merryghoul | Dear Jukebox DJ 2015 (Reply)

I'm

merryghoul. If you'd like to read my fic recs of sorts, they're located at

merryghoul.

For those passing by: I'm sticking to only offering and requesting fic for this exchange. I won't be asking for art and/or podfic.

My prompts are pretty much my straight-up interpreations of the songs and videos I'm requesting, but if you do get stuck, here are a list of things I like in fic: casefic, hurt/comfort, noir AUs, fairy tale and/or mythology AUs, angst, fluff, the friends to lovers trope, magical people and worlds, and pretend couples. My favorite kinks include knifeplay, spanking, bondage, begging, and femdom, but don't feel obligated to make the song we match on kinky in any way. Gen or shipfic is fine with any of these prompts with me.

I don't want the following: characters constantly getting hurt, vomitplay, schmoop, fics in the second person, fics centered on a character's pregnancy, any crossovers with other fandoms.

I've included YouTube videos and lyrics for everything I'm requesting. I'm based in the US, so if any of these links don't work for you, I apologize in advance.

jukebox_fest might have some alternative links for videos and/or songs.

Wings -- "Girlfriend" | lyrics

Please note: this is not the same song that Michael Jackson later covered for Thriller. This version has lyrics that were cut from the Thriller version.

How does the "girlfriend" meet the narrator? Aside from the letters, what else is the "girlfriend" doing with the narrator? When and how does the narrator find out about the other person in the "girlfriend's" life, and why does the narrator feel so strongly about the "boyfriend?"

Rufus Wainwright -- "Matinee Idol" | lyrics

Tell me about the life and the death of the "matinee idol." Did they act in movies or the theatre? When was their career most active--was it years ago, or in more recent times? How did they rise to fame? What is their afterlife like? And how do people see the "matinee idol" after their death? Rufus Wainwright wrote this after the death of River Phoenix, but I would prefer an interpretation that's not based on real-life events.

Andrew Bird -- "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" | lyrics

How does the first person in this song end up on tarmac in North Platte with something hazardous? How does the second person end up on a bath mat in South Platte with something in a paper bag that hasn't been delivered? Do the two people end up meeting or not? Are their fates entwined? And how do they end up watching this panel show on the History Channel?

Paul McCartney -- "Pretty Little Head" (music video) | lyrics

The girl in this video leaves home, only to find city life hard to bear. After the narrator defends her from the denizens of the city, she goes home...or did she leave at all? Was the girl dreaming or daydreaming instead? Are these people shapeshifting gods? Is anyone in the video part of the hillmen mentioned in the song? Tell me more about this world.

Perfume Genius -- "Queen" (music video) | lyrics

Is this video about a closeted gay man who goes on an act of rebellion and commits suicide, all while thinking about these different personas that we see in the video? The thoughts of a man about to come out of a closet? Or is this a fantastic world where all these personas exist with the corporate people and cheerleaders seen near the end of the video? Or is it something else? Tell me.

The Beatles -- "She's Leaving Home" | lyrics

What motivates the "she" in the song to leave home? How are the father and his wife related to "she?" Who is the "man from the motor trade?" Does "she" leave with this man or not? And is "she" successful at leaving "home" or not? Lennon and McCartney were inspired by a real-life incident about a girl that left home, but I would prefer an interpretation that's not based on real-life events.

Andrew Bird - "Skin Is, My" | lyrics

(I nominated this as "Skin Is My" because of AO3's tendency to make tags out of things that end in commas. The song's title actually is "Skin Is, My.")

Is the narrator exaggerating about how much they love the person that they love? Or is the narrator some sort of magic user, someone who's able to turn their skin white as parchment? Or do they have supernatural senses that allow them to feel the most mundane of things like their lover's skin on cold bathroom floors and the air in an office building? Feel free to interpret this how you'd like.

The Smiths -- "This Charming Man" | lyrics

Is the narrator from a time where the language used in this song is more common, or is he a man from a more modern time who prefers the language of the past? How does the narrator define his sexuality? How bad is the hillside where the narrator's trapped after his bike tire's gotten a flat? How do the narrator and the man in the luxury car flirt after the man in the luxury car picks him up? Is the narrator convinced to "return the ring" after the man in the luxury car tells him to do so? What happens after the car ride?