#(Downright Trouble: Milo)

[long-gone-dream]

@rcsegld

Certain death looked back at him from the body on the ground, but in the end it was either he let himself be killed or kill the one who tried to take his life. Gunning a man down wasn’t how he liked to do things anyway, but what choice did he have when one was pulled on him? Milo paced about after the altercation, blood on his hands and pooling in the alley. A deal gone wrong is what it was. A setup, staged by people who wanted him out of the business altogether. Money had never even hit his palm before a punch had landed against his cheekbone, though once he came to his senses it seemed it was a pistol that had struck the bone instead. Blurred vision made it tricky to fight for the gun, but in the end he ended up covered in blood that wasn’t his and with a problem bigger than what he knew to do with. Where did one even dispose of a body? Did the bastard have a family, and were they going to mourn his loss? Milo sat atop a a trash can trying to decipher what message was being sent to him, wiping his hands on the t-shirt that was already ruined. “Fuck Milo, what the hell.. What am I gonna do?” The cops would be showing up before long if the shot was heard, but he couldn’t move. He was frozen trying to let the choice sink in. He’d killed a man. The first time he ever pulled the damn trigger and it worked all too well.

Action needed to be taken, and so it was his decision to load the dead weight into his car. Leather seats could be cleaned, couldn’t they? A quick clean and it would be like it never happened, right? Once he had forced the body into the backseat he was forced to think about the next step, and there didn’t seem to be one. The cops would understand, wouldn’t they? He was just doing his job, selling the product his boss pushed so hard for him to get out there. For a moment he thought on the older man, sitting behind the wheel and looking at the evidence in his rearview. Did his boss send the man? Who else would have known about the meeting? His eyes turned on the gun in the passenger seat, and he picked it up to wipe the fingerprints from its handle. Wiping and wiping until he realized it would never be clean enough, not when it was in his possession. It taunted him, laying in his lap threatening a life behind bars. He just needed to get rid of everything, every shred of the crime he could manage and it would all go away. Who did he trust enough to help him though? Milo certainly couldn’t do it on his own, he was smart enough but he didn’t know how to handle something so difficult. Instead of sitting and thinking about it until the cops showed, he threw the car into gear and started driving. To where? He wasn’t exactly sure. Just someplace to get him out of trouble.

Maybe he didn’t trust her, but he did know that she had dealt with her fair share of bloodshed. He’d heard plenty, and had seen the way she handled herself in the presence of men much more menacing than himself. She could help, but would she? He stared at the door from his car for a good couple of minutes, but eventually got out of the car and tucked the gun into his waistband as he walked. At the door, he let his knuckles knock in rhythm against the home of his enemy, hoping she would see the worry in his eye and take pity on him. Milo glanced around as he waited, one hand keen on resting atop the .38 in the front of his jeans. Maybe it was another trap. What if Aurora was ready to cut him down and save her father the trouble of some low-rung thug. It was the only option he had though, so he knocked again.

[long-gone-dream]

Did he intend to let her actually make it through an orgasm? Of course he did, but questioning his intention still brought forth a laugh, though he suppressed it into nothing more than a titter from his lips. She was so uncertain of him, but he kept his intentions close to his chest. It was only right to question him. “Yes, I’m going to let you.” Milo smiled against the shell of her ear, breathing out a hushed moan as he made another burial between her thighs. He repeated the motion a few more times, only pausing to ask her another string of questions. “Should I keep it from you though? You did bite me, I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you for that. What do I get if I let you cum?” Talking to her while he continued to thrust into her was taking its own toll on his resolve. Milo might have been an expert when it came down to staving off his own climax, but he couldn’t focus on keeping it at bay when he was trying to toy with the other. “How do I know that I’ll get to cum when you have what you want? I don’t trust you.” He tore one hand away from her’s, cradling her jaw to tilt her head back farther into the bed and expose her neck to him. “How do I know you won’t deny me that?” With more skin to worship, his lips took to the pale flesh and worked down from her ear, only slightly off aim each time his lips landed because of the slight rocking of their bodies.

long-gone-dream​:

The quiet woman from before was not missed, his enjoyment coming particularly from the muffled moans of the pleased woman beneath him. Not that it was the only enjoyment he was receiving, that much was obvious. Milo didn’t pursue her lips as she dropped down onto the mattress, straightening his spine instead and releasing her other thigh to let her adjust her position if she wanted to. Both of his hands were eagerly exploring, roaming up over her ribs and then to find her own hands. Upon finding them he raised them above her head, pinning them down and lacing their fingers together. The brief slowness was set right again now that he had found his placement once more, though it wasn’t about drilling into her. Even he needed a break from the intensity. Every thrust was longer, more of a roll to his lower back and hips than before. Milo didn’t hesitate to drop his face down into the crook of her neck, between her shoulder and her own face, if only to occupy his lips instead of speaking more praise to a woman who lived off of it. There was also the intent to mark another claim of her along the skin there, his mouth parting to latch on and suck gently at the flesh. If he accomplished two things through the night, one being an impressive display and the other being deep bruises, he’d feel satisfied more than any orgasm could bring him. His mouth only lifted so he could breathe, but he didn’t exit the space. Instead, his lips brushed against her ear and curled into a smile even as he spoke. “You’ve been so good, do you think you deserve to cum?” It wasn’t above a whisper, his voice hushed and slow to make sure she understood what he was implying. She didn’t have to worry about any more denial.

he let go of her thighs and pinned her hands above her head and aurora took the opportunity to arch her back slightly so that the length of her body was flush against his. she made no move to stop him or warn him against leaving a mark when she felt his mouth on her neck, although she probably should have, but she was being ruled by her emotions currently and they very much liked the idea whereas if she were letting her head make the decisions she might have at least acknowledged that it wasn’t remotely wise to leave any evidence of what had happened between them. she moaned slightly when he whispered to her, anticipation flooding through her even though half of her was convinced that he was only trying to make her believe that he had any intention of letting her finish when the opposite was true. “yes.” but she would say that, wouldn’t she? she thought she deserved it regardless of whether or not she had been good. “are you going to let me this time?” her tone was hesitant, she didn’t quite trust him not to deny her again, even if she had given in and submitted to him. she didn’t dare get her hopes up, to let him build her up again if he was only doing it as a way of taunting her again, to use it as a way to remind her who was in control.

[children-of-the-muse]

;O; FINALLY, WE HAVE FINISHED THIS THING AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF AND CAN POST IT AT LONG LAST. We actually drafted this to the wrong blog at first and accidentally nuked the entire image description in trying to fix it.

So here she is, the Fog's Resident Teenage Pain In the Arse, a chav through-and-through, Magda 'Mags' Bishop--our Survivor OC and the real Mags's Self-Insert (and for our friends in the selfship community, yes, she does have a ship, a temporary one with Jonathan and an endgame with Quentin).

She does have a matched Killer, George Milo AKA the Defiler, but we have not drawn him or figured out his Power yet. They'd have come into the Fog directly before the Descend Beyond chapter. I haven't worked out a name, but I do know that they'd have come with a new map as well; Coburg Dock in Liverpool (the Steam achievement would be called 'Dockmaster', and it would be to repair the generator in the Tower House and escape). Backstory and Perks under the cut!

Magda 'Mags' Bishop grew up on Coburg Dock in the dreary town of Liverpool, England, following her mother and sister from one bad situation to the next. Between school, near-poverty, and the fact that everyone around her seemed to tolerate her at best and downright hate her at worst, even the adults who were supposed to care about her, she didn't really have much to be happy about. This wasn't helped when she was abducted from the neighbours' front yard by a serial child predator at the age of seven. While she was found and seemed more or less okay, successfully testifying against him and putting him in prison for his crimes, she began to struggle with anger management issues as she got older. She would get into physical fights with classmates who bullied her and react violently to being touched without warning or permission. Whether this was the result of her assault or the result of the abuse she was enduring at home, no one could tell (or wanted to acknowledge).

Eventually, she met a group of friends like her who both shared and encouraged her contrarian tendencies, and together they got into more trouble than she had ever managed on her own. The police had dragged her home to her mother more times than she could count, but the more she was punished, the more she lashed out and the less time she spent at home. One day, she turned up missing after a night out. While the police tried initially to track her down, her friends didn’t know where she had gone after leaving them, and as they had few other leads her case went cold before long. Most people just assumed that she had finally run off.

Perks

Difficulty: Intermediate A teenage Hell-raiser, with a knack for getting out of trouble as easily as she gets into it. Her personal perks, Lamp 'Em One, Destructive Disposition, and Come On, Then!, allow her to run interference by stunning the Killer, creating new escape routes, and distracting the Killer by making herself a target.

Lamp 'Em One You may be small, but your nerve and adrenaline make up for your size, especially if your friends are in danger. -Press the Active Ability button when standing within 1 metre of the Killer to throw a punch for a 75% chance to stun the Killer for 5 seconds. 10% increased chance if the Killer is transporting a Survivor. -120/110/100 second cooldown. -A successful stun will result in you becoming afflicted with the Exposed status effect for 60 seconds. -You become the Obsession. 'You wanna mess with my mates, you gotta contend with me.'

Destructive Disposition Years of teenage rebellion and nighttime stunts have given you a knack for property damage. -Allows you to destroy breakable walls within the environment. (Creates a loud noise notification for the Killer.) -Increases your sabotage speed by 25%. -Sabotaged hooks take 15/20/25 seconds longer to regenerate. -60 second cooldown upon breaking a wall or sabotaging a hook. -10% increased skill check difficulty when repairing generators. 'Try and eat us now, you spidery bitch. Eat THIS!'

Come On, Then! You're used to being targeted by those who've got it in for you. You've learned to use it to your advantage. -When not performing an action or in a chase for 30 seconds, your aura lights up to the Killer, alerting them to your location. -Gain a 2/5/10% Haste status effect. -Increased chance of being the Killer's Obsession. 'Come and get me, you knifey bastard!'

[theimpossiblescheme]

Some Days

Valentine’s Day is as good a time to celebrate platonic love as it is for romantic love, and I wanted to share something based on mine and @the-cat-at-the-theatre-door‘s headcanons about Victor, Tabbygirl, and their Pollicle friends!  It’s sort of a melancholy little piece (insert dog pun here), but I hope everyone still enjoys!

Pollicle dogs might come to dust the same as Jellicle Cats do, but not until their humans were ready to crumble alongside them.  As a result, so many dogs wandered the earth in the meantime, their bodies withered away, but their spirits still lingering like the echo of a howl.  The number of spectral dogs in Great Britain alone was staggering, but humans who had never kept one failed to understand that they weren’t evil or even looking to cause that much trouble--they were just lonely souls keeping watch out on the moors or in the streets for a familiar face.

Polly had made peace with that.  She even figured it might be a little fun, having her old energy back for a time and being able to sneak into places her own dear pets would never let her.  And the poor things would miss her, certainly, but in time they would smile again and find it in their hearts to move on until they met again.  More than anything, Polly wanted her family to be happy, and that hadn’t changed with her death.

The one she was mostly concerned with, however, was Victor.

He’d always been a taciturn sort of cat, forever grumbling to himself and complaining about this or that minor inconvenience or what someone had said when they didn’t think he was listening.  To anyone else, he was just a wall of sullen snark with a irritably lashing tail poking out to one side.  But to Polly, he was a friend.  She saw that wall crack a little around her and the soft red of his bleeding heart underneath pour through.  She’d heard how soft and kind his voice could be when the mood struck him and saw the little smile that would lift one side of his mouth.  When she first came to the bookshop she feared he would always resent her a bit for stealing the humans’ attention, but it didn’t take long for them to sit up all day and night talking about their favorite stories or choice pieces of gossip... or sometimes nothing at all.  Sometimes Victor would just nestle against her side (he thought he was being inconspicuous, but his little kneading paws betrayed him) and sun himself while she slept, silent and content.

Now, Victor barely moved from his basket by the back door.  Barely meowed even for food and water.  All he did was sulk most days, his eyes dull and his entire form limp and heavy.  The only time he dragged himself out was to sit on Polly’s old rug and try to sleep.  He never cried, at least not when Polly could see, but his eyes were always rimmed with red.

Most days, Polly wanted more than anything to help.  To reassure him that she wasn’t truly gone, that she could still hear him, that nothing broke her heart more than seeing her friend in such a state.  But it wouldn’t be the same... she would only frighten him.  She would only be a pale, cold shadow of the dog he’d known.  So she kept watch from afar.  Sometimes she sang with the other ghosts and hoped he could still hear her voice.

Not all days were so terrible, though.  Some days, to her relief, Victor wasn’t alone--he had a visitor, a tabby queen named Mirza who always came armed with fantastic stories and quiet cheer.  She never forced Victor to talk or smile or say anything he didn’t feel.  There were days when she just distracted him with new books or the dreams she’d had last night, and there were days they didn’t talk at all.  Some days, Mirza would merely curl up next to him in his basket and lay next to him, not moving, but still keeping him warm.  Not the way a mate would (Victor had never been interested in that, and from all indications neither was Mirza), but rather a littermate looking to protect her brother.

On days like those, Victor almost laughed.  Almost let himself feel that warmth again.  As the days progressed, the almosts became occasionallys, and the occasionallys became sometimes.  Sometimes he made his usual dark jokes and little quips, and sometimes he joined Mirza at the window to watch the people outside go by and speculate about their little lives.  At one point during her vigil, Polly could even swear she heard Victor laugh again, the deep rumbling laugh she’d loved so much.

At one point, the bookshop owners brought home a new dog, a puppy named Milo with paws and ears too big for the rest of him and a “gee, mister” demeanor Polly found absolutely darling.  Victor wasn’t amused at first, though--in fact, he even seemed downright offended that another dog would dare sleep in the same room.  Polly wanted to reach through the fog that surrounded her now and urge him to be patient, to give the poor boy a chance, but as always she held her tongue.  Milo never actively tried to win Victor over--he was just a sweet little thing who went about his day and never seemed bothered by his new roommate’s gloom.  A few times he tried to look over Victor and Mirza’s shoulder to see what they were reading, and Victor would turn his head and hiss, scaring him back.  But a few times after that, he said nothing, leaving the puppy to his own devices.  When Milo innocently followed him around the shop, he still said nothing.  When Milo built himself a little pillow nest a few feet away from Polly’s old rug and wished Victor sweet dreams every evening, he still said nothing.

It took a long time, but one day Victor did scoot a few inches out of the way to let Milo read with them.  He flicked his tail behind him for the “wee pup” to keep up as he took his morning stroll.  He gave a gruff “g’night” that night before rolling over to sleep.

From her perch on the nearby armchair, a volume of Andrew Lang’s fairy tales open in front of her, Mirza smiled.  And from her view across the street where none of them could see, Polly smiled, too.  He would be fine.  She was sure of it.

[medea10]

My Review of O Maidens in Your Savage Season

How did I get into this anime? This time, I didn’t rely on the randomizer to pick out a random anime licensed by Sentai Filmworks. I wanted to choose a small-sized anime with not that many episodes to its name. Probably because I spent a good year and a half on Rinne that all of these Sentai picks have been short series! So I went with one that came out not too long ago.

Kazusa Onodera belongs to the literature club at her school. Seems decent enough, right? These girls read heavily, sexualized books. And as high schoolers, the word sex is taboo and intriguing all at the same time. Each of the girls in the literature club have their own view on the subject, mostly border-lining on wanting to know more and experiencing it soon. Aside from that, Kazusa is noticing that her childhood friend, Izumi Norimoto has changed since they were kids and other girls are noticing him. This, putting Kazusa in an awkward position of avoiding him when he’s around other girls! Half of it is because jealous bitches glare at her if she gets too close to Izumi. The other half is due to the fact that Kazusa is starting to notice her friend as maybe something more.

One day, the girls in the club get word of one of their favorite authors writing a new book. This one about someone writing a bucket list due to dying! One of the girls (Niina Sugawara) suggests sex. Ever since then, all of the other girls are noticing so many new things in their world. Certain words sound dirty, certain objects can be considered phallic, and boys are starting to look fuckable. And our girl Kazusa gets a heavy dose of reality when she gives her neighbor Izumi some dinner.

She walks upstairs to find Izumi jerking off to some hardcore porn on his computer.

So yeah, coming of age story up in here!

But it isn’t just Kazusa learning about the trials of love and sex. Momoko deals with her own troubles involving sexuality. Sugawara is torn between a past love and a new love. Rika is discovering love for the first time in her life. And Hongo wants to learn more about sex in order to become a great author. All five of these girls deal with that difficult time of adolescence with first love and the curiosity of “ess eee ex”.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: This is licensed by Sentai Filmworks. As of this date and time, an English cast has been announced, but by the looks of things, nothing has been dubbed yet. I am a little excited to hear several new voices in the cast and a few familiar ones including Brittney Karbowski and Natalie Rial. Many of the Japanese voice actors have been around for a while and I’m kinda familiar with. It’s just that I haven’t spent a great deal hearing them in my day-to-day rotations. But I can’t complain with the cast! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Kazusa is played by Hiyori Kouno (known for Phil on The Promised Neverland)

*Momoko is played by Momo Asakura (known for Ayumi on Charlotte, Iroha on Magia Record, Sumi on Sakura Trick, Manako on Monster Musume, Nagisa on Kaguya-sama, and Lamy on Fairy Tail)

*Rika is played by Sumire Uesaka (known for Dekomori on Chuunibyo, Nanase on In/Spectre, and Anastasia on Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls)

*Hongo is played by Tomoyo Kurosawa (known for Miria on Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls)

*Sugawara is played by Chika Anzai (known for Mina on Attack on Titan, Nana on My Roommate is a Cat, Maki on Sakura Quest, and Young Kamui on Gintama)

ENGLISH CAST: *Kazusa is played by Brittney Karbowski (known for Selim/Pride on FMA: Brotherhood, Misaka on Railgun/Index, Black Star on Soul Eater, Wendy on Fairy Tail, Dekomori on Chuunibyo, and Hisako on Food Wars)

*Momoko is played by Juliet Simmons (known for Yukika on My Love Story and Mayumi on Food Wars)

*Rika is played by Avery Smithhart

*Hongo is played by Elissa Cuellar

*Sugawara is played by Natalie Rial (known for Rui on Domestic Girlfriend)

THIS NEEDS TO PLAY ON REPEAT: Can we watch Creepy McPedofuck get socked in the face on loop?

Yes!

It goes without saying that I hated this fucker. I heavily enjoyed him getting knocked the fuck out. And I will go in further detail with the shipping category.

SHIPPING: As this is a coming of age anime with girls in high school just discovering love, lust, sex, and all that good shit, we’ve got some stuff to cover in this category.

*Kazusa x Izumi: The childhood friend scenario! Yeah, these two were quite inseparable as children, but as they grew older, Izumi started to grow somewhat of a popularity streak with the girls at school and as a result, Kazusa found herself inferior compared to these catty bitches. That and these girls are jealous if they see Kazusa even speaking to Izumi.

Throughout the series, Kazusa had to deal with jealous bitches telling her to back off and Kazusa’s friend Sugawara having growing feelings for Izumi every time she’s with him. It seemed like not a big deal in the earlier episodes. But once we see what Sugawara is getting back at, it gets downright love-triangle-ish. It got so crazy that both girls proclaimed their love for Izumi in an open setting during a school festival at the same time. I know Izumi wasn’t going to reciprocate Sugawara’s feelings, but when he started saying things that are friend-zone material, I got worried. I mean, Kazusa and Izumi were childhood friends and there’s been a strain in that due to hormonal changes. I don’t want to bring out the tired old excuse of Izumi being a boy and he’s a dumbass, but I kinda have to. Yes dude likes Kazusa, but he also likes Sugawara and both for different reasons. And when it comes to Sugawara, it’s a sexual attraction. Boy, you are not going to get your cake and pie here.

Now I’ve been in Kazusa’s position before of wanting to be in a relationship with a best friend. A lot of the time, it does not go well and can strain the friendship you once had making it hard to go back if there’s a crap-up. By the looks of things at the end of the anime, these two seem to be on a sure-footing in their relationship.

*Rika x Shun: Rika has always been seen as an outsider to many of the main cliques of school. But it wasn’t until Shun’s kind words in class one day that changed something inside of Rika. But it doesn’t stop there with this boy! He writes fifty pages of “I Love Yous”, he insists on wanting to be with Rika in any class activity, and goes out of his way to ask her out (which she eventually accepts). And Rika with these new feelings doesn’t really know how to handle it as this is the first time she’s experienced these feelings outside of reading them in a novel. But I gotta say, their confession in front of the school was just downright too cute for words. It definitely deserves a round of applause.

*Hongo x Milo-sensei: Oh dear God, not this again! I don’t know whether to think Hongo is just using this guy for her novel or if she’s really developing something for her teacher. Milo-sensei seems to have a thing for his teaching colleague. But does this fool have a side-thing for one of his students as well? I’m getting Marmalade Boy and Domestic Girlfriend vibes here. These two go beyond a lot of boundaries throughout the series including panty flashes and a spontaneous trip to a motel. This ship I’m not fully on board with! But this is still leaps and bound ahead of what I’m about to discuss next.

*Sugawara x Saegusa: Oh for fuck’s sake! Everything about this sounds so wrong, Domestic Girlfriend is demanding an apology for all the bad things said about that. Even Izumi finds this guy pedophilish. An old acting coach has a thing for little girls and finds Sugawara pure when she’s at a young age and Sugawara eventually grows to like him. It’s just that when she figured it out, she’s a young teenager in high school and according to Saegusa, she’s too old.

Too old?! Fool! You are clearly in your late 40s at the earliest. And Sugawara is at least 14 and SHE’S TOO OLD?! I’m about to slap the glasses off your dumbass-face and call Chris Hansen because this is too much. Sugawara, please for the love of all that’s cream pie, stop going after this creep and making him jealous with trying to get with Izumi! You CAN do better! And also, you’re really fucking with the Izumi x Kazusa ship. But more importantly, you CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS CREEPY FUCK!

…

And now it’s time to talk about Momoko. I thought that this anime was going to be all about these girls falling in love with different boys. At first, it looked like that with a boy named Satoshi coming in the picture saying he remembers Momoko when they were kids. But then, we get a surprise from Momoko when she finds girls more attractive (particularly Sugawara). Okay, I didn’t see that coming. And frankly, I’d prefer that or just about anything else to that old-ass actor with a little girl complex. But with Momoko, I feel like she’s going to be the one character that doesn’t get to be with someone in the end. Kazusa gets Izumi, Rika gets Shun, and Hongo gets Milo-sensei. Momoko does come out to Sugawara, but I’m unsure if this is one-sided or if Sugawara ends up together with her.

ENDING: All five girls are learning that love and sex come with a mixed bag of everything. Sometimes everything works out, sometimes things fall apart, sometimes actions have consequences, and sometimes a dick comes in and ruins everything.

Because of the blooming relationship of Kazusa and Izumi, Sugawara got jealous and did some risqué things on a train with Izumi. Hongo takes things to another level when she goes to a cheap hotel with Milo-sensei and she was ready to take the bull by the horns. Yeah, she was doing most of this for her novel, but this escalated into full-blown infatuation of her teacher. And Rika was feeling pretty good around school now that she has a boyfriend and is on speaking terms with one of the popular girls. Too bad Rika’s friend is never coming back to school because she’s knocked up! See, consequences!

The high school administration was upset by some recent incidents including a student getting pregnant. But what set them over the edge were reports of Rika and Shun outside of a love hotel. But as we all know, they did no act of sex. They were spying on Hongo and Milo-sensei. But you can’t tell these prudes that. They made an example of Rika and Shun by expelling them and putting out an updated P.D.A. rule at school. Not even Milo-sensei confessing to being at the love hotel could calm this storm with the heads of the school. So the girls of the literature club decide to take drastic measures.

They shut the school down, hold Milo-sensei hostage, and demand that Rika and Shun are reinstated at school. I wasn’t expecting this anime to go down the route of The Simpson’s classic episode Grade School Confidential, but here we are.

Yeah, the principal and vice principal had a Groundskeeper Willie attitude to their fight and left them to cool down for the night. This night in the school things kinda went a little crazy, particularly when Shun and Izumi came inside. Especially when you have Izumi admit that he likes Kazusa, but is sexually attracted to Sugawara. Then, you have Momoko irritated that all Sugawara is interested in is Izumi and she’s got this huge crush on her. Add to the thick layer we got already, Shun opens is dumbass mouth to mention he has kissed girls before Rika. Oh, dude. Shut up! But the girls found a way to fix things…sorta! A few episodes back, the girls had a pillow fight to let out their frustration. So, they’re going to play a simple game where there seems to be a happy conclusion for all involved. Rika and Shun share a cute forehead kiss and Shun admits his love for Rika once more. Momoko and Sugawara share a moment. As for Izumi and Kazusa, they both admitted to feeling anxious and uncomfortable jumping from friends to boyfriend/girlfriend. So it looks like they’re going to stay together. Sure looks like it in the epilogue. But we’ll get there soon enough.

After a full night of revelations, the principal and vice principal return to school the following morning to the entire building covered in protest paper to reinstate Rika and Shun and to get rid of the P.D.A. ban. I guess things worked out since a lot of students saw this and the principal is about as useless as a Band-Aid on a toothache.

At the end of the episode, we see the cast from what looks to be one year later as Rika and Shun are in college now. Rika’s friend and former classmate had her baby. Milo-sensei and Hongo are holding down the literature club with a few new members. It also looks as though they’re still in a relationship (possibly getting married later). I am unsure if Momoko and Sugawara ended up together or not. But at least they’re still friends. And it seems as though Izumi and Kazusa made it through that awkward time of adolescence and they seemed to have stayed together.

This was a fun romp! I think we all remember a time in high school where we were young and naïve about the concept of love and even sex. I can’t say there was one particular character I connected to in this series. I think I’ve been in all of the girl’s positions at one point or another. I’ve been friend-zoned like Kazusa. There was a boy I wasn’t into that wouldn’t leave me alone like Momoko. I was curious to a point where it did affect my own writing like Hongo. I had jealous fits over a friend’s boyfriend much like Sugawara. And once I got in a relationship, I felt as awkward as Rika. See, I’ve been all five at one point.

It’s a confusing time being an adolescent. Along with the changes in your body, there’s that gnawing pressure of noticing blossoming feelings for some person. And you’re not sure if you should talk to them, kiss them, or rip off their clothes in the heat of passion. Not sure if everything from the manga was covered. I’d like to assume it was due to the fact that both the anime series and manga were short. And I think all viewers can agree that…Can we see that gross dude get punched again?

Oh yeah, that’s so delicious.

So if you’re ready to re-watch possible flashbacks of your awkward high school moments again, check out this anime.

If you would like to watch O Maidens in Your Savage Season, all 12 episodes are available to watch on HI-DIVE.

Okay, what’s my next Sentai Filmworks anime?

*gasps*

In association with Pony Canyon & TBS!

What the…?! THEY ALL LOOK LIKE THEY’RE FROM K-ON!

[long-gone-dream]

As soon as she placed the joint between her lips he couldn’t keep his hands at bay. Thick digits scaled her thighs, kneading into the muscle with applied pressure under the pads of his fingertips. The smoke pushed past her lips and wafted into his face, making the smile his lips had turned upward into even brighter. For a woman who had to be such an angel in front of everyone else in the world, the curse rolling off her tongue would shock the nation. It wasn’t a shock at all to Milo, he preferred the unfiltered version she never kept from him. Commanding his attention, she pulled at the collar of his shirt and he was practically gripping at her thighs now. If there was one person in the world that could look at him and melt his usual tough guy persona, it was Keller. Between the two of them the cloud of smoke dissipated, but she provided her own reasoning behind his jealousy and the smoking herb along with it. Milo tried not to let the words phase him, but there was still the slightest hint of a whine from his throat. “That’s exactly why I’m jealous. At least I know you still prefer me over a joint though. It’s a little ironic though, you enjoy two things that make you choke. Granted, the joint isn’t what chokes you, the smoke does.” Guiding a hand upward, he took the joint from her fingers and leaned back once he was released, taking his own hit from the filtered end. Keller’s answer took a moment longer than he really wanted to give her, anxious to make the other squirm rather than let her sit naked on his lap. She accepted the offer with good reasoning, the attempt earlier in the day shot down simply out of urgency. “Mhm, you kind of owe me the chance. It’s only fair.” Another hit and he passed it off to her, his other hand rising to brush his thumb over her hip. “Besides, I want to see how well you can manage to smoke while I make you cum.”

long-gone-dream​:

The very last thing he was prepared for was the separation, but he assumed that if she felt the need to part from him it was for something important. The blonde made quick work of the shirt keeping her chest from falling prey to his hands, tossing it away into the recesses of the hotel room along with wherever his belt hand landed. Before he could even begin to claim the exposed skin she lifted off of him, garnering a groan from Milo even though he was smiling. Multi-tasking was his particular specialty, so she piqued his interest shown with an obvious raise of a brow. “A joint and sex?” Milo watched her motions, though the mossy toned eyes were distracted by the visible breasts jostling around as she moved about the room more than what she was actually doing. As much as he had seen her bare, it never failed to send him into awe the moment articles of clothing were sent flying. The spark of the lighter turned his eyes upward, but watching her take the longer pull as she approached sent his heart sputtering. That’s what it felt like to be in love with somebody, small things making one’s heart bubble with excitement. Keller offered him the joint by placing it between his lips he voluntarily parted for her, only for her to step back out of reach from him. Milo lifted a hand in frustration, though he tried not to make it entirely too obvious, pinching the joint between his fingers as he took a hit of his own. Taking it from his lips, he blew the smoke in her direction and swept his tongue across his lower lip. “Exactly. This is vacation, let’s enjoy it.” Enjoying the trip was easier now that everything was out in the open. As out in the open as she was without any bottoms on, climbing onto his lap to straddle him again. Taking another pull from the burning rolled herb, he exhaled with a shrug at her as if he could pass his interest off as nonchalant. “I would happily smoke a joint for you, if you ever get craving for that instead. I know what you mean though, watching you smoke is so strangely satisfying. I’ve never been more jealous of anything you put between those lips the way I am about a joint.” Milo offered her the joint between his fingers, eager to be free of the occupation of his lips for a moment. “What if I have a specific appetite for watching you smoke while I show you how much I appreciate this vacation?”

Bringing her hand up, she plucked the joint by the filter and gave it a slow pull while her eyes focused on the fern green eyes staring so adoringly up at her. When she pulled the filter from her lips, she made sure to exhale with her pink toned full lips, aiming that smoke right at him while her lashes fluttered. “Oh yeah? Jealous of a joint.. That probably shouldn’t be so fucking endearing, but I’m kind of into it.” Keller ashed the burnt out end of the joint but she didn’t immediately hand it over. A free hand hooked a finger into his collar to tug him into her intimate space. “But I can’t help but wonder why.” When she did lean back, Keller took another small puff on the joint and let the smoke roll out of her mouth and waft into the air between them before she offered it back to him with the devil’s curiosity behind those melted chocolate orbs. “Why would you be jealous of a joint? Because it’s the only thing I suck on and enjoy even half as much as I enjoy sucking on you?” Keller let herself pepper his lips with a feathery touch of hers. The finger that had hooked his shirt, released it back into place with a snap. Deep contemplation played out across her expression while she held the joint between them for him to take for her, pretending like his suggestion was really even something that needed a second thought. “I mean.. Who would I be to pass up an offer like that? If you want me to smoke while you show me your appreciation, I’m all for it. Especially since I didn’t give you the chance earlier.” Though, she’d been so hot for him the second she’d finished giving him head she just couldn’t resist him any longer. But she knew that was the best way for him to show her what he was feeling. 

[redrocx]

Live Report the Gazette @ le Bataclan 06/14/19

This was meant to be a three sentence post about my feelings for the live but somehow it took on a life on its own, so have my own, amateurish attempt at a live report 笑 I don't even know where to begin.

Our day (us being the lovely @ino-en-blue and me) started at 7:30am. We got up and got ready to leave for the venue. We left at 8am, and arrived at the venue shortly before 9am. We got our numbers for the queue, which a friend kindly reserved for us. We were 47th and 48th in line for VIP. For the first 3h, we just sat in front of the venue. We met up with @kagefumin and other lovely people. Most of the time we just spent chatting, and eating and playing some card games (which Milo won and I was last at 笑). At around 9am, the tour bus with the staff and the musical equipment arrived. They told us to move away from the venue a bit, so they could get everything inside. One staff member also informed us that the Gazette were not on that bus themselves, but that they would arrive in another one at a later time. (At roughly the same time, Kai posted about his troubles with the cup of coffee on instagram 笑.) We also got to sign one of the banners that some lovely fans had prepared (there were two of those banners floating around for fans to sign, but we only left our signatures on one of them.)

At about 1pm, the French fans organizing everything told us that staff required us to leave our waiting area in front of the venue, since we were getting in the way of the adjacent shops and passersby. We grabbed our stuff, and moved across the street to the nearby park. Thanks to the numbering system, we didn't have to worry about leaving our spot at all, since we would be sorted by numbers again in queue later on.

At the park, we waited some more, met some more people, and pretty much just chatted and rested a bit. I spotted two awesome cosplayers, and was really impressed by their costumes and appearances, and the dedication and efforts they put into creating their cosplays. It was also awesome to see some cosplayers in the flesh. At about 2:30pm we left the park for a while to get some food. When we got back, the organizers informed us that they would hand out glow sticks to everyone to ignite and hold up during the ballads (I think we ignited some of them prematurely by having glow stick battles in line 笑 though it was hard to tell in the sun). Then we got asked to line up outside the park by numbers. Heresy members got the chance to pick up the Heresy exclusive gift, a wristband. Then we got back in line, and at 5pm they started to lead the first VIP groups back to the venue, where we waited some more. We also took a bunch of cute pictures while we were waiting. At 6pm, staff finally started to let us into the venue. Security checked both bags and persons, then let us enter the venue. Inside, we were given the chance to drop our bags off at the cloakroom, and we were handed the VIP gift towels (made of microfiber). At the left side of the entrance room, there were boxes for the members' gifts. Staff told us we had to drop all gifts into the boxes, we were not allowed to hand them to the members personally during the meet & greet. We also got informed that the guys were running late, which is probably one of the reasons why the meet & greet was so rushed. It took place before the actual live, which was kinda meh imo, since that also meant the meeting was going to be rushed and very short. In line, we were told only handshakes were allowed, though I later heard a bunch of fans screwed the rules as usual, and asked for hugs nevertheless.

As said before, the m&g was really rushed, which was kinda disappointing, tbh. It started with Uruha, and all I was really able to do was shake their hands and tell them thank you as they also thanked us. They all looked gorgeous, and they were really sweet and polite. Meeting Uruha and Ruki is already a blur for me, I have to admit, but I think they were smiling politely. Kai and Reita were real sweethearts, they were grinning happily and warmly, and they both took my hand in both of theirs. Last was Aoi. Oh boy. He was... stunningly beautiful. I mean, obviously they all were, but the whole "pictures don't do them justice" felt especially true with him. He was simply breathtaking. Also, even though they were all wearing heavy makeup, to me it seemed like he wasn't wearing as much as the others — or it just looked more natural, idk, I can‘t really describe it. He simply looked incredibly handsome. When he saw me... I swear I could read his thoughts off his face & the look he gave me. It was so obvious it was downright cute. Like, I'm not only only 1,50m (4'11") small, I also look very young (people often estimate my age to be around 12-14). So I KNOW that look that people usually give me. And he had the exact same look on his face, "Omg you're a child, what's a child doing here?!" I just could read his surprise & confusion off his face, so I gave him a half knowing, half awkward smile. At that, his confusion disappeared and he smiled back. RIP me.

We managed to snatch second row, in the center, with Ruki's platform right in front of us and Kai's drum set behind. Staff were setting up the technological equipment and the instruments. Luckily, there wasn't much of a line yet in front of the merch store, so we rushed over there and managed to snatch the stuff we wanted to get (though they accidentally messed up sizes for two of our shirts, and my friend Ino ended up with the S I was looking to get for my shirt and I ended up with an L but oh well, we'll manage). Getting back in line was a bit of a hassle, since I think people thought we were trying to cut in line, when we were just trying to get back to our friends 笑. Then we waited some more while some rock music was playing. I was standing behind some Japanese fans, and the guy was sadly fairly tall, which blocked a big part of my view to the stage. In general, I didn't have much space to move around or even place my feet anywhere to stand properly lol. With this uncomfortable position, I waited amongst my friends some more, and we were growing more and more excited as well as impatient. Some time later, they started to let in General Audience. Then, a staff member came on stage. He asked us whether we were ready to see the Gazette, and the whole room just went nuts. He informed us that taking any pictures or videos during the live was strictly forbidden, and that cellphones mustn't be used. At that, most people applauded, though some people of course booed *rolls eyes*. But as far as I know, most people kept to the rule, we didn't see any phones around the first few rows of the audience at all. Finally, quite on time (as far as I could tell), the lights went off and the live started.

99.999 started playing, and the whole audience lost their shit. During the SE, the guys came on stage one after one, starting by Kai (if I recall correctly). Ruki came in last. Falling started and the audience went completely nuts. Most of the performance is just a blur to me now, and I sadly didn't see much of Uruha or Kai from my position, so I won't be talking about each song individually. At first, I barely could see Ruki and Reita from my gap, but as the live progressed, I ended up in a slightly changed position, which gave me less of a view on Ruki but therefore I had Aoi perfectly in sight for the rest of the live. The boys were all in top condition. Ruki's vocals were on point, his screams and growls were to die for. Reita was playful during the entire live, licking his fingers a bunch of times and showing his tongue (similarly to his selfie he posted on Instagram later lol see at the end of the report), or coming to the front of the stage to jam there. Aoi mostly kept in his spot, but he smiled inwardly the whole time. He looked especially happy and proud during the NINTH songs, when the audience went nuts and sang along to them, and I was under the impression it made him really happy how much we responded to their new songs. Ruki made some of his cute little dances, and also touched himself during a few songs (though I couldn't name any of them in hindsight except for Filth in the Beauty), or just tugged at the hem of his purple suit to reveal more of his chest. Overall, he was just being his enthusiastic and dramatic self while performing. They were all extremely on point for most of the live (I only heard someone say Ruki's timing was a bit off during Tomorrow Never Dies and Kai apparently shot him a confused glance, but I myself did not catch that). Sadly, as mentioned before, I barely saw Uruha from my position, and I also focused on Aoi most of the time 笑. I managed to catch a few glimpses of him during some of his solos though, which were absolutely fantastic. I also heard he went down on his knees quite a lot and headbanged often, but I failed to catch any of it.

The first few songs were a blast (I'll post a photo of the setlist down below), though I had difficulties enjoying and focusing on them from time to time since people began to push like crazy from the back, and I had to concentrate quite often on not getting squished. That's why I sadly can‘t say much more to their actual performance onstage (also, the songs involved a lot of headbanging so there was no time to focus on the stage, naturally lol). I did catch Aoi accidentally stepping on the cord of Ruki's microphone, and grinning apologetically before stepping off again. During その声は脆く, people got out their glow sticks and waved them around. Until the first chorus, Aoi was actually sitting down on a stool, I think (at least that's what it looked like from my position). Contrary to what I thought from listening to the song on headphones, they did not actually share the guitar solo, but Uruha performed the solo by himself (which, ngl, I was a bit disappointed about). He did a great job at the solo though! I still would've loved and died if they had shared the solo and switched in between the way it also sounds like if you listen to the song via headphones. I was ecstatic that they played Dogma, and during VORTEX and The Suicide Circus, the audience sang along wholeheartedly (e.g., the 'tick tock' part was sung solely by the audience). During one of the songs (sadly I don't remember which it was, might've been UGLY or Tomorrow Never Dies) when they were firing up the audience, Ruki actually walked along the edge of the stage and held out the microphone to the audience to catch and amplify our shouts. He also gave some fans high fives during one of the songs (sorry, again, I don't actually remember during which song, everything's already a blur OTL). The last song on the main list they played was Filth in the Beauty. Afterwards, they left the stage, and Kai came up to the front of the stage and we cheered on him as loudly as we could.

Between songs, Ruki actually spoke some French phrases (like "Bonsoir", "Ça va" and "Nous sommes the Gazette"), which was really cute and adorable! He also made several 'it's so hot' gestures, like fanning himself and sticking his tongue out.

Then we were waiting for the encore, and boy, I did not have any strength left by then. Other people seemed to be the same, and the encore calls came and went in waves like the tide. I think everyone was struggling with their energy reserves by then, and temporarily, I got worried that our encore calls lacked the energy and enthusiasm which would encourage them to come out again. Alas, apparently it was still enough, and they came out again. I was so happy and relieved. Uruha, Kai and Aoi were wearing some of the World Tour shirts (Aoi's tattoo actually peaked out from underneath his sleeve *drools*), Reita and Ruki were still in their costumes. Reita was carrying the French Gazette flag, he showed it to us, then put it on display on Ruki's platform. Aoi brought out another flag, a fan-made one, which had the dates of the live, the Gazette logo and chibi drawings of the members on it. He showed it around and looked so fucking adorably proud as he did so, I can't even put it into words.

When all of them except for Ruki had come out, we started to sing Happy Birthday for Uruha as a late gift. The other members caught up quite quickly, but he himself seemed rather oblivious at first 笑. It wasn't until Reita and Kai pointed it out to him that he understood the song was actually for him. He pointed at himself in surprise, but in the end bowed and thanked us. Kai yelled "Happy Birthday, Uruha!!" into his microphone, then Uruha pointed at Reita and Kai went "Now do it for him", to which Reita shook his head no almost panicky lol. Kai shouted a few phrases in English at us ("Bring it on!" and "You [yes, he made that cute grammatical error, it was endearing] fucking amazing!" are the ones I recall), then, they started to play Inside Beast. Everyone was firing up the audience, and Aoi and Ruki both gestured at us that we weren't loud enough. Aoi even shook his head in disapproval. At one point during the song, Aoi actually blew the audience a kiss *dies*.

Next up was Shiver. Oh boy. I know there's a lot of people who don't particularly like that song, but it is a true blast live. All songs are, of course, but I feel like this is one of the songs the studio version does no justice at all. It was amazing, and Uruha's solo was on point. Aoi's solo though truly hit me, it was beautiful and perfect, and he looked so happy performing it (yes, I know, I'm biased 笑), it made me wish he got to play more solos; he seemed to really liven up during the solo.

People who have been following me for a while know that I'm a hardcore Aoiki shipper. And I fucking can‘t believe it. It actually happened. Right in front of my eyes. During a live that I attended. At one point during Shiver, Ruki walked over to Aoi, and smacked his butt firmly. Aoi grinned. And I died. I screamed so loudly, I think I caused everyone around me to go deaf. I'm so happy that I actually got blessed with Aoiki fanservice the one time I attended a live. What are the odds? (Even in a non-shippy way, it was a true blessing to witness this kind of interaction between the two members I love the most.)

But to make this night truly unforgettable for me, they closed the live with Tomorrow Never Dies. Again, there are a lot of people who greatly dislike the fact that they play this song a lot, but I was extremely happy. There's just something magical, moving and powerful about the feeling of singing "Don't kill yourself" along with Ruki, it touched me greatly. During the song, he walked over to Uruha to rest his arm on his shoulder. Then, he pretended to readjust his guitar strings to which Uruha shot him a "don't you dare mess with her" glance, before Ruki jammed out to the tunes of his guitar. (Side note: Uruki is my second favorite ship, so to get this cute interaction on top was just the fucking cherry on top!) During the song, Ruki grabbed some bottles of water and sprayed us with them (bless him so much omg we truly needed it), then threw the bottles into the audience. At the end of the song, he spew his fountain of water as usual. At one point during the song, Reita went over to Kai's platform to jam out with him, which was adorable af and made me extremely happy. Uruha's solo was killer, and Ruki's a capella part was to die for, as always.

When the song was over, they thanked us, and Aoi, Reita and Uruha threw their remaining picks into the audience. Sadly, Aoi mostly focused on his part of the stage, I would've loved to get one of his picks. But don't be too greedy, right? I was already beyond happy with the things I did get that night. Kai took a picture of the audience from behind his drum set, then walked up and jumped onto Ruki's platform to be properly celebrated like the king he is. He looked truly stunning up close, up on that platform towering above us, while the others left the stage (if I recall correctly, Ruki wrapped himself into the French flag as he thanked us.) Then, Kai left after the others, and the live was officially over.

We pretty much gathered our things, rested a bit on the floor until staff kicked us out lol. A friend went back to the merch store to change their hoodie to a different size, then we collected our stuff from the cloakroom and left the venue. In front of the venue, we met up with some people again, and chatted some more. We said goodbye to people, and rested in front of the tour bus for a while longer. There was a guy selling posters of the live, and another one (I think he was staff) asked us whether we would wait on the band to come out; which apparently was possible and allowed, but it would've taken 2-3 hours of more wait, and since we were tired and exhausted and drenched af, we decided against it. We changed into some dried clothes (we got from the merch store), and eventually made our way to the subway, and home.

There are some extra things I wanna mention but did not know where to put them in the actual report, so I'll just add them here. As mentioned before, the French fans organizing everything and keeping everything in order were doing an amazing job. I wish there was a way to thank them properly. Also, during the live, staff handed bottles of water around and "fed" us with it to keep us hydrated. Twice, the dude poured the water all over my chin, and I actually got some in my nose as well, which was rather unpleasant. But as such, the water was a true blessing. I just had my whole shirt soaked by it, which was why I was freezing once we got out of the venue. The hoodie I managed to snatch from the merch store and changed into helped keep me warm and comfortable though, bless Ruki!

Also, outside the venue after the live there was a girl just giving away some of her popsicles, which was incredibly generous and thoughtful — not all heroes wear capes!

There was a bunch of shoving and squishing going on during the live to the point I barely had a square meter left to stand and move around, and I had to focus a lot of energy and attention into bracing myself against the shoves from behind while simultaneously trying not to get hit by any body parts from the front (I actually took an elbow to the lip LOL as expected). Other than that, the fans were all really polite and some were truly considerate. The guy next to me actually offered to trade places with me so I could see a bit better, which was extremely kind of him.

During one of the closing songs (it was either Filth in the Beauty or Tomorrow Never Dies), some people threw some stuff onstage, sadly. At the time, I couldn't tell what it had been, I only saw something hit the stage, and Ruki look at the floor in both amusement and a bit of weirded out awkwardness. Later on, I heard it had actually been a glow stick and a shirt that had been thrown onstage (and had been aimed at Ruki). Other than that, there were no remarkable (negative) instances. The guys did look really happy, and I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that they were enjoying themselves. Even with the negative things (e.g. the shoving, etc.) I was still having the time of my life. I never pushed my body to and over its limits like that ever before, and the guys were worth every second of it. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to see them live, and I'm so grateful for what this band has done for any of us, and me in particular, and that they continue to do for us and give us. They deserve the world, and I'm so happy and grateful I got to be part of theirs for one night. They were simply amazing, and it's true that any studio version, and any report or picture doesn't do them any justice. They're so incredibly talented, and they perform with such professionalism yet passion it's awe-inspiring. Even if I could remember more about their musical performances in depth, I wouldn't even know how to put it into words.

I hope I'll get to experience them live again one day.

I was also overjoyed to meet people I had been friends with for a while online irl for the very first time. You are all so damn sweet and I was so happy to meet all of you in person. And to meet such lovely people for the first time (I'd love to tag you all in this, but most of you don't have a tumblr, I think 笑). I hope to also see all of you again one day!

[long-gone-dream]

@not-museing-around

Every time he put on a pair of slacks there was something to be sad about. What could there be now to be sad about? Nobody was being buried, but Milo had this hesitation to his bones even as his hands tightened the belt around his waist. Fear was more the word. An emotion he was becoming more and more familiar with, but that didn’t mean it was new. Rattling through his brain was the wisdom of Keller, calming him with reassurance of his value to her. Maybe he wasn’t the kind of man who lived in suits, but she didn’t need that to make her happy. A deep breath and a few buttons fixed into place changed him from the kind of man who belonged under a car to the kind that ordered a car for the night. He smoothed out the black shirt with nearly sweaty palms, though made no effort to key his nervousness to the woman dressing a few feet from him.

“Black on black, something to make a statement. Plus, I knew it would go with anything you wore.” Milo hadn’t intended to make it look like he was going to a funeral, but he certainly wasn’t sure a suit really made him feel comfortable regardless. A pair of nice shoes, a jacket to match, it all felt as though he was somebody else. Not a single glance toward the mirror was granted, though he hadn’t given much thought to what he’d find in it anyway. “What do you think people are going to ask us when we get there? Maybe if we run through some of the questions I won’t choke trying to answer them.” What an embarrassment he’d be for Keller if he did choke though. If he suddenly got the deer in headlights look it would be in the papers, the tabloids everywhere. Milo could already see the headlines, promoting him as the next brainless toy for Hollywood women. That was the opposite sort of attention he wanted to garner for either of them.

The soft thudding of his shoes against the floor was something new, certainly not something he was accustomed to either. Canvas sneakers didn’t make that sort of noise. The hands that had been busy with buttons were beginning to busy themselves with paper, lining it with ground flower and rolling it into shape. “We met in what way? The truth or some version of it?” The lift of his eyes captured the woman dressing finally, filling the green set with every ounce of admiration all at once. “I don’t think you’d want it to be known that we were strangers doing some heavy petting after meeting at a car show.” Tearing his eyes away with the corner of his lips lifted into a pleased smirk, Milo lifted the joint to his lips and lit the end of it. A deep inhale, one to both calm his nerves and to make sure it was burning properly, then he was set off in her direction. Before he reached the blonde he was exhaling, though not attempting to take another drag. “I don’t know if we have to tell them anything, I’ve never done anything like this before, but I think we should try and work out our stories beforehand.”

[danvilleiisms-blog]

🎯 (ALL OF THEMMMM)

BUCKLE UP FOLKS THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG RIDE! (will tag as “long post ///”) In alphabetical order:

Anthony had a designation when he was forcibly drafted as a child soldier. To his superiors, he was just “17 Alpha”. But he never forgot his name, no matter how they tried to beat it out of him.

Block thinks that to truly experience a movie, you must witness it for the first time in a theater. Hence, why he traveled back 6 months to see a movie he missed instead of simply buying it on whatever digital media they have in 2175.

Bob considers himself a decent cook. He and his wife Diana would trade-off who would cook dinner, but after her abduction and memory-wiping, he had to pick up the responsibility full-time. Lately, though, he hasn’t had the time to be home for dinner, and just makes the meals in advance and leaves them in the fridge for his son.

Carl is trans, and in addition to saving up for college, he’s also saving up for top surgery. Once Monty puts the pressure on his father to actually pay Carl, and make him an official employee, his surgery’s actually covered by the OWCA’s insurance.

Chance, similar to Dakota, doesn’t like flan. Though, he actually loves fish, especially fish sticks dipped in mustard. You can make faces all you want, he doesn’t care what you think of his food. As long as you don’t try to steal it.

Dakota’s shades are a comfort object for him, as he’s worn them ever since he was a kid. When he was younger, he was much more sensitive to light, and that’s why he wore the shades then. Now he’s just gotten so used to wearing them that even when the light isn’t bothering him, he feels naked without them.

Delaney is terrified of buzzing, stinging insects. Wasps especially. One time she nearly got in trouble with Mr. Block because she crashed her time vehicle because a wasp got into the cabin. It didn’t help that she nearly kicked the door clear off in her attempt to escape the thing.

Dr. Zone meets an agender pianist named Aron during his travels, and the two of them end up becoming quite closely bonded. Even when his adventures take him lightyears across the universe and millennia through time, his heart always brings him back to Aron when all is said and done. After the events of Professor Zone and Adjunct Faculty Member Zone, Hankry needed a safe haven, and Aron certainly gave him that.

Doofenshmirtz is a very tactile person, but if someone expresses their discomfort with him touching them, he makes a good effort to restrain himself. It doesn’t always work, though– and with a case like Major Monogram, when he knows it’s not a sensory thing but just an animosity thing, he will deliberately pester them.

Mr. Drako’s father was a full-vampire, and is still alive, but his whereabouts are completely unknown to Kyle. He left as soon as Drako was old enough to take care of himself, and he hasn’t seen him since.

Elliot wears his sunglasses because of severe photophobia– even dim indoor lights can cause him physical pain on his bad days, so he wears the sunglasses almost constantly. Whenever he has a meltdown, reading through his EMT and survival manuals repeatedly can help calm him.

Leopold is the third in his line– that is, the third Leopold to exist. He’s a clone, genetically copied from the original Leopold von Speedwell. He was not raised by that Leopold, however, but by the second, who trained him practically from birth to carry on their villainous legacy.

Martin is not quite as hardy as Milo is when it comes to Murphy’s Law, and sometimes lets fear get the better of him. There are a few things he downright refuses to do because of Murphy’s Law, and roller-disco dancing was one of them. Another is monorail maintenance– and he refuses to speak of why. There are some things you just never unsee.

Major Monogram doesn’t like how Carl sees him as a father figure– especially after he realizes how he’d been pushing Monty towards his own dreams rather than letting his son do what he wanted. He sees too much of his own father in himself, and that’s not something he thinks Carl should look up to. He is making an effort to change, though, in hopes of becoming a father that Monty and Carl truly deserve.

TW: self-harm, attempted suicide implied

At one point in his life, Orton nearly succumbed to severe depression, but thanks to timely intervention by his maid and hospital staff, and an alarming headline that resulted in hundreds of thousands of letters from concerned fans being sent to him, he managed to pull through. Nowadays, he makes regular PSAs on the importance of mental health, and tries to ensure that nobody feels like they have to endure it alone.

TW OVER

Savannah came from the MP Timeline, just like Block and Dakota did. However, because she wasn’t part of the team deployed to change the timeline, she only has a few residual memories of that timeline. Perhaps it’s for the best that she doesn’t remember it in its entirety– at least she doesn’t have to remember her parents being slaughtered in the streets.

Scott doesn’t have pajamas. He just sleeps in his everyday clothes, boots, helmet and all. Drako doesn’t allow that when he sleeps over, though, and enforces a rule that Scott must remove his boots and helmet if he intends to share a bed with him. Scott’s fine with this, he just doesn’t feel the need to take them off when he’s on his own.

[cryptidsandcatacombs]

Tagora Gorjek! Eugene and Rapunzel, Shang and Mulan, Simba and Nala, Aladdin and Jasmine, Quasimodo and Madeline, Carl and Ellie, Woody and Bo Peep, Buzz and Jessie, Ray and Evangeline, Milo and Kida, Kovu and Kiara, Bambi and Faline, Florian and Snow White, Oswald and Ortensia

Eugene and Rapunzel: Did you and your f/o get along at first?PFFHAHAHAAH HAha no…… In fact, we were kismesis before we hit the red quadrant him and I. Turns out we never really hated each other but our irritation was born of being overly worried for each other and wanting each other to be better people, so we were in love with each other all along, but we didn’t realize it rip. It was so bad it took us years to realize our feelings for each other. Hilarious right?

Shang and Mulan: Who is more protective/defensive of the other?

We’re both equally defensive and protective of each other tbh. If anything happened to him, I’d murder everyone in this room including myself. Tagora says same which should give you a sign.

Simba and Nala: How long have you and your f/o been friends?For years before we started officially dating. 

Aladdin and Jasmine: Which places would you and your f/o like to travel to most?Mfing didney wurl

Quasimodo and Madeline: What is something one of you likes most about the other’s personality?Honestly, I love how confident he is an how well he gets people to want to take of themselves cause he unapologetically takes care of himself. Also, how downright smart and in control he is. I firmly believe he can get out of any situation he’s in should be in trouble.

Tagora: I like how he makes me want to be a better person and how smart and funny and talented he is and he doesn’t even know how talented he is. 

Carl and Ellie: What sorts of pictures would you and your f/o put in a scrapbook together?

Selfies of both of us together

Woody and Bo Peep: Have you or your f/o ever been too embarrassed to show each other affection in front of someone else?NoTagora: not even once

Buzz and Jessie: Who fell in love first, and were they the first to confess?We fell in love around the same time, but Tagora was the first to confess.

Ray and Evangeline: Do you and your f/o like to go stargazing?We’d like to tbh

Milo and Kida: Have you and your f/o come up with a secret language or way of communicating just for the two of you?NoTagora: but that’d be pretty cool

Kovu and Kiara: Has anyone ever tried to get between you and your f/o?No Tagora: unless our own stubbornness counts

Bambi and Faline: What were your first impressions of each other?That Tagora was a money hungry corrupt attorney that didn’t seem to care who he put into debt, but honestly over time I saw how kind he could be and how much of a great person he could be and how much of a better person he had the potential to be over time. I began to admire him for his confidence, his intelligence and how kind he truly was, but very rarely showed to othersTagora: I thought he was lacking in confidence and that he had plenty of talent but didn't’ want to apply himself. Over time I discovered…well I was right. But I wanted to help him be better and that I wanted him to feel as confident as I am in him. Florian and Snow White: What is a song you and your f/o would enjoy singing together?I have a terrible singing voice. Tagora can you sing?Tagora: No I cannot and Oz you have an amazing singing voice shut up

Oswald and Ortensia: Do you and your f/o like to brag about each other to others?I do. Only all the time actually. Ask anyone I’ll talk your ear off about TagoraTagora: fuck yeah I do.

[crimethinc]

From J20 to Charlottesville: Repressing Dissent from Above and Below

Over the past two years, the right-wing has declared war on protest in the United States. They’ve fought this struggle from the top down with police, courts, and legislatures—and from the bottom up with militias, fascist groups, and lone extremists. These strategies work in tandem to threaten social movements. This is what connects the fascist murder in Charlottesville last weekend to over 200 demonstrators arrested at Trump’s inauguration on January 20 who were all charged with eight identical felonies just for being on the same city block. This connection is all the more obvious after August 15, when Trump attacked anti-fascists and disingenuously denied that the fascists who chanted Nazi slogans in unison were all white supremacists. The White House stands solidly on the side of those promoting and orchestrating far-right violence.

How do state and autonomous right-wing attacks reinforce each other? Why is the right escalating its campaign to repress dissent? And how can we counter this repression?

The fascist attacks in Charlottesville last weekend were just the latest installment of a two-pronged assault on dissent.

Prosecution and Legislation

While it’s nothing new for the state to repress protest, the past two years of legal and legislative attacks represent a substantial escalation against resistance movements. Since the uprising in Ferguson forced national attention onto racist police violence, the idea of Black communities, poor people, and radicals becoming ungovernable has inspired some and terrified others. Protestors inspired by Ferguson have blocked highways, occupied police departments, sabotaged pipelines, shut down airports, and disrupted Trump rallies.

But defenders of the economic and racial status quo have taken advantage of this to stoke white working-class resentment and suburban fears of disorder. Trump’s image as “the law and order candidate” capitalized on the racialized concerns stirred up by this wave of protest.

From day one, the new administration made good on its promises to crack down on protest. On January 20, over two hundred counter-inaugural demonstrators were trapped in a kettle and mass arrested. Rather than receiving citations or misdemeanors, they now face the prospect of decades in prison simply for being caught on the street during a march. Meanwhile, hundreds of cases from Standing Rock clog the North Dakota courts, where water protectors face fines and prison terms for their efforts to prevent private companies from profiting on the poisoning of Sioux people’s water supplies.

In addition to maximizing repression through the current legal system, politicians are expanding the law to further criminalize demonstrations. Nearly twenty state legislatures introduced anti-protest bills this year that range from troubling to downright bizarre. Arizona politicians attempted to allow the state to seize the assets of people arrested for protesting, while North Carolina legislators tried to invent something called “economic terrorism” and to force protestors to pay the cost of police efforts to repress them. North Dakota’s legislature passed a litany of new bills fed to them by the pipeline industry, from allowing police to use weaponized drones against demonstrations to increasing the legal penalties for a wide range of activity. This legislation went directly into effect against hundreds of water protectors.

Finally, this year, legislators in Florida, North Dakota, and Tennessee have attempted to pass bills allowing drivers to run over protestors without legal consequences. This is especially chilling in the aftermath of Charlottesville.

These screenshots from fascist social media leading up to the Charlottesville demonstrations confirm that the discussed “hit and kill” bills emboldened fascists to commit murder that weekend.

Every one of these laws emerged as a direct response to protests that were effectively disrupting the status quo. The sponsors of North Carolina’s failed anti-protest bill specifically cited the ferocity of resistance in Charlotte after the police murdered Keith Lamont Jenkins as their inspiration for the new law. The spread of highway blockades during anti-police rebellions prompted a wide range of legislation targeting the obstruction of roads, including the aforementioned “hit and kill” bills. In response to widespread indigenous and ecological resistance to pipeline construction, several new state laws would advance penalties specifically tied to disruption of energy infrastructure. These efforts by politicians to protect the interests of their corporate cronies and police attest to the threat that our movements pose.

Grassroots Vigilantism

But the state isn’t confident that legal methods alone will be enough to stem the tide of popular resistance. Enter the autonomous fascists, stage right.

Where police and legal restrictions haven’t sufficed to suppress demonstrations, the armed right-wing has stepped in. Beginning in states such as Arizona that have open carry laws and widespread gun culture, right-wing demonstrators had already been appearing at their own rallies visibly armed; yet until recently, they had rarely appeared at the protests of their political opponents. In 2014, members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia, appeared in the streets of Ferguson toting assault rifles. While most politicians and law enforcement officials outwardly condemned this challenge to the state’s monopoly on violence, in some places the state began openly partnering with the grassroots extreme right. In June, the Multnomah County, Oregon Republican Party voted to allow Three Percenters to provide anti-protestor “security” for them at events.

On January 20, bootlickers welcomed the arrival of tyrrany.

Meanwhile, the alt-right and other fascists have slowly but surely escalated from online threats to violent attacks. The massacre that Dylan Roof perpetrated at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015 failed to spark the race war he intended, but the following year, the election of a president who openly courted white nationalists provided the catalyst for increasing extreme right violence. Numerous media outlets reported an immediate rise in racist, xenophobic, and anti-Muslim activity after Trump’s election, from graffiti to verbal harassment to physical assaults. Bigots have ramped up attacks on mosques from Minnesota to Tennessee, while a man spouting Islamophobia stabbed two people to death on a train in Portland, Oregon this spring.

While many of these attacks served as general intimidation against marginalized groups, protests against oppression have become a particular target for fascists. In 2015, heavily armed right-wingers fired into a Black Lives Matter occupation in Minneapolis, injuring five protestors; a bystander noted that they “were using police tactics.” During the Trump campaign, Trump supporters frequently carried out violent attacks on protestors; white nationalist Matthew Heimbach faced criminal charges this spring for physically attacking a young Black woman at a campaign speech. At a Seattle protest against Milo Yiannopolis in January, a right-wing Milo fan shot an anti-racist protestor in the stomach after threatening online to “start cracking skulls” of “snowflakes.” Yet antifascists and anarchists remained the villains in the discourse spread by politicians, police, and media pundits, even as right-wing attacks continued to escalate. This underscores that their goal is neither peace nor law and order, but maintaining their power against all who threaten it.

Police protecting fascists in Berkeley last April.

The murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville is the latest event in this crescendo of hate and violence. We must understand her death in the context of the right-wing war on protest. It has been building inexorably towards this outcome for years.

If right-wing citizens hadn’t taken the initiative to begin threatening and injuring protestors, politicians in North Dakota wouldn’t have introduced legislation to protect them. The growing Three Percenter and militia movements aim to use force to secure the stability of Trump’s rule in the face of widespread resistance. The stories we’ve heard from the streets of Charlottesville—like so many other cities—show that the police are happy to let fascists do their bloody work for them on the streets.

And if the fascists go too far and provoke a popular backlash, as the murder of Heather Heyer has, politicians will attempt to use that to their advantage, too. By framing fascism and anti-fascism as symmetrical forces of chaos and disruption, as Trump explicitly did in his initial response, they present the state as the only force capable of restoring order—through more police, surveillance, and control. Whether they tacitly support or openly condemn vigilante violence, right-wing politicians aim to come out ahead either way.

Fascist Trump supporters clashing with partisans of freedom in Berkeley last April.

What It All Means

Make no mistake: the people who want us to accept white supremacy, environmental destruction, and police murder are working together to keep us out of the streets. They’re using every tactic they can—from mass arrests to new laws to outright murder—because they’re afraid of our power.

They are going to such lengths because all over the world, people are coming together to threaten their privileges and profits. Countless thousands of us have clogged the arteries of capital, affirmed the value of Black lives against the brutality of the police, confronted pipelines and power plants, shielded our neighbors from deportation, stood watch against bigots at mosques, defended reproductive freedom, and organized across the borders they attempt to impose on our land and in our hearts. They know that unless they can terrorize us back into submission, their days in power will be numbered.

In short, the right declared war on protest because we have the power to take them down. It won’t be quick and it won’t be easy, but it is possible, and they know it. They’re trying to raise the costs of resistance so high that we’ll listen to Governor McAuliffe and hide out at home while they continue impoverishing us, scapegoating immigrants and Muslims, brutalizing people of color, subjugating women, poisoning the earth, militarizing the borders, and escalating police surveillance and control.

The options are clear: take the streets to fight together, or hide at home while they come for us one by one. The choice is yours.

To learn how to support the J20 defendants, visit their support page.

To donate funds to assist with the legal and medical costs of those who stood down the fascists in Charlottesville, contribute to the Dre Harris Medical Fund, Memorial fund by the Democratic Socialists of America, Heather Heyer’s Family, #DefendCville Med Fund, VA Youth Rally Victims; Help Queers Defend Cville, SolidarityCville, Natalie Romero Medical Fund, Alexis and Noelle Morris Medical Fund, Black Lives Matter Charlottesville, Black Student Alliance at UVA, Tracye Redd, The Women’s Initiative Cville, and Allie’s Fund.

[long-gone-dream]

If she wanted him to give her details then he would, and Milo lowered his voice to a hushed whisper. “I like to think about a lot of things, and they’re all too risqué to say out loud, but since you asked I’ll give you just a few.” MJ leaned forward, his lips daring to grace the shell of her ear with whispers of what his mind could fathom. “You, down on your knees, and those always moving lips wrapped around...” His green eyes glanced around for onlookers before he continued. “What if I said I had a few ideas about some very nice places we can get in some cardio? You know, heavy breathing and a core workout is exactly how I like to start, maintain, and end my day.” His lips pulled upward into a very confident smile, though he attempted to tame it before he returned to his position behind the bar. Now much father away he couldn’t be as intoxicated by her, and that would work in his favor.

There was something in the way that she held herself, so daringly challenging him with her eyes as her fingers moved along the strap of her bra. Milo was no stranger to the hardest of flirting, but now she was only targeting his self control. If he wasn’t afraid of losing his job he would have done something foolish, and she knew that. She knew, by the look in her eye, that she had the upper hand. No matter how he tried to fluster her the blonde didn’t hesitate to come back with something even more threatening to his calm facade. Milo watched as she looped a curl around her finger, his eyes caught on the motion for a moment before moving to her lips as she began to speak again. After his shift? The thought did cause a rise of excitement to flush over him. Was that an invitation to make good use of the bar top? The green eyes that had been settled on her moving lips lifted and stared at her curiously, unsure if she was actually serious or just openly flirting. It was a surprise to find that she could use his own wit against him, and the quip caused another smile to raise the corners of his mouth. “Mm, I don’t think there’s a good time I’m not willing to have. I’m not talking about women though, I’m talking about you and me. I’m just being upfront about what I feel confident in, and I feel the most confident in what I can do after hours.” The approach of her had his breathing halted, and for a moment he didn’t care if he lost his job. If she was going in for a kiss he didn’t want it to be lousy, even if it was a little off timing. Just as he should have known though she dipped aside and pressed her lips to his cheek, causing him a great deal of frustration. There was still hope though, maybe she would be there at the end of his shift. “Mhm, I’ll close up the bar tonight if you’re going to be here. All I need is a little insurance that you won’t skip out before I lock the doors.”

long-gone-dream​:

Some inspiration for his dreams was welcomed, though he didn’t know how to tell her so. Milo had only enough material to picture her clothed and flirting, which was enough most nights to send him home with frustration built up and a rather vague imagination. He arched a brow at the other, parting his lips only to dare to brush the tip of his tongue across the lower portion timidly. “How, if I might ask, do you propose to give me some inspiration? I can think of a few ways that could certainly help.” A few ways, some of them much more hands on than others. As much as he wished that he could reach across the bar and get acquainted with the curves of her figure, he couldn’t. Not while he was behind the bar and serving drinks. Still, he had spent plenty of time watching her drink and dance, and more than enough time watching her lips form words to know just which ones were his favorites.

MJ wasn’t known for being the most controlled or properly mannered man, but driven by his instincts. She had to know that by now, and it didn’t deter her. The dip of her fingers down toward her chest, flashing her bra at him, caused the dark haired man to narrow his eyes. The woman in front of him was lucky that he was working when she came to see him, because if she were so flirty while he was off then he would have attempted toward her by now. Of course respectfully, but he was pretty certain she wouldn’t reject his attempts. He didn’t bother to raise his eyes from her display until she seemed to push a dare in his direction, and Milo lifted a hand to pass his fingertips across the scruff along his jaw. “Oh, if you want me to prove it to you then give me a time and a place, I’ll obviously bring the alcohol. I’m more than willing to prove it to you.” What sort of crazy man would be unable to perform under any influence with her at the receiving end? She was practically everything a man could ask for, especially with the silver tongue to match. He wasn’t as concerned with looking around at the patrons, but kept his voice soft to avoid them nonetheless. Her challenge and the grin that followed caused him to scoff, his hands helping to push him up and away from the bar. “You better watch what you say, I might just have to take you into the back and show you exactly what I’m made of. I just don’t think you can handle it without ruining all other men for you, and I don’t want to ruin your life babe.”

Empty promises and meaningless flirting had always been a particular favourite M.O of some of her friends, a flawless masterstroke that ensured endless free drinks wherever they went, a practice Chloe participated in whenever she was truly lacking amusement but fortunately in the others company, every word she ushered was genuine and she was only too willing to materialise any teasing. Her mind racing with plenty of ways to inspire some memorable dreams, though she didn’t dare voice them. Not that she was too modest or bashful, merely not wanting to make it too easy for him so with that, she simply kinked a brow as she playfully pondered over it. “I think, for the time being anyway, l’ll keep that to myself.. Though I am curious what you’re hoping for? C’mon I may be feeling generous and run with your ideas.” There was no question about it, Chloe would undoubtedly explore any suggestions Milo had for her, she’d known that from the moment her oceanic eyes had raked over him though she’d never give him the satisfaction of knowing that little fact.

Fully aware she was playing with fire, her touch fleetingly lingered on the lace outlining of her bra before subtly shifting to twist one of her cascading blonde ringlets around her finger, serving to artfully mask the entire action as innocent if any onlooker had caught sight of it. When in reality, if her flirting hadn’t deterred him she was more than willing to make good on it later, craving leaving a lasting impression on him for the rest of his shift. Eager to captive his attention even if she knew damn well he should be concentrating on the job. Not bothering to suppress the smirk, her teeth grazing her lower lip as she sensed she was getting under his skin, enough to give into temptation hopefully. “Free after your shift..? I mean, if you’re closing up..” Her tone trailing off, arching a brow without breaking eye contact, her knuckles tapped against the oak of the bar before she finished her sentiment. “-seems sturdy enough.” Whether she’d be brazen enough to push the boundaries that far was an entirely different league, not lingering on it long when his remark had her dubious. Even if he was all talk he’d provided her with some entertainment, though she couldn’t deny she wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to get more intimately acquainted with him. “Babe that’s a good time you aren’t willing to have,” Using his earlier quote against him, with an absentminded shrug her next observation left her lips carefreely. Despite being an enigma in most aspects of her life, she was fairly upfront about her sexuality. “Even if you ruin all other men for me, in my experience women are superior lovers.” Gliding to the edge of her seat, a hint of his cologne washed over her just enticing her closer until her lips ghosted his and the scent of her perfume lingered between them. Tilting her head to press her lips to his cheek instead, leaving a partial crimson stain on his skin before she broke away with a wink and hummed. “What d’you say handsome, find me when your shift ends?” 

[fangirlingabout]

You Have My Attention, Disney

Isn’t it nice to be excited for a reboot? Or, at the very least, cautiously optimistic? 

Granted, I more than understand the hesitation. I don’t think reboots have ever had a great reputation, and they can take away resources from potential, original properties making their debut (especially in today’s sequel-driven, nostalgia-loving, cinematic-universe-mass-producing market). Which is why the phrase “reboot potential” sounds like execu-speak that leaves you feeling ... kind of dirty.

But, if you know me, you know I love another show that was just a reboot made to sell toys because, ultimately, the new team of creatives put in so much thought, love, and creativity into that it became its own thing.

Clearly I’m talking about Voltron: Legendary Defenders.

Oh, alright, and Pony (if you’re ever not sure, just assume I’m talking about Pony again; you’ll be right 90% of the time). And aside from the fans I’m told the franchise had originally, no one was expecting it to be a good show-- that’s a case where the reboot surpassed its predecessors and in a huge way.

And, hell, I wouldn’t be doing my job right if I didn’t reference how well the Star Wars franchise is doing again, even after the infamously abysmal prequels! 

Pretty much the entirety of 80s and 90s culture either has or will get some kind of love. Hey! Arnold’s creator Craig Bartlett is finally getting to make The Jungle Movie, Samurai Jack’s getting a 4th season on Adult Swim, Power Rangers are back on the big screen next year, and just about every other property you can think of has something. And if not, they’re probably just saving them for the NickToons movie (which is also a thing that’s happening).

Meanwhile, Millennials just aren’t nostalgically profitable yet, I guess. Seems like all of our properties either get reboots that aren’t marketed towards us at all:

get continuations that get screwed over by the network

(If you’re wondering, that’s official artwork by co-creator Bryan Konietzko; I just felt the need to use it because wow dat’s gay)

or don’t get reboots period, even when the creators express direct interest in making a return.

Or, you know, made a deal with someone and found a way to never leave to begin with.

*Pokemon’s started in the mid-90s, but if you grew up in 2000s, you’d count it, too, it was huge for us.

My point being that while reboots and revivals have troubling downsides, take it from a Millennial whose starved for them: getting a good reboot can still be a thing to be celebrated.

Especially when you’ve got one that looks this intriguing.

Back to DuckTales

So, the voice cast looks like they’re kicking ass. It’s only one element of a show, of course, but whether or not the star-power wows you, the idea that it just might be in good hands may. 

See, Disney XD is sort of a weird channel. If I’m remembering correctly, it’s not included in some number of cable packages, but Disney Channel (prime) is---meaning, this should be where shows go to die.

It’s also technically Disney’s animation channel. Which says a lot about where Disney is now. (If you want some real insight into Disney’s television history, Saberspark made a video about it---“Why does the one of the greatest animations studios of all time struggle to provide animated content for television? It doesn’t make any sense!”)

You 90s kids will remember the Disney Afternoons on the main channel---the program block DuckTales originally thrived in. A lot’s changed since then (the video goes into how and why), and the Disney channels DuckTales is returning to greatly needs its help.

Wander Over Yonder, for all the love it got, suffered the consequences of airing on an off-shoot of the Disney Channel instead of the real deal. Not every show that ends up there is doomed, but for instance, Gravity Falls made the switch to XD early in its lifespan, and OH MY GOD WAS IT JERKED AROUND IN TERMS OF ITS AIRING SCHEDULE. 

We’ve recently seen worse, and it’s not exactly uncommon, but for a show that became that popular that quickly, it’s shocking to remember just how wonky the airing schedule was.

The remaining survivors on Disney XD are Star v.s. the Forces of Evil, Milo Murphy’s Law, Star Wars Rebels, and Penn-Zero Part Time Hero (... well, okay, and Pickle and Peanut and something called Future Worm). What’s working for them now is a mix between action and comedy---which is what we’ve been lacking in Western cartoons for a while now.

Voltron, which just today released its second season on Netflix, is probably the best example of a classic action cartoon. It’s sort of got an overaching narrative, but each episode focuses the action in an episodic, beat-up-the-baddies and/or solve-this-team-and/or-character-issue vain. 

It’s been traditionally true, on the whole, that Western animation holds its roots in comedy---from Walt Disney himself to Disney XD today. But the rise in action cartoons around the late 70s--late 90s (don’t quote me on that) could sometimes elevate the animation towards more adult themes without it being... well, what we call “adult” animation. 

We know for a fact that any show---whether it’s deceptively cutesy or even downright cheesy---can approach darker and/or mature subject matter nowadays, but that’s partially why the fact that we don’t have a lot of Voltrons (which is super 80s in a loving we-know-where-our-roots-are kind of way) is a little disheartening.

Plus, action cartoons can choreograph cool fight sequences or chase scenes and I like when the cartoon box makes the booms.

DuckTales, for as silly an idea as it sounds like it would be on paper, apparently rocked. I’ve gotta full-disclosure this bad-boy and admit I was too young to catch the original properly, but from what I can tell, there’s a reason for that nostalgia. And what I’m getting at with all this is that DuckTales 2017 joining the ranks of the other action comedies on Disney XD is absolutely a step in the right direction. 

Who knows what kinds of adventures and subjects it will actually cover, but continually proving that action shows are marketable (especially on a channel that’s only in 68.8% of American households with T.V.s v.s. the 82.7% the main channel enjoys), only welcomes more good action shows in the future.

So, yeah, not only does DuckTales itself have potential to be something fun and awesome, but it has the potential to build off the successes of shows like Star v.s. and show executives people will respond to this kinda stuff. When you think about what reboots would do some genuine good to bring back, you might not think DuckTales, but who knows?

Here’s hoping all that potential amounts to something.

[long-gone-dream]

@intheirabsence

There was a difference between how he felt when the prospect of seeing Aylin was thrown around and how he felt when the moment actually came. He wasn’t a college student she could share ideologies with. Milo was a fractured person, half in his youth and half entirely grown. He didn’t savor parties and know all about physics, but he did know how many grams were in an ounce and how to profit off of it. His communication with her had even been very offbeat since she’d gone away, busy studying and living her life while he was trying his best to stay out of trouble. Somehow though, trouble always seemed to find him and for a few weeks he admittedly went quiet. That could all be put behind them though, verified by the way they had spoken over exchanged messages to arrange seeing one another again. Maybe that meant things wouldn’t be awkward. Milo hoped even that things would be as they were before, strongly bonded on their beliefs and the ease of which words flowed between them.

Having arrived early outside her home, he simply parked and turned the car off to stare at the house he’d spent plenty of time loitering around. Sitting on her steps, smoking cigarettes as they hypothesized about life after they left the prison of school. All he wanted was to live, and he grew to enjoy his life, which was quite different from the way she had gone. Milo spent countless hours doing incredible things with incredible people, even from their hometown. When he looked up toward the door waiting for him from his car what he saw was the reminder that she may have changed. College could have turned her into somebody else. He left the safety of the vehicle with a shut of the door behind him, shoving his keys into the pocket of his jeans and an unlit cigarette behind his ear. The trek wasn’t long to the front steps, but it felt like a walk down memory lane. Since she’d been gone he didn’t venture over to the household, though he did worry for the brother that was missing his sister. Knuckles came into contact with the door in a couple clear knocks, but his heart was pounding.

[long-gone-dream]

Starter for @marimelwrites

Often times, when things were quiet and he was alone with his thoughts, Milo could imagine himself in a happier place. That place in his daydreams didn’t have gray skies or past due bills. It was a place with a quiet around him, people who loved him, even a few cars that he could do as he pleased with because nobody could take them away. That was perhaps why he worked the way he did, readily available at all hours of the day and night, his phone never silenced. One text or call and he’d weigh up proportions and find the client, maybe even a few depending on the day of the week. Everyone called him on payday, as if he had first dibs on their hard earned money and really he couldn’t complain for a moment about it. The end of the month was the most difficult, but it was for a good reason and MJ really couldn’t be selfish enough to pressure anyone to pay him instead of paying their bills. His business was all that kept him afloat, but sometimes that business needed a little advertising. Bars mostly, where people loved to drink and buy party favors to keep themselves from remembering their day jobs. What it was about alcohol that mixed so well with ecstasy, he wasn’t sure. Of course, the classic move was to carry gram bags, selling flower to almost every girl with a pretty drink in her hand or every man that wanted to smoke himself into a coma for the night. Bars were his best bet as Milo hated the party scene.

The bar he stepped into for the night was hardly any different. Loud music, muffled voices having their own small conversations, but he couldn’t bare parting with anything until he’d had a drink. That always seemed to loosen up his paranoia in those kinds of public places. Milo settled onto a stool at the bar with hardly more than a sigh, though his fingertips smoothed over the bar top to move a glass of melted ice toward its owner to his left. Nobody could ever convince him to drink anything strong in public but he never frowned upon a beer in a chilled bottle. It was safer that way, he knew all too well what could happen with an open glass. His fingers drummed against the wooden surface, entertaining his nerves. He wasn’t nervous necessarily, more anxious for his night to begin than anything. Once the first sale happened more would come, they usually started flocking closer to the time the bar would close. The bartender caught his attention as she poured a drink for a man further down, seemingly quite busy for a dull weeknight. Maybe he was there for business, but green eyes had a hard time forgetting that women were a distraction. Instinctively, Milo smiled to himself at the idea of what it meant to mix his business with the pleasurable experience of meeting another fling for the night. One hand smoothed the cotton shirt he wore as the other raised just two fingers, signaling his readiness for her to seek out his drink order. It was always in the back of his mind that bartenders kept a pretty disinterested feeling about them, but he’d been successful before.

In the moments where he felt invisible to the people around him were the moments he hated. His mother had hardly looked at him after he was born, maybe that was why. In truth, the woman had abandoned him long before he was born. She’d had him to stop the abuse for a while, it’d be hard to explain for his father to give her bruises when she was having his child. Even as a baby he sat in his crib crying, begging for attention that didn’t come. He cried so heavily that his voice was gone for weeks at a time, but that didn’t make any difference. Milo wasn’t a baby anymore though, he could speak up for himself and be noticed. The bartender seemed to turn in his direction and just like he always did without fail, Milo smiled up at her with a charming sort of smirk. “I think I’ll have a beer, whatever’s in the ice box.” He was hardly more than a few feet away but his interest in the brunette made him feel like even that was too far. “Maybe you could let me buy you a drink too?”

[long-gone-dream]

@thecassnova

Generally speaking, he hated parties. All the attention of music and obviously illegal things happening, it drew in the eyes of the law enforcement in the area. Most of which knew Milo by name, and were looking for a chance to catch him off guard. Normally he’d stay far from the aftermath of pressing palms with the ones who bought his merchandise, but not being happy made for a man with little to lose. Still, he felt almost like a chaperone. He stopped a mess from happening outside between some younger men. He held a girls hair for her while she threw up. It was a serene time with people he knew little of. His friends thought it was a nice gig to make him some more cash, putting him in a room of college students who wanted favors, but he didn’t sell anything he didn’t trust in the hands of the buyer. When he finished chaperoning he was milking a beer in the kitchen, looking over a land of dips and chips spread across all the counter space. The bitter liquid tasted better with every sip, so of course he’d downed nearly three since he’d arrived. Of course he also told himself he needed it to survive the night.

The party was raging on, though less problematic than before. All the early drunks and trouble makers had dispersed, leaving the mingling crowd of mellower people behind. Much to his liking, that meant he had more of an opportunity to successfully find someone to offload what he had left on him for the night. A couple grams of smokable herb not included. Milo finished off the bottle in his hand, leaving the brown glass on the counter in pursuit of leaving the kitchen and seeking company, but it seemed his choice of company came to him instead. As he pushed off the counter the blonde entered the kitchen, and it instantly put a smile on his face. “I didn’t expect you to drop by, if I’m honest.” Milo pressed his palm into the counter ledge nearest to him, halting his forward motion. “Did you come in here to see my beautiful face, or are you here for a beer?”