but he's really self-righteous and won't admit when he's wrong. when someone has an opinion that differs his own, he can only see things in black or white. you're on his side, or you're wrong. this also applies to other's and their choices in what they do. he always donates the extra euro when he's checking out at a store for whatever donation project is going and if you don't he will give you the stink eye and publicly ask why you won't. no recyclable grocery bags? he will call you out and badger you until you buy one. you accidentally left the light on when you exited the room? oh my god. he has such good intentions but he forgets that not everybody might be as financially secure as him and not everybody is thinking about it at all times. he wants what's good for the world but it really gets on other people's nerves sometimes

-joly is really similar to enjolras in the sense that he calls people out for their health choices without thinking about their situation. he's getting better about it, but he has criticized grantaire to hell and back about all of his bad habits and not in a nice way. he's really harsh when someone is self-destructive or literally just picks like a soda at a restaurant over water. he wants his friends to be healthy but jesus fucking christ dude. no one asked for your opinion, now is not the time.

-feuilly only eats frozen meals. he only lives on lean cuisines. JEHBJWEHRWJH but also this dude smokes cigs a lot and forgets that smoke and tobacco makes some people feel sick or nauseated. he smokes in his apartment even when people are over and doesn't really think it's that big of a problem. enter: enjolras, who has asthma, and just walked through a cloud and starts hacking. anyway, he also gets really defensive when people call him out on it. it's his choice to smoke and whenever someone is like "hey maybe you might want to cut back" when he's buying a new pack of smokes after buying one three days before, he'll get super snappy and rude because it feels like an attack on him

-speaking of nicotine! jehan vapes and i have no room to speak on this subject bc let's not talk about my juul but they are in denial that it's also a problem. they're like "it's healthy shut up" but will go through pods so fast that it's genuinely comparable to feuilly's same bad habit. they started juuling bc they thought the flavours were yummy and it was cool and oh my god. jehan is also really blunt with their sense of humour and doesn't realize that not everybody thinks its funny. walking into a room and just being like "lmaoooo grantaire you look like shit today" and everybody is kind of like "...hm". combeferre is actually good about calling them out on that sort of stuff, though. if jehan realizes they're in the wrong, they'll apologize

-combeferre is. such. a fucking. movie talker. he just has so much to say at every minute of the movie and it's the worst (this is also me so self-roast). nobody likes to watch movies with him because "dude we just want to watch the fucking movie oh my god". he's also really pretentious and a gatekeeper. if you like the same band as him "oh really? well name three songs-" in a way that makes whoever he's feeling to feel stupid. combeferre really prides himself on his intellect, but it goes too far most of the time and it just comes across as super condescending and a lot of people get annoyed talking with him because it just feels like he's talking down at them the whole time

-marius is also super blunt but not in a way that's meant to be funny. he has absolutely walked into a room and gone "oh enjolras your haircut looks so bad im so sorry :(". and similarly to courfeyrac, he forgets the value of money. he's definitely asked people to go somewhere and has said like "yeah! the concert tickets are like 250 euro which is actually super cheap :)" and feuilly is just. dying inside. he intends to be nice, he just says so much stupid shit. he isn't purposely being a bad guy.

-bossuet never re-fills a roll of toilet paper if he's the last to use it. you do not know how annoying it is to room with this guy. grantaire has absolutely shouted "HOW HARD IS IT TO GRAB ANOTHER TUBE???" from the shitter and bossuet just denies it because it embarrasses him. he's also bad about cleaning dishes and will leave a cup in the sink for weeks if it isn't cleaned by someone else or threateningly left in front of his bedroom door. i love u bae but please clean up after yourself

-grantaire is the fucking worst. i love him but he is the worst. he is so self-deprecating to the point where a lot of people just won't be around him because you can only take so much self-pity before it becomes annoying as hell. he's never accepted a compliment and is one of those "omg no my art is so fucking ugly i hate it so much" when someone says they like a sketch or a painting he did and it is just. so annoying. he's also just super bad about caring about him self. baby forgets to shower and wash his hair and wear deodorant and it's like babe. baby. listen- we are not 13 year old boys anymore, we are men and we need to shower. take your zoloft and let's clean up your room <3

-bahorel is a babe but he's too rough with people. he'll slap someone on the back so hard that they choke on their drink. he's also bad about jokes going too far and just being kind of an asshole he'll snatch up something courfeyrac is holding and hold it up high and courf is 5'5 and bahorel is 6'3 and it is just unfair and unfunny and courfeyrac is not laughing and it just gets old so fast. he thinks people are having fun with him but baby they r not. everybody here is givin you the stink eye, just let the bit die

[saglovesu]

𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐

— 𝘽𝙪𝙯𝙯𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 ♡

previous | next

CW: lots of swearing, furries (idk if I need to put a warning for that?? I‘ll just put it here like I do w/every kink/fetish related stuff lol), descriptions of violence

A/N: I‘m having WAY too much fun doing these quotes,,, if you want more parts/ other shows let me know!! Requests are open so feel free! 🤍

Atsumu: I think you need to learn how to start seeing things for what they are.

Sakusa: I think you need to learn how to shut the hell up.

♡

Makki: I think the moon having a boner is about as realistic as ghosts.

Oikawa: *laughing* no it‘s not!

♡

Yahaba: in today‘s episode we investigate into the question: are ghosts real?

Kyotani: *shakes head*

♡

Sugawara: By the way, anybody could sketch anybody. Like, I could just- that means if I drew a sketch of you murdering someone back in the day, I could show up to the police station and be like „here it is. Here‘s evidence that Tanaka Ryūnosuke in cold blood, killed this woman dressed as a furry.“

Tanaka: And I feel like you would do that.

Sugawara: and they‘d be like „you‘re right. We had a lot of reports that Tanaka Ryūnosuke is in fact a furry.“

Tanaka: slap the cuffs on those hooves.

♡

Kuroo: so this is part of the recurring theme that you‘ve had throughout this show, where if there weren‘t modern devices you‘d be-

Kenma: I‘d be a monster

Kuroo: - an insane psychopath

Kenma: yes.

♡

Osamu: you hear that ghosts? That‘s Miya Osamu 1, Waverly Hills Sanatorium 0. How does that feel?

Suna [from behind him]: you fucking wimps!

♡

Yamaguchi: the first theory is ridiculous.

Tsukishima: *bursts out laughing*

Yamaguchi: I‘m just gonna say that right now, it‘s ridiculous

Tsukishima: never heard you just flat out-

Yamaguchi: I know, for- for me to say it‘s ridiculous-

Tsukishima: this is a first

♡

Akaashi, counting down: 10,9

Bokuto: 8

Akaashi: I‘m counting in my head.

♡

[in a haunted house]

Oikawa: alright, iwa-chan is doing his lock up in there- oh boy oh god my fucking light just died goddamn it turn back on please please please

Iwaizumi, in the other room: *laughing*

Oikawa: iwa-chan is your lock in done??

Iwaizumi: No I‘ve just got another two min-

Oikawa: *screams* fuck fuck fuck come back out! AH! Come back out!! Come back out!

Iwaizumi, laughing: I got two more minutes-

Oikawa: NO NO!!

Iwaizumi: this is one of the best days of my life.

♡

Atsumu: and the worst part is I don‘t even have my holy water! I went to eight churches today to try and get some holy water and I could not get one bit of holy water so now I‘m going into a demonhole with no holy water!

♡

Tsukishima: I‘m gonna take everything said by a ghost hunter with a grain of salt.

Kuroo: well technically now you‘re a ghost hunter so think about that.

Tsukishima: oh shit.

Kuroo: So I don‘t know if I could trust you.

Tsukishima: uh, I‘m a ghost hunter but I‘d- *stutters*

Kuroo: oh my god did your brain just explode?

Tsukishima: Am I a ghost hunter? I don‘t wanna be a ghosthunter. This is all bullshit!

Kuroo: (wheezes)

Tsukishima: Oh no, do I have to put that on my business card?

Kuroo: yeah „Tsukishima Kei, Ghost hunter“

Tsukishima: son of a bitch

♡

[in the borden house]

Bokuto, holding an axe: andrew this look familiar?

Kuroo: oh my god

Bokuto: *imitates axe smashing his own face* AH! AH!

Kuroo: *laughing* that‘s so fucked up

Bokuto: *imitates swinging axe at kuroo*

Kuroo, still laughing: dude get away from me!

♡

Y/N: that‘s Jodie

Atsumu: the- the doll?

Y/N: mhmm

Osamu: what‘s her deal

Y/N: she will be the overseer of the haunted nursery of dolls that I‘m going to have.

Osamu, whispering to Atsumu: I‘m gonna buy you one of those for christmas.

Atsumu: shut up 'samu!

♡

[in a haunted house]

Sugawara [to the ghost]: I heard you like balls- NO WAIT *laughs*

Daichi: you wanna do a retake on that one? That had to be intentional

Sugawara: I swear to god I‘m not doing this on purpose

Daichi: I mean this is a bit-

Sugawara: *still laughing* no it‘s not a fucking bit I‘m sorry

♡

[talking about a haunted house]

Atsumu: It’s been reported that shadows follow you.

Kita: shadows do tend to follow you though. That‘s sort of how they work.

Series Masterlist

[datsrightbby]

Marko + David (TLB) x Fem!Reader

Insatiable Habits

Warnings: NSFW/Smut, cursing, voyeurism, threesome

It had started off as subtle teasing at first, the kinda stuff that made you blush. Like, a gloved hand skimming your thigh and creating shapes across the exposed skin, or a lingering kiss on your neck, and the occasional whisper in your ear that had you burning crimson red and burying your face into the crook of his neck. It was the minute his palm went that bit higher on your thigh, the minute his thumb ghosted over your clothed crotch, did you start feeling flustered to the point of rubbing your legs together in need of friction. 

Not often did you and the boys stay back at the cave the whole night, but tonight was one of those rare occurrences when all of you were content staying in. David took full opportunity, of course, and kept you on his lap. The night had just begun to seep into early hours of the morning, which reminded you -

"Don't you guys need...food?" It's not as though you were ignorant to the fact of what they were, it was more so you'd refused to fully wrap your head around the idea that the four guys you met, one now your boyfriend and mate, were violent in any way. Though if you could avoid talking about it, or thinking about it for that matter, then you'd be okay. 

"Dude, I’m starving -" 

" - Yeah we should leave before the sun starts coming up." Marko remarked, putting down his sketch book and standing up to tug his discarded jacket on. You went to move off David, but his hand on your hip kept you in place on top of him, the subtle gesture telling you that he planned on staying with you. The boys gave you both a once over as they headed toward the stairs, smirks decorating their features at the sight. 

"Guess David's passing up tonight for some other kinda food." Paul hollered and Dwayne sent you a wink, which internally made you roll your eyes, but you grinned back at them anyway. Marko had hestitantly headed towards the steps after them, albeit a few strides behind -

"Marko!" There was a pause as Marko's attention turned back around to David, eyes skimming across your figure before focusing intently on the man who's lap you resided. 

"Stay." It wasn't a question, it was a demand, and Marko didn't seem to have much to say about the ordeal. You couldn't pinpoint why David had asked Marko to stay behind as it was implied, from both the endless teasing and staying behind, that the two of you were gonna do a little more than some heavy petting. David reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter, lighting it in one attempt and taking a deep intake, exhaling toward the ceiling as to not get smoke all over you. 

Marko had resided back to the couch, while you and David shifted against each other, you placing little kisses on his jaw as he blew smoke toward the ceiling again. 

"Why did you ask Marko to stay behind?" You whispered lowly, hoping he couldn't hear. 

"I have an idea." It was all he said before dipping his fingers into the waistband of your underwear, your head fell back and you let out a low, breathy moan as he rubbed languid circles against you. The cigarette he lit hung loosely from his lips, ash falling onto his lap haphazardly. In the corner you heard Marko shift in place and you panicked, reminding yourself of his presence and trying to pry yourself away from David's fingers, which had now entered you and pumped in and out a few times. There was no reaction from Marko other than staring at the sight in front of him, though you were sure he wasn't expecting to see David’s fingers working sinfully against you when he looked up from his previous activity.

"Relax kitten, I know what I'm doing." You looked up at him in both shock and confusion, but didn't question his motives, he'd never done you any harm before and you trusted David. Perhaps, if you hadn't been so worked up from his endless teasing all night, things would be different under the same circumstance, but that was neither here nor there. Relaxing into his touch, opting to close your eyes and focus on the feelings rather then the wandering eyes, you allowed for the situation to continue.

"Let us hear you -" David's voice growled in your ear and you moaned explicitly, louder than you had expected.

"That's my girl." You whimpered and bucked your hips up into the palm of his hand, knowing he was smirking down at you right now. 

Your arousal laid thick in the air to the vampires, it was sweet and intoxicating, and Marko swallowed thickly at the scent of it. Just when you felt as though your high may have been approaching, David pulled out and sucked on his fingers, licking off any trace you'd left on them. Marko watched you intensely, eyes lingering on any exposed skin they could get too. You felt erotic and filthy, but in the best way possible. The way the two looked at you sent goosebumps flying across your skin, it was as though you were the prey and they were the wolves, every fleck of color in their eyes had turned to black in desire and need, and you knew where this was headed simply by how they stared at you. On somewhat shaky legs you stood from your spot on David's lap, he waved his hand in Marko’s direction as if to tell you to go over to him -

“Remember you’re still mine.” Nodding, you thumbed over his jaw before sauntering over to Marko, who'd watched your every step approach him. In a surge of confidence you placed your hand on his shoulder, laying him back against the couch, sitting on his crotch with your thighs either side of him. You grind against him slightly, noting that his cock was already hard as sin. Marko let you have your fun, looking over to David who only watched while smoking the remains of his smoke, with a nod from his leader he had all the knowledge he needed of the situation. This wasn’t planned, but Marko was aware David knew of his feelings for you and it seemed he was letting him indulge a little. Instantly he had spun you both over, thrusting against you, a moan skipping past your lips. You'd been teased all night, so feeling his erection right where you needed him most, well, it was heavenly almost. 

"You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this." Marko teased your neck with kisses and nips, his eyes closed and he inhaled your scent; the way your hair smelled, the arousal between your legs, the perfume you wore, you were intoxicating and it's no wonder David could never keep his hands off you. Who could resist you?  

David had long stubbed out the rest of his cigarette as he watched the two of you toy with each other and tease, he watched as Marko whispered dirty things in your ear and how you replied with giggles, and he soon unzipped his fly and freed himself of the restraints his cock was behind, stroking himself at the sight of the two of you. This wasn't just because he knew you found Marko cute, or the fact that he knew Marko had been in love with you since he met you, no, this was David's fantasy too. 

It didn't seem long before Marko had ripped your clothing off of you, you'd responded with as much fervor. His hands roamed every inch of you in eagerness, he relished in the soft curves of your body and the way you shivered beneath him. It seemed too good to be true, having you here now was better than he had ever imagined. Marko kissed down your body, nipping here and there, which caused him to grin up at you every time you jumped. He stared at you for a moment, breath heavy and chest heaving, eyes pleading with you -

“Please let me have a taste?”

You weren’t sure if it was a question for you or David, but you’d instantly whined out a ‘yes’ and he wasted no time working against you. His tongue teased your clit in circular motions and you shook underneath his grip on your thighs, hips moving up against his mouth in need of more friction. The desperateness of the night took over you; David’s consistent teasing since you’d arrived, your forgotten orgasm from David’s fingers, and now Marko’s tongue wickedly lapping against you, you couldn’t help but huff out in neediness. Your head lolled to the side and noted David palming himself through his jeans, it appeared he was enjoying this just as much as you and Marko. A bite on your thigh had your attention back on the curly haired blonde in between your legs in an instant, he grinned and delved further into your wetness, giving you the relief you’d been craving.

“Use your fingers, she likes that.” Per David’s request Marko’s middle and index finger entered you and your head fell back against the couch, hands holding his head in place as his tongue roughly explored every inch of you. You couldn’t help the curse words that slipped, and the slap on your thigh because of it had you whimpering. 

“I - I think I’m gonna cum” Marko only sped up his ministrations, adding another finger inside you, stretching you out, he played with the spot that had you shaking the most until your body was overtook in blissful release. Never once did he stop, even as your hands attempted to tear him off of your spent body, he continued until he was sure the taste of you was burned into his memory. His body moved up you once again, claiming your mouths together in a sloppy kiss, the taste of your arousal still heavy on his tongue. His mouth moved from yours to you ear -

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard you’ll feel me inside you for a week.” he whispered so possessively it had you clenching around nothing and praying he’d live up to the promise. The sound that came out of you was borderline pornographic, though you were beyond modesty at this point. Marko lined himself up with your entrance, looking down at you for silent permission, you wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him close, his cock slipping into you with ease and stretching you out deliciously. Between Marko’s moan and your choked sob, you knew you were gonna crave the feeling of him being inside you for weeks after,  he was inside you raw, and he took a moment in awe to rejoice the feeling of you, knowing it was probably the only time he'd ever get to have this experience, and he wasn't about to let this go to waste. He was going to fuck you so good you'd remember it forever, remember him forever. The pace he set was fast with deep, hard thrusts that had you clawing at the couch underneath you to keep you still. Your mouth hung open from the intense feeling of him pounding into you, your lips spewing out a mantra of curses and Marko's name. 

“Do I fuck you good baby?" You moaned louder at his words, trying to find the will in you to focus on anything other than his cock filling you to the brim with every movement of his hips. When you didn't answer him, he opted to slap your thigh, an echo wondering around the cave because of it. 

"Tell me."

"Y-yes - you feel amazing- ugh" 

Your head coaxed to the side, noticing David had now freed himself and was stroking his cock to the same pace Marko fucked you at. "Oh fuck -"

You didn't know who to look at; Marko fucking you into next week, or David getting off to the sight of you being fucked. It was overwhelmingly sexy having the two men desire you so greatly, being shared between them made you feel powerful. 

David watched your thighs flex around Marko’s torso, the way you threw your head back in pure pleasure, how Marko’s cock disappeared between your legs over and over again. He stood and sauntered over to the two of you, placing his cock at the tip of your mouth, asking for entrance into your, all too willing, mouth. You happily accepted and took as much of him as you could fit at once, though David soon had a hand on the back of your head and his hips thrusting his cock into your mouth. All you could do was relax and let him take you, forcing yourself to hold back chokes and spit as he fucked your throat with ease, all while Marko rammed his painfully hard cock into you, your thigh now over his shoulder and the new angle allowing him to be so deep inside you it hurt, in the most pleasurably painful way. It wasn’t long before you felt your second orgasm build up, the aftershocks of the last one still lingering and causing you to tremble against the two men ravishing you, tears spilled from your eyes as Marko fucked you through it. Soon your body was convulsing and shuddering underneath them, David’s cock still deep down your throat, and Marko’s deep inside you. You clung onto Marko’s shoulders for dear life, heat spreading throughout your entire body and turning you numb as you tried to adjust to the overwhelming sensations, both of them were close, from Marko’s messy pace to David’s twitching cock, you moaned around him to spur him along, while Marko chanted out in whines as his release approached -

“Don’t you dare cum inside her.” Marko did as he was told and pulled out quickly, spilling himself all over your stomach, David soon cumming down your throat and making you deep throat him as you swallowed every last drop, you grabbed his thigh and squeezed, a sign that you needed to stop and relax a minute, which he did immediately, tucking himself back into his pants and leaning down to your eye level. 

“Are you okay kitten?” You nodded, noting how your body ached from the rough actions it had endured. Marko placed a kiss on your cheek, wiping away a few stray tears. “You sure? I can get you anything you need.” You gave him a weak smile and stroked his cheek, trying to reassure him as best you could that you were, indeed, fine, but fucked out. 

The boys helped clean you up and take you over to the make shift nest David had built you a few months prior. Though, one question lingered in your mind. Where does your relationship go from here?

[alt-rose]

21 - colson baker

colson baker imagine

21 - Pete Davidson takes you out to celebrate your 21st birthday after SNL, and you make a new friend. 

“this week a midwestern teenager was arrested for kidnapping livestock and hiding them in their neighbor’s garages. here to comment is our resident young person, (y/n) (y/l/n).”

you took a quick breath before you were pushed toward the weekend update desk. you rolled to a stop next to your castmate Michael Che before you dove into your bit with him about cows and the midwestern community.

you made your SNL debut last season when you were only nineteen. you quickly took over Pete Davidson’s former role as the “resident young person” among the cast, and you had formed a fast friendship with him over the last year and a half. he had been eager to take you out with his friends so that you could experience the true nightlife that New York could offer, and now that you were finally turning 21, he could do just that.

after you exited the stage from your weekend update skit, Pete caught you in the hallway as you headed back to your dressing room to get ready for your last skit.

“hey, next weekend,” Pete started catching your attention. “do you want to go out and celebrate your birthday? Maybe get shitfaced?”

“I don’t know. who’s gonna be there? I don’t really want to feel obligated to entertain people while you’re getting me drunk,” you said apprehensively.

“don’t worry. it’ll be a bunch of people you don’t know so you don’t have to worry about anything other than getting drunk. I’ll keep an eye on you, of course. keep you away from the creepos.”

“how thoughtful,” you say throwing yourself into one of the hair and make-up chairs. “but sure, it sounds fun.”

“great. I’ll get the party lined up for next Saturday after the show.”

you threw him a thumbs up before your attention was directed toward the make-up artist giving you an 80s look for your next skit.

--

“this week our very own (y/n) (y/l/n) turned 21. here to comment on finally becoming an adult is our resident young person, (y/n) (y/l/n).”

“hey Colin,” you call back to him when you roll up next to Colin Jost at the weekend update desk.

SNL did a similar skit when Pete turned 21 so the writers felt it was only right to do one for you.

“hey (y/n), how does it feel to finally be 21?” he asked tapping his pen on his desk.

“it feels great Colin. you know, it’s a bit of an adjustment, but I’m having a great time.”

“right, you’re finally legal now. you can do adult things.”

“yeah, now I can buy tropical fish at Randy’s Pet Shop by my apartment building. I have a fish named Chet now. he’s pretty cool.”

“wait, you have to be 21 to buy fish from Randy’s Pet Shop?”

“yeah, Randy’s got this weird thing,” you paused to make eye contact with Colin. “anyway, besides that, I don’t really feel like much of an adult, Colin. I’m like five-foot-something and still resemble a fourth grader. like look at me, Colin. I was given a kid’s menu at TGI F.R.I.D.A.Y.’S last week. I am not an adult.”

Colin laughed before looking at you. “(y/n), you really don’t think that you’ve grown in this past year? you haven’t felt like an adult in anyway?”

“no.”

“well, I think you have. you stopped ordering chicken fingers at every restaurant we go to for cast dinners. I think that’s a big step into adulthood.”

“yeah, well, joke’s on you because I have a bag of dino nuggies hidden in the back of the breakroom fridge.”

“what?”

“yeah, I just take a few out and wrapping them in tinfoil and heat them up in the microwave for four minutes-”

“wait, hold on, hold on,” Colin laughed waving his hand to stop you. “you put the nuggets in tinfoil before you put them in the microwave?”

“yeah, you just wrap them up in the tinfoil, and they cook really well. they get all sparky and stuff. they taste a little smokey though”

“you’re the reason why the breakroom microwave is always broken?”

“what?”

“(y/n), you’re not supposed to put tinfoil in the microwave,” Michael chimes in.

“you can’t put metal in the microwave. did you not know that?” Colin asked.

“what?” you put on the confused act.

“(y/n) (y/l/n), everybody,” Colin shouts turning to the audience and ending your segment on the update.

“who let me be an adult?” you laugh shouting to audience as Colin pulls you into a side hug. the crowd cheers as you wave to them.

“for weekend update, I’m Colin Jost.”

“And I’m Michael Che. GOODNIGHT.”

you continue to smile and laugh with both of the guys as the camera panned away from the stage and the recording light turned off. when you made it off stage, you started to head back to your dressing room. you had finished your last sketch of the night, so you planned on getting ready for your night out with Pete and whoever else he invited.

--

an hour later, you were crammed in the backseat of an uber next to Pete.

“where are we going?” you asked him as you check the battery on your phone.

“this club a few minutes away. it’s pretty lowkey. everyone’s going to meet us there.”

“okay, sounds good-”

“it’s actually right here,” he interrupts stopping the driver. “thanks, man.”

Pete opened the door of the car and climbed out. his lanky form towered over the small sedan. he leaned down to help you scoot over to open door. you took his hand as you scooted over to the door before sliding out of the car as best as you could in your mini skirt.

after both of your feet successfully hit the pavement, you adjusted your black leather mini skirt from riding up before you fixed you black turtleneck to make sure that it was still tucked into your skirt.

“ready?”

“yeah, let’s go.”

--

after making it past the bouncer, Pete led you over to the bar before dropping you off at a bar stool. you watched as he made his rounds saying hi to everyone. it was almost 1 am now. you began to wonder how late you were going to be out tonight.

you suddenly felt two hands on your shoulders causing you to slightly jump.

“you ready for your birthday drink?” Pete shouted in your ear.

“yeah, let’s do it,” you laugh turning to look at him.

“can we get four shots of Fireball?” he shouted to the bartender.

“four?” you shout over your shoulder at him. “I though you weren’t drinking.”

“I’m not. you are. you’re downing all of those.”

“oh god.”

he slapped his hands on your shoulders once more. “you got this, baby.”

the bartender placed the shots in front of you as Pete opened a tab.

“we doing this?” you asked staring at the shots.

“let’s do it.”

you grab your first shot before raising it as a cheers to him. you brought it to your lips and downed it. you felt it burn as it slid down your throat. you squeezed your eyes shut as you finished it.

“that was strong,” you cough.

“next one.”

you down the second one, and then the third one shortly followed. the cinnamon flavor left a burning sensation in your throat.

“last one, last one.” Pete shook your shoulders cheering you on.

“fuck this.” you downed the last one.

--

an hour into your party, it was clear to you that you were feeling very drunk. you had spent the last hour dancing with strangers on the dance floor before slipping back to the VIP section Pete had for you and some of the people at the party. after your first couple shots, he had introduced you to a few people, but at this point, you can’t remember your own name so how could you be expected to remember theirs.

you’re currently sipping on a tequila sunrise now that Pete decided that you handled enough straight liquor. you were slightly leaning on Pete as he stood next to you while you were sitting on one of the barstools for the high tabletops.

“yoooo,” you heard someone call as they approached your table. “dude, whassup.”

Pete leaned over to bro-hug someone before that person began to lean on your table next to Pete. you could hear their muffled conversation as you played with the straw in your drink.

“so what’s this party for anyway?”

“it’s a birthday party,” Pete yelled over the music.

“who’s birthday?”

“hers,” Pete said motioning to you causing you to look up at Pete and his friend. “this is my castmate, (y/n). she just turned 21 so we’re celebrating.”

your eyes met the stranger’s, and you smiled. he was pretty with his bleached-out hair. you gave him a small wave.

“I’m Colson,” he said extending his hand to yours.

“(y/n),” you said taking his hand.

“can I buy a drink for the birthday girl?” he asked flashing you a smile.

“sure,” you said before taking the last sip of your tequila sunrise.

when he brought you back a drink, you stood over your shoulder placing the drink in front of you.

“let’s fucking party.”

“okay,” you shouted before knocking back the drink and taking his hand to lead you to the dance floor.

--

you spent the rest of the night with a set of hands planted firmly around your waist. when you had finally had enough of drinking and dancing, you made your way back over to the VIP section with your six-foot shadow following behind you with his hands still on your hips.

“I’m tired,” you say to Pete as you approach your seat the table. your shadow rested against your back as you hopped up onto the barstool.

“do you want to head home?” Pete asked leaning close to you and your shadow, Colson.

“kinda,” you said leaning your head back on Colson. your drunken state couldn’t careless that you were practically laying against a total stranger.

“do you even have a place to stay tonight?” Pete asked Colson as he looked up from you to the tall guy behind you.

“not really. I could just get a hotel,” you could hear Colson tell Pete.

“you guys can just crash at my apartment. I have a couch and a guest bedroom,” you interrupt as you stare off into space.

“are you sure?” Pete asked.

“yeah, let’s just go home.”

“cool with you?” Pete asked Colson.

“I’m cool,” Colson answered.

10 minutes later, the three of you were sitting in the backseat of a black car, which you assumed was an uber. you head rested against someone’s shoulder as you began to close your eyes.

--

you felt someone jostle you awake. you opened your eyes to find that the uber had parked in front of your building. Pete was leaning in the car once more to help you out. you blinked the sleep out of your eyes as you took his hands. he helped you out of the car just as he had when you got to the club. you felt a pair of hands gently adjust your skirt, and you whipped your head around to find Colson standing behind of you.

“your skirt was riding up, baby,” he said to you while he tapped your hip.

“thanks,” you murmur.

you slapped your keys into Pete’s hand as he went to buzz you in with your code to the building. you began to walk to the door with Colson resting his arm around your shoulder. he kept you walking upright as you both entered the building. you took the elevator up 12 floors.

when you finally stepped foot into your apartment, you stood in the doorway and ripped your heeled boots from your feet. Pete dropped your keys into the bowl by your door, and Colson closed the door behind the three of you.

you turned around to the both of them, almost tripping over your own feet.

“kitchen,” you said pointing to the kitchen, “couch,” pointing to the living room, “guest room,” pointing to the guest room, “bathroom,” you pointed to the bathroom door. “there’s extra blankets in the closet,” you said pointing to the small closet by the bathroom. “help yourself to anything. I’m going to sleep.” you gave them a salute before turning around to your bedroom.

they laughed lightly as you slammed the door behind you.

as you stumbled into your room, you plugged your phone into the charger on your nightstand. after your phone was charging, you slipped your skirt and turtleneck off before slipping on an oversized t-shirt. you quickly wiped off your makeup before falling face down in your bed.

--

the next morning, you woke up with blurry eyes and a fog in your head. you blinked a couple times before rolling over to fall back asleep. you had your eyes closed as you tried to fall back asleep.

that’s when you heard a crash in the kitchen.

you whipped yourself out of bed, and you grabbed the baseball bat from under your bed. you took a deep breath before throwing your bedroom door open. with your bat raised, you lunged out of your bedroom at the intruder.

instead of the intruders, you found Pete and some guy standing in your kitchen messing with your pots and pans.

“jesus fucking christ, Pete, what the fuck?”

“oh, sleeping beauty’s up,” the guy called waving his arms out to you with your skillet and spatula in his hands.

“who is this? and what the fuck are you doing?” you shout annoyed at Pete.

“This is Colson, my friend who you met last night, but guessing from your reaction, you don’t remember much. you let us stay over, and now we are making breakfast,” he said before going back to whatever he was doing.

you felt Colson’s gaze on you. you dropped your bat on your shoulder as you met his stare. you glared into his eyes as he intensely stared back into yours.

“nice bat,” he said still staring.

“thanks, I played softball,” you glared back. “I’m gonna go put some clothes on.”

“you don’t have to,” you heard Colson call back to you as he watched you retreat to your room. from your room, you could hear Pete yell at him in the kitchen.

you laughed lightly as you threw on a pair of sweatpants and put a bra on under your oversized shirt. you took a scrunchie and threw your hair up before heading back to the kitchen.

you plopped yourself down on one of the counter stools in your kitchen.

“what are we eating?” you ask the guys.

“I’m attempting to make pancakes with whatever you have,” Colson called back to you.

“fantastic,” you reply.

“how’s your head?” Pete asked from his spot at the counter.

“it’s not bad. I don’t feel very hungover,” you replied.

“that’s surprising seeing how much you drank last night.”

“what even happened last night?”

“you drank a lot. you danced a lot. then, Colson showed up. then, you drank and danced some more with him.”

“wow,” you mutter staring off into space before you felt Colson staring at you again. you met his eyes before speaking up, “I apologize for that and whatever I did.”

“I didn’t mind,” he said before flipping a pancake.

“it was so funny. you were like one of those velcro monkeys wrapped around him all night,” Pete laughed.

“don’t make fun of me,” you yelled before whacking Pete with a dish towel on the counter. “you’re the one who got me drunk.” they both laughed before you looked up at Colson once more. “I am definitely apologizing for that.”

“I don’t mind. I liked being your arm candy for the night,” he said plopping a pancake on a plate.

you rolled your eyes before opening your phone. “what’s the damage? was there any paparazzi last night?”

“weelllllll,” Pete drew out.

“what?” you whine dropping your head a bit.

“there’s a few from when we left the club, and they followed us back to your building so there’s a few from then too. there’s two articles running already.”

“just because we went out for drinks?” you ask motioning between you and Pete.

“no, because we,” Colson motioned between the three of you. “went out for drinks.” he dropped a plate in front of you. “apology pancakes for the tabloids.”

“how thoughtful,” you murmur. “what did the articles say?”

“nothing just speculation,” Pete said taking a drink. “it’ll go away. you just might want to keep away from Colson for a while.”

“you’re kidding,” you said opening your phone before typing your name into safari.

you scrolled through the new section before you found the pictures from last night. in the pictures, Colson had his arm wrapped around your waist as you were shielding your eyes from the flash. you assumed these pictures were from when you left the club. the other pictures were of the guys helping you out of the car. Colson was standing behind you, towering over you with his arm around you. it totally looked like the two of you were a thing with how touchy you two were. you were not a touchy person when you were sober. you could only assume that the alcohol turned you into a velcro monkey as Pete put it. you briefly skimmed the articles only to find that they were speculating that you and Machine Gun Kelly, Colson Baker, were in a relationship.

“Machine Gun Kelly. you’re Machine Gun Kelly?” you ask him, squinting your eyes at Colson.

he and Pete laughed at you.

“I was wondering if you were going to put it together,” Pete laughed. “that took you forever.”

“well, I’m sorry, but I was drunk.”

“you knew I was friends with MGK,” Pete laughed.

“I didn’t think you were going to invite him to my birthday party.”

“so I take it you’re a fan?” Colson said raising an eyebrow at you.

“I’m not actually. I haven’t even heard your stuff. I’m not really into rap,” you said to him.

“ouch. that’s rough,” he sighed.

“sorry,” you shrugged. “thanks for the pancakes though.” you give him a smile before taking a bite.

Pete’s phone buzzed before he got up from his stool.

“shit, I have to go. I have to take my mom to the airport. are you going to be okay if I leave you?” Pete asked staring at you.

“yeah, I’ll be fine. tell your mom hi for me,” you said looking up at him.

“okay, bye kid. happy birthday.” he wrapped his arms around you.

“thanks for getting me drunk. I had fun,” you said patting his arm.

“yeah, I know,” he called back as he headed to your door.

“be safe,” you shouted before he closed your front door, leaving you with Colson in your kitchen.

you and Colson took a pause as you both watched the door. he was the first to break his gaze as he turned to you. you both made eye contact as you both stared at each other.

“so,” you started.

“so,” he replied leaning down on your counter to stare at you at your eye level.

“so.”

“so, what do we do now?”

“we can watch tv, or you can tell me about last night,” you suggest before shoving another bite into your mouth.

you were not bashful when it came to eating, and you were not deterred by Colson staring into your eyes as you chewed, even if he was really pretty.

“what do you want to know?” he said. his gaze never leaving your eyes.

“we seemed very touchy in those photos,” you hummed taking another forkful of pancakes.

“can’t help that your kinda hot.”

“wow,” you scoff leaning back from the counter. “this is hot for you,” you say shoving the pancakes in your mouth.

“very,” he laughed.

you peered an eye up at him, skeptically. you couldn’t tell if he was being serious. there was no way that someone as pretty as he was would be interested in you.

he extended his hand out to you face as your eyes watched it move to your lip. he flicked a piece of pancake from your lip before smiling at you. you heart practically jumped out of its chest.

fuck. you were crushing.

--

the two of you hung out and talked for the next hour. you both flirted a bit back and forth. you felt this undeniable connection to him, and it made you feel sick. you were notorious for running from people and your feelings. you always chickened out before saying anything to them, and then when you finally got the courage to, that person had already found somebody else.

“fuck, I should go,” Colson said throwing his head back on the couch from where the two of you were sitting. “I don’t want to though.”

“I need to shower and get started with some pitches for work tomorrow,” you say lightly placing your head on the back of the couch.

“okay, I’ll go.”

“I’ll walk you down.”

he took your hand in his as he got up from the couch. he pulled you up as he grabbed his jacket from where it was placed on the arm of the couch.

you grabbed your keys before he pulled you out the door. you closed the door behind you before the two of you waited for the elevator.

you laced your fingers with his as you stepped into the elevator. here goes nothing, you breathed.

“I had a lot of fun with you,” you say staring straight at the doors of the elevator.

he turned to you with you fingers still locked with his. “I really like you.”

“cool, cool,” you say as you saw the number on the elevator tick to floor 6. you turn to him. “I should give you my number.”

he slipped you his phone, and you typed your number into his phone before handing back to him.

“cool, cool,” he started as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

1

2

3

you counted before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down to your height. you stood on your tiptoes, and you placed your lips on his. he grabbed your face as he kissed you back.

the elevator dinged as the doors opened. you broke away from him as you shoved him out the doors.

“call me sometime,” you say as you stood alone in the elevator.

“aye aye captain,” he saluted you. he moved back toward the elevator before pulling you back to him. “one more for the road.” he kissed you until you couldn’t breathe.

you finally pulled away for air while he held his hands on your head.

“you’re fucking gorgeous.”

“you’re not too bad yourself. now go so I can work,” you said fully pulling away before the elevator alarm was set off. “Bye Colson,” you said hitting your floor button.

“Bye (y/n),” he waved as the doors shut.

--

as you made your way back to your apartment, your phone dinged.

unknown number: hi velcro monkey

you rolled your eyes as you entered your apartment. this man was going to be the death of you.

.

.

.

first Colson Baker imagine. feel free to send requests. - rose xx

[noonaishere]

Work of Art [J.JH] - fifty-one | ann-phra-dite

“Is there like… a reason your ass is in my face?”

Johnny stuck his ass out more. “Oh, is this bothering you?”

You reached out the charcoal you were using to try and draw on his jeans and he dodged you. You laughed. “Have the courage of your convictions, damnit.”

He laughed. “I don’t know what you’re going to draw.”

“Well I’m not a guy so… something other than a dick?”

He laughed loudly and went back to taking pictures in exaggerated poses.

“Are you the photographer or a model?” You said as your eyes darted back and forth between your paper, your friends dancing, and now him. “You look like a fucking chameleon.”

He did a jerky movement across the floor, as if he was crawling on a branch.

“Okay, okay.” You laughed. “Get out of my way dude.”

He leaned in your way so you couldn’t see.

“Johnnyyyyyy!!” You screamed.

He laughed and moved.

“You’re five years old!”

“Come and stand in my way,” Anna said, and moved a few feet away from you.

Johnny looked shocked for a moment. “Oh-- uh--” and stood in her way.

“Ohhhhh, dat ass!”

Johnny laughed shyly.

You watched as he giggled and apologized to Anna and then stopped obstructing either of your views. He moved over to the other side of the room, and you could see a hint of pink across his cheeks as he hid his face behind his camera. Anna came back over to you.

“I always deliver.”

You laughed quietly and went back to drawing.

As you drew you could see Jaehyun out of the corner of your vision, as he walked over and talked to Johnny. You wondered if it had to do with his reaction to Anna pretending to catcall him, and wondered if it would be nosy if you texted Jaehyun about it later.

Like, a smidge nosy.

Just a tiny bit nosy.

Like: you were your mother’s child and you were considering being as nosy as possible. Because you wanted to know what they were talking about.

“Later.” You scoffed out loud at yourself: now was the perfect time for a break.

You looked up and saw Jaehyun put his phone in his bag as Eunji walked over to him. They talked, and you figured your break was over as they went to the stereo to put on the music for their joint piece.

After a few more minutes of walking around the room taking pictures of them dancing, Johnny put his stuff away and walked over to you and Anna. “Okay. “I’m gonna get going.”

“You're leaving?” You asked. “But-- the dancers are still dancing.”

“Yeah, I have to go get a new mixer board and I just got a text from the guy at the audio store that the one I wanted came in. I’m going to go pick it up.”

You looked at Anna, wondering what she thought.

She smiled at him. “Have fun.”

Johnny nodded back. “You guys have fun as well. See you later.”

You watched him leave, slightly annoyed that your two friends were being dumb in their own way, and went back to sketching Jaehyun and Eunji as they danced.

“Okay,” Anna leaned in, “See that guy over there?”

You didn’t have to look up to know that she was looking at the guy she had been looking at the whole time. “Mhm.”

“Ask him to dance for you,” she said quietly and nudged your arm.

You didn’t look away from Jaehyun and he and Eunji danced together. “I already have three clients, bud. I don’t think I need any more.”

“Clients?”

“You know, for my salon.” You sketched before they could completely change their poses, as sight drawing and having a conversation at the same time was a little difficult. “I was thinking of calling it: Curl Up and Dye.”

She laughed and shoved your arm.

You looked down at the line you made across the page. “Don’t do that.” And went back to drawing.

“I saw him dancing earlier before you got here, he’s amazing.”

“I don’t want to dye any more people’s hair, though. Could you imagine the pandemonium of trying to do all their hair at once? Though, I could just convince them all to use the same color, line them up, and just slap it across their heads like the Carol Burnett Show.”

Anna pulled back and looked at you. “You are secretly elderly, you know that?”

You smiled. “Yes. And you whippersnappers better get off my fucking lawn.”

She laughed. “You really won’t regret it, trust me.”

“I literally can’t. Also, I don’t know him so I’m not totally comfortable just being like, ‘How do you feel about Mutual Aid? A dance and a dye? And no that is not sexual innuendo.’”

She snorted and covered her mouth, hiding behind your shoulder.

“I have nothing else to offer, kid.”

When she calmed down she stood.

“Where are you going?”

She smiled at you and walked along the wall of the studio so she didn’t get in Jaehyun and Eunji’s way. Your eyes darted back and forth as you paid attention to them, and to Anna walking right up to the guy she was just trying to convince you to talk to.

“Son of a bitch,” you whispered to yourself.

She walked back over with a triumphant look on her face. “He said he’ll dance.”

“I’m not dying his hair.”

“You don’t have to.”

“He’s dancing for free?”

“I asked him on a date.”

“I think we should…” you tried to think as you sketched, “make a committee for world peace and then put you in charge of it. We’d be able to have the Star Trek future in like, two minutes.”

She laughed.

“Seriously like… “

“Jinjja?”

“Jinjja, I should venerate you as a goddess or something. Make a temple in your honor.”

She smiled.

The music ended and Jaehyun and Eunji stopped dancing. Taeyong walked over and handed them their water bottles, and then it looked like they all started talking about the dance itself, with Taeyong giving criticism and Jaehyun and Eunji following his explanations of different moves.

You put your pencil down and cracked your knuckles.

“Are you Bilquis? Inanna? Freya? White Peony maybe? You do seem to tempt a lot of men.”

She smiled and pushed you.

“Ann-phra-dite?”

“Oh my god.”

You got closer and whispered. “What’s his name at least?”

“Ten.”

“Ten?”

“Mhm.”

“Well, for your sake, I hope he’s a ten out of ten.”

She pulled away with a sigh and looked at you. “Sometimes I wish we didn’t know each other.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.”

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[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Forever

One Shot: Wings

Intro: They say that once you’ve been inked, it kinda becomes an addiction…

Warnings: Bad language.

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR STARK SPANGLED BANNER

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 “Jamie, ”Katie sighed exasperatedly as her 9 year old looked up from where he was sprawled on the rug of the den, piecing his newest lego kit that Sam and Bucky had bought him for his birthday “You need to get your stuff for school.” “Don’t wanna.” he pouted.

“Tough.”

“I don’t feel well.”

“Oh no, really?” Katie bent down, feeling his head. “Hmmmm. You do feel warm. What’s wrong?” “Sort throat.” “Oh, well… that means no soccer practice tomorrow then…and you should go straight back to bed until I can take you to the doctors later today…”

Jamie paused and looked up at her and she raised an eyebrow “Nice try Pal.”  

“Mommmm”

“Don’t make me shout your father.” she used her ace card.

Jamie gave an exaggerated sigh and stood up, rolling his eyes. Katie bit her lip to stop herself laughing at the utter indignation on his face.

“It’s Friday dude.” she smiled at him. “You got all weekend to play legos if that’s what you wanna do.”

“Does that mean I can stay up late tonight to work on it?” he asked hopefully.

“Define late.” Katie looked at him.

“11?”

“Hmmmm, I dunno.” she said playfully.

“Please?”

“I’ll speak to your dad.” she said and he smiled at her, the pair of them both knowing full well that Steve was a soft touch when it came to stuff like that. He’d probably be there helping him out with it anyway.

“Ok Mom. Can you make sure Harry doesn’t touch it whilst I’m at school?”

“I’ll keep this door shut, I promise.”  Katie assured him.

He left the room and true to her word Katie shut the door to the den and watched him head up the stairs, passing Aurora who was on her way down with her rucksack, Steve right behind her with their youngest placed on his hip.

“Hi mammamama!” Harry babbled at her and she grinned, taking him off Steve and planting a kiss to his cheek.

“Hi baby!” she grinned as his hand instantly went to grab the chain of her necklace.

“Jamie not planning on going to school today?” Steve asked her with a grin as Rori headed off to find her shoes.

“Tried telling me he was sick so he could stay home and play legos.” she snorted “Soon decided he was ok when I told him that meant no soccer practice tomorrow morning.” Steve shook his head, smiling to himself.

“Daddy?” Rori tugged on his trouser leg and he turned his attention to her.

“What’s up Princess?”

“I can’t find my sneakers.”

“Where did you leave them?” he asked, his hand gently dropping to the back of her head.

“Erm…” she pondered for a moment, before she looked up at her mom bashfully.

“Somebody left them in the middle of the lounge…” Katie looked at her. “So the Fairies put them away.”

“Sorry…” Rori wrinkled her nose and blinked up at her mom.

“It’s ok. They’re on the shoe rack sweetie.” Katie nodded to the kitchen in the direction of the utility room located at the back of the house.  

“Thanks momma.” she said, running off to retrieve them.

“What time does Emmy’s train get in?” Steve looked at Katie.

“Just after twelve.” Katie said, blowing a raspberry on Harry’s cheek. “I’ll meet her and then take her straight to get inked…” Steve let out a breath from his nose. All Emmy had talked about since turning 21st was a tattoo. Steve wasn’t particularly sure he approved but then what could he do? She was an adult now. Katie hadn’t been bothered, but then as she’d pointed out, she had a big enough one on her thigh so it would be fairly hypocritical if she had. Emmy had won Steve over though when she’d asked him to draw it for her. She’d described what she wanted, a small Phoenix type bird that would sit just above her ankle. So after a few designs and sketches she’d finally settled on something she wanted and after a consultation she was having it done this afternoon.  

“You staying with her?” Steve looked at Katie, concern etched across his face. Katie gave a soft laugh.

“She’s a big girl now Steve but yeah, I’m gonna stay.” she said, tugging on his beard playfully.

“Good.” he nodded, jerking his head out of reach. “Do you need me to pick the kids up later or…”

“No, by the time their afterschool clubs are done we’ll have finished so I’ll do it.” she smiled as Rori came back, sneakers in her hand. She sat on the bottom step and proceeded to push her feet into the pink converse, Steve crouching down on one knee to tie her shoelaces for her.

“Thanks daddy.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart.” he said, dropping a kiss to her head before he turned to look up the stairs “Jamie! Come on!”

“I’m coming…” came the surly reply, and no sooner had they heard it he appeared at the top of the steps, rucksack in hand.

“Drop the attitude.” Steve said sternly as Jamie trudged down the stairs, scowling. Steve looked at Katie, raising his eyebrow as their eldest son stalked past them, heading to the door, Rori running behind him.

“Wait for me Jay…” she called, her small feet slapping on the tiles of the hallway as she went.

“Told you…” Katie said, smirking “He’s a mini you…”

“That filthy look he had on his face? That is a Stark expression.” Steve said, looking back at her as he picked Rori’s rucksack up.

“Is not.” Katie laughed “That’s the face you make whenever someone’s pissing you off.”

Steve gave a snort before he dropped a soft kiss to her lips, making Harry shriek.

“Kissy!” he laughed.

“See you later.” Steve smiled against her mouth “Love you.” “You too” she said, and with a last peck and a ruffle of Harry’s hair he headed after Jamie and Rori, barking out an instruction for them to quit their squabble over who was sitting in the front seat.

“Easy solution…” Katie heard Steve say loudly “You can both get in the back. End of discussion.”

Their protest’s died as the door snapped shut.

Katie chuckled to herself and looked at Harry “Shall we get you ready to go too baby boy?”

“Go!” he nodded, grinning. 

*******

Katie’s morning was reasonably easy. A meeting and a manuscript to review which she’d managed to do by half 11. Changing out of her office clothes into a loose pair of sweats, trainers and a hoody she headed out and made her way to Grand Central.

She spotted Emmy emerging into the main terminal and swept her daughter up into a hug.

“Hey mom.” Emmy said, squeezing her back.

“Ready to go get inked?” Katie asked, Emmy grinned and slung her satchel over one shoulder, linking her arm through her mom’s.

“You eaten?” Katie asked as they walked out into the early April sun.

“Yeah, followed the instructions.” Emmy nodded.

“Good.” Katie said. “Nervous?”

“A little.” Emmy shrugged “It’s gonna hurt right?”

“It’s not so bad.” Katie shrugged, “Some places hurt more apparently but…most important thing to remember is if you need a break just ask.”

“Ok.”

The two women walked a few blocks, catching up. It had been a couple of weeks since Emmy was home, fast approaching the last few weeks of the semester at Harvard before her exams started. All of her marks so far had been sky high, leaving her parents immensely proud, although both had taken great pains to tell her that they didn’t care what the outcome was, as long as she tried her best.

Eventually they reached the place and Emmy opened the door, stepping in. David, the man that had done the consultation a few weeks back beckoned them both through.

“Ok, so…” he said, tilting the screen to show Emmy the picture of her design he’d scanned “I gotta say I’m excited about this one, it’s pretty unique.”

“My dad drew it.” Emmy beamed.

“It’s phenomenal.” David smiled “I had to sharpen some of the lines up but there’s no major changes. Are you happy with it?”

Emmy nodded.

“Ok, and yours Mrs Rogers…” David clicked and the imaged changed. “The touches we’re adding to your thigh are fairly straight forward but this one…this is what I think it is right?”

Katie nodded.

“Awesome…” David smiled, and hit print and stood up to collect both the prints.

“Have you told Dad?” Emmy looked at her. Katie smirked and shook her head.

“Nope.” she popped the p on the word “Thought it would be a nice surprise when he gets to see it later.” “I’m not sure if I should be grossed out by that thought or not.” Emmy mumbled and Katie simply laughed.

Just over 2 and a half hours later they were done, leaving the parlour with strict after care instructions. Emmy had hardly flinched through hers, whereas Katie’s new one had been slightly uncomfortable due to the placing.

“Think that earned us a beer…” Katie said checking her watch. “Come on, we got time before we need to collect the heathens.”

***** “Show me! Show me!”  Rori demanded.

“You can’t see it yet short stuff.” Emmy said fondly “It’s still wrapped up.”

“When can you unwrap it?” Jamie asked.

“Another hour or so yet.” Katie answered “So quit bugging your sister and go put your school bags away.”

“Emmy do you wanna watch Sponge Bob with me?” Rori asked. 

“Only if we can sing the special song…” Emmy grinned, holding her hand out for a hi-five. Rori giggled, and slapped her smaller palm against her sister’s.

“What special song?” Katie looked at her.

“Oh just a variation on the theme tune we made up.” Emmy said, grinning mischievously 

“I dread to think.” Katie muttered, watching Jamie and Rori head up stairs to deposit their rucksacks in their room.

Katie bustled around making dinner, simple spaghetti and meatballs as requested by all 4 kids…well, the elder 3…Harry merely clapped his hands and yelled “getty” in agreement. She was stood stirring the sauce when she heard Steve walk through the door an toss his keys onto the table in the hall little under an hour later. 

“Daddy’s home!” she heard Rori shriek and a moment later Steve chuckled.

“Hey…” he said, sweeping her up and placing a kiss on her cheek. He carried her through to the kitchen where he greeted Harry with a ruffle of the hair as he sat by the table doodling on a pad with Emmy.

“Hi sweetie.” Steve said, as Emmy stood up to give him a hug. “How was the tattooing?”

“Good.” she nodded, “Oh, actually, mom….should I unwrap it now?”

“Errr, yeah.” Katie said, turning the heat down on the stove and accepting the kiss Steve offered. “Can you watch these 2. I’ll go help Emmy out…”

“Sure.” Steve said, “Where’s Jamie?”

“2 guesses” Katie grinned at him and Steve shook his head, smiling, knowing full well that meant he was nose deep in lego.

Katie and Emmy bounded up the stairs and returned about 15 minutes later, Emmy proudly showing off the design on her right ankle. Steve had to admit, it did look pretty good, but then he would say that, he drew it after all.

They dragged Jamie out of the den for dinner, where the boy managed 2 helpings before he ran off again, almost having a meltdown when Katie told him he had to share the den as Rori wanted to watch Cartoons. One stern look from Steve nipped the tantrum in the bud and the 4 kids departed once dishes had been deposited in the sink, Katie waving away Emmy’s offer to help, telling her to go spend some time with her siblings. It didn’t take her and Steve long to clear down and they were heading towards the living room to collapse onto the sofa together, but the shriek and cheers coming from the den made them both stop in their tracks.

“What on Earth are they watching?”  Steve looked at his wife.

“Sponge Bob, apparently…” Katie said. The two looked at one another, before they headed back towards the den and peeked through the door which was open a crack.

Emmy was stood, swaying with Harry held on her hip, the pair of them laughing, whilst Jamie was doing some kind of strange running man dance as Rori bounced up and down on the sofa as the opening credits began to roll. Emmy opened her mouth and started singing along to the opening theme tune in a pirate voice.

Only she wasn’t singing the theme tune. They were completely different words.

“Who lived as a Capsicle under the sea?” Emmy paused to look at Jamie and Rori who both yelled back in chorus, Harry mimicking them as best he could whilst clapping his hands.

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

Steve blinked, looked at Katie, his mouth dropping open as she burst out laughing at the look of utter confusion and perplexment on his face. She pushed the door open further and all the kids turned to see their parents watching them. But instead of stopping, they continued to sing even louder at Steve as he folded his arms and leaned against the door frame.

“Saluting a hello and killing Nazis…” Emmy continued

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

“If patriotism be something you wish…”

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

By this point Katie was laughing that hard she couldn’t breathe. She doubled over, tears pouring from her face as the kids continued their relentless serenade to their father.

“Then throw a big shield and punch with your fist…”

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

That was it. Steve couldn’t keep his face straight any longer and he too started to laugh, grinning as Rori ran over to him and pulled on his hands dragging him into the room to make him twirl her round.

Eventually the song stopped and the room was simply filled with laughter which died down. Steve wiped his eyes and looked at his kids before he crossed his arms.

“You’re all grounded.” he smirked, and then ran as they started pelting him with throw cushions.

****

Later that night, as always, Steve couldn’t stop his eyes from roving his wife’s body as she walked out of the en-suite and into the bedroom, dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of sleep shorts ready for bed. As he lounged on top of the duvet, back propped up against the headboard, his gaze travelled down the lines of her body and he frowned as he spotted something on her thigh that looked different.

Suddenly it dawned on him what it was.

“Is that…is that a new tattoo?” Steve sat up, looking at her leg then to her face, and back again.

“Technically it’s an addition to an existing one.” Katie grinned as she made her way to the bed and knelt up in front of Steve. His hands gently fell to her hips as he examined the new ink. The area surrounding one of the 4 stars that formed part of the original tattoo had been shaded with red and gold in a water colour effect. He didn’t need her to explain, but she did anyway.

“That’s for Tony.” she said softly, “And these…” she pointed out 4 additional stars she’d had placed within the existing design “One for each of the kids.”

“Not one for me?” he eventually pouted playfully, looking back up at her.

She bit her lip and grinning slightly, pulled his shirt over her head leaving her top half naked, and she turned her torso slightly the left, holding her arm over her breasts so he could see. His eyes widened as he saw the design that was now etched onto her skin just underneath her left breast on her rib cage.

It was his wings. The wings he had worn on his helmet. The wings adopted by the Howlies as their symbol in the war. And above that sat a star that was the same as the others on her thigh.

“That’s for you…” she said softly.

Steve was struggling for words. There was something he was finding outrageously sexy about the fact she’d had that placed somewhere that no one would really see other than him. And something ridiculously sentimental about the design she had chosen.

“Do you like it Soldier?” she asked softly, biting her lip.

He looked up at her, smiling as his hands gripped her bare waist and he pulled her down with him so she was led on top of him. “I love it.”

“I love you…” she grinned, melting into his arms as his hands ran up her bare back, her nose nudging his softly.

“Back at ya pretty girl.” he smirked, before his lips claimed hers in a heated kiss.

 **Original Posting**

[iknowiknowiknowtheend]

part: another one. I still dontt remember how many o these ive done...

hi so ive been grounded n shit so thats nice- thats generally irrelavnt to most things but im mentioning it anyway. i will say that there probably more typing errors and that would be from me typing on an actual keyboard ad no autocorrect. anyway ive been doin’ some thinkin and ive swapped some stuff around so if youve read a few of these before- congrats, heres some updated bullshit.

ive changed sleep boys(now including fundy) family dynamic bullshit so the general age ranges for them all would be closer together. Phil is still techno and wilburs dad, hes just fundys now too (before wilbur had been fundys dad but fundys a teen so wilbur would have to be at least in his late thirties and thats lame so ajustments have been made).

also tommy is their cousin. 

so to anyone who mighve been thinkin “i thought it was like (blah blah blah)” wilbur no longer is fundys dad, nor has he had a fish lady for a wife. wilbur is probably like 26 and technos like 24 or smth idfk. fundys still a teen though, closer to tommys age n all. fundy is the rlly younger brother. 

anyway going away from the retconning-

etcetera etcetera memes n shit ya know

sometimes I’ll add little info/description lines next to drawings.

one on an eret sketch is “only slightly malicious”

technos a strawberry blonde with the naturally tinted pink hair but he still dyes it so it’s suuuuuper pink

fundy, tommy and tubbo are all about the same age and are friends.

wilbur is like the only full human in their entire family because I think philza got wings.

technos part pig, phils got wings, fundy is a fox boy and wilbur .

cooper and charlie always have an escape plan, Teds plans always fall through and/or he gets them into trouble.

additional stuff about the chaotic trio that is coop charles and ted- charlie and cooper are like the idiot henchmen and ted is the evil mastermind. thats their whole dynamic. that and coop and charlie drive ted up the fuckin wall-

schlatt is a cryptid.

well— he was

like “oh yeah there’s this weird goat man who lives out in the woods, he’s kinda a scam artist,, if you see him and he tries to sell you something, don’t buy it.”

“pft that’s fuckin dumb there’s no way that’s real.”

and no one ever really goes to check because if he actually did exist all he’d do is try to sell them something and you know everyone hates that. it wasn’t worth it.

then his house burnt down and he left the deep dark forest to go knock on peoples doors.

no matter the spook- everyone always hides behind wilbur. always. hes too tall to not immediately be hid behind. 

minx n schlatt are my favorite duo in this au bs because it always ends in hijinks and weird shit.

like schlatt could turn 500 years old and minx would throw him a shitty bd party acting like he just turned 6. she’d slap a party hat on him, get one of those party horns and a ton of shitty confetti and just start screamin.

ah i was gonna just write something but i forgot what it was ahah im so good at this :,)

oH YEAH! uh schlatt as waterfalls coming out of your mouth by glass animals for obvious reasons. i was listening to it earlier and i was like “wait a fckin minute,,,” i think i might’ve been unintentionally/subconsciously been influenced by that- oops.

oh and dream as rue by gir

i havent talked much about sapnap because ive been at a bit of a loss on what to with him but ive figured some shit out so now this is a sapnap au info dump.

sap has a fire sigil like schlatt. makes sense because of his whole arson thing- his sigil is on one of his wrists. sapnap is a fairly well known arsonist- total fuckin criminal. the entirety of the dream team are criminals. uh hes probably best compared to flyn fuckin rider, hes got the dumb fuckin criminal dude with the finger snaps and the winks and the princess woo-ing. for a while he travels around with skeps and bad (an angel, an arsonist and a agent of chaos walk into a bar). that whole thing is bad just trying to stop sap and skeppy from setting the entire fuckin world on fire and bad succeeds probably about 85% in stopping that and its honestly the best anyone couldve done, so good for him. evetually he meets dream and george, following them around for a while. 

im gonna add kaceytron an im thinking of starting something with her, sap and karl. i watched the post-loh date and knew that i had to do this. kacey is gonna be like a princess or something who takes a liking to sapnap and also has an uncanny thirst for destruction and chaos. so basically saps like “hey mama ur pretty n shit” and shes like “yeah i am- ur kinda cute, whats up?” and then they go burn an entire vilage to the ground. karl is their impulse control.

kacey knows minx- idk how but she does. 

im gonna add niki because shes adorable

uh thats all i can think up rn. sorry for not posting but i literally cant post any art so :,)

[aion-rsa]

The Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes That Best Define the Franchise

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By the time my generation got to watch Star Trek: The Original Series, the episodes often were being presented in top-ten marathons. When I was ten-years-old, for the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek, I tape-recorded a marathon of ten episodes that had all been voted by fans as the best-ever installments of The Original Series. Later, I got lucky and found Trek stickers at the grocery store and was able to label my VHS tapes correctly. But do I think all the episodes that were in that marathon back in 1991 were really the best episodes of all of the classic Star Trek? The short answer: no. Although I love nearly every episode of the first 79 installments of Star Trek, I do think that certain lists have been created by what we think should be on the list rather than what episodes really best represent the classic show. 

This is a long-winded way of saying, no, I didn’t include “Amok Time” or “The Menagerie” on this list because, as great as they are, I don’t think they really represent the greatest hits of the series. Also, if you’ve never watched TOS, I think those two episodes will throw you off cause you’ll assume Spock is always losing his mind or trying to steal the ship. If you’ve never watched TOS, or you feel like rewatching it with fresh eyes, I feel pretty strong that these 10 episodes are not only wonderful, but that they best represent what the entire series is really about. Given this metric, my choice for the best episode of TOS may surprise you…

10. “The Man Trap” 

The first Star Trek ever episode aired should not be the first episode you watch. And yet, you should watch it at some point. The goofy premise concerns an alien with shaggy dog fur, suckers on its hand, and a face like a terrifying deep-sea fish. This alien is also a salt vampire that uses telepathy that effectively also makes it a shapeshifter. It’s all so specifically bonkers that trying to rip-off this trope would be nuts. Written by science fiction legend George Clayton Johnson (one half of Logan’s Run authorship) “The Man Trap” still slaps, and not because Spock (Leonard Nimoy)  tries to slap the alien. Back in the early Season 1 episodes of Star Trek, the “supporting” players like Uhura and Sulu are actually doing stuff in the episode. We all talk about Kirk crying out in pain when the M-113 creature puts those suckers on his face, but the real scene to watch is when Uhura starts speaking Swahili. The casual way Uhura and Sulu are just their lovable selves in this episode is part of why we just can’t quit the classic Star Trek to this day. Plus, the fact that the story is technically centered on Bones gives the episode some gravitas and oomph. You will believe an old country doctor thinks that salt vampire is Nancy! (Spoiler alert: It’s not Nancy.)

9. “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield” 

There are two episodes everyone always likes to bring up when discussing the ways in which Star Trek changed the game for the better in pop culture’s discourse on racism: “Plato’s Stepchildren” and this episode, “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield.” The former episode is famous because Kirk and Uhura kiss, which is sometimes considered the first interracial kiss on an American TV show. (British TV shows had a few of those before Star Trek, though.) But “Plato’s Stepchildren” is not a great episode, and Kirk and Uhura were also manipulated to kiss by telepaths. So, no, I’m not crazy about “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Uhura being forced to kiss a white dude isn’t great.

But “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield,” oddly holds up. Yep. This is the one about space racism where the Riddler from the ‘60s Batman (Frank Gorshin) looks like a black-and-white cookie. Is this episode cheesy? Is it hard to take most of it seriously? Is it weird that Bele (Frank Gorshin) didn’t have a spaceship because the budget was so low at that time? Yes. Is the entire episode dated, and sometimes borderline offensive even though its heart is in the right place? Yes. Does the ending of the episode still work? You bet it does. If you’re going to watch OG Star Trek and skip this episode, you’re kind of missing out on just how charmingly heavy-handed the series could get. “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield” is like a ‘60s after-school special about racism, but they were high while they were writing it.

8. “Arena”

You’re gonna try to list the best episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and not list the episode where Kirk fights a lizard wearing gold dress-tunic? The most amazing thing about “Arena” is that it’s a Season 1 episode of The Original Series and somehow everyone involved in making TOS had enough restraint not to ever try to use this Gorn costume again. They didn’t throw it away either! This famous rubber lizard was built by Wah Chang and is currently owned by none other than Ben Stiller.

So, here’s the thing about “Arena” that makes it a great episode of Star Trek, or any TV series with a lizard person. Kirk refuses to kill the Gorn even though he could have, and Star Trek refused to put a lizard costume in a bunch of episodes later, even though they totally could have. Gold stars all around.

7. “Balance of Terror”

The fact that Star Trek managed to introduce a race of aliens that looked exactly like Spock, and not confuse its viewership is amazing. On top of that, the fact that this detail isn’t exactly the entire focus of the episode is equally impressive. The notion that the Romulans look like Vulcans is a great twist in The Original Series, and decades upon decades of seeing Romulans has probably dulled the novelty ever so slightly. But, the idea that there was a brutally cold and efficient version of the Vulcans flying around in invisible ships blowing shit up is not only cool, but smart.

“Balance of Terror” made the Romulans the best villains of Star Trek because their villainy felt personal. Most Romulan stories in TNG, DS9, and Picard are pretty damn good and they all start right here.

6. “Space Seed”

Khaaaan!!!! Although The Wrath of Khan is infinitely more famous than the episode from which it came, “Space Seed” is one of the best episodes of The Original Series even if it hadn’t been the progenitor of that famous film. In this episode, the worst human villain the Enterprise can encounter doesn’t come from the present, but instead, the past. Even though “Space Seed” isn’t considered a very thoughtful episode and Khan is a straight-up gaslighter, the larger point here is that Khan’s evilness is connected to the fact that he lived on a version of Earth closer to our own.

The episode’s coda is also amazing and speaks of just how interesting Captain Kirk really is. After Khan beat the shit out of him and tried to suffocate the entire Enterprise crew, Kirk’s like “Yeah, this guy just needs a long camping trip.” 

5. “A Piece of the Action”

A few years back, Saturday Night Live did a Star Trek sketch in which it was revealed that Spock had a relative named “Spocko.” This sketch was tragically unfunny because TOS had already made the “Spocko” joke a million times better in “A Piece of the Action.” When you describe the premise of this episode to someone who has never seen it or even heard of it, it sounds like you’re making it up. Kirk, Spock, and Bones are tasked with cleaning-up a planet full of old-timey mobsters who use phrases like “put the bag on you.” Not only is the episode hilarious, but it also demonstrates the range of what Star Trek can do as an emerging type of pop-art. In “A Piece of the Action,” Star Trek begins asking questions about genres that nobody ever dreamed of before. Such as, “what if we did an old-timey gangster movie, but there’s a spaceship involved?”

4. “Devil in the Dark”

When I was a kid, my sister and I called this episode, “the one with giant pizza.” Today, it’s one of those episodes of Star Trek that people tell you defines the entire franchise. They’re not wrong, particularly because we’re just talking about The Original Series. The legacy of this episode is beyond brilliant and set-up a wonderful tradition within the rest of the franchise; a monster story is almost never a monster story

The ending of this episode is so good, and Leonard Nimoy and Shatner play the final scenes so well that I’m actually not sure it’s cool to reveal what the big twist is. If you somehow don’t know, I’ll just say this. You can’t imagine Chris Pratt’s friendly Velicrapotrs, or Ripper on Discovery without the Horta getting their first.

3. “The Corbomite Maneuver” 

If there’s one episode on this list that truly represents what Star Trek is usually all about on a plot level, it’s this one. After the first two pilot episodes —“Where No Man Has Gone Before” and “The Cage”—this was the first regular episode filmed. It’s the first episode with Uhura and, in almost every single way, a great way to actually explain who all these characters are and what the hell they’re doing. The episode begins with Spock saying something is “fascinating” and then, after the opening credits, calling Kirk, who is down in sickbay with his shirt off. Bones gives Kirk shit about not having done his physical in a while, and Kirk wanders through the halls of the episode without his shirt, just kind of holding his boots. 

That’s just the first like 5 minutes. It just gets better and better from there. Like a good bottle of tranya, this episode only improves with time. And if you think it’s cheesy and the big reveal bizarre, then I’m going to say, you’re not going to like the rest of Star Trek. 

2. “The City on the Edge of Forever”

No more blah blah blah! Sorry, wrong episode. Still, you’ve heard about “The City on the Edge of Forever.” You’ve heard it’s a great time travel episode. You’ve heard Harlan Ellison was pissed about how the script turned out. You heard that Ron Moore really wanted to bring back Edith Keeler for Star Trek Generations. (Okay, maybe you haven’t heard that, but he did.)

Everything you’ve heard about this episode is correct. There’s some stuff that will make any sensible person roll their eyes today, but the overall feeling of this episode is unparalleled. Time travel stories are always popular, but Star Trek has never really done a time travel story this good ever again. The edge of forever will always be just out of reach.

1. “A Taste of Armageddon”

Plot twist! This excellent episode of TOS almost never makes it on top ten lists. Until now! If you blink, “A Taste of Armageddon” could resemble at least a dozen other episodes of TOS. Kirk and Spock are trapped without their communicators. The crew has to overpower some guards to get to some central computer hub and blow it up. Scotty is in command with Kirk on the surface and is just kind of scowling the whole time. Kirk is giving big speeches about how humanity is great because it’s so deeply flawed.

What makes this episode fantastic is that all of these elements come together thanks to a simplistic science fiction premise: What if a society eliminated violence but retained murder? What if hatred was still encouraged, but war was automated? Star Trek’s best moments were often direct allegories about things that were actually happening, but what makes “A Taste of Armageddon” so great is that this metaphor reached for something that could happen. Kirk’s solution to this problem is a non-solution, which makes the episode even better. At its best classic Star Trek wasn’t just presenting a social problem and then telling us how to fix it. Sometimes it was saying something more interesting — what if the problem gets even harder? What do we do then? 

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The humor and bombast of “A Taste of Armageddon” is part of the answer to that unspoken question, but there’s also a clever lesson about making smaller philosophical decisions. In Star Wars, people are always trying to rid themselves of the dark side of the Force. In Star Trek, Kirk just teaches us to say, “Hey I won’t be a terrible person, today” and then just see how many days we can go in a row being like that.

What do you think are the most franchise-defining episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series? Let us know in the comments below.

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