I’ve seen several people doing this, and that is they write ten oneshots based on the first 10 songs that come up when you shuffle the music on your iPod. I had a lot of fun doing these, although they’re not neccesarily my best work. All the same, I hope you enjoy them!
Just a note: You will notice there are only nine stories here. That is because one of the songs is basically the story of an original character from my fanfic, Psyche OS X, and my “oneshot” would basically explain many of the motives for the things he will do in the story… and I would hate to give all of that away!! I will eventually write it, but when it is finished, you can find it in my Psyche OS X thread.
I have absolutely no idea how to rate fanfiction. If some of the material may be even remotely considered “too much”, can someone let me know? (I’m thinking of the song Open Arms by Journey in particular. I don’t think it’s a big deal, but you never know…)
See if you can guess the characters being described in the oneshots where I make no mention of names. Shouldn’t be that hard.
Do Ya - Jump5
He had never been noticed before by a girl. Ever since high school there was the constant pressure exerted on him to get a girlfriend, but he never felt that he was worth it… he was considered less-than-average when it came to his looks by his peers, who simply viewed him as a shy, introverted jerk.
Tall, lanky, and definitely awkward. What kind of girl would fall for a guy like that?
But maybe she was different. As he watched her walk by, he couldn’t help but wonder if she would someday see past what everyone else saw; see him for who he was on the inside rather than judging him by his looks.
Colette was a girl who based her relationships mainly on physical appearance and status. She had a “name” and was looked up to by her peers. She wore all of the latest name-brand clothes and immersed herself in pop culture and celebrity gossip. She was considered above and beyond attractive by many a guy her age, and that made her highly coveted.
Alfredo was a guy who based his relationships solely on reliability and loyalty. He tended to be a little shy, like his mother, and everyone seemed to have one thing or another against him. He usually didn’t care about whether the clothes he wore were name-brand or not, and he wasn’t necessarily concerned about the lives of celebrities whom he knew he’d never meet. No one considered him attractive or even girlfriend-worthy; who would want to date a shy boy?
But maybe she was different. Maybe she would be the first to see the parts of him that no one else had yet discovered.
Holiday - Britt Nicole
There was no way to escape the hectic schedules and demands of her career as a lawyer. Constantly driving all over Los Angeles to meet some obligation, losing precious sleep night after night, and consuming herself with work was the life she had built for herself. At first she had enjoyed it. But it caught up to her quickly. She knew she wasn’t destined to live life in the fast lane.
Work could wait. She needed a holiday.
She filled up the tank and took off; not necessarily knowing where she was going. She left everything behind that would remind her of Los Angeles, knowing she would probably return eventually…
She broke down after driving endlessly through the desert. And before she knew it, her new family was there to help get her back on her feet.
That was it. She could never go back, not after getting to know these lonely people who lived such carefree lives. This is what she had always wanted. This was where she belonged.
The Call - Regina Spektor
That little human was just like another part of him, and taking her back home was one of the hardest things he thought he’d ever have to do. Staring lovingly at the scribbly drawing she had left at his apartment, he couldn’t help but remember the night he said goodbye; how her young, inquisitive eyes stared into his soft, glossy ones.
“Kitty,” the girl’s voice rang clear in his mind as if it were yesterday. With tears welling in his eyes, he brushed his finger against her face.
“Kitty has to go,” he remembered whispering. How could he forget? The memories were so strong, he almost believed he was reliving the moment. Everything around him seemed to fade away as he lost himself in the past for one blink in time.
Mike insisted he come and see something he had made, and the sound of his best friend’s voice drew him back to reality. Reluctantly, he followed Mike into the scare demo room, where a beaten door stood fixed and held into place… yet the little red light did not gleam, indicating that the door was inactive.
He didn’t have to look twice. It was Boo’s door.
“You know, it only works if you have every piece,” Mike reminded him, making reference to a piece of Boo’s door which Sully had taped onto his clipboard - just underneath the drawing. With a trembling hand, he pressed the piece into a small hole, and just like magic, it slid into place.
The light began to gleam again.
Ever so slowly, he turned the handle and the door inched open. He dared to peek inside, and memories flooded his mind once again. There was no need to say goodbye - for there she was on her bed; as if she had patiently waiting for him to return.
Gone - tobyMac
Trusting Alfredo was hard for Colette to do. Even working alongside him in the kitchen made her rather uneasy. She couldn’t help it - she had developed a healthy distrust of boys within her age bracket. They had never treated her with respect or true love. It didn’t matter whether or not they were the most popular boy in school, or the most handsome, or the most outgoing. She didn’t trust any one of them anymore. They had ruined her life.
It never seemed to sink into their thick skulls and into their brains - which had been diluted with the wrong idea of girls since early adolescence - that Colette was a sensitive young woman with thoughts and feelings. She wasn’t just some toy to be played around with. She wanted to know what they were thinking when they decided to go too far with her.
The boys she had left behind would forever have to live with the fact that they didn’t know what they had until it was gone.
Alfredo seemed safe, but that was what every guy had seemed to her before. She was still wary of him, and she vowed to make sure that if he wanted her, he’d have to treat her with respect and expose any ulterior motives towards her.
She wasn’t about to go through heartbreak that severe ever again.
(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life - Stacie Orrico
There had to be more out there than what he knew.
Staring bewildered at the computer screen in front of him, convictions aroused inside of him. His life so far had been jaded, complacent, and void. Filling it with worthless things never fulfilled him. And all that time, he had wondered why.
There was so much more to life than just surviving… there was a realm involved called living. The images of Earth played back on the screen; beautiful videos of people dancing together, planting seeds into the ground, swimming in lakes and rivers, and holding newborn infants in their arms.
“Human: a person, as distinguished from other animals or as representing the human species.”
He saw that they were set apart from other organisms found on Earth, and the reasons for this were clear just by watching those touching videos. Humans possessed a unique ability to love and nurture, and to think and reason. Earth looked so healthy and beautiful while the humans lived there - how much more beautiful would it become if they returned? Here on the Axiom, humans were waited on hand and foot and given no outlet to create or imagine. Life was stuck in a rut.
In the past on Earth, humans were constantly imagining and creating. He gave silent praise to the visionary who had built the ship they lived on, for without their incredible insight, the entire human race may have died down on Earth from toxic fumes.
As the Captain of that ship, he refused to let life go on in this idle way any longer. Their generation was in trouble, and he was unwilling to adhere to the status quo. The Planet Earth would no longer suffer neglect. They were going home - today.
Just a Dream - Jump5
She was unlike anything he had ever seen before. She was unlike anything he had ever heard before. Everything about her was captivating; if he had breath, it would have been whisked away with his first glance at her.
She had changed his entire world. Once she had arrived, nothing in his life was going to be the same. Being alone had caused him to develop a hunger for someone to love him, and she was the perfect remedy for his lonliness. Right when he discovered the beauty of love, she came along to fill that void inside of him.
Her voice was like a song glimmering with the most angelic notes. The way she spoke his name made him want to melt into the ground, and her small giggle was enough to send him into a state of ecstacy. He was completely lost in her; he felt he would go crazy if he looked at her any longer.
And he knew beyond a doubt that she loved him back just as much; if not more. As she placed a small shock onto the rim of his lens, he became lost in that wave of emotion all over again. If this were indeed a dream, as he believed it to be, then he hadn’t woken up yet; and he never, ever wanted to.
Open Arms - Journey
Auguste trudged into his house one bleak March night after a hectic night at work, hoping that he’d be able to wind down now that he was away from the demands of the restaurant. But there was something that made his home seem so cold and empty.
His eyes landed on the clock hung on the wall, which only reminded him that it was half-past one 'o clock in the morning. He placed his chin into the palm of his hands and listened to the second hand slowly progressing around the face. He dreaded going to sleep. It only reminded him of how much he missed Renata.
His life seemed so empty and cold without her near. They had only known each other for a rough year, and yet they were torn so far apart from each other already. It was all his fault… he knew it. She would have stayed with him if it wasn’t for that one night that changed their lives forever. Would she ever return, he wondered. Or was she going to be angry with him the rest of her life? She had good reason to, seeing as how he was the source of all her troubles.
Everything in him wanted to stand by her side during this difficult time, but in the back of his mind he constantly worried about Skinner finding out about it all - especially the fact that she was pregnant. All he wanted to do was keep the seventeen year-old strong until this storm passed.
If one day she came back, he would be waiting for her; ready to take her back into his arms without a single hesitation. He loved her with everything he was, and he would give up everything if only she would return to him. The hole she had once filled in his heart tore open wider with every day that went by.
And he wondered still if she would ever return.
Getaway Car - tobyMac
A drive with Sally was exactly what he needed. He had been worked like a dog by the ruthless Doc Hudson - forced to fix a road he hadn’t ruined on purpose; and being able to get away from that hick town was as refreshing as having an oil change.
He wanted to get out of hillbilly hell as fast as possible, and he had always been so rushed to finish the blasted road… all until now. As he followed Sally up curving hills and around scenic turns, he felt more relaxed than he had in his entire life. He shifted gears and drove on faster, flying farther away from Radiator Springs. He felt so free.
He wished the drive would last forever. On and on the road curved and twisted, moving so gracefully with the land. He could drive all night long in this liberated state, following Sally to the ends of the earth if he so wished; if only the road went on that far…
In My Arms - Plumb
The innocence and wonder that sparkled in the eyes of an infant never ceased to amaze Mary. She rocked her baby girl and kissed her head, singing her a gentle lullaby to ease her to sleep. Night had fallen upon one of the many small camps people had made after landing on Earth, and the last of John and Mary’s instant family members was the only one left to put to bed.
She watched as her little girl drifted away into a deep, content slumber. She felt her heart wrench ever so slightly at the thought of her children growing up and having to face reality some day. It was indeed a long ways away, but nevertheless, it was to happen. All she could do was cherish the moments of their babyhood and hold them tenderly in her arms.
At times, she never wanted to let go. She almost wished that if she held them long enough, it would prevent them from growing up. Whenever they would grin those sweet grins and wave their chubby arms towards her or John, her heart would overflow with love for each and every one of them. It didn’t matter if she had given birth to them or not. Each held a special place in her heart that no other child would ever fill. It didn’t matter what they decided to do with their lives in the future. That would never affect her love for them.
Mary placed another kiss on the infant’s soft skin and brushed the baby girl’s curls from her closed eyes, still rocking her in her arms.
“I will always love you, Haley,” she gently whispered into the infant’s ear. “Never, ever forget that I love you.”