Time of Your Life: An Artemis/Holly Fanmix [EP]
Well I intended to finish this soon after I read the book two years ago...then I intended to finish it before the new book came out at the beginning of August. I failed spectacularly at both, but here it is at last, 2 years and over a month late! :p
Medium: Books
Fandom: Artemis Fowl
Subject: Artemis/Holly
Title: Time of Your Life: An Artemis/Holly Fanmix [EP]
Warnings: Spoilers through book 6, Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox.
Notes: A mix examining the developing romantic relationship between Artemis and Holly through book 6. Cover art adapted from “Are you ready?” by Tplayer and used with permission.
This fanmix centers on the developing romantic relationship (now finally canon!) between Artemis Fowl and Holly Short, especially as seen in the sixth Artemis Fowl book, The Time Paradox. The first three songs show Artemis and Holly’s developing love in general, but most of the songs focus on the events of book six and their aftermath. For example, there are several songs about Artemis trying to get back into Holly’s good graces after lying to her, and the last one tells Holly to think twice before she decides for sure not to pursue a romantic relationship with her friend Artemis.
The centerpiece of this collection is Green Day’s “Good Riddance,” more popularly known as “Time of Your Life.” Its lyrics fit A/H’s situation in the sixth book so well that I now think of this song as the Artemis/Holly anthem, and the alternate title “Time of Your Life” is a good play on the title/concept of “the Time Paradox.” Thus I titled the fanmix after this song, though several of the other songs also refer to certain moments in time, reinforcing Artemis and Holly’s own special romantic moment in time in book six. Page numbers come from the American hard-back copy.
1. "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows
So she said what's the problem baby
What's the problem I don't know
Well maybe I'm in love (love)
Think about it every time
I think about it
Can't stop thinking 'bout it
How much longer will it take to cure this
Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love (love)
Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love
Come on, come on
We were once
Upon a time in love
We're accidentally in love
Accidentally in love
Love ...I'm in love
I think that this song nicely shows Artemis’s “adolescent confusion about Holly” (TTP p.169) as he realizes and confronts his romantic feelings for her-especially since he really doesn’t know anything about love, even though he’s a genius. The phrase 'accidentally in love' is also particularly apt for Artemis and Holly, considering that their relationship began with him kidnapping her. Finally 'we were once/Upon a time in love' refers perfectly to the way they were most clearly in love ‘once upon a time’ in their time-traveling adventures during The Time Paradox.
2. "Can’t Fight this Feeling" by REO Speedwagon
I cant fight this feeling any longer
And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow
What started out as friendship, has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show
I tell myself that I can't hold out forever
I said there is no reason for my fear
Cause I feel so secure when were together
You give my life direction
You make everything so clear
My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you
I've been running round in circles in my mind
And it always seems that I’m following you, girl
Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find.
In this book Artemis realizes that "after all we have been through" (TTP p.168), his feelings of friendship towards Holly have grown into something more, though he seems nervous to fully reveal them to her. At the same time, Holly has changed Artemis's life forever, influencing him towards a new 'direction' of doing good and helping others/saving the world, and bringing him to worlds he'd never have encountered without her and the People. Both of their lives have been a whirlwind since they met...
3. "Everything" by Alanis Morissette
(Artemis)
I can be an asshole of the grandest kind
I can withhold like it's going out of style
I can be the moodiest baby and you've never met anyone
Who is as negative as I am sometimes
(Holly)
I am the wisest woman you've ever met.
I am the kindest soul with whom you've connected.
I have the bravest heart that you've ever seen
And you've never met anyone
Who's as positive as I am sometimes.
(Both)
You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can't relate
And you're still here
(Artemis)
I blame everyone else, not my own partaking
My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating
I'm terrified and mistrusting
And you've never met anyone as,
As closed down as I am sometimes.
I feel like these verses really ring true for Artemis and Holly respectively (see above). Especially in the case of Artemis, Holly has learned to see the 'light' in him as well as the dark, and now loves him despite his flaws and shameful past. Each of them knows each other so well now, they 'see everything' about the other, and they still remain close.
4. "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
This song sums up TTP in a nutshell. In the book “the time stream had brought them closer together" (TTP p. 180), 'grabbing them by the wrist' so to speak, and directing them towards romance by providing a situation in which their unacknowledged feelings for one another could really come forward at last. It was indeed like a 'test' or a 'lesson learned in time,' that their feelings for one another were now romantic. It certainly was 'unpredictable' that they fell in love, given how they first meet by him kidnapping her, but in the end I think it's right.
Artemis also takes 'still frames in [his] mind', during the scene in which he sits beside Holly on the car before telling her the truth, knowing that he is about to ruin things between them: “He sat there for a few minutes, concentrating on the experience. Storing it away.” (TTP p. 179)
Even the kind of Celtic sound to some of the background music fits the Irish setting of the series....
5. "With Me" by Sum 41
I don't want this moment to ever end
Where everything’s nothing without you
I'll wait here forever just to, to see you smile
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you
Through it all, I made my mistakes
I stumble and fall, but I mean these words
I want you to know
With everything I won't let this go,
these words are my heart and soul
I'll hold on to this moment you know,
'cause I'd bleed my heart out to show
And I won't let go
I know what I didn't have so, I won't let this go
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you
Artemis has made mistakes--kidnapping Holly, lying to her, etc--but he knows how he feels now, and I don't think he's necessarily going to give up on her or 'let this go', as Holly observes...
"I see," said Artemis.
"It's not a challenge, Artemis. Over is over."
"I know," said Artemis neutrally. (TTP p. 199)
Also once again in the car scene he clearly wants to hold on to the moment, "storing it away" (p. 179).
6. “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Another song referring to a certain moment in time...
"Artemis's head pounded, and Holly's mismatched eyes seemed to hypnotize him....But though Artemis felt hypnotized, even slightly dazed, he knew he was not mesmerized. There was no fairy magic here.
Artemis looked into those elfin eyes, and he knew that this younger, somehow more vulnerable Holly felt the same way, at this particular tangle of time and space, as he did." (TTP p. 168)
Also I think that Artemis is aware of how the world sees him, but he has changed a lot since his early ruthless days, and wants Holly to know that and see the new person he is inside...
7. “Far Away” by Nickelback
This time, this place
Misused, mistakes
Too long, too late
Who was I to make you wait?
Just one chance, just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know
That I love you, I have loved you all along
And I miss you, been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore
I'd give it all, I'd give for us
Give anything but I won't give up
Maybe this song is overused, but I think the 'this time, this place' and 'misused, mistakes' sum up the situation in TTP perfectly, with the time travel and Artemis manipulating Holly to get her to help him in the first place. Likewise I think that Artemis has loved her for longer than he's been perhaps consciously aware of, and that he won't necessarily give up easily on having a relationship with her, or so I hope!
8. “Listen to Your Heart” by D.H.T.
Listen to your heart
When he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
There's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye
Holly is very confused about her feelings for Artemis in the end of TTP, continuing to remember what had happened between them even after she declared that it was over between them and that it was all in another time. I see this song as asking her to really listen to her heart before she makes any final decisions about shutting out Artemis romantically in her life...
Download Link: 8 Songs + Cover Art + Lyrics and Explanations
Glad I at least got one major fanwork done this summer off my WIP list!
Medium: Books
Fandom: Artemis Fowl
Subject: Artemis/Holly
Title: Time of Your Life: An Artemis/Holly Fanmix [EP]
Warnings: Spoilers through book 6, Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox.
Notes: A mix examining the developing romantic relationship between Artemis and Holly through book 6. Cover art adapted from “Are you ready?” by Tplayer and used with permission.
This fanmix centers on the developing romantic relationship (now finally canon!) between Artemis Fowl and Holly Short, especially as seen in the sixth Artemis Fowl book, The Time Paradox. The first three songs show Artemis and Holly’s developing love in general, but most of the songs focus on the events of book six and their aftermath. For example, there are several songs about Artemis trying to get back into Holly’s good graces after lying to her, and the last one tells Holly to think twice before she decides for sure not to pursue a romantic relationship with her friend Artemis.
The centerpiece of this collection is Green Day’s “Good Riddance,” more popularly known as “Time of Your Life.” Its lyrics fit A/H’s situation in the sixth book so well that I now think of this song as the Artemis/Holly anthem, and the alternate title “Time of Your Life” is a good play on the title/concept of “the Time Paradox.” Thus I titled the fanmix after this song, though several of the other songs also refer to certain moments in time, reinforcing Artemis and Holly’s own special romantic moment in time in book six. Page numbers come from the American hard-back copy.
1. "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows
So she said what's the problem baby
What's the problem I don't know
Well maybe I'm in love (love)
Think about it every time
I think about it
Can't stop thinking 'bout it
How much longer will it take to cure this
Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love (love)
Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love
Come on, come on
We were once
Upon a time in love
We're accidentally in love
Accidentally in love
Love ...I'm in love
I think that this song nicely shows Artemis’s “adolescent confusion about Holly” (TTP p.169) as he realizes and confronts his romantic feelings for her-especially since he really doesn’t know anything about love, even though he’s a genius. The phrase 'accidentally in love' is also particularly apt for Artemis and Holly, considering that their relationship began with him kidnapping her. Finally 'we were once/Upon a time in love' refers perfectly to the way they were most clearly in love ‘once upon a time’ in their time-traveling adventures during The Time Paradox.
2. "Can’t Fight this Feeling" by REO Speedwagon
I cant fight this feeling any longer
And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow
What started out as friendship, has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show
I tell myself that I can't hold out forever
I said there is no reason for my fear
Cause I feel so secure when were together
You give my life direction
You make everything so clear
My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you
I've been running round in circles in my mind
And it always seems that I’m following you, girl
Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find.
In this book Artemis realizes that "after all we have been through" (TTP p.168), his feelings of friendship towards Holly have grown into something more, though he seems nervous to fully reveal them to her. At the same time, Holly has changed Artemis's life forever, influencing him towards a new 'direction' of doing good and helping others/saving the world, and bringing him to worlds he'd never have encountered without her and the People. Both of their lives have been a whirlwind since they met...
3. "Everything" by Alanis Morissette
(Artemis)
I can be an asshole of the grandest kind
I can withhold like it's going out of style
I can be the moodiest baby and you've never met anyone
Who is as negative as I am sometimes
(Holly)
I am the wisest woman you've ever met.
I am the kindest soul with whom you've connected.
I have the bravest heart that you've ever seen
And you've never met anyone
Who's as positive as I am sometimes.
(Both)
You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can't relate
And you're still here
(Artemis)
I blame everyone else, not my own partaking
My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating
I'm terrified and mistrusting
And you've never met anyone as,
As closed down as I am sometimes.
I feel like these verses really ring true for Artemis and Holly respectively (see above). Especially in the case of Artemis, Holly has learned to see the 'light' in him as well as the dark, and now loves him despite his flaws and shameful past. Each of them knows each other so well now, they 'see everything' about the other, and they still remain close.
4. "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
This song sums up TTP in a nutshell. In the book “the time stream had brought them closer together" (TTP p. 180), 'grabbing them by the wrist' so to speak, and directing them towards romance by providing a situation in which their unacknowledged feelings for one another could really come forward at last. It was indeed like a 'test' or a 'lesson learned in time,' that their feelings for one another were now romantic. It certainly was 'unpredictable' that they fell in love, given how they first meet by him kidnapping her, but in the end I think it's right.
Artemis also takes 'still frames in [his] mind', during the scene in which he sits beside Holly on the car before telling her the truth, knowing that he is about to ruin things between them: “He sat there for a few minutes, concentrating on the experience. Storing it away.” (TTP p. 179)
Even the kind of Celtic sound to some of the background music fits the Irish setting of the series....
5. "With Me" by Sum 41
I don't want this moment to ever end
Where everything’s nothing without you
I'll wait here forever just to, to see you smile
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you
Through it all, I made my mistakes
I stumble and fall, but I mean these words
I want you to know
With everything I won't let this go,
these words are my heart and soul
I'll hold on to this moment you know,
'cause I'd bleed my heart out to show
And I won't let go
I know what I didn't have so, I won't let this go
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you
Artemis has made mistakes--kidnapping Holly, lying to her, etc--but he knows how he feels now, and I don't think he's necessarily going to give up on her or 'let this go', as Holly observes...
"I see," said Artemis.
"It's not a challenge, Artemis. Over is over."
"I know," said Artemis neutrally. (TTP p. 199)
Also once again in the car scene he clearly wants to hold on to the moment, "storing it away" (p. 179).
6. “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Another song referring to a certain moment in time...
"Artemis's head pounded, and Holly's mismatched eyes seemed to hypnotize him....But though Artemis felt hypnotized, even slightly dazed, he knew he was not mesmerized. There was no fairy magic here.
Artemis looked into those elfin eyes, and he knew that this younger, somehow more vulnerable Holly felt the same way, at this particular tangle of time and space, as he did." (TTP p. 168)
Also I think that Artemis is aware of how the world sees him, but he has changed a lot since his early ruthless days, and wants Holly to know that and see the new person he is inside...
7. “Far Away” by Nickelback
This time, this place
Misused, mistakes
Too long, too late
Who was I to make you wait?
Just one chance, just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know
That I love you, I have loved you all along
And I miss you, been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore
I'd give it all, I'd give for us
Give anything but I won't give up
Maybe this song is overused, but I think the 'this time, this place' and 'misused, mistakes' sum up the situation in TTP perfectly, with the time travel and Artemis manipulating Holly to get her to help him in the first place. Likewise I think that Artemis has loved her for longer than he's been perhaps consciously aware of, and that he won't necessarily give up easily on having a relationship with her, or so I hope!
8. “Listen to Your Heart” by D.H.T.
Listen to your heart
When he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart
There's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye
Holly is very confused about her feelings for Artemis in the end of TTP, continuing to remember what had happened between them even after she declared that it was over between them and that it was all in another time. I see this song as asking her to really listen to her heart before she makes any final decisions about shutting out Artemis romantically in her life...
Download Link: 8 Songs + Cover Art + Lyrics and Explanations
Glad I at least got one major fanwork done this summer off my WIP list!