#I’ve drawn em a few times .mostly in the left style I think

[footlongdingledong2]

okay having thoughts abt dronpa wonderland again and its fuckin. Artistic direction Okay here’s the same guy three times alright.

Left n middle images are two of my usual artstyles right image is my first and maybe only attempt at dongpas artstyle okay alright. Okay now I ask u this

[adrenaline-roulette]

I say no

Pairing: Josh Washington x Reader Summary: This takes place in the aftermath of the events of Hannah and Beth’s disappearance, and before the return to the mountain. I’ve been listening to, I say no from the Heather’s musical on repeat lately, and have basically created a multi chapter fic to go with it. I’m not sure how many chapters this will be in total, but this first chapter is mostly being used as set up, and introducing our lead!   Warnings: Language  Word Count: 2.5K+

Chapter One

Being the new kid in school is never an easy thing, starting part way through the term though? That only makes things worse. You want to say that it isn’t your fault that you had to change schools, truly you do. But unfortunately, that would just be a lie. There was no one else you could blame, not really. It was your choices which had lead you to being expelled, no one had forced you to do what you did, this was all on you. Starting part way through the term meant you hadn’t been given the chance to select your own classes, and instead, had been thrown into anything that had a free space. Which was how you had ended up here, sitting in a computer lab surrounded by media students, with you not knowing the first thing about film production.

The class consisted of roughly thirty students, all of whom had broken off into either partners or small groups, gossiping about what they had gotten up to during their mid-winter break. You sat alone, scribbling todays date at the top of your notebook, as you absently swivelled in your chair.  Straining your ears, you tried your best to pick up on what some of the surrounding people were talking about, though you were only able to pick up bits and pieces. “Washington sisters…” “-Police didn’t find any trace.” “Think Josh will come back?” “Hannah and Mike got cosy….”

None of the names being thrown around meant anything to you, but clearly whatever had occurred was the talk of the school. You felt almost left out, a part of you wishing you had been here at least a few months longer, that way you may at least know the people who were being discussed. “That’s enough, settle down everyone!” A female voice calls from the front of the classroom, causing silence to fall over the entire class. “Welcome back class, I hope you all enjoyed your winter break….” As the woman, who you now assume to be the teacher continues with her welcome, you take the chance to look her over. Dark brunette hair had been sculpted into a high bun atop her head, the hairs having been pulled so tightly away from her face, she almost appeared bald at first glance. A bright smear of fuchsia coated her lips, and you have to give her credit for that, it was a bold colour choice for a woman bordering on sixty… She wore a knee length, blue 1950’s style skirt with pale pink roses dotted around the edge, completing the look with a white turtle neck sweater. All in all it was an, interesting outfit to say the least. “Now, we have a new student starting with us today, Y/N Y/L/N please make yourself known to the class.”

Fuck, you knew this part was coming, but that didn’t make you dread it any less. Fighting back the groan which danced on the tip of your tongue, you pushed yourself up from your chair, raising your hand partially. “Hi.”

“Hello Y/N, I’m Mrs Hill. Welcome to our school.” Your teachers smile is all teeth, and you respond with a soft head nod, not wanting to be stood any longer than necessary. Mrs Hill returns to the board at the front of the classroom, marking the end of her greeting towards you. A breath slips out as you collapse back in your chair, causing a few sets of eyes to turn your way.

You’re perhaps ten minutes through class and had already zoned out, doodling tiny patterns in the margin of your page, when the door swings open and a young man enters, his bag slung over his shoulder, and a look of unease gracing his features. “Ah, Josh. Thank you for joining us, please take a seat.”

The man, Josh, looks about ready to argue with Mrs Hill, but quickly loses all fight when he catches sight of the blonde man sitting one seat away from you. The blonde was shaking his head no, while mouthing something to Josh. You couldn’t make out what he was saying, but whatever it was, it was enough to get Josh to stalk across the class and take his seat. You had chosen to sit at the back of the class in the corner, while the blonde man had sat nearby, leaving one seat free between you. Josh rolls the spare seat away from the desk, dumping his bag and flopping down ungracefully. He turns in his seat, looking over his shoulder at you, and lifting one brow, before his attention is drawn back to Mrs Hill.

*****

Two weeks down, and god knows how many to go. You had successfully done the bare minimum in all of your classes so far, much to your teachers’ disapproval. The only class which you put any effort into was media, surprisingly. Whether that was because you actually enjoyed the subject, or because Josh and the blonde man who sat next to him, Chris, were both willing to help you out, and include you in their groups, was still up for debate. “Hey, hey Y/N, wait up!” A familiar voice calls to you from the opposite end of the corridor, you turn to see Chris bounding down towards you, the man reminding you of an over excited Labrador.

“Hey, what’s up Chris?” You smile, zipping your bag closed, after swapping your books from your previous class out for the books needed for the next.

“I wanted to see if you had anything planned for lunch today?”

You regard him with raised brows, thinking back to what you had packed for your lunch. “Um, nothing special. Just the usual ham and cheese sandwich….”

“What? Oh, no that’s not what I meant! I wanted to see if you’d like to have lunch with me and Josh, and the rest of the gang? If you don’t have other plans that is?”

“Oh, um yeah? Yeah, that sounds really nice thanks.” You grin, before following Chris down the corridor, where he leads you into an empty classroom. “Right, is this the part where you murder me?” You chuckle, though you quickly stop as you notice a look of hurt flash through his eyes.

Chris drags his fingers through his already messy hair, an uneasy smile forming over his lips. “Haha, no. Um this is one of the perks of being mates with the class president.” He shrugs, flicking the light switch on, and illuminating the room.

“The class president? That’s Mike yeah?” You ask, expecting Chris to answer, instead you’re met with an unfamiliar voice in response.

“At your service, and you are?” The man in question bows, extending a hand to you with a cocky grin.

“Y/N. Nice to meet you.” You grin, fighting against the eyeroll which threatened to overcome you. It wouldn’t do to go rolling your eyes at the class president, that would be a great way to make him dislike you!

“So tell me Y/N, how is it you know who I am, yet I don’t know you?”

You shrug, resting your hands in the back pockets of your jeans. “The girl who showed me around on my first day pointed you out in the corridor. She said she would’ve introduced us, but didn’t want to interrupt your game of tonsil hockey.” Your lips quirk at the corner as you finish.

“This tour guide you had, was she about this tall, blonde hair, hazel eyes, and covered in paint splatters?” Chris laughs, his eyes now shining with mirth.

You nod, looking between the two men. “Sounds like something our Sammy would say. She’ll be along soon, and I’m sure Mike will want to have a couple of words with her about introducing him in such a way.”

As if on cue, the door swings open again, this time with Sam walking in, followed closely by Josh, then a blonde woman and brunette woman you didn’t recognise. “Y/N, hey it’s great to see you again!” Sam waves, as Josh makes his way over to you, leaning against a desk near you.

“You remember my name?” You blink in surprise at Sam, who simply grins in reply.

“Of course I remember your name, we don’t get many new students here.”

“Don’t bullshit Sam, we get plenty of new students here.” The brunette smirks, flipping her hair behind her ear as she sidles up to Mike.

The second blonde giggles, a tinkling sound which you imagine would get tiresome rather quickly. “It’s just not everyday we get a new student who burnt down their last school’s science labs….”

You bite your bottom lip, a frown creasing your features as you cast your gaze towards the ground. Slowly, you nod your head, blinking away the stinging tears which clawed at your eyes. “Right, thanks for that. This has been great guys, but I’ve got my own personal demons who can talk to me like this, I don’t think I need to hear it twice.” You mutter, pushing away from the desk and starting across the room.

“That’s great Jess, really, just perfect.” You hear Josh growl, and you notice the blonde shrink away under his harsh glare.

“Em, that wasn’t fair. And Jess, pull your fucking head in.” Chris grumbles.

You move towards the door pushing your way through, paying no attention to the two people you barge past who had been trying to enter the room. “Everything alright-” You don’t stick around to hear the rest of what the new voice had to say. You didn’t need this, all you had to do was get through the rest of this year, and then next year and finally you would be finished with school. Fuck friends, who even needs them anyways?

You storm into the bathroom, slamming the stall door closed behind you, and making sure to lock it, before sitting down on the toilet lid, doubling over and resting your forearms over your knees, then pressing your forehead against them. After a few minutes there’s a faint knock on the bathroom door, which you find odd, it was a public bathroom, why would anybody bother knocking? “Y/N, its me… Can I come in?” That was Sam, you would recognise her voice anywhere. You’re half tempted to tell her to bugger off, but she hadn’t done anything wrong, if anything she had been trying to keep the peace.

“Yeah.” You call back, the only response being that of the bathroom door creaking open. You can hear male voices just outside, but you pay them little mind, putting it down to students passing by as Sam entered.

The silence which fills the tiled room is tangible, and a part of you almost thinks Sam had never even bothered to come inside. “I’m sorry about Jess and Emily. They’re, well I don’t even know how to describe them really. Neither of them have a filter though, I guess that’s a start… They’re dealing with something at the moment, we all kinda are, but they don’t seem to know how to vice those feelings…. I don’t know if anything that I’m saying is making any sense. But just know that I’m sorry.”

You watch Sam’s feet pace back and forth in front of the stall door, occasionally pausing as if she were about to settle, then picking up their walk once again. Leaning forward, you unlock the door, allowing it to swing inwards. “I did it.”

Sam pauses, locking eyes with you and tilting her head to the side. “Did what?”

“I burnt down the science labs. Nearly got a teacher killed in the process….”

Sam nods, averting her eyes for a few seconds. “Yeah, I know. I was told before taking you around school, the admin staff wanted me to know that apparently you could be, how they said, unstable…”

Your head perks up at this, and you wipe away one of the few tears which had slipped free. “They said I was unstable?”

Sam nods once again, though this time remains silent. “I’m not though! It was something that happened, but I’m getting the help I need!”

“Hey, it’s okay! I never thought you were!” Sam moves into the stall, resting a hand over your shoulder rubbing her thumb in gentle circles there. “During winter break, we did something terrible… At least, I think we did. If anyone found out what we did, they would call me unstable too.”

“Wh-What did you do?” You stammer out, blinking up at the smiling woman. She looked far to innocent to have done anything worth being labelled unstable over.

Sam shakes her head no, the smile falling for a moment. “Not now, I’ll tell you some other time. For now, lets get you cleaned up, and ready for class.”

You take her outstretched hand, and feel yourself be pulled into a standing position, allowing Sam to lead you over to the sinks, where she wets some paper towel, and dabs it under your eyes, clearing them of your smudged makeup. “There we go, good as new!” She grins, balling up the paper and throwing it into the bin. “Ready to head back out?”

“No, but I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” You shrug, following Sam to the door, her hand resting on the handle.

“I’ll talk to Jess and Emily, see if I can get them to apologise…”

“No, I don’t want a forced apology. I’d be happy with them to just not bring my past up again.”

“Easy done.” Sam pulls the door open, and you both march back into the world of school life, the corridors were beginning to fill with students once more, and you could only assume classes would be starting shortly. Chris and Josh had made themselves comfortable on the ground, backs pressed up against the wall as the spoke animatedly about something.

Josh is the first to see the both of and leaps to his feet, grinning mostly at you. “Hey, sorry about the girls back there… They can be a bit bitchy sometimes.” He gestures over his shoulder with his thumb, back to the classroom you had all left.

“It’s fine, I know how girls can be sometimes.” You shrug, turning to smile softly at Sam, before returning you attention to Josh.

Sam watches Chris from the corner of her eye as he struggles to stand up, rolling her eyes as it takes him three attempts. “Come on you big oaf, we’ve gotta get to History.”  She grins, taking a few steps backwards down the corridor.

Chris seems reluctant to leave, but does so anyways, passing you one final smile before leaving with Sam. “Right, class. That’s a thing isn’t it?”

Josh smirks, wrapping one arm around your shoulders and leading you through the mass of students. “Mhm, it is a thing. But no one said it was a mandatory thing…”

You turn your head to look up at Josh, who had his eyes locked dead a head, his sight set on the front doors. “Last I heard, school in fact was mandatory.”

“I’ve been given special privileges due to, external circumstances. We’ll just say I needed you for support?”

“Fine, where are we going then Josh?”

MASTERLIST

If you want to be added to my taglist so you’re notified when the next chapters come up, just let me know!

Chapter Two out now!

[forgottenlivesobverse]

Q&A with Paul Hanley

In the first of a series of Q&As with our contributors, we talk to Forgotten Lives' illustrator, fan favourite Paul Hanley.

What attracted you to this project?

It was really just a matter of Stuart Douglas reaching out and asking if he could use some old art I'd done of the Morbius Doctors, which I'd dashed out ages ago. They were just small bust portraits, and I'd always thought it'd be interesting to design full costumes for them (and even a few console rooms).  So this seemed like the time to finally do it, being for a good cause (one of my best friends lost his dad to Alzheimer's at way too young an age).  

These Doctors only exist in a couple of photos. How did you approach the way you depicted their characters? Well, for the REALLY long answer to that, people should check out my Patreon blog, where I did a 4-part series on the thought process that went into each one: FORGOTTEN LIVES, Pt 1... | Paul Hanley on Patreon   But the short version is that I dug up every bit of ref I could (which almost turned into full-blown archaeology in Harper's case- it was thrilling to "crack the code" on that mystery, at least for the general public).  Then I imagined a personality for each one (usually without much talk beforehand with the authors, though I did get a few notes on Hinchcliffe and Chris Baker that I was able to incorporate).  I tried to work in as many crazy ideas and as much personality as I could, so that they looked like Doctors who each had their own rich eras with a lot of stories that'll (mostly) go untold.   When I was a kid in the 80s... stuck in a sleepy town in the US, pre-internet and with only one bookstore in the whole city that seemed to sell DW books... you'd see these pics of Colin Baker or McCoy but have no context for them because their episodes and Target books hadn't made it over yet.  You got some sporadic DWM issues with fragments of their comic adventures, if you were lucky.  But in the pics they certainly looked like Doctors with a story to tell, so I think I was trying to recapture some of that.

Having drawn them all, which of the eight Doctors is your favourite? Arrgh- I feel so attached to all of 'em now!  I guess the ones I'd most want to write stories for are Camfield and Harper.  Hinchcliffe has the coolest look. And Holmes got the best TARDIS, for sure.  I've had the idea of his rococo fairytale-style TARDIS in my head for ages, so it was nice to finally get that out.

Who would be your ideal casting for a pre-Hartnell Doctor? I think we'd still all love to see Richard O'Brien play the Doctor, right?  

What other projects are you working on at present? Well, there's my ongoing comic, THE UNTHINKABLES, which I started putting out digitally earlier this year.  That's something I make with JUDGE DREDD's Ian Richardson, and I guess it's what you'd call a darkly satirical take on the world's needy (and probably unhealthy) love affair with superheroes.  Every superhero drops dead by the 4th page of issue #1, and the villains and ordinary humans are left to sort themselves out.  We've got a Kickstarter for a "director's cut" print run that's on its last 33 hours as I write this (now fully funded and we're a few hundred short of our final stretch goal):  www.kickstarter.com/projects/uhstudios/unthinkables If that ship's sailed by the time this goes up, just follow the link on the page that takes ya to Unlikely Heroes Studios, our publisher. I've also got another series hopefully coming next year, MISS MEDUSA'S MONSTROUS MENAGERIE, that I co-created with my pal Matt Frank (mostly known for GODZILLA, MARS ATTACKS and a whole slew of other geeky licensed comics and art gigs).  It was supposed to be out this year, but COVID-19 nuked those plans. It's a comic I think the Who fans will especially love (it's even set in the last months of 1963!).  We've teased a few bits of art and writing out for it already, and the response has been great.

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (April 26)

I haven’t made one of these for a while, and after the first draft went and deleted itself, I wondered whether it was worth making another one (I make these primarily for myself then get really surprised whenever people notice these). During harsh times like these, I find myself being drawn to the cheesiest and the most cringe-inducing shows, but maybe I just like them because you can put them on double-speed without missing a thing because you know what’s going on. It’s like instant noodle broth: satisfying, warming, but you know it’s going to kill your insides with self-crisis. Seriously, I didn’t come to terms that I really, really like romance as a genre until a little while ago. 

With that being said, I want to take a short break from romance now. 

I often ask myself, “Why are you watching these when you can be watching really good anime?” Well, that’s probably because I don’t want to have my analytical brain on right now. I want to watch an anime that takes two brain cells to enjoy. I only have two. Once I garden some more, maybe then will I get into the stuff I know I will enjoy like Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Things that I just started but couldn’t get into

NHK ni Youkoso! (1/24)

For one, I didn’t want to watch this before because it would’ve hit too close to home. The show’s about a NEET aka a freeloader (not in employment, education, or training), and I’m... almost that description (but that’s mostly because of the pandemic). Really, this show is riddled with paranoia, and it wants you to really know that with its changing art styles to its cynical script lines to its main character honestly needing some help (seriously, he needs help). I read further (aka spoilers) and realized that I probably won’t have fun with this anime right now, and I will never touch the manga because that stuff is even more insane than its adaptation. NHK ni Youkoso is about people who fall between the cracks of normal standard society and their desire to seek their own normal by any means necessary, and during stressful times, I think it belongs on the backburner.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2/12)

After seeing how much I enjoyed Kakushigoto (which will be mentioned later, I just thought, “Wow, I want to see that other really famous work!” I didn’t enjoy it at all. I forgot why I put the series on-hold. It’s about a suicidal teacher who will stop at nothing to die then ask people why they almost killed them. Through a bunch of errors, he ends up becoming some sort of a harem king to his students (and he attracts the weirdos). I enjoyed the lengths Studio Shaft went to to make this anime appear the way it does (which helps in a lot of ways), but I just can’t continue with it until a much later date.

Appare-Ranman! (2/?)

I just lost interest after looking at the rest of the cast. I’m all for being vibrant and out there, but some of those character designs imitate more of a “racial stereotype/caricature”. I’m not saying that I dropped the show only because of that (I’m quite dense when it comes to that), but I didn’t like the characters either. I can’t get behind a show that won’t let me enjoy it a single moment over two episodes. 

I’ll pick it up again later (probably)

Free! (5/12)

I feel like they’re shoving fanservice a lot. I try to skip every fanservice scene, and I managed to watch up to episode 5 in less than an hour, and I didn’t even get through them all. But I will say that ending is stuck in my head now. (humming)

This show has taken me at least two attempts to watch so far. Let’s see how many more it takes before I finish/give up!

Darker Than Black (18/25)

I’ll probably finish this one for the sake of finishing it. I just find that the episodic nature gets stale after a while, and the overarching story is often disregarded. In exchange, we do get some fun side stories, character development, and world building, but I’d like to settle down too, you know?

Clannad (1/23)

Yeah, I’m doing that now. I’m going to see whether my feels bones are as strong as they were before... after I take a hiatus because I’m not sure if I’m in the appetite for that kind of romance now that I’ve watched two shoujo in a row. 

Sousei no Onmyouji (20/50)

I bet you, someone was like, “Let’s throw all these shounen cliches into a pot then see what comes out!” Bruh, this is bordering that story I wrote when I was 14, and I’m not even dissing this anime. I enjoyed it but need a break now. It’s very cliche, predictable, and honestly, I can see why it has such a low rating. Studio Perriot likes cutting corners sometimes with their long-running series (*stares at Naruto*), and this anime is no exception. Sometimes, it feels like a visual novel. “We don’t need to animate anything if she’s so fast that no one can see her.” Dang, but it gets repetitive. It also has a magical girl power that only works when the main couple does it? Cool, but that also gets repetitive. I just didn’t see myself watching the same thing another 30 times (at least right now).

Maison Ikkoku

I’m actually on the fence about continuing this one. It’s really sweet, but I’ve had my fill of romance. I have been wanting to watch some more Rumiko Takahashi works though. There’s no reason for me not to continue this. It gives me strong Princess Jellyfish vibes (which I should also finish). 

Recently Finished

Itazura na Kiss

Just... end my suffering. It’s not worth it. The thing about shoujo anime is that I watch it late at night when my brain is at its worst when it comes to analyzing or taking in any emotional circumstances. Then I asked myself, “Would I want any young, impressionable people to watch this?” And my first thought was “F**K NO!” This anime was an absolute trainwreck. As my Discord friend put it “It’s so bad, yet you can’t look away!” But what makes this anime unique? What sets it apart? It shows life after high school. Just like Clannad, it shows that life is more than your secondary education. There is more to life than just being a teenager. I’m not saying these characters ever grew though because that’d be a FAT JOKE. 

Episodes 1-13: Girl gives boy a love letter. He laughs and doesn't even want it and goes "no thanks". Girl gets upset. Then they find out they're living under the same roof after the girl's dad made them a house out of popsicle sticks (because the dads are childhood friends). She keeps trying to push herself onto him, and his mom joins in and is plotting so much more than you'd expect. The best part is that this main girl already has a childhood friend who's like "please marry me. I'll cook for you, work for you, take a bullet for you, slice my head off if it means you won't chip a nail--" then the girl replied by chasing after the guy who calls her stupid on a daily basis and genuinely believes she can't do anything. 

Episodes 14-25: Guy gets dragged to his own wedding and generally does not care for the girl unless she’s either not looking or is on death’s bed. He practically deserts her every other time, and we’re supposed to think it’s romantic when he finally gives a crap about his wife (even when she’s pregnant). The show constantly reminds you that even other characters have doubts that our main character cares about anyone other than himself and his aloofness. They have a bunch of missed affairs including a hoe that tries to leave her husband on her honeymoon to get with Mr. Aloof and a nursing student that genuinely cares about MC and the fact that her husband doesn’t care about her at all.

The moral of the story of this anime: If you chase after somebody long enough, they will cave in and marry you even if they don’t like you, want you, insult you, bully you, or generally show all the signs of an unwilling partner.

Anyway, this anime is crap. I can’t believe I watched it. I want those few hours back (I fast-forwarded a lot, okay?) I can’t believe I finished it. Looking back makes me want to press undo. Having this under my history is a shame to my family. Even if I was sleepy and generally out of it, that’s no excuse for choosing this. Sayonara

 I will say that Daisuke Hirakawa and Nana Mizuki did give good character voices despite the circumstances. That, and I haven’t heard from Hirakawa besides those couple of scenes from School Days (which... is a different type of romance), Free! (which I dropped when his character joined), that gumball scene from Jojo, and that introduction to him being the new Demon Slayer villain. I didn’t realize he was that old though.

Special A

This is one of the anime that my sister watched, and I thought, “I need to be reminded of what a somewhat healthy relationship can be” I wasn’t disappointed because the last anime left such a bad taste in my mouth that literally anything could’ve soothed the aching wound which was bad decision making. Even under regular circumstances, I probably still would’ve enjoyed it, but since it came at the right time, I give it an extra nod of approval. I also never realized that the second opening was inadvertently drilled into my brain because I kept overhearing my sister watching it. Now that I’ve grown up, I realize I was listening to the voices of some of my favourite seiyuu. Go figure. 

The story was really sweet with characters that I genuinely liked by the end (not my favourite cast by a very long shot, but it was slightly above average). It was slightly above average for me in a lot of ways (ironically), and it was enjoyable. The art is very fitting for its time, the music was very... ordinary, and the story was simple enough that you knew exactly what was going to happen at any given moment. This show should be titled: Special A(ppreciation for those brave people who have fallen in the friendzone; we’ll get ‘em next time). 

Akatsuki no Yona OVAs 

Unlike the actual TV series, this stuff actually ends conclusively without ending on the CLIMAX OF THE BIG ARC. SERIOUSLY, I WAS ROBBED. You can say, “There’s a perfectly good manga right there.” Shut up. I want my fight scenes animated with a big helping of a strong female lead. It gave me a sudden appreciation for Hiro Shimono and his character Zeno who literally just inserted himself in last minute in the anime (but these OVAs perfectly explain everything). You probably shouldn’t watch the anime without watching these OVAs because they’re canon, funny, and touching at times. It enhances the series.

According to the animation, we know it can do fight scenes. Give us another season, cowards! Actually, it’s Studio Perriot, so if we ever get it, it might be two stickmen duking it out. 

Haikara-san ga Tooru Movie 2

You know, I really enjoyed the movie. The first one. This one? Not so much. Actually, I felt so done. I was looking forward to this so much. It’s like going to a restaurant, expecting really good pasta, and then being served some leaves from the weeds out back. Eventually, it tastes better when you add some dressing and cheese, but it still isn’t a bowl of pasta. This show casts aside everything I like about it (present-tense because they didn’t kill everything of it) and leaves one little inkling of its valued ideas. Instead, we get a romance-chasing movie that feels a bit more like an amnesia fiction that’s slightly higher quality than usual. I can’t say I regret watching the movie. There were some redeeming qualities, but they jumped from a 9/10 to a high 6/10 that managed to squeak itself into an overall 7/10. 

(This gif is from the first movie, but I can’t find any from the second movie anyway)

Currently Watching (Not Seasonal)

Samurai Champloo

This anime is a staple of Shinichiro Watanabe, and after this, I will probably watch Cowboy Bebop, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy. I did enjoy Sakamichi no Apollon and Zankyou no Terror. 

Plus, after all that romance, I need some samurai slaughter. The fight scenes and the music get me every time. I don’t even need to say anything else about the anime. The fight scenes are enough to watch alone.

[happymetalgirl]

10 MORE albums I missed in 2017

Okay, so I’m feeling like a real numskull for this one here, not for missing out on talking about these albums in the first place last year, but because I already did a piece about albums I missed last year, and somehow completely forgot to include some of the albums I’m going to talk about here. Some of these I found out about this year and am giving my belated thoughts on because I think they deserve it. But some of these... I was just sterpid, and forgot to talk about them in the post I ALREADY DID about albums I forgot to talk about.

Anyway! Here we go, ten more albums I missed in 2017.

Arckanum - Den Förstfödde

This was one of the albums that made me originally want to make the first installment of posts on albums I missed last year, but in my infinite idiocy, I somehow left it out. And since Arckanum's mastermind, Johan Lahger, has now retired the project this year to focus on his writing career, I definitely wanted to talk about his last album under the Arckanum name. The occult mystique that has overlaid Arckanum's intimidating black metal aura from the start is here on Den Förstfödde as well. And this album ends Arckanum's artistic journey with such ritualistic and meditative tranquility amid the expansive spiritual darkness it conveys, and it does so quite powerfully, with a great, well-versed blend of slow-burning grooves and dark atmospherics to wrap everything great about Arckanum up in one final dark atmosphereic swell of slightly experimental, minimal, black metal. Another addition, a final addition, to the Arckanum legacy, Den Förstfödde is a grand and fitting conclusion to the catalog of one of black metal’s truly unique contributors.

Loss - Horizonless

I had heard a fair amount of hype surrounding this debut album, but I never really got around to checking it out somehow until earlier this year. A bit more of a slow drone-y sort of doom release, Horizonless is an example of something that usually isn't my cup of tea, but ended up being pretty potent and immersive. The band do focus on the more morose and mournful side of the genre, and they show themselves to be quite adept for the most part when it comes to capturing that doom somber. It's a sufficiently long project, but one that doesn't overstay its welcome, a good starting point for the band, but I think they are going to have to do some work on their compositional approach if they're to make a more noticeable mark on doom metal in the coming years. They have the sound narrowed down, and they do show some pretty impressive writing chops on certain tracks on here. I would just love to see this band take this sound to its highest heights with compositions that lend themselves more fully to the tone the band works best with.

Vader - Dark Age

This album came out at the tail end of 2017, and even though I was desperately looking for something better to end my year's worth of discussions on than Asking Alexandria's self-titled disaster, Vader's Dark Age didn't seem like the right kind of release (a compilation album of rerecordings of songs from the band's debut album) to end the year with. Also, it came out four days before the new year, while I was working on my year-in-review lists, hardly enough time to digest the thing and present my thoughts on it. However, as I've come back to this thing a few more times throughout this year, I've found the band's modern approach to their old songs an interesting alternative album experience at least. The steadfast death metal traditionalists make predictably little effort to shake up their sound stylistically, but this album, a rarity of its type, serves as a fascinating exhibit of a close comparison of old and new, showcasing how different they sound on the production fronts, where they differ compositionally, but also how the style of old would fare in today's studios.

Venom Inc. - Avé

I don’t exactly know what kind of Queensrÿche-esque split Venom is undergone, but I can say that this Venom Inc. offshoot has brought a more ambitious and refreshingly modern set of songs to the table than what Venom have been bringing for the past however-many years now. I have seriously not paid Venom much attention since hearing some of the goofy tracks off their previous few albums and giving up most hope of Cronos trying to seriously update his band’s prototypic sound. As vibrant and gruff as Avé is, however, it’s still incredibly drawn out and mostly just a surface-level modernization of the band’s evil thrash metal sound. Still, I appreciate the effort to bring a little bit of the kind of epic bombast akin to the likes of Behemoth to this album, and if this new appendage of Venom really puts its creative head down and focuses on trimming the fat and playing to the strengths of Tony Dolan’s gruff snarls and Jeff Dunn’s knack for groovy rhythms, they can make themselves a name to continue to keep an eye out for.

Godflesh - Post Self

I'm still not sure how exactly I missed a new Godflesh album last year, but it was pretty crazy last year; I remember only hearing of a new Morbid Angel album coming down the pipes about a week or so before it's release, so I guess I'm not super surprised. But either way, it was a pretty unexpected release, somehow. Anyway, Godflesh followed up 2014's fantastic A World Lit Only by Fire with Post Self, an album that leans a little bit more on its portion of atmosheric experimental industrial pieces than its predecessor, but one that is not without its infectious, beat-driven cuts as well. Post Self is mostly the expected continuation of Godflesh’s extraordinarily flawless industrial metal legacy. The ingredients haven’t really changed all that much, but they never really have, and yet something about Godflesh’s consistency remains admirable in a way that hasn’t staled the way the singular motives and predictability of bands like Slayer, Megadeth, or AC/DC have all transformed from selling points to fans’ clamor for something different. Godflesh don’t really deviate, and it’s perhaps because they have such a dominant reign over their musical territory, and Post Self is as solid of a reinforcement of their stronghold as any. All in all though, it's as solid as any album by the mighty and reliable Godflesh, and one I wish I had gotten to sooner before it started distracting me from 2018's metal.

Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon

The potential for a future, technologically induced apocalypse at the hands of AI seems like the perfect subject matter at the perfect time for a technical death metal project like this, and the sci-fi-minded Artificial Brain seem like just the group to make a statement on the subject. I enjoyed their Labyrinth Constellation album from 2014 for its merits as a solid, virtuosic death metal album, but I was looking for the band to expand their sound a bit more on Infrared Horizon. I don't base my critiques off what I was hoping for from a particular album, and I won't do this album that unusual unfairness here. But man did it feel like a missed opportunity, one the band luckily still has. They could have done so much more than simply spit out more instrumental prowess, which is fine and dandy by its own merits once again. But I was really hoping their expression of the celestial would involve more than the usual sustained dissonant guitar chords and their embodiment of the technological would involve more than robotic technicality. Complex drumming, dissonant guitar atmospherics, tasty slaps of unsubmissive bass, nasty snarls, deep and entirely unintelligible growls: this album has all the ingredients to make your usual techdeath chicken noodle soup. And that's kind of all the album amounts to, a slush of technical wankery. The few times the album ascends beyond techdeath's basic standards, it reveals the band's excellent writing chops and creativity, like the dynamic and bass-heavy "Static Shattering", that I wish popped up more frequently on this album. It's not bad by any techdeath standards, but it seems like this group are punching a bit below their weight, I hope. Definitely still worth the time to digest and appreciate.

Replacire - Do Not Deviate

I heard the hype around Replacire’s Do Not Deviate a little bit late (as in earlier this year), but I have not really connected with that hype. It’s an animated and dynamic progressive death metal release, but the sophomore project still has its kinks to work out, and I didn’t completely see what all the fuss was about. It’s definitely a cut above most of the techdeath crop, but I think there is definitely growth to be done upon the ground laid by this record in the small areas. The band clearly know what they’re doing when it comes to the basics of techdeath (as much of an oxymoron as that might seem to be), it’s just those few quirks to figure out and mold into an identifiably unique sound for the band. The quality playing and presentation of what Replacire are technically and imaginatively capable of does, of course, make a great case for the potential this band has, so I will be looking out for the mastery of the madness strewn about this album on their future releases.

Scour - Red

I didn't really pay Scour much attention when their first EP, Grey, dropped in 2016, mostly because the thought of Phil Anselmo trying his hand at black metal seemed kind of goofy and like something that wouldn't end well. I thought this project would fizzle away not long after this second EP, but that was entirely me judging the book by its cover. One day earlier this year I figured that since they were just EPs I'd check 'em out, why the hell not? And I was pleasantly surprised with both. It's not the most groundbreaking black metal around, but it's hardly the amateurish embarrassment I thought it would be. Even though the black metal vocal style Phil employs on here isn't nearly as technical as his usual melodic gruffness or even other black metal vocal styles, his continued exploration of different techniques at his age continues to impress me. And he still manages to maintain his unique tone and tambre while implementing these new styles. As for how it compares to their first EP, Red is rather stylistically similar and similarly compositionally consistent, but it finds them seemingly more confident on all fronts: Phil with his improved black metal screams, his integration of his lower register growls, and the well-versed band (comprised of members of Pig Destroyer and former Cattle Decapitation bassist, Derek Engeman, who brings that band's guitar style all across the two records as a highlight feature) with their more confident writing and bolder instrumental performances. This EP and the last both possibly benefit from the potential hiding of any major compositional incompetence in the consistently short run times of the twelve tracks between them, but Scour's channeling of the sardonic, nihilistic side of black metal with compelling conviction across these tracks is respectable at the very least. Scour is no novelty side project and far more than just a curious experiment for Phil. The group has the chops to justify their entrance into the readily scornful territory of black metal. Perhaps these short, small releases mark the extent of their creativity, but perhaps not. I'm very curious now as to where this project will go from here and what they might put forth on a full-length.

Amenra - Mass VI

I have stated don't like when bands name albums based on how many albums they have, but I should probably clarify that it doesn't bug me as much when it plays a clear role in their artistic intention as opposed to a lazy showboat of "look how many albums we've made". I don't mind Amenra's numbering of their albums as "masses" because they clearly put effort into embodying a metallic version of that traditional Catholic ritual (even if it's not as true to an integration of those traditional musical elements as Batushka are). Mass VI is perhaps the culmination of the band's work up until this point, with a steady improvement on their sludgy post-metal sound showing signs of crystalizing here on this record. It's not a particularly long album, but it does what it needs to in the time it has, and that is to set and maintain an atmosphere. Amenra do well to capture a sense of liturgical ambiance amid the clashes of sounds they play with across Mass VI, and they do well to expand on them beyond the simple fundamentals of post-metal mood-setting with some truly dynamic shifts between somber, sweetly sung ambiance and soulful crescendos of guitar distortion.

Heresiarch - Death Ordinance

This album is one I found out about this year, completely randomly. I was in a record store and I stumbled upon the band's EP, Hammer of Intransigence. I had never heard it and it was relatively cheap so I just went for it. I then went to find the rest of the band's catalog and found that they had released their first LP last year, Death Ordinance. The lesson from this I suppose is that I'm sure as long as I'm around, I will never find or cover everything I like from a certain year in that year. There will always be stuff I go back and find that I wish I would have known about earlier. As thorough as I am being this year, I'm sure I'll look back and find something I missed, possibly a favorite new artist I didn't even hear of this year. And that to me is wonderful, I'm so glad there is so much metal out there to find and enjoy through this constantly exciting musical journey. Death Ordinance is a meager, but solid enough gruff death metal project that focuses on drawn out sections of low-register guitar groove and bellowing growls to carry its dismal moods. I think the band will need to work on the arrangement of those grooves into more intentional structures on long-form projects like this going forward, but it's a decent enough start.

And that's it for albums I missed in 2017. I'm sure there's still plenty out there that I just have not heard that I am missing that I would love to not be missing, but for now, this is it.

[losfacedevil]

Untitled// Harry Styles

a/n ~ I suck at titles, but here are the drabbles you requested @siennarossi I love you boooo 

He knew her like the back of his hand, or so he thought. He knew her strengths and weaknesses, knew how much of a baby she was when she was sick. Her favorite book, favorite food, how she liked her coffee. Knew how much she loved to curl up with a good book and curl up under his arm against his side when they watched movies together. 

But what he didn’t know what who the guy she turned up to the party with was. Why she was making eyes at him. The same eyes she’d make at Harry after a long night of movies and cuddles. A look of adoration shot this guys way. It was then that Harry caved to the realization that his feelings for her were a bit less than platonic. 

Harry made his way over to her and her little man friend, jealousy bubbling in his stomach. He looped his arm around hers, tugging on her gently. She brought her hand up to rest on his arm as she finished her conversation. She nodded once towards her friend before turning her full attention to Harry.

“What’s up, Hazface?” She greeted, loving how his cheeks turned a light shade of pink at the nickname. His other hand came up to rest on her. He ducked his head towards her, lips resting dangerously close to her ear. “Come with me for a moment?” He questioned, pulling back to gauge her reaction. She nodded at him before turning her attention to her friend, shoving her finger in the air to let him know she’d be a minute. Harry turned and led her out of the loud crowded house, ducking out the front door. 

Harry pulled his arm from her and leaned up against the banister of the porch. Arms crossed over his chest and a look that could kill on his face. He nodded his head towards the door, waiting for her explanation. She quirked her eyebrow, shifting her weight to one foot and crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Can I help you?” She quipped. He nodded, eyes ablaze with jealousy.  “What the hell was that in there?” He asked, hand running back through his hair. “What was what?” Her brows furrowed together, her brain working in over time to try and figure out what she’d done. “Who the hell is he?” Her mouth popped open into an O shape as she realized he was jealous. “He’s my friend, got a problem, Haz?” She asked, shifting her weight to her other leg. He nodded. “I do have a problem.” She giggled, hand coming up to cover her mouth. “And what might that be?” Harry pulled his bottom lips between his teeth before he bit the bullet. “He’s not good enough for yeh.” He mumbled, rolling his eyes. She shook her head. “Why does that matter to you?” Now she was annoyed. Sure he was her best friend but who did he think he was? “Because you’re mine.” He mumbled, averting his gaze anywhere but on her. Her eyes widened a bit, her tone softening. “What was that, Hazface?” She asked, taking a step closer to him. “I said you’re mine.” He reached out, hand clasping around her wrist and tugged her towards him.

She snaked her arms around his neck as she situated her hips between his. His hands slid backwards and rested on the small of her back. She locked eyes with him, the jealousy he was harboring all but gone from his emerald green eyes. Her attention was drawn to his throat as he swallowed hard, adams apple bobbing up and down. 

“Can I tell you somethin’, pet?” Her cheeks grew red at the slip of the name she’d only ever heard him call his other half. Though she was no longer in the picture.  “What’s it?” She breathed, heart suddenly in her throat. “Y’know, seeing you on that guys arm really bugged me. Made me realize just how much I like you.” He reached a hand up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her bottom lip was between her teeth, gaze averted to the outside world over his shoulders. She knew how she felt, the feelings were mutual. But she couldn’t find the words to express it. His expression dropped as a sigh escaped his lips. His nerves were at an all time high, shy wasn’t something Harry was; but around her he couldn’t help it.

“Never mind, forget I said anything, love.”  He sighed, hands falling from her back to rest on his knees. 

She averted her attention back to him. The look of adoration he loved in her eyes. Her fingers tangled into the hair at the back of his head as she rested her forehead on his. This was the most intimate position they had ever found themselves in. His hands snaked back around her waist, fingers sneaking up under the hem of her shirt. 

“Yeh think they’d notice if we slipped away?” He mumbled, nose rubbing hers. 

She pulled her head back and looked over her shoulder. She shook her head before pulling away from him and stepping towards the stairs. Turning on her heel she held her hand out to him, staring at him through her lashes. 

“Why are yeh lookin’ at me like that, pet?” He mumbled, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. Could only imagine what she had up her sleeve. She pulled her hand in a ‘come here’ motion, waiting for him to get up and take it. “Don’t make me whine.”  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The little diner on the corner of her street was open 24/7. A quaint little place she always found herself in when she needed some space, when she needed to take a break from reality. That was where she took him when they left the party, somewhere they could be together and no one would question. A safe place if you will. 

They ordered some desserts to satisfy their sweet tooth and talked all night. Reminiscing on the past, discussing who they had seen at the party, mostly people they hadn’t seen in years. Somehow they had gotten onto the subject of the future. 

“New Years Eve is next week, I can’t believe this year has flow by.” She played with the spoon that sat on the table in front of her, trying to keep her gaze off of him.  “Was a shit year too.” He mumbled, an awkward silence falling over them. There had never been a time when things had been awkward between them, this was a first. 

She watched him out of the corner of her eye, playing with the rings that adorned his long fingers. A nervous twitch he had. Sighing she reached forward and laced her fingers with his, stopping his movement. His head snapped up, eyes connecting with hers. 

“You know it drives me nuts when you fiddle with your rings.” She mumbled, leaning forward to rest her chin on her fist. She let her hand linger on his for a moment longer before pulling it back.  “You going to Niall’s party?” He quirked an eyebrow, hoping she’d say yes. She giggled and shook her head.  “Probably not, I mean I just ditched my date for you. Going to a New Years Eve party alone is kinda sad.” Harry chuckled and nodded. “Come with me, pet. I mean you did ditch your date for me after all.” He shrugged, hand running back through his hair. She quirked her eyebrow.  “Are you asking me out on a date, Styles?” He shrugged again, tapping his phone to illuminate the screen. His eyes widened as he caught the time. 

“Is it truly almost 2 a.m?” She followed suit and tapped her phone screen, nodding as her eyes landed on the time. “It is indeed, I should be getting home.” She slid out of the booth they were sitting in and slipped her phone back into the back pocket of her jeans. She watched Harry as he stayed seated, eyes trained out the window. 

“Walk me home, Hazface?” She asked. Something he had done dozens of times. He nodded before sliding out of the booth. “Of course, pet.” 

They made their way out of the diner and started down the street in the direction of her place. They walked side by side, Harry on the outside and her on the inside. 

“Just in case some crazy driver jumps the curb.” He’d mumbled as he switched places with her. She rolled her eyes at him but humored him. His hand bumped into hers once, and then again. She looked up at him, gauging his reaction as she slid her hand into his, entwining their fingers. A smile slid across his lips. 

“Wanna hold my hand, do yeh?” He chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze. She shrugged. “I mean, what if someone tried to kidnap me? Wouldn’t you want me tethered to you?” He chuckled and shook his head.  “No one will get my girl. I’ll show em my mean face and they’ll run screaming.” He said, scrunching up his nose and pulling a face. She rolled her eyes as she shoved her hand in her pocket in search of her house keys.  “You’re something else, you know that. Hazface?” She asked. He chuckled. “Yeah I’ve been told that a few times.” 

He dropped her hand as they approached her house. Stayed glued to the sidewalk as she made her way up her front stairs. She opened the front door before turning to him, wonder in her eyes. 

“I’ll text you when I get home, yeh?” He called, nodding in the direction of his place. She raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you stay the night?” She called, fingers twirling her hair. She could see his cheeks grow bright red under the dim street light.  “Excuse me?” He took a step forward, not sure he heard her right. “Stay the night, y’know, with me.” His eyes grew wide, unsure how to answer. She stared at him, hope dancing in her eyes. “Are you sure, pet?” He asked, taking another step forward. She nodded. “I mean it’s super late and it’s come. Plus I wouldn’t mind curling up and watching a movie or whatever comes about.” 

She shrugged as she turned on a heel and walked into her house, leaving the door slightly ajar. She knew he couldn’t say no to a good cuddle session. He took a deep breath before climbing her front steps two at a time. Eager to see what tonight would bring. 

[rfsak2]

Cactus, A Claim

Here ya go! Hope you like it! This is set in 2017/2018 mostly in LA. First part is pre-album promotion, second is just after and third is early 2018.

Cactus, a Claim Summary: She is His. He is Hers. We are Ours. The Styles Warnings: Some sexiness and paparazzi nastiness.

It’s an industry party, some networking shindig Columbia put on so their signed artists could meet the label’s studio musicians.

She’s been to at least a dozen, if not more, of these functions and normally she’s mind-numbingly bored, contenting herself with nursing her drink of choice and hanging with the other musicians, chatting about current projects and life and whatever else, until she can sneaky away and go home without offending anyone.

This was different.

She shivered as Harry passed behind her, finger ghosting over the back of her hand. “Yeh look so fuckin’ sexy.” He pinched the delicate black lace of her skirt between his fingers and groaned lowly. “Wanna fuck yeh in this dress when we get back to mine.”

“It’s Alexander McQueen, dahling. You don’t fuck in a Alexander McQueen.” She smiled but didn’t turn to look at him. Jeffrey had already been very specific about the parameters of their conduct if they wanted to keep this to themselves.

No touching, no flirting, no long lingering looks. She had to treat him like she would treat any other client. Politely disinterested in talking about anything but business.

He grinned and stood next to her. To the outside viewer, they looked cordial, but nothing more. “I think the man himself would’ve disagreed with yeh, love.” He drew his eyes from the top of her messy coiffure to the bottoms of her nude, strappy Louboutin pumps. “After I fuck yeh in this dress, I’m gonna fuck yeh in just those pumps.” He sipped at his cocktail. “Wanna feel yeh dig them into my back.”

She sucked in a breath and breathed out shakily, “Shoe fe-”

“Harry!” Jeff smiled tightly at them and clapped Harry on the back. “I’ve got someone you’ve gotta meet, man!”

Harry chuckled. “We’ve been found out, monster. I bid yeh adieu.”

“Have fun.” She turned to get a glass of water and got caught up talking to a pianist by the bar.

“Jamie Schwartz…”

She frowned and turned over her shoulder. She smiled awkwardly at the blond man, 100% Nashville hipster. Made her wonder what possessed her to date him. They couldn’t be more different. “Josh McNeil… How ya doin’?”

He grinned and reached in for a hug. “I’m good! How’re you? You have more tattoos! You look… great.” She nodded, looking down at her shoes, and he sighed. “Anyways, I’ve heard you’ve been doing some pretty high profile stuff. Little birdie told me something about Harry Styles’ new album.”

She smiled and cast her eyes around aimlessly, catching Harry’s eyes from across the room. She nodded. “Uh yeah. Finished up little while ago.”

“How was that? Bit pop-y, I’d imagine.”

She made a vague motion. “I wouldn’t say so.”

“Really?” Josh grinned. “He’s a boy-bander!”

She frowned. “He’s a very talented musician who has made a lot of great music and will continue to make great music if this new album is anythin’ to go by.”

“You like One Direction?”

“You don’t?”

“Really?” He shook his head before he could catch himself. “Did you like ‘lem back in Nashvegas?”

“Ew… Don’t call it Nashvegas.” She made a face. “Yeah, I liked ‘em. They’re classic road trip music. It’s fun an-”

“It’s fluff music. Doesn’t mean anything.” Josh looked aghast and fought a smile onto his face. “Look, I didn’t come up to you to argue over music.”

“What did you want then?” She was still frowning and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry, eyes still on her, stalk a few steps closer, chatting casually with whoever was in his immediate vicinity.

“I was wondering if you’re single?” He shrugged with a small smile. “I’m moving to LA soon and I thought… well we were always good with each other.”

She wasn’t quite able to keep the confused look off her face. “Oh?”

He smiled and reached for her hand, frowning sadly when she took a step back. “Yeah, I thought so.”

She made a face. “Yeah… well. I’m not really available…” She shrugged. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“So you’re dating someone?” He looked disappointed.

“No… I’m just not available.” She waved vaguely.

“In other words, you don’t want to date me, but you want to let me down easy.” He looked down at his feet. “Guess that’s fair.”

She sighed heavily, a little miffed that he was trying to lay a guilt trip on her. “Look, I don’t know why you’d even think I’d want to give this another shot. We dated for a year and then you ended it without thinking twice. Honestly… if we’re being real, you lied to me for however long you told me-”

“That’s not what happened.” “That is what happened.” She looked up and caught a glimpse of Harry lingering against the bar, eyes still on her, dark eyebrows drawn down over a very serious glower. She smiled despite herself. “It is. And it’s fine now. It’s been three years and I’m more than fine. I don’t really-”

“Excuse me, Jamie.” Harry grinned amicably at Josh and stepped in. “Sorry, mate. Mind if I take everyone’s favorite guitarist? There’s someone she needs to meet.”

Josh scoffed. “Yeah, sure, man whatever you want.”

“Cheers.” Harry ignored the attitude and jerked his head toward the far side of the space. He didn’t touch her until he’d led them into a quiet corner away from the main activity of the event, pulling her against him gently and using his body to block hers from view. “Yeh okay, love?”

Jamie smiled and nodded, leaning against his chest to press a kiss to his chin. When she saw the red her lips left behind, she rubbed at it. “Sorry ‘bout that, baby.”

“I don’t mind yeh leavin’ yer mark on me.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, grinning.

“Jeff might though.” She triumphantly swiped the last of her lipstick away. “Not good for PR or somethin’.”

He shrugged. “Yer okay, though? Yeh looked uncomfortable.”

“Yeah…” She made a face. “That was the guy from Nashville.”

Harry sat up straight and looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of him again. “Wait, really?”

She nodded. “Yeah, Josh.”

“Josh.” Harry made a face, arching a brow and looking down at her with a smug smirk. “How did a twat like that get a year with a girl like yeh? Honestly?”

Chuckling, she swatted at his arm. “Don’t be mean.”

He grinned. “I’m serious. Yer outta my league which means that yer definitely outta his.”

She rolled her eyes but accepted the soft kiss he pressed to her mouth. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“And what did Josh want?” Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

“Asked me out.” She made a face. “He’s moving to LA.”

“He what?” Harry frowned. “And what- yer just his on-call ass to tap? Someone to pick up and let down whenever he feels the need? The wanker wasted yer time for a year and wants a second chance? What a fookin’ laugh.”

She grinned, touched that he’d be so aggravated on her account. “Yeah… my thoughts exactly.”

“What did you tell him?”

She shrugged. “That I wasn’t interested and that I was kinda shocked that he’d even ask.”

“Bloody moron, innit?” He sighed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Still doesn’t seem to know what he let go.”

“Someone may be blowing this out of proportion.” She snorted.

“The fuck I am.” He grinned down at her.

She pressed her chin to the exposed skin of his chest, cautious of the makeup on her face and the expensive green silk of his shirt. One eyebrow arched as she shifted through more of the conversation. “Said we were good together…” She snorted absently.

“What, love?” Harry sipped his drink, free hand in the small of her back.

Forcing down the urge to rub her hand over her face, she sighed. “He said that we were always good together and the first thought in my mind was… ‘you sure?’”

Harry chuckled. “Couldn’t bloody get yeh off for more than a couple times in a year, but yeh were ‘good together’? Bollocks ‘yeh were good together’, sheer bloody moron, he is. I’d be willing to bet that I make yeh cum more times tonight than he did the whole bloody time he knew yeh.”

“Haz!” She laughed, pressing her face against her hands. “How can someone normally so gentlemanly have such a dirty mouth?”

He pressed his mouth to her hair. “But yeh really like it, don’t yeh monster?”

“Yeah well… I’ve moved on, didn’t I? Onto bigger and better things.” She kissed his neck with a wicked grin.

Harry leaned down for a kiss, one hand fiddling with the lace ruffles that framed the neckline of her dress. “Too right. I’ll show yeh tonight… soon as we can leave.”

Harry acted unaffected for the rest of the night and she bought it. He was as cool as he normally was, cocky and slightly arrogant, secure in the indisputable conclusion that Josh- the guy from Nashville -was no competition.

So Jamie was justifiably shocked when, in the process of making good on his promises from earlier in the evening, Harry groped at her skin and gripped her hips with a possessive fierceness and muttered filth in her ear with a jealousy she’d not thought him committed enough to feel.

Couldn’t fill yeh up like I do, love. Not even close. Yeh were bloody made for me.

She’d been pretty, bloody surprised when he’d insisted that she look him in the eye every time she came, whether the first or the second or the fifth time, muttering gruffly against her skin that she was going to remember every single bloody second of that night.

Only me, gorgeous. Only I get to know what it sounds like when yeh fall apart.

She was downright floored when the next morning he woke her up with soft, gentle kisses to her already sore inner thighs and moaned his claim into her mouth as he finally, finally pressed her back into the bed and made love to her.

He’d pressed his forehead to hers, eyes soft despite the intensity, as he rocked into her as gently as he could manage as amped up as he was. She had buried her hands in his hair and gasped into his mouth.

“All for me, love, all for me. No one else gets to see this part of yeh.”

**

Jamie, honestly, wasn’t a particularly jealous person. She was much more likely to be sad, to cut her losses and run then she was to get angry and act irrationally.

Maybe that’s what made her a good fit for Harry, that she was rational enough to realize that he had never asked for all the female attention. She was sure he had revelled in it a time or two, especially when he was younger, but who could blame him? It felt nice to be wanted, didn’t it?

No, she could handle the flirting, even the blatant, tuck-my-underwear-into-your-pocket flirting, knowing that he’d never asked for it, that it was completely one-sided, and that it had no effect on their relationship, however newly defined it was.

It honestly didn’t normally bother her.

However there was one thing that did bother her.

She hated when people assumed that she was merely a friend. He could have her naked on a park bench, balls deep in her as she screamed his name, and some dummy would comment about how refreshing it was to see a young man and a young woman being such good friends.

It chipped at her self-confidence.

Especially since the press routinely linked Harry romantically with women he’d never even met.

Let’s let that sink in.

There were people Harry hadn’t even ever been in the same room with that the press considered a good match for Harry, and Jamie, who’d been seen multiple times with him in different couple-ly type situations by like the same five paps, was just a friend.

Because that was the only logical conclusion.

Because Harry fuckin’ Styles fucked models and not whatever the press thought she was.

Caught strollin’ hand-in-hand in Venice Beach?

Well, Harry’s always been known to be touchy with friends. This is just more of the same.

Harry could breathe in the general direction of Kate Moss and suddenly he’s not only dating her but Tyra Banks and Cindy Crawford.

He could be caught with his tongue literally down her throat and they’d just get an ‘oh… well, you know Harry!’

She just wanted to have some sort of public claim on him. She didn’t need to send out an all-points bulletin notifying everyone in the world that she was dating Harry Styles.

Just this particular waitress.

Blonde, beautiful, an aspiring actress from one of those fly-over states. She needed Michelle to know- to realize -that this wasn’t a business meeting or friend date.

This was date-date. They were a couple with every intention of going back to one of theirs- maybe hers because it was closer -watching a movie, screwing each other silly and then sleeping in the same bed.

“Yeh alright, monster?”

She looked up- she could admit she had been pouting -and noticed Michelle had fucked off. “She’s gone?”

He nodded and hid a grin behind his glass of water. “Yeah, she’s gone. Had another table sat, I think.” He winked. “Not a moment too soon, eh? My pasta’s gone almost frigid.”

“Yeah, she was a talker for sure.” Jamie pushed her risotto around her plate and speared a shrimp.

He reached the table and grabbed for her free hand. “Are yeh alright, love? Ye’ve been awful quiet.”

She squeezed his hand and shrugged. “Couldn’t get a word in edgewise.” She smiled. “But, yeah I’m fine.”

“What’s on yer mind, Jamie?” He lifted her hand to kiss at her knuckles and she wanted to sigh and melt and celebrate. “Seriously, love, I can tell somethin’ is botherin’-”

“Can I get you two anything?” Michelle gleamed and Jamie tried to withdraw her hand.

Harry didn’t let her. “No, we’re fine. Thank yeh.”

Michelle nodded, lingering, and Jamie was seconds from losing her near legendary patience with food service workers.

Harry smiled tightly. “We’re almost done. If yeh’d just give us a bit, we’ll get outta yer hair.”

Michelle nodded again. “Two checks, right?”

Harry frowned and snuck a look at Jamie who was suddenly very tense again. He shook his head. “No. Just one. In fact,” He pulled out his card and handed it over. “Just go ahead and close out our tab, yeah? We’ll be done by the time yeh get back.”

Another nod. “Oh! It’s so sweet that you’re paying for your friend.”

Jamie tried to take her hand back again and Harry held her fast, comprehension suddenly dawning on him. “Not a friend. She’s my girlfriend.”

Jamie glanced up from under her eyelashes and caught his eyes on her face.

He smiled and Michelle looked absolutely crestfallen and, despite the kindness her mother worked hard to instill in her, Jamie felt vindicated.

Later that night, Footloose playing softly in the background, Harry tugged at his lip and chuckled, the same hand coming to rest on her thigh. “There is something very satisfying about watching you get jealous, love.”

She groaned against his shoulder and swatted at his arm lightly. “Don’t be a jerk.”

He grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not. You’re adorable and I… just like knowing that we’re on the same page.”

She snorted. “And what page is that? Last I checked, no one was blatantly flirting with me in front of you.” She blushed scarlet and pressed her face back to his shoulder. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

“Love…” He frowned. “Hey, Jamie, look at me.” She peeked at him from under her eyelashes. “If it was botherin’ yeh, love, yeh could’ve told me.”

With a small embarrassed smile, Jamie ran her fingers over the back of his hand and shook her head. “No… I’m fine. I’m just being petty.”

Harry shook his head. “I would’ve made a big scene if everythin’ had been opposite and some bloke was openly flirtin’ with yeh and ignorin’ me. Would’ve been in a right snit.”

She chuckled and glanced up at him. “You are more dramatic than I am though.”

He nodded. “Does it bother yeh alot, monster? That people are always makin’ a pass at me?”

Shrugging, her eyes dropped to his hand again. “Not normally. It’s really only that kind of situation.” He made a motion like he was asking for elaboration and she smiled. “It’s the kind of people who assume that because I don’t fit their idea of what your type should be, that I can’t possibly be your girlfriend.”

“The one’s that think you’re just my friend.”

She nodded. “And I know it’s petty because I know the truth but…” She motioned vaguely. “I don’t know.”

He turned his hand in her lap, entwining his fingers with hers, and smiled. “I’m just waitin’ for the day someone declares me not good enough for yeh.”

She snorted. “Not likely to happen, baby.”

He grinned at her. “Renowned guitarist Jamie Schwartz seen gallivanting with boy-band boy-toy Harry Styles.”

She giggled. “I’m not a renowned anything.” He made a face. “Do yeh know how many times I heard yer name mentioned before I met yeh?” She shook her head and he squeezed her hand. “Me neither but it was enough that if 1D didn’t already have a band, I have no doubt that someone would’ve suggested bringing yeh in. Jeff Bhasker used to mention yeh at least once or twice on every record he worked on. ‘Jesus, if Jamie were here, she’d get what I was saying’ ‘Maybe I can send the melody to Jamie. Something’s not quite right.’ Seriously, yer clearly his favorite guitarist.”

He smiled. “We used to sit around and make up stories about yeh. ‘Jamie Schwartz is fluent in Bhasker and has a masters in figuring shit out.’ ‘If Jamie were here, she could play the melody with one hand and pilot a plane with the other.’ It was like yeh were some sort of guitar god, some unachievable paragon. Used to drive Niall mad that he hadn’t met yeh. We all thought that Jeff should set yeh two up and yeh could have crazy talented guitar prodigies.” He winked. “Come t’think of it… Kinda glad he didn’t now though… hindsight is twenty/twenty.”

She collapsed back against the couch, giggling. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.”

He shrugged and brought her hand to his mouth. “It’s true though, love.”

Jamie leaned forward to press a kiss to his knuckle. “I don’t want to be renowned, really. I just… I don’t like feeling like I’m not measuring up to a standard. I don’t like feeling like I’m underwhelming people.”

He shook his head. “Yeh don’t. Anyone who is underwhelmed by yeh has their head up their ass.”

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him, sucking his bottom lip in between hers. “Thank you, baby.”

He nodded absently, gasping almost silently into her mouth. She kissed him again, pressing him back against the couch and following him down.

Groaning as she settled against his hips, Harry smiled softly, eyes tracing over her face. “Yer so beautiful, love. Don’t get why yeh would think anyone would be underwhelmed by yeh.”

She blushed and leaned down to kiss him, hands smoothing down his chest as his own lift to frame her face. She pulled away minutely, biting her lip. “Let me take care of you tonight.”

Rolling her hips against his, she pushed her fingers through his hair and tugged gently.

He moaned and nodded as his hands left her face and grasped at her hips. “Betta get naked then.”

**

“Hey Harry!” The paps shouted and scrambled after them.

Harry sucked at his teeth and frowned, hand low on Jamie’s back as he propelled Jamie through the growing crowd.

“Jamie, when are you gonna release a sex tape? The whole world wants to know how Harry fuc-”

Harry turned and pegged the leering man with a hard glare. “Don’t ever speak t’her that way again.”

Another pap scoffed and snapped a picture in his face, the flash temporarily blinding him. “Harry, give us a little preview, eh? Show us how yeh kiss yer girl.”

Jamie sneered and wrapped her arm around his waist, trying to get him to start moving forward again. “C’mon, baby.”

“Bet she sounds real good moanin’ that in your ear, huh, chief?”

Harry’s jaw tightened and Jamie’s hugged him to her.

“She’s a sexy little thing, Harry. All tits and ass. That what you like?”

Every question, every jibe ratcheted up the tension until she was sure he was about to snap. The added pressure of a crowd populated with both paparazzi and bystanders who were doing nothing to help, made it almost certain that he was going to lose his normally unflappable temper.

“You an ass man or a tits man, Haz?”

“She call you Da-”

Suddenly a hand wrapped around her bicep, jerking her backward and almost off her feet. She had the brief fleeting thought, hilariously, that it was good she was wearing flat boots, before she stumbled back a few steps and yelped.

Steadying herself, she had only just looked up, searching for Harry, when a long, lean arm locked around her waist and pulled her into a firm chest. She caught a lungful of Tom Ford and sighed into his skin.

“Are yeh okay? Jamie?” His free hand cupped the back her head and she nodded.

The crowd erupted. Bystanders yelling at the paps, the paps screaming back, Harry growling into his cell as he kept her tucked close to him and tried to make for the closest wall.

Seconds that felt like hours passed and she could hear Brandon hollering over the crowd. It took a further ten minutes to get clear of the crowd and into the Rover, but Jamie felt like the closing thud of the door sounded like an iron weight being dropped from her shoulders. She cursed under her breath and pressed herself as close to Harry as possible, his hand clutched hers desperately and he sucked in a deep, stuttering breath.

“If yeh want t’leave me, I understand.”

She froze, forgetting even to breathe. “What?”

He cursed and she looked up in time to catch him, brushing a tear away almost brutally. “Yeh don’t deserve gettin’ treated like this, Jamie.” He shook his head and tried to pull his hand away. “Don’t deserve it. Yeh deserve a man who can take care a’yeh, can protect yeh. Doesn’t get yeh mixed up in this shit in the first place. I’m sorry, love. So fookin’ sorry.”

She shook her head, pushed herself up, knees on the seat, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tried to gently push her away but she didn’t let him, desperately clinging to him. “That’s the stupidest load of horse shit I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”

“Yeh were assaulted, Jamie!” He tried again to push her away. “Someone put their hands on yeh.”

“And I’m supposed to want to leave you because of that?” She shook her head. “Fuck that. I’m not leavin’.”

“Love-” He choked on another stuttering breath and she squeezed him to her. “Love, yeh were assaulted and I couldn’t do anythin’. He yanked yeh right out of my arms and I didn’t do anythin’.”

“That’s not true, Harry. You stood up for me when they first started being nasty and then, when it all went fuckin’ nuts, you protected me. I was there, baby. I remember.”

“Lot of good it bloody well did. Yeh could’ve been hurt, love.”

“But I wasn’t. Because you were there and you protected me.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and came away salty. “I’m not leavin’ you, Harry Edward Styles. Not now and not ever. ‘Specially not because some asshole paps were being- shockingly enough -assholes. You’re stuck with me.”

He sighed heavily. “Love-”

She shook her head. “You are mine, I’m yours and we are so far past the cut-and-run stage in our relationship, Harry. You want me gone, you better go get a crowbar.”

He chuckled wetly and wrapped himself around her. “Of course, I don’t want yeh gone, Monster. I love yeh.”

She smiled into his neck and nodded. “Good. I love you too.”

“We need to get yeh moved in to my house as soon as possible and from now on, yeh gotta take one of the guys with you whenever yeh can. I know that’s not what yeh want, love, but-”

“It’s fine. I can deal.” She leaned back and smiled down at him. “You’re worth it, baby.”

A Negotiation Up Next: A Display

[melorsomething]

Crystal Clear | Chapter 1 | Have Faith

Next Chapter ->

I decided to start uploading chapters to tumblr as well, since some people prefer it to ao3. I've included the summary in this one to get you started ;)

For all its presence in everyday life, the inhabitants of the Spiral must admit that they hardly know anything about magic. Summoning spells are child's play compared to the potential power this force could hold, but they remain the most common and thoroughly explored facet of magic in every world. Why? Could it be that magic's true power cannot be grasped by even the most brilliant of the mere mortal minds? Or are these mere mortal minds reluctant to push further, for fear of what form this true power may take?

As two young wizards are sucked into a mysterious adventure and a search for answers, they find that the real answers might, in fact, fall from the sky.

“Ugh, Ange, we might as well just quit.”

“Wha- Moira? We made it to the finals; why would we quit?”

The redhead stared, openmouthed, at her teammate. “Are you joking? Have you seen this?” she asked, waving her hand at the paper tacked on the wall. “We’re up against Cassandra and Jonathan. They’re undefeated.”

“So are we.”

Incredulity flooded Moira’s expression as she fumbled for words. “We- no- that- that’s because we’ve never entered a tournament before! We can’t lose at something we don’t do!”

“Yeah, but how do you know we won’t stay undefeated? Maybe we’re better than them and we just never knew because we never tried.”

“I’m not even going to begin to explain everything that was wrong with that logic.”

“Nothing was wrong with it!”

Ignoring the protest, Moira continued, lowering herself down on a bench and taking off her gloves. “They’ve been practicing for years. Years! We decided to enter this tournament on a whim yesterday. Yesterday, Ange! It’s probably just sheer luck we got this far anyways.”

“Uh-uh, none of that,” the smaller wizard said, planting herself down on the bench next to Moira. “We got this far because we are great - awesome, even. And we are going to beat Cassandra and Jonathan because they don’t know how we fight. Most people are returning competitors, so they’re used to each other’s styles. Meanwhile, we’ve got the element of surprise. It’s simple logic, Moi. Trust me.”

“Things rarely go well when you say ‘Trust me’.”

“Well probability means that it has to go well eventually, yeah?”

“I-” Moira frowned, scrunching her face up and drawing her eyebrows together in confusion. “No. That’s not how it works at all.”

Before she could say any more, a head poked into the room, interrupting the scattered conversations. “The match will begin soon. We need the competitors to come out. Next is Jonathan and Cassandra vs Moira and Angela.”

A boy and a girl strode from the other side of the room, looking as polar opposite and cohesive as black and white. The boy was light from his hair to his eyes to his clothes - his blonde and blue and white - standing in sharp contrast to her darkness - her brown and black and purple. The girl caught Moira’s eyes and called out, “Good luck,” with a smirk. Before Moira could shake her captivation, they were gone. She breathed out a shaky breath, and beside her, Angela fidgeted.

“So that’s Cassandra and Jonathan, huh?”

“Yeah,” Moira said dumbly. “I guess so. By the spiral, how are we ever going to beat them? All they did was walk past us and I feel like they already won.”

“Nah,” Angela said, her voice noticeably less confident than before. “We’ve got this. It’ll be easy. Come on: we have to go.” She got up and made to walk away, but then glanced back with a mischievous smile on her face and added, “You got your deck?”

Moira scrambled to chase after the fleeing - and wildly giggling - girl, her voice ringing out in an irritated tone punctuated with stifled laughter. “That was one time, Ange! One time!”

She caught up to Angela at the edge of the stadium, skidding to a halt as she heard the announcer’s voice ring through the air.

“On this side: you know ‘em, you love ‘em, it’s Cassandra Titanwalker and Jonathan Seasong!”

Moira watched nervously as the two wizards waltzed out into the arena, confidence radiating from them as loudly as the cheers from the stands. She straightened out her cloak and checked that she did, in fact, have her deck.

“And their challengers, the diamonds in the rough: Moira Moonpyre and Angela!”

She hesitated for a moment, only setting her feet in motion when she felt Angela’s shoulder brush against her own, her soft voice murmuring, “Come on, now.”

In the middle of the circle, Moira shook hands with Jonathan as Angela did the same with Cassandra. They stepped back, ready to begin their battle, when the announcer’s voice interjected.

“For this final round, we’ve got a special twist for you. This duel… will be fought tag-team style!”

Once more, the audience erupted with cheers, and though Moira could see a flicker of uncertainty flash across Jonathan’s face, she felt herself shrinking back into her cloak. Pulling Angela toward her, she hissed, “Ange, what are we gonna do? We can’t solo!”

Laying a hand on her chest and feigning offense, Angela whispered back, “Excuse you, but I can solo just fine, remember?”

“Of course, Ange. How could I forget that time in Dragonspyre when you went into the tower and came flying out the window?”

“Shhh- shh- no. No, we don’t speak of that.” Pulling back and speaking in a normal voice, she added, “It’s just a tournament, Moi. Lighten up a little.”

“Competitors: who will represent your teams first?” The announcer asked.

After a moment of whispered discussion, Moira stepped forward, and watched as Cassandra did the same.

“In a tag team duel, team members may switch out as many times as they like, and team members sitting on the sidelines may save up their pips and plan strategy, but only one wizard from each team may be in the ring and casting spells at once. In order to perform a legal switch, the active team member must completely exit the ring or be deemed defeated before their teammate enters. Once a team member declares themself or is deemed defeated, they will not be allowed to switch back into the arena. Wizards, if you will: take your places!”

Jonathan and Angela retreated to the benches in the outer ring, while Moira and Cassandra turned and put 20 paces between them. Wands were drawn, stances were planted, and menacing glares were given (mostly by Cassandra, though).

“Let the battle commence!” shouted the announcer.

In the time it took for Moira to even form the beginnings of a plan, Cassandra sprang into action, and was next to Moira faster than she’d think was possible if she hadn’t just seen it.

“Boo,” she whispered, touching the tip of her wand to Moira’s shoulder. A jolt of electricity sparked up the wand and into Moira, leaving her with a nasty shock as she jumped away, spinning to face the diviner. As she turned, she discovered Cassandra could disappear just as fast as she could appear, and whipped her head around once more to see her standing in the middle of the arena, a blade already floating hear her head.

Shaking her head to clear the remnants of the shock, Moira conjured a blade for herself and sent a trap to lock onto Cassandra. As she put another blade up, she saw the purple flash of a spell from the corner of her eye. A large stormzilla rose up between the two wizards, obscuring their view of each other. As the stormzilla swung its head around, searching for its target, an idea sparked in Moira’s mind, and she scurried behind the storm creature to buy herself time as she waited for the pips.

Soon, flames encircled the ring, and the familiar roar of a helephant filled the room. Without a clear target, the helephant appeared confused, and walked forward for a few thundering steps before coming to a halt. Moira waved her arms, exasperated with the creature’s cluelessness.

“That!” Moira shouted, pointing at the stormzilla.

The helephant lumbered around, seeming to have only noticed the stormzilla for the first time just then. Moira rolled her eyes again, and proceeded with the plan.

Jumping out of the ring, she waved Angela in, hissing as they passed each other, “Get a centaur ready… fast.” Angela nodded and smiled, a familiar glint in her eyes, and Moira knew she understood the idea. Maybe they could make this tag-team thing work after all.

She watched in awe as the stormzilla and helephant battled each other, completely forgetting about the wizards in combat, and, it seemed, causing the wizards to forget about each other as well. Cassandra hadn’t stopped to stare, but she certainly had become distracted enough to not notice Moira’s exit. She watched from the edge of her seat, praying for Angela to be quick enough, as she knew the helephant would not remain for long with her out of the ring.

Just as the helephant began to flicker, Moira met Cassandra’s gaze, giving her a smirk of her own as the diviner’s mouth formed an ‘O’. Just as she spun around to search for her new opponent, a centaur burst through the air where the helephant had stood not a moment before. Soon, branches bombarded her, casing her in and breaking her focus, and her stormzilla fizzled out into sparks. When the dust cleared, nothing but Angela and a beat-up Cassandra were left in the ring. Letting out a low noise reminiscent of a growl, Cassandra launched herself at Angela.

For a moment, Moira expected Cassandra to begin beating Angela down with her bare hands, but she was, unsurprisingly, wrong. Instead, a serpent burst from the tip of her wand, crackling with energy as it slithered toward Angela, snapping its jaws each time it lunged forward.

As the small girl stumbled backward to avoid the electric bite of the snake, she glanced at the cards floating to her left, finally selecting one and raising her sword to cast the spell. The snake darted forward once more, this time snapping its fangs around her leg and sending a clearly painful shock through her before disappearing. Moira flinched and watched anxiously as Angela shook her head and turned to face the music that had begun to play.

A satyr danced toward Angela, sending a healing beam her way. Moira had always loved how peaceful Angela looked while interacting with healing magic, but this time was short-lived, as Cassandra’s next attack hurtled toward her within seconds. The swarm of lighting bats surrounded her, spinning a cage of electricity to close in. As the current cleared, an expression of anger had come over Angela’s face. Though, Moira considered, she still didn’t look that frightening, since she was approximately the size of a fire elf… okay, maybe two fire elves… stacked on top of each other in a cloak. Moira chuckled slightly at the thought, but turned her attention back to the battle as Angela recovered.

Moira could see that both girls were getting low on power, no longer exchanging spells, but rather circling each other slowly, a pained look on Angela’s face and a predatory grin on Cassandra’s.

Cassandra broke the circle first, flitting to the edge of the ring and swapping places with Jonathan. Like Cassandra, he sprang into action, immediately hanging a tower shield in the air in front of him. Soon after, Angela paused, planting her feet where she stood.

“No, no, what are you doing? Move!” Moira yelled, but her voice was drowned out by the screams of the audience welcoming Jonathan to the ring. Angela stayed where she was, hardly moving at all except to contort her face even more, and Moira realized Jonathan had stunned her. She clenched her fist, willing Angela to move before Jonathan could strike.

But she didn’t. A large boulder of ice slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground. As the stun wore off and she had only begun to climb back to her feet when an ice beetle rammed her side, knocking her down once more. Moira jumped to her feet and only barely restrained herself from running into the ring. As much as she hated seeing Angela hurt, she knew the theurgist had weathered far worse than this and would be more upset if Moira got them disqualified.

So, instead, she just watched Jonathan beat Angela down into the ground. Every time she tried to get up, another spell, even just a little blast of ice from Jonathan’s wand, would knock her down again. He was rationing his power perfectly; Moira never saw a moment when he had to wait before casting a spell.

Angela managed to grant herself a reprieve by summoning a seraph, which gave her enough time to stand up, but the victory was short-lived, as Jonathan came out virtually unscathed as his shield absorbed most of the damage. Allowing her to stumble away, Jonathan turned with a flourish of his cape, sending Cassandra back in.

Now, Cassandra certainly wasn’t in the best condition, but Angela was much worse. With the same predatory smile, Cassandra cast her spell, and the arena filled with water. Moira could do nothing but look on in horror as the water crashed down on Angela, sending her into the rocks at the edge of the ring. When the ocean cleared, Angela was on the ground again, fighting to get up. From her place in the dirt, she sent a treant out, flinging her arm wildly at Cassandra. The treant’s attack knocked the girl to the ground, evening the playing field. Both girls struggled to get to their feet, but when they did, Cassandra looked more than a little bit steadier than Angela. With a scowl, Cassandra switched out once more.

“Come on, Ange,” Moira muttered as Jonathan approached, “just declare yourself defeated.” But she knew full well that Angela would do no such thing.

To Moira’s surprise, Angela did appear to be hobbling toward their side of the arena, presumably to switch out, but she stumbled and pitched forward just short of halfway, dropping her sword to catch herself. In an instant, Jonathan was upon her, bombarding her with spell after spell. As a sheet of snow blanketed the arena and an ice colossus began to take shape, a green glow began to form around Angela.

“Yes!” Moira cheered, pumping her fist in the air. She’s finally casting a spell - she’s bringing it back! But as she cheered, the ring filled with leaves, and as they rose up, swirling with dust in a powerful wind, any view of the two dueling wizards was blocked out completely.

A strange humming and energy filled the air, causing Moira and many others to visibly cringe and a few wizards to even cover their ears. Then, quicker than it began, it ended with a loud crack, and the wind disappeared, leaving everything still except for the leaves’ slow flutter to the ground. When the leaves and dust had finally cleared enough to see, Moira in a sharp gasp, running the short distance to the edge of the ring, though she was careful not to cross.

In the center of the ring, surrounded by fading leaves, lay the unmoving forms of Angela and Jonathan. Moira moved around the ring in a futile attempt to get a better look, and met up with Cassandra as she did. They shared a quick glance, and Moira could see that despite the battering the diviner had taken, she was brimming with adrenaline, and worry creased her face. As the wild cheers of the audience began to die out, they shared a nod, communicating the same thought.

They stepped into the ring at the same time, disqualifying both teams simultaneously, and ran to their respective teammates. The crowd was no longer cheering, but rather murmuring within itself, everyone asking everyone else what was happening. As they approached Angela and Jonathan, Angela suddenly seized and let out a loud gasp, her eyes flying open. Moira knelt beside her and looked on with horror, helpless as she continued to convulse and groan. Jonathan stayed silent and still. The crowd’s murmurs grew louder and more frantic.

Four wizards ran out into the ring and, pushing Moira and Cassandra out of the way, scooped up Jonathan and the once again limp Angela, carrying them from the arena. Left in the middle, Moira looked over at Cassandra, who held a defeated and terrified expression. Moira had no doubts the same look was plastered on her own face.

With Cassandra in tow, she ran to follow the wizards who had taken Angela and Jonathan. As she took the final few steps out of the arena, she noticed the crowd had gone completely silent. She glanced over her shoulder and was met with dozens of faces, their expressions all mirroring her own.