Shuffle Meme- TRtED

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.

3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!

4. Do ten of these, then post them.
--

1) Rise- Public Image Ltd.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe you talked me into this."
Tulio's shoulders slumped forward as he continued to grouse, still perched atop Altivo's sturdy back. Miguel wasn't having any of his sour mood though, and he continued to lollop happily across the fallen tree trunk that had so thoughtfully acted as a bridge from point A to point B. "Oh, stop complaining, Tuli. We're almost there, I promise!" He swung his arms by his sides with whimsical emphasis, clearly enjoying himself. Tulio's poor temperament was not wavered by this display.
"You said that three days ago!"
"Tut, tut. Be patient Tulio. Just enjoy the trip. We'll find the city soon enough, and you'll have all the gold your skinny arms can carry. How's that sound?"
Miguel's companion merely snorted in reply. "Whatever."
He'd never been in favor of this road trip, but it was much too late to turn back now. His only choice was to stick it out, and see where the rising road led him.


2) Heartbreak Hotel- Elvis Presley

Well that was that then. He should have seen it coming a mile off. No girl who looked and acted the way Chel did could possibly be as forthcoming as her lover had ultimately assumed.  
He'd been right at first glance; she was trouble.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that she had more than one lover even before he'd arrived in El Dorado. Not knowing where he was going, Tulio shuffled through the city of gold, now looming over his head like some sort of dark cloud.


3) Femme Fatale- The Velvet Underground & Nico

Oh, she was a pretty one though, anyone could see that. Her perfectly curved hips, her puffy red lips, her silky black hair; Chel was a perfect picture of feminine beauty. That alone was confusing, but what most boys failed to notice (as they were normally much too distracted by her luscious physique) was that she had the mind of a crook. She wasn't evil, if there even is such a thing, but she was manipulative and sneaky. She'd fallen into her natural beauty by pure luck, and it only worked to her advantage. When she walked down the road, men dropped at her feet, and she was free to pick and choose which ones she needed to get ahead in her own life. Climb the latter, so to speak.
She wasn't a sociopath. No, not really. She was what is commonly referred to as a femme fatale.   


4) The Hustle- The Pharcyde

"Well gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, but my partner and I really must be going!"
Tulio put a firm hand on Miguel's shoulder, steering him out the door and away from the passel of men that had just been swindled out of their money.
"Adios!"
Another perfect scam.
When the dishonest duo returned from their favorite pub to their shabby home, they unloaded their crooked winnings onto the single table in their hovel, and poured over them.
"Look at this Miguel! Just look at it! There must be at least a-hundred pesetas here!"
Tulio looked to his partner with a wicked grin. The mandolin-toting conman returned the sharp smile. "Oughtn't we count it out then?"
"Yeah, let's. Those morons back at the pub still don't know what hit 'em!"


5) My Wife- The Who

"Querido, please! It's not like that!"
"Oh, it isn't? Then who's hair is this on your vest?"
That question alone was enough to silence him. In his current state of not-quite drunkenness, Tulio was unable to come up with a decent response, whether he actually had slept with someone else or not. No matter, at this point, there was nothing he could say or do to calm his fuming lover.
'What was he doing picking hair off of my vest anyways?'
The fact of the matter is, Miguel wasn't exactly sober either.
Having found the New World, all sorts of strange new substances that one could smoke or otherwise ingest were made available to the false gods, and whatever it was that the normally even-tempered blond had gotten a hold of had made him paranoid and irate.     
"Tulio, I'm only going to ask you once more: who's hair is this?"
The taller man rubbed his left eye sluggishly. "I have no idea."
Zzzt! Wrong answer!
"You don't even know!?"
"Uh--!"
Miguel glanced around the room wildly, and snatched up the first sharp object that caught his eye: A long, glowing knife with an ornately decorated handle was now in his grip.
On seeing it, Tulio's eyes widened, and he booked out of the temple without a second thought, perused by his enraged and intoxicated significant other.


6) The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton- The Mountain Goats

Two fine examples of the modern teenage boy sat together in a messy bedroom that was silent, save for the soft strumming of an acoustic guitar.
The guitar was balanced on the knee off one boy, perched on his bed, while his friend sat on the floor, slumped against the side of the mattress, etching chicken-scratch letters into a notebook. Then, he stopped.
"Alright Miguel, what do you think of these?"
The boy on the bed stopped playing and set his instrument aside delicately, taking the notebook up from his friend's extended hand.
"What are these, band names?"
"Yeah."
"Let's have a look then."
Miguel's eyes flicked down the list, and after a few short minutes, he passed the book back down. Tulio looked up at him expectantly. "Well?"
"I liked 'The Hospital Bumps,'" he said thoughtfully. "'Satan's Fingers' is a good one too. And 'The Killers.' I think that one might be taken though." The boys had been trying to come up with a fitting name for their new musical group for weeks, but no titles had lasted any longer than two weeks before the duo grew tired of it.
Tulio let out a tired breath. "So it's between 'The Hospital Bumps' and 'Satan's Fingers' then?"
"I think so, yeah."
"Okay..."
Then, there was more silence between them, though this time, there was no auditory backdrop of acoustic guitar to ease the mood.
Breaking the quiet, Miguel spoke again. "Do you really think we'll get famous?"
Tulio broke out into a grin almost instantly. "Yeah, I do. We'll be the best Death Metal band ever."
Hail Satan.


7) Johnathan David- Belle & Sebastien

The sound of a female's velvet voice sounded softly in greeting.
"Hey Miguel."
The shaggy-haired blond lifted his head from the crux of his harms and glanced up to behold Chel, still hip-y and inviting as ever.
"Oh, it's you."
Only then did she realize that the false god hadn't been crying after all. He was upset though, clearly. Why else would he be crumpled up behind his own temple all alone?
Chel was perfectly aware that the man hunched at her feet was not exactly fond of her. After all, she had muscled her way between him and his beloved partner, simply for the want of a ticket out of the golden city.
Chel was always one to get what she wanted, and if that meant seduction, so be it. She'd ruined lives before. She took no pleasure in it, but it happened. In truth, had she not befriended Miguel from the beginning of his arrival, she'd have felt no remorse for what she'd done at all.
But they were friends, and she was sorry.
"I know you like him," she said softly, dropping to her knees. "I do too."
She'd have been lying if she said she didn't find the lanky Spaniard attractive.
"Well he sure likes you." Miguel still refused to make eye-contact.
"I think he likes you better than me though."
The blond gave a dry laugh. "Yeah? Then what was he doing sucking your face off?"
Chel took in a sharp breath. She knew that this seduction would bite her in the butt some time, and four days later, here was the repercussion. Still, she managed to keep her cool.
"Well," she said cautiously "Tulio and I talked it over yesterday and, erm, I don't think we're going to, uh," she applied air quotations "work out."
Miguel's disposition didn't change. "Oh?"
"I'm telling the truth, Miggy."
"Am I calling you a liar?"
'No, but you're thinking it,' she thought stubbornly. She was only trying to help.
"I swear it, he's got a thing for you!" Chel brushed a stray hair from the Spaniard's face, only to have him swat her hand away.
The Mayan woman sighed. "Why do you have to be so difficult about this?"
Finally, Miguel turned to face her, giving her a doubtful, paved look.
"What? You don't think he's gay?" She gave an exaggerated snicker. "Believe me sweetheart, he's an ace number one closet case."
Miguel's expression softened, but he remained unsure. "I dunno Chel..."
"Just talk to him! I won't get in your way, I promise!"
She jumped to her feet suddenly, hauling her moping companion up with her.
"I don't--"
"Go!" She pushed him forward, hoping he would scale the staircase by himself. "You won't be sorry!"


8) Tombstone Blues- Bob Dylan

Since they'd returned to Spain, things had been rough. Even with Chel and Altivo on their side, Miguel and Tulio were barely able to scrape together a living. They were still wanted men, no matter how you shake it, and no number of allies would change that.
Their allies, however beloved and well-meaning they were, a horse and a woman of color were not going to be much help. What could they do?
When the going was good, Chel could simply get by conning with the men she'd befriended, but when things got bad, she often had to sell herself into prostitution. Altivo was a beloved pet of course, but the only help he provided was transportation, and even then, he was impossible to hide when hiding was necessary.
Times were tight, everything was wrapped by dire straights. What's a conman to do?


9) We're Gonna Make It- Little Milton

"I'm home."
The door slammed.
Miguel whirled around to behold his partner, looking dead tired.
"Did you get any food?"
"No."
It was like this a lot these days. The blond man stepped forward and put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "That's alright."
Tulio seemed indignant. "Are we?" he snorted.
"Don't be that way, of course we are! We've gone without food before, what's one night?"
The taller man sighed. "I guess so."
Miguel put his arm around his friend's shoulder supportively.
"Don't be so down, we're gonna make it."

10) Mexican Radio- Wall of Voodoo

El Dorado was as every bit beautiful and exotic as it was confusing.
There was so much activity, so much color, so much motion. It was every bit different from the crummy, disease-ridden alleyways they'd left behind in Spain. As their boat drifted through The City of Gold, the natives whispered to one another in a strange language neither of the the conmen could comprehend.  
"Pst! Tulio! Do you understand what they're saying?"
"Just a little," he fibbed. In reality, he wouldn't know Mayan from Mandarin. Still, the last thing Tulio wanted was to seem vulnerable at such a crucial moment.