#I am litterally terrified of my parents ever finding out if I ever draw anything physical

[unholyfangirling]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH FOR THE PEELING WALLPAPER ON MY DOOR!!! they are literally so sweet omg im jealous of a fucking door wtf

Ironically this is a door in my homophobic household lol, so this pride month, find random stuff in a homophobe's house and make it queer!

[myblueeyedbuggers]

My Boys

Chapter 4

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Pairings: Reader x Steve Rogers (best friend) Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 2788

Warnings: Slow Start, Language.

Summary: After being abandoned by her parents in Brooklyn in 1929, y/n makes a living for herself by working for the Црни лабуд gang until she meets two boys in a back alley and her life slowing begins to change

Sorry for leaving this so late everyone, Had a really busy day at work and passed out as soon as I got in, Woke up at 8 and I’ve been working on this chapter for ages so hopefully you all like it :) Enjoy Everyone!

(Also մոխրագույն օրխիդ means grey orchid in Armenian, according to google translate)

-Two days later

If someone told me that I’d end up in the middle of a gang war being held hostage with a colt M1911 held up against my head, I probably would have called them batshit crazy. Confused? Let me explain, two days ago the mole in the մոխրագույն օրխիդ reported that they were planning to infiltrate our territory and attack us at the base, the մոխրագույն օրխիդ have been rivals with us for years, almost for as long I’ve been alive.

The boss was really pissed, I mean I’ve seen mind mad but boy he was raging, knocking everything over hell he even shot one of our new recruits he was that pissed off! All members were forced into training, Damien brought in an ex Russian spy to teach us new moves, at the end of it my body was littered with bruises and cuts I could hardly see my skin colour it was that bad. Hell, some of the boys looked worse then me. We trained through the night, alternating between combat training and firearms, it was relentless… some of the guys passed out from exhaustion and when they came back ‘round boss put them straight back into training.

I’ll admit, there’s been some intense wars, but they didn’t even come close to this one, everyone was involved, even the bloody cleaners were trained and normally they just clean up the rooms after the guys are done with a prisoner! We had a plan to draw the մոխրագույն օրխիդ out, everyone was to go to the bank and make it look like a heist prep, while I set up shop in the dinner across the road. I was to make sure that none of the մոխրագույն օրխիդ got the jump on our guys and take out as many of em as I could, so there was no bloody pressure there, I’d be lying if I said I was anything but terrified.

It was around 5 AM when training stopped, all of us ordered to get cleaned up and report back to the base at 6:30, one by one we all left for our homes the pistol strapped to my thing reminding me of what was about to happen…

-Tiny Time Skip-

The hour and a half flew by, each member was sorted into a group and bundled off into a car, every group has a different route and arrival time. Of course, I was the only one who didn’t have that luxury, the boss said that it’d seem less suspicious if I took the bus there and arrived last, so there I was on the number 17 bus at 7 in the morning. The street past by me in a blur, kids were making their way to schools with the mothers in tow behind them, mean while I was making my way to a bloody gang war. Not much of a difference between the two is there? Lazily my eyes glanced over the street, bored outta my mind, the stop was still 10 minutes away and the pair behind me talking business weren’t really curing my boredom.

I swear down if I don’t get off this bus soon I’m gonna lose it! letting out a small sigh I turned and looked out the other window. Okay come on could this day get any bloody worse ?! just my luck both Steve and Bucky were on the street the bus stopped on both staring at me, they really need to stop doing that it’s starting to creep me the hell out. I felt my eyes widen before I ducked under the window, wanting nothing more than this blasted bus to hurry up and move, muffled voices started yelling my name from the other side of the window as the bus started to pull away from the stop. Slowly I started rising my head up and dared to look out the window, both the boys were chasing after the bus, Steve lagging behind as Bucky raced ahead, we shared one last look before the bus blended back into the traffic on main street.

That was way too bloody close for my liking, letting out a sigh of relief I cleared my head and concentrating on my up coming task, the next stop was the one I needed, and I still had 10 minutes before I needed to check in. It was a simple plan, I’d walk into the dinner and order a coffee and a sandwich, walk over to the booth closest to the window and signal my gang I was in position, monitor where the մոխրագույն օրխիդ came from and get the registration numbers of the cars they came out of.  Simple enough.

Noticing that the bus was nearing my stop, I readied my things and hit the button, mentally preparing myself for the next few hours.

Steve’s POV

Y/n was right in front of us, on that bus, it’d only been a couple of days, but she’s changed so much again. Her cuts had healed but her face, it was littered with fresh marks and bruises, the dark bags under her eyes stood out against her pale skin, she looked like a ghost.

What the hell happened to her? I was still from the shock, manging to break out of the haze when Buck started running after the bus, we chased it down the block for as long as we could but eventually we lost her…again. Slowly, I came to a stop next to him, his face impassive, but his eyes were filled with anger, worry and sadness, a look I knew all to well, “Did ya get the bus number?” he didn’t turn and look at me. He was still staring at where y/n disappeared, his head turned slightly at my question but other than that he kept his gaze ahead of him. “yeah, she’s on the 17, it stops just outside the bank on 4th street… did you see y/ns face Steve? She looked like death warmed up, what the hell is going on with her?” Bucky’s temper started to rise, I knew how he was feeling, the frustration of not being able to help someone who desperately needs it was slowly drivin’ me insane. “That’s somethin we’re gonna have to ask her when we find her, come on Buck lets go find our girl” clapping my hand on his shoulder, we started following the road down.

-20 Minutes later

A silence surrounded us as we walked, both of us thinkin’ about her, why won’t she let me help her? I know what it’s like to not have a family growin’ up, then Bucky came into my life and changed it all, he became my brother and I his. That’s all I wanna do for y/n, give her someone to rely on, someone to trust. Gun fire shattered my inner thoughts, people were running and screamin’ as they tried to get away, the crowd managed to knock both of us to the ground, Buck grabbed me by the collar and dragged me outta the way before I got crushed by all the people. “What the hell is goin’ on?! Steve, you okay?” I didn’t answer him, my eyes followed where the noise was comin’ from, Bucky right behind me, both of us peaking around the corner to see what was going on.

Two groups were firing shots at each other, one group was holed up in a dinner and the others were shooting from behind a couple of cars, a few of em were shooting from inside the bank. “Jesus Christ! We’re in the middle of a goddamn gang war Buck, we gotta find y/n and get the hell away from here!” for once in his life Bucky didn’t argue with me and started pulling us away from the scene. A sudden shout halted our movements, the firing stopped as the dinner door opened, my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach from what I saw next, a man yelling in what I guessed to be Russian walked out the dinner, his gun pointed at the side of y/ns head. Blood was dripping from her nose as he dragged her across the middle of the road, the worse bit was that she didn’t look scared not one bit, instead she looked blank, there was no expression on her face and eyes were dead, the man holding her yelling was nonsense I chose to ignore, keeping my eyes trained on her.

“Steve please tell me that my eyes are tricking me and that isn’t y/n being held hostage by the dickhead with the gun” Bucky’s voice shaking, I didn’t know if it was from anger or fear, “We need to get her outta there Buck”.  Both our gazes were trained on the man holding y/n, our minds focused on a plan of getting her back to us.

Readers POV

I knew as soon as I entered the dinner somethin’ was off, the atmosphere didn’t feel right at all, choosing to ignore it and stick to the plan I got in position and signalled to the member sat on the bench outside the bank.  One by one, the gangs made their way inside the bank and I waited for the sign, 5 minutes later gun shots were fired from inside the bank as members of the մոխրագույն օրխիդ pulled in cars and opened fire on the guys. People in the dinner started screaming and running for the door, I played my part and hid under the table trying to look terrified, everything was going to plan then shit hit the fan, the guys left in the dinner with me pulled out guns and returned fire on the Црни лабуд.

This is not my F**king day at all! What the hell do I do now?! Shoot at these guys or plan hostage and gain the upper hand?!, the decision was taken outta my hands when one of the մոխրագույն օրխիդ thugs grabbed my upper arm and dragged me over to the back of the room. Guns were trained on all the everyone who were unfortunate enough to get trapped in the building, a young girl was hugging her mother for dear life as the war carried on, keeping my eyes focused on the guy closet to me I waited for an opportunity.

Okay, y/n this is without a doubt one of the stupidest things you are ever going to do, the thug watching us turned to answer another member when I struck, quickly leaping to my feet I grabbed him from behind and forced him to the floor. Clearly surprised the other guys faltered before retaliating, acting purely on adrenaline I pulled my handgun and started firing at them, managing to hit 3 of them, 2 in the arm one in the chest, before I dived underneath the counter. Bullets started flying past me as they fired through the counter attempting to hit me, acting on impulse I laid down, waiting for them to seize fire and check to see if I was alive, one guy peered over the side and tried to tell the other thugs I was still alive. My reaction was to grab is collar and slam his face into the counter the use him as a human shield, the members ended up unintentionally killing their own guy, clearly, I pissed them off for out-smarting them.

I managed to fire a few more shots before a sudden force hit my back, sending me to the floor with only my face to soften my fall, Son of a b*TCH THEY JUST BROKE MY GODDAMN NOSE! A hand grabbed my hair, pulling me to my feet. I came face to face with the ugliest motherf*cker I’d ever seen, Alexi Churnov leader of the մոխրագույն օրխիդ and the monster behind the rise of sexual assault cases in Brooklyn. “My, my what do we have here, it’s the renowned recruiter of the Црни лабуд. Boys, this is little y/n  y/l/n, she’s been a part of the Црни лабуд for quite some time now” His voice alone is vile enough to make a Nun swear, “Cut the crap Churnov I haven’t got all day ya know, places to be people to shoot and all that” okay maybe I need to learn when to keep my mouth closed.

The next thing I knew my head was forced backwards and a stinging pain erupted along the right side of my face, I turned my head forwards and what do you know, I was face to face with the devil himself. “Have some respect you insolent child! talk to me in that tone again and I won’t hesitate to kill you. Now down to business, tell me what the Црни лабуд are planning or one by one these people die.” Well, do I have permission to panic now?!, slowly Alexi came closer to my face, scowling as he waited for his answer, my response ? I spat blood in his face and laughed at his stupidity.

A sharp kicked halted my laughter as I was dragged to my feet, a now very pissed off Alexi was dragging me to the dinner entrance, the difference of the light left me temporarily blinded, “Црни лабуд! WE HAVE YOU’RE PRECIOUS LITTLE Y/N! COME OUT AND FACE US OR SHE DIES RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!”. Oh, you have got to be f**king with me. The Црни лабуд shared glances with one another, nobody knew what to do, hell even the boss looked conflicted and unsure with how to solve the situation.

You know how I said that attacking the մոխրագույն օրխիդ with a pistol and no back-up was the stupidest thing I’d ever done? Well this is even stupider. I quickly spun around and grabbed the arm holding the gun to my head and twisted it behind Alexi’s back, curse words flew out of his mouth as the gun fire returned. Shots passed by my head as I dived behind a car, in the distance police cars were closing in on the gangs, not that either side cared all were focused on taking out as many people as possible.

I was happy with staying here until the police got the situation under control, out the corner I noticed something odd, two very familiar faces were crouched down behind a wall, both boys were corned as gun fire rained on either side of them. WHAT THE HELL WERE THOSE IDIOTS DOING?!, my eyes were wide with panic as I watched thugs from մոխրագույն օրխիդ slowly edge closer to them, not thinking of the risks to me I dashed out from my cover and started running over to them. My heart started beating faster, one of Alexi’s men was pointing his gun at Bucky and Steve, Bucky stood slightly in front of Steve to try and protect him.

Using the last of my energy, I ploughed my entire body into the man, sending both of us toppling back over the wall. The impact stunned the both of us for a second, but the fist flying to my face soon knocked some sense into me, literally. What is it with these guys and punching me in the f**king face today? Quickly I rolled off him and sprung to my feet, barely managing to avoid his second attack. I used my size to my advantage, manoeuvring around the thug, punching and kicking wherever I could reach, at some point he landed a kick and sent me flying into the wall of the building behind me, my eyes followed his hands as he trained his gun on the boys again.

I acted on impulse, pushing me body forward and over the wall as he fired his gun, at first, I didn’t feel anything just a little pinch as I landed on the floor in front of Bucky and Steve, the sound of guns cocking behind me had me tense up and turn around, thankfully it was the police aiming at Alexi’s men. I let out a sigh of relief before turning to the boys, both were still on the floor with me, “Jesus Christ what the hell were you two thinking?! You could got shot! Or worse killed!” neither of them said anything, tears started falling down their checks as they looked at me.

“Y/n…Yyour bleeding” I felt my eyebrows scrunch up in confusion as I glanced down at my body, to my horror blood was soaking my shirt and then the pain hit me like a ton of bricks. Black spots filled my vision as I felt my body fall to the floor…the sound of my name being called from somewhere far away as darkness consumed my vision.

Very long Chapter to make up for the really late upload, feel free to leave some constructive criticism and as mentioned before all Imagines and Requests are open :) Thanks for Reading

Rose xx

[ghostofstudentspast]

Obligatory (part 3)

Series masterlist

Warnings: a panic attack in the first half.

I am BACK! I finished this baby up this morning and while I won’t be posting as frequently anymore because of college I’ll still be posting/finishing up all my wips!

For the first time in your life, you would have given anything to stay at Hogwarts during the Holidays. Your house had lost its warmth and instead every shadow started to look like a ghost to you. Your father only left his study for dinner, where the three of you sat in uncomfortable silence as knives and forks scraped fine china. Your mother seemed light years away. She could often be found cleaning things unnecessarily, staring off into the distance and only ever casting you soft smiles that didn’t reach her eyes.

You could feel how the weight had shifted in the Pureblood community. Everyone was on edge and keeping secrets from each other. Christmas was a lackluster event in your house this year. Your mother had insisted on a tree and family dinner, but things felt strained. Not at all like the laughter filled Christmases you remembered growing up. Your mother had purchased an absurd number of expensive gifts, as if that would make up for the lack of holiday spirit. Clothes and jewelry and expensive quills littered the dresser in your bedroom and you didn’t want to touch a single item.

“Darling?” Your mother’s voice broke through your absent thoughts. “We’re expected at Malfoy manor in thirty, are you ready?”

You were perched on the edge of your bed, hands clasped in your lap to stop them from picking at the dark red material of your dress. You were vaguely aware of your mother coming to sit next to you on the bed and taking your hand in her own. Her fingers were warm and helped pull you back down to earth.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I didn’t think-“she took a breath and didn’t continue.

All you could do was nod numbly as her thumb stroked the back of your hand. You hadn’t noticed your hand had been shaking until now. Raising your head to meet your mother’s gaze you saw how red her eyes were, how the purple bags were still prominent despite the makeup covering them, how she had faint tear tracks running down her cheeks.

“I know.” Your voice cracked as you nodded again, this time stronger.

“He’s going to be there tonight.” There was no need to say much more, her eyes betraying the fear that could never be voiced out loud.

“I’ll be good,” you offered her a lifeless smile, “I promise.”

The terrifying thought of seeing the Dark Lord in person hung over you all the way to Malfoy Manor. Stepping into the cold atmosphere of the ballroom did nothing to loosen the knot in your chest. Where once the parties thrown here had been lively, full of music and wine and chatter, now it was filled with hushed whispers and something stronger than wine.

“Can we talk?” Draco had appeared at your side like a shadow.

“No.” You didn’t meet his eyes and made to step away from him when a hush fell over the room.

There he stood, dark robes and snake slithering around his feet. The Dark Lord.

“My children,” his voice was high and sharp, “I’m so happy to see so many of you here tonight, proving once again who is loyal to our cause.” you doubted he had ever been happy in his existence.

As if he’d heard you speak his eyes locked on yours. A horrendous red colour, eyes like a snake, bored into your very existence. Your skin crawled and you felt like you might throw up at any moment.

“And our lovely bride and groom to be,” a smile creeped its way onto his face. It was less a smile and more a grimace. “The first in the new generation to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Wise.”

His eyes bored into yours and you could feel his magic pouring into your head. Pushing through your thoughts forcefully. Your heart rate sped up and your breathing hitched. The only thing that reminded you where you were was Draco’s hand resting on your lower back. You pushed all of your thoughts towards the back of your mind and focused on his finger tapping ever so slightly against you. You shot a glance at him and thought you saw his head shake the tiniest bit.

Legillimency, you could feel the Dark Lord prying at your memories. You knew he couldn’t go there, couldn’t know how disgusted he made you feel. You clenched your teeth and thought about the contract, you thought about marrying Draco, pushed the idea of loyalty forward with bile rising in your stomach.

“Continue with your festivities,” he finally broke eye contact and turned his eerie smile to the other guests as your shoulders drooped.

You felt exhausted. Like someone had just ran a bulldozer over your brain. He’d walked through your mind, through your thoughts. You’d never felt more exposed then at that moment.

“Excuse me,” you muttered to Malfoy and turned on your heel to slip away through the crowd of people.

Walking faster than normal you tried not to break into a run as your breathing became unsteady and panicked. You threw yourself into the large bathroom down the hall and threw the door shut before sliding onto the floor and letting out a painful sob.

Tears were streaming from your eyes as you desperately tried to control your breathing. He’d violated your mind. What if he’d seen something dangerous, you’d be endangering not only yourself but your family and friends. You sobbed pathetically, drawing your knees up to your chest and moving into the farthest corner of the room, away from the door. A soft knock at the door only added to the panic filling your veins. You shook your head and covered your ears, unable to breathe. Unable to tell them to leave you alone. Not even your sobs were audible anymore as you fought with your thoughts.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay, he’s gone.” the voice was soft and kind and broke through your thoughts. You shook your head and kept your eyes squeezed shut. “Breathe Y/N. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” the voice repeated until you did what it said. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.

Your breathing was shaky and didn’t quite fill your lungs but slowly you managed to control your air flow. Tears still running down your face and falling into your lap you uncovered your ears and opened your eyes. Across from you sat the last person you would want to see you like this.

“You’re okay.” Draco spoke softer than you’d ever heard him speak. You nodded, and he offered you a sympathetic smile. It wasn’t pity, instead it held understanding. “I get them too.” He confided without meeting your eyes.

“It’s new for me,” your voice was hoarse and sounded foreign to your ears. He nodded in understanding as you closed your eyes again, rubbing them with the palm of your hands, makeup smudged across your cheeks.

When you opened your eyes again Draco was gone just as quickly as he’d came in. The bathroom floor felt just a bit colder as you dropped your head back against the wall.

When you arrived back at Hogwarts the following week Draco made sure to give you space. You were grateful he hadn’t brought up the Christmas incident again and from the lack of pity in his friend’s eyes, you didn’t think he’d told them either. You did notice that he spent more time looking at you these days. He always wore an unreadable expression and his eyes still held a sharp calculating look but this time he was observing you.

It took a few days of him watching you for you to get fed up and resolve to talk to him. This is why you were currently following him out of the potions classroom and down the hall farther into the dungeons. He stopped about halfway to the Slytherin common room and rounded on you, arms cross and one blond eyebrow raised.

“Stalking me Y/L/N?” his lips almost quirked up into a smirk.

“Christmas, you said you wanted to talk to me,” you raised your chin, so you could look down your nose at him, “so talk.” If you kept up your snooty pureblood persona around him, it was easier to pretend he hadn’t seen the most vulnerable side of you.

“Right,” he let out a short laugh and shook his head, “I was going to tell you that I found something interesting in the Manor library over the break. It’s definitely not something we want to try as a first option but if you’re this desperate,” he dug through his bag and fished out an old leather-bound spell book.

“You found something to break the contract?” Your demeanor perked up and your eyes zeroed in on the book in his hands.

“Maybe,” his voice held an unspoken warning, “again, this is very much a desperate man’s last resort. Or in this case desperate woman.” He added seeing you fidget with your sleeves as he held out the book. “Don’t try anything without me.”

“Yeah, no of course not.” You snatched the book from his hand and immediately opened it to where Draco had folded the corner of a page. Skimming the title quickly you found your stomach rolling in unease, “This is blood magic.” You looked up at him with a frown.

“Yeah, which is why I don’t have high hopes for two underage wizards working it out safely.” He grimaced, “read it for yourself.” He motioned towards the book and turned to keep walking to the common room.

“No wait, Malfoy,” you chased him, still holding the book open to the folded page.

“I have bigger fish to fry Y/L/N,” he kept walking, his long strides taking him much faster than yours, “if you’re desperate enough to try blood magic, you know where to find me.” He sighed and left you standing by yourself clutching the book between your hands like your life depended on it.

Finding a free spot on a windowsill near the common room you began to read. The cold frost on the window had your wrapping your robed around you tightly as your eyes flicked between the pages. Blood sacrifice for magical contracts. No. Blood bonds and magical contracts. Also no. Breaking magical contracts with blood. Ah, that’s the one.

Magical contracts are rarely breakable. The witches and wizards who enter in a magic bound contract will be tied by said contract for the remainder of their lives. The only way to exit out of such a vow is for either party to pass on (ghosts cannot be held to a magical contract).

“I don’t want to kill him,” you rolled your eyes and kept reading.

It is therefore possible to trick the magic bond by imitating death. First, one or both parties must provide a vile of blood to be spilled on the original document. Second, one or both parties must take a dose of Draught of Living Death (instructions on pg. 66) and a half dose of calming draught (instructions on pg. 80) note; the users blood must be infused with both potions. These two potions will bring the user into a two-day long death-like state. This along with spilled blood on paper will render the contract useless as ‘one party will have passed on’ very briefly.

WARNING: taking too much of these potions or using too much blood can result in irreversible damage including but not limited to; loss of memory, narcolepsy, weakened magic, blood clots, death, etc.

You closed the book and stared at the cover as you tried to process what you’d just read. Basically, there was a very slim chance that you’d be able to pull this off and a very large shot at accidentally inflicting lifelong damage. Or death.Unfortunately, in all of your time spent researching, this was the only viable option you had come across.

How much are you willing to risk to break this contract?

Series Taglist: @xkonpinkx @detroitobsessed @follow-me-down-to-wonderland @pointlesscoconut @irlkell @thehumanistsdiary @mo-onstarrs @summer-writes @aplaintart @jjjmaybank

[miioouu]

Can i have Ra: Toga, Isis: Izuku and Ihy: Hizashi, with a gender neutral s/o? (i really enjoy your writing, it has help me a lot these times 💖)

Aww I really enjoy the little messages you guys leave me, it genuinely makes me happy. Like my parents are lowkey judging me for smiling at my phone like an idiot. Thank you for requesting!! ❤️💜❤️

Midoriya Izuku 💚

                   Isis: Godess of magic.....

    How can someone not fall in love with his cuteness? How can someone not drool over his adorable smile? How could someone ever resist the green haired boy? It was beyond you.... You may or may not have a crush in the boy. But honestly you hated it! He always makes you smile like an idiot, he always makes you laugh, blush, stutter. You didn't have control over yourself whenever he was around you really! And it didn't help that you were stuck with him all the time. It's not like you wanted to, but something pushed you to stay around him, like attracting you to stay. It was a bittersweet feeling. It's true you hated being in love, but sometimes, when his eyes meet yours and you see the little shimmer in his, when he'd blush whenever your hand rested in his shoulder, and most importantly hoe you can hear the sound of his heart beat when you lean closer to whisper a sectet in his ear....

    Though on your angrier, bad days, he was the last one you wanted to see. Not because he annoyed you or anything, but sometimes, it's like your body had a mind to its own. Not being able to stop yourself from saying things or shedding tears. So you wanted to be away from him, to not accidentally confess. But being the sweet boy he is, he wanted to make you feel better, he didn't want to see his friend, well more like his crush but that's a secret, upset and sad. He'd do anything to see your smile again. And you were sure it was bound to happen, angrily, you turned to face him, wanting to push him away, to tell him to leave you alone, but that's not the words that camr out of your mouth. No the one that did made a smile creep on his face, blush stain his cheeks "God damn it Deku! Did you like cast a spell on me or something? Why does my heart beat so fast around you?! Why am I so in love with you?!"

Hizashi Yamada🎶

                   Ihy:God of music.....

   As a radio presenter, music was a big part of his life. He just loved everything about it, from the way it gets people dancing around like crazy, to the way it makes the hair stand on the back of your neck.... Not only it is his profession, but it also followed him in every part of his life. He loves to dedicate a song to every memory he has. He loves to listen to a certain song and relive every detail of the pass. Like how a certain rock song reminds him of the one time, in his teenage years, deciding to rebel a bit with Aizawa as they snaked out of their house to go to a concert. Or the famous 90s pop song that reminds him of his high-school prom and how wasted he got. The overly sexual song? Of course it reminded him of Nemuri. That time she tried to flirt with another hero only to get rejected, thus ending in a night out at the club, drinking their sorrow away. But, he has a favorite song, everyone does. The slow one that got his heart strings pulling. The love song that got a smile permanently glued on his face as it played. The sweet melody that reminded him of you. Of the night you two finally got married. But this song holds a deeper meaning. Not only it's the song that played on your wedding, but it's the song that brought you two together. It might seem cliché and a bit unbelievable. But it was true. How he was in this record shop, looking for a specific song, but unfortunately, he forgot the name, trying to explain the song to the workers there, even humming and singing it, yet it seemed like no one knew what it was. Well that what he thought. Though you appeared, out of nowhere, holding a vinyl to his face, explaining how you heard him sing one of your favorite songs and struggling to actually find it. And that's how you met....

Smile never leaving his face as he aired the next song in his radio station, introducing it, dedicating it to his special someone "That's out song baby..."

Toga Himiko 🔪

              Ra:God of the sun...

   Some people wish to stay asleep, but you weren't one of those people. Your nightmares have been getting really bad recently. Like a scared man, he looked terrifying, red burned skin decorating his face, under his eyes and frim his bottom lip all the way down to his neck, and staples peircing through his skin as if it were to keep the harmed skin from falling off. And another man, no way to see his face as it was covered by a hand. Light hair messy and covering as much as his face, though you can see the dry skin starting to peel off. And their voice, it was really something, sending shivers down your spine, even through a dream. So realistic, too realistic, you can even smell them one, mix of blood, ashes and sweat mixed together, making your stomach flip as you were sure you'd vomit if it really happened. Apparently the two man kidnapped you, or something of the sort. But they weren't the worse part.

    No, it was this blonde young woman, couldn't be older than 18. She had sharp fangs, and you knew it as she dragged them ever so often on your skin, biting down to draw some blood out. Eyes slit like a cat, filled with pure madness ans evilness. She was the scariest one. Knife ways in hand, brushing it every so often on your skin, leaving trail of goosebumps littering your skin. Though her words always opposed her threatening actions. Confession her love, whispering how happy she were to have you by her side.... She was truly insane.

    But maybe you weren't so stable yourself. Who has dreams like these? And who enjoys the crazy girl's words like you did? Filling your heart with love and warmth. If anyone were to watch you sleep, they'd for sure see the smile and blush that crept out to enchant your face. Well unknowingly to you, those occurrences, terrifying for any normal person, but somehow making you happy, actually happened. And you weren't really sleeping, more like blacked out from some weird substance inhaled. Unknowingly to you, that cute crazy girl was the one watching you unconscious, amused by the way you shivered a moment and the next you'd look as joyful as ever. Slowly getting closer to your face, kissing at you cheek as she'd whisper lowly in your ear "You know y/n, I'm glad that from now on, we'll watch the sun rise and set together...."

[storytellerssanctum]

Petals & Thorns - chapter 10/?

Pairing: Fred Weasley x oc

Warnings: heavy mentions of abuse

Word count: 2.6k

SONG OF THE CHAPTER - take me to church • hoizer

"You are pathetic!" His words hit her hard. She quivered at the sound. Not once in her life had she ever been called that. "You were the one who wanted to fix this, yet you continue to be the problem!" The echoes bounced off the astronomy tower walls. This is where they came to fight. It was secluded, so nobody would hear. Not many people travelled up to that part of the castle. She cowered at his raised hand as he shouted. "All I do is cater to you, love you, and you can't even show a bit of respect to me." His volume lowered as he finished.

"Adrian, if you'd let me explain-"

"You don't have to explain anything! I know exactly what kind of person you are. As soon as I turn my back, you're all over Marcus like he's the one who has to put up with you all of the time!" Tears had fallen down her face, but not at his anger. They were tears of pain at the belittlement she was feeling. Adalinda had never felt as small as she did in that moment. She was shivering in fear. "And you're sitting here crying like you're the victim!"

"I wasn't 'all over' Marcus! I was helping him with his homework!" She raised herself, finding a power to fight back. She would not stand and be punished by a man with no power. "You just can't stand the thought of me talking to another boy!" A slap sounded in the room. It was so powerful it knocked her off her feet, but her physical shock could not match the mental stun it gave her. She was on the floor, placing gentle fingers to her sensitive cheek. She could taste blood in her mouth. It was like everything in the room froze. As soon as his hand came in contact with her, she could only think of the gentle touch of Fred Weasley. She thought about how he never could even dream of laying an angry hand on her.

"Adalinda, I am so, so sorry." Adrian was down by her side within seconds. She stared blankly past him, looking at a wall on the other side of the room. She picked a focal point so she wouldn't cry any more than she already had. "I didn't mean to, it was a mistake." He pleaded, trying to get her attention. Her ears were abuzz with ringing. Her face ached. "I love you, and I would never want to hurt you. I didn't mean to." He repeated himself. Her eyes left the far wall and settled on his face. "I was angry and I let myself slip."

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" She whispered. He could barely hear the words.

"Please, Addy. I didn't mean to do that. My temper got the best of me, I swear it'll never happen again." She was choked up. Her words were caught in her throat. She had so much she wanted to say, but no energy to speak them. How would she hide the mark on her face? Makeup only went so far. She wanted to run, to turn around and never speak to him again. She wanted to hit back, to draw her wand on him. She did none of these things.  "Talk to me, please." He begged. She wasn't angry. She felt an enveloping feeling of numbness. Her cheek throbbed as she sat.

"I don't have anything to say."

"Yell at me, cry, do something!" He was frantic. He was only afraid of Adalinda when she was quiet. She wanted to do this, but she sat still instead. Her fathers booming voice sounded in her ears. The lectures of how she needed to be with Adrian, how she had to love him despite her true feelings. She wasn't sure how much longer she could pretend. This had been the first time he hit her, but she was positive it wouldn't be the last.

"I want to forget it happened." She said, finally.

"Are... are you breaking up with me?" He had tears in his eyes now. She clenched her teeth at the sound of the question. She didn't answer. "Addy, please." He took her hands into his own. They were still crowded together on the floor.

"No," She said, her tone hard. "But I want you to leave me alone for the rest of the day." She ordered.

"Please, Ad, I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"Then leave me be for right now." She snapped.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, a tear falling from his eyes. She still had to stay with him. As bad she wanted to leave, to turn away from him, she was stuck worshiping him and all of his lies at the hands of tradition. She felt like she was losing her religion by simply looking at him. Still, she gave him a bleak nod. He pressed his mouth to her bloodstained lips. The act held no love. It was merely a contact of skin. When he pulled away, she didn't meet his eyes. It would have hurt her further, knowing she couldn't look up to see Fred's eyes. She was in pain and she wanted him there to help, to make her feel better. Instead, she was stuck in a room with a venomous excuse for a boy. "I'll see you later?" He asked, hopefully. She nodded once more, and he left her there. She sat on the floor for a period of mourning. She grieved the fact she would never be able to experience true happiness. The glimpses she caught with Fred were fading away at the hands of the abuse she was enduring.

It was a mental torture to be in a relationship with Adrian. She knew with him in her life, she'd never have a worthwhile existence. She wanted to let him go, to embrace the relationship that was blossoming between her and Fred. If she did so, things would be worse than they were now. She was staying in her position to protect who she really cared for. When she was sure he was gone for good, she pulled her knees to her chest, letting out a wail of agony. She felt like her life was falling apart. She rested her forehead on her legs as she let her tears flow. She wasn't afraid of anyone catching her crying. They'd find out what had happened in this room in the days to come. If she couldn't cover the purple marks on her face, everyone would see what was happening behind closed doors.

Footsteps creaked up the stairs. She didn't bother looking over to the door, afraid she would catch the eyes of her boyfriend. "Addy?" The person called. "Addy, what happened?" Her brother rushed to her side, kneeling before her. Draco had never seen her cry before. Maybe once when they were much younger, or a single tear every now and again, but she often didn't. Never like this, at least. He'd seen Adrian tumble from the bottom of the tower looking distraught. He figured she would be up here, and he was worried about what might have been wrong. Her words from the Yule Ball still pounded against his skull. She could only cry. She didn't have any words to answer him, so she replied with a sob. Draco couldn't see her expression. He couldn't see what secrets her face held. "Addy, please." He placed a hand on her back. He was terrified of how she was acting. He could handle her rage, her quiet anger, but this? He had no idea what to do. She sniffled and lifted her head, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

She didn't speak, she only turned to look at her sibling. What he saw caused a rage to bubble inside of him. Her lips were chapped, stained red. Her eyes were puffy and irritated. Her cheek was swollen and littered with an angry handprint. "He did this to you?" He asked softly, reaching out to push her hair from her face. "I'll kill him."

"No," she croaked. "You can't do anything to him. Dad will kill you." Another tear fell from her eye at the thought.

"I don't care what our father has to say, you don't deserve to be treated like this. Our father won't stand for it, either. He wants you to marry someone with pure blood, not someone who harms you. It doesn't matter how pure Adrian's blood is, this just isn't right." He sneered at the thought. Since the ball, the two siblings had grown closer. Not enough to talk every day, but enough to stop insulting each other. Draco was concerned after what she shared with him, and he was beginning to understand her situation after he saw the glances she stole from the Weasley boy.

"Draco, you can't." She let out another sob.

"Did he find out about Fred?" He asked. Her blood ran cold.

"Did he find you about what?" She asked, shrilly. The tears had stopped at his question, and she was trying to put on an angry mask. She wasn't sure what he meant.

"I know, Addy." He paused. "I see the looks, I see you disappearing without explanation. I saw him run after you when you left the ball. You've been different this year, ever since the night they announced the champions. I thought it was something else, but after a while I could figure it out. You're not being nice because you had a sudden change of heart. You're being nice because somebody is showing you true love and kindness." He whispered, wiping another tear from her face. She didn't believe he'd be the first one to figure it out. She didn't think he was smart enough. "I get it. I don't condone it, but if he treats you well, I can accept it. You deserve everything in the world after what Adrian's putting you through. As much as I hate to admit it, you'll never find a pure-blood wizard that would make you that happy." He kissed her forehead. "You're not as hard as you look. You crave a better life than the one our parents have given us." Her lip quivered at his words. "I want you to be happy. You are my sister. I won't tell dad, or mom. I promise. I'll take it to my grave."

"Draco, nobody can know." She cried, panic seeping into her. "If anyone finds out, we're both dead." She informed him. "Adrian was mad about something else, not that."

"I know. That's why I haven't said anything. I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it for you." He pulled her into an embrace. He was talking about both situations. He was afraid to mention anything about what had happened that day, because he wasn't sure how badly it would affect her life. On her behalf, his mouth would stay shut. "You have to leave Adrian. He'll only do it again." Draco took his sisters good cheek in his hand.

"I can't do that. I've already told mom about how he's been treating me. They don't care. They just care about making The Dark Lord happy."

"I care, Adalinda. I care." He paused. "You can fake a relationship with anyone, it doesn't have to be with an abuser."

"Dad told me I had to be with Adrian for when he's resurrected. If I'm not, I'll be punished." Her brothers heart broke. He didn't know what to say. Instead, he pulled her into a hug.

"Come here," he pulled her into his chest. "We'll figure this out." The blue sky fell into a dark purple as the time passed. He held her there in comfort as she cried. The girl was terrified at the mess she found herself in. For once in her life, her brother was giving her a comfort nobody else could: acceptance. She expected him to yell, to disown her when he found out the truth. Instead, he was looking at it from her perspective. He knew deep down that she didn't have the morals her family stood for. When she said a racist slur, she tried to cover the hurt in her eyes with anger. She just wanted to live up to Lucius and Narcissa's standards, but she didn't have a cold heart. This year, she proved it. With the impending arrival of Voldemort, she was frantic enough to do anything to keep her true feelings a secret. She hid them well until the Gryffindor boy showed her a new world.

She sat in silence, tears falling from her eyes. The shock had worn off and now she was aching and tired. She wanted to go to sleep, to forget about everything that had happened that day. "Maybe we should get you back to the common room." Draco whispered. She gave a bleak nod. She messed with her hair so it would cover her injury, and let her brother lead her downstairs. They stopped at the bathrooms to give her a chance to wash her face and rinse her mouth. She took a long look at herself in the mirror as she did so. Her heart broke at the sight staring back at her. Not once had she ever felt so powerless, completely stripped of her name. Being with Adrian made her feel like she wasn't a Malfoy, like she didn't belong in the family.

Draco could hear her cries from inside the bathroom. Anger rose in his chest; he had no idea what to do. He wanted to hurt her boyfriend, to make him pay for what he'd done to his sister; she didn't want him to. She didn't want to risk anyone knowing she was vulnerable. She believed it would ruin her reputation if everyone knew she let someone throw her around like he did. She was scared it would make people less fearful of her and more curious. She wasn't involved in a good situation for people to be curious. Still, he wanted his sister to feel safe and protected. He didn't want her to be afraid all of the time, and he didn't want her to think Adrian could get away with what he was doing. She was scared if she let go of Adrian, her relationship with Fred may be easier to figure out, but Draco didn't care. He wanted Adrian to regret ever laying a hand on his older sister.

As Draco stood, he heard a chorus of laughter pop around the corner. He knew exactly who it belonged to. Fred Weasley and his twin brother. As they walked towards him, they gave him a snide look, expecting Draco to make a remark on their behalf. "What's this now, Snape appoint you to be the official body guard for the girls toilets?" One of the two laughed, he didn't care enough to tell which one it came from. The two chortled at their own joke, but cut themselves short when another wail of agony sounded from inside the washroom. Fred shot Draco a warning look.

"This is none of your business, Weasley." Draco shook his head, slowly. George ushered his brother away, but Fred looked back and caught the Slytherin's eyes. He wanted to know if it was Addy in the bathroom. When the ginger refused to break the glance, the girls brother nodded. Fred didn't know Draco knew about their relationship, but nearly everyone in the school knew Fred fancied her. The sixth year hoped Draco thought it was his crush giving him the sudden curiosity. A look of pain washed over his face as he saw the bleak head movement, but he had to let George carry him away. Fred knew he would ruin the charade if he ran into the bathroom to hold her, to take the pain away, so he walked the other way.

Tags: @play-morezeppelin

[themadlostgirl]

On The Precipice

*A protective boi*

Prompt: Y/N gets trapped on a ledge and while she flies to freedom Peter falls for her.

Requested by: anon

Warnings: language

---

I was between a rock and a hard place it seems. Literally. I was wedged between a boulder and a tree hiding from the Lost Boys. This is my life. Running from wild boys and wondering how in world I ended up in this situation.

When I was taken to Neverland I thought that I was doing a good thing. I was keeping my little brother from being taken away from his family. Not mine. The only reason I was there was because he refused to leave the orphanage without me. The parents had money and I was close to being able to be on my own so they took me too. They were kind. Loved my brother. Liked me. Treated us well.

Then the shadow came. It reached for my brother. I chased it off with a candle but it came the next night too. I was able to deter it again but I only seemed to make it angry. I knew it would come again and so I hid my brother in the closet and let it take me instead.

Now here I was. Trapped on an island and used as new toy for these boys to play with. It was like a hellish version of hide and seek every day. So far I had been able to elude them. I didn’t want to know what happened if they ever caught me.

“How did you fit in there?” My heart jumped into my throat at the sudden voice. Up above me was Peter Pan. It didn’t matter where I hid he always managed to find me.

“Keep your voice down!” I hissed at him in a whisper.

“They passed you a long time ago. You can come out now.” he said.

While I was still skeptical about the leader of the Lost Boys and self-proclaimed ruler of Neverland I knew that he wasn’t lying. He never let the Lost Boys know where I was. As cocky and cold as he could be he was still the only one here that I trusted, as little as that was.

I shimmied out of my hiding place and pulled myself up into the tree next to Pan.

“Tight fit?” he smirked at my scraped arms.

“That obvious?” I wiped at the bleeding cuts.

“Here,” he waved a hand over my arms and the cuts closed.

“Thanks.” I muttered.

“Still don’t like it here?”

“What part of being chased by a pack of boys is supposed to be inviting?”

“It’s...fun.”

“Fun? Is that what you’ve been calling the terror and fear for my life?”

“It’s not like the boys would hurt you.”

“What are talking about? What else would they do to me? Have a tickle fight?”

“It’s a game.”

“I don’t like that game.” my hands started to shake, “The things they say when they’re hunting me...it doesn’t sound like a game.”

“What are they saying?”

“Stuff…it doesn’t matter.”

Pan placed a hand on my shoulder, “Y/N--”

“I think we missed her.” The sound of the boys returning silenced us. “How is it she keeps getting away?”

“It’s that stupid head start you give her.” Another one of the boys said.

“It adds an element of challenge.”

“Well I’d rather just have her already.”

“I think we need to start searching at night. Find where she’s sleeping and get her then.”

“That’s a coward’s way of doing it.”

“Like you don’t want to get your hands on her already. Girls have softer flesh. There’s a lot you can do with it.”

“And what do you plan on doing with it, Vick?”

“You know what, man.” the boys laughed.

Pan’s grip on my shoulder had gotten tighter. “Vick...”

“Pan!” the one boy, Vick, pointed up at the tree we were in, “You got her! Care to toss her down to us?”

A whirl of wind engulfed me and next thing I know I wasn’t on the tree branch but inside a treehouse. It was nicer than any treehouse I had ever seen before. A small bed in one corner, a tiny table littered with papers and pencils, stained glass windows that cast the room in a kaleidoscope of colors. Above us little glass vials and dreamcatchers hung form the ceiling.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“My treehouse.” Pan was pacing around the room, “As long as you’re up here no one will find you.”

“I don’t understand. Why do you care if they find me or not?”

“Cause you’re one of us. They shouldn’t be doing that--saying that--I thought it was all in fun. Not this…I’m gonna fix this. You just stay up here and don’t touch anything.” with that he was gone again.

Okay. That was strange. But at least I was away from those boys.

What did Pan mean by me being one of them? I was a prisoner here. I’m not one of those little monsters.

I know Pan said to not touch anything but after a couple of hours of being up here I started poking my nose into everything. The papers on the table was a mix of logs and drawings. Under the bed was some extra clothes of his. I was shaking out a tunic when a little pouched dropped to the floor. Now what was this?

I opened it and inside was a bunch of greenish sand. Fairy dust. I heard Pan mention this stuff before. Among other uses, it could make someone fly. You needed belief to make it work though.

This could be may way out of this hellhole. I stuffed the pouch in my pocket for later.

Pan returned later that night with a bowl of food. “Thought you might be hungry.”

“Thanks” I took the food, “Where have you been?”

“Trying to get some sense knocked into the boys. Apparently they did not know that they weren’t supposed to be hurting you. Now they’ve turned it into this whole thing and I need to wrangle them in.” Pan collapsed on the bed.

“You really don’t need to be going into all this trouble. I can handle it myself.”

“You shouldn’t have to be handling it. You’re a Lost Girl. You should be having fun with everyone. Not fearing them.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“What?”

“That I’m one of you? You stole me here. I am literally hunted everyday because they see me as something to hurt. I am not part of this world. I don’t want to be.”

“Sit.” Pan pointed to the space next to him, “Why do you think you were stolen?”

“Because that dumb shadow of yours tried to take my little brother. He had a good life so I let it take me instead.”

“If your brother liked his life so much then why did the shadow come in the first place?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The shadow is drawn to people in the same way people are drawn to my pipes,” He held up the pan pipes, “Have you heard me play before?”

“Yeah. I hear music every night. I didn’t know it was you.”

“It is.” he started to play a soft tune, “Did you know that this pipe is magic?”

“How?”

“It can only be heard by lost children. People who feel unloved. People who don’t think they have a place or a home. People who are lost. It’s those type of people that my shadow finds.”

“But my brother loves where he is. Loves his life.”

“Did you? Did you love where you were?”

“The shadow…”

“It wasn’t there for your brother.”

“That doesn’t mean I belong here.”

“It could.” his eyes were boring into my very soul. “We just need to get the boys under control first.”

“Thanks. But I’m not holding out hope.”

“Just stay up here for now. I’ll take you out when things are safer.”

“Pan--”

“Non-negotiable. Stay.”

He blinked away and I sighed. I left the treehouse and stared down the tree. I was much higher up than I had thought. I couldn’t even see the ground from this perch. Climbing down would be suicide. Guess I’m staying here.

It wasn’t all bad. Pan had brought me some stuff to keep myself entertained and always remembered to bring plenty of food with him as well. His visits to me became more numerous as the days went by. Not just to drop off food or things to do but he would stay to talk with me. Mainly he would vent about the Lost Boys but after he was through with his frustration the conversation would turn to more pleasant topics.

I even started referring to him as Peter as was a wish he expressed one day when he was teaching me how to play chess.

Eventually he was coming to the treehouse to simply relax in my company. I’d be sitting on the bed reading and he would come to lay down in the spot next to me. One of my hands flipping the pages of my book while the other played with his hair. It was almost domestic.

“Peter?” I closed my book. “May I ask you something.”

“You know you may.” he shrugged.

“When can I leave the treehouse?”

“When things are safe for you.”

“When will things be safe for me?”

“When I can convince the boys not to harm you.”

“And how much longer will that take?”

“As long as it needs to.”

“But Peter--”

“No!” he snapped, “Why are you so determined to get out of here? We have fun, don’t we? It’s not bad up here.”

“That’s because you can leave. You don’t have to sit up here for hours at a time by yourself waiting for something to happen. I may be safe but I am going stir crazy. Can’t I leave for just one afternoon? Surely if you’re with me then none of the boys can harm me.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It really is though.”

“No. My answer is final. You are going to stay here where you are safe and that is that. Understood?” He fumed.

“Not like I have much of a choice.” I muttered and stalked out of the treehouse and sat down on the large branch outside.

“Y/N,” Peter followed after me, “I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I just don’t want to take any chances.”

I refused to answer him.

He sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I’ll be back with dinner.” With that he was gone.

I can’t. I cannot keep doing this. Every time I bring up the option of me getting out of here he refuses. No more.

I’m not staying here anymore. I am not some little pet bird that Peter can keep in a cage to play with when he likes. If he hasn’t gotten the boys in line by now then I fear I may stay in this treehouse forever. I pulled the pouch of dust from my pocket. I could fly away from all of this. Go somewhere and start a new life far from all of this.

There was no real room to fly here in the trees so I’d have to climb down and find an open spot to take off. If this worked at all that is. My descent down the large tree was terrifying and more than once I thought about returning to the treehouse and freedom be damned but soldiered on.

I nearly cried for joy when I saw the ground and relished the feel of solid earth below me. Now I just need to get to a clearing. I moved quickly but deftly through the jungle. Pushing myself into the shadows of trees any time I heard a noise. After all these weeks of practice I had gotten rather good at hiding.

A tune started to drift across the breeze and drew my attention to it. Peter…

Without thinking I started to head towards the source of the music. The hypnotizing melody putting me at ease and drawing me closer. Then it stopped as abruptly as it began.

“I didn’t think that would work.” A voice from the trees called. My heart dropped into my stomach as I realized it wasn’t Peter playing the pipes this time.

Vick emerged from his perch and smiled sinisterly down at me. “I hate to have to pickpocket the leader but desperate times call for desperate measures. And you have been missing out on all the fun, darling. You must have had a really good hiding spot this time.”

More boys started to reveal themselves from the shadows. “I’m afraid that we’re not going to give you a headstart this time though.”

I ran. I turned tail and ran as fast as my legs could go. The boys whooped and hollered behind me. By making some sharp turns and throwing myself into quick hiding spots I was able to keep ahead of them for a time. They were too close this time. It was taking everything in me to keep moving. I can’t keep this up much longer.

I turned my head for one moment to see if they were gaining on me. My foot hit air and then nothing else as I fell over the side of a cliff.

My hands scrambled across the rocky face of the cliffside cutting my arms to shreds and probably fracturing if not entirely breaking my bones altogether. I landed hard on a small ledge, barely enough room to keep myself balanced but at least I wasn’t falling anymore. I wasn’t even aware that I had stopped until I calmed down enough to notice I wasn’t hurtling to my doom. I squeezed myself as close to the cliff wall as best I could. Every part of my body hurt. My arms were already their own mess but the landing had shaken me to my core and my legs were throbbing from the impact.

A few feet from where I landed I shrieked as another body went sailing past me and fell into the sea below. Was that Vick? I would have enjoyed that more if it wasn’t for the fact that it could have easily been me if I hadn’t hit this ledge.

I stared up the cliffside and my vision tunneled. The top was so far up. Even if I had any remaining strength trying to climb up would be suicide. Looking down wasn’t any better. The waves still loomed far below, crashing against the sharp boulders scattered around.

What do I do? I am in no condition to climb. Climbing up the cliffside is impossible and continuing downward is certain death. No one up there would be looking to rescue me either.

Am I...am I going to die out here? This is not how I am going out! If I’m dying it is going to be by the hands of a sworn enemy that my brothers in arms will murder so to avenge me and that is that.

I took a deep breath and looked at my situation more carefully. Can’t climb. Can’t fall. Can’t call for help. There was only one other option. I felt in my pocket and breathed a sigh of relief when I felt the small pouch of fairy dust still there. I can fly out of here.

All I have to do is believe. That’s what Peter said anyway.

What if my belief isn’t enough? What if I jump and all I do is fall? If I do nothing then I’ll die anyway. Even now I can feel the ledge holding me starting to give way under my weight. I need to do this now.

Slowly I found a hold on the rocky wall and pulled myself to standing. More of the ledge crumbled away. My toes poking over the precipice of the ledge. I opened the pouch and took another deep breath.

“Here goes nothing.” I said. I poured out the fairy dust and jumped.

~~~

This was bad! This was so very bad!

Peter had gone back to the treehouse to see Y/N and his blood went cold. She was gone. He felt for her presence and found her just in time to see she was being chased by Vick. Before he could stop him he watched with horror as she stopped looking where she was running and went tumbling over the edge of a cliff.

“Y/N!” He ran to the edge and saw that she had stopped falling several feet below. Too far down for him to be of any help. With his reserve of fairy dust from his treehouse being pilfered there was no way for him to get down there either.

“Hey, Pan, can you believe that clumsy little thing--” Vick’s words were cut off by Peter’s hand wrapping around his throat and throwing Vick over the side of the cliff. He should have done that at the start and then maybe the boys would have fallen in line sooner. The others scattered like frightened sheep which was the first smart decision they had made all night.

Peter was devising a plan with a pulley system and some long vines when he saw Y/N start to stand. What was she doing?

“Y/N!” he shouted but she couldn’t hear him that far away.

Then she jumped. The scream was caught in his throat. Too intense to let free.

He watched helpless as she fell once again. Then there was a spot of green against the dark blue of the ocean. It started to grow bigger as it rose slowly at first then shooting up into the air. He knew what that was. “You sneaky little thief.” Peter smiled.

Y/N rocketed up the cliffside sending Peter rolling back from the edge as she narrowly missed colliding into his head. He could make out the distinct sound of wild laughter as she flew higher and higher into the sky before zipping out across the island.

“I love that girl.” He spoke aloud and chased after her from the ground. She was going to need tending from that fall.

[petitprincess1]

My Heroic AU (Now With OCs)

Warning: Long(er) Post!

I’m back at it again with another thing explaining my Heroic Au. Figured that I should probably explain some of my OCs (even though the main four are technically OCs too, but shush). So, for those who are interested, click here to read my first post (for those who read it, now they got heights and ages) about my AU. I would say you don’t have to read that one, but it helps to get a gist of things. But if you dont want to, here’s the main idea:

Central/Main Idea: Mine are more on the chaotic good side of things than lawful because I find it more fun and they kind of explore the whole “if villains can kill and destroy and people just accept it, why can’t a hero do the same, especially when justified and with a corrupt justice system?” Basically, whenever a hero does anything like kill or destroy, no matter the reason, they are automatically seen as corrupt or they have a dying need to be stopped, even more so than villains. My Heroic characters basically exist to prove such a thought wrong…even if they aren’t the most mentally balanced people.

Also, I will be using imaged from others that I have commissioned/requested, while also tagging them. If they do not wish for me to use their drawings, then that is perfectly fine

Sayua Kobayashi/Cross-Boa (created by @little-geecko) Age: 34-35 Height: ~7 foot at full height, but can be about 6 foot 8 Job: Hero for hire/Archer Species: Naga (even though she doesn’t know how to shape-shift) Background: Very little is known about Sayua’s past, due to her being found as a baby in the middle of the forest…and her not willing to tell anyone about her background. Her parents, who were elders, often taught her to stay within the wilderness and often keep moving, due to them being nomads. They also taught her how to live off the land, how to defend herself, teaching her archery and how to create/fix her own weapons.

Her parents ended up dying, due to natural causes, when Sayua was 19, forcing her to live on her own. She didn’t really bother moving from where they last had made shelter, since it was in a pretty well-protected and bountiful. And because she didn’t want to leave her adoptive parents’ graves. Everything was pretty calm as she did whatever she could to take care of herself, until a year or two later someone had ransacked her place and her parents’ graves were dug up.

Sayua was able to track them down easily to a small town and had gathered information from people (who she snapped at few times from them taking too long to answer her) from where the thief seemed to be located. When she found them, it seemed like she had found them also having an illegal pawning business where they basically stole whatever they could from people, sell it off, and run before cops are notified. Needless to say, she was going to give them hell for disrupting her peace and interrupting her parents’ eternal peace.When she came out with a few wounds, bruises and only a fractured arm, as well as the criminals being taken away, Sayua was approached by a man with a white top hat that was very interested in her deed. Personality: She’s a very strong-willed woman with a fiery temper, while also taking absolutely no shit from anyone. if you ever tell her that her short temper and snappy behavior is from being alone in a forest for so many years, she’ll tell you it’s not, while also holding a sickle to your throat. Despite her behavior, she also is a natural leader and will often take the lead or make the first move. 

She also tends to be very indifferent to what your status is and what you have down. So, it’s pretty hard to intimidate her, but she does have her limits. just hardly ever shows them. Don’t expect her to be terrified of people like Demencia or Flug because the moment they breathe to even say one sentence, Sayua will yell, “HOLY SHIT! JUST KILL ME ALREADY!” …She’s impatient.

Despite all these “negatives”, she does have a soft spot that she shows from time-to-time and will often try to inspire younger heroes to work harder to be their best. …Does telling people that they will die if they don’t man up count as inspiration? Also, she may or may not be asexual. She just says that she would rather not figure out how snakes have sex. That and Lucius doesn’t make it any better with all the sex jokes he makes.

~~~

Lucius Wickes/Heartbreaker/Reaper (created by @skribblie) Age: 25 Height: 5 foot 8 Job: Hero for hire/Womanizer Species: Incubus Background: Lucius did live a pretty normal-ish life with his dad being a former demon from Hell that was one of Satan’s warriors, banishing all those that dare get in his way, and his mom being an accountant. He was raised and born in New Orleans, where his dad retired and met his mom. Lucius also met his ex-fiancee, Maria (yes, I know that Metauro’s ex-wife is named Maria. I made these backgrounds a long time ago…I am not changing anything). The two hit it off very quickly, due to Maria being immune to his passive infatuation ability and being more into just him, which he found absolutely incredible. He hadn’t really met anyone that wasn’t into him for simply being an incubus. Plus, Maria was also really into the supernatural, so that was something that put him at ease.

The two ended up leaving out of New Orleans to a smaller town that wasn’t even really on the map. Maria wanted to go there because she had always wanted to live a small, simple life and Lucius wanted to go there to propose. Unfortunately, neither got what they wanted.

Lucius refuses to say what all exactly happened, being vague on purpose to seem guiltier, except that her death was on his hands and that Maria’s last words were: “It’s not your fault.” …A man with a white hat also found him covered in blood, in the middle of a city that was littered with bodies, and had a thousand mile stare in his eyes. The only thing that made him snap out of it was of the man promising that he will make him atone for his sins. Personality: Lucius is a quick-witted smartass that really knows how to and when to get on somebody’s nerves. He has an extreme ego and isn’t afraid to boast about his best qualities He always looks for any opportunity to make an explicit joke or even to seduce someone. He will fervently deny that it’s some kind of self-medication and just say that it’s the price of being a demon. He also loves to play around or mess with people in any way that he can, even if it means that they may want to punch or kill him afterwards.

He’s the kind of guy that likes to cheat death or toe the line of danger, whatever gets his adrenaline pumping and unleashes a bit of the sleeping hellish beast within him. Whether that be through sex or even a bit murder, he’s all up for it. His preferred weapon is a hatchet or an axe.

Lucius can also barely control his demonic side and often keeps it under wraps. The only time he uses it is when in an emergency or when they both have a common end goal, which rarely happens. White Hat must be present when his demon side is let loose or else he’ll lose control fairly quickly and go on a rampage.

Lucius also often attends bars and even will be a bartender or even put on a show for the people. Anyone of any gender or configuartion loves him and loves them for helping him forget how much he hates himself.

~~~

Mari Belmont/The Marionettist (created by a friend and @redmoondragon-art) Age: 16 Height: 5 foot Job: Assassin for hire/Student Background: Mari was born without any powers or anything really all that unique. However, her father was researching a way to genetically engineer a hero. He didn’t really have any other test subjects, but Mari, who was 5 years old at the time, had volunteered to help him. Mari’s mom was against her helping her father, but after a long argument, she realized that she wasn’t going to win. So, she just only wished for her to be closely monitored and safe. There isn’t much to her background, since she’s so young, but the process to become what she is now was very long and grueling. She often remembers times waking up in the middle of the night in her test tube, almost drowning. Personality: Despite her age, Mari often is the mother of any group that she’s a part of. Always making sure that everyone is ready and taken care. She also had taken dancing and aerial silks lessons when she was around 10. It was just something that she always found interesting and graceful. Mari also loves any activity that requires any bit of creativity or using her hands.

Her powers also allows her use her strings like a tightrope, aerial silks (without even hurting herself), and that she can swing on. Not only that, but she also can use them to control peoples’ minds and make them like her puppet, which she often just makes them kill themselves with whatever is nearby. 

She also is extremely playful and hyperactive. She will also defend the actions of her parents, especially to those that dare pretend they know better. She also attends White Hat hero academy whenever she has free-time. ..What do you mean you have to register?

~~~

Panna “Pan” Ward/Pandora (created by @lightpudding) Age: 10-12 Height: 4 foot 4 Job: Freelance hero Background: Pan was very sick when she was born, an illness that attacked at her throat. Luckily, she was saved, but it cost her her vocal chords, rendering her mute, excluding a few small, quiet noises. Her parents were pretty kept in the shadows, even keeping some of their life away from Pan. All that is known that they were into the dark magic and even, rumored, satanism.However, they made sure that Pan was given as much care and love that she deserved, even home-schooling her and teaching her a bit of sign language.

Unfortunately. Pan only knew her parents for 9 years, due to a random attack that happened in her house. She had no idea what was happening because her parents hid her away in a closet. When everything had quieted down, she found her house completely in ruins and her parents dead bodies. She also found a jack-in-the-box near their bodies that was latched shut with a note, reading, “Take this and defend yourself. You’re the new Pandora.”

Pan wasn’t afraid of the demons that lurked within, especially if it meant that they could help avenge her parents’ death.  Personality: Pandora makes sure that everyone is okay before herself. It can even just be a random villain that she’s fighting. She’ll always come up to them with a small first-aid kit that she keeps in her box and makes sure they’re okay to go home. Although, a bandaid in a large, gaping hole in someone’s stomach may not help all that much. They still appreciate it though.

Her favorite demon in the toy box is a large creature that has hundreds of eyes all over his body, gnashing mouths, large, skin-tearing claws, and deep, timber voice that shakes the very ground. He has caused many deaths, made Satan himself even tremble in fear, created many widows, and has devastated thousands of armies. …Pan named him Lord Fluffybottom. He takes that name with great pride.

Pandora loves learning anything new and often will not ask for help, even if she’s too short to reach for something or has a hard time understanding. Pan also realizes that she is pretty much useless without her jack-in-the-box, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to help or fight, even if her hits amount to nothing. Luckily, not many people are willing to fight a defenseless child, even if she does take that as an insult.

Pan created the dress herself as a way to remember her parents, since it’s made from several pieces of fabric from their and her clothes. Not only that, but she doesn’t live in one place for too long and often moves from place-to-place. ~~~ I have more OCs, but they don’t have images and this going on for a bit long. I may make a part two. I hope that you guys like them and sorry if their stories may be edgy.

[icarusatmidnight]

Novel Prep Tag!

I was tagged by @indecentpause to do this, so thank you! I get a bit distracted yesterday watching a certain music video and looking for pictures, hence why it’s a little late~ :D

Rules: Answer the questions and then tag as many writers as there are questions answered (or as many as you can) to spread the positivity! Even if these questions are not explicitly brought up in the novel, they are still good to keep in mind when writing.

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

Three twentysomething year old insomniacs attend an informal late night support group to deal with their magical trauma, or maybe become gods? The wording is pretty unclear.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

I'm still not honestly sure. When I think about it, I always personally break it into Act 1, Act 2, Act 3 but I'm still not sure if those will be just acts with a single book or something more. o:

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Modern magic, mundane magic, runes and signals littered as graffiti in subways, redcap blood drives on the weekend in the park, friendships are rad, failure as a positive, that good old city night life, curling up in diner booths at 3am because why the heck not, found families and getting better

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, definitely! I had this hazy vibe and the character for Icarus before reading those books but seeing how ...matter of fact and mundane magic was described in the books just clicked something in my head. I ended up tossing out the old half-plot it had, and by the end of month, I had this new one and much much happier with it. :D

Also, the Serenity Rose comic book series. I have a thing for near-god characters that still have really relatable issues and just want to live their mundane life. It's one of favorite ...tropes, I guess, and that series does it great. It also deals with growing past your trauma (working through your negativity, so to speak~) so, yeah! It's free online too and I'd highly recommend it. Fair warning though, second book is a fair bit bloody at times. 

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

I will always love this gif and the whole scene in MIKA’s Make You Happy video (the whole video really) but the playful vibes of dipshit friends is like, Icarus’s core to me. ( ´͈ ◡ `͈ )

Also, just... a lot of Hydrae’s art especially her old Teen Wolf fanart (like the bottom left picture). Fun fact! I first created the concepts of Oleander and Daed when I was watching the first season of Teen Wolf, so seems pretty fitting I still draw inspiration from one of my favorite artists from that time. Her DnD art is amazing too! :D

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

Oleander Thistle is the main-main protagonist~.

7. Who is their closest ally?

While he dearly loves Kingcup and Thyme, his closest ally is Daed and he will always be. They're known each other the longest at this point and Daed does have Oleander's best interest at heart and can look out for him without overstepping his boundaries either.

8. Who is their enemy?

I want to say Lund because it's Lund. But he doesn't really feature in the story outside of mentions and flashbacks, so it's probably easiest to say shitty societal stigmas and shitty coping mechanisms on a whole?? 

9. What do they want more than anything?

Oleander ...wants to know more about himself and his past especially how he survived losing his heart back when he was like six. He has some theories that make sense, but he's lacking some good hard facts about that. Not knowing actually causes him a fair amount of internal conflict that he can’t seem to rationalize away like he can with most other things.

10. Why can’t they have it?

The easiest to swallow answer is he simply lacks any way of knowing or finding out. Both of his parents are gone and Lund wouldn't know so unless someone has a time machine, his hands are pretty much tied.

The harder one is that Oleander is honestly terrified of finding out that he's not who or even what he thinks he is, so he doesn't try and lets his fears fester inside of him. Like, what even is he? Who can honestly survive having their heart ripped out of their chest still beating and live on without it being much of an issue? It's fucking weird. One of the ideas that refuses to leave him alone is that he's nothing more than a confused spirit possessing the corpse of a dead six year old, and what if that's true? He spent years trying to get his life back. What was all that for if he's even not himself?

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

That he's not him, but that's less wrongly believed and more his worst fear, you know?? Wrongly believed is honestly more Kingcup and Thyme's areas, and that's part of why they like Oleander. The kid is pretty matter of fact and reasonable with his opinions especially about himself (or so it seems on the outside, and even then it’s the what ifs that drag him down). He's like their unflappable little rock! :D

Until, of course, he isn't. :’D

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

I really love doodling Olly so thank you. ^o^! Fun fact, his natural hair is like a dark auburn brown. His original plan was to screw around with his hair for funsies for a bit while he was traveling with Daed, only for someone to tell him blonde was a really bad look for him one day in a grocery store. He’s spitefully kept it blonde ever since because fuck you too, lady.

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

Outside of his ‘what am I’ conundrum which is his main internal conflict, he’s also figuring out how to better navigate the bitter raging sea of anger inside of him. He may want to know more about himself, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely a-okay with the years he spent under Lund’s control. The trauma is still real.

14. What is the external conflict?

They've all been burned and traumatized by magic, and instead of doing the more rational approach to healing like talk to a therapist, they ...do other things that are less helpful. There's also a massive social stigma to having been burned by magic so it's not like they actually have a lot of options at hand. :/ Starting Icarus is actually helpful in that regard because at the minimum, it builds a nice little support system.

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

Oleander is screaming the worst already happened, what could be worse than his past?! But off the top of my head, losing his heart again would been such a devastation to him. Or, just giving up completely.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

That's a good question. o:

17. Do you know how it ends?

There's plenty of bits and pieces that I know happen, but it's not absolute yet.

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme?

Mistakes don’t have to define you. Recovery isn't a straight line, but it's possible. Found families are neat.

19. What is a reoccurring symbol?

We will see. I’m sure they’ll pop up at times. xD

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description)

Most of the story takes places in a small port city named Dead Leaves. Less of it takes place in the Inbetween and The Romneya Backwoods too, but Dead Leaves is the main spot. Like I said, it's smaller city but still thriving and lively. The Icarus verse has a slight solarpunky vibe to it so despite the name, it's very green with lots of parks and trees and plants. It's common to see ivy climbing up old buildings and rooftops to have their own little gardens. There's plenty to do with an ton of shops and venues and museums and old historical spots too. Its home to the ever famous Clove Archives that's a massive tourist spot for all to visit, and because of that, there's a few universities and colleges within the city too.

I definitely write it with Boston in mind too, so yes~ c:

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

I'm a super visual person so, oh god yes! Do I ever! So many scenes! One of my favorites involves Kingcup punching a wall and Oleander throwing up a wall. :D

22. What excited you about this story?

I just really like these characters, this concepts and the story I have so far. It honestly feels me with joy when I doodle and write about them and it's one of the first stories I've worked on that doesn’t really ever frustrate me either. I also just want to write a story about queer kids finding friendships, falling in love, dealing with the shit and learning from the lesser mistakes you make in your youth. Failure isn’t a death sentence, you know?

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!

I beat my ADHD down every so often and just write write write until it regains its strength? o: I’m gonna look into seeing a specialist this year to learn a better way because it doesn’t work well enough anymore. :l

Tagging: Mhmm. It said lots of people so @elliot-orion @loopyhoopydrabbles @mirror-of-too-many-books If y’all don’t want too, that’s totally cool too! :D And anyone else who would like to do it, please do it! I loved to see it! <3

[arctic-rising]

A Dark Descent - Chapter 1: Contact, Part 6

(( Previous << Lore Navigation >> END))  ((Author’s Note: Wow, this took so much longer than I thought it would to get it published. To be fair though, I was a little focused on graduating haha. However! Now that it’s summer I should be able to work on this a lot more frequently.)) ((Warnings for battle violence and vomiting)) ((Pinglist: @ashenbicornwhale @jedicreed-fr @prancingcapricat @serthis-archivist @blight-nymph @guardianitefr ))

       Adrenaline kicked under Jack’s scales as he channeled his elemental magic. The swirling energy inside made him feel light and airy- the mana fueling his confidence as he soared into the dark sky. Astra cut past buildings on swift wings, allowing a volley of arrows to draw the attention of the spectral fiend to her. It let out another deafening roar and reached towards her, however the young archer was faster. 

       Jack edged closer to the disoriented spirit, his heart pounding. Despite the creatures sluggish movements, he didn’t want to take the chance of the spell missing. If this worked, they could make a quick escape unscathed and head back home. If it didn’t, well...

       ‘Windsinger be with me,’ Jack prayed, and took another deep breath to meditate, calling upon his natural element. He focused his magic; twisting it into a spell. He could feel the mana curling into a tight coil in his ribcage, ready to be released.

       The pearlcatcher darted towards the massive ghoul, and the monster swung its head to face him. Dust and shards of bone fell from its jaws, it’s skeleton littered with arrows and clusters of ice. The horrible whispers grew louder again when it moved closer, however the chill of fear wasn’t able to catch Jack this time. His own built up magic combated the ethereal fright, and he roared as he let loose his spell. 

       The wind around Jack whirled and twisted, picking up and gaining a green hue until it formed a minature whirlwind. The elemental magic slammed into the monster; the creature rearing back as the winds pulled hard enough to snap its skull loose from what remained of its spinal cord. Astra cheered as it fell backwards, its hands clawing at broken ruins in a futile attempt to keep its balance. “Let’s go!” Jack called to Astra. She nodded, and the two of them soaring away from the immeadite danger. 

                                                            ~+~

       By the time the two pearlcatchers had escaped from the Ghostlight Ruins, the sun was setting. Buildings and statues casted pitch black shadows, and the Sea of a Thousand Currents glittered in the fading light. Jack took a deep breath, taking a moment to look at the scene before him. 

       “That could have gone a lot better,” Astra grunted. Jack glanced at her to see her sit down to rifle through her bag before pulling out a red potion. “Thanks for coming with me Jack. I don’t think I want to know what could have happened without you,” she said, popped the cork and downed the drink. A long scrape on her muzzle began to heal, and dark bruises against her hide became lighter.

       “Oh, uhm, yeah. You’re welcome,” Jack said. “I uh, I’m glad you let me- huRK-” Jack had to stop mid-sentence and quickly keel over his pearl as black ooze built up in his throat. The liquid splattered onto the pearl and almost immeaditly hardened, the oilslick substance gleaming in the sunlight. Jack was reduced to coughing once the majority of the ooze was out of his system, and he felt Astra pat his back.

        “You alright? That was a lot of mucus...” Astra asked. Jack nodded weakly, taking deep breaths. He carefully tilted his pearl in his claws to try to get the black liquid to cover the majority of the sphere so it could harden in a smooth layer.

       “I have not fought anything like that before. I don’t, er, I don’t go hunting often,” Jack explained once he got his breath back. 

       “You what?” Astra asked. Jack cautioned a glance at her and saw her wide eyes and long ears standing straight up in shock. “You’re telling me that you volunteered to go to one of the most dangerous places in Sorienth and you have little to no battle experience?”

       “Well-well you, ah, said that you were going there and I-I-I, uh, felt bad because it sounded like you were, uh, going on your own and-and you mentioned that you had not been there before and, well, you bought me that parchment and-and-and-and” Jack rambled, his nerves making his mouth run. He shifted and curled in on himself instictually as Astra stared him, her jaw hanging open.

       “You,” Astra pointed a claw at Jack and he snapped his maw shut. “met me a month ago, offered to go with me on an extremely dangerous outing after you barely knew me because I bought you paper.”

Jack nodded meekly.

       Astra huffed, smiled, and laughed. “You’re weird. I like you,” She wrapped him in a partial hug, squeezing him between herself and her wing. “Comon, let’s go find an inn and dinner. I could go for some salted crickets...”

       Jack blinked at her, confused and surprised. He quickly trotted after Astra, keeping pace with her even as his bruises and cuts stung in protest. He carefully held his pearl with his tail, the tacky mucus already turning an opalescent grey.

                                                              ~+~ 

       The cool breeze of the Windswept Plateau was a welcome feeling on Jacks scales as he soared home, his bag loaded with trinkets, books, and empty potion bottles. Astra had insisted that they try braving the Ghostlight Ruins again, but this time they weren’t going to run away from the first sign of danger. Even after facing off with one of the more deadly spirits, It was still terrifying in Jack’s humble opinion; he almost got his whiskers torn off by a Tatterwing Carcass. 

       “You know, you really didn’t have to get that close,” Astra laughs over the wind.

       “You would have been bird food if I didn’t distract it! It would have taken your throat out!” Jack protested. Astra twirls in the sky, her wings glinting under the sunlight.

       The two of them landed at one of the nearby crossroads that lead to the southern gate of the Kingdom. The bamboo grew taller and taller as they made their way into the Reedcleft Ascent, the winds rattling the plants together to make meaningless melodies.

       The streets of the Kingdom of the GuidingWinds were as busy as ever. Dragons of all elements and statuses wove together to form an endless river of scales, feathers, and fur, vibrant, and dull all at once. Jewelry chimed, fabric shifted, metal clanked, and claws clicked on the cobblestone roads as Jack and Astra wove into the crowds. When they reached the outskirts of the Center District, Astra turned to Jack.

“Are you busy in two weeks?” 

“Uhm, no, I do not believe so. Why?”

“The royals are throwing a celebration for Princess Kima. She’s going to be an offical adult and my parents are dragging me along because they’re important and it’s expected that I show up because I’m related to them, and I don’t want to go alone,” Astra explained. “Would you like to come with me?”

“I, uh, uh, erm,” Jack stuttered. “I am not a royal, or have high standing. Would I even be allowed inside?”

“We can bring plus ones. I think,” Astra bit her lip. “Look, I’ll ask dad but would you come with me to it? Please?”

Jack sighed. “I, well. Sure- yes, yes I will go with you if I’m allowed.”

Astra grinned. “Okay! I’ll find you when I find out. See you later, Jack!”

He waved goodbye as Astra darted off to the Inner District. Jack huffed and mulled over the recent events in his life, fiddling with his pearl as he made his way home.

The cemetary had remained the same when he left it. The dark iron fence was still slightly crooked, the weeping willow still sagged over his den, and the stone markers atop the graves were still partially sunken in the soft earth. Jack felt the tension leave his muscles when he stepped inside his home and went about making a fire. One thing still bothered him though, a small thought that kept pulling at his attention as he settled down to finally, finally write a letter to his parents.

The warmth from the crackling hearth helped soothe his sore body, the light flickering over his feathered quill and blank parchment. Jack carefully removed his birdskull headdress; the beads and bones clicking quietly as he stared at it.

“Why did I hear that ghost speak, and Astra didn’t?” Jack murmered under his breath.

The mask stared back, shadows dancing along the crown and orange feathers as the firelight played off of the beads.

He sighed and placed it on a nearby shelf. Shaking his head, he picked the quill back up and dipped it into an ink well.

Dearest Mother and Father;        It seems that the universe may have more in store for me than the quite life that I had hoped for.

[thepsychicclam]

Hi love! What would you say the top ten sterek fics you've ever read are?

This was REALLY HARD. Mainly bc it’s hard to choose only 10. Because I’m leaving off some great fics (which is why there are more than 10 on here :3)! And some I get mixed up bc I read them so long ago and near each other. (You can always browse my fave fic list here) But I’ve narrowed it to this list. These are the fics that really left impressions on me. They’re all amazing and deserve to be read and loved!!! So…have a TOP 27 FAVE STEREK FICS list :DDDD

1. Cry Havoc by ladyblahblah

In Beacon Hills, the two-year war that’s been raging between werewolves and hunters has begun spilling over onto the civilian population. Meanwhile, in Boston, when the tattoo on Stiles Stilinski’s back is damaged on a late-night hunt he begins to have dreams that lead him across the country, drawn by an inexplicable conviction that he’s needed there. When he discovers that Derek Hale began the war after his mate was killed, Stiles finds himself being offered a strange deal: figure out how to bring the alpha’s mate back, and peace talks can begin.

2. Where the Inevitable Isn’t by Survivah

Stiles has a magical thingamajig that’s supposed to get him out of danger. Trouble is, it took him really, really far out of danger. Like, to the point where he isn’t in the same universe anymore.

“A part of Stiles had been thinking that he’d come home, and just go, ‘hey, Derek, are we mates and you just haven’t said anything about it?’ and Derek would reply, 'now you mention it, we are indeed! Now come to my bedchamber, where we will have super hot sex and then cuddle after!’”

3. Pack Up; Don’t Stray by the_deep_magic

AU – Werewolves are an enslaved underclass, collared and tagged by human masters. Detective Stilinski’s on duty the night they bring in an untagged stray.

4. Our Memories Are Numbered by rufflefeather

Stiles’ Jeep grinds to a halt, he sees someone running through the rain, he’s not expecting it to be Derek. He’s not expecting a Derek without any memories either, or an Alpha pack that’s coming for all of them. He probably should’ve, because lately nothing goes the way he expects.

5. Ad Astra Per Tentaculum by morganoconner

Space contains a multitude of different species, and Derek has seen and helped a lot of them in his time taking down branches of the slave-trade organization. But this is the first time he’s seen an Aloshrivnik. It’s not the tentacles that draw him in; it’s the goddamn eyes that stare at him without backing down.

“Stiles,” it says to him. “My name is Stiles.”

6. Part of My Melody by hayesgeneration

Derek is a professional classical musician who has found himself lost without a muse, without goal and without even a hint of spark. He’s almost settled nearly contently (if not slightly unwillingly) on having to live his life as a recluse, when his sister finally grows tired of his antics, giving him a Christmas ultimatum.

7. Littlest Alpha by triedunture

Derek and Stiles have taken out the Alpha Pack and pretty much saved the world. Okay, the town. Okay, their remaining friends. But the Alphas left something behind: a baby. And this baby is an Alpha too. Derek is determined to take care of the abandoned child, and Stiles is stuck going along for the ride.

But Stiles doesn’t expect the ride to include seeing another side of Derek, or to find another way to say “family.”

8. Holding Your Own Weight by zjofierose

Stiles Stilinski is the best trapeze artist west of the Mississippi, but that doesn’t do him much good without a catcher. Enter one quiet roughneck who calls himself Derek and knows maybe a little too much about circus arts for someone who was hired to schlep tents. But Derek has his secrets, and so does the new girl, Allison. Who’s being hunted and who’s being haunted, and will Stiles ever be able to convince Derek to help him fly again?

9. And You Say You’re Alone by taelynhawker

Between the kanima, the Argents, and Peter’s untimely return from the dead, everything has fallen apart. Stiles and Derek try to put their lives back together once the crisis has passed. Stiles deals with the aftermath of being tortured, and the distance growing between he and Scott. Derek attempts to become a stronger alpha and keep his pack safe, and that includes Stiles.

10. DILF by twentysomething

“Today is Scott’s first day of kindergarten and Derek is terrified.”

Okay - so here are some other favorites that I COULDN’T LEAVE OFF because they’re also my faves I just have more than 10???

11. Make us laugh (or nothing will) by rohkeutta

When Derek Hale left Beacon Hills at 18 to become a kickboxing champion, he thought he would never return. But here he is, seven years later: trying to salvage something from the ruins of his life, eighteen months after the house fire that killed his parents and left him limping and without a future. Enter Stiles, a college dropout Derek might or might not have been friends with in high school, and the unexpected interest he manifests towards the love of Derek’s life. 

12. Caged Humanity by ember

The other factors sounded like complete bullshit. Like about Companions having certain dispositions for submission, and a personality built around wanting to please. Fuck that, Stiles was a strong independent man who didn’t need no wolf. Submitting was straight up taught in classes. Don’t talk back, try to reason not argue, never run away when your Mate was in heat. Mate? More like owner. There was a reason Companions were called pets. God Stiles hated it all, the hypocrisy. It was an honor? More like a life sentence.

An AU where werewolves are given humans as pets called Companions, and a very begrudging Stiles is taken in by Derek Hale, much to both their displeasure. And then pleasure. Very, very sexual pleasure.

13. Ain’t Nothing So Good  as the Cake and Eating it by sofonisba_found

Derek thinks he’s doing alright in life, with his family at his side and a job he loves. Despite his family’s concerns he remains adamant that he doesn’t need a mate, afraid to take the risk of letting anyone close enough to try to hurt his family again. That is until he realizes that his true mate has been right under his nose for years, and that now through his inaction he may lose him.

14. The Boy and the Beast by dsudis

In which events in Beacon Hills go rather differently from the start, and a Beauty and the Beast (ish) story ensues. (Scott is not a teacup and no one sings about their feelings.)

15. The Moon’s Gonna Follow Me Home by turningterrific

Derek doesn’t want to call the window repair guy. He doesn’t want to sweep up the glass. He’ll inevitably miss a few shards and pull them out of the bottom of his bare feet for weeks.

He doesn’t want to try to make this place feel like home when it isn’t.

Derek stayed in Beacon Hills and tried to make it work because he wanted pack, wanted purpose. He gave his best effort and found himself back where he started: alone, with a few begrudging allies. He’s tired, and even though his werewolf body heals quickly, he feels the weary ache down to his center.

He packs his car with the few things he cares about enough to drag them from place to place. He locks the loft and calls a realtor about listing the building he’d bought in a misguided attempt to secure a future.

And then he leaves.

16. Sell Your Body to the Night by dsudis

“No,” he repeated impatiently. “I’m not a cop. I’m someone who wants to exchange my money for your sexual services. I was told you were in that line of work.”

“I, uh, yeah, sorry,” Stiles said. He glanced around again and then up–the full moon was almost directly overhead. Just one of those nights, maybe. “Yeah, I am. I do that.”

17. Constantly on the Cusp by alisvolatpropiis

Stiles is gay, out and proud, and a Beacon Hills deputy. Derek is a firefighter and war veteran who thinks he’s straight; or, Derek and Stiles have lots of semi-public hatesex on the road to Love.

18. Now as Ever (All That Is and Has Been) by venis_envy

Stiles can’t remember what happened to rearrange the time-space continuum, or how he ended up being pulled into the past. All he knows is that he’s there now, in 2003 Beacon Hills, with a teenage werewolf and a possibly-crazy veterinarian as his only allies.

19. Important Things by suzvoy

Stiles learns that even with werewolves, giant lizards and psychopathic hunters on the loose, life can still find other ways to screw with you. Case in point: everyone keeps assuming he and Derek are a couple. What the hell?

20. According to Plans by eldee

Five times Stiles and Derek pretend to be boyfriends, and the one time they didn’t have to pretend at all. (Or: in which Stiles’ plan for senior year is completely ruined by a supernatural creature stalking him.)

21. The Road to Self-Actualization is Littered with F-Bombs by blue_fjords

It’s Stiles’s final Spring Break of his college career, and he’s got plans to do a whole lot of nothing. But Derek has other plans for him, and before he knows it, Stiles is joining Derek to go undercover at a couples’ retreat in a bid to catch a ring of thieves. It’s the world’s most perfect plan! Nothing could possibly go wrong!

22. In This Twilight How Dare You Speak of Grace by secondstar

Zombies. Stiles always knew the world would end this way.

23. Time to Begin by triedunture

Stiles learns some heavy-duty magic, and Derek convinces him to send him back in time to fix all the mistakes he’s made. But Derek ends up making things worse, and Stiles has to think creatively to save him. And everyone else, including their younger selves.

24. Losers by stilinskisparkles

Where Derek is new to college, eager to spend his time learning, and Stiles is everything he didn’t want in a room mate. He’s loud, he’s into sports, and he keeps trying to make Derek do things.

Or, the one where Derek falls for a jock, Erica will cut you if you disturb her studying, and Jackson is a closeted romantic who pretends to hate everything.

25. That Unfortunate Situation by 74days

Derek Hale, 3rd Duke of that name has an unfortunate run in with the young Baron of Stiles - accusing the young man of being a fortune hunter. Regency Romance meets Sterek.

26. Reach Out by weathervaanes

Or, In Which Stiles Falls in Love Twice…With the Same Person

-0-

Stiles sees the flyer on his very last day at Beacon Hills High School. It’s hanging, unassuming, in the hall near the front entrance along with bulletins and other flyers, advertisements, posters for free student concerts, but the fact that the word “sex” is written in a font two times larger than the rest of the page catches his attention.

It’s an advice hotline for a whole range of things, from teenage angst to how to deal with your parents telling you you’re adopted and a whole mess in the middle. Stiles thinks it’s funny, though, that they offer advice on sexuality and sex education. It makes sense on the one hand, since high school sex ed does jack shit for actual learning, but anyone who really wants to know stuff has an infinite source of knowledge right on their phone—the internet.

So it starts off as a joke.

27. Between Men and Lions by standinginanicedress

“I thought we could be friends,” Derek offers, to which Stiles gets an odd smile on his face.

“Friends,” he repeats, an odd inflection.

“Yes, friends.”

Stiles laughs, just barely. It’s more of an exhalation of breath than it is genuine mirth or anything else, and then he smiles. “I’m pretty good at friends,” he says with a tilt to his head, and Derek clears his throat and has to look away.

[theparaminds]

It’s often our moments most alone, with the most isolation, where we find ourselves. It’s in those moments that we become who we were always poised to be. If this is to be true, the story of Ruru in some sense becomes clear and becomes understandable. For sure is a story for finding oneself through sound and singularity. 

Her music is not an extravagant affair requiring a full piece suit from the listener. Instead, it pushes just for a hoodie and t-shirt, a comedy day in the middle winter. Her music is a warm friend who’s available when needed, a hug on days were all feels impossible.

With knowledge and experience behind her, and with a pathway now ahead, Ruru is ready to escape the boxes she often has felt trapt in. She is ready to live to the fullest and to enjoy the limitless daily seconds. And of course, she will keep her auditory journal of music continuing, just as honest as ever. 

Our first question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been?

Hello! Today was pretty packed. I’m currently shooting a music video for an unreleased song. I’m feeling semi-terrified, semi-excited to finish shooting the whole thing.

I feel a lot more free now — I’m fresh outta’ college so there’s more time to think and feel about what’s going on in my life.

To take it back to the beginning, where do you see a lot of your first desires to become an artist coming from, and to what do you connect it to?

I feel like my desire to be an artist really sprung out from childhood — I never really said “I want to be a musician when I grow up” or “I want to be an artist”. There was never really any of that. My parents were the typical, “Be a lawyer”, “Take up business” types; plus I was homeschooled most of my life. All the limitations I had pushed me to exert my voice through different kinds of mediums since it felt like I had all the time in the world to waste in the comforts of my home.

Do you find your location, both currently and when you first started, to impact the creations you put out and the paths you take with your music?

My location impacts my music indirectly —  from then and now. I live mostly in isolation, at home — but when I’m out, my world is bustling with traffic, with many things you could point out as twisted, littering, seeking for an escape — and most of the time I don’t feel at home. I feel like a big bird in a small cage.

In your mind, who were the artists who spoke to you the most growing up and to what did you attach and pull from in their work?

My best friend, Sofia, Picasso.. and many others I just can’t recall right now.

My best friend was the first person to really push me to keep writing my messy music. She was very reckless and free with her art and words. She would bring her journal everywhere and write whatever word comes in the moment, she’d write it down and splatter red paint on her little drawing book.

Picasso because viewing the world with a child-like wonder and creating things with a pure and vivid mind is what I aspire to do.

To you, what’s the greatest film ever created, why is that your choice, and what is the best scene from said movie?

I feel like I haven’t found the “greatest film” yet. Despite being a film student, I feel like I really have a lot of films to catch up on.

As you’ve been releasing works and coming to find an artistic identity, what have you found your overarching message and goal with music to be? What is it that you’re attempting to say with sound?

My music doesn’t really have a main “message”. I feel like music when consumed, absorbs differently in a person... Thus, my message matters less and what is important is it is enjoyed. It could mean anything to everyone. When I make music, I make it as a form of catharsis (as anyone does) —  like cipher because I have major trust issues. I write about people, I write about what I could’ve said, what I could’ve stood up for, about love and hurt or doubt. It’s merely an expression. I hope that people who resonate with my sound, whatever it means to them, will feel less alone.

Within your lyrics, how do you go about finding topics and themes to speak on? Do you feel they come to you naturally or are they based on experience and past memory?

They come both ways. Writing lyrics comes to me like a diary. I select the best words for rhythm and trash ones unnecessary to the goal of the song.

In your eyes, what are the steps you’re taking with your art going forward and how are you attempting to subvert and adapt your sound?

I immerse myself in different music as much as possible. Although I wouldn’t say I have a wide music taste... I’m still slowly expanding it. I also tend to change my style often yet people say there’s still a substance that keeps my music sound like my own...

While it is early into the year, do you have any upcoming work or releases that you’re looking to put out in the near future? If so, how does it build upon your past work and concepts?

I’m working on an EP now. It is quite different from my first two albums — I’m slowly deviating from my soft-spoken, shy sound. I’m looking to be more reckless and to add more grit and concrete to my sound. The new album I feel will still be sad, but hopefully with more acceptance, more hugging of the person I am.

Do you find yourself to have a specific motivator towards constantly creating and working into music? Is there an internal fire that you feel and from where is that sparked for you? What had led to that fire becoming sustained?

God — since he gave me this talent. Also, my close friends. Seeing them do what they do best, whether be it music, art, film; hearing their stories and what inspires them really inspires me and helps keep this fire glowing. Just as long as I am alive, I know I can make something for others and for myself to enjoy.

In a larger sense, what are the most important milestones for you to hit within your career as you move forward? What is it you need to accomplish?

Probably feeling more comfortable in my own body by putting myself in uncomfortable situations like singing in front of a crowd or dancing... or talking to people in general... I’m an extrovert but I feel really in my head all the time. I feel like I’ve really hit a milestone when I’m able to perform a huge crowd and feel like nothing’s weighing me down — it’s the same as when talking to a group of people...

If you had a message for your younger self, what would you hope to relay unto your more confused adolescence? What is it you wish you could have known, could have been taught earlier?

People always have something to say with whatever you do. Don’t let that change the way you perceive yourself and the world.

Follow Ruru on Twitter and Instagram

Listen on Soundcloud

[daggerzine]

Twin City revolt! A chat with Christian from Minneapolis label mpls ltd.

It was September 2019 and I was at my first Gonerfest in Memphis. I had posted a few pics of the bands I’d seen when a pal from Mpls named Amy messages back, “Oh, my friend Christian is there. You and he should really meet since you’re both huge music fans!” Within the next hour Christian Fritz and I were face to face and chatting music.

Not only did we like a lot of the same bands/labels/scenes (namely Sarah Records, C86, Flying Nun, to name but a few) but he told me that he had a label as well, one called mpls ltd. He was nice enough to send me a bevy of records that he’d released and it was everything from cheery/noisy indie rockers Sass to tripped out freaks like Flavor Crystals and everything in between. Yes, Christian is documenting the varied and talented music scene in the Twin Cities and beyond. Read the interview, check out some of his bands (or all of ‘em) and you may learn a thing or two and discover a new favorite. After all he is “Bringing the sounds of Minneapolis to the world, and the sounds of the world to Minneapolis.”

 When did the music bug first hit you? Was there much music in your house growing up?

It goes back literally as far as I can remember. My mom gave me a Singer tabletop record player that she got with her sewing machine when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. My dad’s albums were off limits, but he had a box with maybe a couple of hundred ‘60s pop and country 45s that I would play for hours at a time. I used to tell everybody that record player was my best friend which would terrify my parents.

 Do you remember the first record you ever bought?

I grew up in rural Minnesota, and the first two 7”s I bought together with my own money at the local Ben Franklin were John Lennon’s “Nobody Told Me” and Nena’s “99 Luftballoons.”

 First concert? First indie/punk show?

Probably my first live music experience was seeing Billy Joe Royal of “Down in the Boondocks” fame with my family during one of our outings to the Minnesota State Fair at one of the free stages there, but my first real show was seeing Sonic Youth on the Daydream Nation tour at First Avenue when I was 16. It was my first time being in downtown Minneapolis, and the entire experience was mesmerizing for this young rural hillbilly. My friends and I worked our way to the front, and Kim Gordon stomped on my hand when I idiotically tried to reach for her bass pedal mid-set (I totally deserved it and wore that bruise like a badge of honor for days). One of my friends got kicked out for violating First Avenue’s then “stage dive three times and you’re out” policy. While in retrospect I cringe at a lot of my behavior that night, it was also when I finally discovered a world I hoped to be a part of really did exist.

 Tell us about the beginnings of the label, when did it start and why? How did you decide on the name?

For as long as I have been in love with music, I have also wanted to make records. I even remember drawing records with crayons at an early age and trying to figure out a way to make them play (unsuccessfully). When I was in college at Saint Cloud State University in the early ‘90s, I tried my first attempt at starting a label called Timbre and released a 7'' by a local punk band called The Nothingheads. I was contacted by someone in Seattle who said they already had that label name (to this day I have never seen a release), so I changed it to Idyllwise which was a word I made up so that nobody else could take it. Josh Koch from Saint Cloud had moved to Australia and joined the band Patterson’s Curse with Matty Whittle who was in God and Greg Bainbridge who had played with Kim Salmon, so I jumped at the chance to release their debut EP in the States. Future releases were in the works from Minnesota bands Chast and Silver Rocket Band but I really had no idea what I was doing, got in way over my head, and the whole thing fell apart.

Flash forward to 1999: I had been working on my own breakbeat tracks, and decided to surprise some friends and make a professional looking demo by having a 7” pressed. Even though I had no intention of launching a label, I wanted the record to look like it was on one. I was listening to a lot of 70s soul on Philadelphia International at that time, and it occurred to me that I was living in Minneapolis and I didn’t have any money. Hence, “mpls ltd” (Minneapolis Limited) was born.

Although I was involved with a few releases, things didn’t really evolve from “vanity project” to “label” until 2004. My good friend Vince Caro had just finished recording his band Basement Apartment’s latest album “Transistor!” and asked if he could use the mpls ltd name just to have the CD released on a “label.” I asked to hear it first.  We were listening to it in my living room and were probably somewhere around track #5 when I knew I wanted to be involved, and asked if we could partner together on the release. That changed everything.

 Were there other labels out there that influenced you to start a label?

Princeton Minnesota had a short-lived gem of an independent record store when I was in high school called McCarty Music that really didn’t fit the community, but I was so glad it was there for as long as it was. Carolyn who ran the store introduced me to the sounds of many brilliant bands on labels like 4AD, SST, and Touch and Go. Also as soon as we got driver’s licenses, my friends and I would drive from Princeton to Minneapolis just to go to Northern Lights or Let It Be Records any chance we got. I loved how those breathtaking early Sarah Records 7”s all included postcards with pictures from Bristol, and I would also buy anything on Creation that I could get my hands on. The brilliant bands from all over this earth that somehow found their way to Homestead Records before the days of the internet also had a major impact on me, in that “someday I hope I can do this too!”

 How many releases does Mpls Ltd have so far?

52 as of the end of 2020, plus seven 7”s from a short-lived “super split singles club.”

 How did you get the records out to the world in the beginning (and even now)? Distribution?

In addition to my primitive website, I spent a lot of time in the early days pleading with places like Carrot Top and Parasol to carry my releases with mixed results. When Flavor Crystals opened for The Brian Jonestown Massacre on their 2009 US tour, distributors from the UK and Europe started approaching me. Before the Bandcamp era, it felt like my bands could focus on tour sales and I could focus on retail. Now the artists and I discuss how our overall strategy is going to work before we do each release.

 Weirdest/worst review one of your records ever got?

I can’t think of any that were terrible, but there were definitely some that were weird. The most recent one that comes to mind was Razorcake’s review of Partition’s “Prodigal Gun” last year. I was stunned when it was reviewed by Rev. Nørb of Maximum Rocknroll fame, but he talked a lot about how purple the vinyl and artwork was, with quotes: “I personally think this record is somewhat cool because it’s so purple, but I realize your situation might be entirely different”  and “This vinyl is seriously the purplest vinyl I’ve ever seen in my life. Don’t be surprised if they find Barney dead at the bottom of the vinyl vat.” (He did also say “this sounds kinda like a cross between Exene Cervenka and Kathleen Hanna fronting Flipper” which spoke to me.)

 Are all the acts on the label from the Twin Cities or at least Minnesota?

While the label has a stronger Minnesota representation, I’ve released records from bands all over including UK act The Projects whose members included Mira Aroyo of Ladytron, Scotland’s Abagail Grey who was produced by Chris Geddes of Belle & Sebastian and Tony Doogan, and even a 7” from Damo Suzuki of Can.

 How do you explain the plethora of great Twin Cities bands over the years?

The amount of amazing music that comes from here past and present is kind of insane! While the Twin Cities Metro is a large area, it’s also small enough where it’s easy to make friends with people in the music scene here. I moved to Minneapolis in 1995 after doing five years of college radio at KVSC, so I was already a superfan of many local bands including The Hang Ups, Babes in Toyland, and Saucer when I arrived. I never imagined getting to be good friends with some of those members. Witnessing the evolution of Real Numbers, I shouldn’t have been surprised as I was to eventually learn that Eli Hansen is as excited about the whole Sarah Records scene and bands like Felt as I am. I got three original members of The Litter onstage at the Kitty Cat Klub for mpls ltd’s 20th anniversary party in 2019, and I am not sure if I can ever top that.

 Current favorite bands (anywhere…not just local)?

I have been very much into the new albums from Adele & The Chandeliers, Michael Beach, The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness, Flyying Colours, Moon Coven, and Jane Weaver so far this year. The Baudelaires who played several shows with Flavor Crystals on their Australian tour are finally getting ready to release their next record, and I cannot wait! I bought a ridiculous amount of fantastic new vinyl throughout the pandemic, and I am beyond excited to finally experience live music again.

 Five bands you wish you could release records by (defunct or not)?

Broadcast, Dolly Mixture, The Go-Betweens, Sparks, and Windhand.

 Any advice for other people wanting to start a label?

Always expect the unexpected (for example: the pandemic was additionally terrifying while I was waiting for test pressings of two records as I realized that nobody would be touring or playing any shows for quite some time), trust your instincts, and don’t forget this is supposed to be fun. Things will inevitably get stressful at times, but you will also learn as you go. In the immortal words of Gibby Haynes “it’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done.”

 What’s next for the label?

I am expecting test pressings for the new album from Minneapolis sludgegazers Another Heaven any day now, and there is a collaborative effort between Flavor Crystals and The Telescopes in the works.

 www.mplsltd.com

www.facebook.com/mplsltd

Christian and his assistant