::It's the Matt and Near Show!::
Near found the WART studio without much difficulty, certainly far more easily than he'd fould the Ravenclaw dorm. Odd. He wondered if it were a property of this place; surely if it could resurrect the dead, it could do other peculiar things. Well, if he'd found it this simply, surely Matt would be along soon, since he'd had directions.
Matt ambled around the opposite corner a few moments later. It was his very best "I'm just wandering aimlessly, certainly not taking measure of my surroundings for strategic purposes and/or current or planned spying, nope" kind of amble. He was very pleased with it - practice really did make perfect. When he spotted Near, however, his mouth dropped open: both his eyes were now blacked, and his colourless throat was raw. "What the hell happened to -you-?"
At first, Matt's reaction was surprising; Near was too distracted with other aspects of the events of Mello's sorting to consider how it had changed his appearance. But it only took him a split-second to realize what he meant. "Oh," he said dismissively. "You know what Mello's temper is like."
"That was Mello?" Well, it made more sense than a complete stranger, Matt supposed. He thought of school suddenly - no matter how brilliant Mello's schemes against Near were he was always caught out, because who else was there? "Jesus, what did you say to him?" Matt paused, frowning behind his goggles. "He didn't mention seeing you..." Weird.
"Just that rising from the dead must be disorienting." Near shrugged... that had been all he'd said when Mello had punched him, after all. "And for some reason I'm not surprised." Because really, what would Mello have said? 'Hey, guess who I fucked!' Unless he had told Matt, and they were laughing about it behind his back.
Huh. Matt felt suddenly guilty for the way Mello had congratulated him for punching Near in the face. Still... it was weird, wasn't it? He pushed it aside in the same instant that he pushed open the door. "Well, here's the studio... do you listen to much music, Near?" Matt couldn't imagine it.
"Some," Near said noncomittally, looking around. It didn't look overly complex, and there was a surprisingly large collection of CDs. "No one sort in particular."
"I thought you'd say something like that." Matt grinned, but he couldn't help but stare at some of Near's bruises. God - that looked sore... He distracted himself with the piles of CDs, running an eye down the titles. "The equipment's gotta be pretty simple, even for us... you wanna pick the first song?"
"Sure, I can do that." Near grabbed a CD at random and set it to play an equally random track. What it played made him freeze in place.
Nirvana,"Rape Me" (lyrics)
"Nirvana, huh?" Matt laughed, before catching the look on Near's face. "Hey - you okay? It's just a song."
"Just a song. I suppose it just seemed out of place here. It's not really a Nirvana sort of place."
"Yeah... God, I wish I had my iPod with me. Not that they don't seem to have every song in the history of music here..." Matt shuffled through another pile of CDs. "... oh my God. I need to hear this."
Tetris Motherfucker Happy Hardcore Remix
"Is that the music from Tetris? You were very good at that. It impressed me."
"Yeah, it is... Only in Soviet Russia could someone come up with a computer game that involves putting blocks into place." Matt kept his voice light, but he'd spent a ridiculous amount of time playing Tetris at one point. It had been perfect for zoning out and thinking about problems dispassionately, back when he'd cared about that stuff.
"And it's an excellent mind-puzzle and stamina test." He hoped that Matt had picked up on the compliment; Near wasn't exactly generous with those. "I suppose another song would be good..." He grabbed at random again.
Groove Coverage,"Poison" (lyrics)
Not being familiar with the song, Near didn't have as an immediate a reaction as he did to the Nirvana track, and since he'd already been surprised once it was easier to keep his expression blank. But it startled him.
"Oh, I like this one." Matt sang along a little, mixing up the words. "Are you really just picking at random?"
"Just grabbing them, yeah," Near asserted. If he was choosing them, he certainly wouldn't pick these! Then he spotted a piece of paper. "Oh, a request."
"A request...?" Matt squinted at the the tabletop, covered in antique-looking equipment, and spotted a piece of paper of his own. "These must have been left behind by whoever was here last..." He shrugged. "Might as well play them."
Tanya Donelly, "The Promise"
"It makes it seem almost like a real radio show," Near agreed.
"So we're in Scotland, right? These guys are Scottish, might as well put on something by them. This one's good..." Franz Ferdinand, 'Michael' lyrics
Near gave Matt a sharp look after hearing the song. "You're playing that... because the band is Scottish."
"Well, and because they're good. And it's a good song."
"And not because of anyone who wears leather."
"What?"
It was even harder for Near not to laugh. Remembering they were on the air, he tapped one of his eyes with a fingertip; the one Mello had blacked.
The penny dropped. Matt laughed. "Songs are just songs," he said, with a certainty that betrayed the fact he hadn't really -listenened- to the lyrics. He just knew that he really liked the song. A lot.
"Just songs. Right." Smirking faintly, Near played another chance-chosen tune.
Nine Inc Nails,"Kinda I Want To" (lyrics)
Just songs. Right.
"... wow, are you going to play any -cheerful- songs tonight?"
"I'm picking them randomly," Near pointed out. "You're seeing patterns in random variables without a large enough statistical sample." Of course, all of them had acted on hunches from time to time.
"Well, something's obviously drawing your eye towards them. Nothing's ever -really- random, even..." He paused before he could go on. "Jesus. If you get me back into Wammy-speak, Near, I swear to god."
"I'm not even looking. And it's just accurate, Matt, it doesn't need to be so emotional."
Matt shrugged. "Whatever. Here's a fun song, at least."
McFrontalot Crime Spree
That was a fun song; Near smiled, listening to it. "Oh, you hardened criminal."
"That's me. And obviously that was the complete inventory."
"I'm sure it was, Matt. I know you're utterly innocent. Only Mello is purer than you are."
"Damn straight. As Wammy's alumni, respect for the law is ingrained into our very souls."
"We're all such good little citizens," Near agreed with a laugh, grabbing a song.
She Wants Revenge,"Tear You Apart" (lyrics)
Oh, shit. He certainly knew they weren't random songs. This place was evil.
"... okay, Near. What the -hell-."
"I'm just picking up CDs that are close! Just songs. Just like that 'dance whore' song you played was just a song."
"I'm not consistently..." Matt stared at Near from behind his goggles. "Right. After this, we're going to the bar."
"Bar. Fine. Okay." He could use a drink anyway.
Still watching Near closely, Matt puts on his next song. "They've got a fuckload of Mindless Self Indulgence here..." Mindless Self Indulgence, lyrics
"They seem to have a lot of everything," Near agrees, reaching for another CD.
Poe,"Not a Virgin" (lyrics)
Okay. No more songs.
It seemed pretty obvious that Near wasn't doing this on purpose - he was more subtle than that, for one thing. "What the fuck," Matt muttered. He scrambled for something instrumental - from a game, preferably. "Here, look - this one doesn't have any lyrics in it at all!"
Tatakau Mono Tachi
"Is that another video game song?"
"... it sounds like a sort of rocked-up version, yeah. Either way, it's cool."
Still a bit shell-shocked at the 'random' songs, Near nodded. "I'm glad you like it."
"So, uh. If you want to, um - talk, or whatever, you can... shit, we're still on-air, aren't we?"
"I think that's what that light means." Near mimed turning the microphone off, and quirked an eyebrow in question.
"Right. Uh. Later, then, at the bar..."
He glanced around the studio. "I wonder if we'll get any callers?"
Matt ambled around the opposite corner a few moments later. It was his very best "I'm just wandering aimlessly, certainly not taking measure of my surroundings for strategic purposes and/or current or planned spying, nope" kind of amble. He was very pleased with it - practice really did make perfect. When he spotted Near, however, his mouth dropped open: both his eyes were now blacked, and his colourless throat was raw. "What the hell happened to -you-?"
At first, Matt's reaction was surprising; Near was too distracted with other aspects of the events of Mello's sorting to consider how it had changed his appearance. But it only took him a split-second to realize what he meant. "Oh," he said dismissively. "You know what Mello's temper is like."
"That was Mello?" Well, it made more sense than a complete stranger, Matt supposed. He thought of school suddenly - no matter how brilliant Mello's schemes against Near were he was always caught out, because who else was there? "Jesus, what did you say to him?" Matt paused, frowning behind his goggles. "He didn't mention seeing you..." Weird.
"Just that rising from the dead must be disorienting." Near shrugged... that had been all he'd said when Mello had punched him, after all. "And for some reason I'm not surprised." Because really, what would Mello have said? 'Hey, guess who I fucked!' Unless he had told Matt, and they were laughing about it behind his back.
Huh. Matt felt suddenly guilty for the way Mello had congratulated him for punching Near in the face. Still... it was weird, wasn't it? He pushed it aside in the same instant that he pushed open the door. "Well, here's the studio... do you listen to much music, Near?" Matt couldn't imagine it.
"Some," Near said noncomittally, looking around. It didn't look overly complex, and there was a surprisingly large collection of CDs. "No one sort in particular."
"I thought you'd say something like that." Matt grinned, but he couldn't help but stare at some of Near's bruises. God - that looked sore... He distracted himself with the piles of CDs, running an eye down the titles. "The equipment's gotta be pretty simple, even for us... you wanna pick the first song?"
"Sure, I can do that." Near grabbed a CD at random and set it to play an equally random track. What it played made him freeze in place.
Nirvana,"Rape Me" (lyrics)
"Nirvana, huh?" Matt laughed, before catching the look on Near's face. "Hey - you okay? It's just a song."
"Just a song. I suppose it just seemed out of place here. It's not really a Nirvana sort of place."
"Yeah... God, I wish I had my iPod with me. Not that they don't seem to have every song in the history of music here..." Matt shuffled through another pile of CDs. "... oh my God. I need to hear this."
Tetris Motherfucker Happy Hardcore Remix
"Is that the music from Tetris? You were very good at that. It impressed me."
"Yeah, it is... Only in Soviet Russia could someone come up with a computer game that involves putting blocks into place." Matt kept his voice light, but he'd spent a ridiculous amount of time playing Tetris at one point. It had been perfect for zoning out and thinking about problems dispassionately, back when he'd cared about that stuff.
"And it's an excellent mind-puzzle and stamina test." He hoped that Matt had picked up on the compliment; Near wasn't exactly generous with those. "I suppose another song would be good..." He grabbed at random again.
Groove Coverage,"Poison" (lyrics)
Not being familiar with the song, Near didn't have as an immediate a reaction as he did to the Nirvana track, and since he'd already been surprised once it was easier to keep his expression blank. But it startled him.
"Oh, I like this one." Matt sang along a little, mixing up the words. "Are you really just picking at random?"
"Just grabbing them, yeah," Near asserted. If he was choosing them, he certainly wouldn't pick these! Then he spotted a piece of paper. "Oh, a request."
"A request...?" Matt squinted at the the tabletop, covered in antique-looking equipment, and spotted a piece of paper of his own. "These must have been left behind by whoever was here last..." He shrugged. "Might as well play them."
Tanya Donelly, "The Promise"
"It makes it seem almost like a real radio show," Near agreed.
"So we're in Scotland, right? These guys are Scottish, might as well put on something by them. This one's good..." Franz Ferdinand, 'Michael' lyrics
Near gave Matt a sharp look after hearing the song. "You're playing that... because the band is Scottish."
"Well, and because they're good. And it's a good song."
"And not because of anyone who wears leather."
"What?"
It was even harder for Near not to laugh. Remembering they were on the air, he tapped one of his eyes with a fingertip; the one Mello had blacked.
The penny dropped. Matt laughed. "Songs are just songs," he said, with a certainty that betrayed the fact he hadn't really -listenened- to the lyrics. He just knew that he really liked the song. A lot.
"Just songs. Right." Smirking faintly, Near played another chance-chosen tune.
Nine Inc Nails,"Kinda I Want To" (lyrics)
Just songs. Right.
"... wow, are you going to play any -cheerful- songs tonight?"
"I'm picking them randomly," Near pointed out. "You're seeing patterns in random variables without a large enough statistical sample." Of course, all of them had acted on hunches from time to time.
"Well, something's obviously drawing your eye towards them. Nothing's ever -really- random, even..." He paused before he could go on. "Jesus. If you get me back into Wammy-speak, Near, I swear to god."
"I'm not even looking. And it's just accurate, Matt, it doesn't need to be so emotional."
Matt shrugged. "Whatever. Here's a fun song, at least."
McFrontalot Crime Spree
That was a fun song; Near smiled, listening to it. "Oh, you hardened criminal."
"That's me. And obviously that was the complete inventory."
"I'm sure it was, Matt. I know you're utterly innocent. Only Mello is purer than you are."
"Damn straight. As Wammy's alumni, respect for the law is ingrained into our very souls."
"We're all such good little citizens," Near agreed with a laugh, grabbing a song.
She Wants Revenge,"Tear You Apart" (lyrics)
Oh, shit. He certainly knew they weren't random songs. This place was evil.
"... okay, Near. What the -hell-."
"I'm just picking up CDs that are close! Just songs. Just like that 'dance whore' song you played was just a song."
"I'm not consistently..." Matt stared at Near from behind his goggles. "Right. After this, we're going to the bar."
"Bar. Fine. Okay." He could use a drink anyway.
Still watching Near closely, Matt puts on his next song. "They've got a fuckload of Mindless Self Indulgence here..." Mindless Self Indulgence, lyrics
"They seem to have a lot of everything," Near agrees, reaching for another CD.
Poe,"Not a Virgin" (lyrics)
Okay. No more songs.
It seemed pretty obvious that Near wasn't doing this on purpose - he was more subtle than that, for one thing. "What the fuck," Matt muttered. He scrambled for something instrumental - from a game, preferably. "Here, look - this one doesn't have any lyrics in it at all!"
Tatakau Mono Tachi
"Is that another video game song?"
"... it sounds like a sort of rocked-up version, yeah. Either way, it's cool."
Still a bit shell-shocked at the 'random' songs, Near nodded. "I'm glad you like it."
"So, uh. If you want to, um - talk, or whatever, you can... shit, we're still on-air, aren't we?"
"I think that's what that light means." Near mimed turning the microphone off, and quirked an eyebrow in question.
"Right. Uh. Later, then, at the bar..."
He glanced around the studio. "I wonder if we'll get any callers?"