Fictunes

Okay, so...school has defeated me, work is in the process of defeating me, and the time has come for me to admit that I just can't keep up with fictunes on top of everything else. And, well, I'm not sure whether it's that I just can't pick 'em or whether my musical tastes are just too far out of sync with everybody else's--or whether you're all as busy as I am--but clearly you deserve someone who'll treat you right. ♥

To that end, starting next month, stopthatgirl7 will be taking over around here and providing your monthly music. She's awesome, she's a music lover, and she's got waaaaaay more energy and enthusiasm than I can muster even after a few cans of Monster, so I know you're going to love the change. ♥♥♥

So! For my last post, I decided to go a little nuts...hope you find something here you like!

( apparently IJ doesn't like more than 8 cuts...? )

Title: Unbalanced
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Character/Pairing: Cid/Vincent
Rating: G
Warnings: Language, the Galian Beast's odd dietary habits, and nothing much else. Set after Dirge of Cerberus
Music: "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature" - The Mountain Goats
Summary: Chaos is gone, and both Vincent and the Galian Beast are feeling restless in his absence.

I couldn't resist this one when I heard it - which meant I actually had to create an IJ to post here. Oh, well.

Title: Anything He Wants
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Character/Pairing: Sephiroth/Zack
Rating: R
Warnings: Male/male sex, mild BDSM, oral.
Music: "Tie me up" - Cinerama
Summary: When Sephiroth calls, Zack comes running
A/N: For Coyo, who has written a lot of my favourite FFVII fanfiction. And now I think about it, is also responsible for getting me hooked on Kingdom Hearts . . .

Whew! Just made it.

Title: A Vast Legacy of Good
Author: Pepper
Fandom: Saiunkoku Monogatari
Pairing: Ryuuki/Shuurei/Seiran
Rating: PG for the kissing, R for the incest-between-consenting-adults theme.
Music: Bill Callahan, "A Man Needs A Woman Or A Man To Be A Man"
Word Count: 945
Summary: Ryuuki and Shuurei's wedding night.


( The festivities were still going on ... )

I have been a very bad, very busy Coyo. Who hasn't had time to work out a new playlist. So what I'm going to do instead is call this a freebie month--anything you wanted to write to earlier and didn't have time to is fair game. You can find the previous songs here; the old ones have all been reuploaded now.

Yes. Laaaaazy. *sheepish*

Title: If She Says
Author: Laylah
Fandom: Shadow Hearts
Pairing: Yuri/Alice
Rating: marginally not worksafe?
Music: Elbow, "An Audience with the Pope"
Spoiler warning: sidequests and how-you-get-the-good-ending references?
Summary: Yuri gets his last fusion. Alice finds it fascinating.

( If She Says )

Title: Between the Binding
Author: Laylah
Fandom: crossover, mostly Final Fantasy XII/Persona 3
Pairing: Mitsuru/Drace
Rating: not worksafe
Music: Suzanne Vega, "Stockings"
Summary: Drace plays better pool than the boys. Then the boss challenges her to a game.

( Between the Binding )

Title: A Whole New Form of Life
Author: Laylah
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Pairing: Guy/Luke
Rating: not worksafe
Music: Magnetic Fields, "When My Boy Walks Down the Street" ♥
Spoiler warning: ending spoilers!
Summary: Now that everything's calmed down, Luke goes to spend some time with his best friend.

( A Whole New Form of Life )

Soooooo...it's the first of May! And you know what that means! Er...well, okay, I was going to go looking for "outdoorsy" songs, *coff,* honest I was, but it's been an incredibly hectic past two weeks. So you'll just have to put up with the other theme idea that amused me instead.

So you want to write...het

Elbow - "An Audience With the Pope"
I'm so in love with this album right now. And with Elbow in general. I don't know...can I just call them caberet-style indie? Sort of like chamber pop's Casablanca-watching hip older cousin.

( lyrics )

Cinerama - "Cat Girl Tights"
These guys usually slay me dead with their kinky, twisted, vaguely trashy lyrics. This one, on the other hand, is almost kind of sweet.

( lyrics )

Crooked Fingers - "You Can Never Leave"
Alt country doesn't always sound anything like country, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm not a huge fan of twang, and sentimental lyrics make me dry-heave. Uh, not that I'm opinionated or anything, OH NO. Alt country as a genre ranges from darker, moodier and decidedly non-sentimental quasi-country to what you get when an indie band's tour bus breaks down somewhere outside Nashville and they're forced to hitchhike to their next gig...and mug a few cowboys for their instruments while they're at it. Crooked Fingers weighs in more towards option number one.

( lyrics )

So you want to write...yaoi

Kaiser Chiefs - "My Kind of Guy"
Man, these were hard to narrow down. Anyway, pretty standard rock, here, but I thought the premise might be fun.

( lyrics )

Final Fantasy - "Please Please Please"
No, I didn't pick them for their name. No, really. Okay, so I started listening to them because of their name...but they're good! Honest! *sheepish*

( lyrics )

The Magnetic Fields - "When My Boy Walks Down the Street"
Because you can't very well have a set of slashy songs without this one. Seriously. It's like a law or something.

( lyrics )

So you want to write...yuri

The Snow Fairies - "The Happy Song (Saint Anthony)"
Wah! So cute! Insanely cute, in fact, sort of tweeish pop that breaks into 50's-styling goodness. Yuss.

( lyrics )

Suzanne Vega - "Stockings"
If the only things you ever heard of Suzanne Vega's was "Tom's Diner" and "Luka," you're seriously missing out.

( lyrics )

Hem - "Lazy Eye"
Gorgeous alt country/folk band with a truly fantastic female vocalist. This one almost has a lullaby feel to it, Hem at its slowest and sleepiest best.

( lyrics )

So you want to write...but you haven't decided which

Bill Callahan - "A Man Needs a Woman or a Man To Be a Man"
This would be the guy behind Smog, releasing under his own name for once. Not as minimalistic as most of Smog's discography, the album this one's off of sounds more like A River Ain't Too Much To Love. And this song sort of cracks me up.

( lyrics )

Of Montreal - "When a Man is in Love With a Man"
But not as much as this song cracks me up. Goddamn, you crazy E6 bands. Just...yeah.

( lyrics )

Or maybe you just want to write PORN

Nick Chapman - "Take Me Now!"
[instrumental]
Off one of the Comfort Stand releases, Wakka Chikka Wakka Chikka, it's porn groove at its...wakkaist. Heh.

Hope you find something you like!

Title: Vision Burns
Author: Laylah
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Pairing: Asch/Natalia
Rating: worksafe
Music: On, "Shifting Skin"
Spoiler warning: vague spoilers through, hmm, Luke leaving Yulia City the first time?
Summary: "I'm sorry to wake you," Asch says. His face feels hot. He can't look away.

( Vision Burns )

Title: Glimpses
Fandom: Vagrant Story
Character/Pairing: Ashley/Sydney
Rating: Not entirely worksafe
Warnings: None
Music: Belle & Sebastian - "Fiction"
Note: Seriously AU. Sequel to "Etching." Er. Because this song so totally says "English Garden" to me, and this particular AU is the closest thing to an English garden I have that doesn't involve gunshots and repressed NATO officers.
Summary: Forewarned does not necessarily equal forearmed.

( He'd known that for months, dreamed it waking and asleep. )

Title: Waiting
Fandom: None
Character/Pairing: Garrett, Nate
Rating: Worksafe.
Word Count: 1779
Warnings and A/N: The lack of name references is on purpose. I'm sorry if the shameless abuse of 'he' as the main character annoys you. *sighs* It just... DID. Also, I wrote this at crazy hour, so yeah, typo or weird word architecture, just uh... mention it, I'll try to fix it.
Music: I Can't Even Lift My Head - Sufjan Stevens
Summary: Ugh - I dunno... Dingy apartments, cockroaches, and hopeful contemplations of murder.
-

Title: Something Delicate
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Character/Pairing: Cloud/Aerith, Zack/Aerith
Rating: Worksafe.
Word Count: 1,117
Warnings and A/N: I took the "dream" part of this from the Zack/Aerith first date scene of Crisis Core. However, I played it in Japanese and the scene I found of it on youtube to refresh my memory was in Japanese, meaning the translations of what they're saying might not match the official English version exactly, since I did them myself on the fly.
Music: Straylight Run - Existentialism On Prom Night
Summary: A dream of something that both was and was not. And perhaps sadder because of it.

--

( Have you ever met a SOLDIER? )

Title: The New Black
Author: cleflink
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Rating: G (with a side bonus of Zack in leather pants)
Warnings: None really. Sorry.
Music: Andrew Bird - Opposite Day
Word count: 1619
AN: *wince* So, it's not quite March anymore, but I've had this idea stuck in my head all month and this is the first chance I've had to get it out in something resembling proper sentences. Hope no one minds!

Summary: There are some mornings that even coffee can't fix.

( Waking up to people screaming was very rarely a good way to start the day )

Gah. First of all, I just want to say that I'm really, really sorry that overtime and school have been kicking my butt to the point that I can't even support my own challenge. *shame* Er, I've got a week and a half off from school coming up? (And a horrible cold today...shh, I'm playing hooky.) Anyway, er, being tired made me pick songs about waiting, and maybe changes for the darker, and they're all sort of wistful and...yeah. Er. You've got the suggestion song to cheer you up? *sheepish*

On - "Shifting Skin"
Okay, yeah, I listened to this at random because I liked the title. *grins* It's just your average rock, and I'm honestly too tired to think of who it reminds me of...oh, but a quality moment with Google tells me this is a project by someone from Failure. ....still don't think that's who I'm thinking of, though. *mutters*

( lyrics )

Youth Group - "On a String"
I loooooove Youth Group. They're insanely catchy pop, and while maybe a third of their songs are too poppy/similar for me, one third of their songs will also leave me humming the refrain for hours. This chorus is so totally one of the latter types.

( lyrics )

Sufjan Stevens - "I Can't Even Lift My Head"
So okay, Sufjan Stevens can be a bit hit or miss at times, but his slow ballads? Will destroy you. In the best way possible. (This isn't actually the one I wanted to post, because there is actually a song even more beautiful than this, hard as it may be to imagine, but the lyrics to that one are just...difficult. Seriously. I've been trying to come up with something to write to it for a different challenge for nearly a year. But this one! Hopefully more workable. *crosses fingers*)

( lyrics )

From the Department of Soundtrackage: So Charming It Needs A Permit
Belle and Sebastian - "Fiction"
It's, y'know, Belle and Sebastian. Who are practically synonymous with "charming" in the first place, but this is so delicate and gorgeous and sweet, I just want to fling myself from a tall building. Or something like that. Dear god, they break me.

[instrumental]

From the Suggestion Box
Straylight Run - "Existentialism on Prom Night"
Indie rock band with a name that kills me with its cyberpunk roots. *hearts* Like I said, it's way more upbeat than the rest of what I'm posting this time around, but diversity is good!

( lyrics )

Anyway, good luck, and hopefully you find something that inspires you!

Title: Just Another Day
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Character/Pairing: Luke
Rating: worksafe
Warnings: Spoilery for the Tower of Rem. Also, I kind of rambled. >.>
Music: Andrew Bird - "Opposite Day"
Summary: Life goes on.

( He wakes in an inn, not so different from all the inns before it. )

Title: Getting His Attention
Fandom: Dragon Quest VIII
Character/Pairing: Red/Yangus
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some swearing, some drinking, not much of either. Some angst, too.
Music: Art in Manilla - I Thought I Was Free
Summary: It wasn't turning out to be as easy as she'd hoped. (Not so much based on the song as inspired by it, really.)

( Read more... )

Man, it's so hard to find songs that will work for multiple fandoms, multiple pairings, multiple gender combinations, and still be interesting/sound good...whew! I may have to cheat and do a fannish-specific month sometime soon just to give myself a break! (Feel free to give suggestions on that, or a 'yea' or 'nay' for that matter; I'm pretty easy overall.) At any rate, here you see what will become the typical line-up, I think: three songs-with-lyrics chosen by yours truly, one instrumental track, and one that's a suggestion from you guys! Here's hoping you'll hear something you like!

Andrew Bird - "Opposite Day"
I have this utter love of Andrew Bird because he's talented, versatile, and has deeply fascinating lyrics. *hearts* If you like Beck's more singer-songwriter oriented stuff, you'll probably like Andrew Bird's mainstream CDs. If you're a big fan of the eclectic, you'll like all his albums, which have influences ranging from jazz to folk to some sort of demented sock-hop on acid. And with fabulous lyrics no matter what style the band is playing in! Andrew Bird is love. (And I suggest starting with The Mysterious Production of Eggs. *sparkles*)

( lyrics )

Art in Manila - "I Thought I Was Free"
To be honest, I haven't listened to Art in Manila often enough for them to have really stuck in my mind, so I can't give you an overview of the band (in my oh-so-unbiased opinion *coff*). What this is: Pretty girlpop of the Aimee Mann/Heather Nova school of upbeat brave-facery. Not bubblegum pop; the rich, a bit too slow for rock sort.

( lyrics )

Vex Red - "Bully Me"
I'm honestly not sure how mainstream these guys were; I think I first came across them while randomly searching for music with "red" in the title/band name/album name. (...what?) Even if they aren't, they sound like they ought to be a radioband, but I'll forgive them for it because they're very good at what they do, which is that sort of slow, crooned, understated rock that suddenly swells into forceful passages that fade back only to do it again. Kind of like when the Deftones decide to lull you into a false sense of security before making the top of your head fly off. This one's overall more hypnotic than the rest of the album it comes from, but it has its moments, and the lyrics sounded like fun. *grins*

( lyrics )

Mood Rings: Blue!
Jack Rose - "Levee"
OMG, slide blues guitar. Just. Yeah. Done by a damned fine guitarist, at that!

[instrumental]

From the Suggestion Box
The Scene Aesthetic - "Yellow Birds & Coal Mines"
Very Dashboard Confessional, though the singer is more Lyndsay Diaries. Uh, that's pretty much all I know about this band. *grins* If you like emo, you'll like this.

( lyrics )

Good luck! (You can start posting early if you'd like; I just wanted to give you a day in advance to listen so you'd have all of March to write/post in.)

Just a reminder that you have until next Friday to post fics for the February songs; they'll be going down March 1. I'll also be posting the next batch February 29th.

Thanks for all the great responses!

...it's probably better not to explore the thought process that lead from the song to this.

Title: Fortune's Fools
Fandom: Final Fantasy 7 (Aeris/Sephiroth/Cloud)/Romeo and Juliet (sort of)
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 599
Song: "Shadow Of Your Man", Liam Finn

( It is, perhaps, every young man's fate... )