Macbeth

(okay, I had to do this one. It is to good of a line to never use. I love that line.)

"Out Damn Spot," Amara growled in frustration. She was sure that it was mocking her. Despite her best efforts the spot in her favorite jacket remained, taking on an air of invulnerability as she scrubbed at it ineffectually.

Benjamin looked up from where he sat in the old cathedral. It was a quiet little nook, one that he preferred for reading. "What's the problem?"

"This spot will not come out!" Amara had spilled some wood stain on her jacket. They had decided to renovate the abandoned cathedral and live there. It was so beautiful a place, and if someone did not care for it then it would be torn down.

Ben marked his place in the book and set it down. Standing he walked over to Amara and drew her into an embrace. "Don't worry about it," he said kissing her on the neck. "C'mon, let's go play."

"But we have work to do."

Ben smiled, "Tomorrow will take care of itself."

(Quote, as you know is from Macbeth: Macbeth Act 5, scene 1)

Project #6: Shakespeare

Okay, This weeks project is to incorporate some of the bard into your work, It can be just a line, or it can be a longer segment that is incorporated. Please reference where the quote is coming from, which play, sonnet, etc., and if possible give a link so that we can read it in context.

This should be fun, there is so much to chose from. How about upping the word count to 250.

Overview #5 Music and Lyrics

I noticed that I would scan through songs until one struck me with an idea. I usually knew what story I wanted to use or rather continue in, with Kim and David, with Garain, and with the others. Once a song came on that got the creative juices flowing, it came easier. I did notice that I usually made the story kind of match what the song was about, but I think I did one where it was simply the words I needed. I notice that I like songs with some angst in them, or else on the opposite end of the spectrum, and use songs that were all love, I didn't really have any middle of the road musical pieces. I noticed that songs can really inspire. I am still, obviously having comma splice problems, but in time that will go away. I had fun with this weeks project, but I had trouble some times limiting the word count.

Overview #5 - Music and Lyrics

Wow. This really showed my strengths and weaknesses and preferences. I have a preference - and tentatively a strength - for dialogue. Oftentimes I ended up using lyrics as lines of dialogue without any reference to the fact that they were songs, or I used them as songs someone sang as an allusion or during dialogue. I don't know that I ever went straight songfic with any of the lyrics, interspersing them with narrative to create an effect. I do like writing songs into stories, though, and was surprised at myself for not having more characters just singing. I took it as a challenge, on at least some occasions, to use lyrics from a song in a way that didn't end up fitting the song. "Here Comes the Snake" was pretty obvious and for me there's always been one way I wanted to write that song, and I finally did it. What I did with "Hands Down", "Through Glass", "In This Diary", and "IV" didn't really fit the overall tenor of the original songs, and I liked that - I liked reinventing lyrics. While I do love a good songfic where a story follows a song, sometimes lyrics taken out of context can go a long way. To be honest, some of the lyric tricks I pulled on previous posts I liked better. It was easy to give in and make the lyrics to a song almost the entire story, where in other posts I used lyrics subtly. There's room for improvement even when working with a theme, it seems. I had fun with this, hearing new songs and artists as well as hearing old songs that remind me of the good days. It was hard, but I resisted writing my favorite songs, like The General by the Dispatch and The Origin Of Love from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I think I branched out a bit and used some songs I'd never intended to write, which was good.

All for One - Blackmore's Night

We'll drink together
And when we drink we'll drink together, not alone!

Allen could not even remember who he was anymore. His life had become a endless haze of alcohol and regrets, pain and memories. The man next to him filled up his glass again. He couldn't remember anything after that, he only found himself in a war zone.

We'll fight together
And when we fight we'll fight together, not alone!
All For One, and One For All!

The rallying cry went up. It was war and there was no turning back. The masses of soldiers surged forward, each with a private motive.

Lost in the shuffle of the host was a young man. “For my love!” He yelled, cutting down the man in front of him.

Blinded by vengeance he fought on, even though his body begged for rest.

“Hey Allen, they got you too huh?” The weak voice came from beside him. Allen knew he was dying.

“Yeah, they... did, and you know... it's not that bad.”

At least in the end he wasn't alone.

We'll fall together
And when we fall we'll fall together, not alone!
All For One, and One For All!


Together.


(I know I did Blackmore's Night this week, but I love them. So here is a video and her are the Lyrics.)

Here Comes the Snake

“What happened to the music?” Alice asked.

“I don’t know,” Lily said. She craned her neck and peered over the crowd. Someone had interrupted the DJ - Remus - and now he stood beside his victrola, looking puzzled.

“I want to dance.” Alice tossed her head impatiently.

“There goes Lucius,” Lily said, and heads turned as Lucius, smart and sharp in a black zoot suit shot through with green pinstripes, headed up onto the stage.

“D’you think he’s out to stop our fun with his conservative nonsense?” Alice asked.

“Not dressed like that,” Lily said, and stared. He had a fedora tipped low over his face, so only one eye showed. His white-blond hair gleamed in the dim light.

“Here comes the snake,” someone shouted. The crowd parted to let Severus through. He wore an ill-fitting black suit and carried a trumpet. He climbed up onto the stage beside Lucius, and incredulous whispers spread through the crowd.

A chorus of hisses rose, and the crowd laughed.

“Precisely,” Lucius said, and a microphone appeared in his hand. Severus sounded the first note on his trumpet, and music swelled.

Lucius began to sing. 


“Here comes the snake and he circles your leg...”

(Word count: 200; couldn't resist this for fandom; lyrics; don't mind the anime, just watch the video

L'Ultima Notte - Josh Groban

Alastrina was closer to the front tonight, just by a little, she had moved from the bar to a table on the side of the room, she had heard he was going to sing tonight, and she hopped to get a better look at him.

Chissa perche stai li cosi
con queglie occhi fissi su di me
vedrai che poi me passera
e che non m'aspettavo
Questa follia

The voice floated from the stage. It seemed like he had poured his whole soul into the words. Alastrina focused her whole attention on the stage, she knew she knew this voice form somewhere in her past, or perhaps another life, but she could not remember where. She felt that if she could see his face then she would remember.

He was in the deepest shadows, still all she would see was his smile.

After the show Alastrina was walking out of the club. “I wonder what that song meant,” She mused aloud.

“who knows why are you there like that
with those eyes fixed on me
you'll see that I'll be okay
and that I didn't expect
this craziness.” said a voice from behind her, but she never saw who it was.

(Video. Lyrics. Woohoo!!! post 100!!!)

Through Glass - Stone Sour

“I’m looking at you through the glass. Don’t know how much time has passed.”

He stared through the windows out at the wide world. It was a vastly different perspective. Everything was bigger, brighter - and uglier. Warped and distended beyond recognition. He didn’t like it.

“No one ever tells you that forever feels like home, sitting all alone inside your head.” He sang to himself, a song he’d heard on the radio, one he found especially appropriate to his situation.

“Devon, you’re singing again,” Sarah said.

He glanced up from the book he was reading. “No I’m not.”

“Not aloud, obviously, but your little telepathic chorus line is grating on my nerves.” Sarah rubbed her forehead and glared at her math homework.

Devon’s eyes narrowed, and his eyes glazed over as he focused inward. Then he heard it, the soft singing from inside his own mind.

Shut up, he said.

Make me. You’ll only hurt yourself.

Shut up before I destroy you.

Your employer told you to keep my consciousness in yours. He won’t be happy if I’m damaged.

If you don’t shut up now, I’ll let Sarah have at you with her telekinesis when you’re back in your body.

(Word count: 200. Lyrics are here; music video is here)

Held

He held on desperately he did not want to die, he was not ready, there was so much for him yet to do.
"It is time to go," a voice said.

No it can't be over yet, this can't be how it ends.

He was hanging on to the edge of her life.

"Just let go."

It's Raining Men - the whether girls

Allissa was ready to go for it, she was tired of waiting, of being the one left out, the one to sit home at night on the weekends. A storm was brewing and she was going to be ready for it.

Humidity is rising - Barometer's getting low
According to all sources, the street's the place to go

She carefully applied her makeup, and fixed her hair. Pulling on her sexiest outfit, a little leather number, she strode confidently out her door.

Cause tonight for the first time
Just about half-past ten.

It was a little before ten, so she had a while yet to wait, but her friend assured her that come ten thirty; you could hardly move because there were so many guys, but right now the club was practically empty.

For the first time in history
It's gonna start raining men.

It was almost time.

I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get
Absolutely soaking wet!

Allissa could not believe her eyes, it was like a floodgate had been breached, and they were all flowing into one place.

Tall, blond, dark and lean
Rough and tough and strong and mean.

She was ready to find someone.

(okay, I couldn't resist doing this one, it is just to much fun. Here is the video that I like the most and here are the Lyrics)

Held

"I held back, you know," Kevin said.

Jason swiped at his eye, dabbed at his cut lip. "That's what you say."

"That is what he says, and it's the truth," Simon chimed in. He straightened up from where he was leaning against the wall. "You see, we had orders to kill you. He just wanted to play first is all."

Jason started. "The hell?"

"That's the truth," Simon said, drew a gun, and shot him.

Kevin laughed.

Je T'oublierai - Isabelle Boulay

"La lune et le soleil
Se souviendraient de toi
Comment veux-tu que moi
Tout à coup je t’oublie."

“Your girlfriend looks good up there,” Tim said, and nodded up at the stage where Sylvie was singing.

“Ex-girlfriend,” Ben muttered into his drink.

“She’s got a pretty voice,” Kevin offered.

“It’s a pretty song,” Tim agreed.

Ben growled. “Will you two knock it off?”

Kevin studied Sylvie as she curled around the microphone, crooning. “She looks angry, actually.”

"Et que les grands murs blancs
De mon appartement
Se referment sur moi
Comme un cinérama.
Je t’oublierai, je t’oublierai, je t’oublierai..."

The music crescendoed, and Sylvie lifted her head. Her eyes flashed, and her voice swelled to fill the room.

“She sounds angry, too,” Tim said.

Ben resisted the urge to kick him under the table. “What the hell is she saying, anyway? Over and over again. Zhuh too blee ray. What does that mean?”


The girl at the table beside them said, “It’s French. It means ‘I will forget you’.”

“Oh,” Ben said.

The girl smiled up at Sylvie and waved. “You should hear the next number.”

“Sylvie’s not singing.”

“It’s an ensemble piece - called the Cell Block Tango.”

(Word count: 200 on the nose with the French messing things up; lyrics are here; video is here; I decided to try for someone singing for once instead of just using lyrics as dialogue)

Sway - Version by Michael Buble

Alastrina was at the club again. She had been there every night for the last two weeks, waiting. Waiting for him.

Since that first night she had only seen him once. She never saw more of him than his eyes or the glint of his smile. He usually sang love ballads that had all the women in the club swooning. She had come every night, hoping to hear that voice again.

Alastrina's thought were scattered to the wind when she heard the opening bars of one of her favorite songs, looking to the stage all she saw was blackness, and her heart rate sped up. It was him.

It was a smooth samba rhythm; his smooth alluring voice coming out of the darkness.

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Alastrina's eyes drifted closed, her mind reveling in the gentle caress of his song. She started to sway, the song compelled her.

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

Green eyes found her. She would remember.



(The song is Sway, and this version is done by Michael Buble. The song and the Lyrics can be found here. Both are on the page you just need to pull down the more info tab.)

Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional

“You stood at your door with your hands on my waist and you kissed me like you meant it. And I knew that you meant it. So I decided that I can’t afford to be afraid anymore, and, if your offer still stands, I accept. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

Tara listened to the message on her cell phone again and again. She hadn’t moved from her spot next to the front door; she’d collapsed when the officers had come to tell her the news.

They’d been polite, smiling gently, tugging off their hats as soon as she let them in.

They’d been too calm for what had happened.

“Are you Tara Collins?”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No, ma’am. You know Jacob Linwood?”

“Yes. What about him? He’s in New York.”

“Actually, ma’am, he took a flight out here and landed an hour ago.”

“Is he in trouble?”

“No, ma’am. He had your name and address in his wallet. He has no next of kin on record, so it’s our duty to report that he is deceased.”

Deceased. That’s what they called it when someone was killed by a stupid, random drunk driver.

Tara listened to the message again.

(Word count: 200; lyrics are here; video is here; I prefer the acoustic version for this piece, but the rock version is available online)

Stand my Ground

Late at night
things I thought I put behind me
haunt my mind.

Kim stood in the poring rain, she was tired of running, tired of life. David was gone, all she knew now was vengeance. All that mattered to her was bringing her own justice to the world. She could still feel his cooling body in her arms, his eyes had not yet clouded over in death. Lighting flashed in her eyes, echoing the building rage.

Stand my ground, I won't give in
No more denying, I gotta face it
Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside
If I don't make it, someone else will
Stand My Ground.

She would punish, and punish without impunity. They had killed him because of her, and now they would suffer as she suffered. They would all die, she would make sure of that. There would be no mercy. The first would fall tonight.

Though this might just be the ending
of the life I held so dear
but I won't run, there's no turning back from here.

And when they were all dead, she would follow David into that final rest.


(okay this song is Stand my Ground by Within Temptation. Lyrics are here and video is here.)

On My Own

Marcus doesn’t ask if his mother loves his father, because he knows. He despises the man who walked out and left his mother to face the world, alone, with a new child. Marcus knows his mother loves him and doesn’t think him a mistake, but sometimes he knows he hurts her, when he says or does something that makes him look just like his father.

Marcus can sing, and he sings in a band with his best friend Jamie. He got his voice from his mother, for she loves to sing, and she’s sung him one song since his childhood. He thought it was a lullaby when he was younger, but now he knows the truth.

“I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life I've only been pretending
Without me his world will go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known.”


It’s a song from a musical, one Marcus has heard many times before. He realizes what it means when his mother sings it, so when a stranger knocks on the door and asks to see his mother, says it’s about his father, Marcus says the man has the wrong address.

(I know this is probably overused in songfics, but I've always wanted to write it. Lyrics are here (although you probably know them all) and the video is here (it's my favorite version, as there are many, but I know you know what it sounds like).

Loreley

Legend's faded storyline
tried to warn us all,
Oh, they called her Loreley,
Careful or you'll fall...


Garain flew across the world, flitting from land to land. Laughter and tears were sunshine and rain. That was long ago.

And the winds would cry,
And many men would die,
And all the waves would bow down to the Loreley...

Garain no longer had the freedom of the world, now the people did not believe in her, she was only a legend. The people of the world did not ever remember her real name. The only remnant of her life was the legend of Loreley.

Oh, the stories we were told,
Quite a vision to behold,
Mysteries of the seas
In her eyes of gold.


Garain ghosted across the land, her laughter silent in the noise of the modern world. The sun now shone without her permission and the rains came and went as if she was no longer a goddess. Only in songs and the imaginations of the few who could believe, did she find a spark of life.

In a shade of mossy green, seashell in her hand,
She was born the river queen, ne'er to grace the land...

(The song is Loreley by Blackmore's Night. Here are the lyrics and here is the video.

In This Diary - The Ataris

Here in this diary I write you visions of my summer.

Outside, the sky raged. He looked away from the slicing lightning, put his pen back to the page. He’d picked out a pretty diary, one a girl ought to like, and he hoped she’d like it.

It was the best I ever had.

He reached down, scratched the scab that was forming over a weal from Father’s cane.

There were choruses and sing-alongs and that unspoken feeling --

That I wanted to die.

He couldn’t write that.

Of knowing that right now is all that matters.

The only moments that mattered were when she was beside him, smiling, laughing, being his friend even if she didn’t know he loved her desperately, the way a shadows loves the light.

She wouldn’t take it well when she found out, and he wanted to make this as painless as possible for her.

Being grown up isn’t half as fun as growing up.

He was done growing up, and adulthood was the stark realization that he would never escape his father unless he made the ultimate sacrifice, and he’d sacrifice himself before he’d sacrifice her.

These are the best days of our lives.

(Lyrics from "In This Diary" by the Ataris; see them here; music video is here)

Gentleman's Excuse me

Annie looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise, “Edward,” she breathed.

“Hello Annie.” Edward had wondered for years what had happened to her, he thought back fondly to their perfect summer.


They were enjoying a cup of coffee and catching up on old times. Edward looked at Annie, “Do you still keep paper flowers in the bottom drawer with your Belgian lace, taking them out every year to watch the colors fade away?”

Annie smiled faintly, remembering with fondness their time together. She remembered his final words to her and her smile faltered.

“All I have to offer is the love that I have, it's freely given. You'll see its value when you see what I've tried to say. It's a gentleman's excuse me so I'll take on step to the side. Can you get it in your head I'm tired of dancing?”

Edward also remembered, he could not give her what she needed, he was tired of dancing, tired of trying to be something that he was not. He looked at her as he stood to leave, “I loved you Annie. Can't you see it's hard for me, can you see what I am trying to say? I'm tired of Dancing.”


(The song is a Gentleman's excuse me by Fish, here is the lyrics And here is the music video)

IV - X Japan

She stood by the window and stared out into the twilit rain.

He stood on the pavement outside the house, watching the warm light spill from the windows. “I’m calling you, dear,” he whispered.

She had the inexplicable urge to go outside, to escape the madness, but they’d locked the doors and windows and told her she couldn’t leave, that she was sick and couldn’t go outside till she was better.

“Find the way out,” he whispered. He could see the graceful curves of her silhouette and knew she had to be looking at him. Why wasn’t she coming? “Can’t you me standing right here?”

“Jill, come away from the window.” Someone tugged on her shoulder, and she turned away.

“Why? I was watching the rain. John -- “ John loved standing in the rain.

“John’s not out there, sweetie. It’s dinnertime.”

Jill followed her mother into the kitchen.

A hand came down on John’s shoulder. “Hey, you shouldn’t be here.”

John ignored him. “I want Jill to come outside and see me. They’re keeping her away from me. I love her.”

The other boy laughed. “John, you’ve been dead for five days. She can’t see a ghost. Come on - crossover time.”

(Lyrics from I.V. by X Japan - see them here; link also includes the video)