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1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabble/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Two modifications: I listened to each song through twice, and I only did five of these.
These are straight up, no more revision than a run through spell check.
1) “Olympia, WA” - Rancid
It’s four o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon, and Danny’s feeling like he’s got to do something, anything, so it’s a goddamn good thing he’s got the day off, and ain’t it goddamn fortuitous that Flack has the day off, too. So they’ve been shooting hoops for a couple hours, and it hasn’t done a goddamn thing for the itch settling beneath Danny’s skin.
Flack can tell. Danny can tell that Flack can tell. So they end up at Flack’s place, drinking beer, jerking each other off. It takes the edge off, starts the night early, and then they hit a bar, but it’s still not fixing a goddamn thing. So Danny thinks long and hard about picking a fight-with Flack, with the bartender, with the corporate jackass a couple booths over.
Flack can tell, and Danny can tell that Flack can tell. That’s why Flack pulls Danny’s attention to the three girls laughing over by the bar. One of them is showing her tits off nicely, and Danny wonders if him and Flack can get all three of them to go back to Flack’s place. Probably not.
Danny almost asks Flack, almost asks why Flack doesn’t give a shit that Danny’s about to cheat on Lindsay again, for the five hundredth time (or something like that), but Flack’s turned into this constant, this solid constant in Danny’s life. On the rare occasions that Danny stops to think about it, it bothers him.
But at least for tonight, Danny’s not going to ask any stupid questions and screw it up.
…
2) “Lullabies” - Brandi Shearer
The gin has softly taken to Sheldon’s head, and it makes him sway just a little, moving in time to Billie Holiday, moving across the room to bring Stella another glass.
The gin has softly taken itself to Stella’s head as well. Sheldon can tell by the specific curve of her mouth as he hands her the cool glass, the ice clinking against the side. She smiles, she smiles and there’s something sly in her eyes. She takes the glass and takes hold of his free wrist, moving carefully because they don’t need to spill the gin and tonic-especially don’t need to spill the gin.
Sheldon leans over and puts his glass on the side table, and he lets her pull him down, and he puts a knee on either side of her legs, and he’s straddling her lap. Her fingers loop into the waistband of his pants, and she leans her head back, just looking up at him, speaking no words.
Stella’s eyes say sly things and true things and hard things, and her body says the same things, and neither one of them speaks a word.
…
3) “Meaningless” - The Magnetic Fields
Danny doesn’t give a shit.
It’s the standard he’s lived his entire life to. You don’t get too attached, and then no one’s got anything to hold against you, hold over you. Blackmail you.
Now Lindsay’s getting clingy when they’re alone together, her fingers and her voice are cloying, like some part of her knows the truth and so she’s overcompensating. She likes to convince herself of things. That’s the first piece of truth Danny learned about her. So she convinces herself that Danny is only forgetful, that Danny doesn’t look at other girls.
That Danny gives a shit.
…
4) “Johnsburg, Illinois” - Tom Waits
Every so often, Sheldon gets Mac to come out for a couple drinks at a blues bar, because it’s good for Mac to remember exactly how human he is. Well, that was more important a few years ago. Sheldon’s been doing this for a long time.
Sheldon always buys the first round, and sometimes Mac can’t stop talking about work, and sometimes Mac gets drunk, and sometimes Mac is quiet.
And sometimes Mac smiles.
…
5) “Absentee” - Shannon Wright
Mac can’t remember how long he’s known Stella.
That’s not true. He can look at a calendar, he can do the math, he can figure it out.
But he can’t remember how long because she’s always-
She’s always.
She held on to him after the towers fell, after Mac thought his personal life had turned to dust. When all Mac had was work, she didn’t let him come entirely apart at the seams.
And now she’s holding him for real, her arm around his back, her hand cupping his cheek, and he kisses her for the first time. Her mouth is a comfort, as if it has always been this way.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabble/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Two modifications: I listened to each song through twice, and I only did five of these.
These are straight up, no more revision than a run through spell check.
1) “Olympia, WA” - Rancid
It’s four o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon, and Danny’s feeling like he’s got to do something, anything, so it’s a goddamn good thing he’s got the day off, and ain’t it goddamn fortuitous that Flack has the day off, too. So they’ve been shooting hoops for a couple hours, and it hasn’t done a goddamn thing for the itch settling beneath Danny’s skin.
Flack can tell. Danny can tell that Flack can tell. So they end up at Flack’s place, drinking beer, jerking each other off. It takes the edge off, starts the night early, and then they hit a bar, but it’s still not fixing a goddamn thing. So Danny thinks long and hard about picking a fight-with Flack, with the bartender, with the corporate jackass a couple booths over.
Flack can tell, and Danny can tell that Flack can tell. That’s why Flack pulls Danny’s attention to the three girls laughing over by the bar. One of them is showing her tits off nicely, and Danny wonders if him and Flack can get all three of them to go back to Flack’s place. Probably not.
Danny almost asks Flack, almost asks why Flack doesn’t give a shit that Danny’s about to cheat on Lindsay again, for the five hundredth time (or something like that), but Flack’s turned into this constant, this solid constant in Danny’s life. On the rare occasions that Danny stops to think about it, it bothers him.
But at least for tonight, Danny’s not going to ask any stupid questions and screw it up.
…
2) “Lullabies” - Brandi Shearer
The gin has softly taken to Sheldon’s head, and it makes him sway just a little, moving in time to Billie Holiday, moving across the room to bring Stella another glass.
The gin has softly taken itself to Stella’s head as well. Sheldon can tell by the specific curve of her mouth as he hands her the cool glass, the ice clinking against the side. She smiles, she smiles and there’s something sly in her eyes. She takes the glass and takes hold of his free wrist, moving carefully because they don’t need to spill the gin and tonic-especially don’t need to spill the gin.
Sheldon leans over and puts his glass on the side table, and he lets her pull him down, and he puts a knee on either side of her legs, and he’s straddling her lap. Her fingers loop into the waistband of his pants, and she leans her head back, just looking up at him, speaking no words.
Stella’s eyes say sly things and true things and hard things, and her body says the same things, and neither one of them speaks a word.
…
3) “Meaningless” - The Magnetic Fields
Danny doesn’t give a shit.
It’s the standard he’s lived his entire life to. You don’t get too attached, and then no one’s got anything to hold against you, hold over you. Blackmail you.
Now Lindsay’s getting clingy when they’re alone together, her fingers and her voice are cloying, like some part of her knows the truth and so she’s overcompensating. She likes to convince herself of things. That’s the first piece of truth Danny learned about her. So she convinces herself that Danny is only forgetful, that Danny doesn’t look at other girls.
That Danny gives a shit.
…
4) “Johnsburg, Illinois” - Tom Waits
Every so often, Sheldon gets Mac to come out for a couple drinks at a blues bar, because it’s good for Mac to remember exactly how human he is. Well, that was more important a few years ago. Sheldon’s been doing this for a long time.
Sheldon always buys the first round, and sometimes Mac can’t stop talking about work, and sometimes Mac gets drunk, and sometimes Mac is quiet.
And sometimes Mac smiles.
…
5) “Absentee” - Shannon Wright
Mac can’t remember how long he’s known Stella.
That’s not true. He can look at a calendar, he can do the math, he can figure it out.
But he can’t remember how long because she’s always-
She’s always.
She held on to him after the towers fell, after Mac thought his personal life had turned to dust. When all Mac had was work, she didn’t let him come entirely apart at the seams.
And now she’s holding him for real, her arm around his back, her hand cupping his cheek, and he kisses her for the first time. Her mouth is a comfort, as if it has always been this way.