#Red Bank Rockers

[shelovesaesthetics]

𝐻𝐸𝐴𝐷𝐶𝐴𝑁𝑂𝑁 ₁

𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑘𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠:

ted logan —

type of guy:

sweet lovey-dovey dork, this himbo will be all over the place

as soon as bill mentions valentines day, all the hairs on his body just stand

the thought of him being so lovey cringes him out but he's just can't remove the obsession with you.

he's so tooth-rottenly cute, when you're around him, he just don't know what to do with himself. you approaching him is like him seeing an alien. either runs away or just freezes and breaks a sweat when you talk to him.

you’re his brainrot and ted's just sadistically a victim to it, completely wrapped around your fingers

musters up the courage and makes it his objective to make the most excellent v-day ever

creating planning boards in his room, preparation talks with Bill, lowkey stalking you at school

saves up every penny in his piggy bank, not wasting a single dollar

reads up on things on what girls would like

love language is quality time and words of affirmation

valentines plans:

excellent adventure ted— you first spend the day on an afternoon at an arcade; you and ted wearing casual formal outfits (ted in his tuxedo and converses, you in a dress and sneakers), playing on all of the arcade machines, giggling, screaming and laughing and goofing around.

he then takes you to his favourite spot by the Circle K, chilling down on the pavement. playing some UNO/tells you his wild adventure stories/jamming out to punk & pop rock on his speaker, sitting and eating slushies and a hot dog

OR

after the arcade, he takes you to a diner, ordering a classic American meal (two burgers, fries, onion rings, two milkshakes with the extra cream & a cherry-on-top)

finishes the date with a trip back to Bill's, awaiting a heartwarming surprise (aka the anticipated secret)

he cutely takes your hand and sits you down on a chair, closing your eyes whilst you wait. 5 minutes later, you take them off at his command, waterworks immediately start to run as you look at the sight infront of you.

ted, with his guitar, announces his special song for you.

hands begin to strum on the guitar, puppy loving eyes gazing into yours, heartfully. ted serenades you with a sweet melody, accompanied by his surprisingly sweet voice

in the garage that's decorated in cutesy heart decor; red and pink balloons and banners all over the place, you feel as if you're in a safe haven, enchanted away here by your adorable, innocent boyfriend

mid performance, ted brings you up to the stage, twirling you around and then dancing with you. his big BFG self towers over you, slowly rocks your body and embraces you tight with his bulky arms. leaning in his head, ted finally caresses your face and kisses you— signing off the most excellent Valentines day ever. . .

bogus journey ted— either takes you to the movies or rents a movie at the local blockbuster, so he can watch with you in his apartment

for the outing, he takes you to the movies to watch a cheap chick flick he thinks you'd like; popcorn, nachos and a big shake

at home, he puts on a sci-fi movie, both stuffing down on a large pepperoni pizza, watching contently

afterwards, you kick back and relax for a long smoke sesh, getting high on some good weed whilst he puts an arm around you, nestling and cuddling with you close

he'll definitely brings out a guitar and sing to you, smoking a spliff that still rests between his lips (typical lightskin moment)

one way or another in ol' netflix and chill fashion, the night ends with ted loving on your body— giving you the most ultimate rocker boy finale his bodacious girl needs . . .

face the music ted— buys two VIP tickets, for the both of you, to a summer rock festival across state; booking an all-inclusive hotel nearby so you and him can rest in with convenience (away from the kids)

packs all the necessities— snacks, water, a pack of beer, foldable chairs, portable fans, sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, and a charging bank

you both get to the airport, getting on a plane and travelling off into the concert place

arriving at the hotel; you unlock and enter your room— spacious king-sized double bed, tv, automated bathroom and a great view outside the window. the hotel has an all-you-can-buffet that you never forget to not miss

following the next day, you dress up for the concert; you wear a house of sunny 'lemons on a plate' dress with yellow sandals, and ted wears a white t shirt and cargo shorts, styling up with sandals and a hat

for the whole three days, you and ted rock out to live iconic rock music. screaming, jumping, and partying; dancing like you never you could

golden retriever ted watches out for you; handing you snacks, cleaning after you, supplying water, emergency hugs, cheering you up

breaks into a chuckle and laughs when he catches your boomer self taking videos and pictures, uploading them onto facebook and instagram ('me and hubby @/tedtheologan rocking out at the _____ festival! party on, dudes ! 😎🤩😀😍😆❤️👩‍❤️‍👨💍⚡️🤘🤙🎫🏴‍☠️🎸❤ #____festival #summer #sunny #fun #mostexcellent #smiley #happy #happyvalentinesday #rockfestival #yolo #youngforever #foreveryoung #tb #throwback #80s #1988 #2024 #thenvsnow #wyldstallyns #mosttriumphant #rockmusic #date #valentines #couple #airguitar #happy36thyearanniversary')

last night of the festival ends with a colourful night show, fireworks lighting up and crackling the night sky. under the bright lights, ted takes your hand and holds them. warm, tall body pressed against yours, he gazes down on you with such love. gently caresses your face, hazel orbs boring into yours, rubbing the small of your back soothingly. he closes in and kisses you on the lips, passionately making out with you

the fireworks continuously keep lighting up in the background, looking like a happy ending straight out of a movie.

type of gifts:

handmade stuff: arts and craft/DIY cards with cute stickers, colourful glitter, ribbons and drawings (imagine him getting glue all over his fingers and hands, big 6'1 self hunched over his little creations uwu)— gifts you a teddy bear and says something along the lines of: "babe, i got you this teddy bear, even though i'm, like, totally your teddy bear... and my name is Ted!", some candies, 'girly stuff' like makeup, "..because you're a babe and all..", a handwritten song personally made for you (with the help of wingman Bill), tulips and roses he got from his England expedition, an antique necklace he got from his Greece expedition, heart-shaped chocolates, some tapes and vinyls of your favourite music

john constantine —

type of guy:

typically indifferent

depressingly and callously cynical

not the one to be celebrating stuff like that, but he'll do what it takes to make you happy

he knows it's still worth it, just as long as it's with you

love language is gift giving and physical touch

valentines plans:

literally remembers ON the day, springing up from bed and bolting outside. goes to like 30 different stores, searching for the best presents he can find

runs back home with last minute stuff before the sunset. doorbell suddenly rings and john opens up, smiling as he sees the love of his life, you all prettied up in a cherry red dress, heels and matte makeup (something is bulging...)

you and john get in the car and he drives you out to a late night dinner, only to be met with disappointment when the restaurant he spoke to earlier informs him that the reservations are all booked up

sighing in devastation, john bows his head and shakes disapprovingly. he looks up to give you a weak smile and rubs your back reassuringly, gesturing you to head back inside the car. the both of you drive back to his, decidedly opting for some Chinese

you both head back to his, decidedly opting on some Chinese

john resumes back to finishing the set up of the living room; red candles and roses on the coffee table

impromptu date begins: candle lit dinner in front of the tv, you both drink some wine and eat some takeout, watching a random movie

finishing up, you doze off asleep, snoring on his lap

john still watches the tv, glancing down on you every 5 minutes. he wraps a warm cloth around you, resting a hand on your back. the urge of him to kiss you is burning him alive but he remains neutral.

he's upset that the day has been ruined, the one thing that he could've gotten right all slipped and fell out of his fingers. his callous self for once actually cares about something, something he originally thought was 'insignificant', something he wished it could've gone more better

even though the day didn't go out as planned, you've insisted that it's not too bad—grateful for the date overall. it's small and disorganised, but as least it's something, , as least it all ended with him

types of gifts:

silver antique jewellery, a card, giant teddy bear, a box of chocolates, and roses

john wick —

type of guy:

DILF, DILF, DILF

valentines day with baba yaga?!

already got the whole day planned and sketched out, back-to-back

john's fat wallet's will treat you well

always 'knows a guy', so you know your ass is about to be showered to filth

the wholesome family man side of him will be coming out, abandoning the stoic, brutally cold assassin behind

no more john wick— now it is jardani jovonovich

love language is gift giving, acts of service and physical touch

valentines plans:

he would start the morning with cooking you a nice sunny side up and toast, a side of maple pancakes and coffee. whilst you eat, he calls up a spa centre and gets you booked in at a lavish clinic, ordering some men to take you there privately. he asks you to call up your friends, inviting them to the spa day as well. gives you his card and some change just in case. once you leave, he cleans up your plate and cleans up the house, decorating and preparing whilst you're gone.

a full day later with hanging out with your girls, you return back home, deeply relaxed from the tantalising spa treatment. opening up, the house is completely dark and quiet, only seeing rose petals leading off to somewhere. walking along the rose covered path, you follow it and halt at the dining room. right there at the table, sits your husband of 5 years, warm smile on his face; white polo shirt and jeans. he gets up to greet you, kissing you on the lips and forehead

john's whipped up a classic candle lit dinner, steak and baked potatoes with a glass of wine. after a nice hearty meal, he takes you upstairs via the rose-petal lane, leading you to the bathroom. you're welcomed to a bubbling hot bathtub; two glasses of champagne, face masks, scented candles, and a charcuterie board sitting on the bath rack. you two hop in and relax in the tub, slippery naked bodies against each other. you watch a drama series on his laptop, silently staring at the screen

one blink later and you're in bed with john. big hands clasping on your small waist, bearded kisses and pecks littering on your stomach, muscular strong body dominating over yours, stocky fingers slipping to unholy places; john ends the day with pleasuring you for the night, showing you what no other man but him can give.

types of gifts:

surprise trips, full package spa treatments, his card for shopping trips, makeup, perfume, high end clothes, expensive wine, a bouquet of flowers, chocolate, a small teddy bear, menstruation stuff (pads, tampons, pills, hot water bottle pouch, snacks, his masseuse expertise, baby— this man loves you), anything you want, name a price, john will be your man

thomas anderson (neo) —

type of guy:

similar to constantine but more open-minded in his indifference

either forgot or is pretty clueless on what to do

casually flips through calender and scares himself shocked as he realise the date is tomorrow

goes on a forum to ask for help: "@/cyberspacecatontheweb: any suggestions for valentines day ?? I (37M) and a girlfriend (34F) are going out on a date and I don't know what to do. sm1 help a guy out thx"

goes on the internet and researches on ideas

eventually gives up and just scraps the ideas, goes with the flow

love language is quality time and physical touch

valentines plans:

thomas wakes up early and gets changed; black shirt and suit on. you arriving to the 101 apartment, he takes you out to a Chinese restaurant downtown. orders quite a lot of food— dumplings, stir fry, sweet and sour chicken, rice, hot pot, and bbq ribs. he pays the bill and you two leave, walking out to window shop.

later in the evening, thomas takes you up to a rooftop, sitting down and watching the city below. he hesitates, but then opts to spontaneously show you 'something cool'. gets out a tech device and presses a button, opening up a cybernetic portal. jumps inside and pulls you with him. you both teleport to a white void, confused and scared as fuck. thomas reassures you and shows you some of his latest tricks like emerging buildings and cities out of nowhere, binary codes that pop up and creates a giant ass dog that almost eats you, floating and flying through a cyberspace wormhole. for the last bit, he gently grabs your hand and shows you the last thing he promised: binary codes formulate and change, syncing up together and creating a love heart. thomas presses another button and the heart opens up, revealing a cybernetically generated portrait of you and him, written underneath 'happy valentines day xoxo'. his hands move to your waist and he slowly kisses you, simultaneously taking you back to the real world.

types of gifts:

digitally-made things: flowers, teddy bear, heart, a picture of you. makes a hologram gadget that does origami, a scented candle he remembers you like, cool tech glasses, paired with some gloves, that's installed with a program that allows you to do things- holographic games and worlds all built into these spectacles (norman jayden from heavy rain reference)

jonathan harker —

type of guy:

mr darcy-coded

valentines day with him would be a fairytale, straight out of a book

sensitive, kind, chivalrous, charming, courteous, and hardworking, your princelike husband who will always know how to woo you to your knees

planned everything in his sanctuary, ready to show you how he can treat you well

love language is gift giving, acts of service and quality time

valentines plans:

you wake up to a traditional english breakfast-in-bed; hot tea, coffee, porridge, bread, and eggs, served by maids. then you're being dressed up for the day, maids helping you out into your modest and elegant attire, fixing your hair, doing your makeup, and dusting you down. jonathan escorts you onto to the carriage, heading off first to a picnic at an expansive, spacious garden. The place is embroidered with pretty plants and flowers, fresh fragrance of pollen filling your nose. you and jonathan settle on the grass, laying a blanket. you enjoy some tea, crumpets, scones, and sandwiches, admiring the floral nature. jonathan dotes you inbetween small talk, complimenting your look frequently. for some short time, you both get up and walk around, appreciating the afternoon. after the picnic, he hires a photographer to have your picture taken. you sit on a chair as jonathan stands behind you, posing for the camera.

shortly comes the evening and it's time for the special occasion. you both get onto the carriage again, heading off to a restaurant. the restaurant is filled to the brim of posh people alike, halls decked with chandeliers and embellished with statues and paintings. the pair of you enjoy the night, relishing and dinning happily. jonathan brings you back home, taking you to the bedroom to surprise you with a bundle of flowers and a toy bear. he kisses you softly and gracefully on the head, reminding you of his love. you both tuck into bed and lay down for the night, sleeping peacefully into each other's arms.

type of gifts:

a basket full of roses, lilies, orchids and carnations. handwritten poem, a card enveloped and stamped with a red heart wax seal, chocolates from romania, dainty jewellery, toy bear, fragrance, a trip to paris, tickets to see an opera and a theatre performance, small trinkets, fruits, and a pocketwatch locket.

kevin lomax —

type of guy:

sugar daddy kevinnnnn

toxic but fine husband

will absolutely spoil you rotten, pampering you like a princess

love language is gift giving, physical touch, and acts of service

valentines plans:

first thing in the morning, breakfast's being sent to you at the penthouse. kevin leaves a note on the nightstand: "hey sweetheart, it's me. how was breakfast? it was good, right? i've called in your boss to let him that you're sick, so no need to go to the office. your whole day will be booked: spa treatment, nails, hair, and a private boutique booked so you can try on some new outfits that you'll be choosing for the evening. make sure you wear that lingerie i got you and don't miss any of those appointments. daddy's gonna have fun with you tonight.

love kevin xoxo"

you do as exactly he says, rushing up & down, excitedly getting changed. a black limo takes you to and back of all destinations, attending all your scheduled appointments. at the boutique, a blonde clerk waits for you, standing by a row of clothing racks with designer clothes hanged and heels below to select from. after carefully selecting, you choose a snug black dress and heels, fully dolled up for the occasion. a makeup artist quickly does your makeup, just in the nick of time kevin arrives, black waist coat and suit & tie. you exit the building to find him standing by the car. his eyes wonder around and check you out, hypnotised by your beauty. linking arm to arm, you two are driven to the wall street restaurant. the place is luxurious; interior design opulent and rich. kevin grabs a seat at the vip section, inviting some of his fellow law firm coworkers along. you cheers to a good night and dig in to the fine dining, enjoying the night. almost midnight, you and kevin return back home, immediately jumping into the jacuzzi.

you strip out of your clothes and wear the cute swim piece that kevin's bought for you— a black skimpy bikini that hugs all of your curves and cleavage. you sit back and relax with your man, peacefully sipping some champagne and enjoying each other's company. many drinks and pillowtalks later, the night ends with what you exactly expects: sounds of skin slapping and bed shaking; your moans echo throughout the bedroom. kevin's tall body thrusts repeatedly into you, grunting and groaning as he fucks you. lasting with the real pillow princess treatment, kevin worships your body and makes love to you, showing you who you really belong to. . .

types of gifts:

expensive makeup, luxury trips abroad, designer outfits, exclusive spa treatments, sexy lingerie, his black card for those shopping trips, perfume, deluxe jewellery and accessories, a bouquet of roses tied in a bow, heart-box of chocolates, expensive wine and champagne, adult toys (wink wink), a white teddy bear, polaroid photos of you and him

[kimberly-spirits13]

Playground Chaos

Pairing: Jason Todd x reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1450

Summary: Dick decides that everyone needs to go to the playground to kill time during patrol. Jason pushes you on the swing, and chaos ensues.

The inspiration video

Darkness loomed over Gotham as its heroes leaped from building to building, searching for anything amiss in the sounds of the city. The car lights from below reflected on the glass windows of the skyscrapers around you and the sounds of the streets filled your ears. Someone was playing a popular pop song very loudly in one of the offices below you and a different person was taking a smoke break by the front door of a late-night dinner. Neon lights danced in the night as you zipped along the grappling rope that you had shot from one smaller building to the bank, where the infamous Red Hood was perched. 

            “All clear on 2nd Street.” You said walking up behind the brooding figure, “Heard anything from anyone else?”

            Jason turned around to face you and lurched forward for a tight embrace, “Dick has been ranting about how bored he is for the past 15 minutes.” “I want to get out of here.” 

            “There’s only 30 minutes left of patrol and then we can crash.” You said, your head falling into the crook of his neck.

            A crack in the comms in your ears made you pull away to turn your earpiece back on to the group and not just Jason.   

            “We should go to the playground.” Dick’s voice rang out into your ear.

            “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.” Damian replied quickly, “We are elite fighters, not children.”

            “Technically demon-spawn, you’re a child.” The sound of a snarky Tim made you laugh as you reached up to reply.

            “What playground?” You asked.

            Jason shot you a look as you shrugged your shoulders, “Hey, Bats would not be happy if we came back early so, we might as well do something since there’s nothing else to do.”

            “I guess you’re right doll.”

            “Besides, we can probably bust some creep hanging around the playground.”

            “At this time of night?” Jason almost snorted.          

            “You never know in Gotham. At this time of night, they’re probably high of their rockers.”

            “We’ll meet everyone at the West End playground.” You said into the comms.

            The West End of Gotham was one of the nicer sides of Gotham. There probably wouldn’t be anything suspicious happening, but for the gaggle of vigilantes playing on the playground. You and Jason glided down the building using your grappling guns to keep from plummeting off the side of the bank. When your feet met the ground, you pulled your grapple back in and got onto the back of Jason’s bike, quickly followed by Jason who pushed the kick stand up and started the engine. 

            “You know, when you get your bike back from the shop, we can go on a road trip.” Jason said as you bolted out of the alleyway.

            “Sounds fun. We could ride up to Salem when the leaves get bright again.” 

            “That little coffee shop that you like should be open that week so we can book a room at one of the inns and stay there.” Jason agreed as he turned onto some other street leading towards where you were meant to be. 

            When you got to the playground, Dick, Tim, Damian, Stephanie, and Cass were already there. They must have been close enough already to beat you since it was unlikely that they would have made it faster than Jason’s bike.

            “Well look who finally showed up.” Stephanie came over to you and nudged your side, “We thought you got lost.”

            “I don’t get lost Steph.” Jason took your helmet from you and set it on the bike’s seat, earning a quite “thank you” from you.

            “Timmy lets go on the seesaw.” Dick ran over to the blue and silver seesaw like a kid with a sugar high and sat ready for Tim to climb onto the other side. 

            Cass and Damian got onto the other seesaw with the two casually talking. Dick and Tim were attempting to balance each other on the seesaw and you, and Stephanie were sitting on the swings, lightly swinging back and forth until Stephanie decided that she wanted to try and flip over the bar. 

            “Steph, if you die, I’ll give a warm eulogy at your funeral.” You said laughing at her attempts of gaining speed on the swing.

            “I really appreciate that Y/N/N.”

            Jason stood behind you and watched everyone contently. He saw the smiles on Tim and Dick’s faces and how Cass was coaxing Damian into laughing at whatever they were talking about. He worried for Steph and whether they’d have to carry her out together or if she’d successfully land whenever she inevitably went flying off the swing set. 

            “Jay, you know you can join us.” You grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to you as you swung back and forth.

            “I’m good babe. Can I push you?” He started to walk behind you when you told him he could and lightly began to push you on the swing. 

            Jason didn’t push you too high, but instead talked to you about whatever came to mind as Stephanie began to attempt to flip next to you.             

            “You good Blondie?” Jason snickered seeing her try to make it over the bar. The entire swing set was starting to shake as she climbed higher and higher.

            “You know, I don’t think this is going to flip me anymore.” She said through giggles, “Is there something stopping it?” 

            “Yeah Steph, there’s a little bar on the top of the hinge keeping it from flipping.” You said, “You can still get a good jump off the swing though.” 

            You could feel the near disappointment radiating off Stephanie which was quickly diffused by her leaping from the swing and landing on her feet a few yards away. When she turned around, she gave a small bow and you clapped for her success jokingly.

            “Wait you guys are so cute!” Steph gasped as she saw Jason pushing you on the swing, something that she had not really been paying attention to when she was on her airborne escapade.

            You blushed and heard Jason laugh softly behind you as he grabbed onto the small of your waist, slowing you down little by little. Stephanie’s attention was taken off you when Dick and Tim started trying to launch each other off the seesaw.

            “I think your brother is about to die.” You started laughing at the two and saw Cass pull out her phone to film the two boys.

            “Which one?” Jason started playing with your hair and braiding it back into a messy fishtail.

            “Both.” You replied, earning a giggle from Jason before he finished off your braid.

            Laugher rang out into the night before Dick pipped up, challenging Tim.

            “Okay Tim, go all the way down.” Dick said, “Okay now jump as hard as you can.” 

            Tim did what he was told, lifting himself into the air harshly. Dick came down with a thud before flying into the air. The entire point of the two boys being insane on the seesaw was the lift themselves off the seat without falling off. In order to do this, the boys had to push against the handlebar of the seesaw to keep themselves from falling off the front of the seat. 

            When Tim threw Dick into the air, the expected happened where Dick didn’t hold on tight enough and he went flying off the seesaw, hitting the ground with a large thud. Laughter roared from everyone the park as Dick rolled over onto his back with tears of laughter coming from his eyes. Jason leaned against you laughing and couldn’t compose himself to stand up. Tim was laying on the ground wheezing and Cass was proudly filming it all.

            “Please, tell me someone got that on video!” Dick cried between laughs.

            “I did!” Cass yelled, “I got that on video!”

            “I thought I taught you to land better than that.” A deep voice came from the shadows, startling all of you.       

            “You saw that?” Dick screamed. 

            “From the launch to the fall.” Bruce was smiling, almost laughing at his oldest.

            “Why are you here?” Steph was the first to ask the question.

            “You guys are an hour late getting home from patrol, so I came to make sure nothing was wrong. When I saw that you were here, I figured you were killing time and didn’t know how late it was.” 

            “The Big Bats coming to check on his kids.” Tim laughed, “What a sight.” 

            You stood up off the swing after recovering from what had happened and grabbed onto Jason’s hand, “want to go home now?” He whispered into your ear. 

            “Only after I know I have that video.” 

[tedhead]

who are some of your favorite collaborators of bruce springsteen?

lou reed - street hassle, 1978 (performed) he performs a spoken word piece lou wrote in act three. um imo this is darkness era bruce nd lou consummating a musical soul bond but his part is pretty incidental inside the masterpiece of a song lou wrote.

southside johnny and the asbury jukes - the fever, 1981 [recorded in 1973 by bruce] the live performances of this with bruce nd johnny are great nd so is the southside johnny and the asbury jukes' album version.

donna summer - protection, 1982 (wrote/performed) bruce liked her voice nd thought the anti-disco movement sucked so he wrote cover me for her, but landau told him to keep it so he gave her protection instead. it was originally going to be a duet but he’s still on backing vocals nd guitar on the album.

warren zevon - jeannie needs a shooter, 1980 (co-wrote) the ‘77 injunction meant he couldn’t record in a studio but he needed to eat basically so landau told zevon about the title of a song bruce had on the shelf nd eventually they sat down nd wrote it together.

ray davies - better things, 2010 (performed) ray released this on his tribute album see my friends. i like it bc they sound like they're having fun nd it’s a good song. the little clip of them on youtube is really cute :)

clarence clemons and the red bank rockers - savin’ up, 1983 (wrote/performed) j.t. bowen singing, bruce on guitar, clarence on sax obv. its a really catchy tune i think he performed it live recently.

emmylou harris - tragedy, 2000 (performed) bruce nd patti are on backing vocals <333

fun fact he was at the record plant finishing darkness on the edge of town when the dictators were recording faster and louder off their bloodbrothers album nd bruce has a small cameo at the end of the song. he has a lot of uncredited performances like that, graham parker in ‘79 is another example, basically if he was in the building nd you asked him he said yes.

[ahb-writes]

Comics Review: 'GRIM' TPB #1

GRIM TPB #1 by Stephanie Phillips, Flaviano, Rico Renzi, Tom Napolitano

action

fantasy

grim reaper

mythology

occult

secret society

violence

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

The life of a reaper is not a charmed one. Death is an eternal business, with no beginning and no end, and with no rest for the wearisome minds who snare and ferry the dead to the afterworld. Also, it sure doesn't help that human souls are petty, disconsolate, and prone to bitter violence that bleeds them dry. In GRIM v1, a proficient reaper by the name of Jessica Harrow breaks the invisible tripwire safeguarding the breathing and the departed. By accident, of course. And in doing so invokes myriad entropic mayhem and supernatural occultic misgivings. Again, the life of a reaper is not a charmed one.

Jess isn't immune to the problems associated with her duty. When she ferries the dead, they bombard her annoying questions about the afterworld (which, as it turns out, is a labyrinthine bureaucracy). When she smacks an unwilling soul on the side of the head, they complain they never got a fair shot at life (which is obvious, since nobody does). But it's more complicated than that: Jess is the only reaper who doesn't know how she died; Jess traverses the realms of life and death like no one else should; and Jess has a sinking feeling that the sly demoness in charge of the afterworld, Adira, is hiding something from her.

GRIM v1 is the perfect comic book for readers who adore dark mythos with a twist, and who adore authors who rely on character agency to propel a story forward. It's also the perfect comic book for readers allured by the precariousness of uncertainty, a book that never falls into the trap of promising more than it is capable of delivering. This is not a book about killing random people, invoking an eternal war for its own sake, and reveling in the gore in between. GRIM v1 is about Jess's insecurity, her search for her past, and how she relies on her close friends to help her define her future.

The concept and designs for this book are exquisite. Skull motifs are used sparingly but effectively (e.g., when Jess is pissed, her face contorts into a skull). Assorted demonology and demon iconography is localized (e.g., the afterworld is rife with rivers and lakes of lost souls; scythes are stylized but not to the point of excess). And the setting design is clever and fun (e.g., the afterworld's filing system ranges from old bank-style pneumatic tubes to a digital messaging board).

The character designs are slick, diverse, and carry just the right amount of familiarity to goad readers into wishing they had more to consume than they do. Jess's friends include Eddie, an 80s hair-band rocker, and Marcel, a handsome 19th Century Frenchman. Other characters include Annabel, a fit rockabilly gal, and Vincenzo, Adira's right-hand man, whose Elizabethan-style garb is truly delightful.

And the coloring is fantastic. With each passing fight, Jess encounters a sinewy mixture of muddled maroons and bawdy dark reds. With each lurid gaze into the past, readers encounter a seductive cascade of blues, light and dark, paired with a hungry and fathomless spectrum of purple that leaves little room for error.

GRIM v1 boasts impressionable characters, great visual design, and a story that deepens the intrigue with each issue. Jess's past is essential to understanding her future. But the demoness Adira has other plans. More problematic? Those plans may well include a cryptic entity-smothering creature called The End that can smash or devour anything in its path. Is it worth suffering so much destruction just to restore an outdated concept of cosmic balance?

❯ ❯ Comics Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

[behindavelvetcurtain]

Clarence Clemons and The Red Bank Rockers - Summer on Signal Hill

[shop-korea]

GOT - MY ADVANCE - WITH

SORROW - AMERICAN BLKS

SHOT - MANY - TIMES - AGE

20 - ROCKER - SO NO MORE

MORE - THAN - ($1 MILLION)

2 - PUNY - US - FIREARMS -

GOT - 2 BLK - MALES YES -

CASH - $50, 000 IN $100s -

IN - 3 SECONDS - 53.com -

TORTURED ME - 4 - $300 -

MY - FATHER - BOUGHT -

ME - 3 - $1 MILLION - RED -

GOWNS - 2 - MEET VALENTINO

3 TIMES - OVER - 30 MIN EACH

AMERICAN - WHITE - FEMALES

FIFTH - THIRD - BANK

ABUSED - ME - 4 - USING

MY - ADVANCE - IN - MY

APP - CALLING - ME - 'B'

4 BUYING - $300 - 4 - $9

SAID - ME - 'B' - LONG TIME

AGO - LAST - CALL - SAID

WHEN - $500 - MY ADVANCE

CALLING - ME - 'WHORE' - SO

REPLIED - ALSO - THAT - SHE

IS - A - MULTI - TASKER

JESUS - IS - LORD

CALLING - DISPUTES

MY - ACUPUNCTURE

HEALTHCARE - FINANCE

BAKERSFIELD - CA

$20 - FEE - AUTO PAY

1 DAY - DELAYED

$56.10

DR SONG - NEVER REMOVED

PAIN - LOWER BACK

SHOULDERS

NO - WRINKLES - REMOVED

CALLING - NOW - SO SWEET

[chrancecriber]

Radio SunLounge Romania (April 19, 2023)

23:58 Placid Larry - Dew Drops 23:51 Five Seasons - Sunshine And Sea 23:49 Schwarz & Funk - Don-'t Stop 23:45 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 23:43 Paul Hardcastle - First Light 23:36 Vargo - Lovecore 23:31 Naoki Kenji - Let It Flow 23:28 Area Code 51 - Chanchamayo 23:22 Peter Pearson - This Way To A Dream 23:17 Flashbaxx - Sand Bank 23:16 Gxr - To The Lighthouse 23:09 Dj Maretimo - Cafe Internacional (Jumairah Skyscrapers Mix) 23:06 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 23:01 Smooth Deluxe - Dream Of Insomnia 22:56 Bulb - Impossible (Original Mix) 22:50 Random Rab - Rain On The World 22:48 Marga Sol - So Long 22:45 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 22:38 M. Vitoria - Do Me Favor 22:35 Pascal Dubois - Deep Into The Night (Long Island Mix) 22:29 Idenline - Call Me 22:27 Newton - New Beautiful Life 22:24 Louise Rademakers - Nostalgia (Original Mix) 22:17 York, Project Blue Sun - Crusin (Original Mix) 22:07 Skindive Inc. - Hopelessly Love (The Man Behind C. Edit) 22:06 Random Soul - I Live For The Moment (Feat. Kristen Pearson) 22:02 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 22:00 Orfeo Project - Tonight (Original Mix) 21:54 Atb - We Belong (Feat. Roberta Carter Harrison) 21:52 Plastyc Buddha - Personal Faith 21:48 Hot City Walk (Original Mix) - Lasteden 21:42 Vincenzo - Today 21:40 My 7sky - Love Story 21:33 Marie Therese - City Lights (Original Mix) 21:32 Lemongrass - Gecko Island 21:28 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 21:21 Light Of Aiden - Loveing You 21:14 Blank & Jones - El Bajo 21:13 Francis On My Mind - Never Be The Same 21:06 Jojo Effect - Somewhere In Between 21:04 Mahoroba - Des Moments (Guitar Mix) 20:58 Mara J Boston - Precious Diamond 20:56 Groove Spinners - Southside 20:53 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 20:47 Enrico Donner - Wind Of The Spirit 20:41 The Dream Catchers - Flower Of Spring (Suntheca Lounge Mix) 20:34 Pacator - Tears (Marcielo Ambient Mix) 20:33 Afterlife - Dub In Ya Mind 20:29 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 20:24 Velvet Dreamer - Your Game My Love (Five Seasons Remix) 20:23 Club Turquoise - Awakening (Original Chill) 20:16 351 Lake Shore Drive - Blue Baby Moon (Feat. Picidu) 20:15 Marga Sol - Feel The Sun 20:11 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 20:06 Chillwalker - A Dream Comes True (Red Horizon Mix) 20:03 Dc Lounge Theme - Vienna Dc 20:01 Perfect Sin - Mamadi 19:57 Everything But The Girl - Amplified Heart 19:54 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 19:51 Key Of Dreams - The First Time Ever (Original Mix) 19:46 Nick Parker - Guest My (Peace Chill Mix) 19:44 River - Find Me 19:41 Lemon Jelly - In The Bath 19:38 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 19:35 Marc Hartman - No Escape 19:28 Keep Shelly In Athens - Blue Rooms 19:27 Levitation - More Than Ever People (Alex B. Smoove Remix) 19:24 Moshang - Padoga 19:20 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 19:16 Mike D' Jais, U.r.a. - Moon Beam 19:11 Openzone Bar - Kiss In The Dark 19:06 Eguana - Long Trip To Nowhere 19:03 Derail - Freedom - Deep Mix 18:59 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 18:54 Conjure One - Sleep (Serenity Mix) 18:49 Lemongrass - All My Angels 18:43 Shakes Seven - Indiana 18:42 Sunyata Project - Ko Samui Nights (Extended Mix) 18:38 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 18:33 Cafe Americaine - Magical Mambo (Latin Lounge Cut) 18:27 Silky Wave - Under My Skin 18:24 Deeper Sublime - Femme Fatale 18:21 Jens Buchert - Fluffy Time 18:18 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 18:12 Bent - K.i.s.s.e.s 18:06 Sweet Velvet, Debora Vilchez - La Plena Noche 18:01 Bella Vita - The Hardest Part (Hot Beach Guitar Mix) 17:59 Blank & Jones - Good 17:52 York - Bye Bye Baby (Chill Out Mix) 17:46 Michelle Simonal - Alright 17:45 Pascal Dubois - Anyway (Deep Outside Session) 17:41 Setsuna - White Light 17:38 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 17:36 Sofa Surfers - Sofa Rockers (Richard Dorfmeister Remix) 17:29 Mailky - Flawless 17:24 Vargo - Goodbye Is A New Beginning 17:21 The Man Behind C. Feat. Miriam - See You Again 17:18 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 17:13 Marc Hartman - I Can't Stop 17:08 Schiller, Jael Malli - Tired 17:06 Oscar Salguero - With You 17:03 D - Chill - Paradise Feat. Katy Blue (Original Mix) 16:59 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 16:57 Schwarz & Funk - Keep On (Remastered) 16:47 Twentyeight - Monday Night - 16:42 Jean Mare - A Better Place 16:39 Rey Salinero - Mystique Sets 16:35 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 16:31 The Shadowboxers - I Can't Stop Thinking About You 16:29 Exit Mars - Gliding (Comfort Version) 16:22 Dharma - Probedas 16:20 Lemongrass Feat Jane Maximova - Reinvented Me 16:10 Max Melvin - Whatever 16:05 Beanfield Feat. Ernesto - Kiss 16:03 Atb - Break My Heart 15:59 Phontaine - Million Dollar Baby 15:56 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 15:53 Max Melvin - Changes 15:50 Crystal Theory - Breathe 15:43 Raffunk - Travel (Lemongrass Couch Remix) 15:41 Marc Hartman - I Can-'t Stop 15:38 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 15:32 Cane Garden Quartet - Ageless 15:29 Chris Coco & Luca Averna - Mare (Feat. Micko Roche) 15:22 Marc Hartman - Tears Run For Love 15:20 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 15:18 Florzinho - A La Luna 15:11 Blank & Jones - Flowing 15:09 Toby Ernest - Gonna Be Fine (Turbotito Ode To Keni Remix) 15:06 Dreamhunter - Good Morning 15:03 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 15:00 Strehlow Feat. Aylior - Ocean Alley 14:57 Planet Lounge - Shiva Dance 14:47 Vincenzo & Language - Merry Go Round 14:45 Moca - Entspanner 14:38 Lisa Shaw - Grown Apart 14:37 Five Seasons - Endlessly 14:33 Cafe-' Ibiza - Take It To (Original Mix) 14:30 Sollover - Train Of Love 14:27 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 14:24 Kaxamalka - You Take My Breath Away 14:17 Matisse & Jury Jet - Early Sunrise (Feat. S Khovansky) 14:12 From P60 Feat. Virag - You Take Me 14:09 Planet Lounge - Shiva Dance 14:05 Minus 8 Feat. Sharon Harris - Pussycat 13:59 Bes & Meret, Florito - La Danse (Florito Mix) 13:53 Lounge Generation Feat. Namara - Inner Voice 13:52 Kraak & Smaak - Guilty Discomforts (Feat. Wolfgang Valbrun) 13:48 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 13:45 Raye Simmons - Peek 13:40 Late Night Alumni - Summer Lies 13:36 Lemongrass - Femme Fatale (Original Mix) 13:27 Marc Hartman - Silhouettes (Original Mix) 13:22 Paul Moore - My Present 13:17 Living Room - Underwater Love (Original Mix) 13:16 Chillbirds - Breaking Out (Beach Mix) 13:12 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 13:10 Moondust - In Between Days (Feat. Querubyna) 13:07 Keep Shelly In Athens - Bright Morning 13:04 Setsuna - White Light 13:00 Blank & Jones W. Coralie Clément - J'en Reste Là 12:57 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 12:53 Kondencuotas Pienas Feat. Mill - So Pure (Lemongrass Remix) 12:47 Esonic - Mellow Swing 12:42 Blackfish - Bay Of Islands 12:40 Kuba - We Can Still Learn (Original Mix) 12:37 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 12:32 Roberto Sol - So Awesome (Cafe Del Mar Mix) 12:27 Bajka - The Beaver's Lesson (Mop Mop Jamaica Aroma Remix) 12:22 Afterlife - Breather (Arithunda Mix) 12:19 Shakes Seven - Castles In The Sky 12:16 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 12:13 Sean Hayman - Deep Believe (On Da Way Mix) 12:10 Andru Donalds - Hurts To Be In Love 12:00 Triangle Sun - Karelia (Original Mix) 11:58 Juzhin - Charlie Conscience (Feat. Mmaio) 11:51 Stephen Emmer - Under Your Spell Ft. Chaka Khan (Moods Remix) 11:43 Mirage Of Deep, Gushi - Subliminal Perception 11:40 Noel - Chalito (Ibiza Chillhouse Lounge Mix) 11:37 Aiemo Feat. Kristina Frazzitta - I Need You (Vocal Mix) 11:30 Marga Sol - Around Me (Original Mix) 11:27 Tina Dico - Break Of Day (The Stella Polaris Allstars Remix) 11:21 Luminous - Make It Happen 11:19 Gary B - Time To Slow It Down 11:12 Fobee - Broken Glass 11:07 Hessismore - Yes Boss 11:03 Let Em Riot - Rad 11:01 Xemplify - I'm Tired (Acoustic Mix) 10:57 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 10:53 Roberto Sol - So Awesome (Cafe Del Mar Mix) 10:47 Faro - Shape Of Sence 10:45 Brilliant Star - Pink Blue Hotel (Balearic Chill Guitar Mix) 10:41 Deeper Sublime - Buddha Cafe (Original Mix) 10:35 Mathieu - Deixe O Sol Entrar (Feat. Ana Paula & Luis Viola) 10:30 Atb Feat. Melissa Loretta - White Letters 10:25 Airstream - Chillin' Guitar (Trippin' Mix) 10:22 Cafe Americaine - Metropolitan Girl (Round The World Mix) 10:19 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 10:14 Capa - By Your Stair (Houie D. Remix) 10:11 Two Feet - Her Life 10:06 Jerome Noak Feat. Al Miller - You Got Me (Thomas Lemmer Chillout Remix) 10:05 Funkstar De Luxe - Tell Me Why 10:02 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 09:56 351 Lake Shore Drive - Ocean Blue 09:51 Rey Salinero - Didascalias Theme 09:49 Joe Le Blanc - Financial 09:46 Capa - Freezing Moon (Capa Remix) 09:42 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 09:41 Gary B - Song For Kaye 09:34 Five Seasons - Heaven 09:32 Climatic - L'horizzonte 09:29 Nofilter Feat. Furns - Just A Fling (Original Mix) 09:25 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 09:24 Lounge Armada - Seaside 09:14 Pnfa - Modules 09:12 L.o.s.i. - Anita 09:09 Deja-move Feat. Nneka - It-'s All Up 09:06 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 09:00 Honeyroot - Sweet As Honey 08:57 Blank & Jones - Relax (Vargo Vocal Mix) 08:50 Idenline - At Sunset (Original Mix) 08:48 Afterlife - Breather 08:45 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 08:39 Krystian Shek - Samarkand (Feat. Nina Ramsby) 08:33 Cafe Americaine - Marina Beach (Guitar Flow Mix) 08:28 Svendaq - Caribbean Dream 08:26 Vargo - Infinity (Original Mix) 08:19 Stuce The Sketch - Chuki Ya Nini 08:16 Weathertunes - Road Trip 08:13 Marga Sol - Other Side 08:10 Chamelodyon - Star Fruit Express 08:03 Cicada - Elle Et Moi 07:58 Oscar Salguero - With You 07:53 Science For Girls With Renee Cologne - Violets 07:52 Lemongrass - Nightglow 07:48 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 07:46 Vargo - One Language 07:40 Spooky - It's So Late 07:33 Colibri - Plage D'amour 07:32 Amour Fou - J-'aime Comme Tu Rit (Original Mix) 07:25 Idenline - Carry Heart (Original Mix) 07:19 Jens Buchert - The Falling Star (Nyc Mix) 07:18 Lounge Groove Avenue - Don't Be So Shy 07:14 Sinan Mercenk - France 07:11 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 07:09 Armand Frydman - Vacation Break 07:03 Pianochocolate - Morning Coffee 06:58 Jens Buchert - Sweetwood 06:56 Magenta - Slowsphere (After Ski Remix) 06:53 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 06:49 Lenny Mac Dowell Feat. Jazzamor - Je Te Veux 06:45 Vargo - The Meaning Of Life 06:42 Pnfa - Second Sunrise (Original Mix) 06:38 Cinematic - Noises (Dream Of You Mix) 06:35 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 06:27 The Sushi Club - Hamaguri 06:24 Dalminjo - And She Said (Ex-Girlfriend Mix) 06:18 Beth Orton - Daybreaker 06:16 Marc Hartman - I Can't Stop 06:12 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 06:07 Magic Waves - Remember 06:04 Luis Hermandez - One Love 05:57 Artemis - Subterranean 05:55 Jean Mare - Everything (Original Mix) 05:51 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 05:49 Hp. Hoeger - Calm Down 05:42 Fenomenon - Out Of Control 05:37 Jane Maximova - A Straw 05:36 Artenovum & Frank Doberitz - Colours Of My Mind (Deep East Cut) 05:29 Krono - First Kiss (Feat. Lijie) 05:24 Monique Bon - La Musique 05:19 Smooth Deluxe - My Sunny Day 05:16 Mo' Horizons - Superworld 05:13 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 05:07 Cream Soda - Woman 05:00 Syntheticsax & Slava Gold - Memoirs (Chillout Version) 04:58 Minus 8 - Badman & Throbin (Gabor Deutsch Lovely Vocal Remix) 04:54 Luis Hermandez - Thru The Night 04:51 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 04:50 Moonnight - I Need A New Love (Feat. Neptune) 04:43 Reunited - Sun Is Shining (Out Of Sight Remix) 04:37 Bobby Deep - Angel (Christos Fourkis Lounge Mix) 04:34 Groovecatcher - Ultramarina (Original Mix) 04:31 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 04:26 Lemongrass - On The Edge Of Time (Feat. Karen Gibson Roc) 04:21 Gaba Milani - Open Your Eyes (Original Mix) 04:15 Danny Hay - Night In (Original Mix) 04:12 Blank & Jones - Relax (Vargo Vocal Mix) 04:09 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 04:01 Tactful - No Fear 03:55 Soleil Fisher - Fast And Slow 03:50 Roger Sanchez - Another Chance (Afterlife Remix) 03:46 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 03:41 Tim Angrave - Dreamescape 03:35 Mo Horizon - Gonna Be 03:34 Mellie 0 Neil - Rainy Days 03:31 Saib. - Archipelago 03:27 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 03:24 Kusuma Orchestra - Nightfall 03:17 G-spliff - Won-'t Part 03:12 Mystic Diversions - Wave A Little Light (Feat. Wendy Lewis) 03:11 Jazazamor - Tonight 03:07 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 03:06 Xerxes & Phoenix - Scarecrow 03:00 Dadamnphreaknoizphunk (Feat. Jen) - Waiting 02:54 Tanga - Sink 02:51 Sunyata Project - Pi Lo Chun (Extended Mix) 02:48 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 02:45 Kiwi Twist - Jazz Lady 02:40 Sven Van Paapen - Love Me Slow (Smooth Vocal Flair Mix) 02:35 Crystal Theory - (Don't Fear) The Reaper 02:34 Luis Hermandez - Serenity (Original Mix) 02:31 Nitin Sawhney - Sunset 02:24 Velvet Lounge Project - Ven A Mi 02:18 Cocogroove - Copa Dos Santos (Brazil Cut) 02:16 Gary B - Love Rain Down 02:13 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 02:07 Mind Conventions - Sweet Fever 02:04 Artenovum, Oliver Schlolaut - The Sun Is Shining 01:58 Ms. Jones, The Fireflies - 5am (Lana In The Video Sadness Cut) 01:56 Gushi & Raffunk - Karma Drops 01:52 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 01:47 351 Lake Shore Drive - Ocean Blue (Cafe Ibiza Edit) 01:45 Aqua Mundi - Simple Ou Double 01:38 Dave Ross - Playboy 01:35 Cantoma - Paloma (Mudds Slender Loris Mix) 01:32 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 01:27 Sky Sergeant - Orion Trail (Eclipse Mix) 01:21 Faruk Sabanci - As Faces Fade 01:16 Zero 7 - Passing By 01:15 Minus Blue - Be As One (Klangstein Edit) 01:11 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 01:07 Topazz - Behind The Wheel 01:02 Christos Fourkis - If You Love Me 00:57 Dejamove - Warmin-' 00:55 Dead Horse Beats - Easy Nothing 00:52 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 00:47 Dakota Soul - Tha Gud Ole Daze 00:41 Kentaro Takizawa - Gradual Life (Silent Dream Version) 00:36 Night Loungers - A Little Lazy Morning In Paris (French Kiss Vocal Mix) 00:34 Raffunk - King Of Pain (Feat. Gushi) 00:31 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 00:25 Michael E - Shadows & Light (Original Mix) 00:23 Tycho - Weather 00:16 Pauline London - Love Can Sing 00:15 Fairlight - Te Amo (Feat. Linda Lowe) 00:11 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 00:10 Alien Cafe - Sundae Dream 00:03 Avalounge - Confessions On A Lounge Flow (Smooth Sax Edit) 00:02 Jens Buchert - Mystic Flower

[writer59january13]

The boss aka Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen

born at Monmouth Medical Center

in Long Branch, New Jersey,

on September 23, 1949.

His nationalities include hodgepodge

of Dutch, Irish, and Italian descent.

He grew up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey.

I dedicate the following poem

to aforementioned musician, whose figurative guitar finger kept on the throbbing pulse resoundingly reverberating

across American heartland.

this cautious man (bobby jean) born in the u.s.a.

grownin’ up in the badlands of atlantic city

bonded with blood brothers

felt born to run along backstreets

in brilliant disguise that did cover me

frequently blinded by the light

of the full moon

casting silhouettes against darkness

on the edge of town

which lunar shafts pierced candy’s room,

while immersed in book of dreams

describing better days on a Cadillac ranch

where devils & dust - visible dancing in the dark

celebrating like calendar showered 4th of july

or other glory days in darlington county

even though I ain’t got you.

livin’ in the future

mine hungry heart hankered

and felt like I’m on fire

for you, this fire in me craved human touch

desire - roaring into the ole factory fire

because I wanna marry you

because the night populated

with girls in their summer clothes

each dazzling like 57 channels (and nothin’ on)

in imagination of my american skin

descended from when adam raised a cain

before last to die forecasting kingdom of days

now dwelling in celestial mansion on the hill.

now rightfully claim status of I’m a rocker/ local hero and I’m goin’ down

meeting across the river

if I should fall behind

on the downbound train as living proof

within light of day magic jungleland

policed by highway patrolman i.e. johnny 99

alias johnny bye bye – held up without a gun

defending this lucky town

established on Matamoras banks

from an incident on 57th street

thus celebrated

as local hero every independence day

when, with murder incorporated

firing point blank out in the street

that staccato new york city serenade

from no surrender outlaw pete

originally from nebraska.

it’s hard to be a saint in the city open all night

within my hometown

once my father’s house, now my city of ruins

where tis moot to ask

does this bus stop at 82nd street?

one step up

into the pink Cadillac

hops the ramrod queen of the supermarket

teasing audio dials sans radio nowhere

a red headed woman

racing in the street toward secret garden

to save my love –

with thee angel rosalita (come out tonight)

offering reason

to believe roll of the dice real world

and to prove it all night

from spare parts – shards of roulette wheel

housing souls of the departed

please save my love and stolen car

for sherry darling – that spirit in the night

she’s the one among souls of the departed

no longer stopped by state trooper

precinct based along streets of philadelphia

some crackling like streets of fire

straight time mandate

for those armed to the teeth

along tenth avenue freeze-out.

requiem per terry’s song – what love can do

accompanied by e street shuffle

performed in somber tones

rumbling down thunder road

for souls of used cars

two hearts crushed

along this hard land

for: the ghost of tom joad

the last carnival homage

to wild billy’s circus story

the price you pay when you’re alone

working on a dream

now wreck on the highway.

we take care of our own from youngstown

when heading of to the promised land

the rising distant mystical eden

where you can look,

(but you’d better not touch)

espying the river of salvation

joining eternally the ties that bind

a tunnel of love

or like the wrestler

pinning opponent tougher than the rest

like laborers working on the highway

chiseled like this hard land!

[mannytoodope]

Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011) Clarence was more than Bruce Springsteen’s sax man he was his friend and brother. Clarence’s saxophone brought that sound that gave Bruce and the E Street Band their signature sound. Even he played with other musicians or solo Clarance was amazing.

[writemekpop]

Lipstick On Your Collar (Part 1) | Nakamoto Yuta

Pairing: Nakamoto Yuta x Reader

Summary: Till death do us part... But what happens when he cheats?  

Genre: Husband!Yuta, Angst

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: Infidelity, Sexual Content, Body Image

Gif: @yuthereal​

Part 1 ⭐| Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

“Ten more minutes, then it’s homework time, alright?” you called to your two older sons, eight and four years old. Caught up in their wooden sword fight, they didn’t even look up.

You smoothed your hand over your face, eyes bruised from lack of sleep. Between your banking job and your three kids, sleep was a rare thing.

Just then, you felt a waft of chill air. Yuta strode in through the front door, his feathery black hair in disarray.

“Hey babe,” you called, shoulders relaxing.

Your husband had this calming presence, your island on a rough ocean. Your chest ached for Yuta’s warmth. You hadn’t hugged, kissed… touched in months.

“Hi, Y/n. We need to talk,” Yuta deadpanned.

You picked up your baby daughter Ayumi. She needed her nappy changed. Bad.

“Alright. What’s up?” You placed her on the changing mat, blowing your fringe out of your eyes.

“I mean in private.” You saw that Yuta’s face was stretched and white. A knot curled in your stomach.

“Nappies?” You lifted your hand. He begrudgingly handed them over.

“Y/n. This is serious.” Yuta’s voice quivered like a taut string.

“Can’t you see I’m busy? What is it?” you snapped. You instantly regretted it. Nowadays, you were always on the edge of an explosion.

“Okay. Fine. I’ve… messed up. And I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean it, but… it’s happened.”

You bin Ayumi’s old nappy, then pull her into your arms. “Is that all? Look, if you’ve broken something, we have insurance.”

“This isn’t a bloody plate! I’ve- I’ve done something awful.”

“Right. Well done. Anyway, I have to help the kids with their homework.”

“Just look at me, Y/n! I’m trying to fucking tell you something!” Yuta’s yell turned your head.

Yuta’s eyes were red-rimmed and wide, like he was in shock. “I… cheated on you, Y/n. I slept with someone else.”

Your heartbeat slowed to a crawl. Instinctively, you pulled your baby close.

“Who is she?”

“Diya. From the school.”

Your lips went numb. You put Ayumi down in her rocker and started rinsing plates in the sink. “How long?”

“Just once. It was a mistake, I swear… it’s just, she was there, and… I didn’t plan it!”

Your chest folded in on itself. While you were kissing your babies to sleep, Yuta was kissing someone else.

“When was it, Yuta?”

“The… day you… went to stay with your sister.”

You’d never forget that day.

It was a few weeks after Ayumi was born. You couldn’t seem to get out of bed, let alone be a good mother. So you’d escaped… just for a day.

While you were breaking apart, Yuta searched out another woman.

“Where?” You picked up the cutlery, letting the hot water scald your skin.

“Her apartment. We met up after work, and one thing led to another… I swear, that was all.”

Images burned into your mind, like a flashed camera. Yuta’s fingernails scraping the back of her neck, like he did to you. Their naked bodies gyrating, sweaty, the smell of sex saturating everything…

Your throat convulsed in a retch. For a second, it was like a brick was hitting your chest.

Then, everything stopped.

You felt a curtain dropping. You didn’t have time to deal with this. Not now. As quickly as they came, the feelings slowed. Drooped. Vanished.

You looked down. You were clenching a table knife so hard it had drawn blood. You let go.

Everything blurred. You felt like a kid again, staring up at yourself from the bottom of a pool.

Your voice was a croak. “Obviously, we’re not telling the kids. My parents are coming next week – so we can’t tell them either.”

You dried your hands and looked up at Yuta. His mouth was hanging open, like a cartoon character’s. It was almost funny.

You continued speaking, bunging toys into a basket.

“If you want a divorce, tell me now, because we’ll have to borrow money. For tonight, I’ll take the bed, you have the couch.”

“What the hell, Y/n?”

You jolt and look up. “Fine! You can have the bed.”

Yuta grabbed your shoulders, knife-cheekboned and wild. “I don’t care about the fucking bed! I just told you I cheated on you. Why aren’t you mad?”

You stared at his hands on your skin, like you didn’t recognise them. Yuta spotted your gaze, and slowly let go.

“I’m really sorry, Y/n. I want to fix this. But you need to let me in.”

You looked into his chestnut eyes and frowned. Why was he being so obnoxious?

Slowly, you spelled it out. “You cheated on me. It was with our kids’ tutor, while I was sick. You’re sorry. You won’t do it again. Now can I go and make dinner?”

Yuta blinked. Slowly. Then, he gulped and gave you a slight nod. “Yep.”

You pushed past him, and called out, “Whoever helps mummy with dinner gets ice cream!”

You ushered your eager kids towards the hob. You didn’t look back, but you felt Yuta’s gaze on the back of your head. Stunned.

------

You plastered on your brightest smile all throughout dinner, whilst laying out bedding on the couch for yourself, even whilst tucking your children into bed.

Now, you were sitting in your children’s room, with the lights out. You’d just finished reading their bedtime story. They were fast asleep.

Finally, you let the iron screen lift from your heart. Instead of fighting it, you bared the most vulnerable part of yourself.

It was a memory: you were in Paris with Yuta on the first night of your honeymoon. You were in a mid-range Travel Lodge – the best you could afford – with rain pelting at the windows.

You had woken up at 11AM, tangled up with Yuta from your cuddling. You’d talked, worried, agonised about it, but you’d never had sex with him before.

Yuta opened one sleepy eye and felt your body with his hands, as if he was checking if it was there. You tingled with lust to the tips of your toes. Suddenly, you knew the moment was right.

For once, you didn’t care about your tummy that you always tried to hide, you didn’t care about your thighs which rubbed together when you walked.

You didn’t think about anything, except the feeling of Yuta’s slow kisses, the feeling of him inside of you, the feeling of his hands reaching to the very ends of you.

You were in a hazy, golden pool of completeness. As you gasped your worries, apologies, in each other’s ears, you became whole in a way you’d never known before.

Then, the memory shattered. And in its place, before you could stop it, was the image that was burnt into your eyelids.

It played over and over again, the trailer to a movie of your shame. Yuta in her apartment, the thumping of the bedposts, him between her legs, her exclamations of ‘yes!’, that were only echoed by him moaning her name…

You screamed silently into your fist.

You knew the real reason Yuta cheated on you. Whatever excuses he made, it wasn’t a mistake or a drunk one-off.

You grabbed the soft flesh around your waist. This was why. You thought of the nights you’d told him you were too tired, that you weren’t in the mood. That was why.

You couldn’t even blame Yuta. He was only compensating for the fact that his own wife would never be attractive enough, good enough, just enough for him.

The tears rose up your throat, making your head pound and your cheeks stretch with sobs. You wanted nothing more than to drown yourself in these tears, though you knew they wouldn’t wash the pain away.

Then, you caught a grey glimmer in the darkness. Your youngest boy, Nico, was wide awake and watching you with saucer eyes.

“Hey baby… go back to sleep,” you whispered, quickly smoothing away your tears.

“Are you crying, mummy?”

The softness in his gaze was like a punch in the stomach. You choked down another wave of tears. “No, sweetie, I’m fine. Go back to sleep okay?”

Obediently, he closed his eyes. You didn’t deserve such beautiful children.

You were doubled over, silent in the darkness. You pressed your palms into your eyes, so hard they hurt, and forced the tears back.

You couldn’t even make your husband love you.

What hope did you have with your kids?

------

Three days had passed since that terrible night.

It was 10PM, and the house was unusually quiet.

You and Yuta were sitting at the far edges of the couch, the Netflix episode you never missed playing on the TV.

Both of you were pretending like nothing had gone wrong.

“So… how was work?” Yuta’s cautious voice broke the silence.

You sighed and shook your head. “Just get me a drink.” You couldn’t be bothered with this charade. But at least you could drown your feelings.

“Are you sure that’s a good-” Yuta began.

“Just get it.”

He returned with a whisky, with two ice cubes. Your heart twisted. “You remembered?”

“How could I forget my wife’s favourite drink?” Yuta gave you a thin smile, and for a second, you forgot to ice him out. You smiled back.  

That was two whiskies ago. Now, the gap between the two of you on the sofa had shrunk.

You were laughing so hard your eyes were teary.

“Do you remember, Y/n? Your shirt was on backwards, my pants were on the other side of the room, we were moaning so loud half the theme park could hear us!”

You dried your eyes, sighing. “I bet we scarred a few kids for life that day…”

Yuta’s lip curled up in a smile that sent your heart racing.

You looked down. Subconsciously, your hand was massaging Yuta’s denim-clad knee. You retracted it.

“God, we really knew how to have fun, didn’t we?” You could barely remember the time before you had your three children. It was rose-coloured.

“I mean, Disneyland was nothing. Remember Taeyong’s attic? The nightclub bathroom? I could go on…”

“Ahh!” You mimed blocking your ears. “There are kids in the house, you know!”

In doing so, you lost your grip on your whisky glass, which was balanced on your knee. Yuta grabbed it before it fell, and his hand was suddenly on your thigh.

He let go, and you cleared your throat.

That was hours back. Now, you were having difficulty sitting straight. You’d lost count of how many whiskies you’d downed.

You grabbed Yuta by the shoulders and shook him. “Look! Let’s just get it out of the way. ASAP, straight, completo. No regrets.”

For the first time in ages, your blood was running warm with more than alcohol. The worn denim of Yuta’s jeans was pulling your gaze southward.

“Get what out of the way? You’re not making sense, Y/n.”

You pulled the pin out of your hair and let it fall over your shoulders. “The big three-letter.”

Yuta looked at you, still bewildered. “What?”

“SEX.”

The glass fell from Yuta’s hand.

To be continued…

Part 1 ⭐| Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

[dailyretrogames]

Rollergames is the name of two 1990 Konami video games, one a coin-operated arcade game by, the other a Nintendo Entertainment System game, and both based on the television show of the same name. This arcade game is faithful to the show unlike the NES version of RollerGames, which is a side-scrolling game. The game is for two players and features all the skaters and managers from the league.

Teams and Managers (both games)

Los Angeles Thunderbirds: Bill Griffiths, Jr.

Hot Flash/Hollywood Hot Flash: Juan Valdez Lopez (erroneously referred to in the game as "El Fabuloso")

Rockers: DJ Terrigno, the "entertainment attorney"

Bad Attitude: Georgia Hase

Maniacs: John "Guru" Drew

Violators: Skull

Gameplay (Arcade version)

Score values are cut in half from the real show (and rounded up if needed), and feature only four 99-second cycles instead of 45-second cycles within four 6-minute periods.

The players control the two jetters. After referee Don Lastra blows his whistle to begin the cycle, the first lap leads the jetters to the Wall of Death (the heavily banked curve of the jetwave). They get one point for getting three steps in the between the two red lines and three points for getting above the top line. On the jet jump, they get three points for landing beyond the 12-foot marker and one point for landing in front of the line. The rest of the cycle awards one point passing or fighting off opposing blockers (who come back to haunt the jetters afterwards) and three points for lapping or fighting off the opposing jetter. The team with the most points wins. Should the scores be tied; extra cycles are played until there is a winner. (The game does not utilize the alligator pit used in the show's sudden death overtime.)

A player cannot advance to the next game until they win the current game. Once they defeat all five teams, they are treated to a credit sequence showing the trophy (the Commissioner's Cup), and the lineup of skaters. The game then restarts with the first team.

While it doesn't affect the score of the game (only awarding a small amount of "power" to the winner), there is a bonus Street Fighter II style fight that may happen to illustrate the violence and rivalry that happens on RollerGames. Winning a fight earns bonus energy to the player (as when energy is depleted, a life is lost, and losing all lives requires the player to insert another credit to continue the game). These fights pop up at random.

The NES version is a side-scrolling platform game that employs the likenesses of people used in the television show, but has nothing to do with the sport itself. Instead, a mysterious anonymous alien enemy assists the three teams of the Eastern Empire (Violators, Maniacs, Bad Attitude) and their managers (Skull, John "Guru" Drew, Ms. Georgia Hase) in a plot to sabotage the sport and hold Bill Griffiths hostage.

The game begins with announcers Chuck Underwood and David Sams commenting about the commissioner (Griffiths) being taken hostage by the three rough teams, and he can only be rescued by the Western Alliance (T-Birds, Hot Flash, Rockers).

The game then has Shelley Jamison asking the player which of the three teams they would wish to join; the player can choose a different team for each stage. Once the choice is made, the stage begins.

The skaters the player can play as are as follows:

T-Birds: Robert Smith (the "Icebox")

Hot Flash: Vicki McEuen (the "Sly Fox")

Rockers: Mike Flannigan (the "California Kid")

Each odd-numbered stage has a course the player must navigate around within a specified time limit, all the while fighting off enemies (the skaters and goons of the Eastern Empire teams), culminating in a boss fight with either Ms. Georgia Hase, Guru Drew, or Skull. The player must defeat the boss before time expires. Falling down into a pit, losing all of the player's energy, or running out of time costs a life, and the game is over if all lives are lost.

The skaters the player can play as are as follows:

T-Birds: Robert Smith (the "Icebox")

Hot Flash: Vicki McEuen (the "Sly Fox")

Rockers: Mike Flannigan (the "California Kid")

The first two even numbered stages are transitional stages where the skater has to avoid all sorts of obstacles ranging from barrels to flamethrowers, and helicopters may also drop bombs to attempt to slow down or kill the skater. There is no time limit for these stages.

The sixth and final stage has a time limit which leads to a boss fight with the nameless villain. Succeeding at this stage wins the game, and the player is rewarded with images of the skaters with Bill Griffiths, and a congratulatory message from Wally George (who served as halftime commentator on the show).

[thewildwaffle]

Hero & Villain (part 2)

A quick break from humans are weird, but here is a continuation of This Potstickers story. Thanks @nomadicsmurf for requesting this!

***

The suit makes the super. That’s true for both villains and heroes. Any old jokester off the street can do or stop crime, but if you really want to wreak havoc or save the day, it’s all about how you present yourself. Robbing a bank? You need a good suit. Catching a falling train before it crushes an animal shelter? You need a good suit. Finally making it to the grocery store? Well, you don’t need a good suit, but it certainly helps keep everyone at a distance and commands a certain level of recognition and fearful respect. If you’re a villain that is. The villain inspected two packages of chicken. They were from the deli and their weight and price were printed clearly on large white stickers. Not caring to make sure anyone was looking, because let’s be honest, everyone was trying to not look their way so as to avoid eye contact, the stickers were switched and the formerly more expensive package was placed in the cart. “What are you doing here?” a surprisingly familiar voice accused. The villain turned around to see the easily recognizable suit of the hero that had broken into the lair earlier. The villain shook the handle on the cart, making the contents slide around in the bottom for emphasis. “What does it look like I’m doing here?” The pair stared at each other, sizing each other up. Other customers kept peeking over to see what was going to happen while also trying to inconspicuously scatter to what they must have thought would be a safe distance if fighting broke out. Finally, with a sigh, the hero sighed and rubbed their temples. “Whatever. I guess you’re right. Again. Just… just don’t do anything… evil or whatever.” “Oh yes, because groceries are very evil,” the villain’s eyes rolled. “Aren’t you going to stop me from buying these potatoes to power my new evil plasma gun?” At that moment, the villain noticed the hero’s cart. The sarcastic smile melted into an annoyed frown. “Hey! What did I tell you when you left earlier?”

“What?” “Look at this junk!” The villain left their cart and started rifling through the hero’s. “Mr. Chuggles Cheese Puffs? Really? Fried chicken, white bread- you’ve already managed to squish this, by the way, giant bag of licorice, store brand bologna, baker’s dozen donuts, and is this… frozen cheese pizzas?” The three boxes were lifted out of the cart and presented pointedly as if to emphasize the disappointment. “You do know that the other toppings are free, right?” The hero grabbed the boxes and put them back into the cart. The villain sighed. “I did tell you to get real food, didn’t I? What, did your super hearing conveniently stop working?” “I’m just hungry, okay.” “Okay, I could just slap your stupid face. I knew you heroes were incompetent but dang.” The hero shot the villain a glare, which was parried by a soft shoulder shrug. “The first rule of grocery shopping, don’t go while hungry.” The hero’s stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. Dang, they hadn’t eaten since breaking into the villain's lair earlier and being fed those two potstickers. After they left, they’d been called away to help fight off a mob of angry mermen in a neighboring coastal city. “The second rule, always shop with a list based on the upcoming week’s recipes,” the villain continued and looked disdainfully into the hero’s cart. “What are you planning on cooking? May I recommend something with, oh I don’t know, vegetables?” It was then that they noticed the exhausted and lost look on the hero’s face. With a deep sigh, the villain pulled the hero’s cart over. “Here, come with me. I’ll help. Oh don’t look at me like that, I told you I’m a fine upstanding member of society now, remember? Plus, what's the fun of being a villain when your nemesis destroys themselves with a poor diet. That's my job, thank you very much. Except I would certainly be more creative about it.” It only took slightly more convincing before the odd pair were circling the store for miscellaneous ingredients as the villain helped to plan meals for the week. It also helped that the villain vaporized the hero’s already gathered foodstuffs. “I

know you’re busy, that’s probably why you’re like this anyway, you heroes are always thinking you’re such hot stuff for saving the day or what malarky, but you never stop to take care of yourselves. So we need foods you can make when you have downtime and then store for when you don’t. I’ve got a recipe for ‘Uncle Death Shadow's Super Dope Good Chicken.’ You can put it in the crockpot and have it cooking all day and it's ready when you get home. Easy peasy.” The store wasn’t crazy busy, which tends to happen later in the day and when people walk in and spy the suits. If it was just the hero, they’d probably swarm them and try to get an autograph or selfie with them or whatever, but pair that with the villain? People tend to make themselves scarce. That being the case, the wait for the checkout line was basically non-existent. “Good evening [villain name], how are you doing?” the girl behind the cash register chimed as they approached. “Just fine Stephanie, how about yourself?” the villain smiled at her while loading items on the belt. “You know each other?” The hero placed a divider between the two orders. “Uh, yeah, that happens when you actually go grocery shopping more than once a blue moon, go figure,” the villain scoffed. Stephanie chuckled softly and began to dutifully scan and/or weigh each item. The hero stood by the card reader to pay while the villain loaded the filled bags back into the cart. When prompted, the card was swiped. A series of two short beeps was the response. “Oh, sorry,” Stephanie frowned. “It says it was declined. Go ahead and try it again.” The card was swiped again. And again. Only beeps and a message on the screen saying ‘insufficient funds.’ “Uh,” Stephanie was clearly not comfortable but asked, “Do... do you want to try another payment method?” The hero patted themselves like they were checking their pockets, even though the suit didn’t have any. Or at least, it didn’t look like it did. Who knows with suit technology these days though. Pockets or not, the hero came up empty. “I… I don’t. This should work though, I, uh, I don’t know why it’s not. The money should be in my account.” “Well, well, well. Leave it to the Hero Association to mess up payday,” the villain all but sauntered over. “But then again, the old saying doesn't say that heroism pays. You know what does though?” The villain pulled out a Platinum Hoarders Cash Rewards card. “The saying is that crime doesn't pay. I don’t want your ill-gotten money.” “You wound me. Besides, I don’t think it’s really a matter of wanting, it looks more like a matter of nee-” A series of loud crashes and breaking glass interrupted. “HALT FOUL VILLAIN! YOUR DAYS OF TERRORISING THESE PEOPLE IS OVER!” All three of them looked to the front door where a menacing figure dressed in the gaudiest yellow, black, and red suit had flown in and knocked over at least two display stands and toppled a tower of honeydew. “Is that… Captain Inferno?” Stephanie had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the display behind her register. Her voice trembled slightly. Not much was known about the new and upcoming hero, but what was known wasn't always… stable. “How did he get out?” the villain grumbled. “That trap was stuck tight when I last checked it.” The hero turned to look, horrified, “you had someone else trapped in your lair?” “h, yeah, right after you left he broke in and got stuck. He was being a real jerk though, so I figured I’d deal with him later and left him there while I left to run errands and go shopping.” As the villain turned back to look at where Captain Inferno was storming forward, a fireball blasted past in a narrow miss. Screams erupted as the fire crashed into and spread along the shelf in the customer service department. The villain ducked into a defensive stance and glanced from the blazing shelf to the fiery hero himself. “Are you insane?!” From the way the fire hero nearly stalked forward, he might very well be. The villain really hoped he hadn’t gotten into any of the tox-N test vials that’d been stored in the lair. In retrospect, those

probably should have been moved to at least another room before leaving the hero - trapped or not- alone with them. “Am I insane?! You of all people have the audacity to ask me that? I know what you’ve been up to in that vile lair of yours and I’m going to make sure your latest project never sees the light of day, one way or another.” “Captain Inferno!” the hero's voice commanded both Inferno and the villain's attention. “What are you doing? You can’t just come in here and start blasting! I know you’re new, but this is completely unaccepta-” The sentence wasn’t able to be finished as Inferno shoved the hero back and into the end cap of the aisle with another loud crash. ‘Well, there you have it,’ the villain grimaced, ‘definitely got into the tox-N. He’s completely off his rocker. If he was ever on it, to begin with.’ Stephanie screamed and ducked behind the counter. Captain Inferno ignored them and the surrounding chaos he’d created and stepped toward the villain, heedless of the infuriated scowl he was being given. “How dare you-” another fireball was just barely side-stepped in time “-you are no hero. You disgrace the title by using it. And coming from me, that means something.” “Coming from you, it means absolutely nothing,” Captain Inferno nearly snarled. “But I’m going to make sure nothing else ever comes from you again.” The hero was back on their feet behind the villain but wasn’t quick enough to dodge the fiery blast from Inferno that had missed their intended mark once again. The villain had to rip their gaze away from the sight of the hero dropping to the ground and rolling in an attempt to extinguish the fire. The villain whipped back around. The temperature throughout the entire store felt like it dropped several degrees. How dare he hurt their hero. That was their job! Pure hatred leaked from the villain’s eyes as they landed back on the menacing opponent. “You've made a lot of mistakes today. Breaking into my lair, breaking out, following me here, being altogether a buffoon. But that? That was your last mistake.” Carefully, the villain shifted stance, arm tensing as it prepared to draw a weapon. “I’m going to disembark your intestines from... the rest of your body!” Captain Inferno frowned in confusion, then his sneer was right back. “Did…” he snickered. He actually snickered, “did you mean disembowel?” “YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!” The villain dropped suddenly to the ground to avoid Inferno’s fire punch attack and pulled out a compact multi-canon. Before the deranged hero could regain balance, the villain fired up directly into his chest, sending him flying high and crashing back through the drywall and plaster. Green smoke trickled down from the Captain Flame-sized hole. All eyes were dancing between said hole and the still-standing villain. Slowly, half-stunned, [hero] rose from the ground, the only traces of fire that remained was a broken trickle of smoke flickering up from their smoldering cape. The villain turned and looked up into the hero’s face as a gloved hand was placed on still battle-tense shoulders. The rage there slowly ebbed a bit when they saw the hero was well enough to stand on their own. The villain shrugged off the hero’s hand. “Eh. Must have had it on the wrong settings. Still, it looks like it worked.” The villain pulled their card back out without saying anything else and slid it through the card reader. A single ‘ding’ sounded. Payment accepted. “Oh, wait. Dang. I should have just had Stephanie ring up my stuff too and paid for it all at once. Oops.” Stephanie slowly rose up from behind the counter. The hero just stood, gaping at the villain. The villain took a few seconds to notice. “What? Oh, are you thinking what I’m thinking? Because I agree, I probably should just take my stuff anyway, right? As payment for my troubles. Yeah. You know what? I’m gonna do that. I think I’ve earned it.” Before anyone else could process and react to that, the villain pulled their cart forward and started walking toward the exit. “Wait, wait! Hold on!” The hero finally shook off the stupor and rushed

to stop the villain. “What was that?” “Uh, grocery shopping. Of sorts, I guess, as the case may be.” They stared at each other for a moment. “Oh, you mean all that with… yeah yeah, duh. I believe that was what they call ‘self-defense.’ Why you ask? Weren't you paying attention?” “You can’t just leave, we need to wait for the police. This is going to need to be reported.” The villain stopped and made a face like they were considering it. “Mmmmm. Nah. Gross. If you want to stick around, be my guest. You can tell them how I stopped that maniac from coming at poor Stephanie over there. Just remember, if you call me a hero, I will deny such titles. After all, I was just doing what any fine upstanding citizen in my position would do. I’m humble now!” “Upstandin- you yelled that you were going to disembowel him.” “I never said that. Captain Fire Pants over there, and now also you, I guess, said ‘disembowel’.” The hero made a face that made the villain roll their eyes. “Here, watch this.” They leaned over to call out, “Stephanie?” The cashier waved shakily at them. “Do the cameras in here have microphones?” “Uh, no?” The villain straightened up to look smugly at the hero. “Well, there you go. All anyone is gonna see on the camera is me saving the day. All anyone here can testify that they heard Captain Inferno say something about disemboweling people. Gosh, I’m sure glad I was here to save the day.” Now it was the hero’s turn to roll their eyes. “You didn’t save the day. If anything, you created the circumstances to make this mess! We need to wait for the authorities so we can make a report. You’re not going anywhere. Also, you didn’t pay for your stuff.” “Oh, and are you going to hold me here? Forcibly detain me?” The villain made a mock shocked gesture with their hand on their heart. “I still have my multi-canon, mind you.” “Is that a threat?” “Uh, yeah. Again, pay attention.” “What happened to you being a fine upstanding citizen? You said it’s been, what? Four days? You’re already ready to drop that act?” The villain pushed past and once again headed for the exit. “Oh sue me. It's not like it’s hard to pay off another jury.” The hero stood there, fighting between going after and making them stay, or going back to make sure no one else was hurt. That and the fires still needed to be put out. Their delay was all the villain needed to getaway. “If you have any questions about those recipes or need any tips about meal prepping, let me know!” the villain yelled out from the hover speeder rising from the parking lot. A quick check in the rear-view mirror showed the hero going back in to help in the store. Another easy getaway. The villain settled back and sighed contentedly. "Well, I guess the bright side is that I don't need to deal with angry fire britches when I get back.” The smile faltered a bit. “Although, the fact that he got into my stuff means I’m gonna have a huge cleanup to deal with. He better not have trashed the entire place or I'll make sure I've got the right settings on my cannon next time." At the hover speeder's pace, the lair came into view in no time. Getting around town was so easy when the only traffic you have to worry about are high-rise buildings and flight-capable superheroes. After parking and gathering the grocery loot, the villain stopped to consider the bag of potatoes they'd ‘not bought.’ "You know," they muttered quietly, "I just meant it as a joke earlier, but maybe I could use these to power an evil plasma gun. After I make some hash browns first, of course."

[blackrockandrollmusic-blog]

Clarence Clemons & The Red Banks Rockers - Jump Start My Heart (1984)

[shop-korea]

Kailangan Kita LIVE - Regine Velasquez - HD / Enhanced

1 YEAR - AGO - WHAT - REGINE -

LOOKS - LIKE TODAY - STILL A -

GREAT SINGER - MAIN LIBRARY

FRONT - OF - ME - TABLE - OLD

HISPANIC - MOM - UGLY - SON

ALL - 3 - TALKING - LOUD - AS

NEW - DEFINITION - FLORIDA

LIBRARY - WORKERS PASSING

BY - ALLOWING - ALL - THAT

YESTERDAY - BLK - HAITIAN

HIS - HEAD 2 CLOSE - 2 - MY

DUFFLE - BAG - THOUGH ITS

LESS - RAIN - MOVING - TO

ANOTHER - SPOT - THESE

HOMELESS - BLK - MEN 2

INTIMATE - 4 - MY - TASTE

HDG - BANKS

LET's - REMEMBER

XXX TENCATION

FORGIVE - SPELLING

RED TOMATOES - THROWN

ON - UNCLE - THAT - FLED

SPORTS - CAR - HOW WE

DO - THAT - IN - MY - POB

PLACE - OF - BIRTH

UNTIL - WE - MAKE THAT

AUTOMATIC

HDG - BANKS

APP - DECLARE - DAILY

'I'M - NOT - MARRYING - BLK'

INCREASING - TAX - PAID

LET's REMOVE - OURSELVES

FRM - MANY - IRRITANTS - IN

THIS - LIFE - JUST - SANG - A

LITTLE - UGLY - HISPANIC

BOY - UGLY - EARS - HE

LAUGHED - HID HIS FACE

IN - BOOK - AND - RAN SO

THEY - ALL 3 TALKING - &

ME - SINGING - I'M - YES

ANNOYING - FRIDAY - NO

SCHOOL - 4 - HISPANICS

DOUBLING

IN - USA

$500 BILLION - X2 - TAX

PAID - KOREA - 500 BILLION

WON - X2 - DAILY - DOUBLE

DECREASE - THIS - RACE

GENTLY - GIVEN - LIFE XO

LIKE - CHARLES MANSEN

BRUNETTE - WOMEN - HIS

ORDER - STABBED 2 DEATH

BLONDES - 7 MONTH WITH

BABY - BUT - HE GOT - LIFE

AS - HOMELESS - NO FOOD

A - LOT - GREGORY - TALL

BLK - HAITIAN - TOLD - WHO

GAVE - US - FOOD - TUES -

HE - MIAMI - 3 MONTHS -

ELECTRICAL - ENGINEERING

COLLEGE GRAD - WHO ALSO

SPEAKS - SPANISH - HUSHED

ME - WHEN - THEY WERE -

TALKING - OVER - 1 HOUR -

CRIMINAL

SUPPRESSION OF SPEECH -

HAITI - BLKS - SUPPRESSING

SPEECH - OF - NATURALIZED

2 BLK - MALES - ENDED LIFE

OF - ROCKER - AFTER - 1 MIN

ONLY - WHAT - IT - TOOK - TO

ROB HIM - OF - $50, 000

IN - HIS - LOUIS VOUTON

THEN - FIRED - US BULLETS

LARGE CALLIBRE - THEY'RE

SAYING - YOUR - MONEY - IS

THEIRS - YOU'RE - NOT EVER

ENJOYING - YOUR - MONEY

EVER AGE 20 - SHOT HIM

MANY TIMES - AND - HE

PASSED - WRITING - BIG

NOTE - 2 - UGLY - OPEN

MOUTH - WHEN - HE FL

SPEAKS -

DON'T - SPEAK - 2 - ME

AGAIN - DON'T - COME

NEAR - ME AGAIN

JESUS - IS - LORD

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

Sammy Hagar is looking forward to the summer touring season, booking shows with his band The Circle and taking out special guests George Thorogood & the Destroyers for what promises to be a good time.

“A tour this size has been a long time coming and it's definitely going to be worth the wait," says Hagar. "The Circle and I are super excited and ready to throw the party of the year with George Thorogood. We're going to take the music and party to a whole new level — 'Crazy Times' is an understatement."

The "Crazy Times" trek gets underway June 10 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and includes five June dates before picking up again in mid-August through early September at which point the run will conclude on Sept. 10 in Irvine, California. See the full list of cities, venues and dates posted below.

Tickets for the run will go on sale to the general public this Friday (Jan. 28) at 10AM local time. Redhead Fan Club Members will also be privy to a pre-sale ticketing option starting tomorrow (Jan. 25) at 10AM local time. For additional ticketing information visit Hagar's Red Rocker website and you can also get tickets via the tour promoter Live Nation.

Sammy Hagar & The Circle / George Thorogood & the Destroyers 2022 Tour Dates

June 10 - Bridgeport, Ct. @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater

June 11 - Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center

June 13 - Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center

June 15 - Noblesville, Ind. @ Ruoff Music Center

June 16 - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio @ Blossom Music Center

Aug. 23 - Clarkston, Mich. @ Pine Knob Music Theatre

Aug. 24 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Riverbend Music Center

Aug. 26 - Maryland Heights, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Aug. 27 - Tinley Park, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Aug. 30 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheatre

Sept. 1 - Bend, Ore. @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater

Sept. 7 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion

Sept. 9 - Mountain View, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheatre

Sept. 10 - Irvine, Calif. @ FivePoint Amphitheatre

Buy Tickets Here!

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome To Backwater ch.4 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Stretch is settling into small town life.

~~*~~

Read Chapter Four on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

The rest of Stretch’s week went about the same way as the first few days. Work in the morning, movie in the afternoon, dinner with Red at night. After what Red told him, he’d been prepared to Groundhog’s Day his way through his next visit with Doris if needs be, braced for a few reminders until he made a good enough impression.

For their second meeting, he got another popcorn just for her, tucking it into the cupholder on the opposite side of her seat. She was barely formed before she was leaning down to breathe in the buttery smell of it and from that angle, he didn’t have to witness any of her less appetizing manifestations. He also brought strawberry-flavored twizzlers, bought from the store and smuggled in under his shirt since the only candy at the concession stand was raisinets and those tasted like chocolate-covered dirt, no thanks.

He wasn’t too worried about going over his entertainment budget. Red paid him yesterday and they hadn’t discussed an hourly rate, but a hundred bucks under the table wasn’t bad for a few hours work a day, especially since Red had recently taken more of an interest in feeding him. Seemed he’d taken his brother’s order to look after Stretch pretty seriously and he started leaving packets of donuts on the counter in the morning or little boxes of sugary dry cereal to munch between customers. In the evening, Red dragged him back to his apartment at night for more Wheel of Fortune and food, either deliciously left by his unseen brother or frozen dinners.

It made Stretch feel even more like a scrawny lost puppy found in a parking lot, but he couldn’t say Red’s sudden adoption was unwelcome, especially since it meant less of his dwindling funds were wasted at ‘Mama’s’ getting takeout. Not that he couldn’t access his bank account, even Backwater had an ATM at the gas station, but the second he popped that plastic into the slot, he’d be advertising where he was. Better to save that as his last measly dollar, ‘hail Mary’ pass.

After indulging in her popcorn vice, Doris sat back up to her normal prim posture and there was a certain restrained excitement in her voice as she said, “You came back.”

“’course i did,” Stretch said from around his current twizzler even as he nursed a secret delight at being remembered. “i said i would, didn’t i?” He wondered what other friends she’d made and possibly forgotten, aside from Red. Maybe she thought she’d been alone all this time when she actually had others who came to see her on the weekends?

Whatever the truth was, there wasn’t much point in asking. Not like she’d know the truth, anyway, and Stretch wasn’t planning on ghosting her. Her smile was Mona Lisa subtle and probably held as many unspoken secrets, and that was fine. Stretch wasn’t a guy to pry. They sat together through ‘The Road to Morocco’ and he didn’t even mind when Doris hummed softly through all the songs.

On the third day since their haunting introduction, she appeared before the movie started while he was playing ‘Candy Crush’ on his phone and pointedly ignoring the messages piling up. She looked fascinated, watching the flickering lights from the game. “What is that contraption, Stretch?”

Hey, points for being remembered again, but then, he’d been here every day so far. He wondered idly how it would go if he took a day or two off.

Stretch held his phone out to let her get a better look. “you ever have a telephone in your house?”

“Of course,” she said, but her eyes, both pale blue and ghostly pale at the same time, were on the android, “My parents were on the exchange. Mama used to call Central all the time so she could chat with the ladies’ in her church group.”

Stretch wasn’t quite sure what that all meant, but the movie was starting soon so there wasn’t time to ask. “well, this little gadget is a kind of a phone and a camera, plus a few other things on top.”

Probably better not to bring up the deal with the internet just yet.

Her eyes went wide and round, without an ounce of disbelief. “You can take photographs with that?”

“yeah, sure. here.” He turned it on selfie mode and tipped his head her way, waiting until he was sure to catch her good side before pushing the button. One click later and there was his grin and her translucent open-mouthed astonishment, frozen in time. He held out the phone so she could get a good look. “see? i can get it printed later, but for now, we can see how it looks.”

“That’s wonderous,” she whispered in hushed awe. “You don’t even have to wait to develop it!”

“yeah, it is pretty cool.” It was, honestly. He didn’t really think about it too often but carrying around a little supercomputer that also took pictures was actually pretty wonderous. He remembered getting his first phone when they came to the surface, a huge upgrade from the taped-up flip phone he’d scavenged from the dump. Playing with all the apps, taking tons of pictures of him and Blue. He’d forgotten that wonder when it all became commonplace and it was nice to have a reminder.

Doris reached out as if to touch, but her finger passing through the screen. Her hand fell away and she didn’t look happy anymore, more pensive, her delight fading as some other thought filtered in and force it to sink.

He wondered if the culture shock was kicking in. He asked, low, “you okay?”

“Yes, of course.” She pulled out a hankie and dabbed at her eyes. “I simply haven’t seen myself in, oh, a very long time, I think.”

Shit, he hadn’t thought of that. She probably hadn’t made too many trips to the ladies’ room in the past few decades and now he was double-glad he hadn’t accidently caught one of her bloody ‘flickers’, she didn’t need to see that. “i’m sorry.”

“Please, don’t be sorry,” she assured him, “I’m happy to have seen it.” She smiled then, pretty as a picture, “you’re a good friend.”

“trying to be.” For as long as he could, anyway. The lights started to dim and Stretch tucked his phone away. They both settled into their seats to watch ‘Casablanca’, him munching on his popcorn, her giving hers the occasional sniff, and both of them ended up sniffling as Sam played ‘As Time Goes By’, Stretch into his sleeve and Doris into her lace-edged hankie.

He didn’t know what past lover Doris was thinking about, but he hoped it was a nice memory and not one that helped her on her brutal path over to the other side. His own memories were more bitter than sweet, and he replaced both with more butter-soaked popcorn. At least that was a taste he could stand.

~~*~~

The store opened late on Sundays and closed early, only staying open long enough for anyone who needed a quick pick up or a treat for their kiddos after church. Stretch didn’t have the slightest interest in religion, not even his own, but he listened for the deep clang of the church bells gonging through the town announcing the mass exodus, and rang up all the Humans that came in dressed in their Sunday best.

At least none of them seemed to hold his lacking against him. Their smiles as they paid for the ice cream treats that their kids were already devouring were the same as they’d been all week and the only raised voice in the shop was a mother admonishing her son to ‘Be careful of that nice shirt, Billy, don’t you be getting chocolate down your front!’

By the time he hung up the closed sign at three on the dot, there hadn’t been a customer in nearly an hour anyway. Probably everyone was holing up at home for an early supper out of the scorching heat. He swept the floor, locked the door, and that was done. He wandered back to Red’s apartment in hopes of a little early supper of his own, knocking briefly before stepping inside, “red?”

“out here,” floated back to him. The door that led to the backyard was open, only the screen keeping the humming insects at bay. Stretch went out on the porch where Red was sitting in one of the rickety rocking chairs he kept back there. His leg was propped up on a scruffy cushion atop a low stool, the pantleg oddly deflated and his shoe lying beneath the rocker. Next to him was a small cooler with beers floating in a shallow pool of water and the remnants of ice cubes. Dangling from his loose fingertips was a smoldering joint, faint wisps of pale smoke trailing from his darkened eye sockets.

Stretch went out, letting the screen door bang shut behind him. There was a sofa on the back porch even more ancient than the one in the living room and it puffed up a cloud of dust when Stretch flopped down on it. “you’re letting out all the cold air,” Stretch said.

Red snorted loudly, “you ain’t paying for it.”

“that is true,” he agreed. “i don’t pay for a lot around here, ‘cause you are a generous soul. speaking of,” he waved a vague hand at the joint that was nearly falling out of Red’s fingers, “gonna share that, too?”

Red didn’t even look in his direction, only blindly handed over the roll. The first hit was skunky-sharp, the smoke burning in his ribcage in a way that plain tobacco just didn’t, and Stretch was careful only to take a small toke to start. Red was the kind of asshole who either got cheap shit to match his cheap beer or he’d get the sort of weed that would have Stretch afraid to get up from the sofa because he might fall off the world. Better to start slow and figure it out from there.

Turned out to be somewhere in the middle and left him in a perfectly mellow buzz, all his stressors suddenly distant and unimportant. Stretch lived up to his name by sprawling out as far as he could on the moldering sofa, his sneakers dangling off the arm as he and Red passed the joint back and forth.

“ain’t bad, yeah?” Red said lazily. He took another toke, breathing out words and smoke, “ain’t legal here, yet, but the sheriff is one of my poker buddies.”

Stretch twisted to look at him, “seriously?”

“nope, but his kid is the one selling, so i figure he don’t mind.”

Stretch wasn’t sure if any part of that sentence was true and couldn’t be bothered to care. Blurry reality was so much better than having it sharp and in focus. The haze dug in deep beneath the surface, settling right and making itself at home. That was probably the only reason Stretch asked, bravely thoughtless, “so, why did your brother want me to leave town?”

“ehhhhhh," Red drew the sound out like it was a word of its own, his chair creaking on the dry wood of the porch as he rocked back, "he's jus' paranoid. folks that ain't used to backwater can get into trouble here sometimes."

“yeah, i can see how a town with only one bar can be loaded with problems,” Stretch snorted, “the locals aren’t as generous with their beer as you?”

“you’d be surprised at the kinda trouble you can find in a small town.” That sounded a little more bitter than expected and Stretch glanced at Red to see what kind of lemon he was biting down on. But Red wasn’t chewing on anything; instead, he was tugging at his pant leg, clumsily rolling the denim up. Stretch started to look away, didn’t want to make his landlord and new weed dealer uncomfortable but Red only let out that rough, scoffing laugh of his. “may as well look if you’re gonna be askin’ about the real shit.”

So he did, taking in the rounded nub of bone leftover from an obviously surgical amputation, the leg missing from right below the knee joint. Red only slumped back in the chair as Stretch studied it, giving every appearance of not caring. Unless, you know, a person wasn’t a complete moron and Stretch was at least one rung up. He could see the overbrightness in Red’s eye lights, the tight grit of his teeth, his jaw working even when Stretch fell back on the sofa.

Stretch asked with carefully affected boredom, “you’re telling me i’m gonna lose a limb if i keep hanging around? ‘cause when you offered to let me stay, i didn’t know the rent might be a literal arm and leg.”

A beat of silence, then Red chuckled roughly. The ice in the cooler rattled as Red reached in and grabbed a beer, loudly popping the tab and raising the can in a mocking toast, “heh, you got inches to spare, anyway.”

“only below the belt,” Stretch said, agreeably. “so what did he mean, then, that leaving isn’t an option?”

“eh, he didn’t really mean that.”

“he said it. leaving won’t be an option, that was what he said.” Stretch was a hundred percent on that, it was the sort of thing a person remembered very clearly, no matter how stoned.

Red only shrugged, rolling his shoulders with lazy ease, "toldja, he’s paranoid, is all. small town life ain’t bad, once you get used to it. folks settle in and don't want to leave. s'nice here, people are nice.” His sharp-toothed grin widened. “'m here, ain't i?"

“can’t argue with that." Stretch reached out and managed to catch hold of the cooler with the tips of his fingers. He tugged it close enough to fish out one of the beers. "does your brother live in town?"

"i ain't telling you where he lives,” Red said decisively, “ain't risking my meal ticket for your illusions of possible booty call."

Stretch choked on a mouthful of beer, thin streams running out of the sides of his mouth as he coughed, “i wasn't…" He broke off, stoned-stupid and too aghast to come up with a decent protest past the obvious. "that's your brother!"

"yep,” Red agreed, “all that means ‘s i am immune to his charms. don't mean i can't see 'em and you was staring at his ass like you wanted to take it for a lil’ test drive. telling ya right now, that ain’t a good idea.”

Stretch slumped down further on the sofa, sulkily muttering out, “the quality of your brother’s ass notwithstanding, i promise you, i am not on the lookout for any kind of call, booty or otherwise.”

“good,” Red grunted, “while we’re having this little soul to soul, you wanna tell me exactly what you’re running away from that got you all the way out to this neck of the proverbial woods? i can guess at the basics, but the finer details elude me.”

"digging out the best vocab for me, i’m honored.” Stretch rested his half-full can on his chest, played with the tab until it broke off then toying with the bit of aluminum. “not really. i broke up with someone and it sucked. i don't want to talk about it." He slanted his boss/landlord a look, "that a problem?"

"nope," Red took another swig from his beer, wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "man's business is his own, even when he ain't a man. already toldja, stay as long as you like." His easy voice went serious, weirdly intent, "one thing, though, them woods out there, you see ‘em?"

Stretch managed to lean up on an elbow, squinting out at the trees that were far enough away that the house regrettably didn’t fall under any cooling shadows. "yeah, it's kinda peaceful, i guess. if you like that kinda thing." Stretch didn’t, not really, the only greenery he was interested in was rolled up in Red’s joint.

"peaceful. sure. that's all fine and dandy, but don't you go walking out there at night, you hear me?"

It wasn’t easy, but Stretch managed to sit up, working at his wobbly balance to give Red the full weight of his disbelief, “uh. why the fuck would i?”

“didn't say you would,” Red said, a touch defensively, “just sayin’ don’t.

“no, seriously, why would i? do i look like the token monster extra in a horror movie?” Stretch let out an exaggerated shudder, “no thanks, no, no, no. no splitting up, no checking the funny sound in the basement, none of that shit. why, what happens if you go into the woods at night? ‘cause i’m cool with the town ghosts but i’d need a better door lock and a pay raise if you guys got vampires hanging around.”

Red gave him a strange look, his sockets narrowing around his bleary eye lights, "what the…no, you honey roasted nutbar! woods are bigger’n they look, i don't wanna have to dig up a search party to find your scrawny ass if ya get lost, is all!”

"seriously, me wandering in the woods at any time of day is the last thing you need to worry about.” Stretch wondered absently if that was actually a problem around here, people hying off into the woods at midnight, yeesh, might as well wear a ‘free snack’ sign while they were at it and speed up the process.

"great, i'll add it to the bottom of the list. vampires,” Red muttered in disgust, “fuck me.” Then louder, “mind me on this one, you hear? i ain’t your daddy, but i’m taking a liking to you, kid, want ya to hang around a in the land of the livin’ a while.”

That struck Stretch as absurdly funny. He started giggling and couldn’t stop, curling up on the sofa as he cooed, “aww, c’mon, daddy, you don’t wanna roleplay? if i do go in the woods, do i get a spanking?”

He ducked from the can Red threw at him halfheartedly, beer spraying out and splattering the porch, drying almost instantly on the parched wood. Stretch rescued it before it could soak the sofa, tipping the can back and drinking down the last warm mouthful.

“shut the fuck up and hand me that roach,” Red grumbled. He did, and they sat that way for the rest of the afternoon.

The sun was going down by the time they went inside, casting a bloodred glow over the horizon that extended across the not-so-distant trees. Stretch gave them a last look as he waited for Red to strap his prosthetic back on and head inside, maybe for canned ravioli, maybe for one of his brother’s much tastier meals. The leaves were visibly rustling despite the still air, heavy branches waving and creaking. Whatever breath of cool air that ran through the woods didn’t make its way into town.

Stretch shrugged mentally and followed Red as he limped his way through the back door. Air conditioning was better than breeze any day of the week, including Sunday.

~~*~~

tbc