#tool ticks and leeches

[diathadevil]

Two songs that make my body ascend towards the astral plane:

Tool's song Parabol transitioning to the sick riff in Parabola.

Hades' guitar riff going from 2nd to 3rd Phase in the game.

[shadowsdarkrealm1]

Tool ~ Ticks & Leeches

[stephjacq]

This song goes off in so many dimensions, and this is a neat recording that almost gives you the vibe of how amazing it is live. This is the version Maynard rewrote after he damaged his vocal chords singing the album version, and had to stop singing it for a while. (Wrote? Rewrote? Is this like the time I couldn't figure out why I couldn't 'reformat' my hard drive?)

Danny Carey though. The glorious octopus god of polyrhythms. This video has some excellent Danny moments and it's worth watching just for those.

[shadow4-1]

I'm just imagining having a great track day with Ghost but getting so exhausted that the two of you fall asleep on the gym floor.

Like, you aced the hurdles and the dashes with no issue. The obstacle course wasn't even that with how you breezed through it. You had some issues with the rope climb, but Ghost had taught you the technique last session. And voila! You beat your last time and came out on top of the rookies once again.

Ghost was built for his brawn. While he also aced his turn, it was obvious he didn't have some of the dexterity you possessed and therefore had to put more energy into not knocking into things. He also came out on top of the rookies and over your time. You scoffed but offered him some water.

The summer was upon you, and with it, it's gentle heat that quickly turned to burning rage. You could feel a prickly tightness on the back of your shoulders and neck. Not sunburn quite yet, but probably close. The drier air wicked the moisture from your mouth as you panted.

"M' gonna head in." You huffed, gesturing to the gymnasium's open back door. "Do n' equipment check."

He nodded at you, the front of his mask rising and falling quickly. Something about seeing him pant in his mask tickled you. You headed towards the gym and the moment you stepped inside you couldn't help but sigh. The air conditioning was cool and refreshing. Instantly, you could feel the heat in your bones being drawn out towards your skin.

With a soft hum you began an equipment check. The longer you stood at the racks, check marking boxes and organizing the weights, you felt heavier and heavier. You checked the time, 12:45. No wonder you felt so drained.

It was the midday slump.

Well, as soon as you were done you could get a shower and probably get a nap before mess. The sound of the gym's back door closing made you jump. Oh no....

"Please tell me you didn't close that door." You whined at Ghost.

Just as you suspected, he still had his hand on the door handle. You facepalmed.

"Gaz has the keys. And he's not coming back till three."

"Wot 're you talkin' about?" Ghost huffed, trying the other set of gym doors. Just as you suspected, yeah, they were locked. He jiggled them firmly, eyes dark with annoyance.

"Thanks, Ghost. We're locked in here for awhile."

He went to try the locker room doors and those too were locked. You raised a brow at him but opted to sit against one of the bare walls. There was no point in getting upset.

Gaz would be back in a little while. Besides, the gym had the best air-conditioning out of all the buildings since it'd been first on the list for an upgrade last year. Even if you went back to your bunk, the the likelihood of getting a comfortable nap would be low.

You could hear Ghost messing with the door locks but you knew it was a lost cause. He didn't have the tools to open it, and if he brute forced it open Price would be on his ass for repairs. Just as you expected, it didn't take him long to give up.

"When's Gaz getting back?" He huffed, rolling up his longsleeve just enough to get a glance down at his sports watch.

"Three."

He set his watch's timer with a few beeps before crouching into a sitting position next to you. The next few minutes were spent in a cool silence. Occasionally the a/c units would hum to life, drone and puff cool air over your still hot body, and then click off.

"Didn't bring your phone?" He asked, voice more tired than usual.

"Nope. Left it in the locker room." You shrugged. "Didn't bring yours?"

"No." He muttered, glancing at the locker room with his eyes only.

More minutes ticked by. The cool linoleum leeched even more heat out of your skin. The overhead lights were motion activated, and so most of them had flicked off awhile ago. It was cool and dim and your body was tired from exertion.

You couldn't help but start nodding off.

"Falling asleep, Sergeant?" Ghost mused, looking down at you through the holes in his soft mask.

"Oh, don't act like you're not feeling it too." You huffed, curling up into your arms. "M' tired."

Ghost hummed. Whether in agreement, you couldn't tell. You didn't really care. How could you when sleep creeped in from the edge of your vision.

"Can I lean on you?"

"Wot?"

"Can I lean on you?" You asked him again. "I don't wanna lay on the floor but I wanna take a nap."

"Sure..."

You scooted closer to him and rested your head on the top of his arm. It was a bit uncomfortable with how firm it was at first but it was certainly softer than the floor. It didn't take long for you to feel your lids drooping again.

Right as you were pulled under, you felt Ghost shift. There was a warm presence against the crown of your head.

If you weren't half asleep you might've thought he'd kissed your forehead.

[ferindencadash]

Six Song Soundtrack Playlist

Tagged by @average-mako-enjoyer (this was so fun, thank you!)

I'm going with Jessie Shepard from Stockholm since she has the most fleshed out back story (don't actually read the story, it's in desperate need of a rewrite and extremely dead dove 😅 so why did I link it? Shush, nobody asked you).

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

1. An event that defines your character's past

You probably thought that I'd never escape I'd be a rat in a cage, I'd be a slave to this place You don't know how hard I fought to survive Waking up alone when I was left to die

2. How your character sees themselves

Don't you breathe for me Undeserving of your sympathy 'Cause there ain't no way that I'm sorry for what I did And through it all How could you cry for me? 'Cause I don't feel bad about it

3. How others view them

She burns like the sun And I can't look away

4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic)

You're everything I want And I am everything you need This night is cutting in to me You tie me down, you watch me bleed And we risk everything

5. A major fight scene

My fruit is bruised and borrowed You thieving bastards You have turned my blood cold and bitter Beat my compassion black and blue Hope this is what you wanted Hope this is what you had in mind 'Cause this is what you're getting I hope you choke on this

6. End credits song

And I can hear her sing And I know she's giving up And I don't know what to do, how to help her How to bring her home And I can hear him break And he doesn't understand And I wish that I could take his hand But where I'm going is for me and me alone And I can her sing "If I don't make it back from where I've gone Just know I loved you all along"

It was really hard not to use In This Moment for every answer, because Jessie was literally built around the Blood album. 😅 But I tried to branch out!

I spent WAY too much time on this, so I'm going to be specific in my tags, and ask about some of my favourite OCs 🥺🙏 (if you're up for it of course).

@samuelroukin Any of your boys, I love them all (though you know my favourite 😌)

@marbobar for Mrinthyr please!

@s3rnielsen Horgrim!!! 🙏

@aleksxo Velen ❤️

@swordbisexual any iteration of Vissenta!

@gravedigg Virgil, if you're so inclined! 🙏

@rowansnaps Briar, of course!

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

The Grudge • Eon Blue Apocalypse • The Patient • Mantra • Schism • Parabol • Parabola • Ticks & Leeches • Lateralus • Disposition • Reflection • Triad • Faaip de Oiad

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[doeeyyeed]

quite desperation a short story

The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation. Carl Jung says we cannot change anything unless we accept it, but the trick is that acceptance doesn’t come easy. Regret, guilt, anxiety, depression—neurotic symptoms stacked like dirty dishes in the sink. They’re signals, blinking neon in the dark, whispering that the routine isn’t working. The plumbing is clogged, the walls are cracking, and we’re too busy pretending everything’s fine to call a contractor.

Suffering isn’t the enemy. It’s the renovation notice taped to the door. The uncomfortable splinter digging into the soft flesh of your heel. Suffering forces you to strip the wallpaper, rip up the carpet, and examine the foundation. It’s the grim contractor pointing out what’s rotted and needs replacing. It’s a therapist with a cigarette in one hand and a crowbar in the other. It tells you to get your house in order before the roof caves in.

But instead, we turn on Netflix. Crack open beers. Pop pills like Tic Tacs. We chase the dopamine dragon through bars, bedrooms, and back alleys. We anesthetize ourselves into oblivion and call it self-care. It’s all fun and games until the serotonin supply chain collapses and suddenly you’re Googling how much Advil it takes to stop caring.

Carl Jung warns, “We may think there is a safe road. But that would be the road of death.” Death is the slow drip of routine, the suffocating weight of settling for less. It’s the zombie shuffle through cubicles and traffic jams and Netflix queues. The antidote? Movement. Forward. Always. Maslow says self-actualization is the goal—becoming everything you’re capable of being. No excuses. No safety nets.

“If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being,” Maslow says, “you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.” And let’s face it—happiness isn’t the goal. Purpose is. Happiness is a side effect, like nausea on a pill bottle label. Purpose is the sharp edge that keeps you moving, even when it cuts.

Sow a thought and reap an action. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny. It’s all about planting seeds in the dirt and bleeding as they grow. The first step is picking the damn seeds. Finding the purpose. People get tripped up, think they need to find their passion first, but passion is a leech. It shows up after the work begins. Passion is the drunk friend who crashes on your couch after the hard labor is done.

Morita therapy says forget your feelings and do what needs doing. Let the actions change the emotions, not the other way around. The feelings are background noise—ignore them. Focus on the work. Build the habits. Stack the bricks. Create the architecture of your life one ugly, uneven wall at a time.

And if you feel lost, remember Steve Jobs’ advice: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life." Death strips away the bullshit. When the clock’s ticking, suddenly it’s easier to cut ties, to chase dreams, to burn bridges and build new ones. There’s nothing to lose because you’ve already lost it all.

The color’s coming back to my face. That man was stressing me out, but what can I say—I work better in rooms where no one knows my name. No backstory, no assumptions. Just a blank slate and endless possibilities. New faces, new places. It’s insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

Mauve. That’s the color that makes me feel in control. Mauve is the color of reinvention. The color of empty canvases and blank slates. It’s the color of starting over, of wiping everything clean and daring the world to make something of it.

I walk through the city, head high; Because here, in this new place, no one knows any different. I can be anyone. A model. A mogul. A genius. My self-concept is the loudest voice in the room, and in these moments, I believe it.

And then, there it was. The Virgin Mary. Staring back at me from a plate of refried beans in some hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. It wasn’t even a good restaurant—sticky tables, lukewarm salsa, a jukebox coughing up the same three mariachi songs. But that smear of beans? Divine intervention. That was my omen. Proof that the universe had a sense of humor. Proof that I was chosen.

From that moment on, I’d tell myself I’m a supermodel. My legs? Mile-high skyscrapers. My thigh gap? Radiating potential, like a wormhole to another dimension. I’d walk through the city and imagine people looking at me, thinking, "Who is she?" And in these moments, I believed it. My self-concept became reality. Or maybe quantum physics helped. Observation changes reality, doesn’t it? Like Schrödinger’s cat, except I’m the cat, and I’m always alive when someone’s looking.

Albert Einstein would get it. My idol. My obsession. I’d give anything for an hour on a park bench with him, just to sit and talk. To ask him if humans are like birds. If he’s disgusted with humanity’s animalistic urges. Watching people like they’re birds. Analyzing their flight patterns. Wondering how they know when to migrate. Wondering if they ever get it wrong, if sometimes they just flap their wings and end up nowhere. Do we flap our wings against the wind because it’s instinct, or because we’re too stupid to do anything else?

Maybe that’s the secret—migration. Forward motion. Movement as survival. Change or die. Fix the foundation or let the roof collapse. Reinvent yourself until the world can’t tell if you’re a saint or a monster. Either way, they’ll remember your name.

 I imagine him analyzing people the way he’d study atoms—watching their habits, their migrations. Breaking down instincts into equations and theories, breaking down their patterns and quirks into beautiful, elegant equation.

And maybe that’s why I fixate on self-concept. Because in the universe of quantum physics, observation changes reality. Particles shifting, aligning, vibrating into place just because someone dared to look at them. Maybe that’s what happens when I step into a new space and find it easier to remind myself that i can be anyone to these people so let me be someone that allows me to flourish. It’s quantum mechanics in action—belief collapsing probability into reality.

I swear, my legs grow taller with every step. A mile high, endless, thighs carved out by God or by science—or maybe by the Virgin Mary herself, who once appeared to me in a smear of refried beans at a Mexican restaurant. That’s when I knew. That was my omen. Proof that I was chosen, that the universe was tipping its hat and saying, "Go ahead. Be someone."

It’s the placebo effect wrapped in divine intervention. A cosmic wink. The universe reflecting back whatever I decide to project. And that’s the secret—migration. Forward motion. Movement as survival. Change or die. Fix the foundation or let the roof collapse. Reinvent yourself until the world can’t tell if you’re a saint or a monster. Either way, they’ll remember your name.

[turuin]

Suck and suck! Sucking up all you can Sucking up all you can suck and suck Working up under my patience like a little tick Fat little parasite (parasite) Suck me dry My fruit is bruised and borrowed You thieving bastards You have turned my blood cold and bitter Beat my compassion black and blue Hope this is what you wanted Hope this is what you had in mind 'Cause this is what you're getting I hope you're choking I hope you choke on this I hope you're choking I hope you choke on this Taken all I can, taken all I can, I can take Taken all you can, taken all you can, we can take Got nothing left to give to you Blood-sucking parasitic little tick Blood-sucking parasitic little Blood-sucking parasitic little tick Take what you want and then go Hope this is what you wanted Hope this is what you had in mind 'Cause this is what you're getting Suck me dry! Suck, suck me dry! Sucking me dry! Suck, suck me dry Is this what you wanted? Is this what you had in mind? Is this what you wanted? 'Cause this, this is what you're getting I hope, I hope, I hope you choke

[wormworker]

HH: Dirty Angel Face (Between My Legs and Knicker Lace)

{Angel Dust, Hazbin Hotel playlist}

This ended up being autobiographical as well, since I personally find the character very relatable. I hope others experiencing the same might find some healing catharsis in these songs.

Many of the songs in the first chunk ("A Side") are lighthearted, but the ones below the intermission ("B Side") are much darker.

CONTENT NOTES: Hypersexuality, trauma, abuse, substance dependency, sexual abuse.

Links:

YouTube playlist version

Full list of songs and content warnings

Highlights:

{ SIDE A }

Red Light (by Siouxsie and the Banshees)

Blowing Up Your Mind (by Lords of Acid) NSFW

Slippage (by Goldfrapp) NSFW

Wasted Time - Lap Dance Mix (by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult)

Fuck the Pain Away (by Peaches) NSFW

Crystalline Green (by Goldfrapp)

Flower (by Liz Phair) NSFW

Pictures of You (by HMLTD)

Twist (by Goldfrapp) NSFW

Masseduction (by St. Vincent) NSFW

Boy (by Viktoria Modesta)

Fresh Blood (by Eels)

Breathe (by Puscifer)

The Hollow (by A Perfect Circle)

Fuck With Your Head (by DJ Rap) NSFW

Professional Widow (by Tori Amos) NSFW

The Only Time (by Nine Inch Nails) NSFW

Beat It Upright (by Korn) NSFW

Wild Thing (by The Creatures) [CN: domestic abuse]

{ SIDE B }

Stinkfist (by TOOL)

Keep The Streets Empty For Me (by Fever Ray) [CN: sex worker abuse]

The Package (by A Perfect Circle) [CN: substance dependency]

Ocean (by Goldfrapp) [CN: abuse]

Laurel (by Goldfrapp)

Mr. Self Destruct (by Nine Inch Nails) NSFW [CN: substance dependency]

Army Of Me (by Björk) [CN: abuse]

Prison Sex (by TOOL) NSFW [CN: sexual abuse]

Ticks & Leeches (by TOOL) NSFW [CN: abuse]

Eve White Eve Black - Live at The Royal Albert Hall (by Siouxsie and the Banshees) [CN: abuse, screaming]

Christmas Kids (by Roar) NSFW [CN: domestic abuse, substance dependency]

Big Man With A Gun (by Nine Inch Nails) NSFW [CN: sexual abuse]

DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR (by Lingua Ignota) NSFW [CN: sexual abuse, screaming]

[vriska-serketboard]

I’m not entirely sure why, but this is a fun ghoul song to me

[diathadevil]

It's a Tool kind of night for me again so I'm screaming internally to Ticks and Leeches

[shadowsdarkrealm1]

Tool ~ Ticks & Leeches

[first-only]

tagged by @milfmacbeth thank you!!

(this is a bit awkward cuz i neither use playlists nor do i watch shows much but here we go lmao)

shuffle your ON REPEAT playlist and list the first 10 songs

Madrugada - Belladonna

Kaleo - Backbone

Tool - Ticks and Leeches

Amigo the Devil - Dahmer Does Hollywood

Blue Saraceno - Gravedigger

Loner Deer - Old Days on the Porch

Des Rocs - MMC

In This Moment - The Fighter

Radio Company - City Grown Willow

Avi Kaplan - I'll Get By

list your top 15 tv shows

this is literally a list of shows i even remember watching at all, mostly on tv years ago lmao

Xena: Warrior Princess, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, That 70s Show, Farscape, Blade: the Series, Renegade, Highlander: the Series, The Elizondo Sisters Go on the Defense, La Femme Nikita, Conan the Barbarian, Supernatural, Mad About You, A Young Doctor's Notebook, The Mandalorian, The Sentinel

[plastikov6]

Tool - Ticks & Leeches https://files.catbox.moe/iujyr5.mp3