Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 2.21 - “Becoming, Part I”

CONFESSION:

One thing I kinda like about Origins as a Bisexual woman is that one choice in storytelling is disapproved of: The choice in storytelling, where a female character loses the relationship with her male partner, goes on to a relationship with a female partner and in the end the male partner is somewhat condemned by storytelling, has bad things happen to him and is not allowed to find happiness with another partner for the rest of the story. At best the still very likable male character has the thing mentioned above happening to him, at worst he is killed (looking right at you The 100!!).  In my opinion this kinda gives bisexual characters and bisexual women IRL a bad name. Nothing wrong with finding new happiness, after a breakup, no matter what sex that new partner is, but I don't like the choice of condemning the man the girl broke up with.

When I first figured out the Branka and Hespith relationship in my first playthrough, I was initially annoyed, even though I had no problem with Hespith and thought she deserved better. It is debatable wether or not Oghren is likeable, but I was so happy that you could befriend him and help him with getting together with Felsi (What happened there later on his a whole new story and tbh I think there are prospects for them to reconcile. I am glad it's made possible and a dark part of me also liked that Branka was treated the way she was. My also bisexual girlfriend agrees with me on the matter.

PS: I am not a native speaker, so let me clarify what I meant with "condemned by storytelling": I meant that the writers of a story want to set up the male as a not so good person to be around and even somewhat as a danger to the safety of the female partner of the heroine (looking right at you Buffy the Vampire Slayer!). This is a beef of mine with writing and has nothing to do with events in a story.

my dash is always a couple days late fr some reason so this is old news but i would very much like to hear about killer b's three wives if u have anything at all on them :o

OK I HAVENT BEEN IGNORING THIS i just had to um. consider them some DSBHFJFS under a cut bc it got. kinda long

basically i don't know how to not make ocs to kiss canon characters who don't get the love that they deserve (see: chojuuro, kankuro, kabuto lol, shino, the 80s glamrock ninja from the war. yes i mean that. there r others too)

i dont have anything llke. super thought out yet and they're mostly just a concept. but. they are generally very loosely inspired by uzui tengen's three wives from demon slayer no i am not sorry i just think killer bee deserves three weed smoking girlfriends

ANYWAY.

i know i want one of them to be a generally well-known and well-respected kunoichi. she's got that hard outer layer and a mushy inside; stern, cold, serious, but who stops and feeds stray cats and cries at movies and also is a huge sap.

one of them is a civilian! maybe was a fan of bee's rapping BSDFHJ the fangirl-to-wife pipeline... very much a housewife type but the most hard-headed and strong-willed out of the three! u better be home for dinner by this time or else she will Get You.

and now that i THINK ABOTU IT. maybe the third was originally the third teammate from the omoi/karui/samui team. bc unless they just do things differently in kumo, which is entirely possible, their team consists of two lower ranked shinobi (karui and omoi are both chunin in part 2 according to the wiki) and their squad leader (samui is a jounin). so MAYBE she meets bee through them since karui and omoi were students of his. this isn't set in stone but i DO think it would be fun

a little part of me wants to say that they end up the adoptive moms of these three kumo kids from the first boruto chunin exam arc bc killer bee's kids being huge fanboys of his is SO CUTE to me

i have *checks my watch* almost 80 ocs at this point SO THESE THREE ARE JUST VAGUE THOUGHTS BUT. killer bee deserves a lot of love i dont make the rules (yes i do)

JAZZ HANDS

...Not that we at all care about what J*oss Whedon thinks, because he’s a creep.

But it’s kind of funny (ehh, that might not be the right word for it), that for years, people have been battling each other to the death over what the “Right Ship” in his “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was: Buffy/Angel or Buffy/Spike.

But at least to begin with... he absolutely did not want either of those. The vampires in Buffy are supposed to be a metaphor for the challenges an adolescent faces growing up, so they were all supposed to be absolutely evil and none were supposed to stick around (I think he also worried that messing with this idea could make Buffy seem like a murderer, which he definitely didn’t want).

I think he wanted Buffy and Xander to end up together That you can still maybe see tiny remnants of. Especially in the season eight comics... And I like Xander. I really do. But I am so glad this didn’t happen. One, because Xander is a J*oss Whedon self-insert, so it sort of would have been creepy. And two, because somehow and some way, pretty much every girl in the Buffyverse but Buffy ends up having a thing for Xander at some point, despite him really not being anything special (I say that with love. Him being the ordinary guy is his thing). So Buffy finally falling in love with him would have just been too much.

But I think it was David Greenwalt who talked him into doing stuff with Angel. So they came up with the idea of the Bangel romance--that was supposed to end ultimately tragically, with Buffy having to kill Angel to save the world and him never coming back--and that Angel was the only vampire in the world who had a soul, and that he’d been cursed with it: so that he would have to feel guilty about all the horrible things he’d done without a soul.

Spike, who comes along in season two, was not supposed to last. He’s sort of set up as that season’s Big Bad, but it actually becomes Angelus (evil Angel who has lost his soul). And originally, Spike was supposed to get killed somewhere during the season, and Spike’s girlfriend Drusilla--who Angelus had some history with--were supposed to start banging to really break Buffy’s heart.

But James Marsters was so darn likable as Spike. And apparently this enraged J*oss Whedon. It’s actually horrible. He was really abusive towards James Marsters (who plays Spike), and he didn’t deserve it at all. He already didn’t really want Angel... but he didn’t want to have to be forced to have to keep Spike because of how popular he was. Apparently he like pushed James up against a wall and was like, “I don’t care how popular you are! You’re dead, you hear me?! Dead!” And James held his hands up and responded, “Okay, I mean, the ball’s in your court, man.” What a man, James Marsters is. Damn. I probably wouldn’t have been so cool about this.

But Spike did not die in season two. I don’t know why they didn’t decide to kill him, after all. But they didn’t.

In the TV Guide Buffy and Angel interviews for the TV Guide interviews, I think, James Marsters talks about how after Cordelia was moved from Buffy to Angel, he was brought on the show to be the “You’re all stupid, and we’re going to die” character. You’d think that this would have been Anya, but I guess not entirely. Or maybe they hadn’t figured that out yet. And this was usually accompanied with him running into Giles’ house in broad daylight with a blanket draped over him, so he wouldn’t burst into flames... but I guess the writers hated doing that? So James Marsters thought that he was probably about to be fired here, and thanked David Boreanaz here for what he did with Angel here, because he thought it opened up the door for him and Spike, and that he thought they wouldn’t have thought to do it, otherwise.

But I think it was at this point that J*oss decided that he was going to make S*pike fall in love with Buffy, too. But unlike Angel, he didn’t have a soul, so it would be toxic... (Edit: I forgot to mention that it was also because Buffy was going to learn that there was a darkness to the Slayer’s power and thus a darkness to her, and Spike was supposed to help her explore that. Because J*oss thought she had gotten too powerful, so now there had to be a sort of consequence and danger to that power). Except that the audience could see nothing but James’ charm, and could not see that it was toxic, which led to them writing the scene in “Seeing Red”, where Spike tries to r*ape Buffy... which, thankfully, once he gets his bearings, he is immediately shameful and horrified by, and he yeets himself out of there to go get a soul, because he knows he needs one. Not that that makes it perfect, but still. Thankfully they’re a lot better in season seven. And in the comics. And there was some good even with all the toxicity, but a lot of bad, too, because Spike’s feelings are all twisted in not having a soul.

I think in having to write Bangel and Spuffy, though, J*oss is really proud of him and did do his best with them. He says that he honestly can’t choose between the two of them, and is torn right down the middle. Which might be why, even though the comics had seemed to choose Spuffy, they seemed to cancel that at the last minute and leaved it undecided it again. And leaved Buffy single, but on terms with both boys and still loving both of them. Though I do think J*oss has said a few times that he maybe slightly prefers Spuffy, if for no other reason than Angel baffles him some, and he finds him a slightly harder character to write for. And this is why all the season finales of Angel really strip him down, to try and figure out who he is and what’s ticking underneath him.

But, anyway... I just think it’s kind of funny that the world is always fighting over Bangel versus Spuffy, and--at least originally--Joss would have been like, “Neither! Please, God, no!”

- Yashahime has released a trailer and I am hype. So I have few small headcanons.

Edit: We are now a week away from the release so I thought why not?

Please do not tag as Sessrin. I’m trying to steer clear of that discourse.

Setsuna

She is her father’s daughter, there is no denying it. But when she gives a real sweet smile, she looks like her mother.

She has a deep admiration for Kohaku. At one point, after meeting with Towa, her sister asks if she has a crush on him. She doesn’t, and gives a glare her father would be proud of.

She and Hisui like to tease Kohaku when they go on missions to villages. Mostly when women fawn over their father figure/uncle.

She finds the wind calming.

She is trying to get along with Moroha, but something in her blood just calls for them to almost always come to blows.

She greatly admires/takes after her grandfather Toga in regards to putting her family first. Inukimi even says Toga shines through her during one of her meetings to the Demon Slayer Village.

She meditates to help with her nightmares. Hisui mediates with her so she isn’t alone.

She calls Kohaku “Shishou” out of respect.

Between Hisui and her, she gets annoyed at woman try and ask if Kohaku is married. She doesn’t mind the fawning, but her mentor deserves a woman who will be of equal standing to him.

Rin calls her Tsuna-chan.

Towa

She lifts.

Souta and his wife like to give her little trinkets for her room. She has a stuffed white dog that reminds her of her father.

Hojo’s child repeats the sins of their father. It’s a girl and she gets so flustered she can’t even get the words out. Towa is just as clueless as her uncle and doesn’t get it.

She has a crush on Hisui.

He spars with her to help her get a better handle on her sword fighting.

She and her human friends sit around their usual burger joint (as homage to the original series) and talk about school and boys.

Her friends think Hisui is a jerk for not noticing her feelings and think Setsuna is his girlfriend. Towa has told them multiple times that isn’t the case.

She uses male pronouns when speaking about herself.

Hojo’s daughter isn’t the only girl crushing on her. She has a fan club.

She cried when she saw Rin & Kaede again. She cried even more when she realized she was back in ancient Japan.

She calls Souta “Papa” affectionately. She takes her uncle and calls Sesshomaru her “Pops” or “Old man.”

Rin calls her To-chan, or just Towa-chan

Out of the twins, she distrust her grandmother.

Hisui

This boy is his mother’s child. Sweet and loving runs in his blood and he took up the role of big brother to Setsuna.

There is no denying he’s his daddy’s son though. He shares the same weakness for a pretty face. Towa has gotten annoyed by his light flirting.

Doesn’t mean he isn’t his mother’s son. His jealousy is a bit more tamed than Sango’s as he would be ever hit a woman. But the glares he gives any man who expresses a romantic attraction to Towa?? Kohaku has remarked that he definitely is his sister’s kin.

It doesn’t start off that way. When he and Towa were younger, they were basically Akane and Ranma: bickering. It stills bleeds into their relationship now.

His older sisters find it cute. Miroku and Kohaku have a bet going on which one cracks first.

He either calls Kohaku uncle or “Shihan”

Like his father, his hand is cursed. He’s never touched Setsuna, but he has lingered on hugging Towa.

He is just as skilled a fighter as his mother and sisters.

Like Sango, he has a good relationship with Kirara.

He has freckles like his uncle, only along his shoulders.

Moroha

She was raised by Kouga and Ayame after the fire 10 years ago.

She doesn’t remember her father or mother, but her mannerisms speak volumes. Kouga had taken to calling her “Muttface Jr.”

Her foster brother is in love with her. Kouga figures it’s because of Kagome’s good genes coming through.

She became a bounty hunter after a dream involving her father. She just catches glimpses of a man with silver hair and a red robe like hers.

When she meets her parents old group, she’s particularly drawn to Kaede. The old priestess took her under her wing instantly.

While just as stubborn as her father, Inu no Taisho shines through her. Sesshomaru even remarked that sometimes she’ll remind him of his father.

Like her father, she loves ramen.

In her infancy, Inuyasha would sleep with her curled into his chest. His mother used to do it to him. Kagome found it cute.

Her ribbon is a tribute to her father.

She was almost named after her paternal grandmother but Kagome wanted to name one of their other children after her.

The Scared Tree brought her to tears.

All right. Here's another one for you: Top Ten Tomberly Comic Book Covers. Annndddd GO!

alright this is my reason for existing let’s DO THIS (under the cut bc covers are Too Big for tumblr text posts to handle)

#10: MMPR #26 - kinda like tommy’s death scene in the comic itself this cover causes me copious amounts of pain so I have to put it last on the list but it needed to be on the list just from the amounts of Iconic it is in fandom now.  also of all the Artistic Renderings of Tommy’s Death (of which there are many now, for some reason) this one tears me asunder the most (KIM’S FAAAAAAAAACE)

#9: Shattered Grid Finale - this one deserves mention just bc it’s probably the biggest image of kim with the dragon shield WHICH IS WHAT SHE DESERVED BUT SHE ALSO DESERVED MORE.  anyway this cover proves MMPR pink looks best with the dragon shield thank you good night.

#8: Pink #6 - i gotta admit i’m slightly bitter towards this cover because it’s adorable and precious and it didn’t prep me for the soul-crushing heartbreak that was Pink #6.  WHO’S IDEA WAS IT TO USE THIS COVER FOR PINK #6.  YOU SHOULD HAVE PUT A DISCLAIMER.  but i can’t hate it because look at them…..holding hands…..drinking from each others’ colored straws……the stupidly large amounts of hearts………they’re at peak babey on this cover

#7: 2016 Annual - it’s about the SYNCHRONIZATION of all the characters to pair together for a Fight Scene they chose tommy and kim and singlehandedly saved 2016

#6: i’m dumb and forget which variant this is I THINK IT’S MMPR #40 - the original pic was one of my favorites in the artist tribute and i was SO surprised to see it again as an official cover!  and now it’s even better bc it made it canon that kim and tommy to go comic-con together.  they won all the cosplay contests

#5: MMPR #41 - okay can you imagine anything funnier than tommy printing out poster-sized prints of his girlfriend (INCLUDING one of her morphed) JUST to hang up in his robot tiger.  and then drawing a giant heart on one in sharpee.  you can’t.  and that’s why this cover is fantastic

#4: GGPR #12 - on record as the hottest tomberly cover STEP ON ME MISS SLAYERRRRR oh and drakkon looks pretty cool too i guess.  anyway this is the only legit slayer/drakkon cover in the series and that’s a bit of a crime against me so i gotta hype this one up as much as possible

#3: GGPR #22 - i absolutely ADORE the amount of story and personality this cover packs into just a single image.  tommy not knowing social media.  kim taking a surprise picture of him just to mess with him, which he still chose to make as his first post despite looking completely stupid in it.  kim having to declare herself as first comment WITH HEARTS.  it just says so much about their dynamic in a small package and i could analyze it all day.  bonus jason being a stupid gay  

#2: GGPR #21 reprint - trivia: the first time i saw this cover i literally went SERIOUSLY?????????? out loud.  boom went straight for my jugular by taking the kiss page, which was already great, and then slapping it on a cover with full-on angelic lighting.  god herself approves of tomberly and it’s the only thing keeping me strong throughout this current matt nonsense  

#1: MMPR #1 - where were you when you first saw this cover.  i was in my dorm room and saw this in a post, and assumed this was fan art until i found out it was an OFFICIAL APPROVED BY SABAN CANON COVER and my soul was officially sold to the comics forever.  cut ahead three years later to me vibrating with joy when i realized the same guy who did this cover was now writing for GGPR!!!!!!!  so in short this cover is just very special to me and it was a dream to talk about it personally with sina grace himself.  to this day i’m amazed at the amount of soap opera romance and peak tomberly chaotic energy that is stuffed into this single image

Art Claims Round 3

Third round of story claims are up. At the time of this posting, 77 stories are left. These are all great stories that deserve an awesome artist. Please look into your hearts and see if you want to claim any of these. Also, TELL YOUR FRIENDS. Bribe them with smiles and candy. I've just checked with my lawyer and it's perfectly acceptable to grab your artist friends and stuff them in a sack and bring them over here*. *Actually, my lawyer's words were more like "Don't do that." This year, art claims are working a little differently than in years past. We are using a google form to streamline things, which should make things easier both for you as participants and us mods. To claim a story, the form requires email, check in ID, and the identifying number of your first choice of story. Putting your top three choices is best in case your first or second has already been chosen. Your check in ID should be different from any fic you signed up for or any previous art claim. Please be sure you've read the FAQ before claiming.

Click here to claim a story.

Stories are listed by fandom in alphabetical order and then by the story name, with a number identifying that story (for our records). Stories are first come, first serve. I'll update this post as stories are claimed. Official posting dates begin on July 27th. Once all stories are claimed and all artists/authors have been notified, I will put up a sign-up sheet so authors and artists can choose their posting dates.

Authors, if something is wrong with the info for your stories, please let me know ASAP here or via email at [email protected].

See all fandoms in a google doc.

A Song of Ice and Fire #1 Story Title: Pairings, Characters: Ned Stark/Cersei Lannister Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Ned Stark and Cersei Lannister are made to marry after the Rebellion ends Angel the Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer #41 Story Title: Like Stone Pairings, Characters: Connor, Dawn Summers, Buffy Summers, Angel, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce (and pretty much the complete cast), not shippy fic but there is Angel/Buffy and Connor/Dawn) Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Graphic Violence Summary: Twenty years after the battle with the First and the aftermath of Jasmine’s reign, life still isn’t easy for Buffy and Angel and their friends and family. Connor has been on the outside of his father’s life for years and isn’t particularly happy to be brought back in when Dawn shows up in L.A. with a case that requires his attention. But that is just the beginning of the badness threatening to swallow them all whole. Arrow #3 Story Title: No Regrets: A Love Unexpected Pairings, Characters: Oliver Queen/Roy Harper Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: An A/B/O love story. Roy learns that he’s not a beta like he always thought and has to cope with starting to have omega heats. Due to circumstances, and latent affection, alpha Oliver agrees to help Roy through his first. They unexpectedly bond during that first time, and the successive chapters each explore another aspect of the couple coping with their relationship: a heat coming on suddenly while Oliver is out of town, and Oliver going into rut while they’re in public, finishing up with a softer chapter of some romance and switching, ending on a hopeful note. Lots of feels and smut. Batman #4 Story Title: Scenes From a Gotham Romance Pairings, Characters: Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Bruce finally pops the question to Selina and she accepts. Slowly, they begin building a family together. BBC Sherlock #6 Story Title: ...And All The Men And Women Merely Players Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade, Mary Morstan/John Watson, Eurus Holmes/Jim Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Molly Hooper, Greg Lestrade, John Watson, Mary Morstan, Anthea, Janine, Eurus Holmes, Jim Moriarty, Original Child Character(s), Mummy Holmes, Siger Holmes Rating: Mature | M Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Mycroft Holmes is not-so-subtly trying to make sure there's a reconciliation between his youngest sibling Sherlock and his ex-wife, Molly Hooper, by forcing them to work together on a theatre project. But it isn't all smooth sailing when his and Sherlock's sister comes back from the States with a boyfriend who is the devil incarnate...and all hell is about to break loose. #7 Story Title: A Boon For You, A Boon For Me Pairings, Characters: Mycroft Holmes/Molly Hooper; Molly Hooper, Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, Eurus Holmes, James Moriarty, Siger Holmes, Mummy Holmes Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: When Molly saves the life of a fairy prince, she’s given the chance to ask for whatever her heart most desires, and since what she wants to do most is help others, she’s given the ability to grant boons by the prince’s eldest brother. Little does she imagine such a simple and generous wish will change her life forever... #8 Story Title: A Merry Christmas After All Pairings, Characters: Mycroft Holmes/Sally Donovan; Sally Donovan, Mycroft Holmes, Anthea, brief appearance by Sherlock Holmes and Molly Hooper Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Sally and Mycroft make an arrangement to have a pretend relationship together, culminating in a spectacular break-up at a destination wedding in Hawaii. But what they intend to have happen doesn't go according to plan when pesky feelings decide to get involved. #9 Story Title: A Study In Pink Pairings, Characters: Eventual Sherlock Holmes/Mary Morstan (though not in this story), fake!“John Watson”/Mary Morstan and Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper one-sided infatuation; Mary Morstan, Mike Stamford, Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes, Greg Lestrade, the cabbie, OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Rosamund Mary Watson had never expected to set foot in London again, but she finds herself in need of employment and a better flat. Enter her old professor Mike Stamford, who tells her about the man who will change her life forever... #10 Story Title: All The Little Signs Pairings, Characters: Eventual Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, John Watson/Mary Morstan, past Tom/Molly Hooper, one-sided Greg Lestrade/Molly Hooper; Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, John Watson, Mary Morstan, Greg Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, others TBD Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: The repercussions from Sherlock’s faked death did more than just affect his relationships with his friends, Sherlock realizes when Molly loses her position at St. Bart’s for falsifying medical documents and loses her fiancé in the process. While Molly gets her life sorted out and decides what she wants Sherlock does the same, but is it too late when he decides what he wants in his life is Molly? #11 Story Title: As Long As You Love Me Truly Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper; Molly Hooper, Mrs. Hudson, Greg Lestrade, Philip Anderson, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Sally Donovan, Henry Knight, Irene Adler Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: All Molly Hooper wants to do is get her big break on the London stage. She might have a chance when she's asked to be the lead in one of the most anticipated productions on the West End, and by the star himself, Sherlock Holmes. But things don't exactly go according to the plan she had in her head of how she would become a well known actress, and as time goes on she needs to figure out whether she wants fame or whether she wants something more fulfilling. #12 Story Title: Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Mycroft Holmes/Anthea, Mr. & Mrs. Holmes, OC pairings; Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, Mycroft HOlmes, Anthea, Mummy HOlmes, Siger Holmes, OC Holmes Brother, assorted OFCs and OMCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: It all begins with an invitation to Mycroft's wedding to his PA and seven days at a resort in Jamaica, with the assumption that Molly pretends to be his girlfriend that his mother might be under the impression that he's going to propose to sooner rather than later. It ends up being so much more than that... #13 Story Title: Ever Changing, Ever Growing Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, background Mycroft Holmes/OC and John Watson/Mary Morstan Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Major Character Death Summary: They make the arrangement to present what society wants from them to the world as husband and wife, but childhood friends Sherlock Holmes and Margaret Hooper agree that their lives are their own. But with the death of Sherlock's brother and an unexpected scandal, their marriage of convenience is shaken. Will their friendship remain intact as their marriage falls apart, or will they decide that it is in their best interest to make this a true marriage between partners instead? #14 Story Title: It Can Be As Real As You Or I Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper with background John Watson/Mary Morstan and Janine Hawkins/OMC; Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, Mary Morstan, Janine Hawkins, Kitty Reilly, OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: At the very beginning of a case to help Janine, it comes out that the very eligible and spectacular stud in the bedroom Sherlock Holmes has married local specialist registrar, Dr. Molly Hooper. Which would be fine and all, except it's a fake marriage...that Sherlock wants to make real by the end of the case. But Kitty Riley's constant hounding of him throughout the case, turning every tidbit she hears (always out of context) into tabloid fodder, is going to make that virtually impossible, he fears...though he might very well be surprised himself. #15 Story Title: It Takes The Whole Of London Pairings, Characters: Background John Watson/Mary Morstan and mentioned fake!Sherlock Holmes/Janine, but generally no pairings; Molly Hooper, Mary Morstan, John Watson, Tom, Meena, Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Mike Stamford, Sherlock Holmes, OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Original character death offscreen Summary: When one of Molly's best friends and her husband die in a car accident, Molly finds herself the guardian of their six-month-old daughter, and in an instant her entire life changes, and she comes to find solace in the fact that there is truth in the old adage"it takes a village"when she finds herself raising Maya on her own. #17 Story Title: Like Night And Day Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, background John Watson/Mary Morstan; Molly Hooper, Sally Donovan, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mary Morstan, Meena, Mike Stamford Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Illegal drug use, drug overdose and withdrawal symptoms Summary: Molly loves Sherlock, she does, but one night when Sherlock makes a decision that nearly costs him his life, she knows she can't be his caretaker anymore without dragging herself down too. Trying to make a clean break of things, she leaves the university they attend together and goes to the States to finish medical school and put it all behind her. But after graduation, Fate has other ideas... #19 Story Title: Neither Living Dead Nor Fully Living Pairings, Characters: Sebastian Moran/Molly Hooper, past Sebastian Moran/James Moriarty and James Moriarty/Molly Hooper; Sebastian Moran, Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes, OCs Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Major Character Death, Character death is temporary, as character is turned into a vampire Summary: When Sebastian Moran inherits a building, a business and a servant from James Moriarty, he tries to live as normal a life as he can. But when Molly Hooper does the unthinkable and falls in love with him, he finds himself fighting a battle he'd never imagined he'd be in. #21 Story Title: Nothing's Changed That Matters Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, past Mycroft Holmes/Anthea; Sherlock Holmes. Molly Hooper, John Watson, Eurus Holmes, Greg Lestrade Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Major Character Death Summary: When Sherlock comes to Molly in Oxford ten years after their divorce with a favour to ask, she agrees to help. While a lot has changed some things remain very much the same...including the love that Sherlock and Molly once shared. #22 Story Title: Old Books & New Flames Pairings, Characters: Sebastian Moran/Molly Hooper, Greg Lestrade/Sally Donovan, John Watson/Mary Morstan; Molly Hooper, Sebastian Moran, Mary Morstan, Sally Donovan, Greg Lestrade, John Watson, Jim Moriarty Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: When Sebastian Moran asks local bookstore owner Molly Hooper for a job, all he wants is a second chance to live the life he should have been living before prison. What Molly gets is more than a loyal employee and good friend. What she ends up with is what she had always wanted her entire life: happiness. #23 Story Title: Pawns On The Board, Flies On The Web Pairings, Characters: Mycroft Holmes/Anthea, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper; Anthea, Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, Mycroft Holmes, Elizabeth Smallwood, Greg Lestrade, Sebastian Moran Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Violence, OC character death Summary: When an American politician is murdered and deposited in Mycroft’s office, it’s Sebastian Moran’s sign that he is done allowing Mycroft and Sherlock their little game at dismantling Moriarty’s organization. But with Sherlock having returned to London, albeit not in time to stop the plot from being put into motion, Moran’s ploy may not be as effective as he hopes it to be, not with Mycroft, Sherlock, Anthea, Molly and others working hard to stop him in his tracks. #24 Story Title: Rectifying Past Mistakes Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Mary Morstan; Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Anthea, Mary Morstan, John Watson, Mrs. Hudson, Molly Hooper, Greg Lestrade, Sebastian Moran Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: When Mycroft gets Sherlock out of Serbia, he drops a bombshell on him he isn't quite prepared for: after years of being gone out of his life, Sherlock's ex-wife Elizabeth has reappeared, under the name Mary Morstan. While he was off taking care of Moriarty's mess she was protecting those he cared about and helping his brother, for reasons, he finds, that she is keeping close to the vest. But when they're forced to stay in close quarters at Baker Street both secrets and old wounds come to light and, perhaps, things might turn out for the best after all. #25 Story Title: The Babe On The Doorstep Pairings, Characters: Mycroft Holmes/Anthea; Mycroft Holmes, Anthea, Greg Lestrade, OCs Rating: General | G Warnings: Child Abandonment Summary: One morning an infant is left on Mycroft’s doorstep with a note, signed by a woman named Laura. As Mycroft tries to find out who would entrust a child into his care he slowly opens his heart to the infant and lets the other people in his life that he’s kept at arms length in more, bit by bit. #26 Story Title: The Cursed Dragon Pairings, Characters: Sebastian Moran/Molly Hooper, forced engagement between Charles Augustus Magnussen/Mrs. Hooper; Margaret Hooper, Mrs. Hooper, Charles Augustus Magnussen, Mary Morstan, Sally Donovan, Irene Adler, Meena, OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Major Character Death Summary: On the eve of Princess Molly's twenty-fifth birthday, a dragon comes to lay waste to her kingdom. Eventually, a lottery is set up to give the dragon a virgin sacrifice, but when Molly stumbles onto a wicked scheme by the royal advisor Magnussen, she finds herself picked as the next sacrifice and kept from telling the truth to her mother. Prepared to fight the dragon on her own if need be, she is taken to a remote part of her kingdom by the dragon...who is not quite what he seems. #28 Story Title: The Head Knows What The Heart Wants Pairings, Characters: Sebastian Moran/Molly Hooper, background John Watson/Mary Morstan; Sebastian Moran, Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes, Mary Morstan, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus Holmes, OCs Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Mild violence Summary: After the revelation that there had been some plotting between Moriarty and Eurus before his death, Sebastian Moran had decided to do whatever it took to keep Molly safe...even if that meant ruining whatever the results of his ex-lover's collusion with the Holmes sister were. But after enough time had gone by, things changed, and that was when Eurus decided to strike. That was when Sebastian couldn't deny the truth any longer: Molly Hooper had become the most important person in his life...and he would do whatever it took to make sure she was safe. #29 Story Title: The Pesky Virginity Issue Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, John Watson/Mary Morstan, past Tom/Molly Hooper; Molly Hooper, Mary Morstan, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Tom, OCs Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: After Molly's engagement ends she decides she wants to rid herself of her virginity since that was a major cause of the dissolution of her relationship with her ex. When her friend Mary suggests she knows the perfect person, things don't go quite according to any sort of plan she may have had in her head...but it has a pleasantly surprising result nonetheless. #30 Story Title: To Live Again Pairings, Characters: Pre-Mycroft Holmes/Mary Morstan, background Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, past John Watson/Mary Morstan;Mary Morstan, Mycroft Holmes, Molly Hooper Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: After the events at the aquarium which leaves most of the world thinking Mary Watson is dead, Mary deals with conflicting feelings and moving on in the wake of knowing her marriage is, for all intents and purposes, over. #31 Story Title: What Could Have Been, What Will Be In Its Stead Pairings, Characters: Mycroft Holmes/Molly Hooper, past Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, mentioned Anthea/Kate and Mr & Mrs. Holmes; Mycroft Holmes, Molly Hooper, Siger Holmes, Mummy Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Anthea, OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Major Character Death Summary: When Sherlock dies, he leaves behind a woman he planned to marry and a child he did not know about. Mycroft is determined to take care of them both in his brother's stead, but nothing is ever as easy as one plans. That is the true Holmes legacy. BBC Sherlock/Doctor Who #32 Story Title: The Detective And The Hound Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Amy Pond, background John Watson/Lorna Bucket; Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Amy Pond, Henry Knight; other Sherlock characters in"The Hounds of Baskerville" Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Unconcensual drug use Summary: Sherlock and John get given a case from Henry Knight, who believes his father was killed years prior by a hound in the moors. But what starts as a much needed break from the tedium that Sherlock is experiencing turns into a case that has him questioning many things and feeling something he has not felt in a long time: the type of fear that leaves you with a chill in your bones. #33 Story Title: When In University Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Amy Pond; Amy Po/nd, Sherlock Holmes, Aunt Sharon, Mummy Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Mrs. Hudson, Rory Williams Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Sherlock Holmes was a jerk the first time she met him. She had no idea how much he was going to grow on her as time went on... BBC Sherlock/Marvel Cinematic Universe #34 Story Title: A Potential Loophole To Exploit Pairings, Characters: Thor Odinson/Jane Foster, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, implied Loki Laufeyson/Darcy Lewis, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Antoine Triplett/Daisy Johnson, Jemma Simmons/Leo Fitz and Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff; Thor Odinson, Loki Laufeyson, Frigga, Phil Coulson, Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Jane Foster, Melinda May, Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz, Antoine Triplett, Daisy Johnson, Darcy Lewis, Sif, Heimdall, OCs Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: After Thor and Loki leave a meeting with their mother, they start to talk about what can be done to stave off the foretold arrival of their sister, Hela, and begin to make plans. #35 Story Title: Playing The Game: Act II – Knights & Knowledge, Romance & Regret Pairings, Characters: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, implied Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff and pre Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons and Antoine Triplett/Skye | Daisy Johnson; Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes, Phil Coulson, Mary Morstan, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Melinda May, Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Antoine Triplett Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: After tracking down Phil Coulson and his team, Molly and the others join him on their hunt for Grant Ward so that Molly can get retribution for Victoria’s death and Nat and Clint can further Fury’s assignment to help deal with all of the escapees from the Fridge. But as things get more complicated with the appearance of the Diviner and all the entails, Molly begins to wonder if she will ever get her end goal of Ward disappearing in a deep dark hole where no one can find him. BBC Sherlock/Midsomer Murders #37 Story Title: Every English Village Has Its Secrets Pairings, Characters: Past/Unrequited Mycroft Holmes/Gregory Lestrade, Tom Barnaby/Joyce Barnaby, Sally Donovan/OMC; Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Mycroft Holmes, Tom Barnaby, Gavin Troy, OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Summary: When Greg and Sally get called to Midsomer County for a case, right from the start Greg knows it will be a headache when Mycroft offers him lodging (so long as he's alright with his former lover being his housemate for his time there), and it doesn't get much better when he meets DCI Tom Barnaby and immediately their Detective Sergeants take an instant dislike to each other when Sally arrives the next evening. And that isn't even getting into the actual case itself and all the secrets hidden in the village of Elverton-cum-Latterley... Black Sails #39 Story Title: a tide of hope Pairings, Characters: Abigail Ashe/Billy Bones Rating: Mature | M Warnings: mild violence Summary: "My point being, unless my crew decides that they don’t want to give me up for dead, and if what you say is true and no one will come looking for you, then we are very much stranded on this island.” Abigail Ashe awakens to find herself shipwrecked on an island. However, she is not alone. Abigail Ashe/Billy Bones, post season 3. Boku No Hero Academia/Star Vs the Forces of Evil #40 Story Title: Princess' guide (title may be subject to change) Pairings, Characters: Star Butterfly/Tenya Iida Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: A Sequel to 'An Earthling's Guide to Dealing with Mewberty' Star was serious when she offered to take Iida on a multidimensional adventure as a thank you for helping her get through Mewberty, and after hearing about the Hero Killer's capture, and Iida's own encounter with Stain, Star is more sure than anything else, that her friend could use some uncomplicated fun. Code Geass #43 Story Title: World Enough and Time Pairings, Characters: Suzaku/Lelouch and Gino/Kallen (both minor) Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Graphic Violence Summary: Six months after Ragnarok, all Kallen wants to do is protect the people she loves, even if it means betraying everything in her heart to serve a Britannian prince. Suzaku wants to reverse a mistake he made but would never take back. Euphemia is willing to risk everything of herself in order to be a better person and find a cure. And Lelouch... Lelouch wants to make the world safe for his little sister, even if it means destroying everything in his path. (The AU where the royal family controls the elements through music instead of Geass, and the Ragnarok Connection united the living and dead... by bringing back the dead.) Critical Role Campaign One/Dragon Age Origins (Awakening) #44 Story Title: TBA Pairings, Characters: Vax'ildan/Keyleth; Vax'ildan, Percy, Vex'alia, Scanlan, Keyleth, M!Mahariel, probably others from both canons, Grey Wardens from Awakening Rating: No Rating Warnings: Chooses not to use Warnings Summary: Merging of the two canons, but mainly in the Dragon Age setting with some Critical Role characters. Vox Machina finds the ancient thaig containing the tomb of the Raven Queen's champion, but in the process Vax'ildan is infected with the Blight. Only Loral Mahariel, hero of Ferelden, can save Vax's life -- but will he be willing to pay the price? Crossing Lines/Grey's Anatomy/Hawaii Five-0/Marvel Cinematic Universe/The Sentinel/S.W.A.T. #45 Story Title: This is our sanctuary Pairings, Characters: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, Clint Barton/James Street, Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson, Ellie Defont-Bogard/Sebastian Berger Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Graphic Violence Summary: Clint Barton and Jim Street have been together for about a month as Guide and Sentinel when Jimmy's mom is released from prison. Clint wants Jimmy to have nothing to do with his emotionally abusive, Hydra mother. But Jimmy feels he owes Karen Street too much to abandon her, and Clint loves Jimmy too much to break his Sentinel's heart. So despite Clint's misgivings, they go to Los Angeles to visit her. The idea is to spend a couple hours with Karen and then hopefully never see her again. But what not even Jimmy realizes is how much Karen hates Clint for being Jimmy's Guide instead of her. Or how far she'll go to get her son back. Because Karen Street will do anything to get her son back. The problem is, Clint and Jimmy might not survive it. CSI: NY #46 Story Title: Twist Of Fate Pairings, Characters: Don Flack, Jr./Jessica Angell; Don Flack, Jr., Jessica Angell, Mac Taylor, Stella Bonasera, Lindsay Monroe, Danny Messer, Samantha Flack, Don Flack Sr., Sheldon Hawkes, Adam Ross Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: What if Jessica had a very good reason for not escorting Connor Dunbrook's kid to trial? What might have been? CSI: NY/Law & Order #47 Story Title: Theraputic Pairings, Characters: Eventual Danny Messer/Lindsay Monroe; Danny Messer, Mac Taylor, Emil Skoda, Don Flack Jr., Lindsay Monroe, Lennie Briscoe Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Major Character Death, Character deaths are in the past, but they were characters from CSI: NY Danny knew Summary: In Danny's eyes, the hits just keep on coming...though this particular hit may turn out all right in the end. Daredevil #48 Story Title: Pairings, Characters: Brett Maloney Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Brett Maloney has no magic. He is not magic and he likes it that way because it means that magic is not his proble- Oh who is he kidding. It's totally his problem. Especially since this latest serial killer case he's sticking his nose into has magic written all over it and he's the best cop to investigate. Now to catch this guy before he targets another Hell's Kitchen witch like Foggy... DC Extended Universe #49 Story Title: Pairings, Characters: Dick Grayson Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Graphic Violence Summary: After Superman dies, Dick Grayson reconnects with his father Doctor Who/St. Trinian's #51 Story Title: Adventures In Unexpected Places Pairings, Characters: Rory Williams/Amy Pond; Amy Pond, Camilla Fritton, Kelly Jones, Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams, Mels Zucker Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: After being sent to the worst school in the whole of England, Amy meets up with the man whose fault it is that she’s there, and things go vastly more differently than anyone expected. Football RPF #54 Story Title: It's A Long Way Up When You Hit the Ground Pairings, Characters: Christian Eriksen/Vincent Janssen Rating: Mature | M Warnings: No Warnings Apply Summary: Vincent's future is still uncertain, but rather than dwell on it, all he wants to do is welcome Christian home from the World Cup and find a few moments of bliss in each other's company before the world comes along and sweeps them away again. Christian, however, isn't making things at all easy, and Vincent starts wondering if maybe he has other ideas. A story about moving in, uncertainty, finding true friendships, and questioning everything about your past, present, and future. Gilmore Girls #55 Story Title: The Thing He Carried Pairings, Characters: Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano and Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply, Minor violence Summary: This story is based on a post on Tumblr pertaining to what if Jess did not go to California. It is also based on 'The Things That He Carried' by Tim O'Brien, who also wrote an episode of 'This Is Us'. It's about growth and acceptance. it's about love and relationships. It's about rising above adversity. Glee #56 Story Title: Merry and Bright Pairings, Characters: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Kurt's built his life to cut out all feelings. The cute singer that comes into the Lima Bean every Thursday night breaks that idea. Guardian #57 Story Title: As Winter Fades Pairings, Characters: Zhao Yunlan/Shen Wei Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: dub-con Summary: Zhao Yunlan is a proud omega, but when he gets thrust back into Old Haixing, his life depends on impersonating alpha Kunlun. Then he meets Shen Wei and it all goes to hell. Hannibal #59 Story Title: The Art of Her Mind Pairings, Characters: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham, Aralie/Travis Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Graphic Violence, Depiction of drug use Summary: A young girl was accused of murdering her entire family, but one clever psychologist got her to serve a five year sentence at a mental institution. The day she is released from the hospital, Aralie has to adjust to life beyond her past. Aralie finds that when her anxiety becomes to much she occupies her mind with sketching the world around her and losing herself in ballet. Harry Potter #61 Story Title: Lionhearted Girl Pairings, Characters: Regulus Black/Severus Snape (minor), no other pairings at this time, but future Female!Harry Potter/Neville Longbottom Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply, Forced Amnesia Summary: Roswitha Artemis Black had gone from orphan to heiress to daughter in remarkably short time frame, like a dream come true. Now starting her first year of Hogwarts, she faces challenges she is certain regular first years don't have to deal with -- like the castle talking to her and demanding she find and evict an artifact deep beneath the stone floors. Or how whispers of another girl, nameed Heather Potter, stir some strange dream within her. #62 Story Title: Pairings, Characters: OMC/Pansy Parkinson, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy Rating: Warnings: Summary: Evan Potter grew up knowing two things were true: that he was the Boy Who Lived, and that because of that, it wasn't safe for his squib brother Harry to live in the magical world. He'd be an easy target for any angry Death Eater who wanted revenge. No matter how badly he wants to be an ordinary kid with an ordinary brother, his life is never going to work that way. Then it turns out that Harry isn't a squib after all. And when Evan follows him into Slytherin to protect him... well, maybe his life isn't as set in stone as he'd always thought it would be. Hetalia #63 Story Title: From Spacious Skies, To Perilous Fight Pairings, Characters: America (Hetalia); Canada (Hetalia); Germany (Hetalia); North Italy (Hetalia); England (Hetalia); France (Hetalia); Molossia (Hetalia); Additional micronations Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Graphic Violence, Invasive Medical Procedures Summary: America’s explosive appearance on the national stage sent ripples of shock throughout the world. As he grapples to find his place as the Personification of the United State of America, dark forces begin to stir once more. Sequel to"In Need of Representation". James Bond #64 Story Title: GoldenEye Interrupted Pairings, Characters: James Bond/Alec Trevelyan Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply, Canon-Typical Violence Summary: James Bond meets up with his partner, Alec Trevelyan, to complete a mission — destroy a chemical weapons facility. When he finds Alec, he quickly discovers there’s something else going on. Following his instincts, he talks to Alec, leading the pair to realize they have two different sets of orders. The two partners know that if they had followed their separate orders, they might both have been killed. Now, they will carry out James’ orders to destroy the facility, and then they will go hunting. There’s a mole in MI6, and they’re just the Double O’s to catch him. #65 Story Title: My Partner the Car Pairings, Characters: James Bond/Alec Trevelyan/Q Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply, Canon-Typical Violence Summary: James Bond's partner, Alec Trevelyan, recently died. When he goes to pick up Alec's old car, he discovers there's more to the Jaguar than he realized, and that Alec wasn't as dead as everyone thought. With the assistance of MI6's Quartermaster, James has to find Alec's body, and somehow return Alec's spirit to his body. It might be an impossible task for some, but not for MI6's best Double O's. Law & Order #66 Story Title: a moment of transition Pairings, Characters: Mike Logan/Elizabeth Olivet; Mike Logan (Chris Noth), Elizabeth Olivet (Carolyn McCormick), Caroline Olivet (I'm picturing Madeline Zima), Lucas de Motigny (OC, I'm picturing Tom Sturridge) Rating: Mature | M Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Caroline Olivet starts her first semester at Yale. Les Miserables #67 Story Title: We’ll take a cup of kindness, yet Pairings, Characters: Minor/Background relationships. Grantaire, Enjolras, Courfeyrac, Combeferre, Joly, Musichetta, Bossuet, Bahorel, Bahorel’s laughing mistress, Feuilly, Jean"Jehan"Pouvoir, Eponine Thenardier, Marius Pontmercy; Cosette; Gavroche Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply, Alcohol, mentions of marijuana, Summary: They’re having some sort of winter holiday… thing. She’s never quite sure what to call these gatherings. They're not religious, and they’re not meetings; they have regular meetings and this is not one. But, it’s not quite a party, either. It could be if they decided on a theme or reason, beyond"its cold and we’re all busy and everyone else is getting together, so let’s eat food and enjoy each other."So, it’s a thing. That works right? They’re having a December Thing. In which R discovers Enjolras can cook, Cosette tricks Gavroche into eating vegetables, Bossuet both forgets and wins at White Elephant, and having close friends is just generally awesome. Marvel Cinematic Universe #71 Story Title: till human voices wake us Pairings, Characters: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Clint Barton, James"Bucky"Barnes, James"Rhodey"Rhodes, Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Chooses not to use Warnings Summary: Tony is called out on a rescue mission. Things deteriorate from there. [post-Civil War sort-of fix-it reconciliation fic, de-aging (kid!Steve), action/adventure, ensemble, eventual Steve/Tony] #73 Story Title: Whoops, I slipped Pairings, Characters: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and the rest of the Avengers in more of a supporting role Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: There's an explosion in the labs and Tony Stark finds himself in the body of a 3 or 4 year old. Unfortunately, his adult brain is calibrated for an adult body and all of the connections are scrambled, so he's in a bit a pickle. It's hard to let your teammates know that you're capable of rational thought when you can't even figure out how to operate the controls that enable you to walk and talk. #74 Story Title: Pairings, Characters: Matt Murdock & Peter Parker; Peter Parker & Tony Stark Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Matt never liked Tony Stark until he met Peter Parker. Now... now he HATES him. But he's not going to be the one to start a fight. End it yes, but there's no way he'll risk Peter's anger by starting it. And what does Stark mean, Peter's missing? Marvel Cinematic Universe/Torchwood #75 Story Title: The Stars Lead Me to You Pairings, Characters: James 'Bucky' Barnes/Ianto Jones, Natasha Romanoff/Toshiko Sato, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Thor/Loki, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson Rating: Teen | T Warnings: MPREG, Miscarriage, a/o/b Summary: A person can only take so much being someone's second or in Ianto Jones case third or even fourth choice but still he stays with Jack because he loves him until the case with the Space Whale cost him the child he didn't know he was carrying, unable to watch Jack fawn over Gwen anymore Ianto decides to leave. Seeking out his father Phil Coulson advice Ianto ends up becoming the second handler to the Avengers and finds himself growing closer to the former Winter Soldier Bucky, who seems to know him from another time and many just find happiness with him. Once Upon A Time #77 Story Title: The Stowaways Pairings, Characters: Ruby/Belle, Killian/Emma Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: On a much needed vacation, Emma and Killian find that they are not alone on the Jolly Roger. Original Works #78 Story Title: Taking Over Pairings, Characters: Original Male Character/Orc, Original Male Character/Original Male Character Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Graphic Violence, Major Character Death, Chooses not to use Warnings, Past abusive relationship, PWP that grew plot, Summary: The King is dead, long live the King... As king's consort, Teyrin had never expected any strife. Then the orcs attacked. Now Teyrin has found himself torn between two world: rebellion against the new King of Athary is brewing in Neith. However, stuck at the castle, Teyrin finds himself falling in love not just with the Orckish culture, but with their king as well. As the consequences get more dire, Teyrin finds the stakes increasing. It's no longer just his life that hangs in the balance. Peaky Blinders #80 Story Title: A Battle Joined Pairings, Characters: Esme Shelby/Tommy Shelby Rating: No Rating Warnings: Chooses not to use Warnings Summary: "Your wife is gone, Tommy. Does it matter how?" A sprawling tale of family and deceit, love and regret, anchored by Esme and Tommy's complicated arranged marriage. Primeval (BBC) #81 Story Title: untitled role reversal fic Pairings, Characters: Nick/Stephen, Ensemble Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Nick emerges from an anomaly into a world where Stephen is still alive . . . and Nick is the person who betrayed the team by siding with Helen. Nick doesn't know if he could return to his own 'verse even if he wanted to, but finds that Stephen is reason enough to make him want to stay in this one. At first Nick is distrusted, especially by Claudia. Nick helps the ARC by pointing out the differences between his world and this one and helping them try to figure out what Helen's up to. Eventually he is allowed back on the team; this time with Stephen as the team leader. Connor and Abby welcome Nick back with open arms (even if he isn't ~their Nick) and the four of them hang out together as a team and as friends. Nick and Stephen rekindle their friendship and grow even closer until they admit that the relationship they want is far different from the one they had before. (If you're familiar with Primeval, this fic was started for the role reversal square for trope_bingo.) Star Trek: AOS #82 Story Title: The Paths We Take, Glittering And Entwined Pairings, Characters: James Kirk/Spock, Leonard McCoy/Christine Chapel, may be other ships; Spock, James Kirk, Leonard McCoy, Christine Chapel, Nyota Uhura, other characters TBD Rating: Teen | T Warnings: Drug use; drug withdrawals Summary: When Captain Spock is assigned captainship of the USS Enterprise, he thinks it will be nothing more than a chance to improve upon his last post...until he finds himself in the same room with Ensign James T. Kirk. They find themselves both on the receiving end of a mental link that they now share, which brings complications for them both: for Spock, it is how to remain unattached in the face of a crisis and for Kirk it is how to keep the secret he is keeping from both his captain and his best friend. But in the face of a threat that could bring about the end of the Federation as they know it, perhaps this link is the best thing for both of them in the end. Star Trek: TOS #84 Story Title: Day Of The Cypok Pairings, Characters: Pavel Chekov/Irina Galliulin Rating: Mature | M Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Pavel Chekov experiences his own version of Groundhog Day--aboard his new command, USS Integer. Star Wars #85 Story Title: a million lightyears away (from you) Pairings, Characters: Kylo Ren/Armitage Hux Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Chooses not to use Warnings, canon typical violence, injury recovery, developing relationships Summary: Following Crait, Hux takes a medical leave, to recover from his injuries. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren does not approve. #87 Story Title: Out to Sea Pairings, Characters: Kylo Ren/Hux Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: A hundred years ago, a lord's son was lured to the sea by a mermaid and was never seen again. Now a mermaid has appeared once more, and she seems to have her sights set on Kylo. As the mermaid promises Kylo a better life under the sea but can he trust her? If what she is saying is true, then Kylo needs to decide between paradise and his family. Based off the book"Forbidden Sea." #88 Story Title: Pivotal moments (working title) Pairings, Characters: Luke Skywalker/Han Solo Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Han wasn't used to looking at life through its pivotal moments #89 Story Title: Still un-named Pairings, Characters: Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Kylo Amidala is the drag queen who keeps getting arrested by Hux nearly every week. #90 Story Title: Strike True Pairings, Characters: Kylo Ren/Armitage hux Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Chooses not to use Warnings Summary: Seducing the new Supreme Leader is the best course of action, Hux decides, both for the order and for his own personal safety. Star Wars Legends, X-Wing series #92 Story Title: Just Like That, Everything Changes Pairings, Characters: Wes Janson/Derek"Hobbie"Klivian, Wedge Antilles, Tycho Celchu, minor characters Rating: General | G Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: After years of being"just friends", an imminent separation forces Wes and Hobbie to finally accept their feelings for the other, and in time, they may even admit this to each other. Supernatural #93 Story Title: Angel of the Morning Pairings, Characters: Gabriel/Christa(OFC) Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Chooses not to use Warnings Summary: slightly inspired by the Juice Newton song of the same name. sequel to Invisible Touch (OC Edition). Things don't go as planned for our golden-eyed Archangel (do they ever?) Not every human has an Angel as a soulmate, but every Angel has a human as a theirs. Will Christa be able to accept the truth when she finds out just how deep the bond between her and Gabriel goes? Or will she reject him forever? Can true love really conquer all? #94 Story Title: Minus One Pairings, Characters: Jody Mills Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: When Dean turns up on Jody's doorstep, injured and minus Sam, she and Bobby have to work out what happened in order to save both Winchesters. #96 Story Title: surrender feels safe Pairings, Characters: Gabriel/Sam Winchester Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply Summary: Sam just lost his job. And no, it wasn’t his fault or his employer’s. This isn’t the best of times for small enterprises in Detroit. He is also a week away from being evicted from his apartment and nobody seems to want to employ him. But let’s take a step back and think about the mysterious job offer he receives on the night he becomes unemployed. With no options left, he gives it a try. He doesn’t expect to throw his new employer’s world off-kilter, forge an unexpected friendship with the oldest being in creation and be swept off his feet along with all of it (not necessarily in that order). Things just happen, right? Right. Supernatural RPF #97 Story Title: Spies, Suits and Alpha's Pairings, Characters: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Minor original character death, a/o/b, attempted rape (not by either J's), alpha!Jensen, omega!Jared Summary: J2 version of Kingsman. Jensen Ackles made it his mission to look after his fallen partner's family, especially his omega son Jared, promising Jared he would always be there for him. When Jared's step father attempts to claim him Jared runs and calls Jensen for help as a Kingsman Legacy Jared's world is changed as he proves that just because he is an omega he is as good as any alpha and deserves his spot. Transformers Generation One #98 Story Title: Pairings, Characters: Prowl & Barricade, Prowl & Bluestreak, Prowl & Bluestreak & Barricade, Prowl/Starscream, Prowl/Jazz, Codicil, First Aid, Lifeline, Nightstalker, Accord, Trailbreaker, Crosscut, Pulse, Incidental OCs Rating: Teen | T Warnings: No Warnings apply, Chooses not to use Warnings Summary: Prowl, a young single parent, manages raising his creation, the demands of his own neglectful former guardian, and seeks to enter into a relationship. TVXQ #99 Story Title: Digital Stockholm Pairings, Characters: Jung Yunho/Shim Changmin Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: mentions of suicide, stress induced anxiety, depression symptoms Summary: Yunho has no idea why there are concerning videos of Changmin on his laptop, but it might just unhinge the volatile and complicated relationship he’s maintained with Changmin for the last decade. Set at the end of 2014, a psycho-dramatic get-together fic. Voltron: Legendary Defender #101 Story Title: An Inconvenient Attachment Pairings, Characters: Keith/Pidge | Katie Holt, Ryan Kinkade/James Griffin (mentioned), past Pidge | Katie Holt/Original Male character, Pidge | Katie Holt Shiro (Voltron) Keith (Voltron) Iverson (Voltron) James Griffin (Voltron) Ryan Kinkade Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: No Warnings apply, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Accidental Voyeurism, Summary: In the aftermath of the failed Kerberos mission, Katie Holt descended into despair. No amount of skill would give her the information she wanted, especially after being banned from Garrison property by Commander Iverson. Thus there was only one solution in her mind. She had to infiltrate the Galaxy Garrison, to be close to the source and enable her to find what she needed to find to know the fate of her father and brother. Getting in was the easy part. Being able to stay? That was a little harder. Remaining unattached so she could focus entirely on finding her family? That was the hardest part, harder than she ever could expect after years of being brushed aside. #104 Story Title: show me what you're made of Pairings, Characters: Pidge | Katie Holt/Original Male Character, Pidge | Katie Holt/Ryou Shirogane, Pidge| Katie Holt, Ryou Shirogane Rating: Explicit | E Warnings: Underage Drinking, Dubcon, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Ryou is Shiro's twin brother, Trans female Pidge, Transphobia, trans slurs Summary: Katie Holt, graduate student at the Taylor-Keaton Institute of Technology, was proud of the work that her father and brother did at the Galaxy Garrison. Even knowing they were going to be gone for several months at the least going the furthest any manned mission had gone, filled her more with pride than with dread. Months passed, and then days passed without word from Matt. And then she saw the news. And her world crumbled apart. (A story in five parts about mourning, denial, and coming into adulthood by throwing oneself in the deep end and struggling to stay afloat.) Watch Dogs (Video Games) #105 Story Title: Hurricane Pairings, Characters: Aiden Pearce/Jordi Chin, Marcus Holloway/Wrench (Watch Dogs) Rating: Mature | M Warnings: Graphic Violence Summary: People keep going missing in downtown San Francisco, including a member of DedSec. When Marcus and the rest of the gang start to investigate, their mission runs face first into one that Aiden Pearce is involved in too—but this time, close and personal instead of from behind the safety of a camera and a drone. When all of that piles on top of a job Jordi Chin's on, Marcus begins to wonder if he's pissed off any unloving gods recently.

Lightning Dragon Slayer Love - Laxus x OC 9

Hallucinations

Adryn had begun to hallucinate from the potion that Freed had given her. At first, all she could see was something gray behind Freed, but then it continued to crawl up the side of the interior of the train until it reached the ceiling. “What do you see?” Laxus instantly questioned as he watched Adryn's eyes grow wide as she looked to the ceiling of the train car. “I see something weird.” Adryn simply responded, causing Laxus to frown. “Can you be more specific?” Freed asked before Laxus could. “Yeah, sure. I see this gray thing that is a little smaller than a normal human. It has long fingers and long toes. It is crawling on all fours and is just staring at me with a smile on its face. It has super sharp teeth and glowing red eyes with no pupil or whites, just all red eyes.” “Has it spoken to you yet?” Adryn was about to tell Freed that no, it hasn't spoken when it's smile turned to a frown and it opened it's mouth back up to being speaking to Adryn. “You, worthless girl. You can see and hear me now?” The demon's voice was growly and raspy. It wasn't too deep of a voice, but it still sent shivers through Adryn's body. “Um, yeah, I can see and hear you,” Adryn responded as she just stared at the demon who then smirked at her words. “Good.” “What is it saying?” Evergreen demanded immediately. “Uh, it asked me if I could see and hear it, so after what I responded, it said 'good'.” “That's creepy,” Bickslow stated with his babies repeating his words. “Now, you will listen to what I have to say, alright worthless girl?” The demon began once again as he glared down at Adryn. “Can you stop calling me 'worthless girl'? It's really rude.” Adryn snapped back at the demon who seemed actually surprised that she spoke back to it. “Shut up!” A voice from behind Adryn yelled, causing her to jolt. She turned to see another demon just colored red with green eyes instead. It was hanging onto a window while inside the train car. “You are a worthless girl, so you will be called that.” “What's going on now?” Laxus asked before the demons could speak up again. “There's another one. This time it's red with green eyes. It's an asshole.” “Be silent, you bitch!” The red demon snapped as it crawled closer to Adryn. “It called me a bitch.” “Listen to me, worthless girl.” Adryn turned her attention back to the gray demon with red eyes. “You are a terrible person. You have killed people, innocent people. You deserve to die a terrible death, like the one you gave to Ivan.” “That's just something incredibly rude to say to me,” Adryn grumbled as she frowned and looked to the ground. “What's going on?” Freed questioned to which Adryn informed them of what the demon was saying to her. “That really is rude.” Evergreen stated a little upset that her friend was being told something so bad. “You don't deserve Laxus.” The red demon spoke up, causing Adryn to turn to look at it again. “What do you mean?” Adryn questioned in confusion. “He is a much better person than you are.” “Wow, guys, you just love being assholes, don't you?” “What are they saying now?” Laxus asked as he watched his girlfriend frown. “They told me that you are a better person than me, which wasn't all that wrong, but they also said that I don't deserve you.” “You should kill yourself.” Another voice stated as a green demon with blue eyes crawled over the seat and sat on Freed's shoulders. “How about you get off Freed, you creep.” “There's a demon on me?” Freed's tone was slightly concerned but also curious. “What does it look like?” “It's a dark green with... actually quite beautiful blue eyes.” “Has it said anything to you?” “Yeah, it told me to kill myself.” “Kill yourself! Kill yourself! Kill yourself!” The demons began to chant as they began to crawl all around the group, sometimes crawling on someone. “Okay, guys, I'm not going to kill myself. So how about you just calm your asses down!” Adryn snapped as she just watched them go around them over and over again all the while telling her to kill herself. After she spoke, they all froze and snapped their heads to look at her. “Then... How about we kill you!” They all spoke in unison as they began to quickly crawl towards Adryn. She began to panic and let out a little scream as they reached out to grab her. “Stop it!” Adryn yelled out immediately, which caused the demons to stop just short of touching her. “What's going on?!” Laxus questioned now completely worried about his girlfriend. However, Adryn ignored him as the demons began to speak again. “Come on, we're just having a little fun.” The gray demon spoke with a laugh. “Yeah, don't ruin our fun.” The green demon stated as it laughed as well. “Yeah... We just want to rip you apart and devour you!” The red one yelled out which caused Adryn to let out a gasp as it finally touched her. The red demon grabbed her arm and pulled it away from Laxus, effectively separating their hands. “Um, how about you don't!” Adryn yanked her arm back from the demon, causing the demon to frown. “What's going on?!” Laxus demanded this time. “They want to eat me. The red one touched me and pulled my arm away from you.” “Freed, do something!” Laxus nearly yelled at his friend. “The potion will wear off in a while, we can't do anything until then,” Freed responded in a worried tone. “Just remember, what you are seeing, feeling and hearing are not real.” Freed addressed Adryn who just shook her head. “We are real. We live inside you.” The demons stated at the same time. “They told me they live in me and are real!” Adryn spoke up now beginning to panic further. Freed began to say something but he was drowned out by the extremely loud laughter the demons suddenly began to produce. It slowly began to get louder and louder until everything was drowned out by them. “Okay! Stop it please!” Adryn cried out as she put her hands over her ears and shut her eyes. “This isn't real... This isn't real... This isn't-” “We will always be with you.” One of the demons whispered through the laughter, and then there was nothing. “Adryn!” The next thing Adryn heard was Laxus' worried voice right in her ear. She slowly put her hands down and opened her eyes. She looked around to see nothing at all. “Adryn?” Freed questioned also in a worried tone. “They... are gone?” Adryn hesitantly spoke up finally after a moment of looking around her just to make sure. “What just happened?!” Laxus was still in worry mode, which was kind of strange to see him like that, but it was also cute. Adryn caught her breath and calmed down before explaining to them what just happened to her. “That doesn't sound fun.” Evergreen simply stated after Adryn was done with her explanation. That caused Adryn to chuckle. “Yeah, no it wasn't fun.” Adryn agreed with a smile on her face. Even though she was smiling, she was still feeling a little uneasy. “Can I just go to sleep? I think I need to rest after that ordeal.” “You can lean against me,” Laxus informed his girlfriend. He figured he would say it since Adryn was going to do that anyway. “Thank you,” Adryn muttered as she leaned against Laxus. She held onto his arm and quickly drifted off to sleep, showing just how mentally exhausted she was. She didn't stir the rest of the train ride until it was time for them to get off at the last stop for the day. “Adryn, it's time to wake up.” Laxus gently shook his girlfriend until she slowly opened her eyes. “Are we there?” Adryn muttered softly, as she pulled herself up to a normal seated position and released Laxus' arm. “We are,” Freed responded instead of Laxus. Adryn slowly looked over at him and frowned. “You really need to work on your potion's side effects. Those demons were in my dreams.” Adryn was clearly not happy about that fact. “I apologize. I will work hard to make a motion sickness potion without such side effects next time.” Adryn just nodded her head and watched as Laxus stood up. The train was no longer moving and people were exiting the train. So, Adryn stood up as well, but her legs felt like jelly and she nearly fell over. If it wasn't for Laxus reaching out to grab her she would have fallen. “Are you alright?” Laxus questioned as he watched his girlfriend try to straighten out with shaky legs. “I'll be alright,” Adryn responded simply as she held onto Laxus to keep herself standing. Once she was able to move properly, she grabbed her bag and followed the others off the train with their own bags in hand. “So, we are only about halfway to the halfway point. We will stay in an inn tonight and start back up tomorrow morning. It should take us about four days to get there.” Freed informed the group once they were off the train and standing in the train station. “Let's get to our inn. I'm tired.” Adryn muttered as he leaned against Laxus. Freed nodded his head and began to guide the group to a nearby inn. They rented three rooms. One for Laxus and Adryn, one for Freed and Bickslow and then one for Evergreen. Once everything was paid for they said their goodnights and headed to their rooms. “How are you feeling?” Laxus asked Adryn as the two of them began to get ready for bed. Adryn paused in pulling out a nightgown to look over at Laxus. “I... I'm alright.” Adryn responded even though she knew that Laxus wouldn't believe that. “Want to talk about it?” “You know, you've changed a little bit. You are a lot more caring than I originally thought you were.” Adryn then turned back to her bag and continued pulling out her blue nightgown. “You're avoiding the topic, aren't you? Do you just not want to talk about it?” When Adryn didn't respond Laxus just nodded his head. “You've changed me.” “Is that a good thing, or bad thing?” “I'd say it's both.” Laxus' words caused Adryn to turn back around to look at him with confusion on her face. “How come?” “You made me a better man, but if anyone tried to take you from me again, I might just kill them.” Adryn couldn't help but smile at that, even though she knew that she probably shouldn't be happy about the last part. “I feel the same,” Adryn admitted to her boyfriend, who just smiled in return. “I'm sure that we won't face those types of problems now that Ivan's gone.” “We can never be too sure,” Laxus stated as he grabbed his sleep pants and went into the bathroom to change. While he changed in there, Adryn changed in their room. Soon enough, both of them were ready for bed and climbing into the bed. It was a little bigger than the one Laxus had which made him make a mental note to get a bigger bed for the two of them. The couple decided that they were too tired for any snuggling and went right to sleep. ~ The next day, the pair were awoken by Freed knocking at their door. It seems that the two dragon slayers had slept in a bit too long. “Yeah, yeah, I'm coming,” Laxus muttered as he climbed out of bed to get to the door. “Good morning, Laxus,” Freed stated when Laxus opened the door for him. “What's so good about it?” That caused Adryn to chuckle from their bed. Laxus was hardly awake and honestly just wanted more sleep, rather than to get on another train. “I apologize, Laxus, but we need to get going.” “Yeah, I know. We'll get ready and meet you down in the entrance.” With that, Laxus closed the door and moved to his bag to get out fresh clothes for the new day. Meanwhile, Adryn did the same thing and pulled out the exact type of outfit she wore yesterday. “Do you only own shorts and tank tops?” Laxus just had to ask as it was a burning question in his mind. He only ever saw the girl wear such an outfit, and he didn't see anything else in her clothes that she'd brought over to his home. “...Yes...” Adryn hesitantly responded as she guiltily looked over to her boyfriend. “Why?” “I guess I just don't like wearing anything else. Ivan always made me wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt or a dress, so to change from that, I decided to wear this and it just stuck with me all these years.” To that, Laxus just nodded his head in understanding. “Also, before you ask, I wear my cloak every day because I don't like being looked at, and I just like the comfort of it around me. It's like a protector.” “I can understand that.” Laxus, of course, could due to his coat that he wore every day and everywhere. Adryn figured he'd wear it to their wedding if he could. This then caused her to pause as she was thinking about a wedding between her and Laxus. She had to shake her head to get the thought out before she began to blush noticeably, but Laxus noticed it already. “You alright?” “I'm good!” Adryn quickly replied before snatching up her clothes and running into the bathroom frantically. Laxus just stared after her and figured she'd thought of something that caused her to freak out. He wouldn't push it. Eventually, both were ready and met up with the Thunder Legion in the entrance of the inn. They quickly headed over to the train station and got on the train, for yet another full day of traveling. Both Laxus and Adryn just forced themselves to sleep the day away. They woke up some and felt sick but distracted themselves by chatting with the Thunder Legion. Adryn wasn't about to drink any more of that potion as she was terrified that the demons would return. Thankfully, the next few days passed by quickly and they finally arrived in the town of their destination. Once there, Freed guided them to where he had heard about where the Raven Tail members were staying. It was like every member of Raven Tail planned to live in the forest surrounding towns, because that's exactly where they were, again. “I'll go in first,” Laxus stated before kicking down the door. The Raven Tail members were shocked and took a second to attack, but soon it was a full out battle. Quickly though, the fight was over with Laxus and Adryn attacking the men and women together. They took everyone out together, nearly within 5 minutes. “Damn. You two are such a power couple.” Bickslow stated with his babies echoing, “Power couple! Power couple!” “Yeah, yeah, just help us tie them up, and Ever, call the Magic Council.” Adryn requested as she and Laxus pulled out some rope from her bag that she'd been carrying. “Why do you bring some rope around with you?” Freed asked the question they all were wondering. “Just in case.” “In case of what? This type of situation, or for something else?” Evergreen demanded a little worried. “Yes.” Adryn cryptically responded confusing the group further. They pushed their worry for her out of their minds and began to tie up the Raven Tail members while Evergreen got the Magic Council to come to them. Thankfully, they had a headquarters set up in a town nearby and they could be there within the day. The group stayed with the members for a few hours until the Magic Council got there. As the members were being loaded into the transport vehicle the Magic Council brought, one man resisted and just looked over to Adryn. “You better watch out, girl, or else your past is going to come back and bite you in the ass.” The man spoke to Adryn harshly before he was shoved into the vehicle. “Um, what the fuck was that about?” Adryn questioned as she looked to her friends. They didn't know what it was about either, so no one said anything, other than Laxus. “Who cares, nothing will get to you while we're me here,” Laxus stated confidently. He took a hold of Adryn's hand and held it tightly, causing the girl to smile up at him. “Thank you, Laxus,” Adryn responded as a man from the Magic Council approached the group. “Thank you for capturing these criminals. The next town over has a man there claiming to be part of Raven Tail and he is causing some problems. If you are interested, can you go get him as well?” The man asked the group, who instantly agreed. “Of course, we would be glad to help,” Adryn responded with a smile. “Thank you.” The man then returned to the vehicle and they drove off into the distance. “Well, let's head to the town next to this one. It shouldn't take too long to walk there.” Freed stated after the Magic Council had disappeared. “Oh, thank god. We don't have to take a train?” Adryn was relieved at that. Secretly, so was Laxus. “We can walk this time,” Freed responded simply. So, with that, the group headed off to the next town. A few hours of walking and a couple of breaks later, the group reached the town. They walked around the town to see not many people out on the streets. The few that were out warned the group to get to an inn soon or else someone would come after them. “Can you point us in the direction of that man who is causing the problems?” Freed questioned to an older woman who was just sitting on her steps. “Just wait, he'll show up.” The old woman stated before standing up and going inside of her home. As the day started to grow dark, the group was about ready to give up and head to an inn. However, they turned on a road that would lead to an inn and saw a man at the end of the road just standing there looking at them. “I think he's shown up,” Adryn commented as she watched the man slowly walk over to the group. “Hello, Adryn. We have never met, but I know of you. Ivan had told me many stories about you.” The man stated once he was close enough to the group. “Who are you?” “It doesn't matter.” The man then pulled out a sword and got ready to attack the group. In return, Adryn, Laxus, and the Thunder Legion got ready to fight. “Adryn, are you ready to die?” “No,” Adryn replied instantly. Her eyes began to glow and she began to cause the man severe pain. He, however, just smiled at Adryn and began to slowly walk towards her as if he wasn't affected at all. “Stand back, we got this!” Bickslow stated as the Thunder Legion stepped in front of Laxus and Adryn. The three of them began to fight the man but were knocked away by an invisible force that emitted from the man. “We will fight together!” Adryn declared as she helped Evergreen up to her feet. Laxus helped up Freed as Bickslow stood up by himself, feeling a little left out due to no one helping him up. So, the group began to fight the man all together. Adryn and Laxus used their dragon slayer magic while the others used a mix of their main magic and their secondary magic. It took them all attacking at once to take the man down. The man then laid on the ground, slowly losing consciousness. However, he began to laugh like a maniac. “What are you laughing about?!” Adryn demanded angrily as she approached the man with the others. “Our new master will come and take you all out for interfering in our plans!” The man yelled out as the darkness consumed him and he fell into unconsciousness. “New master?!” Adryn then grabbed the man and began to shake him. “Wake up and tell me what the fuck you mean!” “Adryn, he's out and won't be waking up any time soon,” Laxus stated to the girl as he pulled her away from the unconscious man. “There is a new master for Raven Tail? That cannot be good.” Freed muttered mostly to himself. “Why won't Raven Tail just go down and stay down?!” Adryn was clearly distraught over the situation. “Why would Raven Tail get a new master? Who could be as bad as Ivan to become their new master?” “I'm worried too, but let's get to an inn. The night is rapidly approaching.” Freed mentioned causing the group to notice how dark it had gotten. Adryn calmed down slightly and nodded her head. Laxus and Adryn walked behind the Thunder Legion as they walked on the road leading to the inn. Once there, Freed got them rooms and they all said goodnight before going off to their own rooms. “Have you calmed down?” Laxus questioned as he hesitantly looked over to his girlfriend. Adryn sighed and nodded her head. “I'm sorry that I freaked out.” Adryn guiltily spoke up as she sat on their bed. Laxus sat next to her and shook his head. “Your reaction was understandable,” Laxus stated as he pulled Adryn against him. Adryn leaned her head against Laxus' shoulder and sighed. “I have a bad feeling that things are about to get crazy.” “I'll-” “You'll protect me, I know, Laxus. I just can't help but be worried. It's just a terrible feeling that's inside me right now.” “We'll be fine, as long as we stay together. All of us.” Laxus was trying to be uplifting and help the girl feel better, but it didn't help. That bad feeling remained in Adryn, but she just forced a smile and snuggled against Laxus. “Thank you for being here for me.” With that, the two kissed quickly and then got ready for bed. They slept holding onto each other that night, however, that wasn't enough for Adryn's bad feeling to dissipate. The bad feeling bled into her dreams and caused her to have a dream where she was falling backward into darkness. It caused her to awake with a jolt, nearly waking Laxus as well. However, Adryn just snuggled closer to Laxus and fell back to sleep, a dreamless sleep this time.

@c-l-ford gave me 29, 50, and 17 for this ask meme fandom thing. TY!!

29.  Top 5 family relationships: 

All of the ladies at 300 Fox Way in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Striefvater

Veronica and Keith Mars in Veronica Mars

October Daye and her fetch/sister May Daye, May’s girlfriend Jazz, her fiance Tybalt, her squire Quentin Sollys, his best friend and also informal squire of Toby’s as well as adopted son of Tybalt’s Raj, and Quentin’s boyfriend Dean Lorden - plus a whole mix of other folk loosely and tightly linked to one another for a variety of reasons such as the sea witch, a cyber-dryad, and a bridge troll taxi driver.

Kara Thrace/Adama - father/child unofficial adoptive relationship in Battlestar Galactica. 

Sally and Gillian Owens, the sisters in Practical Magic (plus their aunts and Sally’s daughters, but really it’s mostly about Sally and Gillian).

50. Top 5 teen dramas - (this is a big one for me!):

Beverly Hills 90210 - the original, often imitated never duplicated

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Veronica Mars (minus the revival)

One Tree Hill

Plus all of my notable mentions: Black Lightning, Cloak and Dagger, Euphoria, The Fosters, Freaks and Geeks, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, Legacies, The Lying Game, The O.C., Party of Five, Popular, Pretty Little Liars, Roswell (the original), (but also) Roswell, New Mexico (the reboot), Runaways, Scream, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Smallville, Trinkets, The Vampire Diaries

17. Top 5 “deserved better” characters:

Logan Echolls from the end of the Veronica Mars revival

Clarke Griffin, Raven Reyes, and Octavia Blake on The 100 - they’re a full set, this is not cheating.

Tara Maclay from Buffy

Robin and Barney as a couple from HIMYM - fuck that finale forever for so many reasons, but.

Persephone Poldma from The Raven Cycle. (I miss her)

QUEERBAITING: BAITING A QUEER AUDIENCE WITH THE PROMISE OF REPRESENTATION?

So, I finally got around to translating my term paper on Queerbaiting. I initially intended on translating it all manually, but ended up not having the time for it. Finally I decided on using DeepL for the translation, as it works great for academic writing and can handle german sentence structure.

This paper was written in September 2018 and turned in on September 31st. It was graded with 1.3 on the german academic grading scale (”very good” or ~3.7 in the US).

Introduction

Although the phenomenon of queer baiting made its way into media research a few years ago, the number of publications written on it remains manageable. A keyword search provides 125 academic texts containing the term "Queerbaiting" and almost exclusively from the last 5 years.[1]

Nevertheless, queer baiting does not seem to be a topic unknown to the non-academic general public. A search with common search engines and the keyword "Queerbaiting" yields 150,000-175,000 results [2], including Wikipedia entries, videos and articles in online magazines. In the English-speaking world there are various online articles that deal with this phenomenon - often in relation to television series such as Once Upon A Time (cf. Langfelder 2016) or The 100 (cf. Shakeri 2017). But there are also German-language texts on this topic (cf. Sky 2018). Even in the Lexikon der Filmbegriffe of the University of Kiel there is an entry on this subject (cf. Schlichter 2017). Queerbaiting seems to be a topic that repeatedly sparks discourse.

In social media, users can exchange views on this topic and there are different opinions on what can be considered queer baiting and what not. In preparation for this work, I have asked online for examples of queer baiting in order to extend the selection of the object of investigation by the examples I know personally.[3] The following answers show a dissatisfaction with the current amount of representation of queer [4] relationships in film and television. Among the mentioned examples were the already mentioned television series The 100, the series Supergirl, Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars and 13 Reasons Why, as well as the cross-media Harry Potter franchise.

But queer baiting is not limited to the protracted storylines of television series; this phenomenon can also be observed in games like Life Is Strange or films like the Pitch Perfect trilogy.

The present work deals with the term queer baiting and the related concepts. In this context, the representation of LGBTQ+ identities in American Hollywood film will also be discussed. In addition, two social media posts will be examined as concrete examples, which served as advertising for the film Pitch Perfect 3. The work will answer the question why queer baiting can be so frustrating for LGBTQ+ viewers and which mechanisms make queer baiting possible.

[1] Via Google Scholar, as of 24.09.2018.

[2]  Via Google: 153,000 results, via Yahoo: 175,000 results, via Bing: 175,000 results, as of 24.09.2018.

[3] This took place via a post in the anonymous social network Jodel, in a channel (@girlsgirlsgirls) in which primarily LGBTQ+ topics concerning women are discussed. The respective post can be found under the link: https://share.jodel.com/post?postId=5b210941c3c100000f3bced8&channel=other&_branch_match_id=572700582120145397. 

[4] Queer as generic term for identities and sexualities falling into the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

Terminology

Queerbaiting is a term coined by fans, whose meaning has changed over the years (cf. Nordin 2015: 4f.). Also in its established meaning there are different approaches of how the term can be interpreted.

Eve Ng defines queer baiting as a practice originating from producers that exploits the interest of recipients in narratives with LGBTQ+ themes without actually fulfilling these expectations.

I use the term queerbaiting to refer to situations where those officially associated with a media text court viewers interested in LGBT narratives - or become aware of such viewers - and encourage their interest in the media text without the text ever definitively confirming the nonheterosexuality of the relevant characters. (Ng 2017: 1.2)

By this, however, she also understands narratives that contain LGBTQ+ themes, but where there is a discrepancy between the audience's expectations and actual representation in the media text. It is precisely this discrepancy between the expectations built up and the actual text that constitutes queer baiting for her (cf. Ng 2017: 1.2). These expectations of the audience arise through both intratextual references and the "producer paratext", which contains information on the text from the producers (this can be any form of extratextual promotion from the producers) as well as through so-called "queer contextuality" - the summation of the audience's previous experiences with the media representation of queer figures (cf. ibid.: 1.3, 2.5).

While Ng uses her definition very openly, Judith Fathallah is much more precise:

Queerbaiting may be defined as a strategy by which writers and networks attempt to gain the attention of queer viewers via hints, jokes, gestures, and symbolism suggesting a queer relationship between two characters, and then emphatically denying and laughing off the possibility. (Fathallah 2014: 491)

In this definition, the focus is less on the relationship between producer and recipient, instead it defines queer baiting via intratextual cues and codes, and the intratextual rejection and/or mockery of a queer relationship.

The core of the phenomenon remains the same in both definitions: First, references to a non-heterosexual relationship are scattered, be it in the text or in the paratext - a queer reading is promoted - this leads to expectations on the part of the recipients, these expectations are then not fulfilled in the text, the relationship is not realized or possibly even the possibility of a queer relationship is dismissed as absurd. Queerbaiting is therefore a concept to be understood literally: one is baited with a queer relationship.

While queer baiting is a rather recent phenomenon (cf. Nordin 2015: 66), queer readings of media texts go back further. The queer interpretation of the relationship between the characters Spock and Captain Kirk of the Star Trek franchise demonstrably dates to the 1980s and beyond (cf. Jenkins 2006: 90f.). This interpretation of media texts - "queer reading" - stems from the lack of adequate representation:

A queer reading is constructed by a reader who, denied the obvious manifestation of homosexual desire, in a context in which heterosexual desire is normalized, seeks to identify the codes by which authors have indicated passionate relationships between same-sex members of their texts or have created available metaphors through cross-species relationships. (Mendelsohn 2002: 45)

Queer baiting is thus always connected to queer reading, since it would not be possible without this reading by the viewer - only the willingness to regard certain codes as homoerotic subtexts enables the systematic exploitation of these by producers.

The definition of queer baiting used in this work as a deliberate economically motivated tactic is based on the definition of the authors Guerrero-Pico, Establés and Ventura:

[...] 'queerbaiting' [is] a tactic whereby media producers suggest a homoerotic subtext between characters as a means to improve or maintain a show's ratings without actualizing or consummating such a relationship beyond suggestion and innuendo. (Guerrero-Pico/Establés/Ventura 2018: 313)

Although this definition explicitly refers to television productions, it can, in my opinion, also be applied to the example used in this work, which is the last iteration of a film trilogy that takes up subtext established in earlier films.

If one speaks of Queerbaiting, it cannot be avoided to also deal with Bury-Your-Gays, a phenomenon, which often appears in connection with Queerbaiting and represents a similar problem. Bury-Your-Gays is the recurring motif that queer figures in media texts often come to a violent end. In this way, despite the existence of these figures, a heteronormative narrative is promoted by denying queer figures a "happy end" and thus placing queer identities in a negative context (cf. Waggoner 2017: 3). Examples are Chloe in Life Is Strange[5] and Lexa in The 100 [6] . Since queer female characters, mostly lesbian women, often find a violent end in the media, one also speaks in this context of the "Dead Lesbian Syndrome" (cf. Guerrero-Pico/Establés/Ventura 2018: 312). Ng regards this phenomenon (without explicitly naming it) as a form of queer baiting instead of an independent phenomenon (cf. Ng 2017: 1.2).

Guerrero-Pico, Establés and Ventura examine the reactions of fans to the death of the serial character Lexa more closely. Among other things, they were able to observe an online movement called "LGBT Fans Deserve Better", which was primarily concerned with the representation of lesbian and bisexual women on television. This included online attacks on the producers of the series The 100, mainly via Twitter, as well as the wider context of negative fan practices, which for the authors fall under the term "fan-tagonism" [7] (cf. Guerrero-Pico/Establés/Ventura 2018: 312).

[5] If the player has chosen one of the two ends. Also Chloe's ex-girlfriend Rachel, who is already dead at the beginning of the game. 

[6] Further examples are Sara Lance in Arrow, Tara Maclay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hugh Culber in Star Trek: Discovery and all queer characters ever released in The Vampire Diaries. A list can be found on the website Does the dog die? (https://www.doesthedogdie.com/#topicTable ).

[7] A Portmanteau from "fan" and "antagonism". 

Representation

One aspect of the debate on queer baiting is the question of the representation of queer persons and relationships in film and television. Why is this representation important? And if representation is important, is queer baiting a problem for them?

The prevailing opinion in literature is that representation is important because it serves identity formation and affirmation. Through (positive) representation, negative feelings concerning one's own identity can be overcome and social isolation can be reduced (cf. Guerrero-Pico/Establés/Ventura 2018: 314). What is regarded as satisfactory representation changes over time, what was still regarded as positive representation in the 1990s would no longer be accepted as produced by many people today (cf. Nordin 2015: 63).

Whether queer baiting causes a representative damage is difficult to answer, Brennan sees no damage caused by queer baiting, instead he sees the creative potential for fans who create transformative works (cf. Brennan 2018: 202). However, the indignation caused by queer baiting cannot be denied, so it should be reconsidered whether subjectively perceived damage is not caused by the absence of representation. Guerrero-Pico, Establés and Ventura summarise the views of participants in the "LGBT Fans Deserve Better" movement as follows:

Queerbaiting is perceived, therefore, as a commercial trivialization of the problems that affect lesbian and bisexual fans, who do not find a normalized and healthy representation of their affective and sexual identities in hegemonic discourses (Guerrero-Pico/Establés/Ventura 2018: 327).

While the evaluation of representation in the viewer is subjective, there are tools to create a comparable basis for discussion. One of these tools is the so-called Vito Russo Test. This test, developed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and named after its founder, is based on the Bechdel Test. For a film to pass the Vito Russo test, three conditions must be true:

The film must contain at least one character that is recognizably gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and/or queer.

This character must not be primarily defined by sexuality and/or gender identity.

The character must be involved in the plot of the film to the extent that his or her absence would have a significant effect on it - he or she must be of significance. (cf. glaad.org 2018a)

The organisation GLAAD also publishes an annual report entitled "Studio Responsibility Index" which examines and classifies the LGBTQ+ representation in the films of the previous year of the seven largest Hollywood film studios[8].

For the 2017 film year, 12.8% of the films examined contained at least one LGBTQ+ character, of which 64% were gay men. Overall, 71% of the LGBTQ+ characters were men and 29% women (cf. Glaad.org 2018b). Of these films, 64% passed the Vito Russo test (cf. Glaad.org 2018a).

The film Pitch Perfect 3 and the studio Universal Pictures (short: Universal) dealt with in the following section can also be found in this report. Of the 14 films published by Universal, 4 included LGBTQ+ persons, so that Universal published the most LGBTQ+ inclusive films of the studios surveyed, of which only one passed the Vito Russo Test - Get Out. Pitch Perfect 3 did not pass the test, despite the presence of a lesbian character[9] (cf. Glaad.org 2018c).

[8] 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers. 

[9] The character Cynthia (Ester Dean) is only a background character.  "Ship": short for "relationship".

Pitch Perfect 3

The Pitch Perfect Trilogy is about a fictional university's A-Capella group The Barden Bellas, which protagonist Beca (Anna Kendrick) joins in the first film of the trilogy. The sequels play about 3 years after their predecessors and show The Barden Bellas during and after their time at the university.

The example I chose coincidentally shares a name with the video game Life is Strange: Chloe (Brittany Snow). This was connected by fans with the name Beca to the Portmanteau "Bechloe". This "ship name"[10] is used by fans to refer to the romantically interpreted relationship between the two characters. This relationship, however, takes place exclusively in the subtext and parate text of the films. The latter will be examined further here.

Already in 2016 Kendrick spoke in an interview with the LGBTQ+ magazine The Advocate about the relationship between the two characters and called it a quasi lesbian relationship[11] (see Advocate.com 2016). In the same interview she indicated that the homoerotic subtext perceptible in the second film was intended by the production side as a reaction to the queer interpretation of the relationship through fans (ibid.)[12].

Online marketing for Pitch Perfect 3 also plays with this interpretation of the relationship between the two characters. A commercial clip distributed in the Snapchat app shows Kendrick and Snow approaching each other, giving the impression they're going to kiss next. Instead, they turn to the camera and Kendrick asks the viewer to move up for more (in the app, linked websites or additional information can be accessed via this function). Due to the way the app works, previous content can no longer be accessed, but the video was saved by a user and published via Twitter[13] (Figure 1).

(Figure 1)

From the user's brief commentary it can be concluded that she felt a certain resentment about this type of marketing. In the reactions of other users to this post, the term "queer baiting" already appears repeatedly, so it can be assumed that at least some of the users regard this video, or the film to which it refers, as such.

The video plays with the expectation of viewers who emerge from a coded body language. Due to the physical closeness and the placement of the two actresses' hands, a pictorial language emerges with which otherwise romantic relationships are represented. The invitation to the viewer insinuates that a kiss is possible and that perhaps there is room in the film being advertised. The viewer who is interested in queer narratives thus gets an incentive to see the film, which, however, does not fulfil this expectation.

Another video[14] published on the Twitter account "Universal PicturesUK" shows scenes from the film Pitch Perfect 3, including a scene in which the seemingly naked characters Beca and Chloe stand behind one another, a scene in which the two characters are again shown over which red hearts have been overlaid digitally this time, and a scene in which Chloe puts her hands on Beca's chest to push her aside and then grabs her further, observed by the character Aubrey (Anna Camp).

(Figure 2)

The video is accompanied by the comment: "One day left ... Will Bechloe ever happen 👯? #PitchPerfect3 in cinemas tomorrow." (Figure 2). Not only is a very clear visual language used here, the term "Bechloe" is also used in a targeted manner, thus revealing an awareness of the possible queer dimension of the relationship. The queer reading is taken up and reinforced by the montage of the film scenes. In the context of the film, however, these are treated more as jokes than as opening up an actual romantic dimension, for which the film was criticized by GLAAD, among others (cf. Glaad.org 2018c).

On the basis of these examples, three observations can be made which answer the question of whether this is queer baiting:

The producers were aware of the queer reading of the material.

The producers used this reading to build up the expectations and hopes of the audience and to give them an incentive to see the film in the cinema - aware that these expectations would not be fulfilled.

The exploitation of this queer reading had no negative effect on the economic performance of the film, Pitch Perfect 3 was more successful than the first part of the trilogy, although not as successful as the second part (cf. Boxofficemojo.com).

These observations confirm that the two videos are queer baiting as defined by Guerrero-Pico, Establés and Ventura. In addition to some reactions to social media platforms and some texts published online, a media outcry seems to have failed to materialize; no "Shitstorm"[15] could be observed in this example, as in the Bury Your Gays trope.

[10] "Ship”: short for relationship.

[11] „I mean, our characters are pretty much in a lesbian relationship. As far as we’re concerned, they’re secretly in love.” (Advocate.com 2016).

[12] „If people didn’t think it was cute, we wouldn’t have pushed that chemistry even further in Pitch Perfect 2.” (ibid.).

[13] The video can be found under the title: "Twitter - megs" in the appendix.

[14] In the appendix under "Twitter - Universal PicturesUK". 

[15] Shitstorm: „Unter Shitstorms werden in der Forschung krisenhafte Ereignisse verstanden, die ihren Ausgangspunkt in sozialen Medien haben und im Wesentlichen durch Empörung statt sachlicher Kritik gekennzeichnet sind.“ (Pleil & Bastian 2017: 141). "In research, shitstorms are understood as crisis events that have their starting point in social media and are essentially characterized by indignation instead of objective criticism".

Conclusion

In summary it can be said that queer baiting is an economically motivated tactic, the intention is not to represent queer figures and relationships, but to win as many paying recipients as possible. However, it is precisely this representation that is important in the process of identity formation, especially among young people (cf. Guerrero-Pico/Establés/Ventura 2018: 314).

Queerbaiting works because there is already a lack of and - in parts of the audience - a desire for satisfactory queer representation, which leads to queer readings of media texts. In this subaudience there is also the will to consume and spend money for media products in which LGBTQ+ representation exists. Since in most cases this 'need' is not satisfied, or the representation is not long-lasting (Bury your gays), the discrepancy between expectation and actual media text described by Ng (see above) arises - resulting in frustration and disappointment. The examples chosen for this work show that the homoerotic subtext and the queer reading of the media text is indeed desired by producers and consciously used. Irrespective of how queer baiting is ethically judged, it can also be argued that in most cases it is a targeted false advertising, since it implicitly advertises content that is not reflected in the media text.

Since most of the recently produced films do not even meet the minimum of queer representation described in the Vito Russo Test, the use of queer baiting is unlikely to change much in the foreseeable future.

Sources

Advocate.com (2016). The A-List Interview: Anna Kendrick. Website. Advocate.com. https://www.advocate.com/current-issue/2016/11/01/list-interview-anna-kendrick (27.09.2018).

Boxofficemojo.com. Pitch Perfect Trilogy Movies at the Box Office - Box Office Mojo. Website. Boxofficemojo.com. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=pitchperfectseries.htm (27.09.2018).

Brennan, Joseph (2018). “Queerbaiting: The ‘playful’ possibilities of homoeroticism”. International Journal of Cultural Studies. 21.2. p. 189-206.

Fathallah, Judith (2015). „Moriarty’s Ghost: Or the Queer Disruption of BBC’ Sherlock”. Television & New Media. 16.5. p. 490-500.

Glaad.org (2018a). The Vito Russo Test (2018). Website. GLAAD. https://www.glaad.org/sri/2018/vitorusso (26.09.2018).

Glaad.org (2018b). Overview of Findings (2018). Website. GLAAD. https://www.glaad.org/sri/2018/overview (26.09.2018).

Glaad.org (2018c). Universal Pictures & Focus Features. Website. GLAAD. https://www.glaad.org/sri/2018/universal-pictures (26.09.2018).

Guerrero-Pico, Mar / María-José Establés / Rafael Ventura (2018). “Killing off Lexa: ‘Dead Lesbian Syndrome’ and intra-fandom management of toxic fan practices in an online queer community”. Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies. 15.1. p. 311-333.

Jenkins, Henry (2006). “’Out of the Closet and into the Universe’: Queers and Star Trek”. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: NYU Press. p. 89-112.

Langfelder, Natasia (2016). “Let's End Queerbaiting in 2016”. Website. AfterEllen. https://www.afterellen.com/tv/471593-lets-end-queerbaiting-2016 (24.09.208).

Megs (2017). „I have HAD IT“. Tweet (@badassbeca). 21.11.2017. 21:10. https://twitter.com/badassbeca/status/933200998574804992 (26.09.2018).

Mendelsohn, Farah (2002). „Surpassing the Love of Vampires: Or Why/How a Queer Reading of the Buffy/Willow Relationship Is Denied”. Fighting the Forces. Wilcox, Rhonda V./David Lavery. Oxford: Rowman &Littlefield Publishers. p. 45-60.

Ng, Eve (2017). “Between Text, Paratext, and Context: Queerbaiting and the Contemporary Media Landscape”. Transformative Works and Cultures. Vol. 24. Online. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2017.0917 (24.09.2018).

Nordin, Emma (2015). From Queer Reading to Queerbaiting: the battle over polysemic text and the power of hermeneutics. Master Thesis. University Stockholm. Online: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A839802&dswid=2391 (25.09.2018).

Pleil, Thomas / Matthias Bastian (2017). „Soziale Medien in der externen Organisationskommunikation“. Handbuch Soziale Medien. Schmidt, Jan-Hinrik / Monika Taddicken (Hrsg.). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. p. 129-149.

Schlichter, Ansgar (2017). „queerbaiting - Lexikon der Filmbegriffe.“ Website. Filmlexikon.uni-kiel.de. http://filmlexikon.uni-kiel.de/index.php?action=lexikon&tag=det&id=9334 (24.09.2018).

Shakeri, Sima (2017). “Bury Your Gays,' Queerbaiting, And TV's LGBTQ Problem”. Website. HuffPost Canada. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/30/queerbaiting-bury-your-gays-tv_a_23005000/ (24.09.2018).

Sky (2018). „Queerbaiting – Der trügerische Schein einer Repräsentation | Geekgeflüster“. Website. Geekgeflüster. https://geekgefluester.de/queerbaiting-der-truegerische-schein-einer-repraesentation (24.09.2018)

Universal PicturesUK (2017). „One day left … Will Bechloe ever happen 👯? #PitchPerfect3 in cinemas tomorrow.“. Tweet (@universaluk). 19.12.2017. 10:00. https://twitter.com/universaluk/status/943179139590139905 (26.09.2018).

Waggoner, Erin B. (2017). “Bury Your Gays and Social Media Fan Response: Television, LGBTQ Representation, and Communitarian Ethics”. Journal of Homosexuality. Online. (02.11.2017) https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2017.1391015 (29.09.2018)

Anime Highlights of 2018 (SO FAR!)

I haven’t watched all of this year’s anime because I have a ton of other stuff on the “watch later” list, but I wanted to get my two cents in. I know it’s just the start of 2019 (when I started this post, it was 2018).

If you don’t see a show on here that could’ve been on the list, scroll to the bottom and click “Keep Reading” because it might be included in the shows I didn’t get around to watching!

For this list, I will be ranking the shows into categories:

Raisin Cookie: Low-Tier

Sugar Cookie: Mid-Tier

Chocolate Chip Cookie: Top-Tier

No sequels allowed! No shows that are continuing from the previous year.

Honestly, there were a lot of good shows this year. Even this summer (which was considered the weakest by many) still got a lot of good shows in. 

This video covers a lot of this year’s good anime.

Raisin Cookie:

Conception 

Read the synopsis. Do I really need to say why? I watched one episode, cried on the inside, then asked why I was even born. 

Goblin Slayer

The first episode was gruesome and horrifying. It was seeping with edge, but I couldn’t figure out why they would make that the first episode if the rest of the anime was just an ecchi harem. We knew this would be a disappointment, but we didn’t know it would be a disappointment because of that.

Bakumatsu

I watched the first episode and wondered why I even tried watching this. You can’t carry a show with just voice casting and arguable fujoshi-baiting. 

Mahou Shoujo Site

This rivals Goblin Slayer’s edge. Mahou Shoujo Ore takes the magical girl genre and makes fun of it through comedy. This makes fun of it through gore. Think of it as an extremely poorly done, awfully written, badly executed attempt of trying to recreate a show like Madoka Magica.

Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes 

For a mystery show, this show was sure full of bullcrap and nonsense. I watched the first few episodes and found myself disliking this anime.

Kitsune no Koe 

I watched nine episodes before giving up. The music is subpar. The acting is subpar because the story and script are so poorly done. I would even argue the casting is all wrong.

Akkun to Kanojo

I just don’t like relationships where people are overly tsundere. I get the whole getting flustered thing, but resorting to violence and bullying over it is not my thing. This guy is so mean to his girlfriend, and sure, some people might enjoy it (which is why it’s the top of the trash pile), but I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Sugar Cookie:

Mahou Shoujo Ore

This show was supposed to be stupid. That’s the point. But the jokes get overused and stale after a while, and I found myself wanting it to be over near the end. It got me to laugh once every couple of episodes, but that’s about it.

Devils Line

This was a cringy vampire romance. That about sums it up in a nutshell. Miyuki Sawashiro deserved a more badass character, and so did Yui Ishikawa. Still better than Twilight.

Satsuriku no Tenshi

This was edgy like Mahou Shoujo Site and Goblin Slayer, but this show didn’t take itself as seriously. For the video game fans, they pretty much followed the story of the game. There were little to no discrepancies. But if you are only watching the anime, you’ll find this show so cringy and awful. Kudos to Nobuhiko Okamoto who took on this role knowing that it would strain his vocal cords.

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 2

The charm of the first season was just lost. They had a lot of hit-and-miss episodes where I was either going to like it or think it was a waste of time. I want more sibling antics and fewer love triangles, but it was still a solid season.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl 

I watched three episodes of this, and as much as I wouldn’t mind watching more, I couldn’t build attachment to any of these characters. I felt nothing for the story either. Okay, so a pretty misunderstood girl gets into a relationship with an otaku... what else?

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai

I watched this because the OP was so darn good, the art looked nice, and it gave off the same vibes as Gekkan Shoujo, but it ultimately disappointed me with the ending and the whirlwind of “Wait... what just happened?” The relationships were not developed enough and came out of nowhere like the truck in Zombieland Saga.

Phantom in the Twilight

Giving this the benefit of the doubt... this didn’t make it past this category because the art was so poorly done that I found myself wondering what the budget even was. The story wasn’t even as poorly done as other otome game adaptations (actually, this one is an original I think?) A Kana Hanazawa lead bumps this show up a notch though.

Nil Admirari no Tenbin

This is probably right beside the previous entry, but this one had better character designs. It was another otome game adaptations... why do I even try? It was okay. It’s more episodic than one would think because you have a “guy of the week” or something. It was just meh... but I’m saying this as someone who doesn’t like guys all that much.

Sugar Cookies With Icing:

Dame x Prince Anime Caravan 

This is separated from the other two otome anime because this one made fun of itself. It was openly wondering what the heck happened to itself, and it was a lot more fun to watch because of that. It was kind of like Konosuba in a way because none of these guys were all that desirable. Picking “best guy” would be tough with a cast like this. It was a lot more enjoyable than the others because I found this cast more likeable because they were so over-the-top.

Gakuen Babysitters

I don’t like kids. This show... tried to change my opinion. I still don’t like kids.

Pop Team Epic

Yeah, you’re probably wondering “WHAT THE--??” That’s normal. It's basically parodying with famous voice actors. You won’t like it as much if you have a normal sense of humour. This anime is really strange, and like a lot of comedy, it will be hit and miss.

Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet

This show was okay. It was well-animated, and I liked the cast a little. Okay, I liked Hasuki. Besides that, you are basically watching the whole “Romeo and Juliet” stuff again with anime cliches. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie:

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

This was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting this show to be good, and the art was subpar, but the cast (despite a huge lack of female characters) found itself being oddly good. It’s crafty and gives off the same vibes as Durarara but with hitmen. Who will hit the hitmen next?

Grand Blue

Let’s ignore the romance elements. This is a comedy, and while this is a bit ecchi, I found myself tolerating that part. This show had me laughing at least once per episode, but if you were looking for a diving anime, you have to look somewhere else.

Banana Fish 

I watched the first six episodes of this one, and I found myself liking the cast. It was pretty good. The animation is great, the voice acting is good too, and the story is riveting. I just jump around series a lot.

Asobi Asobase

Same with this one. Six episodes have been watched. It has a very odd sense of humour, and it gives off the vibe that “this is going to be a cutesy anime” with its opening then screws you over with their antics. I found this anime oddly charming despite me not being so excited about its art style and watercolour palette. 

Hataraku Saibou

I never thought that the least questionable ship out of the summer 2018 anime I watched would be between two fricking cells. This anime was great, it was cute, and it was educationally entertaining! It was a very solid series. Plus, a Kana Hanazawa lead is always a bonus!

SSSS.Gridman

This is an amazingly animated series by Studio Trigger that can excite even non-mecha fans like me. I just started it, but it’s turning out great! This might even go all the way to triple cookie status by the time I reach the end.

Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san

I never thought a skull face bookseller could be so entertaining, but it is. This series is charming, and even though it didn’t have the greatest animation budget, it uses it in all the right ways. The relatability that retail workers will feel is astounding, and even non-retail workers like me can find this enjoyable.

Violet Evergarden

Kyoto Animation can make anything look good, and they made this look amazing. This story is oddly touching, and a lot of people got emotional. I wasn’t really one of them, and I found them reaching a bit too much sometimes. I feel like I was supposed to feel stuff, but I didn’t. That’s kind of my fault though. This series is stunning and beautiful visually. The soundtrack was well-written, but it was sometimes misused by the sound director. The stories are pretty solid, but I found the development a little rushed at times. I would recommend it still though.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

The otaku jokes resonated a lot with me, and I found this story to be cheesy in the best of ways. The cast is so likeable and pure, and I found myself looking forward to a new episode every week.

Hinamatsuri

This anime had be laughing so hard to the point where I couldn’t watch it around other people, and I had to conceal my laughter as I watched it during the middle of the night. I never thought such a wholesome father-daughter relationship would occur between an OP esper and a yakuza. If you like Mob Psycho 100, you will like this one and vice-versa. This, to me, was the best comedy of the year.

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai 

This anime was so darn misleading. I was about to skip this because I thought it was going to be some tasteless edgy show, but I found this to be a weirdly pleasant show to binge-watch, and it was a much more easy and arguably better take on the Monogatari series and whatever genre that is. The girls are likeable, there isn’t a lot of fanservice that is shoved in your face, and the writing got me attached to a lot of the characters.

Zombieland Saga

This anime sounded so stupid at first, but after watching a couple of episodes, I started really liking the cast. These are all relatively new seiyuu minus Mamoru and Risa Taneda. Honestly, words cannot describe this show besides surprisingly amazing. You thought this would be a stupid idol anime? Instead, we go an intriguing, touching, and oddly inspirational anime with great music, art, and everything.

Let’s announce the stuff that I’m excited to watch later! 

These are the amazing shows that I’ve heard about that I haven’t gotten around to watching.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho (Winter)

Also called “A Place Beyond the Universe”, this anime is about this group of girls taking the journey across Antarctica. I heard it’s a lot of fun.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (Winter)

Her forehead is as big as her face. I’ve heard this is funny, and I’ve watched clips of it. Rie Takahashi and Yuuki Kaji have the main roles in this anime, and they do a fantastic job playing the trickster and her victim.

Megalo Box (Spring)

This one is probably one of the biggest things I’m missing out on. If it weren’t for one of my anxiety triggers being sports, I would’ve jumped on this. Yoshimasa Hosoya does an amazing job as the protagonist in this well-animated boxing series.

Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken (Autumn)

I’ve watched one episode, and yes, tsundere dragon is the best girl. Besides that, it just looks like a lot of fun for a show that sounds so weird.

Yuru Camp△ (Winter)

Cute girls doing cute things while camping. That’s pretty much what this is about. Whether you like that kind of show will determine whether it’s worth watching for you.

Golden Kamuy (Spring)

This another big thing I’m missing out on. It already got a second season, and it looks like a fun action series. Minus the bad CG, it looks good. I heard the lead sounds just like Hosoya, but Hosoya is in the show too! Along with a new score composer with a lot of new series under his name, I’m excited about this one too!

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru (Autumn)

I’d be more excited about this series, but I haven’t finished Haikyuu yet, and I have a really bad history with track and field.

Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (Autumn)

This series looks beautifully animated, and this is one of Kaori Ishihara’s big roles besides Aladdin from Magi which was years ago. 

About Life: Discern

Previous Chapter

Laxus could recall, with ease, the last time that he was truly happy. He was above five and not so sickly yet though he definitely could catch a mean cold every year in the winter. His mother was well too and not on her deathbed. His father was happier and, though Ivan was known to butt heads with dear old Gramps, his madness hadn't yet rotted his brain away.

They were a family.

A real family.

There was love and care and fun. His father would play with his toy cars with him and his mother would make them all dinner, even Gramps if he wasn't too busy, and that was just it. Everyone has that glorious time period in which everything was perfect. Laxus' just happened to come very early. That was all.

Or so he thought.

He thought he'd never feel it again. True love. Because, oh, he loved the Thunder Legion and the guild and even his damn grandfather, but it wasn't the same. How could it be? There was a difference between having love for something and being in love with it and, man, he'd fallen in love with her.

There's been other women. Plenty of other women. Women that he'd enjoyed for a time period, maybe even loved at some point, but he'd never felt what he did that first night he spent with her. And every night after that. He feared every night that he fell asleep that he'd wake up and it would have left in the night, but this hadn't been the case so far.

He truly was in love.

Him.

Laxus fucking Dreyar.

The Thunder Legion, of course, were beside themselves. Evergreen thought she wasn't attractive enough for him, Freed was convinced she was just using him for his status and jewels, and Bickslow, well, Bickslow mostly just lamented his inability to, as he put it, snag a woman like that. Makarov too was in a state of disbelief (twinged with that jealousy Bickslow had).

But time heals and time proves and as the months went on, the complaints of his friends became less and less until, eventually, they were so used to Laxus being with someone, seriously being with someone, that they hardly thought anything about it.

It was hard to think about, anyways, considering the man was gone so much.

Laxus had always been a traveler. Always. He'd wandered since he was abandoned by his parents and gained the freedom to do so. It never made the loss go away, but it took some of the strain of it off. Plus, Magnolia was fucking lame.

Now that he had a woman though, his travels weren't to unknown towns with long bouts of brooding at scenery in between. No. Laxus was a high roller then, it seemed, as he wanted to take his new lady out on all sorts of expensive trips. It got to the point where he was either off with the woman or off on a job to gain more jewels to take her somewhere even nicer.

At a certain point, Freed and Evergreen came to him with concerns that he was being used for said jewels. Bickslow came too, but only to remark that if anyone deserved handouts from the man, it was definitely him.

But the slayer rebuked them for even thinking it.

Then thought it alone late at night.

So he spent a few tortuous months not taking her out as much. Just had her take a vacation with him, in Magnolia. To see how he lived. Only they didn't do much of that, as he hardly went down to the hall and mostly just stayed locked up in his apartment with her.

The way it should be.

Eventually, Freed, Ever, and Bickslow had to just accept that not only was Laxus going to be with the woman, but also that any problem they thought of would only be debunked by him immediately.

"Maybe it's true love," Lisanna told them one day when she observed their downcast attitudes. She used to enjoy hanging out with them, as they were full of life and always had something going on, but recently they seemed to be in a bit of a slump. "And they'll be together, seriously, forever. Wouldn't that be nice? For Laxus?"

"Shouldn't you be mad at Laxus?" Evergreen complained as he glared at the woman. "I thought your sister was trying to get all knocked up by him."

"Who can be mad at love?" Lisanna asked simply. "And Mira's moved on, you know."

They all knew.

Or at least had been told so when the news broke that Mirajane was pregnant.

Laxus too found out eventually, but he was too busy with his woman to really pay attention to any of it. Mira wasn't his deal anymore. The first time he saw her up at the guild after finding out, he only congratulated her and went on his way. He was happy for her though, of course. How could he not be? It was all that Mira said she wanted in the world and now she had it.

As someone who'd just found the one thing he wanted in the world, he was glad she too was feeling such happiness.

But she wasn't though. Because it was all one big lie.

Part of Mirajane was heartbroken.

It didn't take a lot of her to fall in love. Or out of it. But when the process was interrupted by another, it did hurt her some. She'd liked the path her and Laxus seemed to be going down and the vision of them being together had become a desire of hers. It hurt to know that he'd found that happiness with someone else.

But she'd have gotten over it by that point, she was certain, if she wasn't also carrying his child.

The other part of the woman was afraid of what her lying would cause for the baby. When the original plan was devised by her, she was going to be honest with her future child about whatever transpired. Who their father was, why he was or wasn't involved, and how that was all okay because they had one another.

Now though, a lie was complicating all things.

She didn't want to tell Laxus that the child she was pregnant with was his. For a lot of reasons. The first was out of shock, but now, it had gone on so long that she back out. Plus…

She really didn't want to fuck things up in his life.

Though Mira thought that she and Laxus could possibly be good together, she was seeing currently a woman that he could actually be great with. Why would she purposely allow a wedge to grow between the two? Honestly, before she got all tangled up with him, the idea of Laxus finding love would have enthralled Mirajane like no other. She didn't even hate it, really, currently. He was happy and that was…

Confusing, admittedly, but Mira really cared about him. She had before it all started, but now that they'd gotten to know one another better than ever, she couldn't pray for any pain to come to him. If he'd truly found the one that he was meant to be with then...then…

Then what?

Then she kept the lie going.

She'd found another man, after Laxus flaked on her, who didn't want to be involved in the child's life. Which was for the best, she'd decided, because she'd wanted to raise the child alone originally, hadn't she? It sounded fishy to some, but not enough to poke holes in. Or call Mirajane a liar.

Plus, clearly someone got her pregnant. No one else seemed to be able to easily make the jump straight to Laxus being the culprit and, well, time just went on. The guild was a very busy place, after all. Even Mira's siblings couldn't dwell on her life constantly (though both were prepping for their future aunt/uncle status). The closest to figuring it all out was Lucy, who Mira hadn't told of her pregnancy, but at least of her possibly entering a real relationship with Laxus, but there was no way that the celestial wizard would ever call her closest friend a liar.

No way.

Eventually Mira was able to find the delectation she once envisioned over having a child. Pregnancy suited her, Makarov told her with a grin one day at work and though sometimes her body didn't agree, she found that overall she enjoyed it. There was something so amazing about the concept and, slowly, her feelings for Laxus were buried with the plans she'd made upon having her child. Decorating the nursery with Lisanna, looking at baby names with Lucy, hassling Elfman and Evergreen about when they too would be having a child.

It wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, nothing was after all, but the good outweighed the bad.

"You will take off as much time as you need, of course," Makarov told her as the months progressed and the time grew near. "Kinana and Lisanna will fill the gaps. Not that you have to worry about them out working you, I imagine. There will always be a place for you here."

"Thank you, Master," Mirajane giggled as she sat at one of the booths, polishing glassware. "But I don't think I need to take off just yet. I-"

"You will take off starting tomorrow, as planned," he insisted. "You're about ready to pop, I fear."

"Master-"

"I assume that you already have chosen a name for the child," he sighed from his spot atop the bar. It was before opening and they were alone until Kinana was due to arrive, in the next half hour. "Mira."

"I have."

"Well, be it a boy, Makarov is a very fine name." When all he got was a look from the woman in return, he sighed as tapped his fingers along his staff. "Yes, well, it is a hard name to grow into. I suppose I should save it, anyhow. My grandson is getting awfully close with that lady friend of his. Maybe I can con him into naming his firstborn after me."

"Something tells me, Master," Mira told him with the straightest face she could pull, "that Laxus wouldn't go for that."

"Erza then. Her first child. Surely."

"Maybe," the barmaid agreed, though more to just get off the subject. "Maybe."

It became a moot point anyways, it seemed, as the child Mira bore was a little girl. Elfman bawled over the idea of having another woman to be a man for and Lisanna gushed over all the cute dresses and bows she could put the child in while Mira only held her baby close and soothed it's cries.

Save a few visits from the likes of Cana, the Master, and Lucy, the Strauss siblings seemed lost in their own little world for a few days.

This just so happened to coincide with Laxus and his girlfriend's 'vacation' in Magnolia. As he was finding out, it wasn't his money she was after at all. Just him. Like he knew. Before the damn Thunder Legion started trying to fuck with his head.

They didn't get it. They didn't see it. She understood him. In ways no one else did. So how could they understand then, when they didn't understand what it was that they were supposed to understand?

Laxus gave himself a headache with that one, but when Freed did mention to him that Mirajane had given birth, he sent his regards along with the rune mage for when he saw the woman.

"Close friend of yours?" his girlfriend (gosh, it never felt so easy to say that) asked as they sat together on his couch, following his most trusted follower's departure. The dark haired woman had linked her arm with his and snuggled up real close as Laxus only sipped at his coffee and considered her question.

"Not really," he remarked simply. "Just closer than most."

"You should send her something then."

"Send her what?"

"Some sort of gift," she insisted. "It's what you do, you know, when your close friends have a baby."

"Like I said," he grumbled around his coffee, "we're not that close."

They weren't, either, were they? They had a couple month...fling, maybe, it could be classified as, but that was said in done. In Laxus mind, Mirajane had moved on quite efficiently and in her mind, he had nothing to move on from. They were just two people who, in a few moments of weakness, shared something together. But the weakness was over and Mira was strong then, for her child, and Laxus was enraptured with his woman.

Whatever had happened was so far removed from his mind that, after that morning, he didn't think of it again.

He had more important things to focus on anyways.

Because Laxus had never felt the way he did, when he was with his girlfriend. Not since he was a boy. And he couldn't imagine losing that again. Which is why, when the 'vacation' was over and his girlfriend was bidding to return back home, Laxus did the one thing he never saw himself as doing. Never wanted to do. Before that moment. Before he had the best thing in his life and wanted to keep it there. Forever.

"Laxus is getting married," Lisanna told her sister with a bit of a gagging face and a roll of the eyes as she arrived home late one night. She only came to stretch out on her sister's bed as the woman sat on the end of it, attempting to nurse her fussy child. "According to Bickslow and Ever. I didn't see Freed, but I imagine he's just as annoyed by the whole thing as they are."

Mira was so tired from the baby that it didn't even register, at first, was her sister was saying. Once it did, she only continued to face forwards and shut her eyes something.

"He is?" was the soft sigh that left her mouth and in return, Lisanna only let out a long groan.

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him and things, but can you imagine how stuffy that wedding will be? I almost don't even want to go."

"Then don't."

"And miss out on the spectacle of it all?" That time Lisanna hummed. "Can you imagine it, Mira? I mean, no offense to you, because I know that you were kind of into him too back before...before you got with… But imagine it. Wanting to marry Laxus Dreyar. Gross."

"What's wrong with Laxus?"

"Nothing's wrong with him. Except his attitude. And arrogance. And that fact that he just won't let poor Natsu have a chance at proving himself. Imagine marrying a jerk like that."

"Yeah," her sister agreed softly. "Imagine."

The first time that Mirajane took her newborn up to the bar, most everyone wanted a chance at her. Makarov was the first one that got to hold her though, as he was there before opening, and he only smiled down at the child with the remark, "She's powerful, Mira. I can sense it."

"Mmm," the babe's mother sighed with a nod. "So can I."

"When she's big and strong, she'll be a fairy. You be sure of it." The man smiled sadly at Mira as he said, "I won't be around to see it, of course, but-"

"Don't speak like that, Master."

So he didn't.

Erza picked up immediately on the magical energy the child had as well, but seemed rather against picking up the child herself.

"Come on, Erza," Lucy giggled into her palm as the swordswoman only stood with her arms over her chest. "You know you wanna."

"I will not. I might drop her."

"You will not. Just do it."

"I refuse."

It was all fun, anyways, for the others, though Mirajane was very cautious of just who could and couldn't hold the baby. She was very busy explaining to Natsu why he was on the very short list pertaining only him of who couldn't hold her when it happened.

Laxus arrived.

The man was rarely interested in the goings on of his guild mates, so he hardly glanced over at the slight crowd of them at one table. Only headed towards the request board to pick up a job so he could head out. Something big. Something to mark the occasion. Rank in some jewels so he could go out and buy a fancy ring for his girl. His woman. His lady.

That's what she said she'd be. His. Now he wanted to make it as official as possible before she left town.

But it was the some of a child's cry that did make him glance over and it felt more than just coincidence that Mira seemed to look up from her child at that exact moment, causing their eyes to meet. Natsu was still begging in front of her, to hold the child (just to show off to Lucy, who'd deemed him not eligible for such a thing long ago), but Mira only looked around him, right at Laxus, who felt frozen for a moment.

Laxus wasn't one for them, babies, but he and Mira had talked about it endlessly, it felt like, at some point in life. Because everything from before he met his girl- fiancee felt like a lifetime ago. Even something that was only a month or so prior. Still, he felt like he should at least go meet the child. It was awkward, anyways, making eye contact and at least not speaking.

It happened though, once he was close enough. Just a few more steps, over to where Mira and the others were, and it hit him hard enough to stop the slayer dead in his tracks.

Everyone had a scent. Everyone. And there was not one that a slayer knew better than his own. Laxus was no different. He could place his scent anywhere.

Which is why it was so halting when that the one of that child in Mira's arms hit him. It reeked of many things. The Strauss home, milk, that new baby scent. But beneath all of that was its own, true scent. Most children's are made up, in some way, of their parents. And yeah, Laxus caught a whiff of Mira in there, but mixed in with that…

"Laxus, are you alright?"

That came from Evergreen, who was in the bar that day it seemed (just so she could ruin Elfman's day and refuse to ever have a child with him as he was in a desperate kick, it seemed, to give his new niece a little cousin to play with; disgusting). She came up to rest a hand on her idol's arm as she spoke.

"You look," she remarked, taking in how the blood was draining from his face, "like you've seen a ghost."

He had. And the way that Mirajane looked away from him, so quickly, well, it just felt like it told him everything he needed to know.

"I have to leave." He shrugged Ever off too and some other people were glancing his way then, but Laxus didn't care. "Now."

"But- Laxus!"

He didn't care for Evergreen's calls. Only turned and rushed right out of the guild. To get away from it's members. From Mira.

But mostly...that baby.

As he set off at a brisk pace, he felt him come back to himself, reason with himself, even convince himself that he was wrong. Because there was no way that...but Mira said...how…

Laxus didn't have a baby.

Laxus had a new fiancee and a new life and was going to be moving away from Magnolia, maybe, even. They'd talked about it, at least. He was going to live in a nice house with his woman and maybe a nice little dog or cat to start their family.

Theirs.

What would eventually be their kids and their life.

Because Laxus didn't have anything close to that currently.

Did he?

Next Chapter

FF

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, February 4

Cordy: "Hey." Angel: "Hey." Cordy after a while: "Why are you looking at me like that?" Angel: "Ah, no reason." After a moment Cordy gets up and walks past Angel to pour a cup of coffee. Cordy: "Okay. It's getting creepy now." Angel: "I was just thinking about things. - People. You know. How they relate. Take you and me for instance. We're very different. *Very* different. Obviously (points at Cordy) human (points at himself) vampire. (points at Cordy) Woman (points at himself) man...pire."

~~Offspring~~

The Sunnydale Herald is still looking for a couple of new editors! For more information, drop us an ask on Tumblr or contact Rahirah on LJ or DW!

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

In Search of Ashes (Spike/Drusilla, T) by Coldest_Fire

The Slayer and the Twice-Blessed Child (crossover with Charmed, Buffy, G) by Bl4ckHunter

Still better than Riley (Angel & Spike, T) by Bl4ckHunter

Weirded out but all good (Faith/Buffy, Angel&Buffy, Angel&Faith, T) by Aragorn_II_Elessar

when is a monster not a monster? (Dawn/Janice, M) by clytemnestras

your lips, my lips, apocalypse (Buffy/Cordelia, T) by lockheartss

So wrong it's right (Angel/vamp!reader) by prose-for-hire

What Kind Of Party Hats Are We Talking Here? (surprise crossover, Scoobies, FR13) by Manchester

[Chaptered Fiction]

Klaus and the Dark Slayer, Chapter 1 (crossover with "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals", Faith/Klaus Mikaelson, Faith&Xander, T) by Buffyworldbuilder

Reordering the Universe, Chapter 16 (Spike/Buffy, Adult Only) by Touchstoneaf

Mortal Allies Series, Episode 3: Postcards From the Edge, Chapter 11 (Spike/Buffy, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Variant cover for BtVS #22 from BOOM! Studios (Buffy, worksafe) by naomifranq

Gif edit: Mika – "Heroes" (Buffy, worksafe) by dykejaskiers

Vid: Mad World (Buffy) by Madsnessa X Edits

Vid: Prepare Me (Buffy) by ZNellyZ

Music: Buffy and Angel Theme by Cristophe Beck - piano and glockenspiel cover by Vonelle Allocco

Artwork process video: Painting Willow Rosenberg | Paint With Me (worksafe) by Tressa Humbird

Animation: Buffy opening - animatic (Scoobies) by Snarky Rag

Artwork: S1 banners of the main cast (Giles, Cordelia, Buffy, Willow, Xander, worksafe) by Puppet

[Reviews & Recaps]

Welcome to the Hellmouth by ourworldofwonders

Thoughts from my Buffy rewatch 4x22 by yesitsterriblysimple

The Harvest and Witch by Charlotte Torkel

Date Night: The Witch by Drive Home Reviews

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date by Reverse Angle

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date by My Girlfriend Made Me Watch

Slayer Talk: I Robot, You Jane by Hellbound Horror Festival

Surprise by LexChats

Go Fish by Flunking the Written

Becoming part 1 by JustDaggers

Faith, Hope, and Trick by Once More, with Ling-Ling

Discussion of AtS 1.16 "The Ring", 1.17 "Eternity", 1.18 "Five By Five", 1.19 "Sanctuary" by RDHWesley

What's your favourite Season 2 Episode? by idiotic_memer and others

PODCAST: Still Pretty 144. Entropy (S6.18)

[Recs]

Tough Audience by badly_knitted recced by petzipellepingo

Xander fic recs and discussion of sparkage/chemistry, lack thereof by darkspook, AstridDante, DeepBlueJoy

[Fandom Discussions]

[Comparing/contrasting Spike with Castiel from "Supernatural"] by angelinthefire, yesitsterriblysimple

Season 4 is underrated by yesitsterriblysimple

[1750s fashion on AtS] by amazighbuffy

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of “Innocence” for essentially punishing Buffy for having sex. by yesitsterriblysimple

Post death a second time around [Why would the Scoobies think Buffy would just come back okay?] by Crober45 and others

Kendra deserved better by Grebnesorwolliw and others

Am I the only person who finds Angel wholesome as Hell? [on r/ANGEL...] [...and on r/buffy] hosted by Sayed64

best episode about friendship? hosted by kingtychrist

What would you expect to happen after Not Fade Away? by TypicalPsychology6, purplemackem

Confusing moments with Angelus (BtVS season 2) by R S Hunter

Celebrity Appearances on BtVS by Girly Gore

Angel vs. Spike by Girly Gore, Those Horror Pals

Most emotional episodes on BtVS by Girly Gore

Man Crush Monday Episode 1 Spike by Jason Rev

The Secret Genius of BtVS Season 1 by Twisted View

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A24 Horror Movies Ranked From Worst to Best

https://ift.tt/3dkDWeU

It is arguable that no studio, distributor, or production company has had a greater impact on the horror genre in the last decade than A24. While Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions might also lay claim to that legacy, the remarkable thing about A24 is the company lacks a particular house style or formula for its filmmaker-driven indie releases. And yet the words “A24 horror movie” call to mind words like weird, offbeat, and unsettling. They’re frequently slow-boiling, and almost always greeted with reviews celebrating high-quality.

Every A24 horror movie is distinct, but they nevertheless claim a mystique which in less than 10 years has helped some critics make the dubious claim that the 2010s were “the decade of elevated horror.” We personally don’t subscribe to the theory that horror is a caste system of “elevated” vintages vs. cheaper swill. However, we are ecstatic A24 and other companies have provided unique voices the ability to reveal profoundly artful interpretations of cinematic dread. For that reason, we’re celebrating the indie tastemakers by ranking their very best (and sometimes not-so-great) thrillers and chillers.

So sit back and join us for a list voted on by our critics and horror aficionados.

18. Tusk (2014)

We begin our countdown with the rare A24 horror movie that comes not from a new perspective, but an old, one-time favorite. A defining voice in comedy and indie filmmaking during the ‘90s, Kevin Smith drifted away from studios by the beginning of the 2010s in favor of trying his hand at horror. I wish I could say the results were better than Tusk, yet this dispiriting attempt at body horror might be the high-point of his latter day monster movies.

Read more

Movies

Why Kevin Smith’s Superman Lives Was Ahead of Its Time

By Mike Cecchini

Originally constructed as a joke on Smith’s Smodcast podcast, the finished film is every bit as listless and rambling as a weed-fueled diatribe. Not that the movie is lacking in talent. Justin Long makes an appropriately smarmy podcaster named Wallace Bryton who’s travelled to Canada to find oddballs to interview and mock, but gets more than he bargained for when he winds up in the home of Howard Howe (Michael Parks). Ever the scenery-chewer, Parks gives more gravitas to the material than it deserves as a shut-in obsessed with recreating from a human subject the walrus which saved his life one snowy night following a shipwreck. The subsequent makeup effects are grotesque, but the movie stumbles over their reveals like a standup comedian who’s forgotten the punchlines.

It’s a bizarre and repellent narrative, and can’t even be saved by Johnny Depp’s admittedly amusing French-Canadian accent and Peter Sellers-eque transformation as a late arriving police detective. – David Crow

17. Slice (2018)

Austin Vesely’s Slice plays like the pilot of a potential television series. This isn’t because when it’s over you wish there was more, but that the film is so muddled in its narrative threads that you’re sure it was cancelled before more talent could be wasted. It’s a shame because conceptually there is a lot of appeal in Slice’s setup. As a horror-comedy about a small town where ghosts walk among the living as second class citizens, witches are pushy real estate developers, and the local werewolf is a misjudged Chinese food-delivering vegan played by Chance the Rapper, on paper this reads as hilarious.

Read more

Movies

Best Horror Movies to Watch on Shudder Right Now

By Rosie Fletcher and 1 other

TV

Buffy: The Animated Series – The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Spin-Off That Never Was

By Caroline Preece

Unfortunately, the actual film is paper thin. Loosely following a series of murders inflicted on a crappy pizza joint’s deliverymen, the film never unties its tangled and knotted threads about ghosts and humans living side by side, or witches manipulating local city politics in a bid for demonic gentrification. And more damning than its Gateway to Hell is that none of this is very funny. At only 83 minutes, Slice feels like an eternity of waiting for a pizza that never arrives. – DC

16. In Fabric (2018)

When it comes to horror movies, A24 has certainly done its best to (mostly) steer away from the traditional tropes of vampires, zombies, werewolves, and masked killers. As a result, the company has attracted talent like British filmmaker Peter Strickland, who followed up the atmospheric Berberian Sound Studio (2012) and the erotic The Duke of Burgundy (2014) with this bizarre tale of a haunted dress.

The clothing item in question is a red number that passes from one owner to another, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake. Fortunately, Strickland plays a lot of this for laughs, smartly realizing that a sentient dress might test the patience of even the most diehard horror fan. The film is a slow burn, but Strickland finds just the right balance of weird humor and surreal horror to wring both laughs and genuinely eerie moments out of his odd premise. – Don Kaye

15. The Monster (2016)

Bryan Bertino’s The Monster is a strange one to include on this list, if only because at its heart this is an archetypal creature feature with little more to say than “boo.” Compared to other horror movies released by A24 this can seem slight, but when The Monster works, its boo is occasionally bloodcurdling.

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Movies

Katharine Isabelle on How Ginger Snaps Explored the Horror of Womanhood

By Rosie Fletcher

TV

BBC/Netflix Dracula’s Behind-the-Scenes Set Secrets

By Louisa Mellor

Centered on a mother and daughter trapped at night on a country road with an obscured beastie in the woods trying to get into their broken down car, The Monster could’ve been produced as B-schlock in the ‘80s. Why it’s better is twofold: First the film leans into its atmospheric use of shadows and silhouettes by cinematographer Julie Kirkwood—who takes Steven Spielberg’s “less is more” approach in framing the monster—and second, there is the headlong dive into the unpleasant by Zoe Kazan. Playing a young mother who has little interest in her daughter or her well-being, Kazan’s Cathy reveals in one flashback at a time a cruel apathy far more beleaguering than the attacks of the titular monster in the present.

Alas the third act turns into pure pulp when the creature comes out of the shadows, and the cast and body count are needlessly increased. Still, the effect of some of the attack scenes, and Kazan’s nuanced exploration of a mother who fails to impress even herself, makes The Monster worthwhile. – DC

14. The Hole in the Ground (2019)

Being a single parent is hard. Being a single parent is harder when your child suddenly turns into a monster and you have to deal with the consequences. Such is the plot of The Hole in the Ground, A24’s solid but vaguely underwhelming chiller.

Lee Cronin’s debut may hit all the right parental panic beats, summon up a couple of worthy performances, and stick the mysterious, open-ended landing, but it still suffers compared to other A24 efforts because genre fans have seen it all before. As the film slaps a slick coat of paint over its influences, from Don’t Look Now to The Babadook and beyond, it elevates its fairly standard ‘changeling child’ theme, but in doing so it also gives us way too much room to breathe when we should be suffocating under the weight of tension between Seána Kerslake’s spiralling mother and her demonic son.

The result? A middling horror that you’re more likely to describe as “quite good” rather than “great.” – Kirsten Howard

13. Life After Beth (2014)

When a relationship is over, it’s over and it’s never the same if you go back: This is the central theme of Life After Beth, a zombie comedy about moving on. Dane DeHaan stars as Zach, a boy devastated after the death of his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza). But when she unexpectedly returns from the dead things just don’t quite click. Is it because the relationship has run its course? Or is it that she’s gradually turning into a flesh hungry undead monster? Either way things can’t carry on…

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Movies

Zombie Comedies Ranked

By David Crow

TV

The Walking Dead vs. Real-Life Survivalists: How to Prep for The Zombie Apocalypse

By Ron Hogan

A light comedy with a strong supporting cast (Molly Shannon, John C Reilly, Anna Kendrick, Paul Reiser) Life After Beth made its debut at Sundance in 2014. Though zombie rom-coms are somewhat a dime a dozen these days, this one stands out for its performances and certain set pieces like zombie Beth hiking with an oven strapped to her back. – Rosie Fletcher

12. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)

As what I would argue is the most underrated horror gem in A24’s catalog, The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a wicked subversion of horror tropes that benefits from the less you know about its story. Suffice to say the film is a slow-burning march toward perdition told in triptych. With three protagonists, first-time writer-director Oz Perkins seamlessly drifts between the perspectives of Kat (Kiernan Shipka), Rose (Lucy Boynton), and Joan (Emma Roberts).

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Movies

Gretel & Hansel and Returning to Dark Fairy Tale Roots

By Don Kaye

Movies

Best Modern Horror Movies

By Don Kaye

It is easy to see how the first two intersect, with Kat and Rose being the only two girls at their Catholic boarding school whose parents haven’t come to pick them up for winter break. How their long weekend connects with Joan’s separate hitchhiking through a snowy stretch of America is not immediately clear, but the bubbling sense of despair in all three narratives is omnipresent, even before Rose gives it shape by mentioning the urban legend of nuns worshiping the Dark One in the boiler room below.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter trades in horror archetypes, but then digs deeper by revealing untapped, feminine complexities to previously well-worn narratives where young women are merely vessels or victims. Unspooling like a waking nightmare, Perkins’ dreamlike atmosphere is only for the patient, but the climax is so shocking and brazenly subversive that it demands to be reexamined as the full extent of its desolation becomes clear. – DC

11. Climax (2018)

One could argue that every one of the five feature films directed by Argentine filmmaker Gaspar Noe, including such controversy-courting titles as I Stand Alone, Irreversible, and Enter the Void, has been a horror film in some way. Noe’s movies are often filled with nihilism, despair, and existential dread, with even the act of sex portrayed as an often violent invasion instead of an expression of love.

Having said that, Climax is clearly Noe’s most formal attempt at the genre yet, as a troupe of dancers isolated at an abandoned school begin to suffer from the effects of punch spiked with LSD during an after-rehearsal party. Predictably, the wheels quickly come off as the assembled dancers rape, beat, torture, and kill each other throughout the horrifying, increasingly frenzied night. – DK

10. Saint Maud (2020)

The directorial debut of Rose Glass sees a pious young nurse (Morfydd Clarke) who believes God talks to her directly, on a mission to save the soul of her dying patient (Jennifer Elhe). Saint Maud is a mix of psychological, religious, and body horror against the setting of a run down seaside town which plays like hallucinogenic social realism.

Clarke as Maud is terrific–slight of frame with a troubled mind, she is still a fierce warrior doing what she believes is God’s work from the humble hovel of her home. While Maud punishes her body in service of her spirit, her patient, Amanda, celebrates hers while it lets her down. As a former dancer, she will drink, smoke, and love in her final days.

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The Scariest Films Ever Made and How They Frighten Us

By Matt Glasby

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Saint Maud Review: Elevated Horror That’s a Revelation

By Rosie Fletcher

Glass’ debut is beautiful and powerful with a score, visuals, and setting that all contribute to a sense of disquiet that grows to a euphoric/horrific conclusion. An unforgettable film that singles Glass out as absolutely one to watch. – RF

9. It Comes at Night (2017)

The exact nature, origin, and spread of the grisly infectious disease that shreds society to pieces in It Comes at Night is never deeply examined; the movie is not interested in exploring the end of the world on some epic scale. Instead the effect it has is on a very small, very frightened group of people–two families that include Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Riley Keough, and Carmen Ejogo among their dwindling ranks–who are trying their best to stay alive and sane.

In that sense, the title of the movie (and, to a degree, the way it was marketed) is somewhat misleading. What comes at night is not some rampaging horde of flesh-eating walking corpses but rather the cold, insidious effect of fear, grief, and distrust. These two invisible threats eat away at what’s left of our civilized selves.

Director Trey Edward Shults (Waves) spares nothing and no one in this grim fable; by the time it reaches its inconsolably bleak conclusion, the cumulative effect of this quiet, bare bones film is devastating. – DK

8. Enemy (2013)

Before he tackled science fiction epics like Blade Runner 2049 and the upcoming Dune, French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve made smaller, independent dramas and psychological thrillers. One of those was Enemy, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal in a double role as two men who are exactly the same physically but quite different in temperament and personality.

Based loosely on the novel The Double by Jose Saramago (who wrote the horrifying novel Blindness), Enemy is less a horror film and more an exercise in neo-noirish surrealism. It’s anchored by Villeneuve’s chilly direction and two excellent performances from Gyllenhaal, who deftly explores the definition of manhood, the male-female dynamic (as he navigates the wife of one man and the girlfriend of the other), and the nature of identity.

Enemy doesn’t offer easy answers and its shocking ending is very much open to wide interpretation. It’s a challenging early work from a director who’s now moved on to become one of cinema’s most ambitious science fiction auteurs. – DK

7. Under the Skin (2013)

Jonathan Glazer’s loose adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel is a strange beast to be sure. Developed over more than a decade, using several first time performers with scenes shot with hidden cameras, it stars Scarlett Johansson as a predatory alien scouring the Scottish countryside, picking up men that she then lures into a strange black liquid which consumes them.

It’s a convincing look at humanity through the eyes of an extraterrestrial, in all its oddness–from the kindness of girls in nightclubs, the utterly futile act of a man trying to save his drowning wife, and in doing so ending both their lives, to the idiosyncrasies of beans on toast and Tommy Cooper. Johansson is a revelation, going unrecognized in her interactions with real people, bringing an authenticity and later an aching sympathy to her performance.

If the ending is bleak, and there are moments of true horror, there’s levity here too, as well as something quite profound to be said about human nature. – RF

6. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos–already a purveyor of the weird, surreal and darkly satiric before this or The Favourite, as seen with 2016’s The Lobster–went into full horror mode for this relentlessly unsettling tale of supernatural revenge in which a surgeon (Colin Farrell), his wife (Nicole Kidman), and their kids are made to pay for the death of a man who Farrell lost during surgery.

The impetus of all this is the man’s son, Martin, played by Barry Keoghan in one of the most disturbing performances of recent years. Farrell and Kidman are equally unnerving as their purposely stilted work in the early part of the film gives way to show the cracks in their seemingly perfect family façade.

Read more

Games

How Scorn Turned the Art of H.R. Giger into a Nightmarish Horror Game World

By John Saavedra

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The WNUF Halloween Special: The Making of the Most Fun Found Footage Horror Movie Ever

By Gavin Jasper

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is horror at its purest: an unexplainable examination of what happens when the irrational intrudes on the rational. It leaves you rattled without a single jump scare or visual effect. – DK

5. Green Room (2015)

Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier followed up his excellent breakout feature, 2013’s Blue Ruin, with this taut, suspenseful and dread-inducing thriller set in the grimy, sweaty environs of an out-of-the-way punk rock club. There, a hardcore group on a micro-budget tour of the Pacific Northwest manage to grab a make-up gig after their original show is canceled, but find to their horror that the bar is a white supremacist hangout… and they’ve just witnessed a murder to boot.

It’s not surprising that Saulnier rings maximum tension out of the situation since Blue Ruin was such an accomplished piece of work. What is surprising is seeing Captain Picard himself, Patrick Stewart, playing the local neo-Nazi leader with such believable, low-key malevolence. The rest of the cast, including the sadly missed Anton Yelchin and the always reliable Imogen Poots, is equally effective in making this an exceptionally smart, intense roller coaster ride. – DK

4. Midsommar (2019)

Emerging director Ari Aster made two very different horror movies for A24 virtually back-to-back with Hereditary and Midsommar, and was vocal about the mental and emotional breakdown that ensued thanks to this near-impossible endeavor. Accordingly, Midsommar evolved into what could be considered a “difficult second album,” one which managed to exorcise some of his personal demons for both the entertainment and discomfort of an intrigued audience.

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Midsommar: Florence Pugh Considers Ending Theories, May Queen Fandom

By David Crow

This ambitious, unsettling masterpiece about one young woman’s struggle to process trauma while she is simultaneously expected to perform the emotional labor of holding together a substandard relationship became a visual flipside to Hereditary’s darkness, creating a bright, horrifying world full of flowers, lush green pastures, and organic pagan rituals that all combine delicately to present us with a piping hot mug of “good for her” energy.

Though the argument over whether Hereditary or Midsommar is the superior film will probably never end, this often-hallucinogenic folk tale isn’t just one of A24’s best horror projects, but one of the greatest horror movies of all time, period. – KH

3. The Lighthouse (2019)

“How long have we been on this rock?” It’s a simple question posed by one lighthouse keeper (or “wicke”) to another in Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse. But as anyone who’s viewed the movie can attest, its answer is nigh unknowable. Eggers’ follow-up to The Witch is as phallic as that first movie was feminine, as evidenced by the titular structure that old seaman Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) constantly demands his new second Ephraim (Robert Pattinson) keep scrubbed clean.

Filmed in black and white, and in a 1.19:1 aspect ratio—similar to what Fritz Lang used to shoot Expressionist serial killer movie M (1931)—The Lighthouse is steeped in the old ways of doing things, both as a piece of cinema and as a sea shanty of a tale. As writers, Robert and his brother Max Eggers revel in the nautical jargon of their characters, particularly Dafoe’s Wake, who is like a corncob pipe given legs. Yet Dafoe and Pattinson never descend into caricature; they instead feast on their Sisyphean characters.

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Movies

The Lighthouse: the myths and archetypes behind the movie explained

By Rosie Fletcher

Movies

The Lighthouse: Willem Dafoe Reveals the Secret of a Two-Hander Film

By David Crow

More esoteric and ambiguous than The Witch, some might defy categorizing The Lighthouse as a full-throated horror. But the picture’s haunting ghost story setup and heightened use of both claustrophobic interiors and barren exteriors beg to differ, as do the film’s final Lovecraftian overtures toward madness. A masterful exercise in the macabre and hellish, The Lighthouse confirms Eggers as one of the most interesting voices to emerge from his generation. – DC

2. The Witch (2015)

To fully appreciate The Witch, it must be made clear that there’s a literal witch in the woods. Writer-director Robert Eggers emphasizes this early on, allowing the audience to glimpse her scraggly and unholy shape as the crone sacrifices a newborn to Satan. This not only signals the movie is playing for keeps, it also removes any sort of psychological ambiguity about what’s going on.

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Movies

The Witch Has One of Horror’s Greatest Endings

By David Crow

Intensely committed to immersing audiences in the daily lives and nocturnal dreads of 17th century Puritans, The Witch is steeped in a deep-seated anxiety for supernatural entities that could poison your crops, or live in every bump heard in the black of night. With a meticulous eye for historical detail, Eggers creates the best cinematic approximation of Calvinists ever put to screen, and in so doing, allows viewers to both live with superstitions of the Dark One taking the shape of animals, and to judge those obsessed with him.

For The Witch is also an unnerving character study about a family disintegrating before our eyes, and allowing their biases and patriarchal repressions to lead them toward the damnation. With a captivating ensemble of actors, including a star-making turn by Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin, the Puritan who is desperate to remain pure, the film basks in its dexterity with early modern English. All of which heightens the tension until a transcendent third act, which can rightly be read as an embrace of despair or liberated ecstasy, depending on who you ask. More than just a great horror movie, The Witch is flatly one of the best American movies produced in this century. – DC

1. Hereditary (2018)

Ari Aster’s directorial debut has become something of a benchmark for horror of a particular kind, whether you want to label it “elevated,” “artsy,” or anything else. Whatever you want to call it, Hereditary is an exceptional debut and a crushingly oppressive work about a cursed family laden with grief. 

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Movies

Hereditary Ending Explained

By David Crow

Movies

Hereditary: The Real Story of King Paimon

By Tony Sokol

A shock scare about 20 minutes in will leave you reeling and everything just gets worse from there, leading to a finale that is so insane and horrific that it almost comes as a relief after the excruciating misery and unease of the rest of the movie.

Toni Collette won multiple awards (though notably she wasn’t Oscar nominated) for her extraordinary performance as Annie, the doomed daughter of the dead matriach whose demise sets in a motion a series of events that are disastrous for her disaffected son (Alex Wolff), stoic husband (Gabriel Byrne), and strange daughter (Milly Shapiro). A story about family, tragedy, and inexorable catastrophe Hereditary is one of the best horror movies of the century so far. – RF

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Spike’s Backstory!

I never thought I’d have feels for Spike, but here we are.

This episode is largely a flashback episode explaining the origins and story of William the Bloody, a.k.a. Spike. And it’s surprisingly effective, considering I’ve spent like the last season or so complaining about how useless Spike’s been in the overall Plot.

Buffy goes out and fights a vampire and she gets wounded. It’s not an uber-vampire or anything, it’s really just some vampire guy. This has Buffy wondering about her own mortality, about if she has some sort of weakness that she needs to learn about in order to cover up for it. She decides she’s going to dig into researching how past Slayers died to see if she finds anything, but most of the records are kind of hazy on how they did it.

But wait! They know someone who has seen the deaths of two Slayers! That’s right--Spike, after all, has killed two Slayers, and so Buffy decides that if she wants to know how to overcome her own weaknesses she’s got to ask him. This leads to the flashbacks of Spike’s origin as he tells his story in the Bronze, while Riley goes out of his way to take down the vampire that hurt Buffy earlier.

Spike’s origin goes something like this: in London in 1880 he was William, an English gentleman who got the name “William the Bloody” for his...bloody awful poetry. He was doing his best to write poetry to profess his love for a high society lady, but she rejected him, hating his poetry and saying that he was “beneath her.” In despair, William goes off into the night and runs into Drusilla, who as her usual loopy self sees his future or something and turns him into a vampire.

We next see William, now a vampire, hanging out with Drusilla, Angel (oh right they hung out as vampires, didn’t they?) and...Darla, I think? It’s a blonde vampire so let’s go with that. But Angel thinks Spike draws too much attention to himself, and his interest in the Slayer leads to him becoming obsessed with hunting this boogeyman for boogeymen. So cut to the Boxer Rebellion, in which Spike is dueling a Chinese Slayer and manages to kill her, partly through luck that a nearby explosion threw her off.

That’s also the last time we see him rolling with Angel and Darla, as the next time we see him it’s in New York City in 1977, where on a moving subway car he fights and kills her (and takes her leather jacket, which is the one he wears to this day). Spike goes on to explain that he thinks every Slayer, sooner or later, has a subconscious death wish, as they’re tired of the endless fighting. Buffy’s only held out as long as she has because of her friends, but that’s not going to last forever.

[There’s also this bit where we see his breakup with Drusilla; in South America, she’s just been with some guy with antlers, and she tells Spike that she can only see Buffy in his future. Whether she’s foreseeing that he’s going to fall in love with her, or that he’s already obsessed with her at that point, is unclear, but it’s definitely not what Spike told the others, and Drusilla’s completely understandable in her desire to not be with someone she knows will want to be with another woman.]

This flashback sequence culminates with Spike and Buffy sparring, and when it’s over while they have their tense awkward moment, Spike actually tries to kiss Buffy. Which goes about as well as you’d expect, really; she shoves him to the ground, and tells him that he’s “beneath her.” Spike goes off in a huff, and he goes into his lair and pulls out a gun, deciding that chip or not he’s going to go kill Buffy if it’s the last thing he does.

When Buffy gets home, she finds her mom packing; Joyce is going to the hospital to be watched overnight, because they still don’t know what’s wrong with her and it could be very serious.  Buffy doesn’t take this well, and goes out to her porch to cry, which is when Spike shows up. But instead of trying to kill her, he’s instantly cowed by her emotional state, and asks if he can do anything to help, even if she doesn’t want to talk about what’s wrong. And he awkwardly sits next to her as she cries.

Uh, okay then.

Notes!

-Uh right so Riley saves Buffy after she’s stabbed, and helps bandage her up; then he offers to go patrol while she’s researching and recovering. Buffy urges him to go with Xander, Willow and Anya for backup. But...they’re kind of terrible at it? Look, this is weird because they’ve totally done this before, and when Buffy skipped town they weren’t as good as her, but they were competent. Here they’re loudly chewing and talking and awkwardly standing around, commenting on Riley’s military hand gestures. I get that they’re going for the fact that he’s much more serious than they are, much more military, but this makes them look completely incompetent. Buffy just got injured, and they’re standing around chatting loudly while looking for the vamp that did it? Yeah, no, a bit out-of-character.

-Riley also tells the others when they find the crypt the vampires are hanging out in to go stake them during the day, only to come in by himself and grenade them. I’m not sure the point of this, other than that Riley feels a need to prove himself, and also that was AWESOME, but this also leads to “Where did Riley get a grenade?” Because that doesn’t sound legal. According to a quick Google search, it’s possible that it’s legal in some states, but it sure isn’t easy to come across so it’s practically illegal.

-Slayers get quicker healing. It’s not instantaneous, but it’s faster. Did we know that before? I guess I kind of assumed it, but now we have a confirmation.

-Like, I know given the setup of the story so far, the Slayers in the flashbacks had to die, but they were also a Chinese woman and a black woman, and, uh, this show isn’t very diverse, and it’s kind of weird that every non-white Slayer we see is either killed off (Kendra, Chinese Slayer, New York Slayer) or the First Slayer, who’s treated as being a bestial killing machine that’s hardly even human.

-Also, where do vampires pick up their martial arts skills to go toe-to-toe with Slayers? They apparently don’t pick up languages as well, because Spike tells the Chinese Slayer he doesn’t speak Chinese.

-Spike also points out to Buffy that Slayers need a weapon to kill a vampire, whether it be stake or blade. Vampires, on the other hand, just have their fangs and their strength, so they are much harder to, uh, disarm I guess.

-Alright how much of a vampire is the person who was turned? The first episode and some comments make it sounds like vampires aren’t really humans; they’re demonic spirits in human vessels, with some powers and the memories of the person whose body it is. But they’re not that person? Or are they? Like, Angel is because he had his soul restored, but is Spike actually William? Or does he just have William’s memories and body?

-Of course Spike went punk in the 70’s.

-OH ANGEL’S WIG THAT IS GLORIOUS

-Also wasn’t Angel Irish? Why does Spike keep the accent but Angel doesn’t? Is it because his actor’s Irish accent is terrible?

-On the one hand, I feel bad for Spike because he’s again dealing with broken heartedness, and the repetition of being “beneath” the object of affection is painful to hear and holy Pope the FEELZ. But at the same time I can’t really blame Buffy for actually rejecting him, nor do I hold it against her, because as far as she knows he’s just a creep vampire who’s moody because he can’t kill people. And she’s absolutely right! Spike is not a good guy! He came to her house with the explicit intention of killing her after all! I think it’s interesting that the show has us sympathize with him, but I don’t think it’s good for us to forget that Buffy’s not in the wrong here.

-Also I’m guessing at this point she’s worked out that Spike likes her? I mean there’s not many other ways you can take a guy trying to kiss you and then sits and awkwardly tries to comfort you when you’re crying. No one’s that thick, right? RIGHT?!?

-In the Bronze Spike asks for chicken wings?? Can vampires eat? How does that work?

-I hate to say it, but William’s poetry...wasn’t very good. “Effulgent”? Really? That’s a terrible word. Not that he deserved to be humiliated at a party, but...he could have done with some good tutoring.

-To be fair to the antlers guy, he apologizes when he realizes that Drusilla was with someone else, and awkwardly leaves when Spike and Drusilla begin arguing. Who is antlers guy? TV Tropes tells me he’s the “chaos demon” Spike caught Drusilla with, but like, antlers are more evocative of nature/hunter spirits like Herne and Cernunnos.

-There is a lot of talk of ‘dancing’ as both fighting and flirting. I like this metaphor.

-Not going to lie, a fight in a moving subway car is one of the coolest things this show has done. More people should film stuff like that.

-TV Tropes also makes a big deal that Spike is there to comfort Buffy while Riley isn’t, which isn’t untrue, but, uh, it’s not like Riley’s doing nothing either; he went and killed the vampire who hurt his girlfriend, which I think should count for something.

-What happens next??? I don’t know, but I better find out soon because these DVDs are due at the library in two days!!!

anyway here's a list of things i ship/stan

i got new followers n i wanna let yall know what i post about it's always sunny in philadelphia: -macdennis -dennis reynold's in general - listen i lov charlie, dee n frank but my head is just gonna be MACDENNIS MACDENNIS for the next 50000 years srry buffy the vampire slayer: -anti xander, anti spuffy, riley's a bitch -i love giles n buffy n faith n oz -dont u dare slander dawn or tara or angel near me ever -tara x willow, willow x oz, bangel, fuffy community: -no i love every single character -all of their relationships with each other are so important dont u dare say any different -i mostly talk about jeff & abed as characters -ships i discuss most are jeff x annie & troy x abed -BUT EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IS SO RELEVANT I COULD TALK ABOUT THIS ALLD AY mcu & x-men: -the only mcu character i talk about is bucky tbh -i never shut up about x-men -cherik & stevebucky own my ass -i love logan so much -ororo's my gf and jean can turn me to dust -the original xmen movies >>> current trilogy -that bein said i love james mcavoy -charles deserves the world hannibal: -HANNIGRAM CAN FUCK ME RIGHT UP -I am very passionate about my love for will graham -okay no i occasionally post about /hannigram/ its mostly just will -i love every single female character on this show they all deserve more recognition as characters brooklyn nine-nine: -i talk about the importance of this show so much -like everything about it -just why people should watch it -mostly about rosa diaz and her bisexuality bc shes my wife crazy ex girlfriend: -i love greg serrano fucking fight me -no literally everything about this show is important but Greg -greg x heather was so good im still so distraught supernatural: -i only care about deancas, spn can choke lol bbc sherlock: -this tv show ruined my life -i only care about johnlock lol until dawn: -josh x chris mm yes -JOSH WASHINGTON DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER -i love josh & sam so much but mostly josh ya feel -i fuckijnnfjf hate ashley dont get me started -unpop opinion but lmao emily >>>> ashley the 100: -this is only here bc i love murphy & raven -im still so upset about clexa -bellarke is boring as shit i am not standing for this -jonty is cute too ig even tho im not too fond of jasper (lov my boy monty tho!)