TSCC, GG, and Carnivale ficlets
Lack of inspiration leads to dead-in-the-water fic, so lint138, lunar47 and I decided to help each other out with some drabble/ficlet prompts to get the juices flowing again. The writer simply picked three fandoms and the other two picked characters and prompts. Have a look under the cuts for what I came up with today.
TSCC: Derek, Billy Wisher → best intentions (400 words)
He thinks the firing has stopped when his friend comes through the opening in the blasted-out wall in a blur of brown and green and white. His ears are ringing and Billy is screaming and gesturing in broad, flailing motions, going so fast once he’s in line against the wall next to him that all Derek can focus on is the white that he can still pick out in the blur.
The firing has stopped, but the ringing persists to filter everything including the explosions he can see in the distance. He looks at Billy’s bloody face dumbly and watches as he continues to throw his arms about wildly. Billy is a good guy, been with him since the tunnels in the early days. Always puts on a brave face in the most desperate of times, always knows where the exits are, always ready to move, and always watches out for Kyle. He’s not the best soldier, but competent. Always has the best intentions, and he figures that should count for more than it does.
He turns his head and sees the white again. It’s his teeth. Billy Wisher has the whitest teeth still left in existence, or so he’s mercilessly teased. Derek tried to get the nickname “Whiter” to stick a few years ago, but when people come in and go out just as quickly, it’s hard to get anything to stick. He still can’t hear what Billy is shouting at him over the ringing, and as he looks around at the other men he realizes that only he and Kyle would know the name Whiter now.
The boom from an explosion rips through the burnt hole of the shelter, and this time Derek can almost feel what he should be hearing. He looks back to Billy’s muffled shouts and can’t stop the grin that shows his own teeth.
Another explosion. Closer again, louder he thinks, and Billy’s teeth are inches from his face. Derek feels himself being shaken by the shoulders while he watches Billy’s mouth move and his expression grow angrier.
Moments later, as Derek and Billy and the others are retreating along the covered hillside, all the noise and buzzing and dark charred landscape come back into sharp, painful focus as Derek finally realizes what Billy had been trying so desperately to get him to hear.
They got Kyle.
GG: Georgina, Serena → not so quiet night in (225 words)
Serena was fun, and easy. She wore her weaknesses on her sleeve and had no trouble leading with everything but her brain. Getting into sticky situations was the easy the part; watching Serena try to get unstuck was the fun part.
It’s not as if her friend wasn’t smart, and she wasn’t as shallow as most people believed her to be, but being duped was so far from her mind that Serena only saw the possibility for happiness and excitement in any situation. It was the one thing Georgina both loved and envied about her.
When she called to invite her for a night out, she could hear in her tone that Serena was trying to avoid her. So she suggested a modest slumber party with 80s movies, nail polish, girl talk, and an early bedtime. Serena perked right up with an “oh, that sounds so nice” and told Georgina to be there in an hour, that she’d have the popcorn ready.
Georgina couldn’t tell if Serena expected her to turn an innocent sleepover into something unsavory or if the party girl was just in denial, but Serena knew who she was and what she was, and if she expected anything other than a not so quiet night in then she felt sorry for her. Personally, she was hoping for neither. One of these days, Serena was going to use her brain, and then they’d really be able to have some fun.
Carnivale: Rita Sue, Jonesy → regret (550 words)
“You’re gonna regret it,” she said coming around the corner and running her hand along the tent. “And it’ll be sooner rather than later.” She put her cigarette to her lips and took a long, lazy drag.
“What are you jawwin' on about?” He was bent over a crate, nailing the lid in place. It was cool and dark outside after the show had come down, and the occasional breeze that whipped at the canvas tents was filled with dust. Jonesy looked up from his hammer and watched Rita Sue pull another cigarette from her cleavage.
“Cigarette?” He took it and she offered her own as a light. Their eyes met as he took his first drag, but they both looked away to smoke in silence for a moment.
“My baby has a strong will, though she don’t show it ‘til it matters. She ain’t like me,” Rita Sue said looking across the midway. She inhaled and exhaled the smoke slowly, letting the words sink in before elaborating. After a moment, when she didn’t or couldn’t speak again, Jonesy sighed and moved around the crate to stand in front of her.
“I’m not sure what you’re tryin’ to do, but Libby and me is married, and it’s gonna stay that way.” His tone was stern and his words deliberate and steady. “You and Stumpy can huff and puff all you want, but Libby ain’t a little a girl no more.”
“She’s not no woman either. She may look like one and men may notice her like men do, but she might as well be in diapers when it comes to knowin’ the world. She’s got some notion you’re a hero done saved her.”
“Maybe I have. But she don’t need me to be her father, and she can look after herself just fine.” He threw his cigarette to the ground and looked down where it lay for a few moments to breathe.
“She’s a dancer, Jonesy,” she said as he looked back up at her. Rita Sue made sure he was looking her dead in the eyes when she spoke again. “That’s all she knows. That and whorin’.”
Whatever reaction she was hoping for, she didn’t get nearly half of it. His eyes narrowed and he breathed roughly, “Thanks to you.” He took his hat off and ran his hands through his hair as he turned away from her.
“Yeah, she came by it honest. Guess you got yourself a type.” She could see his shoulders tense and waited for the storm to come. For good measure she added, “You married the only natural-born whore I’ve ever laid eyes on.” And there it was.
He whirled around and threw his hat to the ground. “She’s my wife, goddammit! I don’t care if you’re Jesus Christ himself, but you don’t talk about her that way!” Jonesy said trying to keep his voice down. His face was red and his eyes were blazing. “Now she’s married. That makes her a respectable woman.”
“I’m married. Guess that makes me respectable, too,” she chirped.
“Your husband sells you to the highest bidder every night. I ain’t havin’ no shit-hole marriage like yours." He spat in disgust. "Libby is with me and only me, ‘til death.” Jonesy picked up his hat, dusted it off on his pants, and limped away toward his tent.
Rita Sue lit another cigarette and smiled to herself as she watched him disappear into the darkness.
Check out Lint's fun fics at here at his journal. :)
TSCC: Derek, Billy Wisher → best intentions (400 words)
He thinks the firing has stopped when his friend comes through the opening in the blasted-out wall in a blur of brown and green and white. His ears are ringing and Billy is screaming and gesturing in broad, flailing motions, going so fast once he’s in line against the wall next to him that all Derek can focus on is the white that he can still pick out in the blur.
The firing has stopped, but the ringing persists to filter everything including the explosions he can see in the distance. He looks at Billy’s bloody face dumbly and watches as he continues to throw his arms about wildly. Billy is a good guy, been with him since the tunnels in the early days. Always puts on a brave face in the most desperate of times, always knows where the exits are, always ready to move, and always watches out for Kyle. He’s not the best soldier, but competent. Always has the best intentions, and he figures that should count for more than it does.
He turns his head and sees the white again. It’s his teeth. Billy Wisher has the whitest teeth still left in existence, or so he’s mercilessly teased. Derek tried to get the nickname “Whiter” to stick a few years ago, but when people come in and go out just as quickly, it’s hard to get anything to stick. He still can’t hear what Billy is shouting at him over the ringing, and as he looks around at the other men he realizes that only he and Kyle would know the name Whiter now.
The boom from an explosion rips through the burnt hole of the shelter, and this time Derek can almost feel what he should be hearing. He looks back to Billy’s muffled shouts and can’t stop the grin that shows his own teeth.
Another explosion. Closer again, louder he thinks, and Billy’s teeth are inches from his face. Derek feels himself being shaken by the shoulders while he watches Billy’s mouth move and his expression grow angrier.
Moments later, as Derek and Billy and the others are retreating along the covered hillside, all the noise and buzzing and dark charred landscape come back into sharp, painful focus as Derek finally realizes what Billy had been trying so desperately to get him to hear.
They got Kyle.
GG: Georgina, Serena → not so quiet night in (225 words)
Serena was fun, and easy. She wore her weaknesses on her sleeve and had no trouble leading with everything but her brain. Getting into sticky situations was the easy the part; watching Serena try to get unstuck was the fun part.
It’s not as if her friend wasn’t smart, and she wasn’t as shallow as most people believed her to be, but being duped was so far from her mind that Serena only saw the possibility for happiness and excitement in any situation. It was the one thing Georgina both loved and envied about her.
When she called to invite her for a night out, she could hear in her tone that Serena was trying to avoid her. So she suggested a modest slumber party with 80s movies, nail polish, girl talk, and an early bedtime. Serena perked right up with an “oh, that sounds so nice” and told Georgina to be there in an hour, that she’d have the popcorn ready.
Georgina couldn’t tell if Serena expected her to turn an innocent sleepover into something unsavory or if the party girl was just in denial, but Serena knew who she was and what she was, and if she expected anything other than a not so quiet night in then she felt sorry for her. Personally, she was hoping for neither. One of these days, Serena was going to use her brain, and then they’d really be able to have some fun.
Carnivale: Rita Sue, Jonesy → regret (550 words)
“You’re gonna regret it,” she said coming around the corner and running her hand along the tent. “And it’ll be sooner rather than later.” She put her cigarette to her lips and took a long, lazy drag.
“What are you jawwin' on about?” He was bent over a crate, nailing the lid in place. It was cool and dark outside after the show had come down, and the occasional breeze that whipped at the canvas tents was filled with dust. Jonesy looked up from his hammer and watched Rita Sue pull another cigarette from her cleavage.
“Cigarette?” He took it and she offered her own as a light. Their eyes met as he took his first drag, but they both looked away to smoke in silence for a moment.
“My baby has a strong will, though she don’t show it ‘til it matters. She ain’t like me,” Rita Sue said looking across the midway. She inhaled and exhaled the smoke slowly, letting the words sink in before elaborating. After a moment, when she didn’t or couldn’t speak again, Jonesy sighed and moved around the crate to stand in front of her.
“I’m not sure what you’re tryin’ to do, but Libby and me is married, and it’s gonna stay that way.” His tone was stern and his words deliberate and steady. “You and Stumpy can huff and puff all you want, but Libby ain’t a little a girl no more.”
“She’s not no woman either. She may look like one and men may notice her like men do, but she might as well be in diapers when it comes to knowin’ the world. She’s got some notion you’re a hero done saved her.”
“Maybe I have. But she don’t need me to be her father, and she can look after herself just fine.” He threw his cigarette to the ground and looked down where it lay for a few moments to breathe.
“She’s a dancer, Jonesy,” she said as he looked back up at her. Rita Sue made sure he was looking her dead in the eyes when she spoke again. “That’s all she knows. That and whorin’.”
Whatever reaction she was hoping for, she didn’t get nearly half of it. His eyes narrowed and he breathed roughly, “Thanks to you.” He took his hat off and ran his hands through his hair as he turned away from her.
“Yeah, she came by it honest. Guess you got yourself a type.” She could see his shoulders tense and waited for the storm to come. For good measure she added, “You married the only natural-born whore I’ve ever laid eyes on.” And there it was.
He whirled around and threw his hat to the ground. “She’s my wife, goddammit! I don’t care if you’re Jesus Christ himself, but you don’t talk about her that way!” Jonesy said trying to keep his voice down. His face was red and his eyes were blazing. “Now she’s married. That makes her a respectable woman.”
“I’m married. Guess that makes me respectable, too,” she chirped.
“Your husband sells you to the highest bidder every night. I ain’t havin’ no shit-hole marriage like yours." He spat in disgust. "Libby is with me and only me, ‘til death.” Jonesy picked up his hat, dusted it off on his pants, and limped away toward his tent.
Rita Sue lit another cigarette and smiled to herself as she watched him disappear into the darkness.
Check out Lint's fun fics at here at his journal. :)