this post is totally unrelated to that icon, sadly

[asimplechord]

...but I have no holiday icons. So. You get Spencer Smith sticking out his tongue instead. That's just as smile-inducing as an approaching holiday/vacation, right? Esp. if you were there when that photo was taken. :D

+ today's socks are dark blue, with snowmen and red-nosed reindeer (OMG, I just typed reigndeer first. WTAF?)

+ Aaron informed me last night that today's half-day is the last day he works until 3January; I believe this means that he should finish addressing holiday cards, house-cleaning and gift-wrapping next week, since I do NOT have the week off

+ delivered pumpkin bread, home-brew and such to colleagues this afternoon \o/

+ we (the lab, obvsly) have spent an appalling amount of money on antibodies in the last four months. APPALLING. Thank goodness for the CPRIT M&O budget, which dwarfs the NIH R01 M&O budget (and how tragic is that, since the NIH is the premiere public funding agency for life-science-related research?)

+ I remain fascinated by word/phrase usage in spin, and the way even supposedly neutral media outlets like Yahoo slant political news: Bipartisan bill preventing big tax hikes heads to Obama today. As if these would be *new* taxes, not the end of the Shrub-sponsored crap that took the US from a budget surplus to a budget deficit, and also as if it weren't *increasing* taxes for the very lowest incomes while maintaining significant benefits for the wealthiest 1% of Americans

+ feeling an overpowering urge to have risotto for supper. Decision: make it myself, or head to happy hour at Mia Bella?



FANDOM RELATED:

+ I need inspiration - give me a fandom, character or pairing, and word/phrase/other prompt, and you'll get... something in response, no promises what

Comments

[shutyourface.livejournal.com]

I am so jealous of anyone who gets any kind of days off from work. So jealous.

Spencer/Brendon, idk something schmoopy about how Bden and Spencer are never together nowadays.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

a) He has been tasked with holiday-related items, so he perhaps wishes he were going to work.

b) I have no idea where I was going with this. They need to give us more material, so I can get back into the swing of bandom writing.


+


Spencer's dog died.

His dog died, and he's in fucking Illinois in the middle of the storm of the century, and his life sucks right now.

Boba and Milo were still his, even though he and Haley agreed when they split that it would be better for them to stay with her. But of course when Boba, who'd always been more prone to infections, was diagnosed with canine leukemia, he'd drop everything - well, mostly just promotion, since the album was tracked and tours weren't scheduled until spring - to help Haley care for him.

Still. Right now, his dog is dead, he's going to die of frost-bite, his ex is politely waiting for him to get his ass off her couch, and his boyfriend is busy hanging out with rock stars.

He holds his iPhone in his hand, debating. Fuck it, it doesn't matter if it's the ass-crack of dawn in LA. He hits "call", and the other end rings twice, three times, four, and just when it's about to send him to voicemail, there's a click and muffled, sleepy, "Spence? You okay?"

[schlicky.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, pumpkin bread. *grabby hands*

GK, Brad, snickerdoodles

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

The kitchen is filled with smoke, the annoyingly high-pitched beeping of the alarm nearly deafening. A mixture of flour and sugar coats the work surface, and drips of something that looks suspiciously like egg-white spatter the floor. A baking sheet of blackened snickerdoodles is resting on top of the stove.

Brad is a Recon Marine. He is a certified Master Scuba Diver; he can and has slogged through conditions that would fell a lesser man; he knows the specifications of 90% of commonly used small arms, and can assemble and disassemble them, some literally with one hand tied behind his back.

This should not be this difficult, in comparison.

Jesus Christ, they're just cookies!

Just Nate's favorite cookies.

With a sigh, he gropes for the broom - the handle should be long enough to reach the smoke detector. Once it's quiet, he'll work on cleaning up and trying again.

[lickingbeads.livejournal.com]

brad/nate, thighs

:D

I'm thinking about a proper response, but...

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

When Nate became the CEO and figurehead for CNAS, they had to set a few rules. Rule number one: Brad isn't allowed to mark Nate anywhere visible in a dress shirt or trousers.

Nowadays, the inside of Nate's thigh, high up where the pectineus stretches to meet the ligament, is Brad's favorite place to sink his teeth.

running on empty

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Most people probably look at Nate and think he's doing just fine. His eyes are clear, his smile is steady, and his voice and handshake are firm.

Those are all good indicators. But Brad knows Nate; in the years since he left the Corps, he's had his ups and downs, times when stress allows dreams (nightmares) to return him to Iraq, even more helpless than they'd been in reality. When one of those relapses happens, Nate turns to running his demons out. There's a reason he qualifies for the MCM every year. He's never been out of shape, although his body is sculpted differently from when he spent more time on weightlifting and upper-body strength. Then again, he'll probably never have to heft a one-hundred pound backpack for a day-long hike, so that's not important.

What is important is that when he's suffering, he runs, and he doesn't eat, and the muscles in his thighs, always defined, stand out against thin skin with little other protection.

Brad always loses weight on a deployment - the MREs and prepared food are fat and calorie-laden, but he doesn't wouldn't feed a dog most of what they serve - and he always insists on cooking full meals when he's home, but it's not just for his own benefit. If he cooks, Nate eats. And when he's home, Nate sleeps. He runs, but not endlessly, and he becomes less like an anatomy teaching aid, more human.

Re: running on empty

[lickingbeads.livejournal.com]

Oh. Ohhh, this.

If he cooks, Nate eats. And when he's home, Nate sleeps. He runs, but not endlessly
I love this sfm. Beautiful.