Falling Off the Edge of the World
A Fanfiction Soundtrack
Some words before I begin:
I'm dabbling into an area I have never seen done before - fanfiction that is only partially told by words, with the other part told through music. Music is such a powerful force to me: it helps me find emotional release (I bottle up many things inside of me and it's often hard for me to express my emotions), it gives me inspiration (where I suddenly just feel so alive and eager to share my thoughts and feelings and just DO something), it makes images ten times more vivid (rather than just picturing scenes with words, I can suddenly feel them as if I was there), and it helps me relax (it soothes the stress and worry that builds up in my body, massaging my muscles in a metaphorical sense). As such, I had always wanted to create and piece together a story developed by songs I've listened to.
And that's how the idea for this story came about. Certain songs I listened to just brought about certain imagery, and I went with that. Eventually, a plot formed and I had a fanfic to go on.
But I didn't just stop there. I wanted to write a story where only a small part of it depended upon the scenes I was writing. I wanted a story where for each chapter I typed there was going to be a specific song chosen for that chapter that completely fit in with the mood and really helped the person get drawn in. Music creates more vivid imagery and emotions than words do, so I wanted to write something where listening to the music was necessary in order to get the full impact.
So I decided to create a fanfiction soundtrack. The story itself is told partially through words and lyrics, while the other part is told through song and music. I have planned and plotted everything out, and I'm tentatively holding out for this story to be 16 tracks long. For each track, there will be a written snippet to set the scene and explain the details, and there will be a song chosen with the lyrics posted as well (if the song has lyrics) that the person will use to set him-/herself in the mood and build images from. And at that point it is all up to the reader. How I visualize the scene may be different than how you end up visualizing it.
Of course, because this story is so dependent upon music, I will upload the music and provide a download link to the song.
Eventually, when the whole soundtrack is finished, I will be designing some cover art for the cd soundtrack (or someone else will offer to do that for me, hopefully – hint hint, wink wink) and then making a little booklet that has the story inside of it and the lyrics to each track. And then I'll upload the whole cd FFST (fanfic soundtrack) for people to download. From there, you can do as you wish.
Does this sound good? I hope so! I'm excited about this project and where it's taking me. It's a challenge! I'm someone who's big on using lots of flowing words and descriptive imagery in order to set the mood of a story, and because I'm trying to include the track snippets into a little book that can be printed out and put in a cd I need to keep everything short and concise. I need to be able to set the scene and make an impact with as few words as possible before I allow the music to take over. So it's a challenge for me to keep things short. I'm enjoying the challenge however, and I think it's making me a better writer.
WARNING #1: This FFST will be pretty dark and depressing throughout the whole story focusing on many mature themes: suicide, homicide, human trafficking, drugs, drinking, insanity, multiple personalities. If this squicks you out, don't read!
WARNING #2: As dark as it may be, there will still be hints at love… homosexual love. If shounen ai implications bother you, don't read! And it's TSUSOKA shounen ai, just incase I haven't been obvious enough. You'll rarely find me dabble away from them in the YnM universe.
SYNOPSIS: In an AU, Agents Tsuzuki and Kurosaki are partners in the Japanese Emperor's Special OP Force; with each assignment they creep closer and closer to the brink of insanity until finally falling off the edge and into each other. NOTE: They are living, breathing human beings in this story without any shinigami powers.
DISCLAIMER #1: I don't own the characters. Rather, they evidently own me and a lot of my free time. I do, however, own this alternate universe.
DISCLAIMER #2: The RIAA says that you must delete all of these songs off your computer within twenty-four (24) hours of previewing them. Do what you may with your music, but I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS. I don't mean to sound like a hypocrite when I say all of this stuff, I'm just giving fair warning and hopefully covering my behind.
------------------------
Track 01 - Prologue
------------------------
Not as many people as there should – shallow vanity and pride clouding their judgment – came to realize that the quality of life wasn't measured by success, fame, or fortune. Nor was it measured by elusive, idealistic concepts such as love, hope, or companionship – the commonly-held belief of the wiser, more mature masses. Wiser, yes, but still deluded. Only the few unlucky ones realized the true currency: sanity. The more one paid, gave up, or lost, the less quality one received. It was a backwards way of thinking, but the only reality. Idealistic rubbish kept one satisfied by hiding the truth; however, a person always fell short without the mercy of a sane mind. Sanity was the weight, the ultimate judging factor.
And what ultimately judged the quality of a job wasn't the money, prestige, fame, enjoyment, or feeling of accomplishment, but how much of the person's mentality and self-awareness was left after everything was said and done… how far down and inside-out it ended up screwing one over.
The worst kinds of jobs were the dirty, "necessary evils" required for the "betterment of society" as determined by one in high power. The HIMOP agents – Japanese Emperor's Special OP Force – were one such example.
If there was anything the Japanese excelled at, it was masking true intentions and meanings behind carefully placed words and actions in order to please others. A very community-oriented way of thought. A place and role for everyone to carry out. And all for the betterment of society.
So the idea of a strong, powerful, unified government being a façade for the truth shouldn't have been a big surprise… perhaps, it was even expected.
With each Emperor that had risen and fallen with the sun, the successor had been more modernized than the previous. And though his father, Emperor Akihito, was still the symbol of a united Japan, the Crown Prince, Haruhito, had made a big impact within the power structure of the government. Unbeknownst to many, he studied, for several years, politics, internal structure, military, and internal affairs all around the world, visiting several countries. And all it took was one trip in the 1990s before he established the HIMOP – a top-secret special taskforce sent to carry out the will of the Emperor in order to eliminate divisions in the ranks and maintain unity using whatever means necessary. A hidden base was created, updated with access to all existing and future technology and data (many trusted politicians who had lots of connections and supported Haruhito's decision – for the Emperor and his royal family would be least expected to head such an organization that they felt was necessary – had provided, and continued to provide, help).
The HIMOP agents were trained in obtaining information through covert means (i.e. espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis) and then analyzing the data. They completed whatever missions deemed necessary: assassination, infiltration, counter-terrorism, arms sales, coups d'etats, propaganda, and many others.
The training was intense and demoralizing, and anyone who continued with the career was either masochistic, sadistic, held a severe grudge, or was blackmailed into the job. Nothing was worth the stress, the insanity, the torture, or the psychological consequences, because anybody who got involved became fucked up if they weren't previously.
In order to survive, a man either locked away his emotions and sanity and became a cold, unfeeling bastard, or he eventually broke down and snapped because he was unable to sacrifice his humanity.
This is a story of two such people who became partners and went through hellish ordeals before finally falling apart into each other.
-----
SONG: "Requiem (The Fifth)" – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
instrumental piece
Download link: http(colon)//www(dot)sendspace(dot)com/file/eyy3js
-----
A/N: I hope you enjoy! The next chapter will actually start getting into the meat of the story.
Um, I hope the setting is realistic. I did some research on special OP forces and what they do in the U.S. and then tried to look up info on Japanese secret service and special OP forces. I did happen to find some info for Japan, but there wasn't a lot. So, in the end, I created my own force – the HIMOP (His/Her Imperial Majesty OP) – and attempt to put some rationale behind it. I'm not great with government or politics or controversies, so I tried to do my best. Hopefully, I haven't failed miserably.
To see some of what I researched, here are a few links:
Akihito: http(colon)//en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Akihito
CIA: http(colon)//en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Central(underscore)Intelligence(underscore)Agency
Intelligence Agencies: http(colon)//en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/List(underscore)of(underscore)intelligence(underscore)agencies
Anything I could improve upon? Please inform me! Thank you! Have a great day!