BRBB ART POST: Where Magic Meets Rock and Roll
Title of Art: Where Magic Meets Rock and Roll
Created By: amkave
Artists Notes: So when the bandom reverse big bang was announced last year, I was excited. Since I got into bandom I've wanted someone to attempt a Bordertown AU. I mean, when a shared world has a tag line like "where magic meets rock and roll" how can you NOT think any of the bandom groups would fit? I mean, Cobra Starship was *made* to play Danceland, and I'd love to see MCR at the Dancing Ferret. I've loved Bordertown since I read the first anthology not long after it was published.
In my opinion, we saved the best for last. Thank you to the author for taking on such a herculean task (and succeeding so well), and huge thank you to the mods for persevering. With all that said, let me introduce you to Bordertown, a city set on the edge - halfway between the Faerie Realm and the World. The place where magic and science clash, where the streets are alive with music and art, where Humans and Truebloods fight for turf, and Halfies are caught in the middle.
I've wished for this kind of story. Well I got my wish! It took a while, but it was oh, so worth the wait! roxy_palace takes us on quite the romp through the streets and neighborhoods of Bordertown. From Soho to Dragontooth Hill. From crumbling squats and Mad River Water addiction to Trueblood politics. To music and magic and curses and everything in between. Its an adventure, and a love story, and a Faerie tale all in one. It is awesome - go read it!
Title: Bordertown
Author: roxy_palace
Pairing(s)/Characters: Ray/Mikey, Frank/Gerard (pre-slash), James Dewees, Bob Bryar, OCs, Wolfboy, Sparks
Summary: They left after Elena. She'd always said there would be a sign, and Gerard couldn't help but see her death, her leaving them, as anything but a sign to get the hell out of New Jersey.
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 16, 216
Warnings: Non central-character death, grief, cavalier attitudes to violence, threats of violence, drug use, drying out, accidental drug use which is central to the plot, cavalier attitudes to drug use. Happy endings in spite of these things - this is definitely not Dark!fic but the verse it’s riffing on is quite dark..
Author notes: This is a crossover with the amazing shared universe of Borderlands. Thank you to my beta, gala_apples, who knows canon inside and out and was able to guide me through the streets of Bordertown so i wouldn’t get lost, start a gang war or get dusted trying to go through the gate. There’s no way I could have done this without you! Thank you also to my first reader and beta defect_no9 who is always a joy to me. ILU, doll face!
To my wonderful artist: I am so sorry you didn’t get a writer who knows this lush and wonderful set of stories well - or at all. I wanted to write for you because I loved your art, and when I investigated what Bordertown was I realised it was a frikken wonder I had never read the books before. It is EXACTLY my kind of thing, and possibly the stories I have been waiting for my WHOLE LIFE. I have always loved that idea of worlds overlapping and crazy stuff happening in between.
Also, I was so stoked when I read there’s a story in the Borderlands series called Famous Last words, and also that you can get “dusted” going through the gate if you are not an Elf. AMAZEBALLS! No wonder you wanted a crossover so much!
I was fortunate enough to find gala_apples to help me out, with all the details of verse. She has been amazing with details and research and info about the Borderlands world. Also, she has been super supportive and encouraging, nudging me back on the right path when I wander off into some other mythos or get my elven/elfin mixed up!
Finally, there is a death in the fic, and some confusion about who is dead and a great deal of grieving, but this is not dark!fic and there is a happy ending.