This ficlet was written in response to Captain Cendol's dare, who said that I have to "write something that doesn't involve Holly and Artemis, but there MUST be a mention of our favourite rock band Muse. Go on, you know you want to" - and so I did.
We're both quite amused over the extra attention Muse has been receiving lately due to the inclusion of Supermassive Black Hole on the Twilight soundtrack. Yay, new fans! :D
And so, Cendol, this is for you. (sticks tongue out) And for the lovely beta too - for introducing Muse to me years ago, for reading this, and for not whacking me over the head for using Matt Bellamy's songs in this really random way.
Also - I found it incredibly funny that Artemis listed David Bowie's 'It's No Game (Part 2)' as his favourite song in the Artemis Fowl Files. I've listened to the song, and it is quite an odd choice for our favourite boy genius, methinks. Very unexpected. Who knows what other genres that Artemis listens to in secret?
Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns all the characters; the songs belong to their respective musicians, and Matt Bellamy owns my soul.
Moon Madness
It was going to be a full moon tonight.
Artemis sighed as he entered his study. It was only inky-blue twilight outside, but the pull of the moon on him was already starting. The migraine he had come to expect was beginning to exert its weight over his mind, and the accompanying voices were present at the edge of hearing. This was the price he had to pay for stealing magic in the time tunnel on his return home from Limbo.
Music, he needed music. He lowered himself into the chair at his desk, his head pounding with the call of the moon. Only music – loud music – had been effective against the voices. The headache was unfortunate, but it was better than his giving in to the urge to bury acorns under oak trees at bends in rivers.
He loaded his music library, running a critical eye over the songs Juliet had added for him yesterday. She had been suspicious with his request, naturally, she being a Butler, but he had assured her that he had acquired a sudden interest in loud, noisy music. It didn't hurt that he had subtly used the mesmer when he spoke to her.
All right, to the business at hand. Ah. Juliet had added mostly songs in the rock genre, in keeping with his request. He took up the headphones – recently purchased with the excuse that classical music could be appreciated better – and slipped them over his ears. And now to business. The voices were getting louder by the minute. Any second now he might not be able to fight the urge to ask Butler to drive him to the nearest magical hotspot to complete the Ritual. Butler knew about the boy's magic, having seen a demonstration when Artemis met him after returning from Hybras, but no one else did. The last thing Artemis wanted was to have the fairies find out that he had stolen some of their magic.
The frown on Artemis's brow grew deeper as he scanned the list of songs. He had not even heard of half of these bands. He knew a bit about the rock classics, having read up on them, but these bands were completely unfamiliar to him.
He double-clicked on one. Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse. Interesting. Was that Rachmaninov he heard?
Artemis clutched his head, bent over the keyboard with the effort of keeping the voices out of his mind. Next song, quickly...ah, here was one likely song. Stockholm Syndrome, also by Muse. This was loud – and noisy – enough to drown out the voices. Artemis shut his eyes, letting his thoughts drift despite the headache.
And then the next one...Supermassive Black Hole. He opened one eye, his lips quirking in amusement. Juliet's musical tastes had never once crossed his mind before, but this was certainly interesting. He would have to ask her about her favourite bands in the future.
'Artemis?' Juliet asked, an hour later.
He opened his eyes and paused the song he had been listening to. 'Yes, Juliet?'
'If it helps – I just managed to get this CD of Queen's greatest hits.' She placed the CD on the table, grinning. 'Like the music? I thought Stravinsky would be suitable, so I included some of his compositions.'
Stravinsky?
'You don't happen to see my Muse CDs anywhere, do you?' Juliet's eyes strayed over the neat piles of books and papers on his desk. 'I think I left them here yesterday...'
'I'll tell you if I do,' said Artemis. 'Thanks for the songs, Juliet.'
She shrugged. 'You're welcome. Tell me if you need anything else.'
He watched her leave the room before turning back to the list of songs on his computer. Well, the Muse songs had been effective against the moon madness after all. There were about six more hours to go...his hand strayed to the Queen CD Juliet had left behind. That and David Bowie would last the night, he reckoned.
A/N: Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' sparked off a riot during its 1913 premiere. For some strange reason, I've always thought that it might have been a precursor to our modern rock concerts. The drums in certain parts of the composition are absolutely amazing.
Matt Bellamy, who composes most of the music by Muse, has been known to use Rachmaninov's works as influences in his songs. Butterflies and Hurricanes is one example of this.