#but it'd be one thing if a couple folks wrote to him and told him that his music is ass and then left

[tenitchyfingers]

so anyway people are always criticizing anyone who's interested in true crime but I feel like cyber sleuths should get a healthy dose of bullying too because like yeah ok you may think people who read and listen to content about true crime cases are insane (arguing the point is not in my best interest) but the fuckholes who'll harass people and push them into suicide because they think they know something they clearly don't and like they can do a better job than the people who investigate professionally? yeah no those guys are the actual psychos

and yes this is about the Elisa Lam documentary on Netflix

[cyrassol]

HI i wrote an incredibly self-indulgent avery fic instead of drawing the requests, here's hoping folks enjoy anyway!!!

Avery x PC — who will they believe?

pc: unnamed, no Y/N either. gendered terms "woman" and "girl" used, but no mention of genitals or defined pronouns. second person POV

avery: male pronouns, amab

word count: little over 2k

content warnings: mild violence (hair pulling, not the kinky kind), "whore" used as a derogatory term once, yelling (avery is ANGRY), typical toxic dol relationships, mentions of and brief (albeit graphic) descriptions of sexual activities in dialogue

description: y'all know the scene with high crime and at least a little rage!avery where they drive you to the police station and threaten to turn you in? and defiant pc claps back? yup, this is based on that one! PC is a successful phantom thief who slipped up, and avery is none too happy about the effects that might have on his reputation

enjoy!!! likes are appreciated, replies and reblogs even more so ❤

•••••••••••••••

There's no way in hell.

"What's wrong, my little nymph?" Avery asks, a worried frown tugging at his mouth as if he hadn't parked on Barb Street, a stone's throw from the fucking police station. At least his car windows are darkened so there's no way for anyone to see you from the outside, but if a cop decides to come closer and investigate then it might all be over.

How does he know, anyway? You've been careful, you've been so goddamn careful—face hidden, gloves to avoid any fingerprints, staying out of sight from any would-be witnesses, doing favors for Landry every other week. No one should have been able to trace you, so how does he know?

And more importantly, why does he care?

"So quiet, all of a sudden," he hums, eyeing a couple of police officers as they escort someone with the same build and hair colour as you into the station. "Nervous, perhaps?"

"What's this about, dear?" you ask, tone dripping with the same insincerity, because one does not mingle with high society every weekend without picking up a thing or two.

"I was hoping you could tell me," he sighs, finally meeting your gaze. His expression and voice are perfectly composed into faux-concern, but as adept as Avery is at pretending he fits right in with the upper echelons of society, he still hasn't learned to mask the rage in his eyes. "I've tried to assume you must have good reasons each time you reject my generosity," he continues, mask briefly slipping when wrath makes his voice quiver on the word 'reject'. "But alas, it'd seem I was mistaken."

He doesn't expect a reply yet, and so you don't give him one. You've turned him down here and there for months and while it's clearly hit a nerve, it's nothing new. He hasn't told you the real reason he's mad yet.

"Instead," he goes on, just as you knew he would, "I start hearing rumours."

Ah. Shit.

"What sort of rumours?" you ask, curiosity feigned and genuine at the same time—feigned because you can already imagine what they are, but you also need to know where you fucked up.

"A phantom thief," Avery says, reaching out to twirl a strand of your hair between his fingers. "Several of my acquaintances have been hit by this scoundrel. They say the thief breaks into a new mansion every night, leaving no trace except for emptied coffers and missing family heirlooms."

You won't lie, the way he's describing you makes you a little proud. It's concerning that your victims have connected the dots that you're a single individual, of course—the chances of you getting caught are significantly higher if they've figured out your modus operandi—but hearing yourself being spoken about in such a romanticised way almost makes you want to keep going exactly as you are.

Provided Avery's bluffing about turning you in, naturally. And if you've messed with his reputation through people somehow figuring out the girl hanging off his arm at social events is the very thief who's robbing them blind, unfortunately there's a very high chance he isn't.

"And what makes you think I'm involved in anything like that, babe?" you ask, perhaps laying it on a bit too thickly with the nickname. He's never asked you to do it, but you figured out a long time ago that hearing a beautiful woman half his age call him that always makes him preen a little.

Avery gives you a tight smile, and it's the only warning you receive before his grip on your hair turns to iron.

"Because, my little sunshine," he grits out through his teeth, "the thief happened not to notice a security camera on their latest little exploit."

"Fuck."

It comes out before you can stop it, but it wouldn't have been any use keeping quiet anyway. Not if you've been caught on a fucking camera.

"Aptly put," he says with a chuckle that's entirely devoid of mirth. "The acquaintance who caught this criminal on camera made sure to show the footage to a whole group of us as well as the police, so we'd know who to be on the lookout for."

"Surely the thief had a mask on," you say, because you did, and also because you're desperately trying to find anything that might give you the plausible deniability you need to save your ass. "And their hair was definitely hidden, too. How would they have been recognised?"

"Their identity is still unknown," he agrees, before pulling painfully at your hair to tug you closer until you're inches from his face and you can see every fleck of green and every speck of rage in his eyes. "I, however, would recognise that ass anywhere, grainy security footage or no." Avery's smile is all teeth and no warmth. "I fuck it every weekend, after all."

You breathe out slowly through your nose, closing your eyes in defeat. "And if you can recognise me, it's only a matter of time until someone else does."

"Good girl," he says, letting go of your hair. "We finally understand each other."

A few moments of silence pass by as you consider your options, and he considers you.

Finally, he turns forward, hazel eyes cold and staring straight ahead at the police station. "Tell me why I shouldn't turn you in."

Chewing your bottom lip, you study him from the corner of your eye. "... Have I ever robbed you?"

He snorts. "Not yet, you haven't."

That's good, at least you haven't made it overly personal. "To be fair, if I had then it wouldn't have been on purpose. I don't know where you live."

"Don't try to distract me," he hisses, immediately erasing any trace of mirth from the conversation. "You're a liability. Who's to say you won't get caught again? Do you have any idea what I'll go through if people find out I was the one who introduced a thief into their midst?"

You'd have robbed them regardless of knowing them or not, but saying that won't do you any favours.

"If merely knowing me is an issue, you're already in trouble," you say instead, and instantly realise it wasn't the correct thing to say either.

"Yes, brat," Avery snarls, eyes flashing. "That is precisely the problem. And right now, I can only see one way to solve it."

"Come on, they don't know who I am yet," you snap, patience running out now that you've already antagonised him anyway. "Turn me in and they'll know for sure that you've been hanging around a criminal."

He scoffs. "I'll plead ignorance, naturally. They have no reason to think I knew anything."

"I'll tell them everything else, then," you vow, because at this point you have nothing left to lose. "Every sordid little detail. They may forgive you for unknowingly associating yourself with a thief, but will your reputation survive word getting out that you approach vulnerable orphans so you have an easy target to groom into the arm candy you want? Into your perfect little sex toy?"

"Whore!" he roars loud enough for you to fear it was heard outside the car, and grabs you by the hair again. "You think you can threaten me?! It'll be my word against a random orphan's, who do you think they'll believe?"

"They may not believe me at first, no," you half-chuckle, half-gasp from the pain. "But once I'm gone and you've found some pretty little socialite to hang off your arm—because it certainly wouldn't do to hang around any more 'random orphans' for a while lest they really start getting suspicious—you know that won't be the end yet."

He opens his mouth to reply, but you don't let him, too incensed to stop now. "It won't be the end, because when that pretty little socialite is sucking your cock in my place, you can bet she'll want to see if those other rumours are true so she can tell her friends. So tell me, sir, when she runs her tongue along the vein under your dick and your eyes roll backward like I said they would, or scrapes her teeth just the tiniest bit against the tip and your hips thrust forward, just like I said they would, who then will they believe?"

For a few seconds, all that's heard inside the car is the sound of your combined laboured breathing. His jaw is clenched so tightly that it'll be a wonder if his teeth are intact after this.

You break the silence first. "Let me go, Avery."

His grip tightens for a moment, before he finally relents. He doesn't speak a word as he turns away from you, switches the ignition on and leaves the parking spot.

"The orphanage?" he asks curtly.

"No," you reply tiredly. "Harvest Street, if it's alright. Need to get some footage deleted as soon as possible."

It's not a request you'd ever risk making normally for many reasons, but these are special circumstances. He hums in acknowledgement, and the rest of the journey is silent.

Finally, Avery parks in an alley close to Harvest Street. The very last part of town that's still respectable, in case there's anyone around to recognise his car.

"Don't tell me where you're going," he says, eyes still staring ahead. "But when you're done, you're coming straight back here. I'll wait."

You grind your teeth, considering your options. He's obviously not happy and you're definitely going to catch hell for earlier, but at least he's not dropping you entirely.

"Twenty minutes, tops," you finally say, and he only nods in reply.

You're back in fifteen. Landry had cringed when you told him about the footage, and luckily you still had some favours he owed you so it didn't take much at all for him to assure you any traces of you would be gone from both police records and private security cameras by the end of the day.

"Will this happen again?" Avery asks, turning on the car as soon as you're back inside it.

"No." You'll make sure of it.

"You must be rather satisfied with yourself." His voice is calm, but when he glances at you, there's still traces of his previous anger in his gaze.

You really aren't. You got caught on camera and nearly lost both your freedom and your most stable source of income for it, as well as whatever weird relationship you two have outside of the sugar daddy and sugar baby dynamic. Avery is a nasty, angry man who thinks throwing money at people will make them love him and cares far too much about what others will say, but none of that means you want to lose him.

No, you're not satisfied at all. But you can't say any of that without reigniting his temper, and you're already on thin ice. So you stay quiet.

Until you notice you're no longer heading towards the orphanage, that is.

"Where are we going?" you ask before you've had time to make sure no panic would slip into your voice.

"My place," he replies, instantly flooring you. "After all, it wouldn't do for you to rob me next simply because you didn't know it was my house."

You open your mouth, but no words come out.

"Plus," he continues, voice far too nonchalant in a way that instantly snaps you back into reality. "You didn't think you were getting away with your little tantrum without consequences, did you? You're lucky I don't give up on you once and for all."

He only briefly looks at you before turning back towards the road, eyes full of rage and lust in equal measures which immediately tell you everything you need to know about what your next hours are going to be like. Possibly the next day.

"Come on, babe," you chuckle nervously, hoping to appeal to the lust you saw in hopes that it makes your punishment if only a little bit lighter. "You know whatever little socialite you found after me was never gonna feel as good as I can make you feel."

His eyes flash towards you again, but he doesn't reply—and yet that matters little, because that brief look was enough to know with full certainty that you're right. You both know damn well he doesn't want to lose you either, whether he wants to admit it or not.

Which he won't, but there's no need for it. After all, Avery's weakness has always been and will always be that no matter what words leave or don't leave his mouth, the truth never stays hidden for long once you look into his eyes.

[publiccmenace]

You weren't around then, back in the bad old days - no, no, I do mean the bad old days, the 'good old days' your great-uncle is always yappin' on about sucked for most of us.

Yes, they really did, I promise. The next time your uncle gets bullshittin' like that, you kick him, alright? Tell your momma I told you to do it, she can't take away my dessert.

Well, she can, but it'd be worth it. I can get some ice-cream later, when she's asleep.

Alright, enough, enough. Are you ready to listen?

Good. Let me tell you how it went.

When we found the rest of the universe, it turned out to be a bit shit.

We were disappointed, of course. Who wouldn't be? Even the most cynical of us had dreamt of some complex utopia, some strange spiderweb of joy spread out between the stars by some people that had it all figured out.

When we found the difficult reality, that the stars didn't solve our problems, we were disappointed. Your issues come with you, no matter where you go, unless you deal with them. It's absolutely ridiculous, really.

But, regardless of how stupid, as above so below. It was a right mess out there, the same way it was a right mess around here.

What was it like, to see it all from here on Earth?

There's a clip of an interview I think about often. Somebody from one of those news outlets - you know the ones, the doom-and-gloom, the only smart thing to think about the world is that it will never get better? Yeah, those guys, the ones your uncle is so fond of.

So, the guy in the suit with these white teeth, like I mean these teeth were whiter than... something really white, I don't know. It feels mean to compare a natural phenomena to these teeth, 'cause these news host folks are always such jerks.

Y'know what? Teeth whiter than a golf ball. Fuck golf. Terrible sport.

Oh, if I were still young enough to be faster than a golf cart...

Anyway, guy in the suit is talking to this doctor, right? And the doctor is this lady with this really neat accent, I think she was Nigerian? She just had this expression on her face, and I know that the reason she was here is because she's not afraid of anyone.

He asks her why Doctors Without Borders has started a space program, isn't it best to devote their funding to more... realistic solutions, all the leading nasty nonsense that guys in suits with stupid white teeth are really good at.

This doctor, she wasn't having ANY of his shit. She looks at him, waits for him to finish talking, and says "what the fuck do you think without borders means?"

They cut the interview off immediately after, but that shit went viral as all hell. I would watch it at night and whisper to myself "what the fuck do you think without borders means?"

That was the approach the Red Cross and Red Crescent took too. There were folks in need, so they went to help. There were a million and a half little things too, the Ocean Cleanup worked with the SCO - one of the star folks' projects, I think it was the Space Cleanup Organization? - and figured out how to put their systems in the stars.

They were workin' on fixin' stuff too, much in the same way we were working on fixin' stuff. There were a couple people with an awful lot of power messing up things, and an awful lot of very determined people who wanted to make stuff better.

It's also important to remember that they helped us too. A whole bunch of ecological organizations came down from the stars and shared their preservation and genetic technology, letting us bring back some of the things our ancestors lost. That's why you can see thylacines in the zoo, it's a breeding project to get them back where they belong. Your momma wrote an article for them, remember?

It is sad that they were all gone. What wonderful creatures.

That's just, well, that's just the thing about things being a bit shit, I think. We're stubborn as all hell and we want to fix them.

Things aren't perfect now. Things aren't even very good.

That's why you pack two lunches, to make sure that kid, what's her name, Mica? Yeah, Mica, always has somethin' good to eat at school. You make sure you're doing what you can and sharing what you have.

It's all you can do and it's really an awful lot, I promise.

Humanity has finally reached the stars and found out why no one had contacted us. The universe is in a sad state. As such, Doctors without Borders, Red Cross, and many othe charities go intergalactic.

[may-fanfic]

Don't Take My Sunshine

summary: love like yours was forbidden in the time period, afraid of ridicule that you both could face, you and wanda remain a secret.

warnings: mentions of old fashion punishment

word count: 2,330

masterlist

a/n: thank you for 500 followers! I've had such bad writer's block for the past couple of days but I hope you all enjoy this story.

((feel free to send in any request you may have 💕))

------

She was the sun, bright and warm whenever she wasn't around; your life felt dark and dull. You cherished moments spent with her, even if they weren't long. You knew she was constantly busy; even a second of her time was precious. When Wanda announced in a letter that she'd be around much longer this go around, you were excited when her letter read that she wanted to enjoy every wakening second with you.

Wanda showed you that she loved you in many ways; although the girl never spoke a word of it, you knew the feeling was there. It was too hard to ignore the chemistry that poured out over the two of you when you were around; it was impossible to ignore the pound and burn of your hearts when near each other. Love was a simple thing when it came to Wanda; she showed it in the way she looked at you, held you, and even sent gifts to ensure that you'd known that you were in her thoughts. Even when she was away, Wanda was determined to make sure you understood and remembered the inevitable feelings that you both had for each other.

Wanda often feared that if she had not been around long enough, your feelings would disappear during all the lonely days you'd have to spend without her, so she always went out of her way to make sure you knew how she felt. Words were never enough for her; she could never imagine the words that would seep past her lips could give her feelings justice, so she never tried. She never dared to let her feelings mutter past her lips in fear that you'd think she was being foolish.

You were the only one who truly understood her; she was only herself around you; god forbid anyone found out about her secret, she'd be burned at the stake, but you swore to keep her secret buried deep inside you till the end of time. She trusted with everything she had that you would keep that promise.

When the carriage arrived, you could feel your heart thump against your chest, all the time you spent longing for the woman, and now she had only been a few feet away. You hoped she meant every word she wrote in the letters; the purest form of hope was set upon your shoulders as you waited anxiously by your family's door. You anticipated for her to step out of that damn carriage, nibbling on your lip. You were excited to spend every moment you two had left together, hand in hand as she promised.

But, when Wanda stepped out, she was arm and arm with a man; he looked important enough, he looked expensive. The dress Wanda wore must've cost a fortune; you had never seen such luxury up close. Wanda's lips were painted red; they held a smile until she watched the way yours dropped. You felt like a fool at that moment, staring back at the young couple who stood tall. You couldn't understand the meaning behind all this, so you turned back into your family's home, leaving Wanda and your family to greet each other as you raced to your bedroom.

You were alone, drowning in your thoughts for a moment before a soft knock sounded by your door. You yelled for the person to go away, but they had not listened; instead, they pushed open the door. Your breathing was sharp when you met her gaze, your frown deepening.

"My love, what's troubling you?" she questioned, her voice sweet and gentle. There was a moment when all your anger melted away, and all you could see was her, dressed up all lovely. "what's troubling me?" you scoffed, your eyes watering and your lips quivering as you took a step towards her. "that man!" your voice raised as bitter tears leaked from your eyes.

"darling," she hummed quietly, her hands coming up to hold your cheeks. "It's not like that with him." she smiled down at you, her hands caressing your reddened cheeks, wiping away the droplets that pooled over and damped your cheeks. "He's like us," she reassured, causing the pound in your heart to subside. "oh." you breathed out; a soft giggle burst past her lips.

"I can't exactly travel alone." you knew that women couldn't take a trip without the assistance of a man; you hated that it never crossed your mind; you should've never assumed the worst. "I could never cherish another," she whispered before you could utter out anything else; the woman leaned down and pressed a kiss to your lips. It silenced all the nagging thoughts that made your head spin; all you could feel and focus on was her.

Wanda relentlessly broke the kiss, her hands caressing your face for a moment longer before she ultimately moved away, a tender smile taking over her kiss bruised lips. "We can't stay long; the others would wonder." you stood tall on your tippy-toes, catching her lips in a shorter kiss. It was almost painful to break away from such pleasures, but you knew deep down, wanda was right. You feared the idea of your family finding the two of you; you knew you'd be ridiculed for committing such acts.

----

Your mother was determined to find you a suitable man to marry you off. No matter the number of times you fuzzed and yelled at her that you weren't ready, she never listened. She was prepared to find you anyone to pass you off to, which is why the meetings and dinners occurred. You figured with Wanda as a guest, she'd push aside the thoughts of marrying you, but the idea that wanda found herself a man only encouraged her to find you someone quicker. It'd be a shame to the family name if she were unable to find you a partner.

The man was sweet enough; he was charming even. You knew deep down that he wasn't the problem, but you felt emptiness as you looked at him. It felt like nothing, unlike the swirling fits of emotion you felt for Wanda.

"I would like to marry you." he reminded, a grin taking over his pink lips; you cringed at the thoughts of being his wife, the mother to his children. You recoiled at the idea of having to spend every night of your life sleeping next to him. "I wouldn't." you spat out, giving him a sarcastic smile before taking a sip of your piping hot tea. It burned the tip of your tongue, and as you swallowed down the flavorful liquid, it stung your throat. It brought some form of comfort, the remainder that you could still feel despite the void you felt engulfed you like the black hole.

"Why not? I could give you the life women could only dream of." you could roll your eyes, he had nothing to offer you, and no amount of fortune could ever fulfill you. "I'm in love with another," you stated bluntly, shrugging when you watched the smirk on his lips disappear in the blink of an eye. He could be a devilish shapeshifter with how quickly his emotions alternated.

"So why am I wasting my time then?" you did not have any words for him as you showed him out, grinning to yourself when you were alone. The silence was so pleasing, you could finally hear your thoughts, and they screamed so loud for Wanda. She was all you could think about; you dreamt of her every night, the concept of running off to live with her somewhere filled you with euphoria.

Your mother's nagging soon followed the silence, but you drowned her out, your mind so far away that you could hardly snap back into reality; you were happy in your head. There were no troubles in the paradise that lived within your thoughts.

------

Laughs filled the crisp wind as the two of you walked hand in hand around the field of wildflowers. Nothing could disturb the sanctuary that had been built around you and Wanda. The town was nosy; anyone could spread the news that you found love in a woman, but at that moment, you couldn't care. Wanda turned to you abruptly, her hands laced with yours. You leaned up against your favorite tree, one your great-granddad built in honor of your birth, and smiled up at the woman.

"I could die today and feel so complete knowing I have you." her words filled your ears like music, all too rich. You squeezed her hands, staring up at Wanda with adoration. "I love you." the words seeped past your lips; you had written it out to her so much before, but you never spoke of it.

"I love you a million times more." her words left her lips almost as a promise, a commitment for eternally. You reeled the woman closer until she was only a breath away, catching her lips in a passionate kiss that would undoubtedly leave you both gasping for air. Your jaw would ache, and your lungs would burn, but your heart would fill so full.

A gasp sounded, causing the both of you to break apart abruptly, your heart pounding against your chest, your eyes wide, and your breathing uneven. "Your mother told me to fetch you." the stranger stated, his gaze moving between you and wanda. "I was not expecting to see such heinous things; your folks will be hearing about this," he swore with a look of disgust; you could feel your heart in your stomach when he turned away and began storming back in the direction of your home. You called out for him, moving to chase after him to stop him in his act, but wanda caught your hand, preventing you from leaving.

"It's no use, my darling." she frowned, her hands lacing with yours. "We must try something." you cried for her to figure something out, fix this for the both of you somehow, but by the look on her face, she could not think of anything. The truth was out, and now you'd have to face the consequences of it all.

You dreaded the idea of having to walk into your home and face your family; you knew it would end so terribly. You swallowed hard; your hands shook; it was fear that washed over you; you were bound to face your certainty. You knew you would be told that your freedom to see Wanda was revoked, and they'd force you to marry a man of their choosing, or worse, the two of you would be burned for expressing your love for each other in public, none of this would end well.

The house was quiet, and for a moment, you could've been fooled into thinking the man had never returned to your home and spoke a word of your affair with Wanda. "It'll be okay, dear," she whispered into your ear, but then your father stern voice boomed through the quiet residence.

"What is this nonsense I've heard?"

"Father, I can explain." you tried, dropping the woman's hand and entering the home completely. You felt small under his gaze; you wish you could melt away into the floor and disappear from your father's glare, but you couldn't; you could only stand there in horror. "Wanda, you must leave," he uttered, you snapped your gaze over to look at wanda from over your shoulder.

"I'm not leaving without my beloved." she crossed her arms, standing tall and bold. She had not been afraid of the man; she was not frightened of anything. She'd never let anything stand in the way of her loving you.

"She's not yours to love," he growled; the woman huffed, taking steps forward to grip your wrist. "She's all mine, sir."

"If you do not leave this instant, I will notify the authorities." she scoffed.

"Call who you want; it won't change the fact that I'm in love with your daughter, and I will be until the end of time," she argued, her hand tightening with yours before she pulled you closer to almost protect you from him. "You can't,"

"I can, and I do," she stated bluntly, rolling her eyes when he turned and left the both of you, giving her one more warning to leave. You knew she wouldn't go, but you needed her to leave; she couldn't be here. She could be hurt or killed, and you'd never be able to live with yourself if something happened to Wanda.

"You must go!" you shouted, ripping your hand from hers, watching as pain washed over her expressions. "I will not,"

"He'll kill you," you yelled, causing her frown to deepen. "I'll be happy to die for your honor."

"Go, Wanda! Gather your things and go!" her eyes clouded with tears, and her plump lips quivered. Nothing could ever pain her more than leaving you behind with such troubles.

"But I love you."

"And I do you, but you must go." you reached up, your hands cupping her cheeks softly. "Go for me, my dear." The powers that Wanda tried so hard to conceal had been bubbling up inside her veins, but then you leaned up and left her with a chaste goodbye kiss, and it soothed her long enough to prevent anything from escaping.

"I'll write to you every day," you reassured, wiping away the stray tears that escaped her bright eyes. "That will never be enough."

"It has to be for now."

Watching Wanda leave stung, it felt like a part of your soul and heart had been ripped from you, and now you felt nothing but emptiness; you were alone. Wanda was the sun, and you were a flower; you could never survive without the comforting warmth and brightness that the girl provided; you were nothing without her, and every day until you could see her again, you'd feel as if you were already dead.

[damnthatnoise]

Darko The Super | Of Dogs & Devils | An Interview

Hip Hop has long been about bravado, skill, and how your personality can capture and pull the listener in even further than just your skillset. There have been many an MC who’s personality sometimes outshined the lyrical prowess for better or worse, but when I sit back and think of some of my favorite MC’s growing up (Redman, Slick Rick, Kool Keith, E-40, and Del to name a few) the personality often was near cartoonish with no real effort from the MC to make it appear that way. Enter MC Darko The Super who since first coming across his music via Already Dead Tapes has oozed oddball personality, and ever evolving skills as an MC. Darko is no joke rapper though, instead he is adept at delivering some stark reality raps littered with glints of humor we often use to cope with the pain of existence. 

Fresh off delivering one of my personal favorites last year in the form of Card Tricks For Dogs, he returns with his friend Steel Tipped Dove to give us The Devil Defeated, and makes a claim as one of the indie hiphop scenes freshest, most colorful, and promising voices making music. 

You can order the digital, cassette and SUPER vinyl copies of The Devil Defeated here, as well as all Darko The Super Items. 

The Devil Defeated by Darko The Super & steel tipped dove

_____________________________________________________________________

Damn That Noise: Darko The Super. What’s the origin of that name and what’s it come to mean to you now? 

Darko: I think Darko The Super was my gamertag on Xbox Live before it was my official artist alias. I did two albums as Evan Darko after I seen Donnie Darko in high school. It had a big impact on adolescent me. The Super comes from another big influence on me at the time, MF Doom. My favorite song my senior year was "Dead Bent". I thought the ending of Operation Doomsday was really cool. The way it let you decide between hero or villain. I was big into vigilante justice at the time. I wanted to be like my favorite superheroes. So that's where the name came from. Nowadays it's just a name. More people know me as Darko than my real name these days, so it'd be silly to change it. Name's don't define you. It doesn't matter much to me. Though I like it. 

DTN: You’ve had a pretty prolific young career given that you’ve dropped 10+ projects since 2011, but when we were taking recently you said you’ve just now started to feel like you now know your voice. What’s changed in the last couple of years to get you to that place? 

Darko: Since 2011 I may have done nearly 100 albums. Most haven't lasted. I've deleted and erased most of my material pre 2014 from the face of the internet. (If anyone has a Loser CD, please destroy it.) I put out 10 albums in 2018 alone. All better than the previous. "Watered Down Demon Fuzz" from 2017 is the album I truly found my voice on. I listened back to "Oh, No! It's Darko" for nostalgic purposes and it seems more like a comedy album than anything, and not that good of a comedy album either. I was 18 when I made the first album I put on cd and gave to everyone at shows when I was starting to go out and perform. It was called Loser, inspired by Beck. Next cd I made was a compilation, also terrible, but somehow it's going for $75 on Discogs. I personally don't like anything prior to 2016. "Carve a Happy Face  on my Tombstone" had a few good songs. Those were transformative years. My perspective on life has changed severely. It's hard to be happy with things you create when you're not even happy with who you are. I think in finding myself, I found my voice too. Life will always be a mystery. But at least I'm more comfortable in my own skin at the moment. Therefore more comfortable in my art. 

DTN: Why erase the evidence of growth though? If anything that could show folks the rapid progression of Darko? 

Darko: I'd prefer to leave a better first impression. Maybe I'm too insecure to show people my progression. It's also just a matter of that not being the way I feel anymore as far as the way I wrote back then. 

DTN: Your style is a bit unorthodox in that you kind of dance all over the pocket of the beats, and your inflections seem to change at the drop of a hat. I know E-40 and DOOM are a couple favorites of yours but who else’s impressed a young Darko and helped give us the man we have now? Who made you say “I think this is something I want to do!!”?

Darko: Murdoc and MyGrane McNastee from Orlando, Florida were a couple of the first independent rappers I got into from watching the Wake Up Show freestyles on Youtube. They were big influences on me. From there I got into MF Doom, Madlib, and J Dilla. During the datpiff era, I got really into Charles Hamilton's mixtapes. I was a big fan of a web series around that time called Internet Celebrities. Through them I found out about Das Racist. I remember listening to them for the first time on MySpace. I saw Big Baby Gandhi in a video with them. Later on his Debut would become one of my favorite albums. I was really into going on hip hop blogs. I remember watching Open Mike Eagle rap "Qualifiers" in a laundromat and having my mind blown. He told me Serengeti was his favorite rapper which had me watching every Kenny Dennis video I could find. Dennehy became my favorite album. I got into Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire from seeing the Last Huzzah video with Das Racist, El-P, Despot, and Danny Brown. That's still my favorite posse cut. From checking out rap battles I got into Soul Khan who I remember posting about Homeboy Sandman's album The Good Sun. Blogs also got me listening to every Blu song. Her Favorite Color was something special to me. All those artists were huge in developing my approach. Nowadays my favorite rappers of all time are E-40, Serengeti, and Kool Keith

DTN: Card Tricks for Dogs feels like your most fully formed artistic statement yet and The Devil Defeated feels like the exclamation point showing folks you’re a real force. What helped bring those two records to life?

Darko: Both albums took a long time to come together, which usually isn't the case for me. I remember writing some of those Card Tricks for Dogs tracks while on vacation with my girlfriend and her family. I had tons of beats from my good friend and longtime collaborator Phil Ford aka BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) loaded on my phone for those trips. I started it shortly after meeting Steel Tipped Dove for the first time. I released an album of his on my label and he offered to mix and master some tracks for me. So this was the first solo album of mine I let someone else do all the mixing for. I took my time with it and let it come together naturally. I believe everything happens at it's own time. As for The Devil Defeated, that album started out as a project called Contemplating Lonely Stuff, inspired by a Serengeti lyric. It was for the most part produced by Height Keech and Steel Tipped Dove. Eventually I decided to do albums with each of them separately. The album with Dove was pretty far along in the process and originally I wanted to call it "Playing Skee-Ball With Zev Love X" but we both agreed that was kinda corny and not many people would get what we were referencing. Then I heard the news of Daniel Johnston passing away, who is a hero of mine. I listened to nothing but Daniel for a few days straight and a few lyrics in particular stuck out to me. The one that landed was "The Devil Defeated" another possibility was My Yolk is Heavy. Me and Dove made over 20 songs for this album and eventually narrowed it down to the most cohesive project we could. We'll be doing a follow up of course. That's in the works now. I'm very proud of this album. My favorite track is a story I wrote based on a song called "Suzy's Face" by my favorite punk band, The Spits. I had to convince Dove on that one. There's another track I tried to convince him about too, but that will never see the light of day since I ended up agreeing with him. 

DTN: You’ve has a chance to work with a lot of interesting and well loved folks. How the hell did the tracks with Lil’B, Charles Hamilton, Denmark Vessey and others come about? 

Darko: I did an album called “Thank You BasedGod” dedicated to Lil B. I produced a track for him way back in 2014. He reached out to me after TYBG and offered to do a track together. So I sent him a couple  Steel Tipped Dove beats and he chose the one that ended up on the album. Later I saw Charles Hamilton posting about doing features. I sent him the Lil B track since that’s a dream collaboration of mine. Lil B is a big Charles Hamilton fan, and they’re both internet gurus of their eras. Charles conquered the blog era by releasing tons of free albums on his own blog, landing on all the mixtape sites. Lil B mastered social media and became a marketing genius, even transpiring music. I’m proud to say the first time they worked together was with me. As for getting Denmark Vessey on the album, he had already worked with Dove and toured with my good friends, The Difference Machine. I was the one who showed them his album Buy Muy Drugs while I was out in Atlanta for a week. That album’s my favorite of the decade. He had posted about doing features so I sent him an email and made it happen. 

DTN: You’ve released a lot of projects via Already Dead Tapes as well as starting UDDTBA. What is the connection with ADT and why start your own label? What have you learned from ADT and how has the played into how you run your label?

Darko: Already Dead Tapes taught me everything I need to know about running a record label. I met them in 2014 when I sent over my latest at the time “Oh, No! It’s Darko.��� They were nice enough to release that on cassette. Soon after they invited me to play their weekend long festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I brought along ialive and we booked our first tour. Staying in Kalamazoo at the Knights Inn we recorded an album together and formed the now infamous duo The Hell Hole Store. From there we’ve played the Already Dead fest every year and I’ve released quite a few albums on Already Dead Tapes. U Don’t Deserve This Beautiful Art was grown out of wanting to support my friends and artists I admire. I brought on my best buds Steel Tipped Dove and Harvey Cliff to help me run things. Now the sky’s the limit. 

DTN: “Suzy” is life a very interesting record as is “lo-fi princess” off of The Devil Defeated. You mentioned the influence for “Suzy” came from another artists song...how’d this end up on your record and why? Also what’s the idea behind “Lo-Fi..”? 

Darko: During my commute one day I listened to The Spits first self titled album. I hadn’t played it in a while and instantly remembered why they’re the best. One song in particular stuck with me throughout that ride, “Suzy’s Face”. I decided to write a song building off of their track. Almost like taking a short story and creating a movie. I tried to describe in detail about why someone would shoot Suzy in the face at a high school dance. So that’s what I came up with. Lo-fi princess 2 is a sequel to the original from “Watered Down Demon Fuzz” both love songs to my girlfriend, Alora. I liked the phrase cos it reminded me of “Bow-tie Daddy” by Frank Zappa. Now that I think of it, an actual Lo-fi princess would be an anime babe trapped in the track art of a SoundCloud beat. We’d have to defeat the chill hop brigade to save her. 

DTN: You and iAlive have a really dope chemistry and have two very different styles but similar energies that work so well off of each other. What makes that partnership work and why’d you guys want to keep it going after the one hotel infused brainstorming session?

Card Tricks For Dogs by Darko The Super & BLKrKRT

Darko: We kept it going cos there were more hotel sessions to be had. On tour you’re on the highway with a lot of time on your hands. That’s where most of our songs and ideas come from. We set up shop where ever we’re staying and start to bring these ideas to life. The people seem to like us and we enjoy performing together. That’s what keeps the hell hole going. We survive off friendship and fun times. 

DTN: Okay sir Darko. You can only eat at two fast food places for the next year because you lost a bet. Where you going??

Darko: Obviously Taco Bell is numero uno, I’m a big Taco Bell enthusiast. Next would be Wendy’s, best fast food burgers by me, and they got those spicy nuggets. Plus I heard their salads are good too, which I would need a salad every now and then. I don’t think this is too far off from my normal diet. Worst thing that could happen is I have a heart attack. But I’m on that path anyway. Maybe I’ll start exercising. Maybe. 

DTN: What are you picking if you only have Thor and Spider-Man as costumes for Halloween?!

Darko: Spider-Man of course. I could pull off a husky Spider-Man. Family Guy made it look good. I’d need the fake muscles for Thor. Fake muscles never look good. I don’t have the luxurious hair either. 

DTN: What’s the writing process like for you?! Do you let the beat decide the direction? Do you have an idea or some lyrics written and you locate a beat that fits?

Darko: Either or. Writing always comes to me. It’s second nature. If it doesn’t come to me, I don’t write. That’s all there is to it. I only write when I’m inspired. That’s an easy way to go about it. My number one thing is creativity, I don’t wanna be complex or even an intellectual. I want my lyrics to be universally understood. 

DTN: So what’s next on the horizon for Darko The Super?

Darko: Next up I’m working on an album with skits from a comedian friend of mine. He does tons of great characters and videos as Hot Talent Buffet. I think he’s a comedic genius. I’m also working on an album sampling nothing but my favorite band 10cc, titled “Strawberry Studios Jam ‘72” and another album sampling one of my favorite songwriters, Dean Friedman. The Dean and I have a 7” record on the way with my remix of his classic “McDonald’s Girl” on the B side with the original on the A side. I have a couple other collaborative albums coming along. The artist they’re with wants me to hold off announcing it until they’re ready, but I will say it’s a dream collaboration and I’m very excited for it. 

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