That Music Meme
So I should be writing ALTLUT, but I couldn't resist that music meme that's been going around.
Meme from good_luck_putzi:
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabblet/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.
Fandom: BSG
Characters: Hoshi, Narcho, Gaeta, Skulls, Lee, Tom, Hot Dog, Baltar, and maybe a few others. Set in the YFL/ALTLUT/Softly Tread universe, and fairly heavily so. This does not please the mod rap541 as it is not gen. Oh well.
1. "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" by Fish
"Come on. You can't do this," Noel begged. The late afternoon sunlight slanted in through the hospital windows, golden and illuminating his hair. Louis looked away. "Louis… we can work this out."
"We can't."
"We could if we tried! Why are you throwing this away so easily?"
"Why did you?" Louis asked. His throat threatened to close up again, and he had to swallow hard. The IV pump beeped, punctuating his sentence. "I can't do this, Noel. I can't lie here and wonder who you're frakking tonight. I have other things to concentrate on."
Noel's face hardened. "Yeah. And you're off fighting those battles alone."
"How else do you propose I fight leukemia? It's my body I'm fighting, Noel! You can't do this for me!"
"But I could help!"
"HOW?" Louis demanded. "HOW THE FRAK COULD YOU HELP ME?"
Noel's knuckles whitened as his hands squeezed into fists. He was blinking hard, and he took a step forward. Louis froze him with an icy gaze. "You can't help me," he said flatly.
"If you let me-"
"You. Can't. Help. Me."
2. "What I Want" by Daughtry
"Come on," Louis shouted in Felix's ear. "Let's go."
Felix looked out at the crowded dance floor, filled with people moving to the sound of the band. "I can't dance," he warned Louis.
"Neither can I, and the band can't play. Why should that stop us?" Louis grabbed his hand and pulled. "Unless you want to talk to the Admiral all night." He smiled wickedly- an expression he didn't get often, but nights usually ended up fantastic when he did.
"No, I think I'd rather end up with you all night," Felix said, getting to his feet.
It was just like being in a bar back on Picon; people wearing too little, the scent of stale alcohol, sweat, and smoke, and feeling like he was in the wrong place, but in a good way. Louis was just as bad a dancer as he'd advertised, and the fact he wore a sweater and khaki pants only emphasized the fact.
3. "Wild as the Wind" by Garth Brooks
The wind was hot as it swept over the fields, kicking up the dust and making Louis cough. He wiped his face on his shirt, leaving fresh streaks on the dingy fabric.
"Louis!" Sarah shouted. "Mom says that you have fifteen minutes before dinner, and if the weeding's not done, you're going back out!"
"I'm moving!" Louis shouted. He bent over, renewing his energy. The last thing he wanted to spend his evening doing was the weeding. There was a concert tonight- the Antebellums were playing- and he, Trina, Tom, and Rob were all planning on saying they were at the school's library working on a project. That was the advantage of being one of the unpopular kids- everyone would completely believe it, and his parents would never know he'd snuck out of the house to hear "that heathen crap" as they called it.
The wind stirred again, and he smiled. Only a little more to go, and then he'd be free, even if it was only for a night.
4. "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins
"No. No. Please don't start crying again," Brendan begged. "Please." He picked up Nicky, bouncing him gently. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."
Nicky snuffled into his shoulder, the tantrum seemingly held at bay.
Brendan cuddled the chubby little bundle against his shoulder. "There," he said. "That's better, isn't it? Yes. You know," he sighed, "I wish I'd known you earlier. Then you wouldn't be so scared of me. You'd know I'm an idiot, but you know I'd never hurt you, right?"
"Daddy," Nicky said.
"I know. I know. See, here's the thing, though," Brendan said, at a loss because he didn't know what Tyrol was thinking. Well, frak it. "Here's the thing," he said more confidently. "You have two daddies now. I don't know what's going on with your other dad, buddy, but I do know this. I will always be here."
As he said that, it suddenly occurred to Brendan it was true. He pulled Nicky off his shoulder so he could look straight into his eyes. "I will always be there," he repeated, with the solemnity of a wedding vow.
And, of course, Nicky burst into tears again. Brendan sighed, and cradled him back against the warmth of his body. "Yeah," he said. "Trust me, bud, I feel like doing the same thing." But as he paced the floor, it had none of the fear of earlier.
This was always.
5. "Uninvited Guest" by Marillion
"Did you see?" Abel laughed, and his laughter had a bitter, angry edge to it. "Thorne put a please disturb sign on the bitch's cell. And you know what that means."
Louis choked down the bile that threatened to rise. She's a frakking Cylon he reminded himself. A machine. She destroyed the world. And she betrayed Helena. "Yeah?" he asked. "Are you going down?"
"You'd better believe it. Come on," Abel invited him. "You're not on duty right now."
Hoshi thought of the Admiral, thought of his home, thought of Jurgen. "Right," he said, pushing his tray away. "Let's go."
There were people down there already. Hoshi stopped as he saw the line. Most of them were NCOs, knuckledraggers, people in menial jobs- or so he wanted to believe. But he saw smatterings of duty blues, and he saw familiar faces.
He could see through the glass. She wasn't even fighting anymore, even though Timmins was rutting away on her.
Hoshi barely got out of line before he vomited, the mess splattering everywhere.
6. "Scarlett Fever" by Kenny Rogers
He was in his late fifties, as near as he could figure. She was in her twenties, maybe her thirties. That was one reason.
Of course, even late twenties was plenty old enough to know what she wanted.
He was Vice President of the Colonies- what was left of them, anyway. She was a Raptor pilot. Tom wasn't an expert in military code, but he was pretty sure that broke some sort of fraternization code.
Of course, that only made it more exciting.
She was angry at Adama, but so was he. She was experienced- that much was obvious from her confident smile, her hand on his thigh, and her breast pressed against his arm. He was… experienced, but definitely unpracticed.
But Tom had always been a bluffer. He smiled at her, and wrapped his arm around Racetrack's waist, pulling her across his lap. She straddled him, tossing her hair over her shoulder and grinning wickedly. "Trust me, Mr. Vice President," she said, taking off his tie. "This is going to be fun."
"I'm sure it will be," he said, even though it seemed like the lamest answer in the world.
7. "Doin' the Pigeon" by Bert (look, I have kids, okay?)
Dinner. Dinner could be good. It would help him sober up.
Lee wondered if he had a net someplace.
A pigeon. How the frak had a pigeon gotten in here? Who let a frakking pigeon in? Maybe it was symbolic.
Maybe he was hallucinating.
That was it. Definitely. He was hallucinating- his overactive, over-romantic imagination conjuring up images. Kara was a free bird, one who couldn't be caught or pinned down. Of course, what that meant for his brother was… oh frak it.
There had to be a net somewhere around here.
A net and a frying pan.
Did you pluck a pigeon before you cooked it? Oh gods, did that mean "do you undress Kara before you frak her?"
8. "Fit for a King" by Garth Brooks
Their faces were turned up, listening to him. Begging him, Gaius Baltar, for answers.
"Once, you looked to me for answers. Once, answers were so easy to give," he heard himself saying. "Once, I understood everything. It was ones and zeroes, it was ifs and thens. If you did this, then logically that must occur. There were certain facts of nature, of science, that you could rely on."
He wiped at his face. "But tonight… tonight I have no answers for you. We've all lost so much before this, and yet tonight we're asked to bear this new burden, to endure this new loss. And like you all, I rage at God. I demand to know how He could do this.
"God says that we are each perfect. He forgives. And I know… I know this to be true, deep within my soul. And yet tonight, he has said no. YOU will not be forgiven. He has wrecked vengennce on Felix Gaeta and Tom Zarek, and I find myself surviving to demand why. WHY this time? WHY now? Yes, they led a mutiny. Yes, they cost lives. But are their hands dirtier than others that have been allowed to survive? Are their hands dirtier than mine? And the answer to that is no.
"No, I do not understand it either. I suppose that's why they call it faith."
9. "Warm Wet Circles" by Marillion
"Come on," Skulls said, taking Felix's hand.
Felix followed, swallowing hard. It was so easy… so easy to kiss Skulls. Not that he had to do much. Skulls was enthusiastic, and an amazing kisser as well. Felix only had to follow, and this he had done before.
They'd put the boots outside the door, they wouldn't have long but it would be long enough. Skulls stepped back, pulling his tanks over his head, leering at Felix, and Felix smiled back. He began to undo his own jacket, hoping he didn't look as stiff and awkward as he felt. Skulls hands slipped down his shoulders, pushing the jacket off his arms.
"Come on, Gaeta," he said, his voice rough and low in Felix's ear. "We don't have all night." But there was laughter in his voice as well.
Then Felix was on his back in a rack that wasn't his, Skulls covering him. This was as far as he'd ever gotten before, and his stomach twisted in eager anticipation. Skulls guided his legs so they were over his shoulders, an awkward position if Felix had ever been in one.
"Is this right?" Felix asked.
Skulls stilled, just for a moment, and Felix realized he'd given himself away. He met Skulls' eyes challengingly, and Skulls nodded.
"Yeah, that's right," he said, and pushed in.
10. "One" by U2
Felix was staring at the picture so long that the people became shapes, not actual faces. "I don't want to do this," he finally said.
"Then don't," Louis said. "Don't leave. Don't pick a frakking fight. Just get back in bed and let's talk about this reasonably."
"Reasonably," Felix laughed hollowly. "What's reasonable about any of this? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just did!" Louis protested. "Look, I know it's a lot. I know you don't want to let this go. I don't want to let it go, either! And I'm not demanding you wait. But damn it, I'm asking!"
"And why would you want me to?" Felix asked, whirling on his heel. "You frakking know-"
"Yes, I know about Baltar!"
"So?"
"So what? Felix, do you know why I'm asking you to just be my friend while I'm in chemo? It's because the last time I fought this, my frakking fiancé cheated on me! I can't handle that again!"
"I don't-"
"I'm saying," Louis spelled it out, "I know you've got shit to work out. I get that. And I want to wait for you, if you'll wait for me to work this mess out. We can do this, Felix. We just need to be patient."
Felix sat back down on the bed heavily. "Patient," he said. "I can do patient."
"So can I."
Meme from good_luck_putzi:
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabblet/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.
Fandom: BSG
Characters: Hoshi, Narcho, Gaeta, Skulls, Lee, Tom, Hot Dog, Baltar, and maybe a few others. Set in the YFL/ALTLUT/Softly Tread universe, and fairly heavily so. This does not please the mod rap541 as it is not gen. Oh well.
1. "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" by Fish
"Come on. You can't do this," Noel begged. The late afternoon sunlight slanted in through the hospital windows, golden and illuminating his hair. Louis looked away. "Louis… we can work this out."
"We can't."
"We could if we tried! Why are you throwing this away so easily?"
"Why did you?" Louis asked. His throat threatened to close up again, and he had to swallow hard. The IV pump beeped, punctuating his sentence. "I can't do this, Noel. I can't lie here and wonder who you're frakking tonight. I have other things to concentrate on."
Noel's face hardened. "Yeah. And you're off fighting those battles alone."
"How else do you propose I fight leukemia? It's my body I'm fighting, Noel! You can't do this for me!"
"But I could help!"
"HOW?" Louis demanded. "HOW THE FRAK COULD YOU HELP ME?"
Noel's knuckles whitened as his hands squeezed into fists. He was blinking hard, and he took a step forward. Louis froze him with an icy gaze. "You can't help me," he said flatly.
"If you let me-"
"You. Can't. Help. Me."
2. "What I Want" by Daughtry
"Come on," Louis shouted in Felix's ear. "Let's go."
Felix looked out at the crowded dance floor, filled with people moving to the sound of the band. "I can't dance," he warned Louis.
"Neither can I, and the band can't play. Why should that stop us?" Louis grabbed his hand and pulled. "Unless you want to talk to the Admiral all night." He smiled wickedly- an expression he didn't get often, but nights usually ended up fantastic when he did.
"No, I think I'd rather end up with you all night," Felix said, getting to his feet.
It was just like being in a bar back on Picon; people wearing too little, the scent of stale alcohol, sweat, and smoke, and feeling like he was in the wrong place, but in a good way. Louis was just as bad a dancer as he'd advertised, and the fact he wore a sweater and khaki pants only emphasized the fact.
3. "Wild as the Wind" by Garth Brooks
The wind was hot as it swept over the fields, kicking up the dust and making Louis cough. He wiped his face on his shirt, leaving fresh streaks on the dingy fabric.
"Louis!" Sarah shouted. "Mom says that you have fifteen minutes before dinner, and if the weeding's not done, you're going back out!"
"I'm moving!" Louis shouted. He bent over, renewing his energy. The last thing he wanted to spend his evening doing was the weeding. There was a concert tonight- the Antebellums were playing- and he, Trina, Tom, and Rob were all planning on saying they were at the school's library working on a project. That was the advantage of being one of the unpopular kids- everyone would completely believe it, and his parents would never know he'd snuck out of the house to hear "that heathen crap" as they called it.
The wind stirred again, and he smiled. Only a little more to go, and then he'd be free, even if it was only for a night.
4. "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins
"No. No. Please don't start crying again," Brendan begged. "Please." He picked up Nicky, bouncing him gently. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."
Nicky snuffled into his shoulder, the tantrum seemingly held at bay.
Brendan cuddled the chubby little bundle against his shoulder. "There," he said. "That's better, isn't it? Yes. You know," he sighed, "I wish I'd known you earlier. Then you wouldn't be so scared of me. You'd know I'm an idiot, but you know I'd never hurt you, right?"
"Daddy," Nicky said.
"I know. I know. See, here's the thing, though," Brendan said, at a loss because he didn't know what Tyrol was thinking. Well, frak it. "Here's the thing," he said more confidently. "You have two daddies now. I don't know what's going on with your other dad, buddy, but I do know this. I will always be here."
As he said that, it suddenly occurred to Brendan it was true. He pulled Nicky off his shoulder so he could look straight into his eyes. "I will always be there," he repeated, with the solemnity of a wedding vow.
And, of course, Nicky burst into tears again. Brendan sighed, and cradled him back against the warmth of his body. "Yeah," he said. "Trust me, bud, I feel like doing the same thing." But as he paced the floor, it had none of the fear of earlier.
This was always.
5. "Uninvited Guest" by Marillion
"Did you see?" Abel laughed, and his laughter had a bitter, angry edge to it. "Thorne put a please disturb sign on the bitch's cell. And you know what that means."
Louis choked down the bile that threatened to rise. She's a frakking Cylon he reminded himself. A machine. She destroyed the world. And she betrayed Helena. "Yeah?" he asked. "Are you going down?"
"You'd better believe it. Come on," Abel invited him. "You're not on duty right now."
Hoshi thought of the Admiral, thought of his home, thought of Jurgen. "Right," he said, pushing his tray away. "Let's go."
There were people down there already. Hoshi stopped as he saw the line. Most of them were NCOs, knuckledraggers, people in menial jobs- or so he wanted to believe. But he saw smatterings of duty blues, and he saw familiar faces.
He could see through the glass. She wasn't even fighting anymore, even though Timmins was rutting away on her.
Hoshi barely got out of line before he vomited, the mess splattering everywhere.
6. "Scarlett Fever" by Kenny Rogers
He was in his late fifties, as near as he could figure. She was in her twenties, maybe her thirties. That was one reason.
Of course, even late twenties was plenty old enough to know what she wanted.
He was Vice President of the Colonies- what was left of them, anyway. She was a Raptor pilot. Tom wasn't an expert in military code, but he was pretty sure that broke some sort of fraternization code.
Of course, that only made it more exciting.
She was angry at Adama, but so was he. She was experienced- that much was obvious from her confident smile, her hand on his thigh, and her breast pressed against his arm. He was… experienced, but definitely unpracticed.
But Tom had always been a bluffer. He smiled at her, and wrapped his arm around Racetrack's waist, pulling her across his lap. She straddled him, tossing her hair over her shoulder and grinning wickedly. "Trust me, Mr. Vice President," she said, taking off his tie. "This is going to be fun."
"I'm sure it will be," he said, even though it seemed like the lamest answer in the world.
7. "Doin' the Pigeon" by Bert (look, I have kids, okay?)
Dinner. Dinner could be good. It would help him sober up.
Lee wondered if he had a net someplace.
A pigeon. How the frak had a pigeon gotten in here? Who let a frakking pigeon in? Maybe it was symbolic.
Maybe he was hallucinating.
That was it. Definitely. He was hallucinating- his overactive, over-romantic imagination conjuring up images. Kara was a free bird, one who couldn't be caught or pinned down. Of course, what that meant for his brother was… oh frak it.
There had to be a net somewhere around here.
A net and a frying pan.
Did you pluck a pigeon before you cooked it? Oh gods, did that mean "do you undress Kara before you frak her?"
8. "Fit for a King" by Garth Brooks
Their faces were turned up, listening to him. Begging him, Gaius Baltar, for answers.
"Once, you looked to me for answers. Once, answers were so easy to give," he heard himself saying. "Once, I understood everything. It was ones and zeroes, it was ifs and thens. If you did this, then logically that must occur. There were certain facts of nature, of science, that you could rely on."
He wiped at his face. "But tonight… tonight I have no answers for you. We've all lost so much before this, and yet tonight we're asked to bear this new burden, to endure this new loss. And like you all, I rage at God. I demand to know how He could do this.
"God says that we are each perfect. He forgives. And I know… I know this to be true, deep within my soul. And yet tonight, he has said no. YOU will not be forgiven. He has wrecked vengennce on Felix Gaeta and Tom Zarek, and I find myself surviving to demand why. WHY this time? WHY now? Yes, they led a mutiny. Yes, they cost lives. But are their hands dirtier than others that have been allowed to survive? Are their hands dirtier than mine? And the answer to that is no.
"No, I do not understand it either. I suppose that's why they call it faith."
9. "Warm Wet Circles" by Marillion
"Come on," Skulls said, taking Felix's hand.
Felix followed, swallowing hard. It was so easy… so easy to kiss Skulls. Not that he had to do much. Skulls was enthusiastic, and an amazing kisser as well. Felix only had to follow, and this he had done before.
They'd put the boots outside the door, they wouldn't have long but it would be long enough. Skulls stepped back, pulling his tanks over his head, leering at Felix, and Felix smiled back. He began to undo his own jacket, hoping he didn't look as stiff and awkward as he felt. Skulls hands slipped down his shoulders, pushing the jacket off his arms.
"Come on, Gaeta," he said, his voice rough and low in Felix's ear. "We don't have all night." But there was laughter in his voice as well.
Then Felix was on his back in a rack that wasn't his, Skulls covering him. This was as far as he'd ever gotten before, and his stomach twisted in eager anticipation. Skulls guided his legs so they were over his shoulders, an awkward position if Felix had ever been in one.
"Is this right?" Felix asked.
Skulls stilled, just for a moment, and Felix realized he'd given himself away. He met Skulls' eyes challengingly, and Skulls nodded.
"Yeah, that's right," he said, and pushed in.
10. "One" by U2
Felix was staring at the picture so long that the people became shapes, not actual faces. "I don't want to do this," he finally said.
"Then don't," Louis said. "Don't leave. Don't pick a frakking fight. Just get back in bed and let's talk about this reasonably."
"Reasonably," Felix laughed hollowly. "What's reasonable about any of this? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just did!" Louis protested. "Look, I know it's a lot. I know you don't want to let this go. I don't want to let it go, either! And I'm not demanding you wait. But damn it, I'm asking!"
"And why would you want me to?" Felix asked, whirling on his heel. "You frakking know-"
"Yes, I know about Baltar!"
"So?"
"So what? Felix, do you know why I'm asking you to just be my friend while I'm in chemo? It's because the last time I fought this, my frakking fiancé cheated on me! I can't handle that again!"
"I don't-"
"I'm saying," Louis spelled it out, "I know you've got shit to work out. I get that. And I want to wait for you, if you'll wait for me to work this mess out. We can do this, Felix. We just need to be patient."
Felix sat back down on the bed heavily. "Patient," he said. "I can do patient."
"So can I."