Original Post Date: September 08, 2009
So, I'm totally behind a day on my sort-of schedule ( I knew it would happen the second I noticed! D:), but I'm going to make up for it by giving over 1k words in drabbles. Um, it's more impressive than it sounds. I hope.
Part of one of those "Play your iPod on shuffle, write for duration of song," challenges. I'm setting aside #8, because it didn't come out quite right, and I will work something out for it, damnit, but other than that, one of the reasons I'm so damned proud of this is that the rest just flowed out of the pencil like they were waiting to be written. (Don't you love when that happens? :3)
Warnings: Pre-Game. End spoilers.
Pairings: Gen.
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: Joshua's thoughts scattered loosely around the whole scene wherein stuff happened (look, I'd be less vague, but just. If you know that there's a spoiler for him pre-Game, you're good. If not, I don't want to ruin it in the A/N, because then it makes me a total jerkface.)
Tori Amos - Heart of Gold
Joshua gazed at the teenagers. Day three of watching the Udagawa mural from a safe, UG distance had revealed little of interest. He wasn't looking for someone with a heart of gold, and optimism out the metaphorical ass. He was looking for someone with an imagination.
The boy he found had one like the sky; it seemed to go on forever. Joshua took off running, hoping to catch the boy before he left.
Joshua caught him, and gave him a show besides before sending him to the UG. Well, it wasn't like he had really need those memories, anyway.
Warnings: None.
Pairings: Shiki/Eri? Or gen. Whatever.
Rating: G.
Notes: Implied time travel. Because I just really like time travel.
The Postal Service - Nothing Better
Shiki smiled at Eri as soon as she saw her best friend again. For everyone else in Shibuya, the last three weeks had never happened. Shiki actually had knowledge of at least seven days of Shibuya trends more than she should.
Eri waved slowly. She was biting her lip and looking at the ground. Periodically, she shyly glanced up at Shiki. As Shiki neared, she opened her mouth, getting out about half of "I'm sorry," before Shiki was on her, hugging her like she was afraid Eri could disappear, slipping through her fingers like so much mist.
Warnings: Vague reference to some scene in Week 1, maybe toward the end? I don't even remember what this was based on. D:
Pairings: Neku/Shiki? Or gen.
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: At some point Neku quit being a total asshole. I don't remember what point that was, but that's totally what I'm referencing, here.
Cat Power - Metal Heart
Neku took the opportunity to make Shiki feel better as soon as his pride would allow. The comforting words were rather back-handed, even for him, but he figured he owed Shiki for Day 2.
Neku could feel his emotional boundaries crumbling as Shiki's smile returned. She was such a broken girl, he realized, fucked up, and barely above himself in the social department. She only had the one friend, and she was so bitter, Neku could almost taste it.
Warnings: Spoilers for the start of Day 7, Week 3, but I think you're good, so long as you recognize Konishi/Iron-face. (I love the nicknames for the bad guys so much. <3)
Pairings: Um, Beat/Neku? Look, I'm calling gen, but you can read into it what you want.
Rating: G.
Notes: This is a lot gayer in retrospect. And the song? Yeah. That was one of the FmA Ops or EDs (I don't remember which.) The editing I did for this mostly consisted of changing the high-five to a fist-bump. While I prefer high-fives, Beat is definitely a fist-bump kind of guy.
Cool Joke - Undo
Neku and Beat fist-bumped as Iron-face's soul dispersed. Her Noise form had caused a lot of trouble, but Neku thought back to the text he had received. It had meant something, after all, even if it had just sounded like utter nonsense right up until the last moment.
Neku handed Rhyme's pin to Beat, but Beat refused it, insisting that since Neku could use it, it might be better for him to hang on to it.
Neku realized that the growing warmth in his chest was gratitude. Beat trusted him more than he deserved, especially taking into account the first week. If Neku were Shiki, he might have made a happy coo and hugged Beat, but since he was Neku, he gave Beat a manly pat on the back and said "Thanks."
Warnings: The final dramatic scene, pre-credits/happily-ever after, but post-final boss.
Pairings: Neku/Joshua? Or gen. (I'm doing a lot of well-maybe? but it's really kind of gen.)
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: This one was actually based on a song that appears to be on every FST at subashiki. I'm not even kidding. Click the download: music tag. Really. Do it. I understand that the song practically screams JOSHUA and ENDGAME in loud, angry letters, but still. Nearly every fanmix had the song. (It helps that it's actually a really cool song.) (What, you want drabble-relevant notes?)
Stars - He Lied About Death
Neku raised the gun, feeling the rage course through his veins like so many clichés and metaphors for anger and vengeance that Rhyme could probably recite, were she the sort to encourage bad feelings.
At the last second, Neku dropped the gun. He couldn't kill a friend, even if Joshua was a liar and a bastard, and so much frustration embodied in one scrawny teen. Rhyme, Shiki, Beat. They wouldn't be able to shoot a partner, either. Not now. Not after they had all been through so much hell together.
The second bullet hit. Neku thought that the emotional pain might dull some of the physical. HE was wrong. Bullets still hurt like a bitch, he noted.
Warnings: Post-Game? Um, nothing big, actually. Angst?
Pairings: Gen. (without question this time, I swear!)
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: Post-Game angst. Implied that Neku now works as part of the UG? Or he could have just developed the ability to see it, like Joshua pre-death. >.>
Iron and Wine - Sodom, South Georgia
Neku watched the souls come through, slowly being lined up in a room on the very edge of existence. Everything was quiet here, safe. Thy looked like they deserved the rest, but Neku knew how it felt to wake up on the street, full of rage for having lost so much time.
They were all probably homesick, tired, scared, eager to get the fuck away from the Game and everything related to it. They would come away better for the experience, having re-evaluated their lives and their values, but it would hurt. It would hurt, and it might never stop.
Warnings: Post-game fluff. Not so much spoiler-ridden as it won't make a whole lot of sense if you haven't seen the ending.
Pairings: Gen.
Rating: G.
Notes: Really, all the warnings say it. This isn't even long enough for warnings. D:
Panic At the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon
Neku beamed at the sky. The sun was bright, his friends were alive, Joshua still hadn't come, and that kind of put a damper on things, but Neku was confident that he would come. If he didn't, Neku might even visit Mr. H's café again. He was starting to crave some over-priced coffee, anyway.
Warnings: Again with the not-spoilers. It's not that I'm giving big spoilers, but unless you've already seen the end, it won't make much sense.
Pairings: Joshua/Neku? Neku/Shiki? Gen?
Rating: G.
Notes: Neku becomes Composer. He kind of doesn't notice. >.>
Say Anything - Shameless
Neku felt the Music, rather than heard it at first. He would pass Shiki sometimes, and her kind-but-nervous demeanor would permeate the air, leaving a pleasant buzz around his head. Then, he would sometimes be near Joshua, and his whole body would ring out like a tuning fork.
He realized rather quickly that everyone around him seemed to be maturing faster, too. Beat and Rhyme were taller now, and Shiki was even more beautiful than the first time he had seen her.
Joshua wouldn't look at him for a week when he realized what was going on. Neku realized that the whole thing was his fault. Neku found that he didn't mind as much as he should. An eternity with Joshua by his side sounded an awful lot like hell, but Neku found he actually didn't mind so much.
Warnings: Well, nothing explicit.
Pairings: Beat/Rhyme? Or sibling love.
Rating: G.
Notes: The idea for the tattoo-parlor-'verse is for Neku to have started the shop, Beat to be his partner, and Rhyme to be studying to be an anesthesiologist, because tattoos fucking hurt.
Youngblood Brass band - Round One
Neku could feel Beat's music change from an aimless rhythm to a march as he and Rhyme found their dreams. Rhyme wanted to be an anesthesiologist, having thought of the idea in the middle of the medical class she had taken just to fill her schedule.
Beat seemed to improve his artwork and creativity the more he helped Rhyme with hers on his breaks at the shop.
Neku felt something like pride swell in his chest as each new note found its way into their quickly intertwining melodies.
===
Music.
-
Part of one of those "Play your iPod on shuffle, write for duration of song," challenges. I'm setting aside #8, because it didn't come out quite right, and I will work something out for it, damnit, but other than that, one of the reasons I'm so damned proud of this is that the rest just flowed out of the pencil like they were waiting to be written. (Don't you love when that happens? :3)
Warnings: Pre-Game. End spoilers.
Pairings: Gen.
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: Joshua's thoughts scattered loosely around the whole scene wherein stuff happened (look, I'd be less vague, but just. If you know that there's a spoiler for him pre-Game, you're good. If not, I don't want to ruin it in the A/N, because then it makes me a total jerkface.)
Tori Amos - Heart of Gold
Joshua gazed at the teenagers. Day three of watching the Udagawa mural from a safe, UG distance had revealed little of interest. He wasn't looking for someone with a heart of gold, and optimism out the metaphorical ass. He was looking for someone with an imagination.
The boy he found had one like the sky; it seemed to go on forever. Joshua took off running, hoping to catch the boy before he left.
Joshua caught him, and gave him a show besides before sending him to the UG. Well, it wasn't like he had really need those memories, anyway.
Warnings: None.
Pairings: Shiki/Eri? Or gen. Whatever.
Rating: G.
Notes: Implied time travel. Because I just really like time travel.
The Postal Service - Nothing Better
Shiki smiled at Eri as soon as she saw her best friend again. For everyone else in Shibuya, the last three weeks had never happened. Shiki actually had knowledge of at least seven days of Shibuya trends more than she should.
Eri waved slowly. She was biting her lip and looking at the ground. Periodically, she shyly glanced up at Shiki. As Shiki neared, she opened her mouth, getting out about half of "I'm sorry," before Shiki was on her, hugging her like she was afraid Eri could disappear, slipping through her fingers like so much mist.
Warnings: Vague reference to some scene in Week 1, maybe toward the end? I don't even remember what this was based on. D:
Pairings: Neku/Shiki? Or gen.
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: At some point Neku quit being a total asshole. I don't remember what point that was, but that's totally what I'm referencing, here.
Cat Power - Metal Heart
Neku took the opportunity to make Shiki feel better as soon as his pride would allow. The comforting words were rather back-handed, even for him, but he figured he owed Shiki for Day 2.
Neku could feel his emotional boundaries crumbling as Shiki's smile returned. She was such a broken girl, he realized, fucked up, and barely above himself in the social department. She only had the one friend, and she was so bitter, Neku could almost taste it.
Warnings: Spoilers for the start of Day 7, Week 3, but I think you're good, so long as you recognize Konishi/Iron-face. (I love the nicknames for the bad guys so much. <3)
Pairings: Um, Beat/Neku? Look, I'm calling gen, but you can read into it what you want.
Rating: G.
Notes: This is a lot gayer in retrospect. And the song? Yeah. That was one of the FmA Ops or EDs (I don't remember which.) The editing I did for this mostly consisted of changing the high-five to a fist-bump. While I prefer high-fives, Beat is definitely a fist-bump kind of guy.
Cool Joke - Undo
Neku and Beat fist-bumped as Iron-face's soul dispersed. Her Noise form had caused a lot of trouble, but Neku thought back to the text he had received. It had meant something, after all, even if it had just sounded like utter nonsense right up until the last moment.
Neku handed Rhyme's pin to Beat, but Beat refused it, insisting that since Neku could use it, it might be better for him to hang on to it.
Neku realized that the growing warmth in his chest was gratitude. Beat trusted him more than he deserved, especially taking into account the first week. If Neku were Shiki, he might have made a happy coo and hugged Beat, but since he was Neku, he gave Beat a manly pat on the back and said "Thanks."
Warnings: The final dramatic scene, pre-credits/happily-ever after, but post-final boss.
Pairings: Neku/Joshua? Or gen. (I'm doing a lot of well-maybe? but it's really kind of gen.)
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: This one was actually based on a song that appears to be on every FST at subashiki. I'm not even kidding. Click the download: music tag. Really. Do it. I understand that the song practically screams JOSHUA and ENDGAME in loud, angry letters, but still. Nearly every fanmix had the song. (It helps that it's actually a really cool song.) (What, you want drabble-relevant notes?)
Stars - He Lied About Death
Neku raised the gun, feeling the rage course through his veins like so many clichés and metaphors for anger and vengeance that Rhyme could probably recite, were she the sort to encourage bad feelings.
At the last second, Neku dropped the gun. He couldn't kill a friend, even if Joshua was a liar and a bastard, and so much frustration embodied in one scrawny teen. Rhyme, Shiki, Beat. They wouldn't be able to shoot a partner, either. Not now. Not after they had all been through so much hell together.
The second bullet hit. Neku thought that the emotional pain might dull some of the physical. HE was wrong. Bullets still hurt like a bitch, he noted.
Warnings: Post-Game? Um, nothing big, actually. Angst?
Pairings: Gen. (without question this time, I swear!)
Rating: PG, language.
Notes: Post-Game angst. Implied that Neku now works as part of the UG? Or he could have just developed the ability to see it, like Joshua pre-death. >.>
Iron and Wine - Sodom, South Georgia
Neku watched the souls come through, slowly being lined up in a room on the very edge of existence. Everything was quiet here, safe. Thy looked like they deserved the rest, but Neku knew how it felt to wake up on the street, full of rage for having lost so much time.
They were all probably homesick, tired, scared, eager to get the fuck away from the Game and everything related to it. They would come away better for the experience, having re-evaluated their lives and their values, but it would hurt. It would hurt, and it might never stop.
Warnings: Post-game fluff. Not so much spoiler-ridden as it won't make a whole lot of sense if you haven't seen the ending.
Pairings: Gen.
Rating: G.
Notes: Really, all the warnings say it. This isn't even long enough for warnings. D:
Panic At the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon
Neku beamed at the sky. The sun was bright, his friends were alive, Joshua still hadn't come, and that kind of put a damper on things, but Neku was confident that he would come. If he didn't, Neku might even visit Mr. H's café again. He was starting to crave some over-priced coffee, anyway.
Warnings: Again with the not-spoilers. It's not that I'm giving big spoilers, but unless you've already seen the end, it won't make much sense.
Pairings: Joshua/Neku? Neku/Shiki? Gen?
Rating: G.
Notes: Neku becomes Composer. He kind of doesn't notice. >.>
Say Anything - Shameless
Neku felt the Music, rather than heard it at first. He would pass Shiki sometimes, and her kind-but-nervous demeanor would permeate the air, leaving a pleasant buzz around his head. Then, he would sometimes be near Joshua, and his whole body would ring out like a tuning fork.
He realized rather quickly that everyone around him seemed to be maturing faster, too. Beat and Rhyme were taller now, and Shiki was even more beautiful than the first time he had seen her.
Joshua wouldn't look at him for a week when he realized what was going on. Neku realized that the whole thing was his fault. Neku found that he didn't mind as much as he should. An eternity with Joshua by his side sounded an awful lot like hell, but Neku found he actually didn't mind so much.
Warnings: Well, nothing explicit.
Pairings: Beat/Rhyme? Or sibling love.
Rating: G.
Notes: The idea for the tattoo-parlor-'verse is for Neku to have started the shop, Beat to be his partner, and Rhyme to be studying to be an anesthesiologist, because tattoos fucking hurt.
Youngblood Brass band - Round One
Neku could feel Beat's music change from an aimless rhythm to a march as he and Rhyme found their dreams. Rhyme wanted to be an anesthesiologist, having thought of the idea in the middle of the medical class she had taken just to fill her schedule.
Beat seemed to improve his artwork and creativity the more he helped Rhyme with hers on his breaks at the shop.
Neku felt something like pride swell in his chest as each new note found its way into their quickly intertwining melodies.
===
Music.
-