#cross guild ot3

[certainty2witch]

A little trend on twitter (but I think came from here 🤔)

People already made some versions of this but I wanted to create my own.

For me this are their outfits, I wanted croco to look not so nice, but I think is for real his pajamas.

Buggy always wearing that huge costume but sleeps almost naked.

And Mihawk damn, absolutely gorgeous in that 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 (but pls stop being a vampire and go to sleep)

Note: Forgive my adhd but I don’t remember mihawk sleeping, op is so long that i lose some parts sometimes, so just take this art like this imagining that he sleeps rarely (or never!)

[brucesduque]

I'm doing something with this, but check them out. 🤡💤

[wingodex]

been having a lot of fun recently shipping polycules that are just full of characters who would be terrible at polyamory and can barely handle a relationship with one person. just enjoying watching the chaos play out in my head. i'm getting over my disinterest in shipping funk by realizing i can do it in a way that makes everything funnier/worse

[kartoffelstern]

ot3 meme for Cross Guild! was super fun to fill out, I might make another one

(template made by @ /riessene)

[abominable-space-they]

Alabasta Hold 'Em

One Piece Ace Fix It

Part 1

26k words

4 ch

Complete

OT3 Mishuggy Focus

Established relationship

Side Zosan

Mentioned Croc-o-dad

Cross Guild

In a world where Garp & Roger raised both their kids & crews together before the Marines caught and executed The King of the pirates, things turned out a little different.

-

Mihawk, Buggy, and Shanks find out about Blackbeard's betrayal and Ace's subsequent pursuit.

Concerned about their nephew and adopted son's well-being, they decide to try and talk to Ace before he gets himself killed or captured.

They catch up with Ace and The Strawhats in Alabasta.

This should be fun right?

Ch 1 Ch 2 CH 3 Ch 4

[mushroomwitches]

Okay so I am very adhd and have like a ton of drafts started for some fanfic ideas and wanted to focus on one to start with, but I wanted to get peoples opinions because I’m also very indecisive! Below the cut I will explain each option I have that I’ve started to help!

Slight Spoiler warnings

Option 1: okay so this idea is inspired by mamuro-chiba-ua ‘s artwork here on tumblr, though I have seen other talk about in on here, but their artwork and Au made me start to wonder how being the uncle to Vivi would effect buggy! This would focus on buggy as he goes about his life and would be a cross guild (crocodile, mihawk, and buggy! )

Option 2: for whatever reason kaveh and Alhaitham give me the swan Princess vibes. So this story would follow kaveh as he is captured by Dori and given to a mysterious man who changes him into a paradisea by day, only allowing him to return to his human form at night to build for him. Can Alhaitham save him or will he be trapped forever ( featuring Tighnari, collei and Layla as the others trapped with Kaveh and also turned into animals, Cyno as Alhaitham friend and Faruzan as the overly annoyed and sarcastic advisor to Alhaitham )

Option 3: so this one could either be gigolas or aralas, both work and I am a multi shipper who loves both options! I could also tweak this and make it a throuple if anyone is interested in that. But basically I was a total band kid and feel like Legolas would be a color guard member. Now if I do Gimli, that boy is definitely a percussionist, and I would say I could see him in the drum line as a bass player. If it’s Aragorn, I am a little more torn on that, I could see Aragorn as either a low brass player or the drum major! Basically a fun marching band AU (specifically based on DCI (drum corps international) which goes to 21 so they would all be over the age of 18!)

Option 4: so I’ll set the stage. Bilbo is the lead in the local theater companies upcoming production of Les Miserables (could totally see him singing who am I, like the voice of the original Jean Val Jean just fits in my head). But oh no, Bilbo’s babysitter ( *cough cough* Gandalf) didn’t show up and now he has to bring baby frodo with him, but he has to practice. So he call Bofur, his friend from college to see if he could come to watch frodo while he’s performing. Bofur agrees easily, but is also currently dealing with a brooding Thorin after a really shitty date and decides to bring him with. Thorin isn’t thrilled, claiming to hate musicals and only like his metal and stuff he can play with the rest of the band, but sees Bofur won’t let it go and agrees to go. He goes right in time to watch Bilbo practice the who am I song and just is like damn. Basically meet cute here and then just follows their life from there with all of life’s up and downs (plus cute little kids with frodo, fili and kili)

Option 5: okay so shanks and buggy give off like such ex energy, and I just love the idea of they got like married real young and got divorced a year or 2 later because they both wanted different things, but they are forced together like 20 years later (either a job, event, taking care of roger who is sick, something like that) and being to fall in love again!

Option 6: so I feel like this is pretty self explanatory. Basically I have begun taking both the hobbit and lotr and putting them into the star wars universe! The hobbit would include ships like bagginshield and lotr would include ships like samfro, Aragorn x Arwen, and gigolas!

But yeah feel free to answer the poll and comment or pop into my inbox with any questions!

[zeravmeta]

honestly i think i love cross guild so much because it fulfills the same joke of that one cyrus/cynthia/giovanni ot3. spice up the divorce with a mafia boss

[acescorazon]

Hiii! Just like the last person, i also started with the live action and then found your fanfics and ah! Im the one that commented on almost all your work djdj and told you i read it on my lunch break and the train! Thank god i speak spanish so people wouldn't read what was on my phone sbdbbd and yeah, thank god i was also wearing a mask on the train so no one would see me giggling like and idiot. But i wanted to tell you that omgg i love your stories how the hell your brain is so sexy but also funny i love how the smut its very silly also because we get to read buggy's thoughts. I didn't even like buggy on the live action till i saw the fanarts and i was suddenly like "you know what? He actually has pretty eyes..." and then here i am with a massive crush on a clown. I also started to ship buggy with mihawk because i have a thing for rare pairs and i was like you know what they would be hot but i was only imagining them like the live action BUT THEN YOUR FANFICS and now im on episode 7 of the anime cause i just want to understand better, like i love your crocodile but i dont even know how he is so yep, im on the anime nfnfnf and im here to tell you that you are amazing, seriously, i read your stories at night, at morning, when i finish my work bfnfj like i became obsessed with the ot3

Hi i remember you lolllll i replied to your comments this morning :) honestly it blows my mind that you'd read them in public, i could never have that bravery LMAOOOO. BUT STOPPPPP I'M LITERALLY AN IDIOT LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO. i think i said this at the end of my most recent fic but like i'm really out here just writing the most unrealistic ass smut sometimes. sometimes its just plain STUPIIIDDD lmao. but i do fancy me a good laugh but i never verge off into Crack territory lol. The actor does have really nice eyes, doesn't he???? i'm a clown f*cker tho so i was always going to simp for h- ANYWAYSSSSSS. @here i am with a massive crush on a clown. LMAOOOOO? First time???? LOOK L I S T E N. Honestly. i'm a Cross Guild girlie at heart so for me this is a buy one get two free deal but i swear to god Mihawk/Buggy IDKKKKKK. IDKKKK BABESSSSS. idk those two have the potential to have the messiest relationship yet and plus they're hot like you said LMAOOOOOO. LISTENNNNN LISTENNNN I'M THE BUGGY SIMPPPPP (jk there's probably someone who loves him more) AND WHEN I TELL YOU THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THAT MANNNNN. JUST HES. *CHEF KISS* he's delicious, tasty, and PATHETIC. HES SO FUNNY AND DUMB AND I LOVE HIM SOOO MUCH. His debut episodes/ Episode 46 which is like 'Little Buggy's big adventure' is honestly the funniest shit to me and like they're my comfort episodes. Also like i said in the prev ask Alabasta is just my comfort arc for so many reasons lolololol Mainly bc my fave character appears and so does Croco and i love baroque works with a passion. (nobody asked.) it may not be everyone's slice of pie, but it's mine :))))

ANYWAYS LMAOOOOOOOO. Trust me bestie the way i write Crocodile isn't a headcanon LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. You'll see when you get there aljsldjasldjasldkajsdasd. If anything i typically go light on my depiction of him bc he's hngngnngngngngngn. Yeah, he's Crocodile alright LMAO. Not much of a spoiler but i'm here to tell you that Oda is starving us in terms of Cross Guild content, but have no fear jlkjsljdlkasjdaks i'll take one for the team. ANYWAYSSSSSSSS.Thank you again for the really nice message dear, i really appreciate it and i hope you end up actually liking the show a lot and don't have to watch 9845840850948509485098450840548094850948 episodes to think it's got any sort of appeal LMAO. THANK YOU AGAIN X30000 But know this: the moment Cross Guild debuted i knew...I KNEW i had to write for them. I knew i had to write Buggy in every scenario possible, and i'm working on it.

[quinloki]

You already know I'm in your inbox asking for 003 with Crocodile for the ask game😏

Oh for Crocodile \o/ Alright.

How I feel about this character: I once saw someone say he was a Mafia Boss trapped in a comedy anime and I can't disagree XD He's smooth, he plans things down to meticulous detail, he despises not being in control, and a gremlin with a water gun messed everything up when he was at the goal line.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Aside from myself - Doflamingo, Buggy and Mihawk. But not necessarily at the same time. (though, not not at the same time either).

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I couldn't explain exactly why, but Marco the Phoenix. I just get a vibe these two have like, drinking buddy history.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I'm not a fan of trans Crocodile. Look - I'm not against trans characters, and I've seen GREAT art of trans croc. I just want his deep dark embarrassing secret between him and Ivankov to have nothing to do with Ivan's abilities.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Hm... I don't really have an answer for this. I've been enjoying Crocodile's stories - I do like his character development post Impel Down.

my het ship: Don't have one.

my OTP: I love the idea that Croco and Mihawk had a thing in the past >.>

my OT3: Cross guild.

my cross over ship: I haven't considered cross-overs yet, so idk

my kink: uh... I've got a list, I guess concisely, Crocodile is very strongly a dom. Kind of stern daddy dom vibes. Not cruel, but he's not going to abide any dissent or bratty behavior.

a head cannon fact: He probably has a lot of illegitimate kids running around. I think he's just as horny as Doffy he's just more subtle about it.

my gender bend: Not mine personally XD

[dhampiravidi]

[ 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 ] : sender and receiver have sex after being apart a long time. (For the OT3!!! You can decide which one of them has been away for a while or if they've all been apart this whole time or whatever~!)

Though Remy had left his trusted second in charge of the Thieves' Guild, his people still looked to him for guidance, especially since he was Jean-Luc's son and the craftiest man on either side of the Mississippi. So every now and then, he had to leave his home and go see the other half of his family back in NOLA.

Hestia had made a deal with SHIELD years ago, not long after they'd gotten wind of Xavier's first group of students. She had to accept and complete whatever mission they gave her, and in return they'd never go after the X-Men or her younger brother, who was an accountant for some organized crime group. The only missions she was allowed to refuse were ones that negatively impacted families and/or kids, and that was because she'd negotiated that.

Remy and Hestia just so happened to be called away at the same time, which meant that they were both separated from their lovers for nearly two whole weeks. Anna Marie had the other people at Xavier's to keep her company, and little Renée was always fun, but...the three couldn't help but miss each other. It was even harder on their daughter, who loved her daddy's bedtime stories and her mommy's cooking. Typically video chats made things a bit better, but because Remy and Hestia weren't in the most safe environments, the occasional phone call or text was it.

Somehow, Remy and Hestia managed to come home at the same time, with Hestia driving them both back to the school after she'd picked up her boyfriend at the airport (she'd arrived on the East Coast by Quinjet). They arrived in the early evening, just in time to have dinner with their little kiddo and some of the other residents. Then Remy offered to feed the cats and put Renée to bed (since he was 12 bedtime stories overdue), while Hestia helped with cleaning the kitchen. Rogue went to their shared bedroom, taking her time brushing her hair out before she changed into a simple-yet-sexy black lace nightie and panties.

She heard Hestia and Remy in the hallway, just outside the door. They were talking until all got quiet. Smirking, she looked outside and found them in a long, loving kiss, arms wrapped around each other.

"Plan on comin' in any time soon?" Rogue asked, arms crossed. The pair separated enough to look at her, and they practically jumped on her, gently pushing her back inside the room. As Remy picked Anna Marie up and kissed her, Hestia shut the door and stripped down to just her t-shirt and underwear. When her boyfriend set their girlfriend on the bed, Hestia crawled on top of her, hiking the hem of the nightie up under Rogue's breasts as she kissed all over the soft skin of the other woman's stomach. If that wasn't enough, Remy stood not far behind Hestia, performing a casual striptease (and this was from a man who had, in fact, gone undercover as a stripper before*) as he watched his lovers. He couldn't help but stroke himself a few times once he was naked.

"Mmm, Annie...missed you," Hestia whispered, nipping at her girlfriend's neck while she rubbed her firm nipples through the lace, "Did you buy this for us?" Rogue barely managed to huff a "yes", what with how turned on everyone was making her. Already, her cunt was starting to ache and wet her panties. Hestia traced what she could see through the damp black lace, smiling cruelly as Rogue squirmed.

"Mind 'f I getta taste?" Remy asked, joining Hestia between their girlfriend's quivering thighs.

"Oh, please do." He lapped at the shine coming through the fabric, once, twice, three times until he heard the sound he was aiming for. "Go ahead, we've got all night." Damn if that didn't make the woman on the bed want to cum. Remy tried his best to get her panties off, but when it took too long, he simply ripped them.

"Don' worry, chère [beloved], we'll get'cha more. Dat's a promise. Now..." He barely breathed on her and she shoved her hips in his direction. "Good God, woman. Ya'll miss me much as I did you." Remy gave both his girls a genuine smile, then started in on Rogue, eating her out like she was the rare delicacy he'd waited 12 days to have. But he hadn't done much before Hestia was grabbing at his ass. She'd seen the plug he'd worn home, and acted accordingly, slipping her double-ended strap on. He groaned loudly as she took the thick plug out of him, and the vibrations from his mouth made Rogue cry out.

"F-fuck, Rem," she mumbled, needing more.

"Y-yeah...got'cha. I-I gotcha--" Hestia grabbed his hips and took her time watching her lovers stiffen and shudder. You see, every time she fucked Remy, he moaned, and as she picked up speed, his lips and tongue got messy, slapping and smacking against Rogue's cunt. If the press of the fake dick inside Hestia wasn't enough, the sight in front of her was completely responsible for making her cum. "N-nh. Hes--" He thought she was done...oh, no. She continued to fuck him until both of her partners had came, too.

When they all caught their breath, they moved, Hestia going to sit on Rogue's face while Remy fucked her from the front. After that, the three retreated to the shower for some messy, tired kisses and fingering until they stopped being horny just long enough to actually use the soap and water.

They got into bed: Anna Marie in the middle, Remy nearest the kittens (and farthest from the window*), and Hestia nearest the door (just in case Stitch took over her body for a midnight snack). Hestia and Remy turned toward Rogue, bending their knees slightly so the three of them could lie comfortably in a cuddly hug. Each of them quietly briefed the others about their 12 days. As usual, Hestia's time away had been the most tense, Remy's had been incredibly tedious (it was hard trying to secretly fund and manage half the social services in the whole city of New Orleans), and Rogue's had been pretty emotional. Thankfully, they all managed to find the funny moments, and they giggled before exchanging some pecks and good night wishes.

*my HC. He's got the charm & natural rhythm down, he just needs to learn to pole dance...tbh I think he'd love it as long as none of the patrons got handy/inappropriate--also, Remy's eyes are more sensitive to sunlight than most people's because of how they're colored. He needs sunglasses like other people need reading glasses (not constantly, but they sure AF help). His eyes also appear to glow in low-light, so add that to the comic where Anna Marie gets freaked out and says she needs to put a collar on him 😁

[atypicalacademic]

OC INFO MEME

Basics

Full Name: Narein Cadash

Gender: Cis Man

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pronouns: He/Him

Faceclaim: Vikram

Other

Family: Nimisha Cadash (Daughter), Nyla Cadash (Adoptive Mother), Diren Cadash (Adoptive Father), Navin Cadash (Brother), Kalki Cadash (Sister), Zari Cadash (Aunt), Shay Cadash (Cousin), Mirata Cadash (Cousin), Lace Harding (Partner)

Birthplace: Dust Town, Orzammar

Job(s): The Inquisitor, Free Marches' Commander to the Legion of Fire, and Deshyr of Ostwick to the Dwarven Merchant's Guild (post-canon).

Phobias: Losing his daughter, insignificance, helplessness

Guilty Pleasures: Drinking, bar-hopping, indulging his own vanity, getting weirdly competitive over entirely pointless endeavors

Hobbies: Reading, religiously updating his daughter's baby scrapbook, sparring, gardening

Morals

Moral Alignment: Neutral Good

Sins: lust / greed / envy / gluttony / pride / wrath / sloth

Virtues: charity/ chastity/ diligence / humility / kindness / patience

This or That

Introvert/ Extrovert

Organized / Disorganized

Close-minded / Open-minded

Calm / Anxious / Restless

Outspoken / Reserved

Disagreeable / Agreeable / In-between

Outspoken/ Reserved

Leader/Follower/In-between

Empathetic/Unempathetic

Optimistic/Pessimistic/Realistic

Traditional/Modern/In-between

Hard-working/Lazy

Relationships

OTP: Narein/Lace Harding

OT3: Nah

Acceptable Ships: Narein/ Ferah Helsen? Ferah was his former girlfriend and the mother of his child, but they didn't really Fall In Love per se, and definitely didn't plan on having a child when they were dating. When it came down to it, they did decide to keep and raise Nimi together as cordial co-parents. Unfortunately, she died in a Carta cross-fire before Nimi's first birthday, but if she'd lived, maybe. I also think he'd be really cute with Isabela tbh

BROTP: Just about everyone tbh.

NOTP: Harrowmont-adjacent fanatics dni.

[brucesduque]

I never learned how to write it 👍

[verbjectives]

valko and dardanos!

VALKO

B A S I C S

full name: Valko Fejes. 

gender: Male

sexuality: Bisexual

pronouns: He/Him

O T H E R S

family: Mila Fejes (mother), Damien Fejes (father), an unborn younger sibling

birthplace: Northern Verina

job: Mercenary, Champion of Pelor, 

phobias: abandonment, disappointment, failure

guilty pleasures: most of his kinks???? idk he isn’t really ashamed of things he likes

M O R A L S

morality alignment?: Technically true neutral, tho i feel like he’s been steadily moving towards a good alignment

sins - lust/greed/gluttony/sloth/pride/envy/wrath

virtues - chastity/charity/diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert: introverted 

organized/disorganized: disorganized like woah

close minded/open-minded: open-minded (for the most part…)

calm/anxious: anxious altho he tries to hide it by acting calm

disagreeable/agreeable: depends, but usually agreeable

cautious/reckless: SUPER RECKLESS

patient/impatient: impatient

outspoken/reserved: reserved

leader/follower: follower….his last attempt at leadership did not end well…

empathetic/unemphatic: empathetic

optimistic/pessimistic: pessimistic

traditional/modern: modern probably….

hard-working/lazy: overall pretty lazy tbh…

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

otp:

him/grisha (altho thank pelor he’s out of that one it was super unhealthy and abusive and um…. BAD

him/the kind and patient person he ends up hooking up with in the future (hopefully)

(yes i have a certain character/type in mind but i’m keeping that private because i don’t want to hijack your npc creation :P)

him/peace and happieness

ot3: i’d be lying if the thought of grisha/him/artie and grisha/him/thanos haven’t crossed my mind….not that any of those would have worked in the long run but still…

brotp: 

him/fortune…

him/faylen, 

him/eryk, 

him/ovak

him/thanos (before he kind of….sabotaged that relationship….)

notp: him/getting back with grisha, him/any of the thieves guild, 

DARDANOS

B A S I C S

full name: Dardanos of Xaskea

gender: Male

sexuality: Heterosexual

pronouns: He/Him

O T H E R S

family: Mother and father are deceased (i …didn’t name them…)

birthplace: Xaskea (small town)

job: Royal Assassin

phobias: failing his queen

guilty pleasures: lmao any time his queen asks him to join her in any kind of frivolity (fine dining, relaxation, etc)

M O R A L S

morality alignment?: Lawful Evil

sins - lust/greed/gluttony/sloth/pride/envy/wrath

virtues - chastity/charity/diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert: introvert

organized/disorganized: organized

close minded/open-minded: close minded

calm/anxious: calm

disagreeable/agreeable: depends. agreeable to his queen and to anyone who will aid in him achieving his goal/finishing a job. disagreeable to p much everyone else

cautious/reckless: more cautious, but i think he has his reckless moments.

patient/impatient: impatient

outspoken/reserved: reserved.

leader/follower: follower but will lead if required

empathetic/unemphatic: unempathetic

optimistic/pessimistic: he prefers the term “realist”

traditional/modern: traditional

hard-working/lazy: hard working

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

otp: him/queen konstantina and i ship him a bit with diana ngl…just a lil bit…

ot3: lmao no he’s entirely devoted to his queen

brotp: ok listen he and Merthos (the tiefling warlord) were kind of bro-ing it up before everything went down. tho the thought of him/diana being unconventional bros is highly amusing too. 

notp: him/tuckus (tookas? idk how to spell his name) just….that poor dwarf deserves someone who…wouldn’t murder him in his sleep….

[renaramblesaboutcomics]

Wednesday Roundup 4.10.2017

This week ended up being a relatively light reading week for yours truly, but that doesn’t lessen the quality of my enjoyment whatsoever. In fact, I had enough love to share that I wanted to go over all of the available Marvel Legacy Primers for this week as well, even if they’re just short blurbs!

So without further ado let’s jump into it.

Marvel’s America, Marvel’s Black Panther, Marvel’s Incredible Hulk, Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man, Marvel’s Jean Grey, Marvel’s Monsters Unleashed, Dark Horse’s Usagi Yojimbo, Lion Forge’s Voltron Legendary Defender, Viz’s Yona of the Dawn

Marvel’s America - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present) Robbie Thompson, David Lopez

As interested as I am in America, I haven’t had the opportunity to really follow her outside of the Young Avengers run she is in. So I think, oddly enough, for me this is one of the most necessary “Primers” of any of the ones I’ve read so far, and the information was very good to have. It really helped to frame her history, her relationship with her mothers, and her confidence in herself in a new light that is really appreciated. And the art from David Lopez is as beautiful as any of his issues on All-New Wolverine.

Marvel’s Black Panther - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2016-present)  Robbie Thompson, Wilfredo Torres

There’s honestly not going to be that much more to say on most of these Primer pages. They’re fun, quick run throughs of relevant histories of the characters and teams that they showcase and depending on your interest and engagement may influence whether or not you want to hop in on the next storyline that they’re promoting. 

I do like the sense of unity and legacy that is built into the Black Panther title already, having it be a responsibility tied to kingship that T’Challa knows and the all-important bond it has between him and the memory of his father. 

It really puts a spin on the importance of Legacy that this event seems intent on hammering home.

Marvel’s Captain Marvel - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2016-present)  Robbie Thompson, Brent Schoonover

Carol Danvers is one of those characters I desperately want to lie on every feasible surface level, but whose books have never quite got me on board and whose guest appearances always leave me a bit more confused about her than I had been before her said appearance. And yet there was still not a whole lot added here. I appreciate it, and young Carol is adorable, but there was nothing here that didn’t make me feel like... well, like she’s Hal Jordan. And ‘m not a fan of Hal Jordan.

Marvel’s Incredible Hulk - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present) Robbie Thompson, Joe Bennett

Everything I have read so far with Amadeus Cho, both in Totally Awesome Hulk and in his guest appearances or team-ups in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur to Champions has  really connected to me on a level that Bruce Banner hadn’t exactly managed over the years. So it was nice to see a little blurb that went over their mutual histories and explored what was there.

It almost makes people forget that Marvel unnecessarily killed Bruce Banner for... no reason. Almost. Not quite. Though he might be alive by now. I am obviously not current.

Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2016-present) Robbie Thompson, Valerio Schiti

Gah, reading this overview of Tony and Riri’s history really reminded me how much I really loved reading Invincible Iron Man when it first came out and just how much I positively adored Riri’s character and her banter with Tony. You know. Before they completely undid the relationship within the first storyline and then Bendis went all Bendis on us and it became obvious that Tony was coming back sooner than later and then Secret Empire destroyed the world... somewhat literally. 

I’d love to read a Riri-centric book in better circumstances. Or at least once the next trade is out. We’ll see.

Marvel’s Jean Grey - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present) Robbie Thompson, Mark Bagley

I was actually just recently talking to my good friend @shobogan about how much more interested I would be in Young Jean Grey if only Marvel had the guts to either give us a romantic relationship with her and Laura (or her, Laura, and Scott OT3 hullo) or have Older Jean Grey return to mentor her younger self and others at the school since she’s the only X-Man kept dead for this long who was considered a Top Tier X-Man. And since we’re finally getting the latter, it seems, now I have to look at what we know of Young Jean and consider my feelings all over again. And this primer gave me the opportunity to do just that!

While I’m not following Jean’s book at the moment, I’m obviously a pretty big X-fan so I have a general sense of where all the moving pieces are at the moment. And I have to say, with Older Jean returning it’s going to be a pretty awesome time for comparing and contrasting their characters and relationships. After all, this younger Jean is far, far less experienced than her counterpart, but has a peripheral knowledge of her own fate, and as much as she tries to not be defined by it, it’s been defining her in the opposite direction in a sense. And more than that, she’s a Jean who sees the Phoenix Force not as an asset or a tool, but sees it as an honest to god enemy, which I’m not sure how that will work. And I’m even more interested in Jean’s return now because of the possibilities of their interactions with the Force together. 

Guess we’ll wait and see!

Marvel’s Monsters Unleashed - Marvel Legacy Primer Pages (2017-present)  Robbie Thompson, David Baldeón

I have actually been planning for a little while now to pick up the trade of Monsters Unleashed because I had fun with the miniseries earlier this year and I have been craving more Elsa Bloodstone (as well as the entirety of the Nextwave crew) and this seems like one of the more interesting powers to come from the Inhuman collision.

.... Actually it’s completely stolen from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic and later adapted TV episode dedicated to Jack Kirby who had the power of creativity to draw and create anything he drew and also had a a penchant for creating monsters and different worlds and so on. So I mean. There’s that unavoidable fact. But Kei’s cute so I’d be willing to overlook it for the sake of seeing what Marvel plans on doing with this very wild and unruly power. 

Dark Horse’s Usagi Yojimbo (1984-present) #162 Stan Sakai, Tom Luth

The conclusion of Usagi and Inspector Ishida’s investigation about the doctors’ murders has come and the hilarity of Kitsune and Kiyoko bumbling along with them and incidentally becoming crucial to the entire investigation does not lose its edge either.

Story: The conclusion of this particular caper is interesting mostly in how the framing by coincidence is not ultimately a linchpin to the story, having been solved almost immediately in the story’s first issue. The inventiveness of Sakai’s work, overall, is simple subterfuge which continues to make each new adventure feel unique and uncertain. In this instance, it would be in the assistance that Kitsune and Kiyoko end up providing by revealing the true murderer almost by accident. 

That being said, as simple as individual stories are for Usagi Yojimbo, the complexity really rests in the margins for long time fans, and that shows most clearly in the way a quiet buildup of several arcs seem to flow together for coming to a head. Perhaps the most famous and arguably best all around example of this would be in “Grasscutter” and how years of storytelling and slow vignettes linking together culminated in one of the greatest comic storylines of all time. We seem to be getting something similar in the backgrounds of more recent adventures with this guild of assassins which Usagi has unknowingly crossed the path of and caused ire to several times at this point. 

I’m excited to see where that story is taking us, and likewise interested in how little details, like Kiyoko successfully pickpocketing Inspector Ishida, will pay off down the road. 

Lion Forge’s Voltron Legendary Defender Vol. 2 (2017) #1 Tim Hendrick, Mitch Iverson, Jung Gwan Yoo, Ji-in Choi

Egghhhhh. Are you ever really rooting for something against your own common sense and get bit in the butt regardless? I feel like that happens to me on an inconceivably high average and almost all of it can be blamed on the fact that for some reason I am still expecting comics to play fairly with me. If anything my standards should be lower by now. But, well, let’s see if I’m being a bit too harsh on Lion Forge’s second effort in making a Voltron comic. 

Story: I would argue that one of the reasons that I had unreasonably high expectations for this comic is in part because the first comic produced by Lion Forge had actuallymanaged to not only be a fairly solid effort as a comic but managed to capture the spirit of the current Dreamworks Netflix series in a wa that was welcoming to fans new and old, and importantly of all ages. So I was hoping for more of the same with this comic project.

In more or less words... I did not exactly receive that. Where there was a solid read of the characterizations in the last comic, this issue showed a severely flattened to the point of parody version of the paladins, especially poor Hunk here who had the already obnoxious and unnecessary fat jokes and food jokes from the series amped up to the point of being his only characteristic in this comic. To the point that at one point he doesn’t even form a full sentence, just grabs a pie successfully from a training maze and says “Hunk win”. Which... I guess is somewhat better faring than the other paladins who didn’t even have dialogue that really fit them. Save for Pidge who was likewise flattened to “the smart one.” 

The storyline itself of a new planet where Voltron is needed but the species they end up helping... they actually fail initially, I won’t lie, is a pretty solid premise for Voltron overall, and would be something I’d love to see the show tackle similarly, but the fairly generic wolf-furry aliens didn’t receive a whole lot of depth in this first issue. 

Depth trended on being the biggest problem for this issue overall. There wasn’t an examination of the characters and their interactions, how they treated each other and how they tackled problems differently. The sort of things you’d want from an ensemble cast like Voltron. Which is surprising since again the first series by Lion Forge managed all that and was written on a much younger reading level at the same time. Each issue tackled exactly those very things -- individual characters, how they functioned in the group, and how they tackled obstacles differently to find a solution together. I would expect the same here but it didn’t seem to be on the menu. 

Hopefully all of this will be addressed and fixed as the comic progresses, but as for now I’m apprehensively putting this series on my three issue trial run. 

Art: The art was not a great improvement on the previous comic but it also wasn’t bad in the least. In fact I think the art popped very well, adjusting colors and textures about as well as you’d expect from a television show adaptation for kids. I do wish that the face models for the paladins would keep more consistent and overall there was a rushed feeling to the comic that seemed fairly unnecessary considering it’s the first issue. 

Viz’s Yona of the Dawn (2009-present) Vol. 8 Mizuho Kusanagi

You know, I keep hearing over and over again from friends and trusted sources that Yona of the Dawn is a series that will continuously subvert my every expectation and make me continue guessing and yet every volume I really do manage to be caught off guard by something which the story chooses to do which is shockingly poignant and new even to its fairy tale epic adventure structure. 

Story: So the Yellow Dragon joining the group was hilariously and purposefully anti-climactic but what we got as a result of that choice is the new direction for the series that ties directly into Yona’s own self-realization. She doesn’t simply want to rule and she doesn’t simply want to conquer. What she wants is to know her people and to save them from the crises that were overlooked by her father before her and by Su-Won now. She wants to take up arms to protect the entire country not just with the power of the loyal followers she has gained but with her own hands. She is something that neither of the kings -- her father or her cousin -- could have ever dreamed of being.

And then my expectations were really taken for a loop by us then in turn following Su-Won as he travels to the Earth Tribe and earns the respect and allegiance of the chieftan general there through a series of manipulations, tactical conceits, and ultimately quiet and subtle intimidation mostly by the fleeting moments in which he dropped his ditzy and well-meaning act to show his true intentions. But as fascinating as it was and as surprising as it was, for me at least, that this complete shift of POV for a few chapters actually managed to keep me on board when I’m not one to often fully appreciate the “villain’s side of things”, probably the most interesting part of any and all of this is actually how much tension is underlying Su-Won’s leadership. HIs appeal to the Fire and Earth Tribes is less in the leadership that he promotes and more in this current of possible warmongering that appeases the more warlike fractions of Kohka. 

It’s all fascinating and offers a sense of danger in Yona’s new quest to help the people of fher country feel a new sense of danger, knowing that our group is ultimately pretty unprepared for helping parts of the country which would not be as receptive to their quest or the offer of Yona’s leadership.

That being said... the final chapter driving home Yona’s relationship with Hak and everyone’s strange obsession with protecting Yona but rejecting her attempts to grow her own strength and independence. Lik eI guess we’re just all going to overlook the way she killed the slave trader mob boss in teh previous volume. But beyond all of that, my real concern is just... I cannot stand the way Hak’s character is portrayed in his “over protectiveness” of Yona. It’s far from romantic to me to continuously have a character obsess over someone to the point of “jokingly” considering locking them away for the world to see. 

It’s not the best issue of the series by far, but it has some great moments, especially for Yona.

Art: I actually do think that the further we’ve come in this comic, the more consistent and confident the at has gotten. There are still lots of soft tones and all the markings of a usual shoujo, but the real stand out this time around is that we’re beginning to see more and more the variation in ethnicities in the people of the country, which is honestly relieving even if for now the Earth Tribe, which drives that point home, consists mostly of Su-Won’s supporters and may carry with them some more unfortunate stereotypes being fed that I might not be aware of as a non-native to Japan.

So far as single issues this week are concerned there’s really no competition for Usagi Yojimbo in a regular week but especially not in a fairly light week. Yona is still a fantastic book and if there were other trades to compare it to I’d probably lavish on it more, but since we’re on singles I have to give this one to the unending quality that is Stan Sakai’s anthromorphic feudal epic.

And, once more, I am in a bit of a financial crunch for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being the medical bills I’m paying for my dog, Eve, who experienced a catastrophic dog fight and underwent surgery recently. On top of that, I have exactly a month and a half to pack up everything I own and move halfway across the country again which is not helping those financial crunches I mentioned before either.

As such, I really would appreciate if you enjoy my content or are interested in helping me out, please check out either my Patreon or PayPal. Every bit helps and I couldn’t thank you enough for enjoying and supporting my content.

You could also support me by going to my main blog, @renaroo, where I’ll soon be listing prices and more for art and writing commissions.

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