4.) [accidental video.]

[ijustlivehere]

[Neil awakes to the staccato blaring of an alarm clock and a few gentle initiatory flute notes (not that there's an actual flute to be seen anywhere). He sits up, clumsily shuts off the alarm, yawns and stretches exaggeratedly.]

I'm alone! Boy, I sure am glad the ghost of Knives Chau has disappeared overnight. I thought maybe that curse would last forever! It's good to have my room to myself again.

[The way he's speaking is definitely odd-- it's very measured and precise, and quite a bit louder than normal. Speaking of odd things, the sounds of a guitar and a synthesizer matching each other exactly note-for-note can be heard fading in from nowhere. Drums and bass kick up too as Neil suddenly jumps up so he's standing on his bed, and begins dancing and singing:]

Sometimes I wish I had a farm
Where the only pollution is your cigarettes
Where your mind is clear
But I like it here
In my small space
This is the place
Where the sidewalks know my face
As I walk to--

[Here, Neil jumps off the bed, and expands his stage to include the entire room.]

--My apartment, the home where I hide
Away from all the darkness
Outside
In my apartment, the home where I hide
Away from all the darkness
Outside.
I'm there all the time.

[Neil carries on like this for a while, and then exits stage left leaves the room.]

((ooc: Sing and Shout curse! Today Neil is the lead of basically the worst musical ever. blue text is for musical numbers. HE IS WILLING TO SERENADE ANYONE AND EVERYONE, SO COME AND GET IT. Even if you've never met Neil before, he'll find something to sing to/at you about. Seriously.
The above is a Ben Kweller tune, by the way. Ben Kweller is basically the real-life version of Young Neil, as far as I'm concerned. Neil will likely be drawing a lot from him, as well as a few of his favourite bands, throughout the day.))

Comments

[Voice;]

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you sang too.

Re: [Voice;]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Wanders back in from stage left]

Neither did I!

[Pauses, as if waiting for laughter.]

I mean, I don't. I think. But I always sorta wanted to-- y'know, because he does.

[Neil smiles sheepishly and waits for his cue.]

[Voice;]

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

Because 'he' does?

Re: [Voice;]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Yeah-- my best friend, Stephen Stills. Maybe it's silly that I want to be like him... that's what they'd always say, y'know, back home. Pretty much from the beginning... but I didn't care. I'd just tell 'em:

There's this guy you gotta meet
He goes to school with me
He's got spirit and heart
We're three years apart
He is up for anything
He can hang with anyone
He still likes the things
We used to think were fun.

[There is no accounting for where the warm acoustic guitar accompaniment is coming from. Neil's voice picks up, louder now-- he's kind of really getting into this.]

Oh, no, I never thought that I could have a friend
But tonight I'm on my way
Tonight I'm on my way
Yes, tonight
I'm on my way...

[Neil coughs. This is getting pretty weird.]

[Voice;]

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose it only makes sense that you'd want to be so like someone that you admire.

Re: [Voice;]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess so?

I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. I feel weird today.

[Voice;]

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

I think you may very well be cursed. That would rather account for all of it.

[totallyinaband]

...



Neil, what are you doing?

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Coughs. Tries and fails to disappear off the face of the earth.]

Uh... I guess it's another... curse... thingie. Uhmm.

[totallyinaband]

Were you just singing?

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Uh...

[Neil momentarily considers denying this, but figures it's probably no use.]

Maybe? I mean, yes. I think yes. Er, yeah, I was definitely just doing that.

[totallyinaband]

[Considering pause]

Awesome.

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Smiles tentatively]
I guess so! It's just kind of weird, y'know. I'm not used to this curse stuff, and it's like--

[Cue music. Again.]

Check me out
I'm losing control
I wanna rock and roll
But everything I plan
Just slips right through my hands,
And I don't know why.

Hey, I'm a nice guy
I wanna take it easy, baby
But every time I start
My world falls apart.
Yeah, I don't know why.

The world is feelin'
Like it's passin' me by
I'm fixin' to lose it
And I don't know why.

[totallyinaband]

[Stephen raises an eyebrow. He feels the urge to check inside Neil's closet for mysterious back-up musicians, but he's been in the City long enough to know that that would be dumb.]

I didn't know you could sing, man.

[commoneresque.livejournal.com]

You saw an actual ghost?

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Huh? Uh, I guess not really. Apparently it was like a...

[He racks his brain and tries to remember how Stephen Stills described it.]

...A projection of my memories, or something? Memories about uh... well, this one girl.

[commoneresque.livejournal.com]

From your world.

[ Haruhi pauses. ]

I'm sorry you had to experience that.

[ It doesn't occur to Haruhi that ghosts here can be of the living or the dead, so long as they aren't in the City. ]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Oh, uhmm, thanks.

I guess it was kind of nice just to see her face again, though. Even though she was kind of... Nah. Never mind. She didn't seem to be able to hear me, in any case... it made me think a lot about what I would have said to her if I could've.

[Neil is being pretty talkative today. He's not usually this chatty.]

[Video]

[sitaronthewater.livejournal.com]

What about knives?

[A grin.] Not bad, though. You write that yourself?

Re: [Video]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

No. Uh, I mean, I don't think so? I'm not really sure, it just happened.

And uh, Knives is my ex.

[Video]

[sitaronthewater.livejournal.com]

Must be a curse. That's a pretty cool one, though, at least.

You mean, like, the letter?

Re: [Video]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it actually is pretty awesome.

Uh... no man, my ex, like... she used to be my girlfriend. And now she's... not.

[Video]

[sitaronthewater.livejournal.com]

Oh, okay. Cool! Oh, so, wait, ghost?

Re: [Video]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Uh, Stephen said it was probably like a... projection of my memories, or something. She didn't like, talk or anything, so I'm pretty sure she wasn't really here. At least not completely.

[Neil bites his lip, and looks introspective and conflicted. There is a lot going on in his head right now, clearly.]

[Video]

[sitaronthewater.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know Stephen? Cool. [A grin. I'm assuming they haven't talked about him before off-screen or anything.]

Huh. I've had something sort of like that before. It was pretty bad. But if she wasn't talking then maybe it was different. [Cocking his head to one side, looking at his expression.] So, was it a bad thing, or something?