#it was so hard to narrow the songs down but i decided not to repeat any artists and that helped lol

[truefandemonium]

Part 1/? of my Thanos xFem!Reader thirst fic (unrelated to my previously posted fic cover) Hope y’all enjoy and uhhhh keep an eye out for part two I guess? 😭 (this was written for @i-think-youre-a-work-of-art pls keep all replies and reblogs SFW thank you) also tagging @heavenlyraindrops Ty all for reading! 🫰

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Princess and the Pills (pt. 1/?)

Thanos xFem!Reader, fluff, angst, toxic!Thanos, but also sweet!Thanos, Nam-gyu abuse sksksks, SFW, some mild spicy talk, cuddling, uhhhh idr what else is in this part, drug use, swearing { pt. 2 }

*✨*✨*✨*

You hear him before you see him, and his butter smooth voice makes you wish you never turned around. “Señoríta,” he purrs, pulling his jumpsuit jacket collar higher around his neck. “I couldn’t help but notice— you’re all alone out here. Y’know, I could protect you.”

“I can manage just fine, thanks,” you bite back, not looking to make any friends here. Least of all… this guy.

The man’s nose wrinkles in disbelief, his brows shooting upward. “Oh yeah? Well— we could still make a pretty good team. Keep each other safe, y’know?” His expression calms, and you find him… almost handsome with the small smile playing on his lips, sunlight dancing in his purple tipped hair from above. He continues with a growing smirk, “Keep each other warm.”

You scoff, rolling your eyes hard as you nudge past him, and you feel him practically cower from your touch as you do so, your shoulder knocking him backward a foot or two. “Whatever.”

Before you can completely remove yourself from his vicinity, you feel his warm hand wrap around your wrist, a surprisingly gentle touch in comparison to his furious eyes as he pulls you to face him.

You suck in a gasp at his proximity, his face only inches from yours as he studies you. His gaze flicks over your expression, down to your lips for a fraction of a second longer than anywhere else, and then back up to your eyes, where he narrows his own and lets go.

“Don’t forget you got a place to come running,” he assures you with a sniff, tipping his chin skyward. “I’m Thanos.”

“Thanos,” you repeat, taking your turn to look him over. “You got the infinity stones?”

Thanos’ eyes light up in amusement, and he nods, holding up his hand to begin counting off each painted finger. “Red, orange, yellow, green, I’m a legend, Thanos.” His smile after that seals the deal, and you decide to humor him.

“So what made you choose me, huh? To team up with?” you ask, crossing your arms. You didn’t understand it. He must want something from you. Why else would he seek you out?

“You kiddin’?” he snorts. “I’d have to be crazy not to snatch up the prettiest girl in this whole place.”

You roll your eyes again. Ah. “Right,” you say. “What about your buddy over there, hm? He seems pretty attached to you.” Your eyes fall over to the man shifting from foot to foot several yards away, pushing his greasy hair from his face to look toward Thanos.

“Wha— Nam-gyu? Nah, he aight,” Thanos says with a shrug, “But you?” He shakes his head before nodding to a silent rhythm and spouting a few lines of rap; “In the sea of faces, you caught my eye. My beauty, my flower blooming among weeds…” His teeth shine in the sunlight as he grins and tugs the front of his jacket. “Look at us in this blue-green. Now give me the green LIGHT.” He dramatically spreads his arms above his head and shoots the sky a wide smile, looking back at you with a raised brow as he positions his finger and thumb into a tiny heart. “I. Like. You.”

You smack a hand over your mouth, a small giggle erupting from your chest. Laughter, but also… something else. Something warm, and fuzzy. You tamp it down and turn away, dropping your hand.

“Cute song,” you say quietly, dismissing him along with whatever feeling just rose in you.

“See you at the finish line, girly,” Thanos bids you farewell, waving one bejeweled hand before disappearing into the crowd.

You force the image of his endearing smile and buttery voice from your mind as you ready yourself behind the starting point and listen to the game rules.

Before the game starts, some maniac begins screaming about how everyone will die if they move during red light. Yeah, you think annoyedly, that’s how you get disqualified, idiot. Had this loser never played red light green light before?

“He on some crazy shit,” a familiar voice sounds over your shoulder. You turn to curl your lip at Thanos and shrug in agreement.

“He’s kinda right,” you say, itching to disagree with the purple haired rapper if only to see his eyes alight with fury again. “Though that ugly doll already told us all of this a minute ago.”

“How much you wanna bet he’s totally bonkers,” Thanos whispers to you, shifting closer to your side. You resist the urge to lean into the warmth he offers and instead square off, shooting him a sideways glare and nudging him away with your elbow.

“Quit distracting me,” you hiss, listening as the doll sings ‘green light’ melodically.

The man far in front of you screams to run and you obey, booking it forward several feet and hoping Thanos biffed it somewhere behind you.

Soon, you’re stuck at your fourth red light, and no one has been eliminated yet. Which is honestly— amazing. You remember playing this in school and there were kids that would throw tantrums after getting ‘out’ on the first turn.

And then something in front of you catches your eye.

“Is that a bee?” Thanos whispers dumbly from beside you. He’s stayed pretty much right at your side since the game started, and you’ve avoided his incessant blabbing successfully up until now.

“What?” you whisper back, staying carefully frozen.

Thanos chuckles. “The chick in front of you. She’s got a bee on her neck.” You can hear the smirk in his voice as he says, “Surprised it couldn’t tell you’re the only flower around here.”

“Just leave it,” you scold him, but he calls out anyway.

“Hey, senorita!”

The girl shifts. “Huh?” she squeaks.

“You got a bee on ya,” Thanos giggles playfully as the girl wails and flails and screams and leaps until the bug is long gone. Casting a teasing smile at Thanos, she muses, “Huh. I moved! Guess I’m out—”

A sound rings out and echoes painfully in your ears, a hot spray hitting your face at the same time. You blink the dark liquid from your eyes in confusion, trying to figure out what just happened, and then you see the body.

A sharp inhale of breath prompts you to turn your gaze to the side, but you’re stopped by a scream.

“HOLD STILL!” the crazy man in front wails at you, his voice commanding attention. But it’s too late. People have seen it: the body of the girl in the sand, blood staining the ground around her.

Shrieks of fear echo around the courtyard as people begin running for the exit, frantic.

“They’ll shoot you if you move, just HOLD STILL!” the same man cries, his tone almost pleading now. It takes all of your willpower to stay upright and steady as the shots ring out one after the other. Screams of pain and horror cut short by loud bangs and splatters of blood.

Until all falls silent, and the rules are repeated over the loudspeaker. The man calling out to you speaks again after green light. No one moves.

“You have to move before the timer runs out or they’ll still shoot you!” he says, but you’re no longer listening.

You tip your head up from where you’d been watching the still body of the bee-girl, and look at Thanos instead. He’s trembling, his eyes wide and slightly glazed over as he stares at the corpse at his feet.

“We have to move,” you tell him as the light turns red once more, then green again. Your heart is in your throat. You don’t know why you’re bothering to talk with this psycho— you’re here to win. Well… now you’re here to survive.

But Thanos doesn’t even look at you. With his eyes still glued to the girl’s dead body, he scrambles at the crucifix around his neck, popping open the metal locket top and digging out a small colored pill.

His hands shake so violently that the crucifix tips, and several of his stash tumble out and into the bloody dirt below. Thanos curses, his voice breaking as he drops to his knees and begins frantically picking them out of the sand, stuffing one into his mouth in pure panic.

“Thanos,” you hiss, heart starting to stutter like it’s threatening to stop completely. “Move.”

He slams his eyes shut for a second as he bites down on the pill, his hands still shaking hard as he drops a few dirty pills back into his locket and snaps it closed.

“I can’t,” he whispers back, opening his eyes again, but unable to meet your gaze. You feel sick.

The kook in front of the group that’s leaving you behind yells for you to run, and you take off, ignoring the nagging voice telling you to drag Thanos along with you.

Time doesn’t feel right as the minutes tick down on the giant clock, but only a few rounds of the game have passed.

You feel like it’s been days under the hot sun, watching people die around you as you strive for an unreachable finish line. You force yourself not to wonder if Thanos made it— his body is probably lying in a pool of blood and mysterious colored pills thousands of yards behind you by now.

You clear your mind of him— of everything— as you run without fear. Pure adrenaline keeps your legs from buckling beneath you as your feet pound the earth, sweat trickling in rivulets down the sides of your face. Some from the heat and exertion— more from complete and utter terror.

You’re close to the finish line, now. Red light seems to drag on this time, and a man several feet in front of you is blasted directly in the head, showering you in gore.

You suck down lungfuls of air to keep your stomach from flipping as you listen for ‘green light’ and make your mad dash for the finish line.

As you dart out, someone trips and collapses hard in the sand just in front of you, body checking you off trajectory and sending you spinning. You yelp, shifting midair and falling back, having flipped a complete 180 degrees to face the back of the courtyard.

“Red Light.”

Shit.

Time slows as you make your descent, the sound of the doll’s whirring head turning to spot your movement the only thing you can hear.

But instead of the hard ground beneath you, followed by a gunshot, you feel a jolt as you’re caught by the front of your shirt and held in a vice grip. You don’t want to open your eyes, too afraid to see who saved your life. Maybe you’re already dead.

But you open them anyway, and you realize you left your heart in the sand with Thanos at the start of the game.

The rapper stares ahead, his brow knitted in concentration, his arm flexed and holding onto your jumpsuit firmly to keep you from landing on your back. You blink up at him in bewilderment. In confusion.

Why would he risk himself to save you after what you did?

But when he finally looks down at you, it makes sense. His brows bounce, shooting you that award winning smile with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. “Tag,” he giggles, his eyes wild and dangerous.

Yet somehow, you’ve never felt so safe.

As the green light sounds, he yanks you back to your feet hard, and you collide with his chest, hands coming up to brace you.

His strong hands grip either side of your upper arms, his lip stuck in a thoughtful pout as he stares into your eyes menacingly. He exhales slowly, eating up precious seconds of running time to curl his lip and let out a little growl. You can’t decipher his coded sounds, but relief floods you as the scouring expression disappears and he grabs one of your hands in his own, the unnaturally cheery demeanor back in full force.

“Let’s GO!” Thanos whoops, breaking into a run, clutching your hand like a lifeline as he drags you along with him toward the finish line.

You feel lighter than air as you’re pulled behind this crazed man, the sounds of gunshots broken up by his joy filled laughter. Only seconds before the final red light, you and Thanos explode over the painted white line at the end of the track, and stumble into the crowd. Battered by elbows from every direction, the two of you topple to the sand, limbs tangling as Thanos lands beneath you with a deep groan.

You wince as you land square on his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and reveling in a soft grunt that leaves his lips.

“I— sorry,” you pant, your arms bracing you above him on either side of his head. Once recovered, Thanos smiles languidly, his eyes still glazy, but now unregistering and carefree.

One hand slides idly up and lands gently on your waist, his other arm sprawled out as he lies beneath you, apparently content. “No problem,” he coos, shaking his head once. “Didn’t even feel it.”

“No,” you choke, unable to form the words but acutely aware of hundreds of eyes on you in this moment. You want to apologize for leaving him. The reality of that choice feels like a death sentence, though you know you couldn’t have saved him anyway. “I'm sorry for… for ditching you.”

It ends with a question mark, and Thanos’ smile fades slightly. “Didn’t notice,” he rumbles numbly.

You’re about to ask— well, you’re not sure what, but you’re compelled to say a something, when a pair of feet appear above Thanos’ head, and you look up.

Nam-gyu looks down at the two of you, mouth hanging open as he drags his gaze over your compromising position. “Huh,” he muses. “That’s kinda hot.”

“Nam-su!” Thanos belts out, his face breaking back into a buzzed grin. He starts to get up, inadvertently knocking you into the dirt and you tamp down the small amount of hurt at his sudden indifference to you.

The men embrace, Nam-gyu eyeing the cross necklace around his friend’s neck with a hungry gaze.

“It’s Nam-gyu,” he corrects passively, wincing as Thanos shoves him off and proceeds to leap in the air a few times.

“AY, we did it, my friends! First game: SUC-CESS!” the purple haired man whoops, his brown eyes nearly disappearing in the black of his dilated pupils. He cuts his words into multiple pieces, like he’s trying to put emphasis on as much as possible for the shock value.

It makes your stomach flutter against your will: the way his voice pitches high and then falls again, his teeth flashing in the sunlight and contrasting sickeningly with the spatter of crimson on his cheek.

Maybe that’s what’s making your belly hurt: the blood. So much blood. You make the mistake of looking down and find your shoes painted with the stuff. Bright red stains that will eventually fade to a dull brown that you wouldn’t even be able to identify if you hadn’t known the people it had come from.

“Hey, you okay?” That slimy voice sounds in your ear and you look up with a grimace, locking eyes with Nam-gyu and feeling yourself squirm under his scrutiny.

“She’s fine,” Thanos interrupts before you can spew all over Nam-gyu’s shoes, knocking into your side and throwing one arm over your shoulders. He tugs you flush against his side, under his arm and you’re surprised to find the musk permeating his jumpsuit is… nice. Sweat, sure, but also a lingering cologne and the strong smell of fresh ink, which strikes you instantly as odd but incredibly pleasant.

Of course a faint smoky scent remains on his skin, but you don’t pull away quite so quickly from his touch this time.

He turns to grin down at you, eyes half lidded. “Right, jagiya?”

In an attempt to quell the hammering of your heart, you nudge Thanos off of your shoulder and shoot a glare at Nam-gyu, successfully diverting his wolfish gaze back to the ground.

“Yeah, I don’t need either of you jerks, so just leave me alone,” you snap, brushing sand off your knees and trying to take calm breaths, though it’s hard with so many dead bodies lying only feet from you.

Thanos rumbles a laugh. “Yeah, you won’t be saying that for long, sweetheart. Come find my bunk if you get lonely.” You narrow your eyes over your shoulder, hating that his wink and heart gesture combo make you almost double over in adoration before you look away.

You find yourself drawn to the corners of the sandy arena, as far away from anyone else as you can possibly get, but that’s not much because most everyone made it through the game, so you’re surrounded by nearly 400 people at least.

Still, you sit in the corner until the guards lead you back to the large room, and you follow numbly, head aching and stomach still clenched in disgust and horror at what you witnessed. You’re surprised Thanos was so… okay with what happened right in front of him, until you remember the pills. How happy they made him almost instantly.

You’re almost jealous. But more than that, you’re sad for him.

You can’t seem to avoid him, because as soon as you’re all back in the gathering room full of bunk beds, he’s there, sauntering up the stairs in your direction.

“Hey, senorita,” he coos, his eyes watery and big like a puppy’s. “Room for one more?” You’re startled out of a bit of a daydream of returning back home and leaving all this behind, and Thanos is sitting on the other side of your bunk bed with a smirk. Nam-gyu frowns, and you can’t help but smile to yourself at the way they resemble a pair of idiot circus clowns.

“Two more,” he says, shooting daggers in Thanos’ direction.

Thanos doesn’t hear him, nodding his head to a song you can’t hear as you ignore the both of them and stare down at your bagged bread and bottled soda.

Nam-gyu sits solemnly on the steps by your feet, his eyes dragging over you like a snake flicking his tongue to taste the air, and you pull your legs onto the bed in fear.

After a few minutes of silence, you hear a soft hum. You jump hard at Thanos’ hand nudging your own, his eyes full of genuine concern as he lifts your hand holding the packaged bread toward your lips. “Hey, eat up, c’mon,” he urges in a low tone, serious. “A passed out Princess ain’t no good to us,” he teases, his teeth flashing again. His eyes flick down to your unzipped hoodie as he adds, “Sure would be pretty, though.”

You immediately set your food in your lap and zip your tracksuit up, turning your face away. Screw him. And his stupid, weird friend. These guys were junkies, and nothing more. Thanos has NOTHING to offer you, least of all protection in this madhouse. Why believe a word he says?

Because he needs someone to, your mind whispers. You shut your eyes as if that will help make everything go away, silence those thoughts that ring so true.

And you only open them to find Thanos has set half of his own bread in your hand, emptying his soda as he makes his way toward the crowd to vote.

…

It’s that psycho again. Screaming. Grabbing someone and insisting that you all vote to leave.

You want to understand his desperation, but… you have nothing back home. If you return without that money, you’ll be a dead woman anyway.

Your eye lingers on the blue button as the guards break up the fight and order everyone to vote without further conversation between players.

You’re going in order from last to first: 456 taking his turn to hit the red button and stand alone on the far side of the room. You glance at your own number for the first time and realize you’re just ahead of Thanos: 231. Hiding from him, you wait for your number to be called.

You vote when it comes time, pressing the blue ‘O’ with shaky hands and turning around to face the gathered crowd. Two sides: red and blue. Life and death, only not so black and white. To people like you, desperate slobs in more debt than you could ever pay off in a lifetime, voting to leave would be a death sentence.

456 stares you down as you walk with a certain shame toward the blue side, his brown eyes boring into your flesh like flames. He wants you dead, most likely. You don’t look up until you feel a strong hand wrap dexterous fingers around your bicep and your head whips up.

Thanos is there, on his way to the voting buttons, a wicked smile spread across his sharp features. His nails dig into your arm, not enough to hurt you, but a reminder of his closeness. A reminder of his presence. The safety he promises.

And he mutters, “Good girl.”

Your heart is in your throat. You can’t breathe as he releases you and struts the rest of the way to the podium to vote, and you realize that this is the first time you haven’t pulled away from his touch.

[dragonologist-phd]

Six-Song Soundtrack

tagged by @herearedragons!! tysm, this was so much fun- i love playlist games, the hardest part is narrowing it down to just one song for each!

Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following:

An event that defines your character's past

How your character sees themselves

How others view them

Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic)

A major fight scene

End credits song

And since it's a playlist game, i gotta do it for my lovely beautiful bard!

Piper Soundtrack:

Blush - Dessa

Metaphor - The Crane Wives

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

All I've Ever Known - Hadestown Soundtrack // You're Not Going Alone - The rough & Tumble

Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling, Lizzy Hale

Free - Florence + The Machine

(rambling about song choices below)

Blush - Dessa

I'll be Your favorite me Mostly carefree Laughs easily But what you can't see In my routine Is how hard it gets to keep the heartbeat clean ... I think I'm done up on the tight rope I want a love that feels like more than just survival

As a young woman, Piper possessed beauty, grace, and a gift for music. This combination drew the attention of Eliyen Ivaris, an elegant noblewoman who hired on the tiefling bard as a court performer, and soon became her lover.

Eliyen treasured Piper's music and beauty, but it soon became clear she wasn't interested in much beyond. Piper knew this yet stayed, nervous about leaving the security of her position. Finally, the day came when she could not stand to be stifled any longer, and she disappeared with a small fortune in stolen treasures. This relationship- and the consequences of her thievery- stayed with her for some time.

Metaphor - The Crane Wives

I've gotten good at making up metaphors I've gotten good at stretching the truth out of shape And all these words are sweet and meaningless You can't trust a single thing I say

We know her as Piper, but before the Crusades she was Lark. Lyra. Cantrelle. Aria. She was an endless supply of names and stories, and she knew how to get by on nothing more than her golden voice and silver tongue. It was easy- she just had to become what people wanted, until the winds changed and it was time for her to disappear into another mask.

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel River running free, you know how I feel Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life for me And I'm feeling good

And speaking of masks- a song for the valiant Knight-Commander! The beautiful, free-spirited Azata, full of confidence and joy, bringing hope to the people and new life to the blighted lands!

The picture she paints isn't false... but very few people know just how much she's making this all up as she goes

All I've Ever Known - Hadestown Soundtrack

You take me in your arms And suddenly there's sunlight all around me Everything bright and warm And shining like it never did before And for a moment I forget Just how dark and cold it gets All I've ever known is how to hold my own All I've ever known is how to hold my own But now I wanna hold you

You're Not Going Alone - The rough & Tumble

You can stand there stricken at your old front door, Or shake the dust you swore you’d hold You may not belong here, anymore, But you’re not going alone

ok i did do two for this one! had to, sorry

First one is for Arue- her sunshine in the storm, the gentle, brave woman who fills Piper's life with love. She's still amazed they get to be together, and she wouldn't trade their love for the world

And one for Woljif! Piper's best friend; they understand each other on a level nobody else does, and they accidentally help each other become better just by being there

For someone who's been alone so much of her life, Piper can't help but feel blessed to have those two in her life

Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling, Lizzy Hale

If I break the glass then I'll have to fly There's no one to catch me if I take a dive

This song specifically makes me think of Piper in the Abyss, storming the Fleshmarkets and freeing everyone she can, solidifying the change in her alignment from Chaotic Neutral to Chaotic Good. It's suitably dramatic and the violin here makes for some great bard battle music!

Free - Florence + The Machine

Is this how it is? Is this how it's always been? To exist in the face of suffering and death And somehow still keep singing? ... 'Cause I hear the music, I feel the beat And for a moment, when I'm dancing I am free

And this one just seems like a nice closing song! Very suited for Piper, especially as she embraces herself and her life, with all the good and bad that comes with it

if you actually read through all that, god bless. thanks for sticking around!

tagging:

@bugdotpng @dujour13 @camelliagwerm @mordred9971 @orime-stories

@first-talon @miseryscrowned @bladesmitten @big-cheesy-productions @arendaes

@bezelusbubulez @starlightcleric @vigilskept @thesolemnhour @ampleappleamble

@rollofleaf @adozentothedawn @undyingembers @thefathersbride @milesmentis

@serenbach86 @jean-dieu @daisymeade @kaleido-scope-lady

tag list here!

[bagofshinyrocks]

The Whole Bakery

Prompt: How will the boys respond to an S/O who slaps their ass out of nowhere? [Requested by @airghostlyfox]

Featuring: Task Force 141 (CoD: MW2) - John Price, Simon "Ghost" Riley, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, Johnny "Soap" MacTavish (separately) x GN!Reader

Word Count: 0.8k

Warnings: expletives; lightly suggestive content

There he was. Making his morning cup of coffee. Comfortable sleep clothes and sluggish movement. Your handsome partner. 

He had finally freed himself from the blanket web and your comfortable arms, with the intent to go through most of his “honey-do” list that weekend.

And he was so unaware.

That your arm was winding up for a powerful smack to his ass.

John Price

The sound was not as impressive due to his sweatpants, but the way he jerked and slowly put down the things in his hands was reward enough. He did not appreciate it. And he did not turn around.

“Luv,” he said in an even tone. “What the hell was that?”

You rubbed the offended cheek with the same hand, deciding against pinching, as he would win any fight you started. 

“My darling John. Your ass is just so wonderful, I can’t help myself.” 

Both hands gently squeezed his ass. And you pressed an apologetic kiss between his bare shoulder blades.

“You’ve got the whole bakery right here, bubba.” Gentle pats. Still no movement of his neck. “All these buns.”

Finally, he turned around.

He was trying very hard not to smile. Trying not to encourage you. But goddamn, did you look pleased with yourself. Strong arms wrapped around your middle, pressing you to his chest.

“You are-” Kiss. “Such a flirt.” Kiss. “And absolutely shameless.”

You kissed him back and lazily threw your arms over his shoulders.

Behind you, his arm raised itself and smacked your ass as hard as he possibly could. You folded into him with a yelp.

“GOD FUCKIN–!”

Simon Riley

The moment your hand left his cheek, he had turned on you and grabbed you under the armpits.

“Uh oh” was all you had the chance to say before he dragged you off to the nearest wall. He was smiling, but it was the smile that meant you were still in trouble. You chuckled nervously as he settled you against the wall, caging you in and leaning in close.

“You are a cheeky one,” he purred.

“Yessir.”

“Any particular reason we’re playful this morning?”

You wriggled your arms out of his grip, and settled your hands over his ass again. He let you, one of his fingers tapping your nose.

“Well, if you must know, Simon,” you said, adopting a matter-of-fact tone. “It is because your ass is just so delicious looking.”

He snorted at your blunt words and hid his eyes with his hand.

“Bloody hell.”

“I mean, just look at it, lover.” You firmly gripped his ass, squeezing ever so slightly. “All this cake.”

He sighed, but he was still laughing. You’re adorable. He loves you.

Kyle Garrick

You didn’t smack too, too hard. A peace offering for walking around in his boxers and nothing else. Your favorite outfit on him.

But he still jumped and gave you a dirty look.

“It is 8 in the morning, you shit.”

You turned him back around and massaged his ass, humming a cheerful tune. “I’m just gonna knead this yummy dough, don’t mind me.”

“You a cat? Making biscuits?”

You giggled and kissed the back of his neck.

“Oh, have you got some biscuits on you, loverboy.”

He couldn’t help but laugh into his cup, turning himself around and pulling you into his embrace. Soft, coffee-flavored kisses. Then his arms snaking lower, and his own hands settling on your ass.

“I think that’s one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said to me.”

“Sweeter than ‘I love you’?”

He squeezed your ass and pulled you impossibly closer to him.

“Mm,” he sighed into your mouth. “Tied for first.”

You pulled back and narrowed your eyes.

“What? Oh, right. I love you, too, baby.”

Johnny MacTavish

Of all the boys, he has no right to complain. A chronic ass-slapper. Repeat offender groper. Can’t sleep without one hand one you, be it your arm, your stomach, or your leg.

He was singing some song to himself, dancing a little. Background noise that kept him from hearing you until it was too late.

“Steaming bloody-”

You hit him too hard. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. You ducked out of his grasp and started pleading for forgiveness.

“Baby, I’m sorry, that was harder than I meant. I’m sorry. I’m sor- shit.”

A mad scramble around the kitchen island. Never had you run away from your bare-chested Scotsman so quickly.

“Get your arse back here!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Fuck you mean-” He vaulted over the island and you screamed. Like a bird of prey, he grabbed you and dragged you to the couch, falling on top of you with all his weight.

“I’m sorry, baby,” you wheezed.

He smothered your face and neck in kisses, and accepted your apology. He would get you back later. With less force but greater number of ass slaps. You were sure of it.

Enjoy reading this? Here's a link to my other works! Thanks for reading :-)

Posted: 2023 Dec 12

[demialwrites]

Spontaneous Disrespect

I originally wasn't going to put this here but fuck it. I used to write worse. It's just harder to find now because the search function is broken on this website

Rufus profaning his father's memorial. Filth that may come a smidge too close to incest for some under the cut. Mild omorashi and watersports.

One might think Rufus planned this. Because Rufus Shinra is always scheming. Not so. Not today. He decided on a whim to drink an extra cup of coffee before visiting his father's grave. The gravestone was almost grand enough to be called a monument. It was in the signature style of the Shinra building. Mostly black and it screamed oppression and technological advancement. Not the colours Rufus preferred but this was for appearances, only.

Normally, he was content to just talk shit at his father's silent gravestone. He never fails to smugly grin when his father's corpse has no rebuttal. He could stand over the gravestone all day, puffing himself up and listing all the ways he's a better president.

Whether or not it's true.

No, today he had extra coffee on a whim. So halfway through his usual song and dance, he gets the urge to pee.

Rufus goes silent, considering the shiny gravestone below him. One might even think he was being respectful for once. He did hire someone to clean this area regularly to give the illusion of respect.

But no, there's no respect today. The opposite of it.

He takes a step back, to avoid any errant splashes. It takes too long to undo his trousers and the wait makes the pressure grow worse. Once the front of his trousers is open, he is as quick on the draw and to aim as with his beloved shotgun. He leaned forward slightly, putting effort into it. Rufus was tall enough that the piss hit the stone with loud, rapid slapping sounds. He chuckled under his breath. He allowed himself a long, satisfied sigh.

When his bladder would squeeze out no more, he took his hand away from his dick. Confusingly, it was partially hard. If he shifted his weight, it swung awkwardly. He glared down at it, as if it had its own mind and chose to embarrass him at this very moment.

He glanced at the gravestone, then back at his erection. He already soiled it one way. And it's true, Rufus was a person who went all in when he did something.

He removed one of his gloves. Instead of putting it in a pocket, he pressed it between his lips, letting it dangle. Rufus narrowed his eyes at his father's name in particular. He stroked the top of his length to get it nice and hard then his hand settled at the base.

If only his father could see his son's triumph. I bet he didn't see it coming. His hand moved faster at the thought. Holding the glove in his mouth had the convenient effect of muffling his first, soft moan.

Rufus was alive and his father was not. Who was incompetent, now? Can't be competent if you're dead. Clear precum was dribbling out and down the underside. Rufus stroked higher, only to twist his hand back down. His cock glowed with a slimy sheen in the dim light.

He growled quietly through teeth biting into the glove. He repeated the motions a few times, slicking his hand with fresh precum, then adding another layer to the rest of his length. He panted and the glove waved with each breath. From his view, his cock jutted out over the ‘monument’ and he could already picture it covered in white below. It was his favourite colour, anyway. His glove dropped to the ground as he moaned. How fitting.

Rufus tried to hold off as long as he could; daddy deserved as much as his son could give. He growled at the thought, a mix of disgust and pleasurable pressure building in his lower belly. The tipping point was just beyond, resulting in lazy, white splotches spreading and obscuring enough words on the gravestone to make it unreadable.

Rufus sneered. “Finally did something well enough for you, Dad?”

For every second that passed after that, the pleasure dissipated, leaving the disgust behind. He snatched the glove off the ground like it jumped there just to piss him off. He shoved his dick back into his layers of pants and stomped off.

Yet, he’d probably do it again.

[sl-newsie]

Carol Wars (Modern Mush Meyers x OC)

Summary: OC is determined to win at Christmas carol charades… maybe too much.

'It’s the most wonderful time of the year!'

The sound of another oncoming Christmas song makes me groan up at the ceiling. Why, oh why does Mush have to be in charge of choosing the music? Just because it’s his house doesn't mean he always gets to pick!

“You’re playing Christmas music again?” I complain.

Across the kitchen he gives me a deeply dramatic look. “It’s December, Gloria! It’s legal!”

“Yeah Mush but you’ve been playing it nonstop. Aren’t you tired of it by now?”

Mush stops icing cookies and his jaw drops. “How can you ever get tired of Christmas music? Back me up, Race!”

The man in question shrugs. “I’m with Gloria. You’ve got a problem.”

Mush rolls his eyes in defeat just as David walks in. “Davey?”

The bookworm looks between us with uncertainty, trying to resolve peace.

“I’m Jewish but I don’t mind listening to Christmas songs.”

Mush pumps his fist up. “Alright! So you can be the one to decide how we end this argument.”

Leave it to Mush to make everything into a debate. Can’t he just accept that too much of a good thing makes it less special? Even though he is dreamy… Especially in that cute green Christmas sweater.

Davey thinks for a second. “Um… You could do Christmas carol charades?”

Mush grins. “Perfect! Gloria, you go first. Race picks a Christmas song and Davey has to guess what it is. The one who scores the most gets to pick which music we listen to next.”

Interesting. It seems plausible. Granted, Mush has a much better vocabulary of Christmas carols than I do. But I can’t back down without a fight!

“Alright. That’s a fair game,” I grin viciously. “Prepare to lose, Mush! We’re about to start blasting out hard rock music!”

“Never!”

So the game begins! Race thinks for a while and leans over to whisper to me: “Rudolph.”

Piece-a cake!

I hold up my hands to my head, trying to show antlers. Davey’s eyes narrow in thought and he starts guessing.

“Head? Hat? Reindeer?”

I nod repeatedly and point to my ruby sweater and then to my nose.

“Red nose? Rudolph?”

“Yes!” I cheer and high-five with Race. “One point for me!”

“Just wait, Gloria!” Mush threatens as Race walks over to give him his own song.

The dreamboat’s brown eyes light up and he pulls a sour frown. Davey and I have to keep from laughing! Mush stubbornly keeps his grouchy face on and points to his heart.

“The Grinch!” Davey guesses through laughter.

“Right on!” Mush grins and claps me on the back. “You’re up, sweetheart!”

Sweetheart. Mush says it so nonchalantly but I can’t ignore Race’s teasing smirk as he leans in again.

“I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus,” he whispers deviously.

I glare daggers at his cheeky face. He knows exactly how I’ll act this one out. Gee, thanks Race. It’s not enough that he knows about my feelings for Mush but now he has to embarrass me even more! But I can’t let Mush win!

I kneel down and pull on the act of looking like a small child. Wide eyes, gaping mouth. Davey already recognizes that I’m imitating Les.

“A small child?”

I hold up a finger to make him stop and march straight to Mush. Before he can ask and before I can back out, I grip his sweater and pull him into a stiff kiss. It feels so nice... Oh, if only it were real. I’ve wanted to tell him for years but don't want to spoil our friendship. Well, too late now! I am going to win!

I finally pull back to stare at Mush’s speechless face. He must think I’m a twisted joke. Race, on the other hand, ignores the tension and starts trying to hold back a fit of chuckles.

“Wow! You actually kissed him! I didn’t think you had the guts.”

Davey awkwardly clears his throat and says: “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus?”

I nod shakily and move away from Mush, who’s still staring at me. “I win.”

Race shrugs. “Technically it’s a tie but-”

“I win,” I repeat sternly and pivot to walk off into the living room.

Game’s over. End of story. I just had to kiss my best friend to win a game of charades. I deserve the win. Now Christmas is probably going to be weird and I shouldn’t stick around for it. Maybe I should go home early-?

“Knock knock?”

Mush’s soft voice makes me tense up again and I freeze midstep. Curse my stubborn pride! I just had to get over-competitive! Now Mush is gonna taunt me in front of everybody-

“That felt like more than just a nonsense kiss.”

No kidding! That’s because it wasn’t, even though it was supposed to be! And it- Why is he looking at me like that?

“Yeah, about that, um…” I bite my lip and try to discreetly sneak back. “I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.”

In the corner of my eye Mush gets closer and reaches down to lift my chin up. If I weren’t so flustered the sight of his chocolate eyes would be very delightful.

“Me too,” he murmurs gently. Huh? “Can we try it again?”

My brow scrunches. “The kiss or the charades?”

A smile spreads over his adorable face. “Both. I need a rematch.”

In the blink of an eye Mush leans down and captures my lips with his again. But this time we both know it’s real. Not just for a silly game. It’s as if something else has been added to our friendship. Not something that’s spoiling it. If anything, Mush is very encouraging.

“Best Christmas gift ever,” he grins when he pulls back. “You have no clue how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

I shake my head and can’t stop smiling. “You can play any music you want, Mush.”

He pretends to think. “How about All I Want For Christmas is Y-?”

I shove a hand over his cute mouth. “I swear if you pick that overplayed song I’m going to-!”

“What? Kiss me again?” Mush asks excitedly. “Sounds good to me!”

He bends me over for a deeper kiss and I swear he’s trying to squeeze me to death. I should have spoken up a long time ago-

“They’re kissing again!”

Mush and I both tense up and whip out heads around to look at Race, who’s grinning mischievously. He gives us the thumbs-up and dashes back down the hall.

“Albert, you owe me ten bucks!”

We look back at each other and shrug, leaning in for another kiss as Santa Baby starts blaring from the kitchen.

[redstainedsocks]

Gifts Offered

I know I haven't posted much of any writing for... way too long, but I had a seasonal idea for my Weight of Earth series and I managed to make it happen! Huzzah! Enjoy. Second part will be queued to post tomorrow :)

Masterlist

Contents: General captivity vibes, angst, impending danger, Christmas Vibes

Time may feel like it slows, drags, goes on forever and a day and pulls at you like the weight of water in sodden clothes. But it never stops. Not for a second. Not for anyone. And as much as Alex wishes it would, that this isn’t his life slipping away beneath his fingertips, he can’t stop the progression of days and weeks turning into months. Before he’s really begun to process the unforgiving monotony, the stale sameness of his situation, the end of the year creeps onwards and comes upon the cavern in a rush.

Through their means of tracking days – calendars, clocks, the one wind up radio – the festivities are hard to ignore. It’s like lead in his stomach, a balloon in his chest that he can’t breathe around. When his mind drifts away from the current reality all he can think of is being home, around his family, his friends. With the lights and songs, the rituals that always seemed a little stupid, when he was younger, but that they did anyway for the nostalgia.

He’d thought it would be bad enough, knowing it was happening out there in the real world, and living in the bare rock of the cavern. It gets worse when Adria produces a collection of decorations and insists they put them up. Most of them are strange to Alex, someone else’s traditions from another time and place. But there’s some that Jasper holds a little more tenderly, that lift the corner of his mouth into what’s nearly-but-not-quite a smile. Will Alex have his own pieces in those boxes some day? Things given on some condition or other so that his own life can be represented in this bastardised version of celebration? He shudders to think about it. To be here, trapped, and still expected to go on as if nothing is wrong. As if he isn’t missing everything he holds dear.

Adria makes it worse still. Clustered around the fire one evening as the logs crackle and the air fills with the sweet-bitter scent of burning wood she asks them about gifts. Alex sits frozen, heart barely beating, as Jasper stammers through a short list. New paints, some cooking utensils, a soft new cosy jumper to wear when the cavern gets cold.

Then, Adria turns her burning gaze to him.

Alex can barely return the look, his eyes drifting sideways and down, away from having to lock eyes with her.

“I don’t know,” he mumbles.

“You don’t know?” She repeats it, and he can’t read the tone. Angry? Bemused? He chances a look at her face and it looks placid enough, but her eyes are narrowed. Is it an insult to turn her down?

“I wasn’t expecting anything. I didn’t know… I thought because you didn’t like me, really…”

It’s a bad excuse, he knows it as he says it, sounding thin even to his own ears.

“Well you don’t have to decide right away, but if you take too long I may refuse the request. Don’t keep me waiting.”

He nods, swallows. Hears himself say, “Okay.” and “Thank you.” and the moment passes. They go to bed, and later, as he lays next to Jasper’s slumbering form he thinks and ties himself into knots, and wonders why the thought of being handed a present he’s supposed to be grateful for makes him want to claw his own eyes out just so he doesn’t have to see it.

A couple of days pass and the idea formulates without him really meaning it to. He knows what he wants, more than anything. He also knows it’s a big deal and unlikely to be given freely. He works up the courage to ask for Jasper’s opinion first.

“Well, what do you think?”

“I’m… I don’t know, Alex. I think it might, um, make her angry, more than you can realise.”

“But it wouldn’t do any harm, would it? They can’t do anything about it, about me, not while I’m here.”

“She’s always told me no, before, when I asked for something like that.”

“But have you ever asked when she’s specifically told you to decide on a present?” he leans forwards, eager for the reply.

“Maybe not? There’s… it’s a lot of years, I don’t remember everything.” Jasper wrinkles his nose in thought, rubs absently at scar tissue across his jaw. “Can you not, please, just make it easy?”

“Don’t ask me that. Don’t ask me not to hope for something now I’ve thought of it.” Alex pushes away from the counter he was leaning against and sets his resolve. He’ll ask, he just needs to find the right moment.

A day and a half goes by before he finds the moment he was looking for, several others passed him by as he lost his nerve at the last second. But she’s here, humming lightly to herself as she prepares to head out for the day, once again leaving them alone. It’s as good a time as he could hope for, she’s in a good mood, and if it goes badly hopefully she’ll still be out most of the day and her wrath will lessen by the time she comes back. Alex clears his throat, and stops beside the opening to her dressing room, where she’s bouncing from foot to foot securing pins in her hair.

Adria spares him a glance. “Yes?”

“I know what I would like to ask for. As a… present.”

Immediately he gains her full attention, several hair pins balanced between her fingertips. “Oh?”

“It’s not a typical present!” He rushes to say. “I don’t need much, you don’t have to think of me. It’s just an idea, and you did ask.”

“Why do I get the sense you’re looking for something more than I offered?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s less than you’re getting Jasper, even. You don’t even have to… buy anything.”

“Well spit it out then, boy.” She spins a silver pin and he notices the sharpened point, now wavering in his direction.

His mouth is drier than ever, his palms sweaty. She could cause him agony in a heartbeat, just with a touch. If her anger flares she could burn him in second, or knock him down and cut right through to where he bleeds soft and red and delicate. But it’s this or nothing. He’ll lose either way.

“I want to send a letter to my family.”

Adria goes still, head cocked to one side. Her eyes flash, brighter red, glowing. Her veins stand out like a firecracker burst of heat, for a blink, before it’s gone and her smooth, porcelain skin is just as creamy and unblemished as ever. Alex has the distinct impression of standing in front of a tiger that’s poised to pounce. Every synapse that fires, every nerve ending in his body screams run.

With nowhere to go, and no chance of hiding, he takes half a step backwards and raises his chin. Breath catching in the small space at the top of his lungs. She moves, and he cringes, but it’s only to place another pin into her styled and smoothed hair.

“And why do you think I’d allow something like that?”

[Part two]

[sisterspooky1013]

Gaslight, Chapter 9/48

Rated X | Read it here on AO3

“Ruth told me you requested an emergency appointment. Did something happen?”

Dana wrings her hands in her lap, blinking rapidly against her dry, weary eyes. As per usual, Michelle waits until she is ready to speak. 

“Yes. I mean…not really. I don’t know,” she says haltingly, then runs her hands over her unmade face. 

“Would you like to tell me about it?” 

Dana sighs, shifting in her seat and deciding where to begin.

“My daughter said something to me that—it’s hard to explain, but it threw me off. And then I heard this song—I think it’s the song from my dream, the one about the man. I think it’s the song that was playing when I was with him. And I just feel so…I feel so lost.”

Her throat tightens and she drops her head, breathing deeply to stave off tears. 

“What was it that your daughter said?” Michelle asks, flipping through her notes. “Abigail, right?”

“Yes, Abby,” Dana confirms. “She said something about her other mother. Her mother from before. She asked me if her other mother was going to come back.”

Michelle’s eyebrows lift, and her mouth falls open slightly. 

“And how do you interpret that?” she asks after a beat. 

“I don’t know,” Dana says, exasperated. “Maybe she means me, before my accident. Or maybe there was another woman in her life I don’t know about or don’t remember. Or maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t know, but it’s just one more missing piece.” 

Michelle nods, considering her. 

“Have you started your new prescription, Dana?” she asks. 

“Yes,” Dana answers with a sigh. “I started it the evening after our last appointment.”

“And have you been dreaming?”

“No, actually. Not the last couple nights. Not even after I heard the song.”

“I think we should adjust your medication again. I’m going to send over a prescription right now. Can you pick it up on your way out?”

Dana narrows her eyes, confused. 

“I’ve only been taking the new dose for two days. That seems a bit soon to change it again,” she observes, and Michelle crosses her hands neatly in her lap. 

“I understand that you’re a doctor, Dana, but memory care isn’t your specialty. These drugs are fast-acting, and based on your clear distress, I think an adjustment is necessary,” she says sternly. 

“Of course, I didn’t mean to overstep,” Dana replies. 

“Let’s set up another appointment in a few days, okay? This kind of setback isn’t atypical, and I don’t want you to worry. Let’s just keep a close eye on it so we can get you back to normal soon, all right?”

“Okay,” Dana agrees as she stands, though the idea of normal feels so foreign that it’s hard to imagine. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“Of course,” Michelle says as she walks her to the door. 

Dana is passing through the waiting area when Michelle stops her.

“Oh, Dana,” she calls out. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the pharmacy here carries all kinds of basic necessities. Tylenol, Midol, Loratadine. They even have children’s vitamins, if you need anything like that at home.”

A little chill tickles Dana’s spine and she shivers involuntarily. 

“Thanks,” she says, then heads to the pharmacy. 

That night, she barely sleeps. She does not dream. 

-

She watches two blue jays swooping through the yard. They take from the feeder, then dive down to the ground, swapping places over and over like a choreographed dance. They seem to be working as a team, yet also completely independently of one another. Eat and swoop. Eat and swoop. 

“Dana?”

“Hm?” she looks over to see Cal watching her with a perplexed expression. 

“I said thanks for picking up vitamins for the kids,” he repeats, and she nods with a thin smile. “You okay, mija?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well,” she admits, tightening her grip on her coffee mug. 

Cal crosses the kitchen with a little smirk, standing right beside her as he fills his mug. 

“I can probably help you out with that,” he whispers, quiet enough so the kids won’t hear him, then bumps her hip with his own. 

She forces a smile, and when Cal holds out his open palm to dispense her Numerol, she takes it from him, as well as three quick kisses. 

“Today will be a better day, okay?” he says hopefully, and she nods once.

She bids farewell to Cal and Peter, then walks Abby to the bus. Abby prattles on about sea urchins and The Little Mermaid, and it’s only when they are at the stop and she can hear the rumble and screech of the bus approaching from down the block that she has a chance to ask. 

“Hey, Sweetpea, do you remember when you talked about your other mommy? From before?” she says casually. 

“Ummmmm, maybe,” Abby says, walking circles around the stop sign post. 

“What do you remember about her?” Dana asks. 

“She was big!” Abby says emphatically. “And she had a black dress and her face was purple.”

“Purple?” Dana repeats.

“Yep, purple skin and white hair, and she hated King Triton and Ariel,” the child says animatedly. 

Dana heaves a sigh that is part relief, part irritation.The bus stops in front of them and the door swings open. 

“Have a good day, Sweetpea. Watch out for any nefarious eels,” she says to the child, kissing her cheek before she steers her toward the bus. 

“What’s a neffyrus?!” Abby says dubiously, then boards the bus and waves from behind the window. 

Dana watches it pull away, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. When it’s rounded the corner out of sight, she takes out the little white pill Cal had given her and studies it. 

She remembers something her father told her once, when she was struggling to reconcile what she knew and what she felt. 

“Don’t discount your gut, Starbuck. Sometimes it’s the most well-calibrated tool in the toolbox.”

She returns the pill to her pocket and heads to work. 

-

“You should have seen the look on his face, Dana,” Tiffany says, smiling devilishly. “I could hear him from outside the room being an absolute dick to Destiny, demanding to see the doctor. Imagine his surprise when my black ass walks in. Saving lives is great, but I think that may have been even better, honestly.”

“I can only imagine,” Dana replies. “I had a patient once in med school who refused to be seen by me. He kept saying he wanted to see ‘a real doctor,’ but he was more than happy to be treated by one of my male classmates. Some of them would truly rather die, I suppose.”

“And good riddance to ‘em,” Tiffany adds. 

They return to their work, logging patient notes between bites of mushy pasta salad from the cafeteria. Dana reaches into her pocket for a pen and feels the compact edges of the pill brush against her fingertips. She’s been carrying it around all day, examining it as though she’ll suddenly notice something out of place or find the answer to a question she hasn’t figured out how to ask. She rolls it between her thumb and forefinger, pondering. 

“What is with this tox screen?” Tiffany grumbles, flipping through pages with frustration. “No wonder they take so long to turn anything around down there, running all this shit I didn’t ask for.”

A thought begins to take shape, gathering volume like a snowball tumbling downhill. It would be a misuse of resources, something worthy of discipline were she to be found out. And yet, she finds herself writing the script in her head, forming responses and rebuttals. 

“Have you ever sent something through the lab off the books?” she asks offhandedly, her eyes on her computer screen. 

There’s a long pause, and she can feel Tiffany looking at her. 

“Not personally, no, though I can’t imagine it would be difficult to do. Why do you ask?”

Dana flashes her eyes up to her coworker. She wants to trust her, feels like she has no choice but I’m to, and at the same time she isn’t entirely sure that she can rely on her own instincts right now. 

“I think the pharmacy made a mistake with my medication,” Dana says, fabricating the lie as it leaves her lips. “They won’t admit to it, so the only way to know for sure is to have it analyzed.”

“You should be able to just run that through,” Tiffany says nonchalantly. “I don’t think you need to be all covert about it, double-oh-seven.”

Dana laughs along, but her belly twists. 

“I use the in-house pharmacy,” she explains. “I just—I don’t want to piss them off. It’s so convenient to be able to pick things up at work.”

“Dr. Robbie is kind of a prick,” Tiffany agrees. “I could see him holding a grudge.”

Dana breathes a little sigh of relief. 

“How would I go about that, then? Running it through the lab off the books?” 

“Well, you could put it in with another sample, but that runs the risk that the result will be tied to your patient and get them into a whole big mess, depending on what it is. I do know a tech down there that seems to be sweet on me. Maybe I could ask him for a favor,” Tiffany suggests. 

“That would be great, if it’s not too much trouble. Is there something I can do in return, pick up a shift or take a difficult patient?” Dana asks, trying not to sound too eager about the whole thing. 

“Nah, it’s no big deal. It might be kinda fun to see if I still got it,” Tiffany replies as she stands from her desk and pops her hip out dramatically. 

Dana smiles, dropping the pill into a plastic baggie and handing it over. 

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” she says sincerely, meeting Tiffany’s eye. 

Alone in the office, she feels a pit form in her stomach, accompanied by a sense of dread. She finds herself praying that the results come back and indicate that the pill is exactly what it’s supposed to be: fifteen milligrams of Numerol. But she’s been praying since the day she woke up in the hospital that things would get better, that her life would start making sense. And if the past predicts the future, this too is a prayer that will go unanswered. 

-

“Dr. Rose, I have a patient for you in bed three.”

Dana checks her watch, calculating how much time she has before she’ll be home too late to get Abby off the bus. 

“Do you have the chart?” she asks the nurse, then flips through the details quickly as she makes her way down the hall. 67 year old male, presenting with arrhythmia and shortness of breath. 

When she pulls the curtain back, she is hit with the funk of stale cigarettes. An elderly man is sitting up in the bed, blankets draped across his lap and a blue hospital gown covering his chest and shoulders. He smiles at her, and the familiarity in it makes her immediately uncomfortable for reasons she can’t articulate. 

“Mr. Kennedy,” she says, reading off his chart. “My name is Dr. Rose. I understand that your heartbeat is irregular and you’re having a hard time breathing.”

“Yes,” he says eagerly, touching his chest. “Just the years catching up to me, I suppose.”

He has hooded, watery blue eyes and deep-set wrinkles framing his mouth. The kinds of wrinkles you earn by puckering your lips around the filter of a cigarette hundreds or thousands of times. 

“Let’s have a listen,” Dana says, keeping her tone as business-like as possible to discourage him from being overly friendly with her. 

She presses the stethoscope to his chest and looks at her watch as she measures his heart rate, then motions for him to lean forward and holds the stethoscope against his back as she listens to his lungs. His heart rate is normal and healthy for a man of his age, but his lungs sound rhonchi and wheezy. Nicotine comes off him in waves, stinging her eyes, and she moves away to sanitize her hands and her stethoscope to remove the smell. 

“Do you smoke, Mr. Kennedy?” she asks flatly, and he chuffs a little laugh that devolves into a coughing fit. 

“A bit, yes,” he finally rasps out. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I recommend quitting,” she says, leaning against the counter furthest from his bed. “If you’re not able to quit, you should at least consider cutting back. You’re taking years off your life each time you open a new pack.”

“Ah,” the old man says with a contrite bob of his head. “You sound like my son. He’s always telling me to quit. It’s hard when you’re an old man. I don’t have many pleasures left in life.”

“You should listen to him,” Dana says as she makes notes in his chart. “I’m going to order albuterol to help alleviate the inflammation in your airways. It’s a breathing treatment we can administer here at the hospital, but we’ll also send you home with enough for the next week. I’m also going to refer you to cardiology. Your heart sounds fine right now, but they may want to set you up with a monitor so they can track changes over time. Do you have any questions?”

“Sure, do you know any single women who might be interested in a gentleman of my regard?” he says cheekily, and she intentionally does not reward him with eye contact. 

“I think you should focus on your health, Mr. Kennedy,” she says blandly. 

“I’m a lonely man, Dana.”

Her hearing cuts out for just a split second, a brief ring slowly replaced by the hustle and bustle and mechanical beeps of the hospital floor. She slowly lifts her head and finds him watching her curiously. 

“Excuse me?” she says, feeling disoriented. 

“Dana, right? It says so right there on your badge,” he points out, and she touches her hospital ID reflexively. 

“Dr. Rose, please,” she corrects him, and he holds up his hands in deference. 

“My apologies, Dr. Rose. Thank you for your time,” the man says, and she escapes from his cigarette soaked room with an unnecessary level of urgency. 

_

Get Abby from the bus. Pick up Peter from daycare. Snacks. Playtime. Start dinner. Welcome Cal home from work. Bathtime. Bedtime. Pretend to read a book while her mind races in a hundred different directions. Tell Cal she has a headache, maybe tomorrow. Lie awake and think. Think. THINK.

The song. The man. The green countertops. The old smoker. “I’m a lonely man, Dana.” The pills. The pills. THE PILLS. Try to sleep. Fail. No dreams, no nothing. It’s like a black hole swallowed her mind, her memories. Her life. 

Wake up. Wake Peter. Shower, get ready for work. Make the children breakfast. Drink coffee. Take Numerol from Cal. Wash it down the sink. Goodbye Cal, goodbye Peter. Walk Abby to the bus. Pretend to be mermaids. Feel like dying. 

Drive to work. Play the song over and over and over. Now I find myself wanting to marry you and take you home. Take the east entrance, just to see. Nearly have a panic attack. Keep smelling the smoker around every corner. Keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Keep hoping it’s not as bad as it seems. 

-

Tiffany rushes into the office, closing the door behind her and marching straight to Dana’s desk, where she drops a small stack of papers on the desktop with an irate expression. 

“You wanna tell me what the fuck this is about?” Tiffany asks angrily, one hand on her hip. 

Sleep deprived and on edge, Dana blinks at her stupidly and then begins to try and decipher the papers on her desk. Lab results. Inconclusive. Unknown substance. 

“Is this about my medication?” she asks, flipping through the pages. 

“You sure that was your medication you gave me, Dana?” Tiffany questions doubtfully. “Cause that pill sure as shit did not come from the St. Agnes pharmacy.”

“I don’t understand,” Dana says, shaking her head. “What was it?”

Tiffany considers her, and her expression falls a bit. 

“You really don’t know?” she asks skeptically. 

“I’m sorry if I’ve dragged you into something strange, Tiffany. But no, I really don’t know what it is, or where it came from. That’s what I was hoping to find out.”

Tiffany rolls the chair over from her desk and sits close beside Dana. She leafs through the pages, pointing at key fields as she speaks in a low tone. 

“The first test he ran was totally inconclusive. It doesn’t match any medication we have in the system, even nationally. Now this man must really think he was gonna get somewhere with this lab result because he called in his buddy who does some back alley, unofficial freaky shit. And that friend got a hit on some secret government database for this chemical composition.”

“What is it?” Dana asks, her heart racing. She’s been putting this in her body every day for months. 

“Something called—” Tiffany flips two pages and points to a summary. “Galophazine. It’s not FDA approved, that’s for damn sure.”

“What does it treat? What are the effects?” 

“That wasn’t very clear,” Tiffany says, sitting back. “The friend could only deduce, based on the places it was referenced, that it has something to do with memory recall.”

Dana feels a flood of relief, and presses her hand to her chest to feel her own pounding heart begin to normalize. 

“That’s good. That’s what it was prescribed for, to enhance memory recall. What I don’t understand is why my doctor would lie about the name of the medication.”

“I thought you said it was a pharmacy error,” Tiffany says, but then moves past it before Dana has a chance to respond. “But I don’t think this is meant to enhance memory recall. Whatever the friend saw, he came to the conclusion that this drug, Galophazine, is used to suppress long term memory recall. They were testing it out on war vets and people with childhood trauma.”

The earth beneath her feet is suddenly less stable, the air in her lungs thin. She feels lightheaded. She feels sick. If she was lost before, she’s now untethered. Detached. There is no home base to return to. Adrift. Adrift. Adrift. 

“Dana?” Tiffany asks, and Dana realizes that Tiffany is touching her, shaking her arm gently. “Are you okay?”

“I—I think—” 

She swallows against a bone dry throat, scans the room with untrusting eyes, considers the woman next to her. A stranger, perhaps. She has no way of knowing for sure. 

“I don’t know.”

Tagging @today-in-fic

[unintentional-edgelord]

Do you ever create a new OC for some reason or another and then get absolutely obsessed with their design and drawing them because they're just fun?

Well, I created a new character for a DnD campaign and I love my skinny gremlin cleric so much I'm keeping her for original projects. Meet Vesuvia Cesandro - Life Domain cleric turned Trickster Domain cleric.

Very first concept sketch, and then refined design for her facial features - I wanted her to look a little bit androgynous with the glasses on and give her sharp cheekbones plus a strong jaw.

Despite her best efforts she sucked at written work and got kicked out of studying to serve under her original god - but a trickster deity pitied her so hard and thought it was funny to steal a cleric from another god that she changed domains. (After she got over being upset, Suvia thought it was funny, too).

She's got a really odd sense of humour and an odd cadence to her words, gives used car salesman vibes - but her heart is ABSOLUTELY in the right place.

I'll be keeping her backstory pretty similar for my original works, just have to tweak it a bit!

Outfit design notes - I'd say her design influences are pretty clear! Thinking of giving her a green colour scheme. (If anyone wants to try and nail down the four specific characters I took design inspo from, feel clear lol, but one of them is a tiny bit obscure.)

And one last bonus sketch before I decided she tries to smile at all times after making the deal with the trickster deity:

Tell me if you'd like to see more of her because I'll definitely be posting more of her!

(plus the song I had on repeat whilst finalising her design, which may narrow down part of her influences!)

[eldritch-elrics]

top 10 fnaf fansongs, as decided by someone who's never played fnaf

well, i promised i would make this post. so after listening to quite a few of those "pov: you were in the fnaf fandom" type playlists, i have discovered...... goddamn, a lot of these songs actually go really hard!

i've narrowed it down to 10, but definitely check out my playlist where i added all the songs i enjoyed in some way.

"i can't fix you" - yeah this one fucks. the beat!! oh my god!! also idk if i should count the video as part of the experience but this one has a really fun and dramatic video. what the hell goes down in sister location?

"break my mind" - i'm obsessed with this one it's just. silly as hell. couple awkward lyrics/rhymes but it goes SO hard it's like a really dramatic electronic sea shanty??

"you can’t hide" - i really like the production on this one. it’s funky and cool-sounding without being over the top

"never be alone" - lyrics flow really well! and that main melody is so fun and catchy!!

"join us for a bite" - whimsical in a good way. not my preferred music style, but it feels really unique and i love the vibes and lyrics. it may not be my very favorite but you could make a great case for this being the best fnaf song

"it's been so long" - god it's fucking iconic. bad but also good. you know?

"dance to forget" - i think the ballerina might be the most compelling fnaf character so far. this has such fun lyrics, especially the way that the chorus uses repeating words!

"afton family" - REALLY good creepy vibes. i love the unnerving quality of the vocals

"die in a fire" - also just so iconic - this & "it's been so long" were the only fnaf songs i'd heard before i began this project. also WHY is this song so violent. good for her?

"the show must go on" - another that tells a story in a really fun way… i love the ones where the animatronics treat the human characters as defective robots who they’re legitimately trying to help

and some honorable mentions that i had thoughts on:

"no more" - ok i'm not gonna lie: natewantstobattle's style is so nostalgic for me. also i love how this sounds like a very specific type of 2000s pop rock

"daddy's little monsters" - what the hell happens in sister location? this story is intriguing

"you belong here" - i'm a sucker for this specific kind of fan-rap. idk if they're "good" per se but they're incredibly fun

"follow me" - that "follow me see a nightmare in action" hits tbh

"don’t hold it against us" - really interesting beat/noises, plus, once again, what the fuck happens in sister location

tagging @tijuanabiblestudies @wolffyluna @xerxestexastoast @rinjaespurr because you guys asked for this

[swordarmsaxelegs]

Hi :) I was tagged by @macleod to be a part of this chain. Here's my top 5 songs on repeat (in no particular order)

Shinedown - What a Shame

Shinedown is one of my favourite bands of all time and this song is from my favourite album that they released. It was hard to narrow it down to just one song of theirs to include in this list, so I thought about a recent playlist I've been listening to and decided that this the one I have been most likely to loop out of all of them.

Shinedown is pretty mainstream among metal/alt-rock fans, but if you're not familiar with them or even if you're not usually a fan of those genres then I recommend checking them out. Some of their songs on this album kind of border country territory. I have also listened to some of their more recent post-grunge stuff and think it's a bit pop-y, so I'm sure there's something everyone would enjoy.

Vansire - Metamodernity

I don't have much to say about this one. A girl I had a crush on once used this song as background noise in her Instagram story. I'm not sure anymore if I like this song because of her or if I like her because of this song. All I can say is that there was a couple of months where I would only listen to this.

Tom Cardy - Level Clear!

I haven't been able to get enough of this song since Mr. Cardy posted it four months ago and it is embarrassing. If you're not familiar with his work, Tom makes silly musical videos for Tik Tok and YouTube. I love his videos, he's very creative and entertaining, but this song has no right to go this hard.

Allie X - Old Habits Die Hard

I could probably list Allie X as a top 5 artist on repeat. She was my introduction to the synth pop genre and I think her music is consistently great. I picked this song specifically because it's a lot of fun and one that I'm always excited to hear when it comes on shuffle. As for an album I would recommend, most of her songs that I listen to come from Collxtion, No 1. This song in particular appears on two albums, but I haven't personally listened to the newer version of the song. I'm sure it's great, though.

System of a Down - Aerials

I am very sorry to include this one in the list, but it would be wrong of me not to. One time I was listening to this song so much that it started to become a problem for me. I would try to sleep and this song would be on loop in my brain. I tried learning all of the lyrics so I could sing it to myself because I read that songs get stuck in your head because your brain likes to see things through to the end, but then that just made it worse. I didn't even play this video before sharing it here because I'm scared that if I do it will happen again. This is absolutely one of my all time favourite songs and also I would like to start a conspiracy that System of a Down songs are so weird because they're trying to lock us into a trance.

As a bonus, I was thinking of including Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box because there was a period where I would listen to that song a lot, but I figured everybody on Tumblr can probably say the same thing and I had to limit this to only five songs.

I haven't been very talkative on here since I came back a few years ago, so I don't have anybody to tag in this. If you see this post and think it would be fun to participate then feel free to share your own top 5 and tag me in it :) Maybe it could turn out to be a way to make some new friends on here :D

[tiffanylamps]

four albums I've been listening to recently. Thank you for tagging me, @b1uetrees ✌️ This was actually kind of hard for me to narrow down because it is pretty rare that I listen to albums. Usually, I listen to playlists. But, having said that, these four albums have definitely been playing on repeat in my household. This Is Why - Paramore I love Paramore and have done ever since I was 12. I love this album- it's a brilliant new direction for the band and offers so many elements from all of their previous works but with more maturity and musicianship.

UGLY - slowtai I'm not normally a big fan of slowtai's music- I've always wanted him to take a more punk/rock route. I've been aware of his music since early on in his career due to the fact that I know people who are friends with him. But yeah, he's finally gone in the direction I wanted from the beginning with this varied and ambitious album.

LOUIE - Kenny Beats Once again, I'm not normally a fan of Kenny's work, however, this album is just so pleasant to listen to. It feels like a bunch of friends got together on a summer's day and decided to create art together. Plus, the song with Remi Wolf (Last Words) is just soooo good.

CRAWLER - IDLES Anything by IDLES is constantly on repeat in my home. I love them. They're one of my favourite bands and they're one of those rare bands that I don't skip any of their songs. This album was truly snubbed at the grammys (how did Wet Leg get a grammy but not IDLES... like????? that's just stupid) and a fun fact about it is that it was produced by Kenny Beats.

Yeah, my taste in music has definitely been going through a shift as of late. I've even begun to listen to drum and bass on the regular, which is just so unlike me. But it is nice to broaden one's horizons. my bf is definitely to thank for this change.

you're tagged (with zero pressure): @l-tyrell, @katierosefun, @hanjuwonsupporter, @fridayvelvet, @loisroo, @thoresque

[f-shf-n]

Well!

Okayy well I don't listen to most of my music on Spotify + I don't have premium so already not the most accurate but here!

Immediately I'd switch Bauhaus with k.d. lang. Otherwise seems about right for my Spotify listening habits. Top songs however... Mm. Again, don't have premium so I have less choice in what Spotify decides to play on repeat lol (top 4 all being Depeche Mode LMAO) . Fav song on their is Everything Counts followed by Ghost. But anyway.

My actual top 5 artists and songs of the year would be;

1. Depeche Mode

2. k.d lang

3. The National

4. Rosegarden Funeral Party

5. Andrew Bird

And-

1. Shake the Disease by Depeche Mode

2. Ghost of you by Rosegarden Funeral Party

3. Glass Jar by Tristen

4. The Place Where He Inserted The Blade by Black Country, New Road

5. This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads

Now that I'm thinking about it, with how hard it was to narrow it down here (I so desperately want to add more artists and more songs here LMAO) I may actually make a whole list of songs and artists I loved this year.

[affiesque]

when you get this you have to answer with 5 of ur fav songs and then tag your mutuals to do the same :) (no pressure <;3)

Hey @night-fighter-x thanks for tagging me! 🖤 So it was really difficult to narrow this list down, but I decided to go with five songs I've had on repeat lately (in no particular order).

Keshi - Summer (this one had me at "kiss my wounds/but not forever")

Depeche Mode - It's No Good (I'm a huge DM fan so it's hard to pick a fav, but this is a good example of their overall style - sexy, dark, brooding - and a song i always come back to)

Massive Attack - Daydreaming (this is like sitting in front of an open window in spring, curtains swaying gently in the breeze)

Electronic - Getting Away With It (an alternative dance supergroup roasting Morrissey? hell yes)

Sinéad O'Connor - Thank You For Hearing Me (been playing this one a lot since she died; she was a bright light in a dark world)

So whoever is reading this if you want to join in, consider yourself tagged! 🖤

[shreyabhagavatulainternships]

Summer Internship : 22 - 26 May 2023

22 - 24 May

This was the week that I officially started helping them with work. When I first applied, Shivansh had made it clear to me that I was also expected to work on the label and marketing side of their music. Today I learnt more about using Excel and Google Sheets for organization. I was not exceptionally proficient in either before this internship, however, Shivansh helped me understand some basics while working on the task that I was given which would take up the course of my internship.

The label was collaborating with a TV service provider to create a 24/7 live stream of their music. I was tasked to create an EPG (electronic programming guide) for the channel that spanned that time. Shivansh introduced me to the filtering function on Google Sheets.

It allowed us to sort through data based on what it was tagged as. Using their song Meta Datasheet, Shivansh showed me how to sort through albums and genres to help with the task. Each song on the sheet was tagged with a genre and mood on two columns. This helped me with the first task of sorting the discography into moods, which would later be used as categories for "programs" on the EPG.

This was not very hard to understand and pick up. As they had already tagged their songs based on specific filters it allowed for a much easier job on my part. Since I had no prior reference to creating this kind of schedule I researched EPGs of existing music channels in India. Here is an example of a music channel, 9XM:

Similar to the EPG above I created a separate Google Sheet with 30 min timeslots, suggested by Shivansh, for each program. For example 'Classic Bollywood', 'On a Road Trip', 'Morning Dance Party', 'Indie Showcase'. I created 16 categories and structured the sheet with the categories across columns, horizontally, with the songs listed below each category. For example:

Once I showed Shivansh, he pointed out that I would not be able to use the filter feature as it worked with a list that was vertically under the target cell. I had to reformat the EPG so that the filtering system could be used. The TV service provider had also requested that I reduce the number of programs so that they can be repeated easily. I was a bit overwhelmed with this part of the task as I was not familiar with Excel or Sheets and watching Shivansh breeze through when explaining to me made me feel a bit disappointed in myself. But then I reminded myself that he had done this for way longer than I have and that I'm still learning.

When I get overwhelmed with anything, I usually split tasks into discrete pieces. In this case, I decided to first reduce the number of programs, sort the songs and then reformat. Shivansh helped me narrow down to the programs he felt were good and I used them. Here is an excerpt of the final detailed program list:

From here on, we cut down on a lot of the work that I had already done. The TV service provider communicated with us that usually music programs have one EPG from Monday to Thursday and then a second one from Friday to Sunday which would be repeated. In my original EPG, I had manually shuffled around the songs each day. I was upset when I realized that we would have to broaden the specific work that I had done. This felt counter-productive and I thought it would have been much easier if this was just told to me from the beginning. It would have saved me time and I would have produced results much faster. Inefficiency is one of my pet peeves, especially if there is a very evidently direct process. However as it was a professional setting, I could let my annoyance get further in the way of my ongoing task and had to put it aside.

25 & 26 May

We had an in-person meeting with a representative from the TV service and I was able to ask specific questions on the format of the EPG. He provided us with a template which they use for channels such as ours. Yet again I was annoyed that this template was not provided from the beginning as it would have made the whole process faster. However, I understood that everyone had their own constraints. Shivansh later also expressed his annoyance at the fact that this format was not provided, even though he had exchanged countless emails with their team.

I decided that I did not want to drag this out any longer and sat down to finish the reformatting within the next two days. However, Shivansh was adamant that I also spend time in the studio every day. I felt more comfortable around him as he looked out for me, and would encourage me to eat meals with him in the studio kitchenette. His and the other producers' considerate and casual attitude was very helpful in my settling into the professional setting.

On the 25th, Salim sir was in the studio, adding to a track for an upcoming project. I was able to observe and ask questions about his compositional process. My first question was how can a piece be made better? He said that it begins with realizing that there are spaces to fill. I observed this as he added synth lines that complemented the chords and beat that were already there. The way the spaces were filled was unique making the overall track more dynamic. My next question was, how do you choose what to add? The answer he gave was quite simple, and it was to just try. You'll never know what the track needs unless you don't try. He was experimenting with different gestures and takes to create and preserve originality. He was also very expressive when he liked a gesture he made, which made me reflect on how I react to the compositional choices I make while creating a piece.

I started reflecting on my own compositional process. I realized that I could do more of both the qualities he described. I also realized that I don't have a set 'studio' or creative time set out every day. I usually start a song when I have an idea and not because I just sat down and started experimenting. In contrast, when I'm using modular equipment in school for ensemble class or for my projects, it always begins with exploring what sounds I can get out of the instrument, rather than a concrete concept. I guess it depends on the style of music I want to produce. Although I want to include more experimental soundscapes in my songs, the process of experimentation would benefit this style.

[bow-chicka-wow-wow-wow]

10 Best South Park Episodes

This is my own personal opinion, and not in any ranked order. Multiple part episodes, such as the “Black Friday Trilogy” will be counted as one entry. Keep in mind that as of making this post, there are over 300 episodes, with so many of them being good episodes, so it ain’t easy to narrow it down to ten!

1. Make Love, Not Warcraft - South Park and machinima. What can I say? The episode mostly takes place within the immersive world of Warcraft, as the boys band together to stop a high-level griefer from going around killing everyone in the World, of Warcraft. To do this, they must log every hour of every day killing boars to a montage of Paul Stanley’s “Live to Win,” becoming morbidly obese in the process. Also, Blizzard actually contributed to the machinima animation style in this episode.

2. Good Times With Weapons - This one also switches between two animation styles. The boys get Japanese weapons from the county fair, and occasionally, when playing with their weapons, the animation changes from the crude South Park animation to anime style animation. The boys learn the hard way that their weapons are dangerous when Kenny throws a shuriken star at Butters’s eye. In the end, only Cartman gets in trouble for walking across the auction stage naked, blaming a “wardrobe malfunction,” mirroring the real life infamous Janet Jackson Super Bowl Halftime Show. Also, “Let’s Fighting Love” just might be the best anime theme song ever!

3. Guitar Queer-O - Ah, Guitar Hero. Remember the height of its popularity in the mid-to-late 2000’s? It was only a matter of time before South Park decided to make an episode about that. Stan and Kyle become overnight sensations after reaching 100,000 points in Guitar Hero, and try to reach 1,000,000 points. They do that in the end, but the results are, well, let’s just say disappointing. Also, Randy trying to play is phenomenal! He can play the real guitar, but apparently, real guitars are for old people. Gee, thanks. Also, I’ve reached 100,000 points all the time, and I’ve never never once been invited to a coke and sex party for it…

4. Scott Tenorman Must Die - Probably the darkest episode in South Park history. Cartman must deal with a bully who sold him his pubes. His scheme takes a dark and twisted turn, when Cartman has Scott’s parents killed, and then grinds up their corpses and makes them into chili, and feeds that chili to Scott, thus making him cry fright in front of his favorite band, Radiohead. This episode cements Cartman’s status as not some spoiled little brat, but a downright psychopath. Lesson of the episode, never piss off Cartman again.

5. Goobacks - “THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!!” This episode sees time travelers showing up from 2,000 in the future to have better lives in the past, working various jobs for only a small fraction of what the jobs are worth, putting several workers out of a job. This introduces Darrel, the redneck who’s always shouting the aforementioned line with several others repeating his words. This gets repeated in the season 21 premiere “White People Renovating Houses,” pretty much the only thing I find remotely enjoyable in an otherwise mediocre episode.

6. Imaginationland (Episode I-III) - What do you think of when you think of epic trilogies? Star Wars? Lord of the Rings? How about Imaginationland? This was originally conceived by Matt and Trey as a standalone sequel to 1999’s “Bigger, Longer, and Uncut,” but instead was released as a three episode trilogy, but was later released as a 67 minute DVD with a few added scenes. There are quite a few characters from many movies, TV series, etc. basically, if it’s ever been imagined, it exists in Imaginationland. Unfortunately, it also includes the many evil characters that have ever existed, including the Woodland Critters, and ManBearPig (long before ManBearPig was actually proven to be real). Let’s not forget the subplot of Kyle losing a bet to Cartman and having to suck the latter’s balls.

7. Black Friday Trilogy (Black Friday, A Song Of Ass And Fire, Titties And Dragons) - The 2013 console war turned into, well, a literal console war a la Game of Thrones. The boys and their friends all choose sides on whether to get the the Xbox One or the PS4. Cartman is the master manipulator/backstabber, Kenny is a Japanese princess, and Bill Gates fights Sony’s then President to the death at the Red Robin Wedding. All for the boys to get the new console before everyone else beats them to it. Oh, and Randy takes a job as head of security, just to get the Black Friday sales before everyone else does. The consumers are White Walkers, and George R. R. Martin has an apparent obsession with penises.

8. The Losing Edge - The boys REALLY don’t want to spend all summer playing baseball, so they will do what it takes to lose games. Unfortunately, the other teams are better at sucking, this making the boys win EVERY GAME. All they want to do is play video games! But my favorite part of this episode is the subplot involving Randy getting drunk and starting fights with other baseball dads. And getting arrested after every South Park victory. Oh, I’m sorry! I thought this was America! His fight with Batdad goes about as well as expected. I didn’t hear no bell!

9. Chef Aid - This is an OLD episode! Chef loses a copyright infringement lawsuit after one of his songs was covered without his permission and must raise $2 million or face four years jail time. The boys put together a stage, and many guest celebrities, voiced by themselves, all put together a benefit concert helping their old friend, including Elton John, Rancid, Primus, and even Ozzy Osbourne, the latter of which bites Kenny’s head off like a bat!

10. Up The Down Steroid - Jimmy Valmer and Timmy Burch prepare for the upcoming Special Olympics. Unfortunately, Jimmy ends up taking anabolic steroids upon the suggestion of Nathan, who makes his debut in this episode. Cartman hears of this, and that the winner gets a $1,000 cash prize, so of course he pretends to be developmentally disabled to compete. Of course, since he’s out of shape and hasn’t trained, he places dead last in every event.

[daggerspare-standingby]

Great Balls Of Fire

Just a quick little one shot that's been buzzing around in my brain for a while, and no reason to post it until today (10/28/22) when I heard that Jerry Lee Lewis (original singer of Great Balls Of Fire) passed away today. Thought this would be appropriate, please be kind! First TG post :)

Please enjoy a one shot of Rooster x Girlfriend!Reader

a bit of fluff, a bit of angst (see Mav) for missing the OG Bradshaws (Carole & Goose) but mostly fluff :)

*

It was a Friday night, and you were working the bar of the Hard Deck as per usual, your boyfriend and his teammates hanging out by the pool tables and dart boards until the end of your shift when you would join them. Conversation hummed throughout the bar, accompanied with the vintage vinyl playing from the jukebox. Penny was chatting with Maverick on the other end of the bar, and you poured another glass of draught for a regular customer. As you turned around to ring through the sale, you heard a chorus of groans sound throughout the bar as the Jukebox was unplugged - again - and there was really only one culprit that could be to blame.

Bradley took his place at the piano, having waited closer to the end of your shift to start playing just in case Penny decided to throw him out for being a little shit. He tinkled a few of the higher octave keys before settling down on the bench and then he started his usual song. Despite the smile growing on your face as his voice rang out the first few words of the verse, you did have to roll your eyes. This song was constantly on repeat in your boyfriend's brain, he said it brought him closer to his dad when he played it. You couldn't fault him that, wishing that you could have met Nick and Carole Bradshaw before you started dating.

Come On Baby! You're Driving me Crazy

The entire bar broke out with him for the chorus - because nobody but Bradley knew the actual words to every verse.

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!

Watching your boyfriend eating up the attention, you couldn't help but admire him from your place behind the wooden bar. He looked so good, sun kissed from his day outside, curls lightened but in a fluffy mop on the top of his head - one that you loved to run your fingers through - and aviator sunglasses, the pair that you learned were his dad's which was why they constantly slid down his narrow nose, midway down the bridge of his nose as he bobbed his head to the song he sang and played. Rooster looked so good in this moment, in the limelight. He was always so charismatic, his voice, that straight smile, and that damn 80s style moustache that worked so well for him. His gravelly voice as he sang the "that feels good baby" made shivers automatically run down your spine and goosebumps rise on your arms and a heat pool in the pit of your stomach. Yup - it was time to get your man home.

He was smiling as he sang along, his friends and co workers singing along as well; all except Hangman because Jake was just too cool to sing along to Great Balls Of Fire for the umpteenth time that month. You did catch him tapping his foot to the beat though as he sipped his beer and smirked, making a mental note to tease him about it later. Checking the big clock above the door to the bar, you saw it was just a couple minutes to the end of your shift, you looked over at Penny, asking her silently if you could clock out with a nod towards Rooster at the piano to which she simply nodded and waved you off.

Just as he was finishing the song you untied your apron and tucked it under the bar, coming around the opening you bit your lip - you'd never done this before and it was going to either go very well, or very poorly. "Hey Rooster, you big stud!" you raised your voice slightly to be above the music, enjoying the way his head automatically shot up, a grin gracing his features.

You also didn't miss the way that Maverick's head also turned on a swivel as you repeated one of the favourite phrases of one very special Carole Bradshaw. Rooster smiles at you from the piano "That's me honey!" echoing the words that Goose and Carole once said to each other, Maverick stared at you both in shock from his seat at the bar. Tears lining his eyes as he watched the scene play out in front of him; remembering back to a four year old Bradley perched atop a very similar piano, Goose playing the exact same tune and Carole moving to sit atop his lap and join him in the very last chorus.

"Take me to bed or lose me forever!" Your eyes locked on Rooster as you walked over to him and he quickly maneuvered an arm around your waist to pull you into his lap while not missing a beat of the final verse of the song "Show me the way home honey!" He played the final notes of Great Balls of Fire with a flourish and then pulled you in for a steamy kiss, moustache tickling your upper lip and warm hands pressed around your waist. He stood up quickly almost knocking you over as he moved to slip your hand into his and twine your fingers together "Penny, I'll settle up tomorrow! Gotta take my girl home!" Penny shook her head laughing and waved a towel at the two of you as you were dragged out of the bar.

Despite hearing the song every night, sometimes multiple times a day, Rooster would never stop singing it. Not only did it bring him closer to his dad, but as long as he knew how much it would turn you on when he performed it, he'd sing it to the end of his days.